Supreme Court declines to block Mississippi social media age-restriction law, for now
The Supreme Court on Thursday declined to block Mississippi from enforcing a law that would block minors from using nine popular social media sites without their parents’ consent—delivering a near-term blow to the tech industry group that had sought emergency intervention from the high court. Justices on the high court did not elaborate on their reasons for rejecting the emergency appeal, filed by industry group NetChoice—a common practice when the Supreme Court decides on an emergency appeal—and did not provide a vote count. NeChoice had asked the high court to put the law on hold while the case continued to play out in the lower courts on its merits. Only Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh gave any indication of his thinking in a three-paragraph concurring opinion, writing that, while he believes the law in question is “likely unconstitutional,” and that NetChoice “demonstrated it would likely succeed on the merits” of the case, he agreed with his colleagues in ruling that the group failed to meet the high bar required for emergency relief. SCOTUS RULES ON NEARLY $2 BILLION IN FROZEN USAID PAYMENTS The case will continue to play out in the lower courts, and is expected to make its way back to the Supreme Court for full consideration at a later date. At issue is Mississippi’s sweeping social media law, known as H.B. 1126. The law, passed by the state in 2024, blocks young people from accessing popular social media sites, including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, Pinterest, and Reddit without express parental consent. It also requires social media sites to take additional steps to verify the ages of users before allowing them to create accounts, and to “develop and implement a strategy” to shield young people from exposure to harmful material. Sites who fail to comply can be fined up to $10,000 per violation, and, in certain cases, could face criminal penalties. NetChoice quickly sued to block the law, arguing that it violated free speech protections under the First Amendment. U.S. District Judge Halil Suleyman Ozerden in June issued a preliminary injunction siding with NetChoice and temporarily blocking Mississippi from implementing its law. While Judge Ozerden acknowledged the state may have a “compelling interest” in safeguarding minors online, he said Mississippi’s law involved “substantially more speech than is necessary for the state to accomplish its goals,” and ran afoul of the First Amendment. In July, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals voted unanimously and without explanation to freeze the lower court injunction, allowing the law to take force—and prompting the emergency request for Supreme Court intervention. LAWSUIT TRACKER: NEW RESISTANCE BATTLING TRUMP’S SECOND TERM THROUGH ONSLAUGHT OF LAWSUITS TAKING AIM AT EOS In its emergency appeal to the high court, lawyers for NetChoice took aim at the lack of explanation from the lower court. “Neither NetChoice nor this Court can know why the Fifth Circuit believed this law satisfies the First Amendment’s stringent demands or deviated from the seven other decisions enjoining similar laws,” lawyers said in their appeal to the high court, arguing they would face “immediate, irreparable” injury should the law be allowed to go into effect. The Supreme Court’s emergency decision comes as a handful of other states have moved to implement similar age-verification legislation— including Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Ohio, and Utah. NetChoice, for its part, has led similar lawsuits challenging social media legislation in other states such as Florida and Texas earlier this year.
All eyes on Washington, and naught but deafening silence from the District’s loudest defender
It was April, 2007. The House of Representatives was debating a bill to increase the size of the House from 435 to 437 Members. Utah would score an extra seat. And the District of Columbia would secure a seat on the House floor. Washington, DC isn’t a state. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., has served as the city’s non-voting delegate to Congress since 1991. And even though she couldn’t cast a ballot on that bill for DC, Norton was in the middle of the debate which teed up the bill. Then-Rep. David Dreier, R-Calif., asked Norton if “the gentlelady would yield” during her floor remarks, trying to get in a word edgewise. Dreier stood a better chance at getting a harried driver to yield to him on an entrance ramp to the 405 than Norton granting him a moment to interrupt her. FEDERAL OVERSIGHT IN WASHINGTON – A SPECIAL CASE AS OLD AS AMERICA ITSELF “I will not yield, sir!” yelled Norton, staring at Dreier across the House chamber. “The District of Columbia has spent 206 years yielding (to) the people who would deny them the vote! I yield you no ground! Not during my time! You have had your say! And your say has been that you think that the people who live in your capital are not entitled to a vote in their House! Shame on you!” The excoriation of Dreier was signature Norton. Forceful. Fearless. Passionate. Whether you endorse her politics or not, Norton has been the loudest voice for the people of Washington, DC for a staggering 18 terms. But the 88-year-old Norton is now silent. Perhaps during the most perilous period for self-governance in the District of Columbia in five decades. President Trump deployed hundreds of National Guard troops and federal agents into the streets of Washington this week – effectively bigfooting local control of the police. Washington, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) has been outspoken against the intervention. “The numbers just don’t justify the action. We have seen a precipitous lessening of crime in the city,” said Bowser. “Violent crime especially.” DC MAYOR TRAVELS TO MARTHA’S VINEYARD AMID TRUMP’S FEDERALIZED CRIME CRACKDOWN OF CITY DC lacks senators since it isn’t a state. So other local lawmakers piped up. “I’m very concerned. The President is showing all of his authoritarian tendencies,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md. “We have this decision by the President to essentially federalize the DC police at a time when actually crime in the District of Columbia is at a 30 year low last year.” Even Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott (D) took up DC’s plight. “The President isn’t really interested in stopping and solving this public health issue known as gun violence. He’s pointing a finger at Baltimore and DC and other cities,” said Scott. “If the President were concerned and really wanted to work with cities to do that, he would bolster the strategies that are already working on the ground instead of trying to militarize police and law enforcement where they do not need to be.” But Norton’s largely invisible. Her office posted a boilerplate statement on X Wednesday. It declared that “President Trump made a grave error on several levels by taking over MPD and deploying the DC National Guard without DC’s agreement.” Norton argued that the president “unintentionally made the strongest possible case for #DCStatehood.” An accompanying photo of Norton wasn’t even current. It depicted Norton in a winter shawl – hardly seasonal for the steamy conditions baking Washington in mid-August. TRUMP AUTHORIZED TO CONTROL DC POLICE INDEFINITELY UNDER HOUSE GOP PROPOSAL Norton’s office turned down multiple requests for an interview this week. Norton’s staff also declined a request for an interview after a gunman murdered Capitol Hill intern Eric Tarpinian-Jachym – a student at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst after his death earlier this summer. However, an aide did provide a statement. Norton last spoke on the House floor in mid-June. “Residents have no voting representation in Congress and Congress has the ultimate say on local DC matters,” said Norton at the time. Questions started to swirl earlier this year about whether Norton was up to the job. A reporter asked DC Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) in June if the Delegate should run for a 19th term next year. “Congresswoman Norton has been a good representative of the District. She has been a warrior on the Hill,” said Mendelson. Bowser also ducked directly answering a question about Norton back in the spring. “I am really focused on making sure our city is strong politically and stable economically and I think there is time for talking about elections and I don’t choose to do that right now,” said Bowser. ANTI-TRUMP CNN COMMENTATOR RIPS ‘PROFOUNDLY STUPID’ DEMOCRATS OVER DC CRIME RESPONSE In July, a reporter didn’t mention Norton by name when they asked House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., if “every member of the Democratic caucus was fit mentally and physically to serve?” The inquiry came after the deaths of late Reps. Sylvester Turner, D-Tex., Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., and Gerry Connolly, D-Va. And this conversation matures as House Republicans probe the cognitive state of former President Biden. “That’s not a discussion that we have had at the moment with individual Members who are going to make decisions about their future,” answered Jeffries. “And it’s my expectation that those decisions will be based on what Members conclude is in the best interests of the communities that they have been privileged to represent – as well as themselves, their families, and the values that they hold dear that we are in the middle of defending on behalf of the American people.” The issue of elderly politicians continues to vex the Democratic Party. Kinny Zalesne is a former Justice Department official running for Norton’s seat in 2026. “If I were the Delegate, I would be on TV 24/7, making the case for DC and telling the truth about what’s happening in our city and the truth about the administration’s overreach,”
DC police announce major action on immigration enforcement after Trump’s crime crackdown
Washington, D.C., Police Chief Pamela Smith issued an executive order giving limited cooperation with federal immigration authorities on Thursday. The move comes after the recent federal takeover of the department and the sending of National Guard troops to curb crime and homelessness in the capital. According to the order, Metropolitan Police Department officers can now help with “sharing information about persons not in MPD custody” such as during “traffic stops” and can provide “transportation for federal immigration agency employees and detained subjects,” according to NBC 4 Washington. ‘RADICAL’ DC OFFICIALS TREATED OFFICERS ‘LIKE CRAP,’ POLICE LEADER SAYS – 7 ATTACKS THAT LED TO TRUMP TAKEOVER However, the order says personnel cannot “make any inquiry through any database solely for the purpose of inquiring about an individual’s immigration status.” “Members shall not make inquiries into any person’s immigration status for the purpose of determining whether they have violated the civil immigration laws or for the purpose of enforcing civil immigration laws,” the order stated. “Members shall not arrest individuals based solely on federal immigration warrants or detainers as long as there is no additional criminal warrant or underlying offense for which the individual is subject to arrest,” the order continued. I SUPPORT TRUMP TAKING CONTROL OF DC POLICE — THE CONSTITUTION IS ON HIS SIDE The capital is considered a sanctuary city, which Mayor Muriel Bowser tried to get scrapped earlier this year, according to Axios. CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE “Excellent news. America’s capital city should not be a sanctuary for lawlessness,” Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, tweeted. “MAKE D.C. SAFE AGAIN,” the White House’s rapid response account posted. The federal takeover of the police department was announced by President Donald Trump on Monday, and there’s been a heightened law enforcement presence throughout the city, including the National Guard at places like Union Station. AG PAM BONDI MEETS WITH DC MAYOR AS TRUMP DISPATCHES NATIONAL GUARD TROOPS IN CAPITAL On Wednesday night alone, there were 45 arrests, and 29 of them were people in the country illegally, as numerous federal agencies are taking part in the major crackdown. While the takeover has been praised by Republicans and some D.C. residents, many Democrats have been vocally opposed. The move was prompted in large part by juvenile criminal activity throughout the city in recent months. “The Administration’s actions are unprecedented, unnecessary, and unlawful. There is no crime emergency in the District of Columbia. Violent crime in DC reached historic 30-year lows last year, and is down another 26% so far this year,” D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb posted to X on Monday. “We are considering all of our options and will do what is necessary to protect the rights and safety of District residents.
Newsom unveiling California redistricting effort to counter Trump-backed push in Texas
California is center stage on Thursday in the national battle over congressional redistricting ahead of next year’s midterm elections. Two-term Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom will team up with congressional Democrats and legislative leaders in the heavily blue state at an event in Los Angeles. That’s where they’re expected to unveil their game plan to counter the push by President Donald Trump and Republicans to create up to five GOP-friendly congressional districts at the expense of currently Democrat-controlled seats. “If you will not stand down, I will be forced to lead an effort to redraw the maps in California to offset the rigging of maps in red states,” Newsom said in a recent letter to the president. NEWSOM VOWS TO FIGHT ‘FIRE WITH FIRE’ IN CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING BATTLE And he argued that Trump was “playing with fire” with his push for rare—but not unheard of—mid-decade redistricting. Newsom says Trump missed a deadline to stand down on his push to redistrict in Texas. “DONALD ‘TACO’ TRUMP, AS MANY CALL HIM, ‘MISSED’ THE DEADLINE!!! CALIFORNIA WILL NOW DRAW NEW, MORE ‘BEAUTIFUL MAPS,’ THEY WILL BE HISTORIC AS THEY WILL END THE TRUMP PRESIDENCY (DEMS TAKE BACK THE HOUSE!),” Newsom wrote earlier this week in a social media post posted by his press office, which was meant to mock how Trump writes his own social media posts. “BIG PRESS CONFERENCE THIS WEEK WITH POWERFUL DEMS AND GAVIN NEWSOM — YOUR FAVORITE GOVERNOR — THAT WILL BE DEVASTATING FOR ‘MAGA.’ THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER! — GN,” he added. The Republican push in Texas, which comes at Trump’s urging, is part of a broader effort by the GOP across the country to pad their razor-thin House majority to keep control of the chamber in the 2026 midterms, when the party in power traditionally faces political headwinds and loses seats. NEWSOM DEMANDS TRUMP GIVE UP TEXAS REDISTRICTING PUSH Trump and his political team are aiming to prevent what happened during his first term in the White House, when Democrats stormed back to grab the House majority in the 2018 midterms. But while the Republican push in Texas to upend the current congressional maps doesn’t face constitutional constraints, Newsom’s path in California is much more complicated. In Texas, Republicans plan to enact the new maps they drew up once enough state Democratic lawmakers who fled the state to prevent the legislature from passing the measure return to Texas. The governor is moving to hold a special election this year, to obtain voter approval to undo the constitutional amendments that created the non-partisan redistricting commission. A two-thirds majority vote in the Democrat-dominated California legislature would be needed to hold the referendum. Democratic Party leaders are confident they’ll have the votes to push the constitutional amendment and the new proposed congressional maps through the legislature. Thursday’s news conference by Newsom, who is considered a likely contender for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, will also serve as a fundraising kickoff to raise massive amounts of campaign cash needed to sell the redistricting push statewide in California. SCHWARZENEGGER’S NEW STARING ROLE: PUSHING BACK AGAINST NEWSOM’S REDISTRICTING DRIVE The non-partisan redistricting commission, created over 15 years ago, remains popular with most Californians, according to public opinion polling. That’s why Newsom and California Democratic lawmakers are promising not to scrap the commission entirely, but rather replace it temporarily by the legislature for the next three election cycles. But their efforts are opposed by a number of coalition of figures supportive of the non-partisan commission. Among the most visible members is former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the last Republican elected governor in Democrat-dominated California. Schwarzenegger, during his tenure as governor, had a starring role in the passage of constitutional amendments in California in 2008 and 2010 that took the power to draw state legislative and congressional districts away from politicians and place it in the hands of an independent commission. “Most people don’t really think about an independent commission much, one way or another. And that’s both an opportunity and a challenge for Newsom,” Jack Pitney, an American politics professor at California’s Claremont McKenna College, told Fox News. But he added that “it’s going to take a lot of effort and money to energize Democrats and motivate them to show up at the polls” and that Newsom’s effort “is all about motivating people who don’t like Trump.”
GOP Sen. Markwayne Mullin, former MMA fighter, skips seat belts in DC over carjacking fears
Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma indicated that he does not wear a seat belt while driving in Washington, D.C., because he wouldn’t want to be “stuck” in the event of a carjacking. “And by the way, I’m not joking when I say this: I drive around in Washington D.C. in my Jeep … and I don’t buckle up,” Mullin said. He made the comments during an appearance on the Wednesday episode of Fox News Channel’s “The Ingraham Angle,” which was guest hosted by Brian Kilmeade. GOP SENATOR WARNS DEMS DELAYING TRUMP NOMINEES ‘WE CAN DO THIS THE EASY WAY OR HARD WAY’ The senator explained that the reason he does not strap in while driving in D.C. is because of the possibility of carjacking — he does not want to be “stuck” in his vehicle if he needs to swiftly exit. “And I wear my seat belt all the time, but in Washington D.C., I do not because it is so prevalent of carjacking,” he said. HARMEET DHILLON SAYS ‘MALODOROUS HOMELESS PERSON’ TRIED TO STEAL HER PHONE IN DC The lawmaker “is a former undefeated Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter with a professional record of 5-0” and “was inducted into the Oklahoma Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2016,” according to his Senate website. President Donald Trump recently moved to crackdown on crime in the city. SCHUMER GIVES PROFANITY-LACED RESPONSE TO WHETHER DEMS WILL HELP EXTEND DC POLICE TAKEOVER During a press conference on Monday, he called it “liberation day in D.C.,” declaring, “we’re gonna take our capital back.”
EXCLUSIVE: Trump-aligned legal group files FOIA request for DC crime data, citing alleged manipulation
FIRST ON FOX — A pro-Trump legal group founded by White House aide Stephen Miller filed a FOIA request Thursday seeking all crime records and data compiled by the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, as part of an effort to scrutinize information and crime statistics that senior adminis tration officials allege have been “manipulated.” The request by the America First Legal Foundation (AFL) includes demands for a wide range of documents from D.C.’s police force, including all email communications or internal guidance reflecting any changes in the department’s tracking or reporting of crimes in the city, as well as any records “reflecting the falsification or non-publication” of crime data and statistics, among other things. It is part of a broader investigation AFL launched on Thursday, just four days after President Donald Trump issued his order to temporarily federalize D.C. both by deploying hundreds of D.C. National Guard troops into the city, and temporarily taking federal control of D.C.’s police force to crack down on crime. In the FOIA request, AFL also asked for records of “all communications” related to Michael Pulliam, the D.C. police officer who was placed on administrative leave in May, after he was accused of changing crime statistics to minimize crimes. TRUMP’S EXECUTIVE ORDER ON VOTING BLOCKED BY FEDERAL JUDGES AMID FLURRY OF LEGAL SETBACKS Pulliam formerly served as a police commander for the Metropolitan Police Department’s Third District, which includes Adams Morgan and Columbia Heights. The Pulliam investigation has become something of a political lightning rod in recent days, as Trump officials have pointed to the investigation and his leave as evidence that MPD has sought to manipulate or massage crime statistics in the nation’s capital. News of the AFL probe comes as President Donald Trump and White House officials have blasted what they describe as a “ridiculous” amount of crime in D.C., and claimed repeatedly that the crime statistics in question might not be an accurate portrayal of the situation on the ground — something critics argue is simply justification for the administration to push through its executive order. White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller told NewsNation in an interview earlier this week that Washington, D.C., “is more violent than Baghdad.” “As each day passes, new horrific examples of violent crime are reported across the district,” AFL’s lead attorney, Will Scolinos, told Fox News Digital in a statement. “AFL is investigating whether, as described by recent reports, official D.C. crime statistics may have been deliberately falsified to make the city seem safer than it is.” “President Trump has stepped up to make Washington D.C. safer for all residents and visitors to the nation’s capital—but the Left is lockstep in defending D.C. as ‘safe enough.’” Scolinos added. “Americans know better.” Trump, in his August 11 executive order, declared a “crime emergency” in the nation’s capital. That order invokes Section 740 of D.C.’s Home Rule Act, saying that federal control of the Metropolitan Police Department is needed to maintain law and order in D.C to protect the nation’s capital — including federal buildings, property, and monuments— and to ensure “conditions necessary” for the orderly functioning of the federal government. TRUMP IS THREATENING TO ‘FEDERALIZE’ DC WITH NATIONAL GUARD AND MORE. HERE’S HOW THAT COULD PLAY OUT In announcing their investigation Thursday, the AFL also cited a report published Thursday morning by the Washington Free Beacon involving a D.C. settlement agreement with a former police sergeant, Charlotte Djossou, who allegedly sued MPD leaders in 2020 for “misclassifying offenses” to deflate D.C. crime statistics. That settlement was not included in AFL’s FOIA request, and Fox News Digital could not immediately confirm the details of the report, or the nature of the settlement agreement in question. Still, news of the AFL probe comes as senior Trump officials and allies of the president have seized on the Pulliam investigation as a means of calling into question the accuracy of federal crime data in D.C. The administration has sought to undermine preliminary federal statistics published in January 2025 that said violent crime in the nation’s capital had dropped to its lowest point in more than 30 years. FEDERAL JUDGES GRILL TRUMP LAWYERS OVER ‘LIBERATION DAY’ TARIFFS ON EVE OF ENFORCEMENT D.C. officials, for their part, have conceded that the drop in violent crime might be overstated (data on the MPD website now shows a 26% drop between 2023 and 2024). But they’ve pushed back on the notion that artificially deflated crime data is to blame. In an interview with NBC News earlier this week, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said that a recent review of all MPD crime data found 552 fewer victims of violent crime in the first eight months of 2025, compared to the same period in 2024. Crime is down across all seven districts, with anomalies in just one, she told NBC. “Any comparison to a war-torn country is hyperbolic and false,” she said in a televised interview Sunday. America First Legal, though not officially part of the Trump administration, was founded by longtime Trump advisor Stephen Miller after Trump’s first presidential term. Miller stepped down from AFL before rejoining the White House in 2025 as Trump’s deputy chief of staff.
DOJ charges five alleged Mexican cartel leaders, touts ‘extraordinary policework’ that led to indictments
The Department of Justice announced on Thursday it brought criminal charges against five fugitives who are allegedly senior leaders of the United Cartels, a designated foreign terrorist organization, and involved in a massive drug distribution network. DOJ Criminal Division head Matthew Galeotti said the indictments marked a “significant step” in the DOJ’s mission to eradicate the organization and came as a result of “extraordinary policework.” “This investigation began in a small town in Middle America and led to clandestine methamphetamine laboratories in Michoacán, Mexico. … This case demonstrates our relentless pursuit of cartel leaders who flood our communities with illegal drugs and terrorize citizens on both sides of the border with violence,” Galeotti said in a statement. US TREASURY SANCTIONS ‘BRUTALLY VIOLENT’ CARTEL FOR TIMESHARE FRAUD IN TOURIST HOTSPOT Senior DOJ officials detailed to reporters the law enforcement work that preceded the indictments. “The really interesting part about this case is the investigation, how it unfolded, from a local town in Tennessee all the way to an international takedown, and we wanted to give you a little bit of detail about that,” one of the officials said. The case started as a regional hit-and-run incident involving two people in Rockwood, Tennessee, the official said. Police discovered the pair were methamphetamine dealers, and through investigative work, they were led to a vast narcotics distribution network in the Atlanta area, the official said. After a series of actions, including conducting surveillance outside a hotel, engaging in a high-speed shootout and executing search warrants in Georgia, they eventually discovered what totaled 950 kilograms of methamphetamine. MEXICO TO EXTRADITE 26 TOP CARTEL LEADERS TO US IN TRUMP ADMINISTRATION DEAL Phones seized during that operation allowed investigators to make the connection to Michoacan. “The key thing about this case is it actually quite well demonstrates the perils of what’s going on and these high-level narco-terrorists abroad and the impacts that it has on our local communities and in our streets,” the official said. The shootout involved a man named Cody Seals, who was sentenced last year to 30 years in prison for conspiring to distribute illicit drugs and attempting to murder two Tennessee Highway Patrol troopers. One of the troopers was wounded in the leg, while Seals was shot in the head and survived. Police discovered more than one kilogram of methamphetamine in Seals’ vehicle. The Trump administration took a whole-of-government approach to addressing the United Cartels, the senior officials told reporters. In addition to the indictments unveiled on Thursday, the Treasury Department announced economic sanctions against several of its alleged leaders and the State Department announced $26 million in rewards for information leading to the arrests of the five defendants, who remain at-large. Those facing charges are Juan Jose Farias Alvarez, Alfonso Fernandez Magallon, Luis Enrique Barragan Chavez, Edgar Orozco Cabadas and Nicolas Sierra Santana. The five men have allegedly been involved in a decades-long conspiracy to manufacture and distribute methamphetamine, cocaine and fentanyl, including into the United States. They face drug trafficking and firearms charges that carry maximum penalties of life in prison. “Today’s charges are designed to dismantle the United Cartels and bring their leaders to justice for unleashing death and destruction on American citizens,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said.
Hunter Biden delivers profanity-laced response to Melania Trump’s $1B notice for ‘defamatory’ Epstein remarks
Hunter Biden, in another profanity-laced interview, brushed off first lady Melania Trump’s recent $1 billion legal notice over what she claims are “false, defamatory, disparaging and inflammatory statements.” “F— that. That’s not gonna happen,” Biden said during an interview with “Channel 5” podcaster Andrew Callaghan that was published to YouTube Thursday. Callaghan had offered Biden the opportunity to apologize to the first lady for a previous video interview titled “Hunter Biden Returns” earlier in August, when the former first son claimed “Epstein introduced Melania to Trump. The connections are, like, so wide and deep.” “Mrs. Trump is seeking $1 billion in damages if we don’t take the video down, and if Hunter here doesn’t issue a formal apology to Mrs. Trump,” Callaghan told Biden, before the former first son brushed off the notice. “So now we’re here maybe to give you the platform to apologize to the first lady for your statements that you made about her possible connection to Jeffrey Epstein.” FIRST LADY MELANIA TRUMP PUTS HUNTER BIDEN ON $1B NOTICE OVER ‘FALSE, DEFAMATORY’ EPSTEIN COMMENTS Biden doubled down in his most recent interview, and welcomed sitting down at a deposition over the matter. “I also think they’re bullies, and they think that a billion dollars is going to scare me,” he said. “I have this to say to them: if they want to sit down for a deposition and clarify the nature of the relationship between Jeffrey Epstein – if the president, the first lady, want to do that, and all of the known associates around them at the time of whatever time that they met – I’m more than happy to provide them the platform to be able to do it.” Fox News Digital exclusively obtained the letter that Alejandro Brito, an attorney serving as litigation counsel for the first lady, sent to Biden and his attorney, Abbe Lowell, Aug. 6. MELANIA TRUMP POSTS VICTORY X POST AFTER JAMES CARVILLE REMOVES PODCAST ALLEGING ‘EPSTEIN CONNECTION’ Brito demanded that Biden “immediately retract the false, defamatory, disparaging and inflammatory statements made about Mrs. Trump,” which were contained in the “Channel 5” video published to YouTube in early August. “Failure to comply will leave Mrs. Trump with no choice but to pursue any and all legal rights and remedies available to her to recover the overwhelming financial and reputational harm that you have caused her to suffer,” Brito wrote. Biden had also claimed in the earlier interview that “Jeffrey Epstein introduced Melania, and that’s how Melania and the first lady and the President met.” TRUMP REVEALS MELANIA’S KEY ROLE IN DEALING WITH PUTIN ON UKRAINE WAR “These false, disparaging, defamatory and inflammatory statements are extremely salacious and have been widely disseminated throughout various digital mediums,” Brito wrote. “Indeed, the video has since been re-published by various media outlets, journalists, and political commentators with millions of social media followers that have disseminated the false and defamatory statements therein to tens of millions of people worldwide.” Brito added: “Consequently, you have caused Mrs. Trump to suffer overwhelming financial and reputational harm.” Brito demanded, on behalf of the first lady, that Biden “immediately issue a full and fair retraction of the video and any and all other false, defamatory, disparaging, misleading and inflammatory statements about Mrs. Trump in as conspicuous a manner as they were originally published.” He also demanded, on behalf of the first lady, that Biden “immediately issue an apology for the false, defamatory, disparaging, misleading and inflammatory statements about Mrs. Trump.” Fox News Digital reached out to Biden attorney Lowell’s office for any additional comment on the matter, but did not immediately receive a reply.
Israeli attacks on Gaza kill 23 people as four more die from malnutrition
At least 23 people, including 10 seeking aid, have been killed on Thursday in Israeli attacks across Gaza, according to Palestinian health authorities, as four more people died from malnutrition amid a growing starvation crisis in the besieged territory. Hospital sources told Al Jazeera that 10 people seeking aid were among 12 people killed by Israeli forces near Rafah in southern Gaza. One person was killed and several others were wounded in an Israeli attack near an aid distribution site, the sources said. Eight people were killed in an Israeli air strike on a residential home in Gaza City in northern Gaza, medical sources said. Two other people were killed in an Israeli attack on the city’s Tuffah neighbourhood, hospital sources told Al Jazeera. The killings come as Israel escalates its attacks on Gaza City, the largest city in the enclave, after the country’s security cabinet approved plans for the military to seize the city, an operation that could forcibly displace hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to concentration zones in southern Gaza. The plan has received international condemnation from the United Nations and even dissent from within Israel’s own military. Al Jazeera correspondents reported on Thursday that large swaths of northern Gaza have been turned into “lifeless wastelands” amid the Israeli escalation. Palestinians in Gaza City have spoken of their fears of further displacement, following an Israeli forced evacuation order to areas further south, ahead of the proposed occupation. Advertisement Walaa Sobh said she had already been displaced during the war from the northern city of Beit Lahiya to Gaza City, and was unable to move again. “We’re afraid to move anywhere else, because we have nowhere to go, no income – and I am a widow,” she told Al Jazeera. “If they want to force us out, then at least find us a place, give us tents, especially for the widows, the children, and the sick. You’re not only displacing one or two people; you’re displacing millions who have nowhere to stay.” Another woman, Umm Sajed Hamdan, said she would refuse to follow the order. “I am a mother of five and the wife of a detainee. I cannot escape with my children from one place to another,” Hamdan told Al Jazeera. “I would rather face death here in Gaza City than go to al-Mawasi.” Al Jazeera’s senior political analyst Marwan Bishara said Israel’s plans to occupy Gaza City are a serious cause for concern. “It’s a terrible escalation, really,” said Bishara. “[Netanyahu] really intends to reoccupy Gaza … send the military in and just take it on again.” Truce talks As Israel continues to escalate attacks on Gaza City, Mossad spy chief David Barnea is visiting Qatar in an effort to revive talks over a Gaza ceasefire, two Israeli officials told the Reuters news agency on Thursday. The visit follows a reported expression of positivity from Hamas officials to restart ceasefire negotiations during a meeting with Egypt’s intelligence chief in Cairo earlier this week. Earlier on Thursday, Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel said that a non-Israeli, peaceful civilian administration for Gaza was among the Israeli government’s five key principles for ending the war. The other principles include the release of captives still held in Gaza, the surrender of weapons by Hamas, the full demilitarisation of Gaza, and Israel retaining overriding security control, he said. Aid still ‘a drop in the ocean’ Meanwhile, more than 100 aid groups on Thursday accused Israel of obstructing life-saving aid from entering Gaza, resulting in vast quantities of relief supplies remaining stranded in warehouses across Jordan and Egypt as more Palestinians starve. “Despite claims by Israeli authorities that there is no limit on humanitarian aid entering Gaza, most major international NGOs [nongovernmental organisations] have been unable to deliver a single truck of life-saving supplies since 2 March,” the groups said. There is aid sitting all around the boundary between Israel and Gaza that is not being allowed in, Natasha Davies, a nursing activity manager with Doctors Without Borders (MSF), told Al Jazeera. Advertisement “We’ve had a couple of trucks in [to Gaza], but really, it’s just a drop in the ocean … We run primarily a trauma surgical hospital, so every single patient has a wound of some sort that needs fixing with supplies that we are intermittently receiving,” Davies said by videolink from Gaza’s southern city of Khan Younis. “It’s just a humanitarian catastrophe. There are these GHF sites, which are slaughter masquerading as aid, which create mass casualty incidents, which create more injuries for us to treat with limited resources,” she said. The total number of aid seekers killed since May 27, when Israel introduced a new aid distribution mechanism through the US-based GHF, has reached 1,881, with more than 13,863 injured, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The total count of hunger-related deaths is now 239, including 106 children, the ministry records. Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 61,776 people and wounded 154,906. An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the October 7, 2023, attacks, and more than 200 were taken captive. Adblock test (Why?)
The day Israeli settlers lynched two young men in the West Bank
Rizik ran on. Next to him was a young man who spoke to Al Jazeera later, requesting anonymity for his safety. He said Rizik fell while jumping over a stone wall, hurting his legs, but that when they saw two boys who needed help, Rizik joined the young man in carrying them to safety. But then Rizik and his friend found themselves surrounded by settlers. They ran, but just as he dove for cover in the bushes, the friend saw a settler shoot Rizik in the chest. “The settlers started shouting: ‘Yes! I got you!’” he recalled, describing how several settlers gathered around Rizik as he lay on the ground. At about the time of the shooting, Rizik had called his family, but the family told others the call lasted only seconds, with no response from Rizik, although they heard shouts in Hebrew in the background. Rizik’s friend ran for his life down the side of the mountain, heading east. At 3:18pm, he sent a panicked voice message to local WhatsApp groups, begging for help: “Someone’s been martyred!” he beseeched. [Audio]: Witness to Muhammad Rizik al-Shalabi’s shooting, believing he’s been killed and sending a voice message calling for help. Later reconstructions estimated that Rizik may have still been alive at the time, but he was dead by the time search parties were able to access the area to look for him. Meanwhile, Saif and others were running for their lives further south, headed towards Ain al-Sarara. As family members confirmed to Al Jazeera, one of those young men was caught along the way and tied up by a gang of about nine settlers. Witnesses say the settlers repeatedly smashed the young man in the knee with their weapons, then dragged him, tied up, into a car and shot bullets all around him. Then they threw him to the ground over and over, until the young man was begging them to kill him. “They said: ‘I’m not going to kill you,’” a friend recalled on TikTok. “‘I’m going to chop off your arms and your legs and throw you on the side of the road like a dog.’” According to Sinjil activist Ayed Ghafari, among the settlers was Yahariv Mangory, reportedly the leader of the outpost builders in al-Baten, who was carrying an M16 rifle. Mangory later identified himself in an interview with Israel’s Channel 14 as the “owner” of the al-Baten outposts. Saif and the others had managed to go up a hill, but at about 3:30pm, they were met by a group of settlers coming downhill and attacked them from above, according to Ghafari, who spoke with the young men. The settlers were pelting the young men with rocks, with occasional bullets zooming past them as they made their way down the hill. A settler hit Saif square in the back with a rock, toppling him. He was instantly surrounded by a group of settlers who beat him with clubs and sticks all over, according to witnesses. Dazed, Saif staggered to his feet after the settlers stopped beating him, heading south down the hill until he came across a big oak tree where a young Palestinian man was hiding. Battered, he sank to the ground there for the next two and a half hours as the young man tried to reach out to people from Mazraa, asking for help. Saif was vomiting and struggling to breathe, his condition worsening by the minute. That was when Muhammad caught word that his big brother was in trouble. (Al Jazeera) Adblock test (Why?)