Comedian Rachel Bloom says finding humor isn’t hard despite industry’s political correctness fears
Comedian and actress Rachel Bloom told Fox News Digital that she doesn’t find it hard to be funny, despite concerns from other comedians that political correctness has taken over the industry. Bloom acknowledged that “culturally” comedy changes over time, but she said that – in her opinion – the fear of being “canceled” does not impact her jokes. “For me, the way I approach writing and comedy is, ‘What can I say about the world that I haven’t seen another person say. Or what’s a show I want to see – what’s a joke I want to see that I haven’t seen, and usually servicing that – there are things to navigate – but as long as I’m servicing that, that’s my North Star,” Bloom told Fox News during an event over the weekend focused on preserving funding for the arts. CHRISTOPHER RUFO: CANCEL CULTURE’S RULES ARE CHANGING AND CONSERVATIVES CAN SEIZE THE DAY “I’m never be the comedian that was like, ‘Let me make people angry.’ That’s just not my thing,” Bloom added. “I kind of, almost look at it like ‘Shark Tank,’ where it’s like, ‘What’s a need? What’s a need I can fill?’ Which is why I went into musical comedy in the first place.” While Bloom seems less fazed by the thought of being canceled over her jokes, other comedians like Dave Chappelle, Ricky Gervais, Bill Burr, Chris Rock and others have been outspoken with their complaints about the current environment for comedians. “It started off with something everyone could agree on, and then quickly it just spun out of control. I remember whenever that cancel culture got to the point of where it was, ‘I don’t like some of the topics in your stand up act,’ right? That’s when it got weird,” Burr told fellow comedian Bill Maher on an episode of his “Club Random” podcast. EX-NEW YORK TIMES JOURNALIST RECALLS BEING ‘DISGUSTED’ BY NEWSROOM CANCEL CULTURE, SAYS THE PAPER ALLOWED IT “Everybody’s scared to make a move,” Rock said on an episode on “The Breakfast Club” morning radio show. “That’s not a place to be. You know, we should have the right to fail because failure, failure is a part of art.” For Bloom, however, cancel culture is less of a concern, she says, because her focus is not on making people angry but rather trying “to make audiences understand where I’m coming from.” “I just finished working on my Netflix special which was all about death, so it was more me telling a candid story about what happened to me in 2020 when I gave birth during COVID and my writing partner passed away,” Bloom recounted. “I’ve had a really good experience, because, again, I’ve been sharing my stories and that’s why I really love connecting with live audiences and sharing where I’m at. I’ve always – I always really – I don’t know I’m candid with my own journey. I try to make audiences understand where I’m coming from and that’s always been my style.”
Senate fails to reject Trump’s national emergency on tariffs, as Republicans splinter
The Senate failed Wednesday to pass a resolution rejecting President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff agenda, as several Republicans signaled beforehand they favored halting the relatively new levies. The disapproval resolution failed 49-49, with three Republicans joining all Democrats present in attempting to throw a wrench in Trump’s tariff plans. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., introduced the resolution to end Trump’s “national emergency” as a “privileged” one – meaning it would require a vote regardless of the upper chamber being in Republican hands. The House, however, has signaled it is not inclined to pursue the same. Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Rand Paul, R-Ky., split from the rest of the GOP and sought to end the national emergency that backs the tariffs. Sens. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., did not vote. CHINA IS ‘CAVING’ TO TRUMP’S TRADE WAR STRATEGY, EXPERT SIGNALS Whitehouse was reportedly on a plane back from South Korea and wouldn’t make the gavel, according to Providence’s CBS affiliate. Before the vote, there was chatter about key absences that could swing the vote one way or another, as key tallies are all about the math. One tariff critic told reporters earlier Wednesday that the disapproval motion sent “the message I want to send” that tariffs must be more “discriminatory.” “It’s not perfect, I think it’s too broad,” Collins said, according to Politico. In remarks on the Senate floor earlier in the day, Paul, – one of the most vocal opponents to tariffs and proponents of free trade – who suggested conservatives may want to reconsider their support for the tariffs. “You know, there was an old-fashioned conservative principle that believed that less taxes were better than more taxes,” Paul said. “That if you tax something, you got less of it. So that if you place a new tax on trade, you’ll get less trade.” TRUMP WAGERS US ECONOMY IN HIGH-STAKES TARIFF GAMBLE AT 100-DAY MARK “There was also this idea that you didn’t do taxation without representation. That idea goes not only back to our American Revolution, it goes back to the English Civil War as well. It goes back probably to Magna Carta,” he said of the phrase, which for some time was the District of Columbia’s official slogan, given its lack of full-vote representation in Congress. Paul said the Constitution forbids taxation being implemented in a way that circumvents Congress and laid out why he thought that was the case today. “An emergency has been declared, as the Senator from Virginia remarked,” he said. “Everywhere, there’s an emergency everywhere. Sounds like an emergency everywhere is really an emergency nowhere.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., had previously balked at Trump’s tariffs on Canada, saying that while fentanyl proliferation is an emergency as the president declared, it is not one that is germane to Canada. Reached for comment, the office of Sen. Mitch McConnell – Paul’s fellow Kentucky Republican – did not offer any further remarks after reports suggested he too is uncomfortable with Trump’s tariff agenda. Fox News Digital also reached out to Murkowski for comment in that regard.
Vance breaks key tie after Senate fails to reject Trump’s national emergency on tariffs
The Senate failed Wednesday to pass a resolution rejecting President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff agenda, as several Republicans signaled beforehand they favored halting the relatively new levies, and Vice President JD Vance was called in to break an ensuing procedural tie. The disapproval resolution failed 49-49, with three Republicans joining all Democrats present in attempting to throw a wrench in Trump’s tariff plans. After that, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., put forward a motion to reconsider the resolution, then moved to table – or kill – the initial motion, which procedurally would prevent Democrats from forcing such a vote again. That vote also deadlocked, but after about 80 minutes, Vice President Vance cast a tie-breaking vote in his dual role as president of the Senate. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., had introduced the resolution to end Trump’s “national emergency” as a “privileged” one – meaning it would require a vote regardless of the upper chamber being in Republican hands. The House, however, has signaled it is not inclined to pursue the same. Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Rand Paul, R-Ky., split from the rest of the GOP and sought to end the national emergency that backs the tariffs. Sens. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., did not vote. CHINA IS ‘CAVING’ TO TRUMP’S TRADE WAR STRATEGY, EXPERT SIGNALS Whitehouse was reportedly on a plane back from South Korea and wouldn’t make the gavel, according to Providence’s CBS affiliate. Before the vote, there was chatter about key absences that could swing the vote one way or another, as key tallies are all about the math. One tariff critic told reporters earlier Wednesday that the disapproval motion sent “the message I want to send” that tariffs must be more “discriminatory.” “It’s not perfect, I think it’s too broad,” Collins said, according to Politico. In remarks on the Senate floor earlier in the day, Paul, – one of the most vocal opponents to tariffs and proponents of free trade – who suggested conservatives may want to reconsider their support for the tariffs. “You know, there was an old-fashioned conservative principle that believed that less taxes were better than more taxes,” Paul said. “That if you tax something, you got less of it. So that if you place a new tax on trade, you’ll get less trade.” TRUMP WAGERS US ECONOMY IN HIGH-STAKES TARIFF GAMBLE AT 100-DAY MARK “There was also this idea that you didn’t do taxation without representation. That idea goes not only back to our American Revolution, it goes back to the English Civil War as well. It goes back probably to Magna Carta,” he said of the phrase, which for some time was the District of Columbia’s official slogan, given its lack of full-vote representation in Congress. Paul said the Constitution forbids taxation being implemented in a way that circumvents Congress and laid out why he thought that was the case today. “An emergency has been declared, as the Senator from Virginia remarked,” he said. “Everywhere, there’s an emergency everywhere. Sounds like an emergency everywhere is really an emergency nowhere.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., had previously balked at Trump’s tariffs on Canada, saying that while fentanyl proliferation is an emergency as the president declared, it is not one that is germane to Canada. Reached for comment, the office of Sen. Mitch McConnell – Paul’s fellow Kentucky Republican – did not offer any further remarks after reports suggested he too is uncomfortable with Trump’s tariff agenda. Fox News Digital also reached out to Murkowski for comment in that regard. Schumer commented on the ultimate result, saying Republicans “voted to keep the Trump tariff-tax in place. They own the Trump tariffs and higher costs on America’s middle-class families.” Fox News’ Tyler Olson contributed to this report.
With AI on the rise, Texas House passes bill requiring more transparency in political ads
The bill faced fierce opposition from hardline conservatives who say it is policing speech and could allow the state to jail people over silly political memes.
A 20-hour wait to speak: A pre-dawn House panel takes up Ten Commandments bill
Dozens of people who signed up to speak were ready at 4 a.m. to debate whether public school classrooms should have to display the Ten Commandments.
Ukraine signs deal to give US access to rare minerals
Ukraine has signed a deal with the United States, giving the U.S. access to Ukraine’s rare minerals as it continues to work with the Trump administration in an effort to end its three-year war with Russia. Ukrainian Economy Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko flew to Washington, D.C., on Wednesday to help finalize the deal. “On behalf of the Government of Ukraine, I signed the Agreement on the Establishment of a United States–Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund. Together with the United States, we are creating the Fund that will attract global investment into our country,” she wrote on X. This story is breaking. Please check back for updates.
Jeffries distances himself from Democrat trips to El Salvador as border security debate splits party: report
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is privately signaling to fellow Democrats that it’s time to hit pause on trips to El Salvador aimed at spotlighting the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a move reflecting growing internal tensions over how the party is handling border security and immigration enforcement optics in the 2026 cycle. Though Jeffries has publicly said Democrats are committed to securing Abrego Garcia’s return from a notorious Salvadoran prison, sources told The Bulwark that the New York Democrat has discouraged more lawmakers from traveling to the country. One senior House staffer described the leadership’s position bluntly: “They want to let the El Salvador stuff slow down.” “This is patently false, and thinly sourced innuendo,” said Jeffries staffer Christie Stephenson. “When Leader Jeffries says ‘more is more’ pushback on this lawless administration, he means it. As Leader Jeffries has repeatedly said, House Democrats will never stop fighting for the release of Mr. Abrego Garcia.” DEM SENATOR SAYS ABREGO GARCIA SITUATION ‘NOT GOING TO END WELL’ FOR TRUMP, ARGUES HE’S ‘UNDERMINING’ FREEDOM The issue has divided Democrats. Progressives have embraced Abrego Garcia’s case as a symbol of what they say are unconstitutional deportations under President Donald Trump’s renewed immigration crackdown. But moderates are increasingly uneasy, pointing to the political risk of rallying around a figure with a checkered past. Jeffries, who once demanded that Abrego Garcia be returned “immediately before he is killed,” has not publicly addressed whether he supports the strategy of sending congressional delegations to El Salvador. DEMOCRAT FAULTS HIS OWN PARTY FOR PICKING WRONG BATTLE WITH CASE OF DEPORTED MS-13 SUSPECT His spokesperson recently dismissed reports that he is pulling back from the issue as “thinly sourced” but did not deny the substance when initially contacted by The Bulwark. The stakes are high. As Fox News Digital previously reported, Abrego Garcia, who was deported alongside more than 200 others, reportedly has ties to the violent MS-13 gang and was named in a 2022 Homeland Security investigation into human smuggling. Though never charged, he was stopped while transporting eight undocumented passengers, and court documents in Maryland show a history of alleged domestic violence, including a judge labeling him a “violent repeat offender.” Despite this, Democrat lawmakers like Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., and Reps. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., and Robert Garcia, D-Calif., have flown to El Salvador in recent weeks to draw attention to Abrego Garcia’s detention. Van Hollen’s visit particularly sparked memes online with the now-infamous “margarita-gate” incident. Critics within the party now worry that continued focus on the case and trips perceived as sympathetic to a deported gang suspect could backfire. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “There’s a moral argument to be made,” one Democrat aide told The Bulwark, “but it’s not clear this is the right poster case, and it’s definitely not the right political moment.”
Rubio reveals obscure Biden administration office kept ‘disinformation’ dossier on Trump official
Secretary of State Marco Rubio revealed in a Cabinet meeting that the Biden administration’s State Department kept dossiers on Americans accused of serving as “vectors of disinformation,” including a file on an unidentified Trump administration official. “We had an office in the Department of State whose job it was to censor Americans,” Rubio said during Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting with Donald Trump. “And, by the way, I’m not going to say who it is. I’ll leave it up to them. There’s at least one person at this table today who had a dossier in that building of social media posts to identify them as purveyors of disinformation. We have these dossiers. We are going to be turning those over to these individuals.” Vice President JD Vance interjected, asking, “Was it me or Elon? We can follow up when the media is gone,” and drawing laughter from the Cabinet. “But just think about that. The Department of State of the United States had set up an office to monitor the social media posts and commentary of American citizens, to identify them as vectors of disinformation,” Rubio continued. “When we know that the best way to combat disinformation is freedom of speech and transparency. RUBIO OVERHAULING ‘BLOATED’ STATE DEPARTMENT IN SWEEPING REFORM “We’re not going to have an office that does that.” RUBIO ANNOUNCES CLOSURE OF STATE DEPARTMENT EFFORT THAT ‘WAS SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD ALREADY’ Rubio appeared to be referring to an office within the State Department previously known as the Global Engagement Center, which he officially shuttered earlier in April. When announcing a massive reorganization of the State Department, the Global Engagement Center engaged with media outlets and platforms to censor speech it disagreed with, Rubio said. The center has been accused by conservatives of censoring them. Journalist Matt Taibbi, for example, previously reported that the center “funded a secret list of subcontractors and helped pioneer an insidious — and idiotic — new form of blacklisting” during the pandemic, Fox Digital reported in 2024. He added that the Global Engagement Center “flagged accounts as ‘Russian personas and proxies’ based on criteria like, ‘Describing the Coronavirus as an engineered bioweapon,’ blaming ‘research conducted at the Wuhan institute,’ and ‘attributing the appearance of the virus to the CIA.’” TWITTER BOSS ELON MUSK ACCUSES GOVERNMENT AGENCY OF BEING ‘WORST OFFENDER IN US GOVERNMENT CENSORSHIP’ Though Rubio did not identify which Trump official the Biden administration kept a dossier on, Elon Musk has previously railed against the Global Engagement Center. “The worst offender in US government censorship & media manipulation is an obscure agency called GEC,” Musk posted to X in January 2023. That was more than a year before Musk endorsed Trump in the 2024 presidential race and became a fixture of the administration in his temporary role with the Department of Government Efficiency. “They are a threat to our democracy,” Musk added. Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for additional details on which Trump official was targeted but did not immediately receive a reply. WHITE HOUSE PROPOSAL AXES UN, NATO FUNDS AND HALVES STATE DEPARTMENT BUDGET Former President Barack Obama established the small office in 2016 through an executive order aimed at coordinating counterterrorism messaging to foreign nations before it expanded its scope to also include countering foreign propaganda and disinformation, State Department documents show. In 2024, lawmakers did not approve new funding for the office in the National Defense Authorization Act, and it was scheduled to terminate Dec. 23, 2024. The Biden administration, however, shuffled staffers and rebranded the office. It became the Counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference Hub in the waning days before Trump’s inauguration, the New York Post reported in January. “I am announcing the closure of the State Department’s Counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (R/FIMI), formerly known as the Global Engagement Center (GEC),” Rubio said in an April 16 statement announcing the office’s closure. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “Under the previous administration, this office, which cost taxpayers more than $50 million per year, spent millions of dollars to actively silence and censor the voices of Americans they were supposed to be serving,” he wrote. “This is antithetical to the very principles we should be upholding and inconceivable it was taking place in America. That ends today.” Fox News Digital’s Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.
David Hogg faces challenge to DNC role as party tensions escalate
A Native American attorney is challenging David Hogg’s vice chair position at the Democratic National Committee (DNC) amid intra-party tensions ignited by the 25-year-old activist’s $20 million investment through his political action group to primary older incumbent Democrats. “While we are confident that the DNC Officer election was conducted fairly, transparently, and in alignment with the rules that were approved by the DNC Membership in advance of the election, the Party provides an opportunity for any candidate or member to raise concerns for further discussion,” a DNC spokesperson told Fox News Digital. The DNC Credentials Committee will meet virtually on April 12 to consider longtime Democratic Party activist Kalyn Free’s challenge, a decision made before the fallout of Hogg’s plan to primary incumbents, according to a source familiar. Free submitted a complaint following the DNC’s Feb. 1 officer elections, in which Hogg, Malcolm Kenyatta and Artie Blanco secured the vice chair positions. Free alleged in the complaint that the DNC “discriminated against three women of color candidates,” during officer elections earlier this year. The news was first reported by Semafor. DEMOCRATS’ VICE CHAIR GETS ULTIMATUM: STAY NEUTRAL IN PRIMARIES OR STEP DOWN FROM PARTY LEADERSHIP Hogg claimed his vice chair position with 214.5 votes, while Kenyetta had 298. According to the network pool producer at the leadership election, 205 votes were needed to win. Free secured 96. Jeanna Repass had 112, and Shasti Conrad had just 91.5 votes. DEMOCRATS’ VICE CHAIR IGNITES CIVIL WAR, TARGETING ‘ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL’ INCUMBENTS IN PRIMARIES A source familiar shut down Free’s allegation, emphasizing to Fox News Digital that the election results weren’t even close. But Free accused the DNC of a “fatally flawed election that violated the DNC Charter” in her complaint and requested “two new vice chair elections,” according to Semafor. “By aggregating votes across ballots and failing to distinguish between gender categories in a meaningful way, the DNC’s process violated its own Charter and Bylaws, undermining both fairness and gender diversity,” Free wrote. While Free’s complaint was filed before Hogg made headlines this month for his brutal plan to primary incumbent Democrats in deep blue districts, the fallout is the latest blow to the young Democratic leader. Hogg pledged to donate $20 million through his political action committee, Leaders We Deserve, to primary-challenge some older Democrats in blue districts. DNC chair Ken Martin affirmed last week that the DNC will stay neutral in intra-party primaries, giving Hogg the ultimatum to either rescind his vice chair position or forego his political influence via his PAC. “No DNC officer should ever attempt to influence the outcome of a primary election, whether on behalf of an incumbent or a challenger,” Martin said last week, adding, “If you want to challenge incumbents, you’re more than free to do that, but just not as an officer of the DNC, because our job is to be neutral arbiters. We can’t be both the referee and also the player at the same time.” Following Hogg’s primary fallout, Martin announced new investments for the state parties and a strengthened neutrality pledge for DNC officials. The proposal, which would require DNC officials to pledge neutrality in primaries, is expected to be voted on by the party’s Rules and Bylaws committee next month. If the panel approves the proposal, the full DNC membership would take a final vote during the party’s annual summer meeting in August. Hogg replied to the news on social media later that day, accusing the DNC of “trying to change the rules because I’m not currently breaking them. As we’re seeing law firms, tech companies, and so many others bowing to Trump, we all must use whatever position of power we have to fight back. And that’s exactly what I’m doing.” “This moment requires us to have the strongest opposition party possible to stop Trump from destroying people’s retirement savings, disappearing people, plunging our economy into oblivion—and to provide a real alternative to the Republican Party for voters that we simply do not have right now,” Hogg added. The move by Hogg comes as Democrats disagree about how to respond to President Donald Trump’s first 100 days back in the White House. During an interview with CNN last week, longtime Democratic strategist James Carville ripped Hogg for challenging those within his own party when he could be investing those same funds to “take on a Republican.” “The most insane thing I ever heard is the vice chair of the Democratic National Committee is spending $20 million running against other Democrats. Aren’t we supposed to run against Republicans?” Carville asked. Hogg and Free did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
The ‘F-word’: Schumer says Trump’s first 100 days can be distilled to single utterance
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and dozens of his bicameral colleagues addressed reporters on the Capitol steps Wednesday, blasting President Donald Trump’s first 100 days. Schumer, flanked by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., and others, said Trump failed the nation predominantly via his tariff agenda and purportedly cozying up with “dictators.” “Donald Trump’s first 100 days can be defined by one big F-word: failure,” Schumer said. “Failure on the economy, failure on lowering costs, failure on tariffs, failure on foreign policy, failure on preserving democracy, failure on helping middle-class families.” HOUSTON ROCKETS OWNER AMONG TRIO OF TRUMP AMBASSADOR NOMINEES CONFIRMED BY SENATE “Today’s new economic news showed that Donald Trump is running the American economy the way he ran his family business into the ground,” claimed Schumer, who grew up in Brooklyn, where Trump’s father’s real estate empire was based. Schumer claimed Trump turned nations against the U.S. and drove them into China’s arms, saying former economic allies now see China as a better partner in that regard. The Democratic leader later called Trump a “would-be dictator” and claimed he wants to be “king” of America. “[W]e Democrats … around the country will fight him at every turn,” Schumer said. GRAHAM MOCKS DEMOCRATS AS DEA CHIEF CONFIRMS MS-13 GANG TATTOOS Later, Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., rose to the podium to cries of “preach-preach-preach” from fellow Democrats. Warnock is the pastor at Martin Luther King Jr.’s church in Atlanta. “We are witnessing an all-out assault on our Constitution, an all-out assault on our norms and our values, an assault on the pocketbooks of ordinary people,” Warnock said. “But, in a real sense, an assault on the spirit of the American people. They are trying to convince us that our neighbors are our enemies. We should know better than that by now, and we do.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Clark also lambasted the GOP, claiming congressional Republicans are “choosing their careers … over that of their constituents.” Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and Senate GOP leadership for comment.