Texas State released from contract to host debate, as Biden and Trump sidestep tradition
Texas State was slated to be the first Texas university to host a presidential debate before the leading candidates sidestepped the traditional debate schedule
Police ask Texas prosecutors to treat attempted drowning of Palestinian 3-year-old child as a hate crime
A Texas woman allegedly tried to drown a 3-year-old at an apartment complex pool in suburban Dallas after making racist remarks toward the child’s mother.
US v Trump: Second day of Florida hearing wraps in classified documents case
The second day of hearings on motions from both the defense and prosecution in former President Trump’s classified documents case in Florida ended Monday evening shortly after 5:30 p.m. Two issues were considered during the day’s hearings: Special Counsel Jack Smith’s funding for the case and its legality and a potential added provision to Trump’s release conditions to limit some of his speech regarding the raid of his Mar-a-Lago estate. CNN PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE: ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION LOOMS AS TOP ISSUE AMID OUTRAGE OVER 12-YEAR-OLD GIRL’S MURDER In a hearing that began at 10 a.m. and ran for roughly an hour and 45 minutes, Trump’s defense attorney Emil Bove argued that Special Counsel Jack Smith was being “unlawfully funded.” He claimed the funding being used by Smith’s team isn’t authorized by statute, ultimately posing a separation of powers issue. As it stands, the special counsel is operating on an allegedly infinite budget in its effort to convict the former president. Notably, Smith was present for the Monday hearing, sitting behind where the prosecution was seated, but not quite in the gallery of the courtroom. PROSECUTORS WANT ANOTHER GAG ORDER ON TRUMP IN CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS CASE U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon for the Southern District of Florida questioned Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecutor James Pearce about his argument that there are indefinite appropriations legally made available to the special counsel. Cannon prodded him over the “limitless appropriations,” to which he provided several examples of similar instances in the U.S. Code. Pearce also noted that eight other special counsels were funded in the same manner, potentially hinting that her ruling could have far-reaching implications in other matters. Cannon further probed some of the budget reports regarding the prosecution, showing that nearly $9 million was spent on the case by the special counsel’s office and the DOJ in a matter of months between November 2022 and March 2023. ‘THE VIEW’ CO-HOSTS DEFEND CNN HOST CUTTING OFF INTERVIEW WITH TRUMP CAMPAIGN SPOKESWOMAN: ‘SO GOOD!’ Pearce made a separate argument that even if the funds are determined to be unlawful, that should not warrant the case being dismissed, as Trump’s defense has pushed for. Later in the day, the court heard arguments both for and against what amounts to an informal and limited gag order on Trump as a modification to his release conditions. ANTI-FREE SPEECH CULTURE IN GOVERNMENT, ACADEMIA: JONATHAN TURLEY The government sought the speech restriction, specifically as it relates to the raid on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home, after he made numerous remarks regarding the FBI agents’ sanctioned use of force during the operation. The prosecution pointed to language that described the FBI as being “locked and loaded and ready to take me out,” as having the potential to endanger law enforcement. During the second hearing, DOJ prosecutor David Harbach was rebuked by Cannon for his tone, and warned to act within the court’s decorum. He argued that the speech restriction on Trump was necessary because of the connection between the former president’s statements and the actions of some supporters. He also claimed that the names of FBI agents involved in the Mar-a-Lago raid had been made public, putting them in danger. However, when Cannon asked for the person who made the names public, Harbach did not tell her, instead saying the prosecution was aware of the person responsible. This seemed to irritate Cannon, who prompted him to ask why they wouldn’t make it public and have that person prosecuted. Trump’s defense attorney argued during the hearing that the requested informal and limited gag order was too vague, also claiming the former president’s attacks were obviously targeting Biden and not officers of the law. Court resumes Tuesday morning with a sealed hearing at 11 a.m. and an open hearing at 1 p.m.
Antisemitism group calls on Biden to fire official who posted, deleted anti-Israel tweets: ‘just horrifying’
An antisemitism watchdog group is calling for the Biden administration to fire a recently promoted White House official whose anti-Israel social media posts resurfaced this week. StopAntisemitism said Tyler Cherry, who was promoted earlier this month as an associate communications director at the White House, called for the elimination of Israel and promoted anti-Israel viewpoints on social media going back years, as well as anti-police commentary. “We’re hoping this is the quickest hire and fire scenario in President Biden’s administration to date,” Stop Antisemitism founder Liora Rez told Fox News Digital. “For the Biden administration to either A, not vet properly, or B, to vet and then approve an inner circle appointee like this… is just horrifying.” BIDEN OFFICIAL SAYS PAST SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS DON’T REFLECT ‘CURRENT VIEWS,’ VOWS TO SUPPORT ADMIN ‘AGENDA’ Cherry, who spent three years at the Department of Interior working for Secretary Deb Haaland, deleted almost 2,500 posts on X between Sunday night and Monday morning, according to the Social Blade analytics website. White House senior deputy press secretary Andrew Bates told Fox News Digital on Thursday that the White House was “very proud to have Tyler on the team.” Fox News Digital reached out to the White House again on Monday. On Sunday, Cherry responded to the backlash following his promotion and his past tweets. “Past social media posts from when I was younger do not reflect my current views,” Cherry, who was in his 20s when he made the posts, wrote on X. “Period. I support this Administration’s agenda – and will continue my communications work focused on our climate and environmental policies.” Some of his social media posts include a 2014 anti-Israel post that went viral and echoes a lot of the rhetoric currently heard on college campuses. US, ISRAELI OFFICIALS CALL OUT BOSTON GROUP OVER ‘MAPPING PROJECT’ LINKING JEWISH GROUPS TO MEDIA, GOVERNMENT “Cheersing in bars to ending the occupation of Palestine – no shame and f— your glares #ISupportGaza #FreePalestine,” Cherry wrote on July 25, 2014. “Praying for #Baltimore, but praying even harder for an end to a capitalistic police state motivated by explicit and implicit racial biases,” Cherry posted in 2015 amid riots that were sparked following the death of Freddie Gray, a Black man, in police custody in Baltimore. In 2018, Cherry called for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to be abolished. Anti-Israel rhetoric has increased following the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas terrorists on Israeli communities. The Biden administration has supplied Israel with military aid but has also been criticized for trying to dictate its military response in Gaza. “The Biden administration is forgetting that it took 10 years for us to find and eliminate Osama bin Laden, so it is highly, highly unappealing and misfortunate that President Biden is pressuring Israel after just nine months to get out of Gaza and stop Israel’s attempt to remove Hamas terrorists from power,” Rez said. “Talk about not being proportional. Ten years, we took our sweet time versus nine months. It doesn’t make sense to us.” UN BODY ISSUES ‘ANTISEMITIC REPORT’ AGAINST ISRAEL, CRITICS CHARGE Rez noted that the Biden administration has appointed people with anti-Israel views to prominent positions. She cited Maher Bitar, who serves as the special assistant to the senior director for intelligence programs at the National Security Council (NSC). Bitar has been accused of spreading hatred of Israel in the past and promoting the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestments, Sanctions (BDS) movement. “We’re kind of moving from the point of scratching our heads and asking ‘What’s going on?’ to asking if this is a deliberate attempt to give antisemites a seat at the White House table,” she said. Fox News Digital’s Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.
Ronny Jackson, Wesley Hunt face campaign ethics probes over private club membership
The two Republican congressmen used campaign funds to pay bills at exclusive private clubs in Amarillo and Houston.
Hunter Biden attorneys re-submit request for new gun trial
Attorneys for Hunter Biden re-submitted a motion requesting a new criminal trial after the first son was found guilty on all charges related to his purchase of a firearm in 2018. Biden’s defense attorney Abbe Lowell filed the motion Monday, arguing the federal court in Delaware lacked jurisdiction to go to trial earlier this month. The motion comes one week after Lowell filed a similar motion, but quickly withdrew it without explanation. Biden was found guilty on June 11 of lying about his drug use when purchasing a firearm in 2018. Specifically, he was found guilty on three charges: making a false statement in the purchase of a gun, making a false statement related to information required to be kept by a federally licensed gun dealer, and possession of a gun by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance. Biden had pleaded not guilty in the case. HUNTER BIDEN FILES AND QUICKLY WITHDRAWS MOTION FOR NEW TRIAL IN CRIMINAL GUN CASE The case marked the first time in U.S. history that a sitting president’s child was on trial. Prosecutors worked to prove that Biden lied on a federal firearm form, known as ATF Form 4473, in October 2018, when he answered “No” when asked if he is an unlawful user of substances or addicted to controlled substances. Biden has a well-documented history of drug abuse, including in his 2021 memoir “Beautiful Things,” which was repeatedly referenced by both prosecutors and Biden’s defense team during the seven-day trial this month. The memoir walks readers through Biden’s highs and lows with addiction to crack cocaine and attempts to get sober. HUNTER BIDEN TRIAL ENTERS DAY 5 AFTER TESTIMONY FROM SISTER-IN-LAW-TURNED-GIRLFRIEND: ‘PANICKED’ Lowell did not dispute Biden’s long history with substance abuse amid the trial, which also includes an addiction to alcohol. The defense instead argued that on the day Biden bought the Cobra Colt .38, he did not consider himself an active drug addict, citing the first son’s stint in rehab ahead of the October 2018 purchase. Prosecutors, however, argued Biden was addicted to crack cocaine before, during and after he bought the handgun. In addition to citing Biden’s memoir, the prosecution team also presented the jury with text messages Biden shared with family and apparent drug dealers to prove his addiction around the time period he purchased the firearm. ‘LIKE A SON’: FORMER TOP BIDEN ADVISER WITH DEEP BUSINESS TIES TO CHINA SPOTTED INSIDE HUNTER BIDEN GUN TRIAL Just one day after the gun purchase, prosecutors showed the court that Biden texted Hallie Biden, his sister-in-law turned girlfriend, to say he was “waiting for a dealer named Mookie.” A day after that text, he texted that he was “sleeping on a car smoking crack on 4th Street and Rodney” in Wilmington. The jury took roughly three hours across two days to reach the guilty verdict. The three charges carry a total maximum prison time of 25 years. Biden, however, is a first-time offender, making it unlikely he will face the full penalties. HUNTER BIDEN REVEALED TOP CCP LEADER WANTED HIM TO VISIT CHINA TO ‘DISCUSS BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES’: EMAILS He will be sentenced later this year, though no date has yet been issued. The motion for a new trial comes after The Disciplinary Counsel for Washington, D.C., filed a “notice of discipline” with the D.C. Court of Appeals last week that seeks to suspend Biden’s law license in the district following the guilty verdict. The D.C. Bar’s website still lists Robert Hunter Biden as being in “good standing” and “active” as of Monday afternoon. Biden earned a law degree from Yale University in 1996 and previously worked for law firm Boies Schiller Flexner.
CNN Presidential Debate: Illegal immigration looms as top issue amid outrage over 12-year-old girl’s murder
Illegal immigration and how to solve the ongoing crisis at the southern border are likely to be top issues at this Thursday’s presidential debate between President Biden and former President Donald Trump — after a string of horrific crimes by illegal immigrants, including the brutal murder of a 12-year-old girl in Texas. Two Venezuelan illegal immigrants are charged with capital murder in the death of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray in Houston, Texas. One of the two men accused had his bail set at $10 million on Monday. Authorities said she was “lured” under a bridge in Houston before she was tied up and killed. The arrests came the same week as the arrest of an Ecuadorian national in the U.S. illegally for a broad daylight sex attack in which police said a machete-wielding man raped a 13-year-old girl at a park. Last week, police also announced that an illegal migrant from El Salvador had been arrested for the murder of Rachel Morin — a Maryland mother of five. The horrific crimes are part of a broader wave of crimes across the U.S. committed by those in the country illegally. JOCELYN NUNGARAY MURDER: ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT SUSPECT ACCUSED OF KILLING HOUSTON GIRL HAS BAIL SET AT $10M The arrests come days before this week’s CNN presidential debate between Trump and Biden, where immigration was already expected to be a top topic, given the ongoing crisis at the southern border. The U.S. has seen record numbers of migrant crossings at the border, with more than 2.4 million in FY 23 alone on top of three years of the highest crossings ever seen. Republicans and Trump have hammered Biden over the crisis, arguing that it is his policies — and the rolling back of Trump-era policies — that have fueled the crisis. “These are Biden migrants,” Trump told Fox News Digital last week. “They are flooding our country. They are flooding our cities and states.” Trump has promised the largest domestic deportation operation in U.S. history if elected, and to terminate “every Open Border policy of the Biden administration.” He has also promised to deploy special forces to the border and reinstate his 2017 travel ban. SUSPECTS ‘LURED’ TEXAS 12-YEAR-OLD TO HER DEATH, PROSECUTORS SAY Biden, meanwhile, has argued that Congress needs to step up to pass immigration reform to fix what he calls a “broken” immigration system. His administration introduced a bill on day one, but Republicans balked at the inclusion of a pathway to citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants already in the U.S. He also backed a bipartisan Senate bill introduced earlier this year, but it has failed to pick up steam in the upper chamber. Biden has blamed Trump for stifling the bill, which included additional funding for border operations and a mechanism to shut down crossings after a certain level. CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS “Republicans in Congress, not all, walked away from it. Why? Because Donald Trump told them to,” he said in February. Biden has made two major immigration moves in recent weeks as congressional action stalls. One was a move to further limit asylum claims by migrants once average border encounters exceed 2,500 a day. Last week he also announced a deportation shield for some illegal immigrant spouses of U.S. citizens. He has repeatedly said, however, that it is not enough and he needs Congress to act in order to fix the system. Biden will likely go into the debate armed with data showing that numbers at the border are trending down. There were 170,723 total encounters at the southern border in May, the lowest month this fiscal year and the lowest May since Biden took office. Additionally, Fox News has reported that illegal crossings continue to plummet, with just under 1,900 apprehensions on Sunday, one of the lowest such days since early 2021. However, Trump will likely highlight the crimes being committed by those who were released into the U.S., particularly those who were released during Biden’s presidency — including the murder of Jocelyn Nungaray. Fox News’ Greg Norman and Bill Melugin contributed to this report.
Elite university’s ‘disturbing’ Hamas connections probed by lawmakers
Utah Republican Rep. Burgess Owens is demanding the president of Northwestern University sever school ties with news outlet Al Jazeera following repeated reports of its connection to terrorist group Hamas, Fox News Digital has learned. “Turns out that Al Jazeera is not just a platform for anti-Israel, pro-terrorist propaganda; it is also a safe haven for Hamas supporters,” Owens said in comment to Fox News Digital. “It is unacceptable for any American university that receives hundreds of millions of dollars in annual federal funding to partner with organizations whose members are terrorists or whose reporting incites terror on behalf of Hamas. President Schill testified before Congress that Northwestern was looking into its formal partnership with Al Jazeera, and in light of disturbing reports, I’m calling for immediate answers and action to ensure this corruption is nowhere near American students.” Owens – alongside Republican Reps. Elise Stefanik of New York, Andy Ogles of Tennessee and Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey – sent a letter Friday to Northwestern University President Michael Schill demanding answers on the school’s ties to outlet Al Jazeera, which is funded by the Qatari government. Northwestern has a satellite campus in Qatar, which includes a partnership with Al Jazeera that allows its students “to engage regularly with leading media industry professionals,” according to Northwestern’s website. BURGESS OWENS CORNERS ELITE UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT OVER EYE-POPPING DONATIONS FROM HAMAS-HARBORING QATAR Earlier this month, reports surfaced that a journalist who previously wrote for Al Jazeera held three Jewish hostages in his home before he was killed by the Israeli military. The journalist was never an official employee of the outlet, the New York Post reported, but had a byline with the publication and other outlets in Gaza. Owens’ letter cited the journalist while demanding answers regarding the school’s ties to the Qatari-backed outlet. “On Saturday, June 8, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched a daring raid on Hamas to rescue Israeli hostages abducted during the horrific events of October 7. During the raid, the IDF discovered that three of the rescued hostages were held at Abdallah Aljamal’s home in Nuseirat. Aljamal, who was killed during the rescue, was a journalist who had published an article on Al Jazeera and whose information can be found on the Al Jazeera website,” the letter to Schill reads. NEW BATCH OF ‘MORALLY BANKRUPT’ COLLEGE ADMINISTRATORS TO BE GRILLED OVER CAMPUS ANTISEMITISM BY HOUSE “Unfortunately, this is not the first time Al Jazeera has been connected to terrorists or terrorist organizations. According to the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), Al Jazeera and its reporters have been connected to Hamas throughout the Israel-Hamas War. For example, a Palestinian journalist named Mohammad Wishah working for Al Jazeera was discovered to have been a commander in Hamas’s anti-tank missile unit who went on to work in research and development for Hamas, and posted a photograph of himself with Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar on social media,” the letter continues. TRUMP SLAMS ‘RADICAL LEFT LUNATICS’ CREATING CHAOS ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES NATIONWIDE The lawmakers listed other reports linking Al Jazeera to Hamas, including a correspondent accused by the IDF of serving as a “platoon deputy commander” for Hamas, as well as two Al Jazeera journalists accused by Israel of “operating a drone that posed a threat to Israeli soldiers” before they were killed in an airstrike. “The fact that Northwestern would partner with Al Jazeera despite evidence showing a number of its journalists are active members, and even leaders, of Hamas, as well as its dissemination of propaganda on behalf of Hamas, is deeply troubling. It is unacceptable for an American university that receives hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding annually to partner with organizations whose members are terrorists or whose reporting propagandizes on behalf of terrorist organizations,” the lawmakers wrote in their letter to Schill. JEWISH STUDENT DEFIES ANTI-ISRAEL RADICALS WHO ‘STALKED’ HIM ON CALIFORNIA CAMPUS: WON’T BE ‘SILENCED’ “It is anathema to the American way of life and contrary to our education system which seeks to change hearts and minds through persuasion and dialogue rather than through brute force.” During a fiery House hearing last month, Owens cornered Schill on the eye-popping sum in donations the elite school has reportedly received from Qatar. “Do you think it’d be a good idea for the University of Northwestern to partner with a government that harbors terrorist Hamas, and Iranian operatives who fund terrorism? Yes or no?” Owens asked Schill, while sitting in front of a large billboard check prop depicting a $600 million donation from Qatar to Northwestern. “I’m not going to engage in yes or no answers,” Schill responded. CAMPUS ‘OCCUPATION GUIDE’ TAPS INTO AGITATORS’ ‘RAGE,’ INSTRUCTS HOW TO ‘ESCALATE’ CHAOS “Obviously, you don’t have a problem with that,” Owens said. “Northwestern’s school of journalism…” Owens continued before he was cut off by Schill. “I’m really quite offended by you telling me what my views are,” Schill interjected. “Did you know that the Northwestern school of journalism has a formal partnership with Al Jazeera?” Owens pressed the university president, who answered he was only recently made aware of the partnership. “I, in fact, just found out about that last week,” he responded. STEFANIK SPARS WITH HEAD OF TOP SCHOOL OVER FAILING GRADE ON ANTISEMITISM, STUNNING WHISTLEBLOWER CLAIM “Let me make you aware of it then, because Al Jazeera – because of their pro-Hamas reporting – the secretary of state, Anthony Blinken, asked the Qatar prime minister to tone down Al Jazeera’s anti-Israel incitement. Also, it was Israel, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt that have blocked Al-Jazeera because they are a pro-Hamas mouthpiece. My understanding is that you have a contract with the Qatar Foundation that expires at the end of the 2027-2028 academic year. Now that you know about Qatar, are you going to still renew that contract?” he asked. The hearing, held by the House Education and Workforce Committee, featured testimony from Schill, UCLA Chancellor Gene Block and Rutgers President Jonathan Holloway regarding their handling of campus
Civil liberties groups file lawsuit challenging Louisiana law requiring Ten Commandments in every classroom
Louisiana is facing a lawsuit from civil liberties groups over its new law requiring that the Ten Commandments be displayed in every public school classroom. Plaintiffs in the suit include parents of Louisiana public school children, the American Civil Liberties Union, Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the Freedom From Religion Foundation. Republican Gov. Jeff Landry signed H.B. 71 into law last Wednesday. The law, a first for the nation, requires a poster-sized display of the Ten Commandments in “large, easily readable font” in all public classrooms, from kindergartens to state-funded universities. DC FAITH LEADER SAYS CHRISTIANS SHOULD PREPARE THEMSELVES WITH THE ‘ARMOR OF GOD’ Opponents of the measure had long warned of an impending lawsuit to fight the legislation, which they argue is a violation of separation of church and state and that the display will isolate students who are not Christian. Proponents say the measure is not solely religious, but that it has historical significance. In the language of the law, the Ten Commandments are “foundational documents of our state and national government.” The posters in Louisiana must be in place in classrooms by the start of 2025. They’ll be paired with a four-paragraph “context statement” describing how the Ten Commandments “were a prominent part of public education for almost three centuries.” The law also “authorizes” but does not require the display of other items in K-12 public schools, including: The Mayflower Compact, which was signed by religious pilgrims aboard the Mayflower in 1620 and is often referred to as America’s “First Constitution;” the Declaration of Independence; and the Northwest Ordinance, which established a government in the Northwest Territory — in the present day Midwest — and created a pathway for admitting new states to the Union. Under the law, state funds will not be used to implement the mandate. The posters would be paid for through donations. Fox News Digital has reached out to Landry’s office for comment on Monday’s lawsuit. Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
DNA TV Show: On-duty tehsildar assaulted during land dispute resolution in UP’s Firozabad
During the intervention, one of the men involved in the incident slapped and struck down the Tehsildar, causing him to fall to the ground.