Meet Gyanesh Kumar, IIT graduate, who becomes new Chief Election Commissioner
Gyanesh Kumar is the first CEC to be appointed under the new law on the appointment of the members of the Election Commission (EC).
Freezing weather, wildfire and flood risk forecast across Texas
Gov. Greg Abbott said the state’s power grid “has never been stronger than it is now” and should weather the cold without issues.
ICE arrests ‘predator’ migrant convicted of secretly recording others in bathroom
ICE officials in Houston arrested an immigrant “predator” previously convicted of secretly recording others in a bathroom in one of the latest developments in President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. The immigrant, Mexican national Daniel Alejandro Tristan-Guerra, was arrested by Houston Homeland Security Investigations officials “when his guard was down” on Feb. 11, according to an ICE statement released on Friday. Tristan-Guerra, 28, was arrested in a small town called Hallettsville in Lavaca County, Texas. After his arrest, he was taken to the Victoria County Jail pending his removal from the U.S. TOM HOMAN ON SUCCESS OF IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN: WON’T BE HAPPY UNTIL EVERY CRIMINAL MIGRANT IS ‘ERADICATED’ While several law enforcement entities in Democrat-controlled cities and states are refusing to cooperate with the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement operations, this arrest was made following a joint investigation by ICE and the Victoria County Sheriff’s Office. Tristan-Guerra was convicted on two counts of invasive visual recording in a bathroom in August 2021 after an investigation by ICE HSI Houston and the Victoria County Sheriff’s Office. ICE and federal agents in Houston have been very active in recent weeks, making several arrests in addition to Tristan-Guerra, including the arrest of several suspected members of the international criminal migrant group Tren de Aragua. FIRST 10 ‘HIGH THREAT’ ILLEGALS TO ARRIVE TO GUANTÁNAMO BAY ARE ALL TREN DE ARAGUA MEMBERS On Feb. 12, HSI Houston arrested three suspected Tren de Aragua associates wanted for their involvement in a multi-state sex trafficking ring operated by the group. Elsewhere in Texas, a South Texas man named Eusebio Cavazos, 33, pleaded guilty to attempting to smuggle 36 illegal aliens in a tractor-trailer after an investigation by ICE and U.S. Border Patrol. CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE Commenting on the recent operations, ICE HSI Houston Special Agent in Charge Chad Plantz said “the days of transnational criminal organizations raking in billions in illicit profits each year by trampling on our nation’s sovereignty and flooding our country with millions of unvetted aliens who could present a threat to public safety or national security are over.” TRANS MIGRANT FINDING SANCTUARY IN NYC ACCUSED OF RAPING 14-YEAR-OLD “The law enforcement community in Southeast Texas is united in our effort to restore law and order along the southern border by aggressively pursuing and dismantling human smuggling organizations and other criminal organizations who are bold enough to test our collective resolve,” he said. Addressing Tristan-Guerra’s recent arrest, Plantz commended local law enforcement for cooperating with ICE, which he said ensured the safety of the community. “Working alongside our partners in Lavaca County, ICE HSI special agents were able to safely apprehend him when his guard was down and minimize any threat to the public,” said Plantz. “The residents in Southeast Texas can rest easier today knowing this predator has been removed from the community.”
DOGE’s access to critical IRS system containing taxpayer information is imminent
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk, will soon have access to an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) system that contains sensitive taxpayer information, Fox News has learned. DOGE has requested access to the IRS Integrated Data Retrieval System, which allows IRS workers to view taxpayer accounts. Harrison Fields, the White House principal deputy press secretary, told Fox News in a statement that access to this system is necessary to identify fraud and fix the system. “Waste, fraud, and abuse have been deeply entrenched in our broken system for far too long,” Fields said. “It takes direct access to the system to identify and fix it. DOGE will continue to shine a light on the fraud they uncover as the American people deserve to know what their government has been spending their hard-earned tax dollars on.” WHAT HAS DOGE CUT SO FAR? The IRS website states that the system allows workers “to have instantaneous visual access to certain taxpayer accounts.” Other functions of the system include “researching account information and requesting returns,” entering transactions and collection information, and “automatically generating notices, collection documents and other outputs.” Musk is leading DOGE to aggressively slash government waste when it comes to federal spending under President Donald Trump. It was created via executive order and is a temporary organization within the White House that will spend 18 months carrying out its mission. DOGE PUTS DEI ON CHOPPING BLOCK WITH TERMINATION OF OVER $370M IN EDUCATION DEPARTMENT GRANTS The group has faced criticism over its access to federal systems, including the Treasury Department’s payment system, as well as moves to cancel federal contracts and make cuts at various agencies. Attorneys general from 14 states are suing to block DOGE from accessing federal data, arguing Musk and Trump’s administration have engaged in illegal executive overreach. The newly formed cost-cutting agency scored a win on Friday when a federal judge in Washington declined a request to temporarily block it from accessing sensitive data from the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Fox News Digital’s Michael Dorgan and Eric Revell contributed to this report.
Rubio meets Saudi Arabian officials ahead of US-Russia talks expected to lay groundwork for Trump-Putin summit
Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Saudi Arabian officials Monday ahead of planned talks in the country between United States diplomats and their Russian counterparts meant to negotiate an end to the Ukraine war. Rubio was joined by U.S. National Security Advisor Michael Waltz and Steve Witkoff, the U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, in a meeting with Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman at his palace in the capital city of Riyadh. Rubio also met with Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud earlier Monday after traveling to Riyadh from Israel during his first trip to the Middle East as secretary of state. Talks are scheduled for Tuesday in Saudi Arabia between the U.S. and Russia. Ukrainian officials are notably expected to be absent from the negotiating table. Rubio, Waltz and Witkoff will meet the Russian delegation, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR SAYS PUTIN, ZELENSKYY AGREE ‘ONLY PRESIDENT TRUMP COULD GET THEM TO THE TABLE’ Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Putin’s foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov set off for the Saudi capital on Monday, according to Russian state TV. Addressing reporters in Moscow on Monday, Lavrov said he looked forward to putting an “absolutely abnormal period” of estrangement between the U.S. and Russia behind them, according to the Washington Post. “We want to listen to our partners,” Lavrov reportedly said. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the talks will be primarily focused on “restoring the entire range of U.S.-Russian relations, as well as preparing possible talks on the Ukrainian settlement and organizing a meeting of the two presidents.” Bruce said the meeting is aimed at determining how serious the Russians are about wanting peace and whether detailed negotiations can be started. “I think the goal, obviously, for everyone is to determine if this is something that can move forward,” she told reporters traveling with Rubio in Riyadh, according to the Associated Press. Bruce said that even though Ukraine would not be at the table for Tuesday’s talks, actual peace negotiations would only take place with Ukraine’s involvement. Tuesday’s talks are expected to lay the groundwork for the summit between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump said he spoke to Putin on the phone last week and they “agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately.” The call upended years of U.S. policy, ending the isolation of Moscow over its Feb. 24, 2022, invasion of Ukraine. Trump phoned Zelenskyy afterward to inform him about their conversation. Trump on Sunday told reporters that Zelenskyy “will be involved” but did not elaborate. ZELENSKYY NOT YET SIGNING US ECONOMIC AGREEMENT ‘SHORT-SIGHTED,’ WHITE HOUSE OFFICIAL SAYS Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron is convening an emergency meeting between the main European powers in Paris on Monday to discuss the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Speaking on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” Witkoff said he and Waltz will be “having meetings at the direction of the president,” and hope to make “some really good progress with regard to Russia-Ukraine.” Witkoff didn’t directly respond to a question about whether Ukraine would have to give up a “significant portion” of its territory as part of any negotiated settlement. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said last week that NATO membership for Ukraine was unrealistic and suggested Kyiv should abandon hopes of winning all its territory back from Russia. The Ukrainian president said Monday his country had not been invited to the upcoming talks and won’t accept the outcome if Kyiv doesn’t take part. The U.S.-Russia talks would “yield no results,” given the absence of any Ukrainian officials, Zelenskyy said on a conference call with journalists from the United Arab Emirates, according to the AP. Zelenskyy said he would travel to Turkey on Monday and to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, but that his trip was unrelated to the U.S.-Russia talks. In an appearance on “Fox News Sunday,” Waltz rejected the notion that European allies are not being consulted on negotiating an end to the Russia-Ukraine war, noting how Rubio, Hegseth, Vice President JD Vance and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent spent last week in Europe meeting with allies. Bessent, in particular, traveled to Kyiv, while Vance met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. Waltz said one of the key tenants in negotiating a peace deal would be ensuring “a permanent end to the war,” describing how the conflict has devolved “into a World War I-style meat grinder of human beings.” He said long-term military security guarantees have to be European-led, criticizing how a third of NATO countries are not contributing what they agreed upon a decade ago. As for the billions in U.S. aid sent to Ukraine during the Biden administration, Waltz said the American people “deserve to be recouped, deserve to have some type of payback for the billions they have invested in this war.” The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Tearful chair of Munich Security Conference expresses ‘fear’ in farewell address after blistering Vance speech
The outgoing chairman of the Munich Security Conference delivered an emotional farewell speech that ended in tears, after he expressed “fear” over Vice President JD Vance’s blistering speech to the annual conference on international security policy. “This conference started as a trans-Atlantic conference,” German diplomat and chair of the conference Christoph Heusgen said Sunday. “After the speech of Vice President Vance on Friday, we have to fear that our common value base is not that common anymore. I’m very grateful to all those European politicians that spoke out and reaffirmed the values and principles that they are defending. No one did this better than President Zelenskyy, who has been fighting for these values – democracy, freedom, rule of law for the past three years.” Heusgen’s speech marked the close to his leadership of the Munich Security Conference, as former Secretary-General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg takes the reins of the international security forum. Heusgen had served as leader of the forum since 2022. Social media critics began posting snippets of Heusgen’s speech to X Sunday, claiming the German diplomat and longtime advisor to former German Chancellor Angela Merkel broke down in tears over his frustrations with Vance’s blistering speech to the international body. The conference clarified on X that the diplomat reportedly broke down due to his speech being his last as chairman of the forum. CBS HOST BLASTED FOR ‘BONKERS’ CLAIM THAT NAZI GERMANY ‘WEAPONIZED’ FREE SPEECH “Our former Chair Christoph Heusgen did not shed a few tears out of ‘frustration.’ It was his farewell speech as he was leaving the MSC after this year’s conference. He was saying goodbye to the team at this very moment. The video snippet here is edited together,” the conference posted to X Monday morning. The full video of Heusgen’s speech shows him breaking down into tears after warning that “our rules-based international order is under pressure.” VANCE JOKES ABOUT GRETA THUNBERG AS HE GOES SCORCHED EARTH ON EUROPEAN CENSORSHIP “It is clear that our rules-based international order is under pressure,” he said. “It is my strong belief… that this multipolar world needs to be based on a single set of norms and principles, on the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This order is easy to disrupt, it’s easy to destroy, but it’s much harder to rebuild, so let us stick to these values. Let us not reinvent them, but focus on strengthening their consistent application.” HEGSETH SAYS HE AND VANCE ARE ‘ON THE SAME PAGE’ DESPITE VP’S REMARK ON US TROOPS IN UKRAINE President Donald Trump has frequently taken shots at the United Nations since his first administration, and said earlier in February that the U.N. was “not being well run” and needs to get its “act together.” “Let me conclude. And this becomes difficult,” Heusgen said, choking up, before leaving the podium on the stage and hugging various members of the audience. A spokesperson for the conference reiterated to Fox News Digital Monday that Heusgen teared up solely due to the fact that he was ending his three-year term leading the forum and that “many long-time participants and friends were in the Conference Hall to say goodbye” to the diplomat. “I was truly touched by the warm farewell I received from the entire MSC team and so many friends after my last MSC as chairman,” Heusgen added in comment to Fox News Digital. “It was a very emotional moment on stage at the end of my term. A video is circulating on the internet that takes this scene of my departure out of context. Unfortunately, this once again shows how the mechanisms of disinformation work.” VANCE EVISCERATES ‘SOVIET’-STYLE EUROPEAN CENSORSHIP IN ADDRESS TO MUNICH SECURITY CONFERENCE His speech to the assembly followed Vance’s on Friday, where the U.S. vice president lambasted “Soviet”-style European censorship, joked about left-wing environmentalist Greta Thunberg, and slammed ongoing immigration woes that have throttled European nations and the U.S. under the Biden administration. “Trust me, I say this with all humor,” Vance said at one point of his speech. “If American democracy can survive 10 years of Greta Thunberg scolding, you guys can survive a few months of Elon Musk.” Vance also took issue with current immigration practices across the world, calling them “out-of-control migration” policies that include allowing unvetted migrants into foreign nations. Vance’s comments followed a suspect identified as an Afghan migrant ramming a car into pedestrians at a trade union demonstration in Munich Thursday, killing a mother and child and injuring at least 37 others. GERMANY ACCUSES ELON MUSK OF TRYING TO INTERFERE IN ITS NATIONAL ELECTIONS “But why did this happen in the first place?” Vance said in his speech of the Munich car attack. “It’s a terrible story, but it’s one we’ve heard way too many times in Europe, and unfortunately, too many times in the United States, as well. An asylum seeker, often a young man in his mid-20s, already known to police, rams a car into a crowd and shatters a community. How many times must we suffer these appalling setbacks before we change course and take our shared civilization in a new direction?” Other world leaders seemingly took issue with Vance’s speech during the forum, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz saying the day after Vance’s speech that Germany rejects “outsiders intervening in our democracy.” Stateside, conservatives have celebrated Vance’s speech as “almost Reaganesque,” “pro-American” and pro-free speech on social media and during Fox News interviews. Fox News Digital reached out to the Munich Security Conference on Monday for additional comment regarding Heusgen’s speech and did not immediately receive a reply.
House Democrat’s smear of Border Patrol bill backfires after dozens of Dems support it: ‘Fearmongering’
A House Democrat’s strategy to demonize legislation aimed at making it a federal crime to try to evade law enforcement within 100 miles of the border backfired last week after dozens of House Democrats voted in favor of the bill. “I urge my colleagues to oppose H.R. 35. Let’s call this bill what it is: fearmongering dressed up as officer safety,” Rep. Janelle Bynum, D-Ore., said last week about the bill named after late Border Patrol Agent Raul Gonzalez, who died in a pursuit in 2022. House Resolution 35 would make individuals convicted of “intentionally fleeing” law enforcement in a vehicle subject to up to two years in prison and fines. If the police chase results in a death, the individual could face up to life imprisonment under the legislation, and potentially face deportation if the person involved is in the country illegally. SAN DIEGO MIGRANT SHELTER CLOSES AFTER NO NEW ARRIVALS SINCE TRUMP TOOK OFFICE; OVER 100 EMPLOYEES LAID OFF “This bill echoes one of the darkest chapters in our nation’s history, ‘The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850.’ Just like that shameful law, H.R. 35 forces local authorities and encourages the deputizing of randos to do the federal government’s work, punishing them if they refuse. Back then, it was hunting people down who dared to seek freedom. Today, it’s forcing local police to become federal enforcers,” she continued in her House floor speech. Regardless, the bill passed 264-155, with 50 Democrats voting in favor, including a handful in border states. The legislation is now in the hands of the Senate, where Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, is leading the charge on the proposal. FLORIDA SHERIFF SAYS ICE PARTNERSHIP ONLY THE BEGINNING IN ILLEGAL MIGRANT CRACKDOWN CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT IMMIGRATION “This bill delivers a clear message to anyone who endangers our community that they will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” Rep. Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz., said about the legislation he is sponsoring. Police pursuits near the border are a frequent site as smugglers hope to evade law enforcement. Under the Trump administration, there has been an across-the-board crackdown on border and immigration policies, including sending in the military to the border as well as deportation raids throughout the country. Bynum started in Congress last month, as she narrowly defeated former Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer in November. Chavez-DeRemer is now President Donald Trump’s nominee to serve as Labor secretary. The seat will likely be one of the nation’s most competitive in 2026, according to the Cook Political Report, which ranks the seat as “Lean Democrat.” “Janelle Bynum’s unglued comments reinforced she’s hellbent on pursuing a dangerous anti-police officer crusade in Congress. Bynum’s extremist vote siding with cartel terrorists over Border Patrol puts Oregonians in danger,” National Republican Campaign Committee spokesman Ben Petersen said in a statement.
Judge rules against federal employees suing Trump admin for privacy concerns
A federal judge has ruled against federal employees who sued the Trump administration over privacy and security concerns around a government workforce email distribution system. The new computer server was used to send deferred resignation “Fork in the Road” emails to more than 2 million federal employees, offering them to leave their government jobs and get paid through September, or risk being laid off. DC-based federal Judge Randolph Moss denied a request for a temporary restraining order (TRO) that would have blocked the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) from continuing to use the email address [email protected] and is known as the “Government-Wide Email System.” The lawsuit claimed that in the rush to adopt this new system, OPM violated security safeguards for federal workers, known as a Privacy Impact Statement (PIA). But in denying emergency legal relief, the judge said, “Plaintiffs have failed to carry their burden of demonstrating that their .gov email addresses (which reveal their names and, possibly, their places of employment) are at imminent risk of exposure outside the United States government— much less that this risk is a result of OPM’s failure to conduct an adequate PIA. Rather, their arguments ‘rel[y] on a highly attenuated chain of possibilities.’” According to the lawsuit, soon after Trump took office, federal employees received emails from the email address [email protected] that indicated the agency was running tests for a new “distribution and response list.” “The goal of these tests is to confirm that an email can be sent and replied to by all government employees,” one of the emails said, according to the lawsuit. Workers were asked to acknowledge receipt of the messages. The case will continue on the merits in the courts, but for now the new communications system will remain in place, pending any appeal. This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Federal judge skeptical of effort to block Musk’s DOGE from accessing data, firing employees
A federal judge expressed skepticism of efforts seeking to bar President Donald Trump’s administration from accessing federal data and firing federal workers when hearing remarks from the bench on Monday. Judge Tanya Chutkan has yet to issue a ruling in the case, which relates to billionaire Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and their efforts to curb government spending. Chutkan says she will rule on the case within 24 hours. At issue in the case are DOGE’s actions within seven federal agencies, including the Office of Personnel Management, the Department of Education, Department of Labor, The Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Energy, Department of Transportation and the Department of Commerce. Attorneys general from 14 states argue Musk and Trump’s administration have engaged in illegal executive overreach, but Chutkan says she wasn’t convinced so far. ELON MUSK DESCRIBES LIMESTONE MINE USED FOR PROCESSING FEDERAL WORKERS’ RETIREMENT PAPERS: ‘LIKE A TIME WARP’ “There is no greater threat to democracy than the accumulation of state power in the hands of a single, unelected individual,” the lawsuit brought against DOGE states. EXPERT REVEALS MASSIVE LEVELS OF WASTE DOGE CAN SLASH FROM ENTITLEMENTS, PET PROJECTS: ‘A LOT OF FAT’ Chutkan says lawyers for the states have yet to establish that there is imminent harm that could be avoided by restraining DOGE. “The things that I’m hearing are serious and troubling indeed… But you’re saying these are things that we’re hearing,” she said. “I’m not seeing it so far.” New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez filed the lawsuit, joined by officials from Arizona, Michigan, Maryland, Minnesota, California, Nevada, Vermont, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Oregon, Washington and Hawaii. The group of states is seeking a temporary restraining order to prevent more federal firings at the recommendation of Musk and DOGE. Chutkan was not exclusively hostile to the states’ argument, however, as she was also seen critiquing representatives for Trump’s administration. “Nowhere have my friends offered a shred of anything, nor could they, to show that Elon Musk has any formal or actual authority to make any government decisions himself,” DOJ lawyer Harry Graver said. Chutkan countered, “I think you stretch too far. I disagree with you there.”
NAACP urges Black consumers to steer buying power away from companies that have ditched DEI
The NAACP is calling on Black consumers to direct their nearly $2 trillion in buying power toward companies that have kept their commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. In a “Black Consumer Advisory” memo released Saturday, the NAACP said that Black consumers have purchasing power exceeding $1.8 trillion annually. The memo included a “Call To Action” for these consumers to begin steering that power away from specific companies that have begun cutting back on DEI-related positions, programs, investments and hiring practices. According to the group, such rollbacks “reinforce historical barriers to progress under the guise of protecting ‘meritocracy,’” which they said was “a concept often used to justify exclusion.” Some of the companies the group is urging Black consumers to steer clear of are listed on its website and include Walmart, Meta and McDonald’s. Others were reportedly referenced in a separate buying guide provided exclusively to The Associated Press, which listed Lowe’s, Amazon, Tractor Supply and Target as others to avoid. Delta Air Lines, Apple and Ben & Jerry’s are some of the companies the NAACP listed on its website as having “recommitted to DEI.” Meanwhile, e.l.f. Cosmetics, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Costco are other companies the NAACP is suggesting are wise for consumers to support because they have kept strong to their DEI commitments, according to The Associated Press. WALMART FACING BACKLASH OVER DEI POLICY REVERSAL AS SHAREHOLDERS AND DEM OFFICIALS URGE THEM TO RECONSIDER The effort to steer consumers away from these companies comes amid pressure from the Trump administration and GOP officials to peel back DEI commitments in both the public and private sectors. In addition to an executive order from President Donald Trump calling for an end to “Illegal DEI and DEIA policies,” which he says violate currently established civil rights law, newly appointed Attorney General Pam Bondi sent a memo earlier this month to all Justice Department employees, indicating the agency would be investigating, eliminating and penalizing DEI preferences, mandates, policies and programs occurring in the private sector and at educational institutions. Recently, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr ordered an investigation into Comcast’s DEI practices, while the state of Missouri filed a lawsuit earlier this month challenging Starbucks’ DEI policies, as well. OBAMA LIBRARY, BEGUN WITH LOFTY DEI GOALS, NOW PLAGUED BY $40M RACIALLY CHARGED SUIT, BALLOONING COSTS “The NAACP recognizes that the rollback of DEI initiatives is a direct attack on Black economic progress, civil rights, and the principles of equity and fairness,” the Saturday consumer advisory memo stated. “These actions are part of a broader effort to reverse gains made in civil rights and social justice. We urge Black consumers to remain vigilant, informed, and intentional in their economic decisions, using their collective power to demand accountability from corporations and institutions.” The consumer guidance provided by the NAACP will reportedly be amended as companies make changes to their DEI commitments, according to The Associated Press, and the group is currently in discussions with executives at companies that have reversed their DEI pledges. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Fox News Digital reached out to the NAACP for comment and to receive a full list of companies it was urging Black consumers to steer cleer of but did not receive a response by publication time. “We have the power to choose where we spend our money,” NAACP CEO and President Derrick Johnson said in a statement posted on X. “I am confident that this framework will support our community as we make difficult decisions on where to spend our hard-earned money.”