Four-day school weeks are on the rise as Texas districts look for teacher perks on a tight budget
More than 500 schools are using four-day school weeks, a dramatic increase from two years ago driven by tight budgets and fierce competition for educators amid a statewide teacher shortage.
Trump says he ‘won’t be happy’ if Putin does not agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine during Alaska summit
President Donald Trump said Friday he “won’t be happy” if he does not walk away from his meeting with President Vladimir Putin with a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. Trump told Fox News’ Bret Baier he doesn’t like to have “too many expectations,” but “I’d like to have a ceasefire.” “I wouldn’t be thrilled if I didn’t get it,” he said. “Everyone says, ‘You’re not going to get a ceasefire. You – it’ll take place on the second meeting,’ … but I’m not going to be happy with that.” The president said he might cancel talks entirely if Friday’s summit does not go well. “I won’t be happy if I walk away without some form of a ceasefire. Now, I – I say this, and I said it from the beginning: This is really setting the table today. We’re going to have another meeting, if things work out, which will be very soon, or we’re not going to have any more meetings at all, maybe ever.” ZELENSKYY, AHEAD OF TRUMP-PUTIN MEETING, SAYS THERE IS ‘NO SIGN’ RUSSIA WANTS TO END THE WAR Trump spoke while flying on Air Force One toward Anchorage, Alaska, where he and his team met with the Russian delegation in the first face-to-face meeting with Putin of the new administration. Trump said that he would not be negotiating peace on Ukraine’s behalf, but would rather “set the table” for negotiations between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “Well, look, it’s not for me to negotiate a deal for Ukraine, but I can certainly set the table to negotiate the deal,” he said. “Our next meeting will have President Zelenskyy and President Putin and probably me.” PRESIDENT TRUMP CONFIDENT PUTIN WANTS PEACE WITH UKRAINE, THINKS HE’S ‘HAD ENOUGH’ OF WAR Trump also added that he “may have to start liking” Hillary Clinton, after the former Democratic presidential candidate said she would nominate Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize if he negotiated a peace deal and did not “capitulate” to Russia. “That was very nice. I may have to start liking her again,” Trump said. Clinton, a former Secretary of State, said that there are several things Trump needs to get Putin to agree to if he were to deserve the Nobel Peace Prize. “But maybe this is the opportunity to make it clear that there must be a ceasefire, there will be no exchange of territory, and that, over a period of time, Putin should be actually withdrawing from the territory he seized in order to demonstrate his good faith efforts, let us say, not to threaten European security,” she said. Fox News’ Gabriel Hays contributed to this report.
Jharkhand Education Minister Ramdas Soren passes away at 62, CM Hemant Soren condoles death
Ramdas Soren, the education minister of Jharkhand, passed away on Friday at the age of 62. He had been undergoing medical treatment at a private hospital in Delhi. Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren has condoled the state minister’s death in a post on X. Read on to know more.
Fox News Politics Newsletter: From Admiration to Alaska
Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump administration, Capitol Hill and more Fox News politics content. Here’s what’s happening… –DC sues Trump administration over ‘unlawful’ federal takeover -Newsom, California Dems move forward with redistricting effort to counter Trump-backed push in Texas -Schumer claims Trump admin withholding Epstein files, threatens to sue President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are set to meet in person on Friday for the first time in six years when they get together in Anchorage, Alaska. Here is a history of Trump’s high-stakes interactions with Putin while being President of the United States…Read more CRIME CONTROL CRISIS: Biden warned of DC crime crisis in 1992 as Dems blast Trump crackdown: ‘Don’t stop at a stoplight’ BATTLE FOR WASHINGTON: White House fires back as Trump’s use of D.C. police for crime crackdown is placed in the crosshairs by Dems ‘FAILED POLICIES’: Top Trump official vows to end ‘cycle of government dependency’ in homeless crackdown DEAL ‘DREAMING’: Hillary Clinton says she’d nominate Trump for Nobel prize herself if he brokers peace between Russia, Ukraine MORE GAMES: NATO defense minister signals ‘absolute distrust’ that Putin wants any peace deal ahead of Trump summit DIGITAL PREDATORS: Hawley opens probe into Meta after reports of AI romantic exchanges with minors GOP RESPONDS: California Republicans accuse Newsom of ‘sinister redistricting scheme’ after Trump mockery ‘VICIOUS DOXXING’: DHS says Noem is temporarily staying in military housing after facing ‘vicious doxxing,’ death threats COMING HOME: Zohran Mamdani closes out his anti-Trump tour in his home borough in Queens WALKOUT OVER?: Abbott, Texas Republicans launch new Trump-backed redistricting push as fleeing Democrats plan to end walkout ARMED AND READY: DC gun permit wait slashed from months to days as Trump’s crime crackdown continues ‘I SCREWED UP’: Former Washington Post fact-checker admits he ‘screwed up’ on COVID-19 lab leak theory LABOR TAKES AIM: Union boss compares ICE to Al Pacino mobster as more Dems pile on immigration enforcement Get the latest updates on the Trump administration and Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.
Union boss compares ICE to Al Pacino mobster as more Dems pile on immigration enforcement
The Department of Homeland Security took more rhetorical fire this week from the left over its “mass deportation operation” enforcement of immigration laws, and growing numbers of detainees in federal installations. In Pennsylvania, lawmakers and advocates came together to back a new state bill that would ban law enforcement from obscuring their identity – as many ICE officers wear masks to protect themselves from being doxxed – where a union boss accused ICE of “disappearing innocent people.” “I frankly have been horrified by the conduct of these federal agents as has been reported in the media,” said AFL-CIO Philadelphia Council President Danny Bauder. Bauder, flanked by state Sen. Nikil Saval, D-Center City, and Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, went on to accuse ICE of acting like a famous mob informant from an Al Pacino film. ILLINOIS DEMOCRATS TELL FEDS TO STOP TRYING TO ‘USURP’ STATE AUTHORITY OVER IMMIGRATION “I want to be very clear: kidnapping and disappearing innocent people is disgusting, it’s shameful, it’s un-American, and any claims to the contrary are absurd,” he said Thursday outside ICE’s office in Chinatown. “There is no good reason why a public servant would ever have to obscure or hide their identity while working in uniform. These ICE agents are not Donnie Brasco in some sort of deep cover situation to take down this enormous organized crime gang.” “These are people who are engaged in violent, warrantless kidnapping and detention, and they need to be held accountable for their actions,” Bauder said. Saval, sponsor of the “No Secret Police” bill in the Republican-controlled Senate, characterized ICE operations as “heavily-armed, masked, unidentifiable individuals roaming our public spaces … disappearing our neighbors … and violat[ing] basic vital rights.” State Sen. Amanda Cappelletti, D-Norristown, added that ICE has “actively undermine[d] public trust in our law enforcement agencies” and encourages bad actors to impersonate police due to their anonymous nature, according to City & State PA. THREE STATES SIGN NEW AGREEMENTS WITH ICE AMID EXPANDED IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT OPERATIONS State Rep. Rick Krajewski, a democratic socialist representing West Philadelphia’s University City, introduced a companion bill in the Democratic-majority State House and told the outlet the effort is notably bolstered by a former cop: state Rep. Brian Munroe, D-Warminster. “My job will be a lot easier if we don’t have a crime wave of people pretending to be ICE,” added Krasner. Just down I-95, Maryland Democrats finally made it into the Baltimore ICE office they were rebuffed from a few weeks ago. After their visit, the lawmakers blasted ICE for the process and the conditions inside the Charm City complex. Rep. Kweisi Mfume, D-Md., told Baltimore press that ICE has a “great deal of inefficiency” in its operations. “Shame on them,” Mfume – who represents much of the city – said. “The people of this nation deserve better no matter how you feel about immigration.” Mfume warned against public complacency, appearing to allege that ICE could easily grab anyone off the street in the future. “We recognize that today it’s somebody; or else tomorrow, it could in fact be one of us.” In July, House Assistant Minority Leader Joe Neguse and Rep. Jason Crow, both D-Colo., sued the Trump administration over lawmakers being denied access to ICE facilities. This week, they were able to take a sanctioned tour of an Aurora, Colo., facility along with Reps. Diana DeGette and Brittany Pettersen, both Democrats from Colorado. According to a release from Pettersen entitled, “House Democrats hammer ICE after Aurora facility visit,” the agency required the group to sign privacy releases to speak with detainees. DeGette called that another way of “stopping” lawmakers from visiting, according to Pettersen. Meanwhile, back east, a congresswoman arrested during a prior ICE facility visit said she would not stop fighting for her cause. Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-N.J., told the New Jersey Monitor that she had been criminally charged for doing her job and that being told she could face 17 years in prison is “nothing to joke with.” “I’m a mother, I’m a wife, I have a family,” said McIver, who was joined both at the press availability and the raucous Newark ICE detention center visit by Rep. Robert Menendez Jr., D-N.J. – whose formerly senatorial father is behind bars on corruption convictions. “I think they have an insatiable appetite for this, and it’s not about violent criminals,” Menendez Jr. said of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement. Fox News Digital reached out to DHS for comment.
Mamdani recalls Obama call about ‘darkness’ in politics after NYC primary victory
Zohran Mamdani confirmed to reporters that he spoke to former President Barack Obama on the phone soon after declaring victory in New York City’s Democratic primary in June. “It was a call that I was honored to receive,” Mamdani said during an anti-Trump event in the Bronx on Thursday. The 33-year-old mayoral hopeful told reporters that after winning the primary, he discussed with Obama “the importance of hope in our politics and the ways in which we govern to deliver on that.” Mamdani said they focused on the campaign he ran, calling it an “honor to receive that time” with the former president. “We spoke about the importance in a moment such as this, where politics is often characterized by a language of darkness, the necessity of hope in how we speak and how we orient ourselves to the world,” Mamdani said. ZOHRAN MAMDANI FIRES BACK AT WHITE HOUSE MISPRONOUNCING HIS NAME: ‘M-A-M-D-A-N-I’ The democratic socialist said he is “lucky” to have an example in the former president of how to rise above the barrage of criticism that has been thrown his way on the campaign trail. DEMS AT A CROSSROADS AS ESTABLISHMENT PLANS ‘PROJECT 2029’ WHILE SOCIALIST CANDIDATE WINS NYC MAYORAL PRIMARY During an anti-Trump stop on Staten Island on Wednesday, Mamdani was told to “go back to where you came from” and called a “commie” by some protesters outside his event. “I know that those New Yorkers are representative just of themselves. And yet, sadly, that is what politics has become for far too many,” Mamdani said. Mamdani answered a follow-up question about his discussion with Obama during the final stop on his anti-Trump tour across New York City in Queens on Friday. The Democratic nominee said Obama’s “stature speaks for itself.” “It was an honor to have that conversation, and that presents for us an opportunity to continue to build on both the way in which we practice our politics, but also, as the borough president said, it is one thing to inspire hope. Our responsibility now is also to deliver on and take justice seriously,” Mamdani said. And as he spoke to reporters in his home borough, Mamdani began looking to the future, reflecting on the reality that he could very likely become the mayor of New York City. “The first 100 days, the first year, the first term of what it means to be the mayor of the city, such that the New Yorkers who got to vote for the very first time, more than 30,000 we registered in the last ten days, but they continue to vote because they continue to see themselves in their democracy,” Mamdani said. The details of Obama’s call to Mamdani were first reported by The New York Times on Wednesday. According to the reporting, Obama congratulated Mamdani, offered him advice about governing, and the two discussed the importance of hope during a dark time politically, citing people with knowledge of the conversation. The report also details how Obama’s former aides, including the “Obama Bros” of “Pod Save America,” Jon Favreau and Dan Pfieffer, have been in communication with Mamdani’s Democratic strategist, Morris Katz. Obama has built a reputation since leaving office in 2016 for his strategic participation in politics. The news about his call to Mamdani broke as ABC News reported this week that Obama praised a group of Texas Democrats for fleeing the state to avoid voting for an ever-controversial Trump-backed redistricting bill, calling it “inspiring.”
White House fires back as Trump’s use of DC police for crime crackdown is placed in the crosshairs by Dems
Several Democratic lawmakers are pushing a joint resolution that aims to put the kibosh on President Donald Trump’s move this week to leverage the services of the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department as he tries to crack down on crime in the nation’s capital. The resolution reads, in part, “Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That pursuant to section 740(b) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act … the emergency determined by the President on August 11, 2025, in the Executive Order titled ‘Declaring a crime emergency in the District of Columbia’ is hereby terminated.” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson sounded off in a statement emailed to Fox News Digital. ‘BRAZENLY UNLAWFUL’: DC OFFICIALS ESCALATE FIGHT WITH TRUMP OVER POLICE TAKEOVER “President Trump is taking bold action to address the out-of-control crime that has been plaguing Washington D.C. for far too long. But instead of supporting what should be a bipartisan measure to Make DC Safe Again, Democrats are burying their heads in the sand, denying there is a problem, and carrying the torch for dangerous criminals that terrorize DC communities,” Jackson asserted. “DC residents know the reality on the ground – crime was out of control and President Trump’s actions are making the city safer. The left’s refusal to support widely popular issues with the American public – like stopping violent crime – are why their approval ratings are at historic lows and will continue to tank,” she added. The House Democrats introducing the joint resolution include Reps. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, Robert Garcia of California, and Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton of the District of Columbia, while Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., will introduce it in the upper chamber, according to a House Judiciary Committee Democrats press release. AG SHOWDOWN: DC ATTORNEY GENERAL REJECTS US ATTORNEY GENERAL PAM BONDI ORDER AS ‘UNLAWFUL’ “Trump has made clear that his efforts in D.C., where 700,000 taxpaying American citizens lack the protections of statehood, are part of a broader plan to militarize and federalize the streets of cities around America whose citizens voted against him. The legislation we are introducing today would stop this campaign by ending Trump’s hostile takeover of D.C.’s police force,” Raskin said, according to the press release. “Under the D.C. Home Rule Act, Congress has given the president the power only to direct the Mayor to make the Metropolitan Police Department available for a specific federal purpose but has given him no power simply to take over the Department. In any event, there is no federal emergency justifying such a takeover even if Congress sought to use its lawmaking power to effectuate it,” he asserted. Part of the joint resolution asserts that the president did not point out emergency conditions that compel utilization of the police for federal purposes in D.C. In the executive order issued this week, the president declared, in part, “I determine that special conditions of an emergency nature exist that require the use of the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia (Metropolitan Police force) for Federal purposes … ” DC GUN PERMIT WAIT SLASHED FROM MONTHS TO DAYS AS TRUMP’S CRIME CRACKDOWN CONTINUES The order notes, “Effective immediately, the Mayor of the District of Columbia (Mayor) shall provide the services of the Metropolitan Police force for Federal purposes for the maximum period permitted under section 740 of the Home Rule Act.” The Home Rule Act that the president cited in his order notes that the police services for federal purposes will terminate if Congress enacts a joint resolution to provide for that termination. “Subject to the provisions of subsection (c) of this section, such services made available in accordance with subsection (a) of this section shall terminate upon the end of such emergency, the expiration of a period of thirty days following the date on which such services are first made available, or the enactment into law of a joint resolution by the Congress providing for such termination, whichever first occurs,” a portion of the pertinent provision in the Home Rule Act reads. Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report
DHS says Noem is temporarily staying in military housing after facing ‘vicious doxxing,’ death threats
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem temporarily relocated her personal residence as she’s facing an increase in threats against her and “vicious doxxing,” a department spokesperson told Fox News Digital on Friday. “Following the media’s publishing of the location of Secretary Noem’s Washington D.C. apartment, she has faced vicious doxxing on the dark web and a surge in death threats, including from the terrorist organizations, cartels, and criminal gangs that DHS targets. Due to threats and security concerns, she has been forced to temporarily stay in secure military housing,” Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said. “Secretary Noem continues to pay rent for her Navy Yard residence. “It’s a shame that the media chooses sensationalism over the safety of people enforcing America’s laws to keep Americans safe,” McLaughlin added. Noem said last week that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents “are now facing a 1000% increase in assaults against them as they risk their lives to arrest the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens.” NOEM SAYS ICE AGENTS ARE FACING ‘1000% INCREASE IN ASSAULTS’ “We will not and have not let this violence stop us or slow us down. Everyday our law enforcement continues to enforce the law and arrest the most depraved criminals including pedophiles, terrorists, murderers, gang members, and sexual predators,” she added in a post on X. NOEM, IN ILLINOIS, CALLS OUT GOV. PRITZKER, CHICAGO’S MAYOR OVER THEIR HANDLING OF CRIMINAL ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS In July, Fox News Digital reported that ICE officials faced an 830% increase in assaults between Jan. 21, 2025 and July 14, 2025, compared to the same period in 2024. That timeframe began the day after President Donald Trump returned to the Oval Office.
Hawley opens probe into Meta after reports of AI romantic exchanges with minors
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., is launching an investigation into Meta after reports found that the company green-lit internal rules that allowed AI chatbots to have “romantic” and “sensual” exchanges with children. Hawley, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism, wrote in a letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg that his committee will dive into whether Meta’s generative-Al products enabled exploitation, deception or other criminal harms to children. Further, the probe will look at whether Meta misled the public or regulators about its safeguards on AI. REPUBLICANS SCRAP DEAL IN ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ TO LOWER RESTRICTIONS ON STATES’ AI REGULATIONS “I already have an ongoing investigation into Meta’s stunning complicity with China — but Zuckerberg siccing his company’s AI chatbots on our kids called for another one,” Hawley told Fox News Digital. “Big Tech will know no boundaries until Congress holds social media outlets accountable. And I hope my colleagues on both sides of the aisle can agree that exploiting children’s innocence is a new low.” Hawley demanded that the company must produce a trove of materials related to internal policies on the chatbots, communications and more to the panel by Sept. 19. His announcement on Friday comes after Reuters first reported that Meta, which is the parent company to Facebook, had given the go-ahead to policies on chatbot behavior that allowed the AI to “engage a child in conversations that are romantic or sensual.” SOCIAL MEDIA GIANT HIT WITH SCATHING AD CAMPAIGN AMID ANGER OVER AI CHATBOTS SEXUALLY EXPLOITING KIDS Hawley noted that Meta acknowledged the reports and charged that the company “made retractions only after this alarming content came to light” in his letter to Zuckerberg. “To take but one example, your internal rules purportedly permit an Al chatbot to comment that an 8-year-old’s body is ‘a work of art” of which ’every inch… is a masterpiece — a treasure I cherish deeply,’” he wrote. “Similar conduct outlined in these reports is reprehensible and outrageous and demonstrates a cavalier attitude when it comes to the real risks that generative Al presents to youth development absent strong guardrails,” Hawley continued. “Parents deserve the truth, and kids deserve protection.” A spokesperson for Meta confirmed to Fox News Digital that the document reviewed by Reuters was real but countered that “it does not accurately reflect our policies.” SCHUMER CLAIMS TRUMP ADMIN WITHHOLDING EPSTEIN FILES, THREATENS TO SUE “We have clear policies on what kind of responses AI characters can offer, and those policies prohibit content that sexualizes children and sexualized role play between adults and minors,” the spokesperson said. “Separate from the policies, there are hundreds of examples, notes, and annotations that reflect teams grappling with different hypothetical scenarios. The examples and notes in question were and are erroneous and inconsistent with our policies, and have been removed.” The document in question, known as the “GenAI: Content Risk Standards,” included over 200 pages of rules that outlined what workers at Meta should consider as acceptable behavior when building and training chatbots and other AI-generative products for the company. Hawley demanded that the company produce all iterations of the GenAI: Content Risk Standards, all products that fall under the scope of the guidelines, how the guidelines are enforced, risk reviews and incident reports that reference minors, sexual or romantic role-play, in-person meetups, medical advice, self-harm, or criminal exploitation, communications with regulators and a paper trail on who decided and when to revise the standards and what changes were actually made.
Biden warned of DC crime crisis in 1992 as Dems blast Trump crackdown: ‘Don’t stop at a stoplight’
In 1992, then-Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., sounded much like President Donald Trump does today, repeatedly warning about Washington, D.C.’s crime crisis — the same issue that ultimately led the current Republican leader to take control of the city’s authorities. Biden argued in favor of the need to crack down on crime in Washington, D.C., as he took to the Senate floor that September to warn against stopping at red lights late at night and urged his colleagues to support what became the “Biden Crime Bill.” The clip resurfaced as the Democratic Party, in which Biden has been the de facto leader, lambasted Trump’s takeover of Washington law enforcement agencies to quell what the clip itself laid out to now be a multi-decade crisis. Biden addressed Senate Presiding Officer Robert Byrd, D-W.V., saying when he could not catch an Amtrak train back to the Wilmington station that now bears his name, he would either “get in my car outside this great citadel of justice and freedom and drive out to the Baltimore-Washington Parkway” or rent a room at the Hyatt Hotel on New Jersey Avenue. WHITE HOUSE BLASTS FAR-LEFT DA’S WARNING THAT TRUMP ‘BETTER NOT TRY’ DC TAKEOVER ‘IN PHILLY’ Biden said he never worried about getting jumped, until one night a representative for the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms stopped him from walking to the hotel. “Now I am not any more than my friend (Byrd) from West Virginia very big on perks here in the United States Senate. I don’t think either one of us have ever been accused of seeking the perks of office,” he said. “And I felt it was kind of silly.” Biden said he was warned that a congressman “had been stabbed in the gutter outside the Hyatt” a short time prior and that “two people had been shot in the park.” “Driving home, my staff, who lives here on the Hill, reminded me don’t stop at a stoplight until I’m out of town.” AS TRUMP INTERVENES IN DC’S CRIME CRISIS, ANOTHER VIOLENT CITY’S DA GETS A CHALLENGER FROM INSIDE THE TENT The future president said crime risks in Washington had gotten so bad that he would “slow up” halfway down a block when the next traffic signal turned red and “never come to a full stop” at the intersection. “Because of carjackers: stopping at the light, people standing on the corner, walking up with a gun.” Biden recounted a Sergeant-at-Arms official telling him that he unsuccessfully interrupted a carjacking at a 7-Eleven in Washington – as the official watched a woman pump gas and walk over to pay the attendant when someone jumped in her car and attempted to take off until the official intervened. The crook produced a pistol and the official relented. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “What’s changed, Mr. President, is it used to be at least the women and men in this country, if they were very prudent about how they behaved… and didn’t walk certain places at night; didn’t do certain things that put themselves at risk, that they had a pretty good prospect of avoiding becoming the victims of violent crime.” “Not today, Mr. President. Prudence in no way will determine whether or not you can avoid being the victim of violent crime — It may increase your chances of not being a victim, but there’s no place to hide, Mr President. And let’s look at what’s happened just in the last several years here [in Washington].” In separate floor remarks, Biden slammed then-President George H.W. Bush for reportedly helping prevent passage of crime-crackdown legislation – and bragged that “we do everything but hang people for jaywalking in this bill.” While Biden’s “Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1993” he was lobbying for never passed, the successful “Clinton Crime Bill” from Rep. Jack Brooks, D-Texas, the following year shared much of its substance.