Applications for private school vouchers close today. Demand already exceeds available money.
More than 200,000 students have applied for state money for private school. Most attended private school or home-school last school year, early data shows.
As Corpus Christi water shortage worsens, residents and businesses may soon have to cut their usage 25%
The City Council will discuss the looming crisis Tuesday. One model predicted a water emergency in November. Other scenarios show that happening in May.
Trump says most NATO allies ‘don’t want to get involved’ in Iran operation, but US ‘NEVER’ needed their help
President Donald Trump declared in a Tuesday Truth Social post that most NATO countries have noted that they do not want to jump into the U.S. attack against the Islamic Republic of Iran. “The United States has been informed by most of our NATO ‘Allies’ that they don’t want to get involved with our Military Operation against the Terrorist Regime of Iran, in the Middle East, this, despite the fact that almost every Country strongly agreed with what we are doing, and that Iran cannot, in any way, shape, or form, be allowed to have a Nuclear Weapon,” the president declared in the Truth Social post. “I am not surprised by their action, however, because I always considered NATO, where we spend Hundreds of Billions of Dollars per year protecting these same Countries, to be a one way street — We will protect them, but they will do nothing for us, in particular, in a time of need.” He continued, “Fortunately, we have decimated Iran’s Military — Their Navy is gone, their Air Force is gone, their Anti-Aircraft and Radar is gone and perhaps, most importantly, their Leaders, at virtually every level, are gone, never to threaten us, our Middle Eastern Allies, or the World, again! Because of the fact that we have had such Military Success, we no longer “need,” or desire, the NATO Countries’ assistance — WE NEVER DID! Likewise, Japan, Australia, or South Korea. In fact, speaking as President of the United States of America, by far the Most Powerful Country Anywhere in the World, WE DO NOT NEED THE HELP OF ANYONE! Thank you for your attention to this matter.” The U.S. has been waging war against Iran in conjunction with Israel, a close American ally. This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
DC pipe bomb suspect claims Trump’s Jan 6 pardon applies to him, filing to dismiss charges
Lawyers for Brian J. Cole Jr. claimed in a court filing Monday that President Donald Trump‘s sweeping presidential pardons for Jan. 6 defendants apply to him and the case should be dismissed. Cole Jr. is accused of planting explosive devices at the Republican and Democratic National Committee headquarters on the eve of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Trump issued the pardons on his first day in office, Jan. 20, 2025. The motion to dismiss was filed in U.S. District Court by Cole Jr.’s lawyers, arguing the government’s own narrative in the case “inextricably” tethers Cole to the events of Jan. 6, 2021. “By the government’s own telling, this is exactly the kind of case that President Trump’s January 20, 2025 Presidential Pardon was invoked to reach,” defense attorneys Mario Williams and John Shoreman wrote. EVIDENCE AGAINST J6 PIPE BOMB SUSPECT WAS JUST ‘SITTING THERE’ FOR YEARS, DOJ SAYS The defense lawyers cited Department of Justice connections between the bombs and Jan. 6, including the “timing and location,” and the allegation that Cole Jr. drove to D.C. “to attend a protest concerning the outcome of the 2020 election.” “The Pardon — like it or not — applies to Mr. Cole, based on the ordinary and plain meaning of the Pardon’s language as applied to the relevant facts in this case,” the 23-page motion to dismiss concluded. DOJ MOVES TO WIPE STEVE BANNON CONTEMPT CONVICTION TIED TO JAN. 6 PROBE “Wherefore, for the reasons stated above, Mr. Cole requests that this Motion be granted and the charges against him dismissed, in their entirety.” The defense argues that because the 2025 Pardon applies to all individuals “convicted of offenses related to events that occurred at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021,” Cole should be immune from prosecution. To bolster their claim, Cole’s team pointed to the case of David Dempsey, who was sentenced to 20 years for what prosecutors described as “vicious and protracted” assaults on police officers. Despite being labeled a “domestic terrorist” by some officials, Dempsey received a full pardon. The defense argues it would be a “grave injustice” to prosecute Cole — whose devices never exploded and caused no physical injury. READ THE MOTION TO DISMISS – APP USERS, CLICK HERE: The government is expected to challenge the motion.
Dem primary turns ugly: Mills unleashes brutal attack on Sanders-backed Platner in crucial Senate showdown
Gov. Janet Mills of Maine on Tuesday launched a blistering negative ad that takes aim at twin controversies surrounding Graham Platner, her formidable rival for the Democratic Senate nomination in the crucial 2026 race to face off against Republican Sen. Susan Collins. The ad features women reacting to comments Platner made over a decade ago on Reddit about rape, and it also points to a tattoo on his chest that resembled a Nazi symbol. The Mills ad comes as Platner, a U.S. Marine and Army veteran and oyster farmer, who has the backing of progressive champion Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, is gaining momentum. According to recent polls, Platner holds a large lead over the governor with less than three months until Maine’s primary. Democrats view Collins as vulnerable as she seeks a sixth six-year term in the Senate in the left-leaning Northern New England state, and the race is considered a must win for Democrats as they try to claw back the chamber’s majority from the GOP in this year’s midterms. WHAT SUSAN COLLINS TOLD FOX NEWS AS SHE LAUNCHED HER RE-ELECTION BID The Mills campaign spot highlights Graham’s comments, as an actor in a voice that resembles the candidate, reads snippets of them aloud. Among the comments is one from 2013, which Platner later deleted, that people concerned about rape should not “get so f—ed up they wind up having sex with someone they don’t mean to.” Four women in the Mills ad respond to the comments, calling them, “a horrible thing to say,” “disgusting” and “disqualifying.” PLATNER CONFRONTED ABOUT CONTROVERSIAL TATTOO The ad, which the Mills campaign says it’s spending six figures to run statewide on broadcast and cable TV and streaming, also spotlights Platner’s tattoo as it closes with video of him shirtless. “The closer you look, the worse it gets,” the narrator in the spot says. Platner said last fall that he got the skull and crossbones tattoo in 2007 while drinking with fellow Marines stationed in Croatia. He said that he covered up the tattoo with a new design after learning it resembled a Nazi symbol. The candidate also apologized for his controversial Reddit posts after they made headlines last fall soon after he launched his Senate campaign. “For those of you who have read these things and been offended, have read these things and seen someone that you don’t recognize, I am deeply sorry,” he said in a video that went viral. IS THE REPUBLICAN SENATE MAJORITY AT RISK IN MIDTERM ELECTIONS? Platner, 41, has campaigned in front of large and energetic crowds since jumping into the race, and seems to be gaining support from a Democratic base angry with President Donald Trump’s second-term agenda and mad at their party’s leaders in the nation’s capital. Platner is being advised by Morris Katz, who was a top consultant last year on New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s historic campaign. Mills, who was urged by the party’s establishment to run for the Senate, has the tacit support of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. With the primary campaign heating up, the 78-year-old two-term governor and former Maine attorney general is getting more aggressive in spotlighting Platner’s political baggage, which she and other Democrats argue could cost their party their best shot ever at unseating Collins. Platner’s campaign manager Ben Chin, in a statement responding to the Mills ad, argued, “This is nothing more than a desperate attempt for relevance from the governor, who is trailing an oyster farmer in every recent poll.” “It’s why people hate politics and why not enough real people run for office: DC insiders who are so obsessed with their own power and threatened by someone who is building an actual movement of working people, that they launch a barrage of attacks to try to tear Graham down,” Chin added. And he emphasized that “Mainers know that Graham should not be defined by the worst thing he said on the internet over a decade ago.”
Trump warns he won’t endorse lawmakers who oppose Save America Act
President Donald Trump warned on Tuesday that he will not endorse any lawmaker who votes against the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act, escalating pressure on Republicans as the bill heads to the Senate. Trump made the pledge in a Truth Social post Tuesday morning, warning that any Republican or Democrat who opposes the measure would face political consequences. “The Save America Act is one of the most IMPORTANT & CONSEQUENTIAL pieces of legislation in the history of Congress, and America itself,” Trump wrote. “I WILL NEVER (EVER!) ENDORSE ANYONE WHO VOTES AGAINST ‘SAVE AMERICA!!!’” GOP WARNS DEMOCRATS USING DHS SHUTDOWN TO STALL SENATE VOTER ID PUSH Trump has long pushed for stricter election laws — making election integrity a central pillar of his 2024 campaign — and has repeatedly questioned the outcome of the 2020 presidential election, which he lost to former President Joe Biden. The SAVE Act would require proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote in federal elections and impose stricter voter ID rules. Trump said the bill also touches on issues including mail-in voting, transgender athletes and medical care for minors. “No Men in Women’s Sports, No Transgender MUTILIZATION of our Children. 90% to 99% ISSUES ALL! Only sick, demented, or deranged people in the House or Senate could vote against THE SAVE AMERICA ACT. If they do, each one of these points, separately, will be used against the user in his/her political campaign for office – A guaranteed loss.” The GOP-led House passed the bill in February, largely along party lines. Trump and his allies argue the legislation would prevent noncitizens from voting and strengthen election security, while critics say it could disenfranchise eligible voters who lack documentation. SCHUMER SAYS DEMS WILL FIGHT VOTER ID PUSH ‘TOOTH AND NAIL,’ BALKS AT DHS ROLE IN ELECTIONS The bill now faces steep odds in the Senate, where it would need 60 votes to overcome a filibuster — a threshold Republicans do not currently have given their 53–47 majority. Some conservatives have pushed to force a “talking filibuster” or change Senate rules to bypass that threshold and pass the bill with a simple majority, but GOP leaders have said they lack the votes within their own conference to take that step. Senate Majority Leader John ThuneJohn Thune has indicated the votes are not there to pass the measure, and most Democrats are expected to oppose it. “It’s about the math,” Thune said. “And I’m, for better or worse, the one who has to be a clear-eyed realist about what we can achieve here.” Republicans are expected to force a vote to put Democrats on record opposing the bill, but the measure faces steep odds of clearing the Senate’s 60-vote threshold. Cracks have also emerged within the GOP. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., a supporter of the bill, acknowledged Republicans “don’t have the votes for the talking filibuster right now” while Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., has opposed the legislation and said he plans to “do everything I can to prevent it from even moving forward.” Tillis has objected to the bill’s scope, arguing it goes beyond voter ID and warning against imposing sweeping federal mandates on states. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, has also come out against the bill, warning that new federal mandates could disrupt state election systems. The internal divisions come as Trump ramps up pressure on lawmakers, urging voters to contact their senators and back the legislation, which he has described as one of the most consequential bills in U.S. history. Fox News’ Alex Miller and Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.
Organized and technological: ICE resistance groups posing growing danger, warns former top NSA, DHS official
EXCLUSIVE: A former high-ranking National Security Agency and Department of Homeland Security official is warning that coordinated, technology-driven anti-ICE resistance is endangering operations through digital sabotage in cities across the United States. In an interview with Fox News Digital, Stewart Baker, a cybersecurity and national security expert, said that the use of new and emerging technology by agitators “has changed the atmosphere in which ICE is operating.” “It’s already a game changer,” said Baker. Following reports that anti-ICE agitators are using the encrypted messaging app known as Signal to track and impede agents, Baker said, “We’re going to see more of that, and it’s not easy to stop. Much of what’s being done there is perfectly lawful speech, but it is on the edge of causing serious harm.” ANONYMOUS LETTER TO CALIFORNIA GOP CHAPTER CALLS FOR WAR ON ICE, URGES AGENTS BE SENT ‘HOME IN A BODY BAG’ Baker served as NSA general counsel under Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, and DHS assistant secretary for policy under President George W. Bush. Beyond Signal, there is chatter among activists about the use of sophisticated but cheap technology that serves as counter-surveillance measures. Some of these methods are detailed in a thought piece titled “How Hackers Are Fighting Back Against ICE” by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a nonprofit digital civil liberties organization. Among the methods identified by EFF are a piece of hardware called “OUI-SPY” and a database called “DeFlock” that can be used by activists to detect and log the presence of law enforcement cameras and other technology that would otherwise be hidden. EFF also describes an open-source app called WiGLE, which it says has the ability to alert the user when specific Wi-Fi or Bluetooth signals from federal law enforcement are detected. The group notes that it is not affiliated with these projects and does not endorse them or make any statements about the legality of using them. Cindy Cohn, EFF executive director, told Fox News Digital that the group, which she said “has been defending digital civil liberties and pushing back on overbroad surveillance since 1990, defends people’s indisputable constitutional right to observe and record law enforcement activities that occur in public places, so long as that recording does not interfere with those activities.” Cohn said, “We also defend people’s legal and constitutional right to share that information with others. The Constitution and Supreme Court case law are crystal clear on these rights” and “we also support and defend people’s rights to detect, map, and share information about surveillance technology deployed in their communities, as a matter of transparency and accountability.” She added that “the predominant danger today to both federal officers and protestors, bystanders, immigrants and U.S. citizens derives from the violent tactics being used by federal forces in U.S. cities, rather than from the tools observers are using to document this behavior.” Baker told Fox News Digital that though he is “pretty skeptical of most of the technology that these groups are thinking they can use,” it does show that “they are remarkably organized.” BLOCKING ICE COOPERATION FUELED MINNESOTA UNREST, OFFICIALS WARN AS VIRGINIA REVERSES COURSE He said that for the last 30 years technology has been “moving to a place where anonymity is just impossible,” even in a law enforcement context. “You can identify [people] from the signals that their tires send to the dashboard to say you’re flat. You can identify them by their Bluetooth signals, by their Wi-Fi signals … there are so many signals that we put off that increasingly trying to keep them all from being read by the rest of the world is just going to fail,” he explained. “And that means for law enforcement, they’re much more trackable at a very individual level.” The result is that law enforcement operations are much more hazardous for not only agents, but also protesters, bystanders and even the illegal immigrants being targeted. The fatal shootings of activists Alex Pretti and Renee Good at the start of the year are evidence of this, Baker said. “The people who are protesting ICE have set up a network for getting hostile people at the scene of ICE operations and [U.S. Customs and Border Protection] operations as quickly as possible and in as large numbers as possible,” Baker went on. “That is setting up more confrontations that are also going to end badly for the people who go there.” Fox News Digital reported that the anti-ICE mobilization that unfolded around the killing of Pretti in Minneapolis mirrored the methods used to overthrow governments and spark bloody revolutions around the globe. Encrypted Signal chats, command-and-control centers, rapid-response propaganda and orchestrated tear-gas clashes with law enforcement have served to mobilize forces and shape public opinion in the ongoing conflict. Close analysis of guidelines distributed online by anti-ICE groups and the minute-by-minute events surrounding Pretti’s death reveal tactics and strategies well known to military and intelligence analysts as elements of global insurgencies. ‘MOB MENTALITY’ ENDANGERS OFFICERS AMID ANTI-ICE UNREST AND CHAOS IN MINNEAPOLIS, RETIRED COPS WARN What does this all boil down to? Baker believes that this means that “everybody is going to be doxed.” “We’re all going to be living in a world where we are doxed by people who don’t like us. And ICE agents are there first, but plenty of other people are going to end up there and tracked.” “There are people who are willing to use violence against agents, and that fear of violence is going to drive hair-trigger responses by the agents. It’s a very dangerous situation,” said Baker. “It’s dangerous for everybody. And I understand why people are enthusiastic about having discovered this technology … but it carries with it risks for the people who are running those networks.”
Trump-endorsed Sen Lindsey Graham files for re-election: ‘Nobody is better prepared’
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said in a Monday post on X that he filed for re-election. “It’s official. I just left my campaign headquarters after filing for re-election. Thanks to all the family, friends and supporters that make this possible,” Graham wrote in the post. President Donald Trump endorsed Graham for re-election last year. GRAHAM SAYS REPUBLICANS WON’T LET DEMS ‘DEFUND’ ICE, CBP AT ‘A TIME WE’RE UNDER SERIOUS THREAT’ “Senator Lindsey Graham has my Complete and Total Endorsement for Re-Election — HE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN. Everyone in South Carolina should help Lindsey have a BIG WIN next year!” Trump declared in part of a March 2025 Truth Social post. Some on the political right pushed back against the president’s move. But others on the right have backed Graham for re-election. Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson endorsed Graham last year, describing the senator as “a steadfast conservative leader for South Carolina and our nation.” Graham has served in the U.S. Senate since early 2003. The long-serving lawmaker is a staunch supporter of President Trump’s decision to launch the war against Iran in conjunction with Israel. “Through Midnight Hammer and Epic Fury, @POTUS acted in the nick of time to prevent a nuclear armed Iranian regime. Past administrations failed to effectively confront this threat,” Graham said in part of a Monday post on X. TOP IRANIAN LEADERS ALI LARIJANI, GHOLAMREZA SOLEIMANI KILLED IN STRIKES, ISRAEL SAYS There are some candidates seeking to challenge Graham in the South Carolina Republican U.S. Senate primary. “Senator Lindsey Graham officially filed for re-election today with the South Carolina State Election Commission, formally launching his campaign to continue representing the people of South Carolina in the United States Senate,” a March 16 press release noted. “Following his filing, Senator Graham was joined by family, supporters, volunteers, and campaign staff at his campaign headquarters in Columbia, where he shared his vision for South Carolina’s future and outlined how he plans to continue delivering President Trump’s agenda for communities across the state,” the release added. “Nobody is better prepared to help President Trump protect us from evil than I am. Nobody is better prepared to help him get his agenda through the Senate than I am. Nobody running is better prepared to help our state than I am,” Graham said, according to the release.
Trump says he believes he has ‘honor’ of ‘taking Cuba,’ calls Caribbean island a ‘very weakened nation’
President Donald Trump said he believes he has the “honor” of “taking Cuba” as he described the Caribbean island as a “very weakened nation.” Trump made the remark to Fox News senior White House correspondent Peter Doocy on Monday, the same day Cuba plunged into a blackout after its entire electrical grid suddenly suffered a total collapse. “When you say Cuba is next, is Cuba – whatever you do with the military there, it seems like something – will that look more like Iran or Venezuela?” Doocy asked the president in the Oval Office. “I can’t tell you that. I can tell you that they’re talking to us. It’s a failed nation. They have no money, they have no oil, they have no nothing,” Trump responded, before later saying, “I do believe I’ll be the honor of, having the honor of taking Cuba… That’s a big honor.” CUBAN PRESIDENT REVEALS TALKS WITH TRUMP ADMINISTRATION AS FUEL BLOCKADE CHOKES DOMESTIC ENERGY SUPPLY AND ECONOMY “Taking Cuba?” Doocy said. “Taking Cuba in some form. Yeah. Taking Cuba, I mean, whether I free it, take it, I think I could do anything I want with it, you want to know the truth?” Trump said. “They’re a very weakened nation right now. They were for a long time. A very violent, very violent leaders. Castro is a very violent leader. His brother is a very violent leader, extremely violent. That’s how they governed. They governed with violence. But a lot of people would like to go back.” PROTESTERS TORCH COMMUNIST PARTY HQ IN CUBA; VIDEO APPEARS TO CAPTURE GUNFIRE The Cuban government is in talks with Trump administration officials, the country’s president said Friday, as Havana works to halt a potential regime change as it deals with a widening energy crisis. Cuba’s economy has struggled since the U.S. capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro from his home in Caracas at the start of the year. The Trump administration immediately cut off oil exports to the island. Earlier this month, Trump also vowed to “take care” of Cuba’s regime following America’s focus on Iran. Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano and Bonny Chu contributed to this report.
New names emerge in Jack Smith’s wide-ranging bid for GOP lawmakers’ phone records, unearthed emails show
FIRST ON FOX: Internal Department of Justice emails obtained by Fox News Digital show prosecutors working for special counsel Jack Smith sought phone records in 2023 for a wide-ranging group of Republican lawmakers, including newly revealed names such as a current Trump administration official. The email exchanges between prosecutors beginning Jan. 9, 2023, show Smith’s team mapped out a web of House and Senate lawmakers who interacted with key people in Smith’s probe into the 2020 election, including figures like President Donald Trump’s former chief of staff Mark Meadows and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who led many of Trump’s unsuccessful legal challenges to the election results. New names within the emails obtained by Fox News Digital include Rep. Brian Babin, R-Texas, Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., and then-Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., who now leads the Environmental Protection Agency. “I’d like to seek [the Public Integrity Section’s] concurrence to get phone tolls for several MOCs who had contact with pertinent parties in our investigation,” wrote former DOJ lawyer Timothy Duree. “I’ll keep the timeframe tight—probably October 1, 2020, to January 31, 2021.” The emails were part of Smith’s investigation and prosecution of Trump over the 2020 election, which initially began as an FBI probe called Arctic Frost. Ongoing House and Senate Judiciary Committee investigations have revealed through various public disclosures that the Biden DOJ targeted a large web of Republican people and entities with subpoenas during the probe, but the lawmakers’ records requests have become a top source of scrutiny. JACK SMITH DEFENDS SUBPOENAING REPUBLICAN SENATORS’ PHONE RECORDS: ‘ENTIRELY PROPER’ Duree produced 16 names and said he wanted to discuss whether to “subpoena these all at once.” The list included Babin and Biggs and now former Reps. Mo Brooks, Matt Gaetz, Paul Gosar, Louie Gohmert, Zeldin and Jody Hice. The list also included Gohmert’s chief of staff Connie Hair, and seven senators whose names were previously revealed through public disclosures, such as Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn. Public disclosures previously showed that some of the 16 members’ phone records were indeed subpoenaed, but the new emails with new names, including Babin, Biggs and Zeldin, do not make clear if Smith ultimately executed subpoenas for their phone records. The phone records, also known as toll records, would have included dates, times and phone numbers but not the content of calls and messages. Raymond Hulser, a prosecutor on Smith’s team, responded at one point in the January 2023 email chain by acknowledging the scale of the subpoena request. “And please there’s no hurry this morning, [Duree]” Hulser wrote. “It just occurred to me that before we tell Main we are going to fire off subpoenas for so many members tolls I should make sure Jack’s aware.” DEM REP DEFENDS DOJ OBTAINING GOP SENATOR CALL RECORDS IN 2023: ‘YOU WEREN’T SURVEILLED’ Smith, who has since testified to the House Judiciary Committee about his work, has stood by the subpoenas, saying they were “entirely proper” and followed DOJ protocol. The Republicans who were targeted have, however, condemned the subpoenas as egregious violations of the Constitution’s speech or debate clause, which gives Congress members an added layer of immunity from investigations. In addition to members of Congress, public disclosures by the congressional committees revealed that Smith targeted hundreds of Republican-affiliated people and entities as he pursued charges against Trump. Smith eventually brought four criminal charges against the then-Republican presidential candidate alleging he illegally attempted to overturn the 2020 election results. But he dropped the case after Trump won the 2024 election, citing a DOJ policy against prosecuting sitting presidents. In another email from the January 2023 email chain, Hulser directed Duree to check the Jan. 6 Committee’s report for members who interacted with Trump and Giuliani on Jan. 6, the day of the U.S. Capitol breach, underscoring how Smith’s prosecutors used the investigative work of the committee to help with their probe. Republicans have widely dismissed the since-disbanded Jan. 6 panel as hyper-partisan as it comprised seven Democrats and two vocally anti-Trump Republicans. Hulser later said Smith wanted to “narrow” down the list of 16, leading Duree to provide a bolded list of names “we should get in the first round.” No. 1 on the list, for instance, read “Brian Babin (texts with Meadows; calls with Chip Roy, [Scott] Perry, Ratcliffe, and Meadows).” Other names noted on the list followed a similar structure. Roy and Perry were known targets in Smith’s probe and previously revealed that they had their records subpoenaed by the special counsel’s team. Fox News Digital reached out to a Smith representative for comment, as well as the current House lawmakers mentioned in the emails and Zeldin’s office.