Top Paxton deputy accused of witness tampering during impeachment trial
In dueling lawsuits, current and former employees of the attorney general’s office sling allegations that threaten to intrude on Paxton’s U.S. Senate bid.
Texas A&M, university systems in other red states will create their own agency to review schools’ quality standards
The creation of the new accrediting agency comes as Republicans have criticized existing ones for reinforcing a liberal bias in the country’s higher ed institutions.
U.S. Supreme Court rules in favor of Texas death row inmate pushing for DNA evidence tests
Ruben Gutierrez is challenging the constitutionality of a state law that restricts death row inmates from seeking tests that he says will prove he’s not a murderer.
Christian parents sue to stop Ten Commandments requirement in Texas schools
The lawsuit contests a state law that requires the biblical directives be displayed in classrooms, saying it violates First Amendment and parental rights.
Trump administration expands military’s role at the border to the southern tip of Texas
The newly annexed 250-mile stretch at the border spans two counties and runs alongside cities including Brownsville and McAllen.
Cuomo staying in NYC mayor’s race for now, following stunning setback to Mamdani in primary: Sources
Andrew Cuomo is not dropping out of the race for New York City mayor. Cuomo, the former three-term New York State governor who resigned from office in 2021 amid multiple scandals, has decided, for now, to move ahead and run in the general election as an independent candidate, two sources confirmed to Fox News on Thursday night. The announcement by Cuomo came two days after progressive upstart Zohran Mamdani shocked the political world, as he topped Cuomo and the rest of the 11-candidate field in heavily blue New York City’s Democratic Party mayoral primary and took a big step toward becoming the first Muslim mayor of the nation’s most populous city. Mamdani, a 33-year-old democratic socialist state assemblyman from Queens who originally hailed from Uganda, captured 43.5% of the first round unofficial primary results, with Cuomo at 36.4%. REPUBLICANS USE MAMDANI BOMBSHELL VICTORY OVER CUOMO AS AMMUNITION TO BLAST DEMOCRATS AS EXTREMISTS While he acknowledged Mamdani’s victory in the primary, Cuomo left the door open to a November run as an independent candidate, which election rules in New York State permit. “I want to look at all the numbers as they come in and analyze the rank choice voting. I will then consult with my colleagues on what is the best path for me to help the City of New York, as I have already qualified to run for mayor on an independent line in November,” Cuomo said in a statement earlier this week. Cuomo was facing an end-of-the-day Friday deadline for candidates who had already qualified to run as independents to decline that independent ballot line. The former governor will keep his place that he already secured earlier this year on the “Fight & Deliver” ballot line. But the sources said that Cuomo had not committed yet to running an active general election campaign through the summer and into the autumn. If Cuomo drops out of the race at a later date, his name will stay on the general election ballot. Once a longshot in the race, Mamdani closed the gap with Cuomo during the final stretch of the primary race thanks to an energetic campaign that focused in part on New York City’s high cost of living. Endorsements by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the progressive rock star and New York City’s most prominent leader on the left, and by Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, the progressive champion and two-time Democratic presidential nominee runner-up, helped Mamdani consolidate much of New York City’s Democratic Party base WHAT MAMDANI’S STUNNING PRIMARY VICTORY MEANS FOR DEMOCRATS NATIONWIDE And Mamdani rode a wave of support from younger and first-time voters to catapult himself into first place. “I will be the mayor for every New Yorker,” Mamdani said in his victory speech. “Whether you voted for me, or for Governor Cuomo, or felt too disillusioned by a long broken political system to vote at all, I will fight for a city that works for you, that is affordable for you, that is safe for you.” Since none of the candidates topped 50%, counting technically now heads into rounds of ranked-choice elimination. But the combined totals of votes Mamdani and other aligned progressive candidates won are likely to be more than enough to topple Cuomo as the ranked-choice tabulations begin on July 1. Cuomo, seeing the writing on the wall, admitted defeat and complimented Mamdani as the initial primary results poured in on Tuesday, telling supporters that “tonight is his night. He deserved it. He won.” But Cuomo, in an interview on Wednesday with CBS New York, noted that “in the general election, more people come out to vote. It’s a broader pool, if you will, of New Yorkers, more representative pool of New Yorkers.” “There are about 5 million voters in New York City, there are about 8 million people in New York City, and about 1 million people vote in the Democratic primary. So it’s not, necessarily, representative of the city at large,” the former governor said. And a poll from a consulting and lobbying group that was aligned with an outside group supporting Cuomo released a poll on Thursday that suggested Mamdani and Cuomo tied in a possible general election matchup, with incumbent Mayor Eric Adams – a Democrat who’s running for re-election as an independent – and Republican mayoral nominee Curtis Sliwa far behind. Sliwa, the founder of the volunteer crime-fighting patrols known as the Guardian Angels, is the GOP nominee for a second straight election cycle. Also running this November as an independent is former federal prosecutor Jim Walden. Asked if Cuomo should drop out of the race, Mamdani said Thursday in an interview with Fox News affiliate WNYW in New York that “I think there’s room for everyone because, ultimately, we’re going to win it.” The 67-year-old Cuomo has spent the past four years fighting to clear his name after 11 sexual harassment accusations, which he has repeatedly denied, forced his resignation. He was also under investigation at the time for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic amid allegations his administration vastly understated COVID-related deaths at state nursing homes. Last month, the Justice Department opened a criminal investigation into Cuomo after Republicans accused him of lying to Congress about the decisions he made as governor during the coronavirus pandemic. Cuomo, thanks to his name recognition, was the front-runner in the polls even before he announced his candidacy earlier this year. But he ran a safe campaign that relied on union support, and he shied away from often engaging with local or national media. Mamdani, meanwhile, made smart use of social media platforms, including TikTok, as he engaged the primary electorate. He proposed eliminating fares to ride New York City’s vast bus system, making CUNY (City University of New York) “tuition-free,” freezing rents on municipal housing, offering “free childcare” for children up to age five, and setting up government-run grocery stores. Adams, in formally launching his campaign on Thursday on the steps of City Hall, said “this is a city
Trump spotlights parents who have lost kids due to open borders during ‘big, beautiful bill’ event
President Donald Trump was joined by relatives of those killed at the hands of illegal immigrants during an event at the White House urging Congress to pass the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The president said the legislation will ensure “no more families are victimized” by illegal immigrants and open border policies. During the event Thursday in the East Room, Trump described what families have had to go through as a result of the previous administration’s open border policies as “sick,” adding just thinking about it makes people want to cry. He pointed out that the GOP spending package, which still must be approved by Republicans in the Senate, would include provisions Trump described as “the single most important piece of border legislation ever to cross the floor of Congress.” At one point, Trump turned to Joe Abraham, an angel dad who lost his daughter Katie after an illegal immigrant rear-ended her stopped car at a traffic light while traveling 60 to 70 mph. SEN. CHUCK GRASSLEY: HOW SENATE REPUBLICANS ARE RESTORING RULE OF LAW AND SECURING BORDER FOR YEARS TO COME “We will end this invasion once and for all. And we’re always going to remember the memory of Katie, that beautiful, beautiful 20-year-old daughter of yours,” Trump said, before her father walked over to the president, shook his hand and provided Trump a picture of his daughter that the president held up for the audience. Trump then highlighted a mother from Texas, Sarah Stuart, who the president said lost her brother to the ongoing fentanyl epidemic created by the United States’ porous border policies. “Our bill provides billions and billions of dollars to stop fentanyl and other illicit narcotics,” Trump said. “We’re also charging other countries like Mexico, Canada and China billions of dollars in taxes that we put on because they’ve allowed people that are selling fentanyl to go through their countries. Or, in the case of China, they send it here.” On Thursday, shortly before Trump’s “big, beautiful event” at the White House, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced new visa restrictions for the families of fentanyl traffickers. SEN. ROGER MARSHALL: TRUMP’S ONE BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL WILL KEEP OUR BORDER THE MOST SECURE IT’S BEEN IN HISTORY “I get irritated. I get pissed off because I’m sick of meeting angel moms and dads,” Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, said at the event. “You want to talk about family separation? They bury their children.” Last month, a letter from more than 60 angel moms, dads and relatives was sent to members of Congress, urging them to pass Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.” In addition to hiring more border patrol agents and providing more funding for the border wall, the legislation would allow the addition of extra detention centers for detained migrants, increased scrutiny of unaccompanied minors’ potential gang ties and speed up deportations to at least 1 million per year. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “Every single one of us is living with a permanent hole in our lives because an illegal immigrant, who never should have been in this country, was allowed to stay and take an innocent life,” the letter states. “These were preventable tragedies. And yet, year after year, Washington offers excuses instead of solutions. That must end now.”
Trump wins over lifelong Democrat autoworker with ‘big, beautiful bill’ vehicle loan tax benefit
President Donald Trump recognized a third-generation autoworker from Michigan Thursday while speaking at the “big, beautiful event,” noting he was a lifelong Democrat who now supports the president because of vehicle loan interest tax benefits. The president spoke about the “big, beautiful bill” from the East Room of the White House with a group of people standing behind him who represented various trades, including food delivery, farmers and automotive workers. One of the workers standing behind Trump was James Benson, a third-generation autoworker from Belleville, Michigan, who has been with Ford Motor Company for 26 years. Trump introduced Benson, noting that Ford has “a lot of plants” in the U.S. TRUMP SUPPORTERS DEFEND ‘BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL’ AGAINST MUSK’S CRITICISM, SHRUG OFF DEBT CONCERNS “If you have plants in this country, you’re going to make a lot of money,” the president said, adding that he loves autoworkers. Trump also said Benson was a lifelong Democrat until 2017, when he saw the benefits of the tax laws. Trump then spoke about his latest plan to benefit car owners by making interest on car payments fully tax-deductible. THE ‘ONE BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ URGENTLY NEEDS A MAKEOVER TO USHER IN TRUMP’S GOLDEN AGE But the deduction would only be for cars made in the U.S., Trump said, adding if it was made someplace else, “we don’t care.” Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” would create a new deduction of up to $10,000 for qualified passenger vehicle loan interest in a given taxable year. The deduction would phase out when a taxpayer’s modified adjusted gross income exceeds $100,000. Applicable passenger vehicles include cars, trucks, vans, SUVs and motorcycles that have been manufactured for use on public streets, roads and freeways and for which the final assembly occurs in the U.S. TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ FACES RESISTANCE FROM REPUBLICAN SENATORS OVER DEBT FEARS The bill defines the final assembly as the process by which the manufacturer produces a vehicle and delivers it to a dealer with all the parts necessary for operation. As is the case with the overtime and tips deductions, the auto loan provision would be in effect for tax years 2025 through 2028. Trump reiterated to those in attendance that the tax benefit is only for vehicles made in the U.S. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “Remember that, James. We’re going to keep those Michigan auto factories roaring,” the president said. FOX Business’ Eric Revell contributed to this report.
EXCLUSIVE: Trump admin takes action after massive fraud uncovered at agency Dems tried to protect from DOGE
Following the uncovering of a massive bribery scandal at USAID, the Small Business Administration (SBA) is ordering a full audit of all government contracting officers who have exercised grant-awarding authority under the agency’s business development program over the last 15 years. In a letter obtained by Fox News Digital, SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler said the scale of the USAID fraud is a “damning reflection of systemic failures in oversight and accountability.” She further said that the fraud “was not an isolated incident.” In response, Loeffler instructed Associate Administrator Tre Pennie, who oversees government contracts awarded by SBA, to “act decisively” to crack down on any potential similar abuses in the agency. Loeffler instructed Pennie to immediately initiate a full-scale audit of the agency’s awarding officers back to 2010. DEM SENATOR ACCUSES TOP TRUMP OFFICIAL OF BEING RESPONSIBLE FOR ‘HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF CHILDREN DYING’ “The role of federal government contracting officers is not ceremonial or self-dealing; rather, it is a position of immense authority and fiduciary responsibility,” said Loeffler. “The contracting process must be transparent and built on merit, not personal gain.” This comes after USAID, an agency tasked with administering civilian foreign aid, was essentially dismantled by the DOGE waste, fraud and abuse cuts made under Elon Musk and President Donald Trump. The move was met with massive protests from Democrats who claimed that cutting USAID would impoverish and harm recipients across the globe. Despite claims of how much good the agency was doing, it was recently discovered that an influential contracting officer at USAID named Roderick Watson was able to carry out a massive, long-term bribery scheme dating all the way back to 2013. Watson, 57, pleaded guilty to “bribery of a public official,” according to a DOJ press release. TOP DEM DEMANDS ANSWERS FROM SOCIAL SECURITY, CLAIMING WAIT TIMES SPIKED DURING DOGE CUTS According to the DOJ, Watson sold his influence starting in 2013, with contractors Walter Barnes, owner of Vistant, and Darryl Britt, owner of Apprio, funneling payoffs through subcontractor Paul Young to hide their tracks. A DOJ press release said that Britt and Barnes “regularly funneled bribes to Watson, including cash, laptops, thousands of dollars in tickets to a suite at an NBA game, a country club wedding, downpayments on two residential mortgages, cellular phones, and jobs for relatives. The bribes were also often concealed through electronic bank transfers falsely listing Watson on payroll, incorporated shell companies, and false invoices.” The statement said that Watson is alleged to have received bribes “valued at more than approximately $1 million as part of the scheme.” Vistant was awarded in November 2023, as part of a joint venture, a contract worth up to $800 million with one of the focuses of that contract being to address “a variety of issues affecting the root causes of irregular migration from Central America to the United States,” an issue that President Joe Biden tasked then-Vice President Kamala Harris with during his presidency. ‘FOR SALE’: DOGE MOVES TO SELL OFF ALMOST HALF A BILLION IN FEDERAL REAL ESTATE, RELOCATE CABINET AGENCY HQS Several days later, that contract was canceled after USAID published a notice that said Vistant was excluded from government contracting due to “evidence of conduct of a lack of business honesty or integrity.” The joint venture then successfully sued the government over being put on that exclusion list and was re-awarded the contract and given a $10,000 payment in August 2024. In her letter, Loeffler said the USAID scandal “represents a collapse in the very safeguards that are supposed to protect American taxpayer dollars and ensure fair access for legitimate small businesses.” She slammed the Biden administration for awarding the $800 million contract to Vistant despite the business being labeled by USAID as lacking “honesty and integrity.” “The fact that a federal official was able to act as the linchpin of a persistent, large-scale fraud operation speaks to a failure in internal controls and a breakdown in the contracting environment that demands immediate correction,” said Loeffler. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE LAUNCHES PROBE INTO PLANNED PARENTHOOD’S USE OF TAXPAYER FUNDS She said that SBA plays a “critical role” in federal contracting and “will no longer stand by while abuses are perpetrated at the expense of taxpayers and deserving small businesses.” Loeffler said the agency’s audit will begin with high-dollar and limited competition contracts within SBA’s 8(a) business development program. The findings will be referred to the U.S. Office of Inspector General (OIG) and the DOJ. Any officials or businesses found in violation of the SBA’s ethical standards or who have committed criminal misconduct will be referred to the appropriate authorities and SBA will assist the DOJ in recovering misappropriated funds, Loeffler said. “We will not allow public trust to be quietly eroded by backdoor deals and unchecked discretion,” said Loeffler. “We owe it to America’s small businesses to get this right,” she went on. “Your office has the authority, and now the mandate, to act decisively.”
Previously self-deported Iranian illegal immigrant picked up after refusing ICE arrest in Texas
A previously deported Iranian man living in the United States illegally was arrested this week in Texas, federal prosecutors said. Jamil Bahlouli was found at an Austin home where deportation officers attempted to arrest him as part of a 2020 removal order after he skipped out on an appointment at an immigration office, the Justice Department said. When authorities found Bahlouli in the doorway of his home, he “refused to be arrested and took an action designed to prevent or hamper his deportation and departure pursuant to the outstanding final order of removal by slamming the door on the deportation officers,” court documents state. MORE IRANIANS WITH CRIMINAL HISTORIES ARRESTED BY ICE IN TRUMP’S SECURITY SWEEP: ‘WORST OF THE WORST’ He is charged with failure to deport. Bahlouli self-deported to Canada on Oct. 14, 2021 following the removal order. However, he re-entered the U.S. illegally at some point and was found around Dec. 15, 2023, authorities said. The 2020 removal order used to deport him the first time was then reinstated, the Justice Department said. BIDEN-APPOINTED JUDGE BLOCKS DEPORTATION OF BOULDER ATTACK SUSPECT’S FAMILY DESPITE VISA VIOLATIONS He was charged with illegal re-entry and information with illegal entry, for which he was convicted in Montana on Jan. 5, 2024, according to court documents. He was sentenced to time served and released into the U.S. Bahlouli was scheduled to report to an ICE office in San Antonio on Jan. 23, 2024 but never showed up, authorities said. He faces up to four years in prison. ICE is investigating the case.