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Year: 2025

Russian oligarch’s $325M seized superyacht heads to auction as Trump–Putin summit nears

Russian oligarch’s 5M seized superyacht heads to auction as Trump–Putin summit nears

A $325 million superyacht seized by the U.S. from a sanctioned Russian oligarch—part of Washington’s effort to punish Moscow’s elite over the invasion of Ukraine—is headed to auction, marking the first sale of its kind since the war began. The auction of Amadea, once owned by Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov, comes as President Donald Trump heads to Alaska this week to negotiate an end to the Kremlin’s three-and-a-half-year war. The government argued in a legal filing last year for selling the yacht, citing monthly maintenance costs of approximately $600,000 plus a $143,750 insurance premium. The stunning 348-foot-long yacht features eight state rooms, a beauty salon and spa, a gym, a helipad, a swimming pool, hot tub, fire pit, and two elevators.  Built in 2017 by the famed German shipyard Lürssen, the yacht boasts interiors by legendary designer Francois Zuretti, offering opulent spaces adorned with extensive marble work. RUSSIA MAY GAIN UKRAINE’S FERTILE, RESOURCE-RICH TERRITORY AS TRUMP PROPOSES LAND SWAP The six-deck yacht is designed to accommodate 16 guests and 36 crew – and the lower deck is entirely reserved for the owner’s personal use. The owner’s deck includes a lounge area with a grand piano, bar and fireplace, a separate living room and office.  This deck also features a beauty center, a dressing room with several closets and an island. The owner’s bathroom has his and her toilets and separate vanities. The owner’s stateroom has several seating areas, a television and opens up to a deck with a Jacuzzi hot tub. Amadea also comes with its own spa that includes a sauna, a Turkish-style steam room, a chromotherapy plunge pool that utilizes colored LED lighting to influence mood, as well as a dedicated massage room. The yacht also has a cinema that features plush seating that moves and vibrates in sync with the action on screen. Guests aboard the Amadea can also enjoy the 33-foot infinity swimming pool and swim-up bar. Interested bidders must first put down a 10 million euro deposit, which is roughly $11.6 million, to be considered. The auction is slated to close on Sept. 10. In the days following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Biden administration launched a new task force, dubbed KleptoCapture, to enforce sprawling sanctions on Russian elites accused of bankrolling Putin’s war. Under KleptoCapture, U.S. authorities undertook the gargantuan task of tracking high-value assets around the globe belonging to sanctioned Russians with ties to the Kremlin.  After investigators unraveled the Amadea’s opaque ownership, the $325 million superyacht entered U.S. crosshairs and was seized in Lautoka, Fiji, in 2022. U.S. authorities claimed Amadea belonged to Kerimov, a Russian billionaire sanctioned by the U.S. in 2018. At the time, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control described Kerimov as an oligarch who profited from Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea. National Maritime Services, a Florida-based company that specializes in seized vessels, took custody of Amadea in 2022. The yacht is currently docked in the Port of San Diego, where it has accrued $1.1 million in fuel, security, and other fees since arriving in June 2022.  A U.S. Marshals Service spokesperson said that following Amadea’s sale, the agency’s Asset Forfeiture Division will disperse the funds to various areas.  “Some of the areas the money goes to are victim compensation, program expenses, and other agency expenses,” the spokesperson said, declining to elaborate on specifics. 

‘Not a politician’: Father of young cancer survivor DJ Daniel runs for Texas 18th district seat

‘Not a politician’: Father of young cancer survivor DJ Daniel runs for Texas 18th district seat

FIRST ON FOX: When Devarjay “DJ” Daniel was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of cancer, his father, Theodis Daniel, said he found the courage to fight for his son.  Now, speaking first to Fox News Digital, Daniel said he’s ready to fight for Texas’ 18th congressional district.  Daniel joins a crowded field of candidates from across the political spectrum, but the father and veteran said his campaign is unlike the others.  “I’m a regular guy. I am not a politician,” Daniel said. “I don’t have six-figure deals. I’m just a regular dude trying to make it. Single dad. I got three kids to myself. I’m a disabled veteran just trying to make a difference regardless of what I’m going through.” SCOOP: REPUBLICAN LAUNCHES HOUSE BID IN KEY SWING DISTRICT GOP AIMS TO FLIP IN 2026 MIDTERMS And ultimately, Daniel explained, he is going to “get up every day and get out there and make it happen” for the people of Texas’ 18th congressional district.  JOE ROGAN URGES PROGRESSIVE TEXAS DEMOCRAT TO RUN FOR PRESIDENT, CALLING HIM A ‘GOOD PERSON’ “I don’t call myself a politician,” Daniel said. “I’m a public servant first, because my duty is to the people.” The Republican candidate said he is running “for those who struggle,” explaining that his campaign priorities – supporting law enforcement, safety, healthcare and education – aren’t just abstract ideas but “battles my family and I face every day.” Daniel’s 13-year-old son, DJ, was named an honorary U.S. Secret Service agent during President Donald Trump’s joint address to Congress earlier this year. Daniel proudly raised his son up over his shoulder as politicians jumped to their feet for a standing ovation. The moment catapulted Daniel into the national conversation, and the 13-year-old was invited to visit Trump at the White House the following day.  “Joining us in the gallery tonight is a young man who truly loves our police. His name is DJ Daniel, he is 13 years old, and he has always dreamed of becoming a police officer,” Trump said.  “Tonight, DJ, we’re going to do you the biggest honor of them all. I am asking our new Secret Service director, Sean Curran, to officially make you an agent of the United States Secret Service,” Trump continued.  Daniel has now been sworn in at more than 1,300 law enforcement agencies across the country, the White House confirmed in May.  “DJ initially had five months to live, and we’ve beaten that,” Daniel shared with Fox News Digital.  The veteran said he has learned resilience in the face of adversity.  “I want to run because I feel like everything that my son and I have been doing for the last six years or so, we have brought joy to people’s lives and gave them hope, which I didn’t think it was going to turn into nothing like this, but it feels good,” Daniel said.  Daniel said the constituents of Texas’ 18th congressional district have been “duped,” and they are ready for real progress.  He also committed to a term-limit if he’s elected to Congress this November, explaining that many elected officials lose sight of their mission and get too comfortable in office.  “Sometimes, when you marinate meat, you kind of ruin it. Some people just wear out their welcome. It’s like somebody coming to your house, wanting to stay for a little bit, and they stay there for two or three days,” Daniel said.  “Well, these folks got comfortable. When people get comfortable, they get lazy. When they get lazy, they get forgetful and disrespectful,” Daniel added.  Texas is holding a special election on Nov. 4 to replace the late Rep. Sylvester Turner, who succeeded the late Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee.  Lee represented Texas’ 18th congressional district for nearly three decades before her death in July 2024. Turner also died in March 2025, leading to the current special election. Texas’ 18th congressional district represents parts of northern and eastern Houston, including downtown, as well as the nearby city of Humble and Harris County.

Meet the former Soros foundation exec connecting Obama world with Mamdani campaign

Meet the former Soros foundation exec connecting Obama world with Mamdani campaign

A former top executive for liberal billionaire George Soros’ Open Society Foundations (OSF) between 2017 and 2020 is back in the spotlight amid reports highlighting his involvement with Zohran Mamdani’s New York City mayoral campaign and connecting Obama world to the campaign. Patrick Gaspard, who has served in several high-profile political positions, including advising former President Barack Obama’s historic 2008 campaign, serving as the Democratic National Committee’s executive director, and being tapped as the Center for American Progress (CAP) president in 2021, has been informally advising Mamdani on the side and recently introduced Obama campaign architect David Axelrod to him, a recent New York Times article revealed. A New York Times opinion piece that was published on Wednesday explained how Obama world operatives were starting to coalesce around Mamdani and have been in communication with his campaign behind the scenes. Obama reportedly called Mamdani after his Democratic primary victory in June, offering advice about the importance of governing and giving constituents optimism in dark times. Gaspard, who was reportedly at Mamdani’s victory party in late June, has played a growing role advising Mamdani and accompanying him to meetings, the piece noted. He also introduced Axelrod to Mamdani last month when the former Obama advisor visited the campaign headquarters in Manhattan. MAMDANI PREACHES FROM PULPIT OF RADICAL PASTOR PUSHING REPARATIONS, ABOLISHING POLICE: ‘BROTHER AND FRIEND’ “What I found when I went over to that office was a familiar spirit that I hadn’t seen in a while of just determined, upbeat idealism,” Axelrod told the Times. “You may not agree with every answer he’s giving, or every idea he has, but he’s certainly asking the right questions, which is how do we make the country work for working people?” Earlier this year, Fox News Digital reported that the Mamdani campaign has been dishing out millions to a media strategist with ties to the Obama world through Axelrod and David Plouffe.  The piece also noted how former Obama speechwriter Jon Favreau and former Obama advisor Dan Pfeiffer, who are often referred to as the “Obama bros” of the “Pod Save America” podcast, were in contact with a top Mamdani advisor and have been keeping close tabs on the race. While Obama world’s influence could play a major role over the next couple of months ahead of the general election, Gaspard’s past ties to the Soros foundations could help Mamdani tap into wealthy donors who support his agenda. Gaspard, who made millions of dollars serving as the OSF president between 2017 and 2020, has been a staunch defender of Soros, saying earlier this year that he was “inspired by the selection of my friend George Soros, who is one of our leading defenders of inclusive and accountable democracy and vibrant civil society,” after then-President Joe Biden announced he would receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom. “His accomplishments, in the face of distortions and threats from extremists, will be lauded well into the future,” he continued. In a long 2023 X thread, Gaspard also attempted to deflect blame away from Soros amid reports that Soros and his network were pouring millions of dollars into the campaign coffers of radical DAs and far-left groups that emphasized social justice programs and gave lenient sentences to violent criminals. “George Soros is as concerned about public safety as anyone else. But he recognizes that our criminal justice system is badly broken, and in need of new ideas and new approaches – a view that enjoyed bipartisan consensus in the before times,” Gaspard claimed. MAMDANI’S FATHER SITS ON COUNCIL OF ANTI-ISRAEL GROUP TIED TO TERROR, LEGITIMIZES ROLE OF SUICIDE BOMBERS “It is also important to note that in Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and all over the country voters keep electing and re-electing reformers,” he continued. “To suggest that the reason they are doing so is because of Soros contributions is an insult to ordinary people.” The Mamdani campaign has already benefited from several far-left groups who have received tens of millions of dollars in funding from OSF over the years, including the democratic socialist-friendly Working Families Party, which has received over $23 million from OSF, the New York Post reported last month.  The report went on to say that Gaspard has played a “key role” in guiding Mamdani through the campaign and listed several of the groups that are aligned with or have endorsed Mamdani, which include Jewish Voice for Peace Action, Make The Road Action and Community Voices Heard. Jewish Voice for Peace Action has established itself as one of the most prominent groups in the country speaking out against Israel and Fox News Digital previously reported that the group was active at college campuses in 2024 backing anti-Israel protests.  Influence Watch describes the group as “a left-wing, nominally Jewish group that opposes U.S. assistance to the state of Israel and supports allowing Palestinians to live on land within Israel vacated by Arabs during the Israeli War of Independence.” The Center for American Progress, Fox News Digital previously reported, played a significant role in staffing and policymaking in the Biden administration, with at least 70 CAP employees leaving the group to fill key posts within the administration. Fox News Digital reached out to the Mamdani campaign and Gaspard for comment.

Supreme Court has ‘good chance’ of hearing Kim Davis’ case urging same-sex marriage be overturned: lawyer

Supreme Court has ‘good chance’ of hearing Kim Davis’ case urging same-sex marriage be overturned: lawyer

The former Kentucky county clerk who was jailed 10 years ago for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples is now asking the Supreme Court to review its landmark decision that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, with her attorney telling Fox News Digital there’s a “good chance” it will end up on their docket.  Kim Davis, a devout Christian, made national headlines in 2015 when she refused to sign the marriage licenses of same-sex couples over her religious belief that marriage is between one man and one woman. Davis’ lawyer, Mat Staver, is helping her appeal a ruling that she must pay $360,000 in legal fees and expenses to plaintiffs David Ermold and David Moore.  “The First Amendment should be an absolute defense to Kim Davis. And secondly, we’re asking the Supreme Court to overturn Obergefell, the 2015 decision that ultimately caused this problem in the first place,” Staver told Fox News Digital.  “For them not to review the matter I think is terrible for Kim Davis and also terrible for the country because they’ve damaged the Constitution and only the court can fix it,” Staver added.  DECADE AFTER LANDMARK RULING, REPUBLICAN SUPPORT FOR SAME-SEX MARRIAGE CRATERS  Staver also told Fox News Digital, “I think we have a good chance at having the Supreme Court take up this case because you have three of the justices still on the bench that were part of the four dissenters in 2015” in Obergefell v. Hodges, “including the chief justice, who gave a very strong dissent.”  “There’s only two justices still on the bench that were on the bench in the majority in 2015, and that would be Kagan and Sotomayor,” Staver added. “This is the case with the most compelling facts that can challenge and overturn Obergefell.”  The case, if it reaches the Supreme Court, would be heard by Justices Clarence Thomas, John Roberts and Samuel Alito, who dissented to Obergefell v. Hodges; Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagen, who affirmed the decision; and four newly appointed justices.  In March, a three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit wrote in a ruling that “As Davis sees it, issuing Plaintiffs a marriage license would have violated her own constitutionally protected religious beliefs; thus, she asserts, she cannot be held liable. We disagree.”  “Davis cannot raise a Free Exercise Clause defense because she is being held liable for state action, which the First Amendment does not protect,” the ruling added.  REVISITING JUSTICE SCALIA’S SAME-SEX MARRIAGE DISSENT: PROPHETIC OR INFLAMMATORY?  A petition for writ of certiorari filed last month on behalf of Davis is appealing that decision.  “Obergefell was wrong when it was decided and it is wrong today because it was grounded entirely on the legal fiction of substantive due process,” the filing said.  “Overturning Obergefell would not undo any marriage licenses in effect at the time. All marriage licenses, including those between same-sex couples, would continue to be recognized. They would be ‘grandfathered.’ Going forward, marriage would return to the states as it was prior to Obergefell. It would be up to each state to define marriage,” it added.  William Powell, an attorney representing Ermold and Moore, and a Senior Counsel with the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection, told Fox News Digital that “We are confident the Supreme Court, like the court of appeals, will conclude that Davis’s arguments do not merit further attention.   “Marriage equality is settled law,” he added.  Fox News Digital’s Maria Lencki contributed to this report. 

Democratic governor declares state of emergency in crime-ridden county

Democratic governor declares state of emergency in crime-ridden county

Just two days after President Donald Trump seized control of Washington, D.C.’s police force to combat violent crime in the Democrat-run capital, New Mexico’s Democratic governor on Wednesday declared a state of emergency over rampant violence and drug trafficking in a large swath of her state. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced the sweeping emergency declaration in crime-ridden Rio Arriba County, which includes two Native American Pueblo communities. The county, which stretches from the city of Española to the Colorado state line, has long struggled with some of the nation’s highest opioid overdose death rates. Grisham said local leaders have pleaded for assistance in tackling the crises and that public safety threats have “overwhelmed local resources.” NATIONAL GUARD DEPLOYED TO BLUE CITY OVERRUN WITH JUVENILE CRIME, FENTANYL IS ‘NOT ENOUGH,’ STATE GOP SAYS “When our local leaders called for help to protect their communities, we responded immediately with decisive action,” Grisham said in a statement. “We are making every resource available to support our local partners on the ground and restore public safety and stability to these areas that have been hardest hit by this crisis.”  The emergency declaration makes $750,000 available to the Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management to coordinate response efforts and to provide resources to the communities impacted. Grisham said a surge in criminal activity has contributed to increased homelessness, family instability and fatal drug overdoses, placing extraordinary strain on local governments and police departments that have requested immediate state assistance. She said police calls in Española and surrounding areas have more than doubled in the past two years. Police dispatches to businesses in the area have quadrupled in the same period.  Rio Arriba County currently has the highest overdose death rate in the state, with residents struggling with addiction to fentanyl and other illicit substances. THREE STATES SIGN NEW AGREEMENTS WITH ICE FOR EXPANDED IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT OPERATIONS There were no immediate calls for troop deployments in the county, though the new emergency declaration allows for authorities to call up the National Guard. Emergency funds will help local law enforcement agencies spend on overtime, equipment and coordinated police responses, a Grisham spokesperson said.  The tribal governor of Santa Clara Pueblo on the edge of Española urged the state to address a growing public safety crisis stemming from the use and abuse of fentanyl and alcohol in the community at large.  “The Pueblo has expended thousands of dollars trying to address this crisis… and to protect Pueblo children who are directly and negatively affected by a parent’s or guardian’s addiction,” said Santa Clara Gov. James Naranjo in a July letter to Lujan Grisham. “But we are not an isolated community and the causes and effects of fentanyl/alcohol abuse, increased crime and increased homelessness extend to the wider community.” Grisham’s emergency declaration comes after she sent the National Guard to Albuquerque in April to address a spike in juvenile crime and fentanyl. The National Guard were tasked with scene security and traffic control, prisoner transport assistance and other roles that don’t involve arrests in order to free up Albuquerque Police Department resources. Wednesday’s state of emergency was welcomed by New Mexico Republicans, including Española City Councilor Sam LeDoux. “I am pleased that the governor is addressing the out-of-control crime in our community,” LeDoux said. It has long been overrun and not addressed. Fentanyl has overwhelmed our law enforcement, and this seems to be a step in the right direction to protecting our citizens.” New Mexico Republican Party Chairwoman Amy Barela also welcomed the announcement but urged the governor to ensure the deployment results in real change. “This community is long overdue in receiving help to combat the out-of-control crime caused by the failed policies of our state leadership,” Barela said in a statement.  “While I hope the deployment of the National Guard will provide real assistance, the people of Española deserve more than just street counselors — they deserve action that addresses the root of the problem.” “Thanks to President Trump’s America First policies and his decisive action to secure the border, we have already begun to see crime rates decrease nationally. Now, it’s time to put New Mexicans first by ensuring those who commit crimes are caught and held accountable.” The Associated Press contributed to this report.