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Year: 2026

EXCLUSIVE: Unearthed videos expose how Trump-endorsed candidate championed DEI in university hiring process

EXCLUSIVE: Unearthed videos expose how Trump-endorsed candidate championed DEI in university hiring process

FIRST ON FOX: Rep. Julia Letlow, R-La., a Trump-endorsed Senate candidate in Louisiana, is saying that she will ensure diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies will be rooted out of schools in her state if she wins.  However, Letlow’s past remarks and actions as a university faculty member, such as promises to open a DEI office if hired as a university president, and her past praise for DEI nationwide, have thrown these promises into question. In a 2020 video from Letlow’s hiring process, when interviewing to be the president of the University of Louisiana Monroe, Letlow called the school’s record on faculty gender diversity “shameful,” praised DEI efforts around the country, said she wanted to open the school’s first DEI division and suggested that, if hired, she would want “a person around the table that is cognizant and fighting for diversity, equity and inclusion before any decision is made for the university.”  In January, The Daily Caller first reported that, prior to serving Louisiana’s 5th Congressional District, Letlow was in a communications position at UL Monroe, where she helped push DEI initiatives aimed at “diversifying marketing and comms teams” and “establish[ing] diverse content.” She also signed a statement embracing diversity as one of UL Monroe’s “core values” shortly after the death of George Floyd.  GOP BILLIONAIRE TRYING TO WOO TRUMP’S SUPPORT IN KEY GEORGIA RACE BANKROLLED HIS 2024 PRESIDENTIAL RIVALS “I was able to go to eight different universities and see some amazing work that other universities have already started – and you don’t even have to keep it to Louisiana, you can go nationwide to see the amazing effort people have been doing for years to address these issues,” Letlow told a panel interviewing her for the UL—Monroe presidency in 2020, in response to a question concerning the percentage of tenured female faculty. “So, one of the first things I would do – I believe we need a division on this campus, a division of diversity, equity and inclusion, with leadership that goes all the way to the top with a full staff because our issues are so great.” During Letlow’s hiring process to potentially be the next president of UL—Monroe, she also spoke in a video meant to introduce herself to students, during which Letlow called herself a “strong and progressive leader” as the result of many years in higher ed. The GOP primary race in Louisiana for the state’s open U.S. Senate seat, between Letlow and incumbent Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., has become a battle over who is more pro-Trump – and DEI has been a major proving point. “While Liberal Letlow was pushing DEI policies at ULM, calling herself a ‘strong and progressive leader,’ Senator Cassidy was working with President Trump and others to secure billions of dollars for the state and bring conservative policies to Louisiana,” said a spokesperson for Cassidy’s campaign. “From no boys in girls sports, to co-sponsoring the Save America Act, the HALT Fentanyl Act, and the Working Families Tax Cuts.”  Cassidy himself has been accused of being anti-Trump, and when reached for comment on the matter, Letlow’s team argued that “any honest account of DEI in this race has to include Cassidy’s record vs Julia’s record.”  MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE SAYS TRUMP, GOP ‘GOVERNED AMERICA LAST,’ PREDICTS MIDTERM LOSSES Letlow holds both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree from UL Monroe. According to her LinkedIn profile, she also held multiple positions at the university, first from 2007 to 2011 and then again from 2014 to 2021. These positions include the director of marketing and communications from 2015 to 2018, executive director of external affairs and strategic communications from 2018 to 2019, and executive assistant to the president for external affairs and community outreach from 2019 to 2021 for the university. In 2020, Letlow wanted to become UL Monroe’s president, during which she was subject to numerous interviews. One included questioning from a panel of UL Monroe officials, which was posted publicly on YouTube.  “Study after study has shown that the more diverse an organization is in its leadership, the more successful it is, and in businesses that converts to actual financial success,” one questioner from the panel began when probing Letlow. “In academia, you know, it’s in the way — all the ways, the metrics that it’s supposed to succeed in a community, and yet we see a lot of slowness in change … so my question is, how would you go about supporting diversity and equity in the faculty ranks?”  In response to the question, which focused specifically on the percentage of tenured female faculty at a university with a majority female student body, Letlow lamented that “we have an issue on this campus,” and promised to create a new DEI division to assist.  “There would need to be a strategic plan put in place on how to address those concerns that you just raised, and those metrics and those numbers, because they are shameful, truly, and I believe that having that strong [DEI] division, having that leadership, if you have a person around the table that is cognizant and fighting for diversity, equity and inclusion before any decision is made for the university, then that’s how you change. That’s how you recruit more faculty,” Letlow responded.  “There are a lot of people on this campus who have never heard of unconscious bias. They don’t know that it exists,” she continued.  BIG BUSINESS PULLS BACK FROM LGBTQ CORPORATE RANKINGS IN DRAMATIC ONE-YEAR SLIDE “I was looking at the numbers – we have 8% African-American faculty women on this campus. That’s not enough,” Letlow added later. “That does not reflect our student population, and so that would be number one for me. I’m glad you asked that question.” Letlow’s remarks, which have been publicly available on Youtube but have only 218 views as of Tuesday, add fodder for critics like Cassidy who say she is not sufficiently an opponent of DEI. However, Letlow recently told local media that Cassidy’s claims that she

President Trump says US could finish Iran operation within two to three weeks

President Trump says US could finish Iran operation within two to three weeks

President Donald Trump indicated on Tuesday that the U.S. will finish attacking Iran within two to three weeks. The president indicated that he thinks within that time frame, “We’ll leave.” “I had one goal: They will have no nuclear weapon. And that goal has been attained. They will not have nuclear weapons,” the president said. “But we’re finishing the job. And I think within maybe two weeks, maybe a couple a days longer, to do the job,” he said. “Now it’s possible that we’ll make a deal before that.” TRUMP SIGNS EXECUTIVE ORDER OVERHAULING MAIL-IN VOTING IN MAJOR ELECTION INTEGRITY PUSH “We’ve set them back. It’ll take 15 to 20 years for them to rebuild what we’ve done to ‘em. They have no navy. They have no military. They have no air force. They have no telecommunications. They have no anti-aircraft systems. They have no leaders. You know their leaders are all gone. That’s why we have regime change. We have nice new leaders,” he said. The president mounted the U.S. war against Iran more than four weeks ago in conjunction with Israel. US ATTACKS ISFAHAN IN IRAN AS GAS PRICE AVERAGE TOPS $4 Americans have since faced a significant surge in fuel prices, with the AAA national average for regular gas spiking to $4.064 as of April 1. Trump is slated to deliver an address to the nation on Wednesday night. MARCO RUBIO WARNS IRAN WANTED TO BE THE ‘NEXT NORTH KOREA’ AS HE SEES ‘FINISH LINE’ IN CONFLICT In a Tuesday post on X, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced that “Tomorrow night at 9PM ET, President Trump will give an Address to the Nation to provide an important update on Iran.”

April showdowns: 4 key races to watch this month that will test Trump, GOP grip on power

April showdowns: 4 key races to watch this month that will test Trump, GOP grip on power

After kicking off in March, the 2026 primary calendar takes a break this month before returning with a vengeance in May. But that doesn’t mean there’s a dearth of consequential elections in April. Special U.S. House contests in Georgia and New Jersey, a state Supreme Court election in battleground Wisconsin, and a Virginia referendum that is the latest face-off between President Donald Trump and Republicans and Democrats in the high-stakes congressional redistricting wars — with the House majority on the line — will all draw national attention this month. Here’s a closer look at the four ballot box showdowns. TRUMP-BACKED FULLER ADVANCES IN RACE TO FILL MTG’S CONGRESSIONAL SEAT Trump-backed Republican House candidate Clay Fuller faces off with Democratic candidate Shawn Harris to fill a vacant congressional district in solidly red northwest Georgia that was once held by MAGA firebrand Marjorie Taylor Greene. Harris, a retired brigadier general and cattle farmer, and Fuller, a local prosecutor and Air National Guard member, were the top two finishers in a field of 17 candidates, including 12 Republicans, in the early March special election. With no candidate topping 50%, Harris and Fuller advanced to a runoff. SPECIAL ELECTION TO FILL MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE’S OLD SEAT IN CONGRESS HEADS INTO OVERTIME The special election comes as Republicans cling to a razor-thin 218–214 majority in the House. That means the GOP cannot afford any surprises or allow Democrats to pull an upset in a district that extends from Atlanta’s northwest exurbs to Georgia’s northwestern border with Alabama and northern border with Tennessee, which Trump carried by 37 points in his 2024 presidential victory. Fuller, who is expected to consolidate the Republican vote that was divided in the first round, is considered the clear frontrunner in the race. But if Harris holds Fuller’s margin to the mid-teens or less, national Democrats will argue the election is the latest in the 14 months since Trump returned to the White House in which they’ve overperformed. The congressional seat was left vacant when Greene stepped down at the beginning of January. Greene quit Congress with a year left in her term, after a very public falling out with Trump mostly over her push to release the Jeffrey Epstein files. While officially a non-partisan contest, state Supreme Court elections in the Midwestern battleground have become extremely partisan in recent years. HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS REPORTING FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL With the court’s majority on the line in last year’s contests, outside money poured in and out-of-state door knockers blanketed Wisconsin. One of the biggest spenders was Trump ally Elon Musk, who headlined a rally days before the election and donned a cheesehead hat worn by fans of the Green Bay Packers. Democrats won that election by a larger-than-expected margin and currently hold a 4-3 majority on Wisconsin’s highest court. With a conservative justice retiring, the majority isn’t at stake in this year’s election, although liberals with a win could expand their majority to 5-2. But if the conservative candidate wins, or keeps it close, the GOP may claim a moral victory. Republican Joe Hathaway, a local mayor, is hoping to pull off an upset in the special election to fill the congressional seat left vacant after now-Gov. Mikie Sherrill stepped down after winning last November’s gubernatorial election. Hathaway, who was unopposed in February’s primary, faces off in the election against Democrat Analilia Mejia, a progressive organizer backed by left-wing champions Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Mejia pulled off an upset, narrowly edging out front-runner former Rep. Tom Malinowski in a field of 11 candidates. The face-off was one of the latest between progressives and more mainstream Democrats. The 11th Congressional District in northern New Jersey‘s New York City suburbs was once the kind of seat where Republicans excelled at the ballot box. Hathaway, who has pointed out his differences with Trump, is the type of Republican who could attract crossover voters. Add in that Mejia may be too far to the left for some voters in the district, and there’s a chance for some intrigue on Election Day. Voters in Virginia are casting ballots on a Democrat-pushed referendum that would give the competitive state up to four more left-leaning U.S. House districts in time for this year’s midterm elections. That could result in a 10-1 advantage for Democrats in the state’s U.S. House delegation, up from their current 6-5 edge.  With three weeks until Election Day, early voting is surging, according to officials, with turnout outpacing early voting from last autumn’s general election. Despite being vastly outraised by Democrats, Republicans see positive signs in early turnout. Republicans call the Democrats’ redistricting effort an “unconstitutional power grab.” Democrats counter that it’s a necessary step to balance out partisan gerrymandering already implemented in other states by the GOP. Virginia is the latest redistricting battleground, with Florida on deck, to alter congressional maps ahead of November’s elections. Republicans are defending their razor-thin House majority in the midterms, and Democrats need a net gain of just three seats to win back control of the chamber. That means the redistricting efforts in Virginia and other states may very well decide which party controls the House next year.

Trump admin unlawfully terminated legal status of migrants who used Biden-era app, judge rules

Trump admin unlawfully terminated legal status of migrants who used Biden-era app, judge rules

A federal judge ruled on Tuesday that the Trump administration unlawfully terminated the legal status of thousands of migrants who had been allowed to temporarily live in the U.S. after using an app expanded by the Biden administration to schedule appointments with immigration officials. U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs in Boston ordered the administration to reverse its move last year to revoke the legal status of migrants who used the CBP One app. The app was used under former President Joe Biden starting in 2023 to address the crisis at the border by allowing some migrants to make appointments to seek asylum, with many paroled into the country for up to two years, but President Donald Trump moved to shut down the app when he returned to the White House last year. Burroughs found that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security acted unlawfully in April of last year when it sent mass emails to many of the roughly 900,000 people who entered the country using the app, informing them that it was “time for you to leave the United States.” VENEZUELAN MIGRANTS, PROGRESSIVE GROUP SUE TRUMP AFTER NOEM NIXES BIDEN-ERA ‘PROTECTED STATUS’ “The regulations do not give the agency unfettered discretion to terminate parole,” Burroughs wrote. “When Defendants terminated the impacted noncitizens’ parole without observing the process mandated by statute and by their own regulations, they took action that was ‘not in accordance with law,’” the judge added. The Venezuelan Association of Massachusetts, one of the plaintiffs in the case, celebrated the ruling, saying it “brings long-awaited relief after months of fear and uncertainty.” Democracy Forward, another group that helped bring the legal challenge, also praised the judge’s decision. FEDERAL JUDGE UPHOLDS TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS FOR HAITIAN IMMIGRANTS “Today’s ruling is a clear rejection of an administration that has tried to erase lawful status for hundreds of thousands of people with the click of a button,” the group’s president, Skye Perryman, said in a statement. “Our clients followed the law: they waited, registered, were inspected, and were granted parole under the law. The Trump-Vance administration’s effort to tear that status away overnight was unlawful and cruel — and today, the court rejected that harmful and destabilizing policy,” the statement added. A DHS spokesperson said the ruling was an example of “blatant judicial activism” that interfered with Trump’s authority to determine who remains in the country. “Canceling these paroles is a promise kept to the American people to secure our borders and protect our national security,” the spokesperson said in a statement. The ruling came after a class-action lawsuit filed in August by three individuals from Venezuela, Cuba and Haiti who argued the Trump administration’s effort to remove them from the country represented an abrupt, unlawful move to pull parole status and work authorization from migrants. The Trump administration had argued that Biden overstepped parole authority by broadly awarding the status instead of granting it on a case-by-case basis. Burroughs said when DHS sent out termination notices to migrants, it failed to comply with requirements to provide a record showing an official had determined that the purposes of parole had been served. “Accordingly, the parole terminations exceeded the agency’s statutory authority and contradicted the procedures set forth in its own regulations,” the judge wrote. Reuters contributed to this report.

Alabama Gov Kay Ivey hospitalized following minor procedure, says she is determined to make speedy recovery

Alabama Gov Kay Ivey hospitalized following minor procedure, says she is determined to make speedy recovery

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, a Republican, was hospitalized on Tuesday after undergoing a minor procedure to remove fluid that was pressing against her lung, according to her office. Ivey, 81, will be monitored at Baptist Medical Center South in Montgomery in the coming days out of an abundance of caution, a spokesperson for the governor said in a statement. The fluid was discovered on Tuesday when the governor went to her doctor because she was feeling discomfort in her left side and recently experienced some shortness of breath. “For the last three weeks, Governor Kay Ivey has experienced some discomfort in her left side,” the statement said. “After monitoring the pain and recently feeling slightly short-of-breath, she made the decision to be seen again by her primary care physician earlier today.” MCCONNELL RELEASED FROM HOSPITAL AFTER HEALTH SCARE, TO WORK FROM HOME AS KEY DHS VOTE LOOMS While Ivey’s medical issue wasn’t urgent, she wanted it taken care of quickly so she could recover before the legislative session ends. “While it was not emergent, Governor Ivey wanted to get the procedure done as soon as possible so she can quickly get back to 100% to wrap up the 2026 Regular Session,” the statement said. Ivey’s office did not specify how long she would be in the hospital. “We are in touch with Governor Ivey, and she says she is determined to make a very speedy and full recovery,” her spokesperson said. WH CHIEF OF STAFF SUSIE WILES DIAGNOSED WITH EARLY STAGE BREAST CANCER, PROGNOSIS ‘EXCELLENT,’ TRUMP SAYS Officials in Alabama and other states offered support for Ivey as she recovers from the procedure. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, a Republican, said he was thankful Ivey was “receiving excellent care from some of the finest medical professionals. She is in good hands, and I join so many Alabamians in praying for her swift and full recovery.” Georgia GOP Gov. Brian Kemp said he and his family were praying for Ivey and wished her a speedy recovery. “She has always been a fighter and we know she’ll fight through this too,” Kemp wrote. The Alabama governor announced in 2019 that she was undergoing radiation for lung cancer, describing it as a small localized spot. Her office said the following year that scans indicated the treatment was successful, and she was free of disease. Ivey is term-limited and cannot run for re-election this year. The Associated Press contributed to this report.