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Year: 2026

Wyoming Supreme Court rules laws restricting abortion violate state constitution

Wyoming Supreme Court rules laws restricting abortion violate state constitution

The Wyoming Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that a pair of laws restricting abortion access violate the state constitution, including the country’s first explicit ban on abortion pills. The court, in a 4-1 ruling, sided with the state’s only abortion clinic and others who had sued over the abortion bans passed since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, which returned the power to make laws on abortion back to the states. Despite Wyoming being one of the most conservative states, the ruling handed down by justices who were all appointed by Republican governors upheld every previous lower court ruling that the abortion bans violated the state constitution. Wellspring Health Access in Casper, the abortion access advocacy group Chelsea’s Fund and four women, including two obstetricians, argued that the laws violated a state constitutional amendment affirming that competent adults have the right to make their own health care decisions. TRUMP URGES GOP TO BE ‘FLEXIBLE’ ON HYDE AMENDMENT, IGNITING BACKLASH FROM PRO-LIFE ALLIES Voters approved the constitutional amendment in 2012 in response to the federal Affordable Care Act, which is also known as Obamacare. The justices in Wyoming found that the amendment was not written to apply to abortion but noted that it is not their job to “add words” to the state constitution. “But lawmakers could ask Wyoming voters to consider a constitutional amendment that would more clearly address this issue,” the justices wrote. Wellspring Health Access President Julie Burkhart said in a statement that the ruling upholds abortion as “essential health care” that should not be met with government interference. “Our clinic will remain open and ready to provide compassionate reproductive health care, including abortions, and our patients in Wyoming will be able to obtain this care without having to travel out of state,” Burkhart said. Wellspring Health Access opened as the only clinic in the state to offer surgical abortions in 2023, a year after a firebombing stopped construction and delayed its opening. A woman is serving a five-year prison sentence after she admitted to breaking in and lighting gasoline that she poured over the clinic floors. Attorneys representing the state had argued that abortion cannot violate the Wyoming constitution because it is not a form of health care. Republican Gov. Mark Gordon expressed disappointment in the ruling and called on state lawmakers meeting later this winter to pass a constitutional amendment prohibiting abortion that residents could vote on this fall. An amendment like that would require a two-thirds vote to be introduced as a nonbudget matter in the monthlong legislative session that will primarily address the state budget, although it would have significant support in the Republican-dominated legislature. “This ruling may settle, for now, a legal question, but it does not settle the moral one, nor does it reflect where many Wyoming citizens stand, including myself. It is time for this issue to go before the people for a vote,” Gordon said in a statement. APPEALS COURT SIDES WITH TRUMP ON BUDGET PROVISION CUTTING PLANNED PARENTHOOD FUNDS One of the laws overturned by the state’s high court attempted to ban abortion, but with exceptions in cases where it is needed to protect a pregnant woman’s life or in cases of rape or incest. The other law would have made Wyoming the only state to explicitly ban abortion pills, although other states have implemented de facto bans on abortion medication by broadly restricting abortion. Abortion has remained legal in the state since Teton County District Judge Melissa Owens blocked the bans while the lawsuit challenging the restrictions moved forward. Owens struck down the laws as unconstitutional in 2024. Last year, Wyoming passed additional laws requiring abortion clinics to be licensed surgical centers and women to receive ultrasounds before having medication abortions. A judge in a separate lawsuit blocked those laws from taking effect while that case moves forward. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Trump admin expands visa bond requirement to 38 countries, with fees up to $15K

Trump admin expands visa bond requirement to 38 countries, with fees up to K

The Trump administration is dramatically expanding a policy requiring some foreign travelers to post bonds of up to $15,000 before entering the United States. The State Department on Tuesday added 25 countries to its visa bond list, nearly tripling the total shortly after adding seven more as part of the Trump administration’s moves to tighten immigration enforcement. There are now 38 countries subject to the requirement, most of them in Africa with others in Latin America and Asia, a move that could make obtaining a U.S. visa unaffordable for many travelers. The bond requirement for the latest additions, including Venezuela, will take effect Jan. 21. TRUMP STATE DEPARTMENT ORDERS GLOBAL VISA CRACKDOWN UNDER REVIVED ‘PUBLIC CHARGE’ RULE Travelers eligible for a B1/B2 visa from countries on the list must post a bond of $5,000, $10,000 or $15,000, with the amount set during the visa interview, according to a notice posted on the State Department’s website. Paying the bond will not guarantee a visa’s approval, but the amount will be refunded should the visa be denied, or when a visa holder demonstrates compliance with the terms of the visa. The expansion follows a pilot program launched by the State Department in August that requires certain visa applicants from countries with high overstay rates and deficient document security controls to post a bond. HOMELAND SECURITY MOVES TOWARD SCRUTINIZING FOREIGN TOURISTS’ SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS BEFORE ENTRY The Trump administration rolled out numerous immigration policy changes last year, impacting the way people travel, obtain visas and become citizens in the United States, with some measures scheduled to take effect in 2026. The Trump administration requires citizens from all countries that require visas to sit for in-person interviews and disclose years of social media history, along with information about their families’ previous travel and living arrangements. STATE DEPARTMENT YANKS VISAS FROM MEXICAN EXECUTIVES IN MIGRANT SMUGGLING CRACKDOWN The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) implemented a new rule on Dec. 26, 2025, expanding facial recognition for non-citizens entering and leaving the United States.  President Donald Trump also recently announced the launch of the much-anticipated “Trump Gold Card,” an immigration initiative designed to provide a new, streamlined path to U.S. citizenship, which he has said could generate billions of dollars. The new countries added to the visa bond requirement beginning Jan. 21 are Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Bangladesh, Benin, Burundi, Cape Verde, Cuba, Djibouti, Dominica, Fiji, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Nigeria, Senegal, Tajikistan, Togo, Tonga, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Venezuela and Zimbabwe. Countries already on the list include Bhutan, Botswana, the Central African Republic, the Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Malawi, Mauritania, Namibia, São Tomé and Príncipe, Tanzania, Turkmenistan and Zambia. Fox News Digital has reached out to the State Department for comment. Fox News Digital’s Greg Norman, Greg Wehner and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Vance reposts sombrero meme mocking Democrats’ Jan 6 candlelight vigil

Vance reposts sombrero meme mocking Democrats’ Jan 6 candlelight vigil

Vice President JD Vance shared a meme of congressional Democrats attending a candlelight vigil Tuesday marking the fifth anniversary of Jan. 6, reposting content that added sombreros to images of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., as they held candles on the steps of the U.S. Capitol. Vance posted the image from his verified X account without commentary, showing Democratic leaders, including Schumer and Jeffries, prominently from a video clip below. The original video clip was posted by the “End Wokeness” X account, which had the caption: “BREAKING: Congressional Dems just held a candlelit vigil to honor the 5th January 6th anniversary.” The vigil itself featured remarks from Schumer and Jeffries, who described the ceremony as an effort to remember the events of the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol, and honor law enforcement officers and others who died in connection with the riot. WHITE HOUSE TORCHES DEMOCRATS’ JAN 6 ‘GASLIGHTING’ CLAIMS IN ANNIVERSARY TAKEDOWN “We are here today because we must never forget what happened on Jan. 6 five years ago,” Schumer said, adding that future generations should remember it. “The day democracy was placed at greater risk than it has been in a century, and more than a century.” Schumer recalled being evacuated during the breach, saying he and others were “within 20 feet of those rioters of those insurrectionists” as they were moved to safety. “On Jan. 6, our Capitol Police officers were heroes. Our DC police were heroes,” Schumer said. “…We will make sure that your sacrifices that day are never forgotten, nor will we ever, ever forget the lives of those we lost in the connection with the attack.” Jeffries called Jan. 6 a “violent insurrection incited by Donald Trump to overturn the results of a free and fair election” and praised law enforcement who defended the Capitol. “We owe these heroes an eternal debt of gratitude and will never forget their service and their sacrifice,” Jeffries said. JD VANCE RESPONDS TO HAKEEM JEFFRIES’ CLAIM SOMBRERO MEME IS ‘RACIST’ Jeffries later asked attendees to observe a moment of silence “to remember those whose lives were lost as a result of the tragic and horrific events of Janu. 6, 2021.”  Following the moment of silence, attendees sang “God Bless America,” with Schumer’s voice carrying above the group. Vance did not reference the victims or the vigil’s remarks in his repost, instead sharing the altered image without commentary. Some social media users who supported the repost framed it as criticism of what they described as political theater rather than an attack on the victims of Jan. 6. “These people and their theater antics are so embarrassing,” one user wrote in response to the post. “I’d laugh more often at them were it not for the very real authoritarian danger they pose which hides in plain sight.” Another commenter criticized Democratic leadership for focusing on symbolic gestures rather than governance, writing, “I wish they put the same effort into their states and cities.” Democrat leaders have previously faced criticism from conservative commentators over what they described as performative displays during moments of national tension. In 2020, several lawmakers, including then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., drew attention for kneeling while wearing traditional Ghanaian Kente cloth stoles during Capitol events following the death of George Floyd; actions that were praised by supporters and criticized by opponents as political theater. Variations of the sombrero meme targeting Jeffries have circulated online since the federal government shutdown last year amid criticism of Democratic leadership. The imagery has since reemerged periodically in online political satire. Vance’s, Schumer’s and Jeffries’ offices did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

‘The People’s Qur’an’: Mamdani announces NYC Quran exhibit with book belonging to revolutionary activist

‘The People’s Qur’an’: Mamdani announces NYC Quran exhibit with book belonging to revolutionary activist

Socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced Tuesday that one of the Qurans he used to be sworn in as the city’s first Muslim leader will be kept on display at the main branch of the New York Public Library. In an X post, Mamdani wrote the Quran belonged to an 18th-century Black scholar and revolutionary activist named Arturo Schomburg.   “When I swore in at midnight at the old City Hall subway station last week, I had the honor of doing so on Arturo Schomburg’s 18th-century Qur’an,” said Mamdani. He said that “this manuscript was copied in Ottoman Syria, and is written in black ink with red highlighting the text’s divisions — no ornate decoration, it belonged to the everyday reader, and it now belongs to all New Yorkers as part of our City’s next chapter.” HOCHUL ORDERS NY LANDMARKS, INCLUDING ONE WORLD TRADE CENTER, LIT GREEN FOR MUSLIM AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH The new mayor shared a photo of the library display, which features slogans such as “The People’s Qur’an” and “Making history at City Hall.” In addition to the book, the display features an image of Mamdani and his wife, Rama Duwaji, at his private New Year’s midnight oath-of-office ceremony, in which he was sworn in by New York State Attorney General Letitia James. The display also features a close-up of the Quran with Mamdani’s hand on it as well as an image of Schomburg. According to the New York Public Library, the Quran is part of its collection retained by the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. SOCIALIST MAYOR MAMDANI INAUGURATED ALONGSIDE BERNIE SANDERS AND AOC ON NEW YEAR’S DAY The library wrote that, after the “history-making moment [of Mamdani’s swearing-in] with one of the Schomburg Center’s treasured collection items,” it would be displayed beginning Jan. 6 in the McGraw Rotunda at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building on 42nd Street.  The library identifies Schomburg as a Puerto Rican–born bibliophile, historian and journalist who devoted much of his life to collecting and studying books and manuscripts about Black history and culture. The library also identifies him as the co-founder of Las Dos Antillas, a revolutionary anti-colonialist political organization that advocated for Cuban and Puerto Rican independence. The group’s activities included sending weapons, money and medical supplies to aid the independence struggles of Cuba and Puerto Rico, according to the library. Commenting on Mamdani’s use of the Schomburg Quran at his swearing-in, New York Public Library President Anthony Marx wrote, “This specific Qur’an, which Arturo Schomburg preserved for the knowledge and enjoyment of all New Yorkers, symbolizes a greater story of inclusion, representation, and civic-mindedness.” MAMDANI’S TOP HOUSING PICK ONCE CALLED HOMEOWNERSHIP A ‘WEAPON OF WHITE SUPREMACY’ Hiba Abid, New York Public Library curator of Middle Eastern and Islamic studies, also commented that “the significance of this Qur’an extends far beyond the beauty of its pages. “It is a Qur’an close to the people, not only because of its simple craftsmanship, but also because it is part of the collections of the nation’s largest public library system. Its importance lies not in luxury, but in accessibility, and we hope it inspires more New Yorkers to explore the rich diversity of our Middle Eastern and Islamic collections.”