House Democrat clashes with activists over Israel ‘genocide’ as pro-Palestinian protests derail town hall
A moderate House Democrat’s town hall devolved into chaos minutes after it began on Tuesday night, with pro-Palestinian activists clashing with both the congressman and fellow attendees in what became a near-constant torrent of interruptions and protests. Rep. Wesley Bell, D-Mo., who defeated far-left “Squad” member Cori Bush in the Democratic primary last year, repeatedly pleaded with protesters to allow him to speak while defending his position on Israel and Hamas. “Stop talking. This is not your town hall. You can leave,” Bell told protesters roughly 20 minutes after he began speaking. He said soon after, “While we’re sitting here being divided and fighting one another, we’ve got other folks out there who are taking our democracy from us.” At another point, his assertions that Hamas’ initial attack on Israel “was not just a terror attack, October 7 was an invasion” was met with boos and jeers from the crowd. FAR-LEFT FIREBRAND SAYS SHE ‘NEVER HAD A CONCERN’ ABOUT BIDEN’S MENTAL STATE AS HOUSE PROBE HEATS UP Even calls to “surge aid” to Gaza were drowned out by demonstrators, prompting Bell to respond, “You disagree with that?” Despite repeated pleas for calm from both Bell and his moderator, protesters continued to call him a “war criminal” and accuse him of supporting genocide. The event grew more heated as the hour went on, reaching a fever pitch toward the end when Bell disputed a questioner labeling Israel’s invasion of Gaza a “genocide.” “You don’t get to set the genocide definition,” an activist yelled. Bell responded, “No, I don’t… and here’s the thing, people can disagree, that’s what makes our country great.” “When it comes to the word genocide, I kind of disagree with you… because Israel was attacked by an openly genocidal terrorist group,” he said while protesters attempted to drown him out. “Hamas said openly that they want to destroy Israel… and so you’re accusing somebody of genocide, you’re standing with an organization that says they want to commit genocide. You don’t see that?” He continued over boos, “We need to see a surge in humanitarian aid into Gaza, we need to see an end to the war. We need to see every single hostage returned, and we need to see a viable future for Gaza without Hamas.” And while pro-Palestinian protesters took up a majority of the attention, there did appear to be a significant number of attendees who were supportive of Bell, particularly when he attempted to bring the conversation back to local issues. “The number one killer of kids in St. Louis between [ages] 1 and 17 is gun violence, and there’s people who want to talk about that too,” he said, earning applause. LONGTIME BIDEN AIDE SAYS HE STOOD TO EARN UP TO $8M HAD PRESIDENT WON RE-ELECTION At one point, a woman attempted to confront the demonstrators directly. “Shut up with your White privilege,” the woman could be heard yelling. “You’ve never been hungry, you’ve never had a child be hungry, and yet you want to stand here and diminish the work he’s doing?” It’s not clear how or if the activists responded. The town hall’s moderator tried to deescalate the situation early on, calling security to escort an unruly demonstrator out minutes after it began. “Let’s do this the Democratic way, the democracy way. You can’t hear anyone yelling. I hear you. As a mixed-race person, I hear you,” she told activists. “We can’t get through this if you are yelling and barking and acting like you want to get physical.” At the end of the night, however, Bell released a statement thanking all attendees for coming. “I want to thank everyone that came out to our town hall this evening – yes the conversations were passionate at times, but Democracy is messy and we have to passionately defend it,” Bell wrote on X. “At the end of the day we’re going to continue to fight for the ST. LOUIS region and for our country.” Fox News Digital reached out to Bell’s office for further comment.
New Schiff leak claim from whistleblower echoes years of similar accusations
Longtime Trump political foe Democrat Sen. Adam Schiff for years has been accused of leaking classified documents — long before the release of a “bombshell” whistleblower testimony claiming the California lawmaker approved leaking classified information in order to discredit the president during the Russiagate probe, Fox News Digital found. Schiff, who served in the U.S. House for more than two decades before securing his spot in the U.S. Senate in 2024, is facing heightened scrutiny following FBI Director Kash Patel declassifying claims from a Democrat whistleblower that Schiff approved the release of classified information on Trump that allegedly “would be used to indict President TRUMP,” according to the report. The whistleblower, who reportedly had worked for Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee for more than 10 years, made the claims to the FBI in 2017. Schiff had access to classified information while serving on the House Intelligence Committee during his tenure in the lower chamber, including serving as its chair from 2019 to 2023. “In this meeting, SCHIFF stated the group would leak classified information which was derogatory to President of the United States DONALD J. TRUMP. SCHIFF stated the information would be used to indict President TRUMP,” according to the whistleblower documents. WHITE HOUSE REACTS TO DEM WHISTLEBLOWER’S ‘BOMBSHELL’ CLAIM SCHIFF LEAKED TO HIT TRUMP The whistleblower “stated this would be illegal and, upon hearing his concerns, unnamed members of the meeting reassured that they would not be caught leaking classified information,” the report added. Schiff has denied the allegations, with his office telling Fox News Digital Aug. 12 that the allegations were “absolutely and categorically false.” But this isn’t the first time Schiff has been accused of leaking classified information to the public, with accusations following him since at least the first Trump administration. Fox News Digital took a look back at Schiff’s political history in recent years and gathered the times he previously had been accused of leaking classified materials. The August declassified whistleblower accusations are “just the latest in a series of defamatory attacks from the President and his allies meant to distract from their plummeting poll numbers and the Epstein files scandal,” a Schiff spokesperson told Fox Digital when approached for comment on the allegations, after White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called the whistleblower’s account a “bombshell.” TRUMP-FOE ADAM SCHIFF DISMISSES TULSI GABBARD’S DECLASSIFIED RUSSIA COLLUSION INTELLIGENCE AS ‘DISHONEST’ “These baseless smears are based on allegations that were found to be not reliable, not credible, and unsubstantiated from a disgruntled former staffer who was fired by the House Intelligence Committee for cause in early 2017, including for harassment and potentially compromising activity on official travel for the Committee,” the spokesperson continued. “Even Trump’s own Justice Department and an independent inspector general found this individual to not be credible, have ‘little support for their contentions’ and was of ‘unknown reliability,’ and concluded that his accusations against Members of Congress and congressional staff ‘were not ultimately substantiated.’” Just days after former President Joe Biden was sworn in as president in January 2021, Trump’s former acting director of national intelligence and U.S. ambassador from his first administration, Ric Grenell, took to X to list out “facts” regarding Schiff. “Facts,” a Jan. 22, 2021, post on X that is no longer available on the social media site read. The X post received media attention and was preserved in reports at the time, such as the Washington Examiner. He listed off: “Schiff wouldn’t return my call to coordinate on DNI reforms.– the reforms were asked for by career officials for years. – Schiff complained when I appointed the 1st female head of counterterrorism (a career person). – Schiff & team regularly leaked classified information.” Grenell’s message was in response to Schiff claiming in an interview with The Hill that Grennell and former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe under the first Trump administration “bent intelligence work products to the president’s will.” TRUMP INVOKES RUSSIA COLLUSION HOAX WHILE CALLING FOR LONGTIME FOE SCHIFF TO FACE JAIL TIME “The Office of the Director of National Intelligence, probably the most devastated of all of the agencies by terrible leadership of people like Rick Grenell and John Ratcliffe,” Schiff said during a video interview at the time. Fast-forward to 2023, former Secretary of State and CIA Director Mike Pompeo, who served under the first Trump administration, also accused Schiff of leaking classified docs. “Adam Schiff lied to the American people, and during my time as CIA director and secretary of State, I know that he leaked classified information that had been provided to him,” Pompeo said in January 2023 during a Fox News interview. Pompeo continued that he “held back” sharing information with the House Intelligence Committee due to not feeling “comfortable” when Schiff led the panel. A representative for Pompeo told Fox Digital in August that the former Trump official stands by his 2023 comments on Schiff. Schiff’s office slammed Pompeo’s remarks at the time as “another patently false and defamatory statement.” Trump had also accused Schiff of leaking classified documents under his first administration, claiming in 2018, he was the “one of the biggest liars and leakers in Washington.” “Adam leaves closed committee hearings to illegally leak confidential information. Must be stopped!” Trump wrote in one X thread at the time. Schiff shot back at the time that Trump’s X post was a “false smear.” “Mr. President, I see you’ve had a busy morning of ‘Executive Time.’ Instead of tweeting false smears, the American people would appreciate it if you turned off the TV and helped solve the funding crisis, protected Dreamers or… really anything else,” Schiff responded to Trump in February 2018. As Trump railed against the alleged leaks during his first term, reports spread that the Department of Justice subpoenaed Apple for account data of House Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee, including Schiff, between 2017 and 2018. The DOJ, which was led by Jeff Sessions at the time, was searching for individuals who leaked to the media about
Giving Putin the Donbas would hand Moscow powerful leverage over Kyiv’s financial survival
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has firmly rejected proposals to concede land to Russian President Vladimir Putin, particularly the hotly-contested Donbas region. The Donbas, which includes Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, is Ukraine’s industrial heartland where coal mining and steel production are the main drivers of economic growth. Ultimately, control of the region’s mines and factories would hand Moscow powerful leverage over Kyiv’s post-war economic survival. ‘OUR POSITION IS CLEAR:’ ZELENSKYY AND EU DISMISS CEDING UKRAINIAN LAND TO RUSSIA “Donbas offers both a military advantage and significant economic resources, making it a high-value target for the Kremlin,” explained Elina Beketova, a fellow with the Democratic Resilience Program at the Center for European Policy Analysis. “The Donbas alone holds vast reserves of coal – especially anthracite, crucial for energy and metallurgy,” Beketova said. “Of 114 mines in Donetsk region, only 15 remain functional,” she pointed out, as many have been flooded, destroyed, or left inoperable by the war. Coal tells only half the story. Perhaps the crown jewel is salt: the Soledar salt mines, with an estimated 4.5 billion tons of rock salt – making it the largest reserve in Europe. These mines and the Artyomsol plant, Europe’s largest salt producer, fell to Russian forces in 2022. Beketova underscored that, in the long term, natural gas could be the most strategically important resource in the region. “The region includes the Yuzivka gas field in Donetsk and Kharkiv oblasts, with potential reserves of up to 4 trillion cubic meters – a direct challenge to Russian energy dominance, and likely another reason why Moscow wants full control of the area.” RUSSIA MAY GAIN UKRAINE’S FERTILE, RESOURCE-RICH TERRITORY AS TRUMP PROPOSES LAND SWAP “Beyond coal, salt, and gas, the occupied territories of Donbas – as well as neighboring Zaporizhzhia and Kherson – are also rich in gypsum, chalk, marble, granite, sand and clay,” Beketova said. Russian forces currently occupy approximately one-fifth of Ukraine’s territory, primarily in the eastern and southeastern regions, including large swaths of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. These areas have been under partial or full Russian control at various points over the course of the Kremlin’s war. For Kyiv, the Donbas is more than contested ground – it is an economic lifeline, whose coal, salt and gas reserves could help bankroll recovery in a country already burdened with enormous post-war debts. The most recent joint assessment by the United Nations, World Bank, European Commission, and Ukrainian government estimates that Kyiv faces $524 billion in postwar reconstruction over the next decade. Of the total long-term reconstruction and recovery needs, housing accounts for the largest share at nearly $84 billion, followed by $78 billion needed for the transportation industry and $68 billion for the energy sector. Zelenskyy told reporters at the European Commission on Sunday that Putin has repeatedly tried and failed to seize the entirety of the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine for a period of 12 years. Grace Mappes, an analyst at the Institute for the Study of War, noted that conceding the region would also mean relinquishing Ukraine’s “fortress belt,” the fortified defensive line in Donetsk Oblast since 2014. “After trying and failing to occupy this strategically vital terrain for over a decade, Putin is now demanding that Ukraine concede this critical defensive position, which Russian forces currently have no means of rapidly enveloping or penetrating, apparently in exchange for nothing and with no guarantee that fighting will not resume.” Mappes added that Ukraine’s substantial investment in reinforcing its “fortress belt” with defensive structures, logistics hubs, and defense industrial facilities, underscores its central role in the country’s military resilience. “Putin’s proposal is not a compromise, rather a ploy to avoid the years-long, bloody campaign that would be necessary to seize the fortress belt and the rest of Donetsk militarily,” she added.
Elon Musk halts plans for new political party, prioritizing business instead: report
Less than three months after its launch, Elon Musk’s “America Party” appears to have been shelved. Musk allegedly told associates that he wants to focus on his companies and avoid starting a party that could siphon voters from the GOP, the The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with his plans. Musk has also allegedly worked to maintain ties with Vice President JD Vance, considered the heir apparent to the MAGA movement, according to WSJ. The outlet added that the tech billionaire reportedly told associates he was concerned that forming a new political party would damage his relationship with the vice president. WHAT MUSK’S FRACTURE WITH TRUMP MEANS FOR GOP’S FUTURE: ‘BEATING HEART OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY’ While the plan is paused at the moment, Musk’s allies told WSJ that he has not formally ruled out launching the America Party and could revisit the idea as the 2026 midterms approach. After spending months working with the Department of Government Efficiency, Musk’s time at the Trump White House came to an end on May 30. Though they appeared on good terms, President Donald Trump and the tech billionaire began trading barbs almost immediately. A few days after leaving the administration, Musk posted on X — the social media platform he owns — criticizing legislation the Trump White House was promoting. “I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore. This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it,” Musk wrote. His criticism continued, including memes and jabs aimed at the administration. Musk stayed firm in his opposition to the bill, citing the amount of spending as his reason for objecting to it. TRUMP DISMISSES MUSK’S POLITICAL AMBITIONS AS ‘RIDICULOUS’ IN SHARP REBUKE On June 5, Musk posed a question — and a poll — to his followers: Should there be a new political party? The next day, he announced that “the people have spoken. A new political party is needed in America to represent the 80% in the middle!” Musk asked a similar question nearly a month later, on July 4, the day Trump signed the “big, beautiful bill.” “Independence Day is the perfect time to ask if you want independence from the two-party (some would say uniparty) system! Should we create the America Party?” Musk included another poll with his post. In the end, 65.4% of respondents voted “yes,” while 34.6% voted “no,” showing a drastic change from his June poll in which 80.4% voted “yes.” Musk announced the next day that “the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom.” “I am saddened to watch Elon Musk go completely ‘off the rails,’ essentially becoming a TRAIN WRECK over the past five weeks,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on July 6. “He even wants to start a third political party, despite the fact that they have never succeeded in the United States – The system seems not designed for them.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP However, the feud between the two appears to have cooled. The social media spats have stopped, and in late July Trump appeared to wish Musk well, writing on Truth Social that he wanted to see the tech billionaire’s businesses “thrive like never before.” “Everyone is stating that I will destroy Elon’s companies by taking away some, if not all, of the large-scale subsidies he receives from the U.S. government. This is not so! I want Elon, and all businesses within our country, to THRIVE, in fact, THRIVE like never before! The better they do, the better the USA does, and that’s good for all of us,” Trump wrote. A spokesperson for Musk did not respond to a request for comment.
Top law enforcement agency offers cash awards for tips leading to DC arrests amid Trump’s crime crackdown
Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that there will be $500 awards doled out for tips that lead to an arrest in Washington, D.C. “We have now made over 550 arrests in Washington, DC and have taken 76 illegal firearms off the streets—saving lives. You can help— [US Marshals Service] is offering a reward for any information leading to an arrest. Together, we will make DC safe again!” Bondi posted to X on Wednesday morning with a QR code. The crackdown on crime in the nation’s capital continues in coordination with local and federal agencies after President Donald Trump announced a takeover of the city’s police force earlier this month. MS-13 GANG MEMBER ARRESTED IN DC AS BONDI TOUTS ADMIN’S ‘EXTRAORDINARY’ CRIME CRACKDOWN With Immigration and Customs Enforcement out, many of the arrests have been immigration-related, but roughly half of the over 200 non-immigration arrests have been in the high-crime Wards 7 and 8, a White House analysis explained, according to Axios. “In other news, on the home front, President Trump’s efforts to make DC safe again are working. There have been a total of 465 arrests since the start of this operation. On Thursday, August 7th. Last night, there were a total of 52 arrests, including the arrest of an illegal alien MS-13 gang member with convictions for DWI and drug possession,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday. “Thanks to President Trump’s leadership and the outstanding work of both federal and local law enforcement, dangerous gang members like the one picked up last night will not be allowed on the streets of our nation’s capital,” she continued. On immigration, Bondi issued an order last week giving local police the ability to comply with federal immigration authorities, despite the city having its own sanctuary laws. The DC Police Union, who’s backing the move from the Trump administration, said on Monday that there’s been a 46% decrease in robberies, an 83% decrease in carjackings, a 21% decrease in car theft, and a 22% decrease in violent crime. HUNDREDS ARRESTED AS TRUMP’S WASHINGTON, DC, CRIME CRACKDOWN HITS FULL STRIDE “While federal assistance gives us a boost, we must repeal the misguided Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Act in order to make these changes permanent,” the union posted on Monday. CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE There’s been opposition from Democrats on the takeover, with some criticizing the level of law enforcement presence, including the National Guard, on city streets. “American soldiers and airmen policing American citizens on American soil is #UnAmerican,” Mayor Muriel Bowser tweeted from her personal account last week. BONDI ANNOUNCES NEARLY 200 ARRESTS ‘AND COUNTING’ AS FEDERAL AGENTS SWARM NATION’S CAPITAL D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb has also maintained a sharp tone against the takeover. “Let us be clear: armed soldiers should not be policing American citizens on American soil. Instead of making DC more secure, it undermines public safety and endangers our democracy. It’s DC today, but the same dangerous strategy can be deployed to occupy any American community,” he tweeted on Tuesday.
DHS pulls funding from groups with ‘alleged terrorist ties’ after watchdog report
FIRST ON FOX: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is reviewing federal security grants for Muslim groups with “alleged terrorist ties” after a new report linked past funding to “extremist” organizations. According to a DHS document obtained by Fox News Digital, 49 projects “with alleged affiliations to terrorist activities” have already been canceled, a move the department estimates will save $8 million. The review primarily targets funding distributed through FEMA’s Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP), which provides aid to churches, mosques, synagogues, and other faith-based institutions facing threats of hate-driven violence. The probe follows a report by the Middle East Forum, a pro-Israel conservative think tank, which claimed that more than $25 million in DHS and FEMA grants went to “terror-linked groups” between 2013 and 2023. COTTON CALLS ON IRS TO PULL MUSLIM ADVOCACY GROUP’S NONPROFIT STATUS A DHS official said the department is conducting its own independent review of funding but added, “We take the results of the MEF report very seriously and are thankful for the work of conservative watchdog groups.” The report flagged a $100,000 grant in 2019 to the Dar al-Hijrah mosque in Virginia, which Customs and Border Protection once described as a “mosque operating as a front for Hamas operatives in the U.S.,” according to records obtained by the Investigative Project through the Freedom of Information Act. In response to the MEF’s findings, DHS is reviewing all current and future contracts to ensure funds are not awarded to such organizations. Officials said the department is also examining ways to recover unspent funds. Funding for fiscal year 2024 has already been allocated. That includes $94 million for 500 Jewish organizations and another $110 million shared among 600 Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh and Jewish institutions. For fiscal year 2025, DHS said applicants will face tougher requirements to ensure a “robust” vetting process. “We don’t want to be empowering groups that could be causing a threat to our community here in the United States,” a DHS official said. The Middle East Forum’s report also highlighted specific cases of funding that it claims went to groups with extremist ties. It said $10.3 million had gone to the Islamic Circle of North America, which the forum alleges is tied to the South Asian Islamist movement Jamaat-e-Islami. The report further cited $250,000 awarded to the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), which DHS has accused of having “Hamas ties.” Another $750,000, according to the report, went to mosques in Michigan and Texas that DHS described as “outposts for Iran’s revolutionary brand of Shi’a Islamism,” including the Islamic Center of America and the Islamic House of Wisdom near Detroit, as well as the Islamic Ahlul Bayt Association in Austin. HOUSE COMMITTEE ALLEGES BIDEN ADMIN USED FUNDS TO BACK ANTI-GOVERNMENT PROTESTS IN ISRAEL CAIR told Fox News Digital it has no active federal contracts with DHS. “While our civil rights organization has no active federal grants that the Department could eliminate or cut, and while the government cannot ban American organizations from receiving federal grants based on their religious affiliation or their criticism of Israel’s genocide in Gaza,” a CAIR spokesperson said, “it’s important to note that Kristi Noem’s Department of Homeland Security is embarrassing President Trump by making decisions based on the ravings of the Middle East Forum, an Israel First hate website.” FEMA has previously worked with CAIR, holding seminars to encourage participation in the NSGP program. But last week, CAIR urged organizations to withdraw from applying for DHS and FEMA grants — including the NSGP — unless DHS drops two new vetting rules. Those provisions require recipients to cooperate with immigration officials and prohibit them from running programs tied to diversity, equity, inclusion, or aid to undocumented immigrants, as well as from engaging in certain “discriminatory prohibited boycotts.”
Texas GOP lawmakers poised to finalize Trump-backed map after Dem redistricting walkout ends
The Texas legislature is poised to take up a new congressional redistricting bill put forward by Republicans on Wednesday, following weeks of pushback from Democrats. It is unclear how quickly Republicans will be able to vote on the redistricting plan, as it must go through floor debate before coming to a vote. It is a victory for Republicans, nevertheless, as Democrats who fled the state in an effort to block the plan are now back in the Capitol. If passed, the new congressional map would likely flip five seats currently held by Democrats over to Republicans, a reality that has unleashed cries of gerrymandering across the country. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has vowed to “fight fire with fire,” saying New York Democrats will pursue their own redistricting plan. BETO O’ROURKE ASKED POINT BLANK WHY HE’S HELPING DEMS FLEE TEXAS RATHER THAN HELPING TEXAS California Gov. Gavin Newsom has followed suit, with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) proposing a California congressional map that would flip five Republican seats over to Democrats. COLBERT CONFRONTS JB PRITZKER WITH MAP SHOWING ILLINOIS GERRYMANDERING Meanwhile, more Republican states, including Ohio, Florida, Indiana and Missouri, are moving forward with or considering their own redistricting efforts, as are Democratic states such as Maryland and Illinois. Nowhere has a redistricting battle been more dramatic than in Texas, however, where roughly 50 Democratic state lawmakers absconded from a special legislative session to block the vote in early August. TRUMP, REPUBLICANS RACE TO REDRAW TEXAS CONGRESSIONAL MAP AS DEMOCRATS THREATEN LEGAL WAR Democrats fled to Illinois and New York, but they faced a $500 fine for each day they refused to return home. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, and other state officials hit the Democratic legislators with lawsuits seeking criminal charges or to have them removed from office entirely. The walkout ended when Democrats returned on Monday, saying they had accomplished their goals of blocking a vote during the first special legislative session and persuading Democrats in other states to take retaliatory steps. Reuters contributed to this report.
Congressman whose DC apartment complex was robbed blasts Democrats for criticizing Trump crime crackdown
Congressman Wesley Hunt, R-Texas, blasted Democrats and the members of the media who have been critical of President Donald Trump sending the National Guard to the streets of Washington, D.C., in an effort to curb the rampant crime plaguing the city. Hunt also revealed that his own D.C. apartment complex in the Navy Yard area was broken into last year, leaving a front desk attendant robbed of her belongings just several floors away from the congressman’s own unit. “Downstairs in my apartment complex, there was a woman who was robbed,” Hunt told Fox News Digital. “She had her computer stolen, her phone stolen, and her iPad stolen right behind the desk, and we were all blocks away from the Capitol.” “I was a three-minute drive away from the Capitol when this happened,” Hunt added. “Across the street from our complex was where Henry Cuellar was robbed at gunpoint. I don’t understand what these [critics] are talking about. It’s not safe.” MS-13 GANG MEMBER ARRESTED IN DC AS BONDI TOUTS ADMIN’S ‘EXTRAORDINARY’ CRIME CRACKDOWN Trump’s military intervention to combat crime in D.C. has been widely criticized by Democrats, with House Judiciary ranking member Jamie Raskin, D-Md., introducing a resolution last week to prevent the president from keeping service members in the district. Because Washington, D.C., is not a state, Trump was able to invoke Section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, allowing him to declare a public emergency and deploy federal resources into the area. “Just like I took care of the Border, where you had ZERO Illegals coming across last month, from millions the year before, I will take care of our cherished Capital, and we will make it, truly, GREAT AGAIN,” Trump stated in an Aug. 11 White House fact sheet on the emergency declaration. “Before the tents, squalor, filth, and Crime, it was the most beautiful Capital in the World. It will soon be that again.” DC POLICE ACCUSED OF CHANGING CRIME STATS JUST WEEKS BEFORE TRUMP FEDERALIZED CITY Hunt also noted the actions of several Democrat governors who used their respective state’s National Guard to combat various issues. “Tim Walz used the National Guard to implement COVID restrictions on people, not to take care of the murder capital of the United States,” Hunt told Fox. “Gavin Newsom is willing to clean up downtown LA in California for the president of China to come visit, but you won’t clean it up just for everyday citizens when all this crime is happening?” The White House has also touted the success of the military presence in the nation’s capital, with press secretary Karoline Leavitt telling reporters during a Tuesday press briefing that 465 arrests have been made since the start of the operation, including an MS-13 gang member illegally in the U.S. with convictions for drug possession and driving while intoxicated (DWI). PHOTOS: FEDS TAKE OVER DC AS TRUMP CRACKS DOWN ON CAPITAL CRIME “Thanks to President Trump’s leadership and the outstanding work of both federal and local law enforcement, dangerous gang members like the one picked up last night will not be allowed on the streets of our nation’s capital,” Leavitt told the press. As for the residents of D.C., James Laverty, a staffer on Capitol Hill, told Fox News that the military presence has made a “noticeable difference” in the nation’s capital. “In certain areas, like Navy Yard and U Street, it feels much safer than it did just a week ago,” Laverty told Fox. “This past weekend, there was a noticeable difference in the vibe late at night, and I think it goes without saying that the impact of the National Guard on the streets is the clear reason for the newly found safe sentiment in DC.”
JD Vance ‘directly’ convinced UK to drop Apple backdoor data demand, protecting Americans’ rights: US official
Vice President JD Vance – who eviscerated European leaders earlier this year for allegedly retreating on free speech, essentially threatening fundamental democratic values – recently played a commanding role in convincing the United Kingdom to drop its demands that Apple provide the British government a “backdoor” to personal user data, Fox News Digital has learned. A U.S. official told Fox News Digital that Vance “was in charge and was personally involved in negotiating a deal, including having direct conversations with the British government.” Working with U.K. partners, the vice president “negotiated a mutually beneficial understanding” that the British government “will withdraw the current backdoor order to Apple,” the U.S. official said, adding that the “agreement between our two governments maintains each country’s sovereignty while ensuring close cooperation on data sharing.” BIPARTISAN LETTER WARNS GABBARD NEW UK ORDER FOR BACKDOOR APPLE DATA COULD JEOPARDIZE AMERICANS The U.S. official further told Fox News Digital that the vice president “took a strong interest in this issue because of his background in technology, his concern for privacy, and his [sincere] commitment to maintain a strong U.S.-U.K. relationship.” Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard said in an X post on Monday that she, alongside President Donald Trump and Vance, had been working “closely with our partners in the U.K.” over the past several months “to ensure Americans’ private data remains private and our Constitutional rights and civil liberties are protected.” “As a result, the UK has agreed to drop its mandate for Apple to provide a ‘back door’ that would have enabled access to the protected encrypted data of American citizens and encroached on our civil liberties,” Gabbard wrote. Fox News Digital reached out to Apple and the British Home Office for comment but did not immediately hear back. In February, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., penned a letter to the then-newly confirmed DNI, informing Gabbard of recent press reports that the U.K.’s home secretary “served Apple with a secret order” at the start of the year, “directing the company to weaken the security of its iCloud backup service to facilitate government spying.” The directive reportedly required Apple to weaken the encryption of its iCloud backup service, giving the British government “blanket capability” to access customers’ encrypted files. Reports further stated that the order was issued under the U.K.’s Investigatory Powers Act 2016, commonly known as the “Snoopers’ Charter,” which does not require a judge’s approval, according to the letter previously obtained by Fox News Digital. Wyden, who sits on the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Biggs, who chairs a House Judiciary subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance, informed Gabbard that Apple “is reportedly gagged from acknowledging that it received such an order, and the company faces criminal penalties that prevent it from even confirming to the U.S. Congress the accuracy of these press reports.” The letter focused on the threat of China, Russia and other adversaries spying on Americans. At the Munich Security Conference in February, Vance, meanwhile, said that the threat he worried about the most when it comes to Europe was not China, Russia or “any other external actor,” but rather “the threat from within the retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values, values shared with the United States of America.” Vance specifically cited the case of Adam Smith-Connor, a British Army veteran and physiotherapist, who was prosecuted under the U.K.’s “buffer zone” or “safe access zone” laws around abortion clinics. British police confronted him for silently praying outside the clinic. The vice president also called out Europe more broadly for stifling opposition speech. DNC RIPS JD VANCE FOR FISHING WITH BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY IN LATEST BIZARRE ATTACK; REPUBLICANS HIT BACK “To many of us on the other side of the Atlantic, it looks more and more like old, entrenched interests hiding behind ugly Soviet-era words like misinformation and disinformation, who simply don’t like the idea that somebody with an alternative viewpoint might express a different opinion or, God forbid, vote a different way, or even worse, win an election,” Vance said at the time. More recently, Vance made a diplomatic visit to the U.K. earlier this month, meeting with the British foreign secretary for talks centered on the Ukraine-Russia and Israel-Hamas wars. Last week, the State Department, meanwhile, released its 2024 annual country report on “human rights practices.” In the report on the United Kingdom, the Trump administration cited “credible reports of serious restrictions on freedom of expression,” including “enforcement of or threat of criminal or civil laws in order to limit expression; and crimes, violence, or threats of violence motivated by antisemitism.” The State Department asserted that the British government “sometimes took credible steps to identify and punish officials who committed human rights abuses, but prosecution and punishment for such abuses was inconsistent.” The report said British authorities, including the U.K. Office of Communications (Ofcom), are legally authorized to monitor all forms of communication for speech they deemed “illegal.” The U.K. Online Safety Act of 2023, which came into force in 2024, “defined the category of ‘online harm’ and expressly expanded Ofcom’s authority to include American media and technology firms with a substantial number of British users, regardless of whether they had a corporate presence in the UK,” according to the State Department. Under the law, the report said, companies were required to engage in proactive “illegal content risk assessment” to mitigate the risk of users encountering speech deemed illegal by Ofcom. “Experts warned that one effect of the bill could be government regulation to reduce or eliminate effective encryption (and therefore user privacy) on platforms,” the report said. The U.K. has been increasingly cracking down on British citizens for opposition commentary, especially online posts and memes opposing mass migration. In August 2024, as riots broke out in the U.K. after a mass stabbing at a Taylor Swift-themed dance event left three girls dead and others wounded, London’s Metropolitan Police chief warned that officials could also extradite and jail U.S. citizens for
Trump says Smithsonian museums only cover ‘how bad Slavery was’ in US
The US President says a review of the national museums will be similar to those he has ordered for universities. United States President Donald Trump has said the nation’s Smithsonian museums only discuss “horrible” topics, including “how bad Slavery was”, as his administration continues a review into the institution’s exhibits for their “Americanism”. In a post on his Truth Social platform on Tuesday, Trump said the Smithsonian is “OUT OF CONTROL, where everything discussed is how horrible our Country is”, including “how unaccomplished the downtrodden have been”. Elaborating on a review of several of the Smithsonian’s 21 museums and galleries ordered by the White House last week, Trump said he has instructed his lawyers “to go through the Museums” and “start the exact same process that has been done with Colleges and Universities where tremendous progress has been made”. “This Country cannot be WOKE, because WOKE IS BROKE,” Trump added. The Organisation of American Historians (OAH) has expressed “deep concern and dismay” at the White House’s “unprecedented” request to review the Smithsonian’s exhibits, adding that “no president has the legitimate authority to impose such a review”. The Smithsonian receives most of its budget from Congress but is independent of the government in decision-making. The OAH also said that “it is particularly distressing to see this effort of historical censorship and sanitising tied to the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding”. The Trump administration said it ordered the review of museums in advance of next year’s milestone, which will mark 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. Advertisement It was not until decades later, on December 18, 1865, that the 13th Amendment to the US Constitution officially abolished chattel slavery nationwide, although exceptions continued. The National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC, opened in 2016 [File:Will Oliver/EPA] The National Museum of African American History and Culture, which was opened in 2016 with a ceremony led by then-President Barack Obama, is one of the museums the White House has included in its review. According to the museum’s website, visitors learn about the “richness and diversity of the African American experience” with exhibits ranging from a plantation cabin from South Carolina to Chuck Berry’s red Cadillac convertible. The freedom of expression organisation PEN America has also expressed alarm at the Trump administration’s “sweeping review” of Smithsonian exhibits. “The administration’s efforts to rewrite history are a betrayal of our democratic traditions and a deeply concerning effort to strip truth from the institutions that tell our national story,” Hadar Harris, the managing director of PEN America’s Washington, DC, office, said in a statement. Trump has made threats to cut federal funding for top US educational institutions, citing pro-Palestinian protests against US ally Israel’s war on Gaza, transgender policies, climate initiatives and diversity, equity and inclusion programmes. Last month, the government settled probes into Columbia University, which agreed to pay $221m, and Brown University, which said it would pay $50m to the government. Both institutions also accepted certain government demands, including how some topics are taught. Harvard University has sued the Trump administration to halt the freezing of $2.3bn of its federal funding. Adblock test (Why?)