Johnson scores commanding victory in fight to ram SAVE America Act through Democrat opposition
Speaker Mike Johnson’s bid to end run Democrats’ opposition to an election integrity bill backed by President Donald Trump survived a key House-wide vote on Tuesday. It’s a major victory for Republicans in a fight that Democrats have argued is about suppressing Americans’ right to vote, while the GOP argues it is about enhancing Americans’ confidence in the electoral process. The Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act has faced significant headwinds in Congress despite having Trump’s full-throated support. While it passed the House, the legislation has struggled in the Senate, where at least several Democratic votes are needed to break a filibuster and advance to final passage. JOHNSON’S STRATEGY TO BYPASS DEMOCRATS’ SAVE ACT BLOCKADE SURVIVES KEY VOTE, HANDING GOP BIG WIN But the new plan by Johnson, R-La., which would allow key parts of the bill to skirt Democrats entirely, survived a key test vote on the House floor Tuesday. The House voted largely along party lines to allow for debate on a $95 billion budget bill that includes some $10 billion for states to implement voter ID laws and a proof-of-citizenship requirement in the voter registration process — both key points in the SAVE America Act. It’s part of a wider measure being passed via the budget reconciliation process. GOP’S $95B DEFENSE PACKAGE SURVIVES CRITICAL HURDLE AMID FISCAL HAWK REVOLT The reconciliation process allows the party in power to pass sweeping fiscal policy reforms without input from their opposition by lowering the Senate’s threshold for passage to line up with the House’s simple majority requirement. But there are strict guidelines for what can be in a reconciliation bill. Such legislation must deal with yearly federal spending and revenues, meaning issues that do not directly affect fiscal policy are generally excluded. The remainder of the budget bill includes $73 billion for the U.S. war against Iran and $12 billion in aid for American farmers. GOP CIVIL WAR ERUPTS OVER TRUMP’S LATEST AGENDA PUSH AS KEY REPUBLICANS THREATEN TO SINK MEGABILL The second chamber-wide step in the reconciliation process after Tuesday’s successful vote is to pass a framework that directs the relevant committees to then craft details dealing with their allocated budgets. Those details are then put back into a single sweeping bill that must pass the House and Senate before getting to Trump’s desk for his signature. That framework is set to get a vote on Wednesday afternoon. Whether it passes, however, is unclear. In addition to Democratic opposition, some GOP fiscal hawks are wary of the legislation’s lack of spending cuts to offset the increase in the federal budget.
US counterintelligence ‘way behind,’ post-9/11 record ‘extraordinarily negligent’, fmr Trump WH official warns
U.S. counterintelligence capabilities have fallen far behind threats from China and Russia, according to former White House national security advisor H.R. McMaster, who accused Washington of being “extraordinarily negligent” during the decades after the Sept. 11 attacks. “The counterintelligence threat is like, way behind,” McMaster warned during a House Intelligence Committee hearing Tuesday examining how national security threats have changed in the 25 years since 9/11. Committee Chair Rick Crawford, R-Ark., had asked whether the government’s intense post-attack focus on counterterrorism had diverted attention from hostile nation-states and left the country’s counterintelligence posture inadequate. McMaster not only agreed, but issued a warning that Russia and China are taking advantage of America’s guard being down as it focuses on terrorist threats more than global power nuclear rivals. WALTZ WARNS OF CHINESE, RUSSIAN-FUELED ‘NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT’ LOOMING CLOSE TO US SHORES He pointed to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s effort to restore Russia’s global power and China’s entry into the World Trade Organization, which helped fuel Beijing’s economic rise. China then used those gains to expand its military, intelligence services and influence operations, using U.S. companies and U.S. private equity firms to “do all the battlefield artificial intelligence” for the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in China, McMaster said. “So we were not only so behind, I think we were extraordinarily negligent in this period of time, and I think we’re racing to catch up and we have a lot of work to do,” he continued. The United States openly gave an invitation to its economy to Chinese actors seeking American intellectual property and technical expertise, according to McMaster. “We’re being infiltrated by PLA scientists and others who are there to extract intellectual property, to extract know-how, apply it to gain commercial advantage, but importantly, to gain military advantage,” McMaster said. RUBIO WARNS AMERICA MUST ‘STAY AHEAD OF THE CURVE’ AS CHINA WORKS TO SURPASS THE US WITH STOLEN TECH McMaster also accused U.S. financial institutions and private-equity firms of investing in Chinese companies tied to Beijing’s military and cyber capabilities. “What we were doing is actually underwriting our own demise by investing in Chinese companies,” he said. Other witnesses echoed McMaster’s warning and argued that institutions created after 9/11 remain too focused on terrorism to confront espionage, influence campaigns and cyber operations conducted by hostile governments. Seth G. Jones, a national security expert, said organizations including the National Counterterrorism Center, joint terrorism task forces and state fusion centers helped improve information sharing after 9/11. But he said they are not sufficiently equipped to identify and disrupt state-backed operations inside the United States. CALIFORNIA MAYOR ACCUSED OF SECRETLY WORKING FOR CHINA, SPREADING PROPAGANDA WHILE IN OFFICE: FEDS Jones cited activities linked to China’s Ministry of State Security and United Front organizations. “Most of our state and local entities don’t even know what to look for,” Jones said. “I do not think we are prepared for this intelligence challenge inside of our own borders, and we don’t have the infrastructure to effectively deal with it.” Frank Cilluffo, director of the McCrary Institute for Cyber and Critical Infrastructure Security at Auburn University, testified at the hearing that the government must move beyond merely sharing information and begin coordinating operations with private industry and state and local authorities. Cilluffo argued that the modern counterintelligence threat is no longer limited to traditional “spy versus spy” activity. Foreign intelligence services, he said, are increasingly targeting technology companies, infrastructure operators and other private organizations that possess valuable data and emerging capabilities. “None of them went into business thinking they had to defend themselves against foreign intelligence services,” Cilluffo said. “But that’s precisely what they’re doing today.” The hearing was part of a bipartisan review of the 9/11 Commission’s recommendations and whether the intelligence community is prepared for newer threats, including artificial intelligence, cyberattacks, foreign influence operations, drones and economic coercion.
Discriminatory ‘shadow’ review process locks White, Asian students out of California med school, DOJ alleges
The Trump administration has accused UC San Diego’s medical school of illegally discriminating against White and Asian applicants in favor of admitting less qualified Black and Hispanic students, putting nearly $1 billion in federal funding at risk. The findings stem from a months-long Justice Department Civil Rights Division investigation launched in March and come as the Trump administration intensifies its effort to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. According to a letter sent to the school by Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, the admissions committee used applicants’ responses to a “hardship” essay question to determine their racial and ethnic backgrounds, using the essays as a proxy for race in deciding who advanced in the admissions process. The investigation found that from 2019 to 2025, Black applicants to UC San Diego Med were admitted at more than twice the rate of White applicants, even though White applicants, on average, had higher MCAT scores and GPAs. “Rather than rely on MCAT scores or GPA, San Diego Med’s shadow application process unlawfully judged applicants for admission based on their race,” Dhillon said in a statement. “San Diego Med’s blatant efforts to prioritize race are illegal, and we will end these practices.” JUSTICE DEPARTMENT ZEROES IN ON UCLA FOR ALLEGED ILLEGAL DEI ADMISSIONS AS ELITE SCHOOL CRACKDOWN EXPANDS In 2023, the Supreme Court ruled in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard that it is unconstitutional for colleges and universities to consider applicants’ race during the admissions process, including any workarounds which would give any racial group a competitive advantage. “The Court made clear that proxies for race also may not be used to discriminate, noting that ‘universities may not simply establish through application essays or other means the regime we hold unlawful today,’” the letter stated. The Justice Department’s findings echo allegations at the center of the Harvard affirmative action case, where plaintiffs argued that Asian American applicants with stronger academic credentials were admitted at lower rates than similarly qualified applicants from other racial groups. In the UC San Diego investigation, the department concluded that Black and Hispanic applicants were admitted at significantly higher rates than equally qualified White and Asian applicants, saying the disparities were too consistent to be explained by chance and that the university failed to provide evidence accounting for them. IS ‘TRAUMA SHORTHAND FOR BLACKNESS’ IN COLLEGE ADMISSIONS? REPORT SPARKS DEBATE After the Supreme Court’s ruling, the medical school’s leadership remained committed to ensuring that minorities, also known as an underrepresented minority in medicine, are bolstered in the admissions process by giving considerable weight to how they respond to a personal account of what hardships they’ve had to overcome. The Justice Department alleges that UC San Diego’s admissions director, Brian Zeglen, devised a plan in June 2023, shortly after the Supreme Court ruling, to “bump up” dozens of applicants with lower MCAT scores and GPAs in an effort to enroll more underrepresented minority students while avoiding the appearance of using race in admissions. Zeglen said minority applicants in the lowest tier, Group C, could be moved into Group B by giving greater weight to their personal essays. CALIFORNIA PROFESSOR ARGUES NEED FOR ‘OBJECTIVE MEASURES’ AFTER STATE DROPS ACT/SAT REQUIREMENT “[T]here are roughly 550 URM students that fall out of Group Band into Group C. Because of this, I would recommend that we purposely select some students from Group C,” Zeglen wrote, according to documents obtained by the Justice Department. Zeglen proposed moving up to 62 applicants with lower MCAT scores and GPAs into the interview pool through what he called a “bump up Group C.” At this point, the admissions board would have access to the applicants’ race. With Zeglen’s plan in place, Black applicants were admitted at a much higher rate than White applicants. In 2023, 6.18% of Black applicants were admitted compared with 2.45% of White applicants. In 2024, the admission rates were 5.25% and 2.1%, respectively, and in 2025 they were 5.14% and 1.96%. The Justice Department found that admitted Black and Hispanic students consistently had lower median MCAT scores than admitted White and Asian students in the incoming classes of 2023, 2024 and 2025. In 2023, Hispanic students had a median MCAT score in the 80th percentile and Black students in the 88th percentile, compared with the 95th percentile for White students and the 94th percentile for Asian students. SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER “San Diego Med’ s internal documents, including communications among the admissions staff, confirm that San Diego Med intended to racially discriminate in favor of so-called underrepresented minorities, such as blacks and Hispanics,” the Justice Department stated. “As a result of these practices, more qualified white and Asian students were denied admission to San Diego Med on the basis of their race.” The Justice Department said it is seeking a voluntary agreement with UC San Diego to bring the medical school’s admissions policies into compliance with federal law. Fox News Digital reached out to San Diego Med’s office for comment.
Democrat New Jersey governor says thousands of noncitizens discovered on voter rolls, purged
New Jersey’s Governor announced Tuesday afternoon that thousands of noncitizens were registered to vote in her state — and some cast ballots in past elections. Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill said that a “serious software error in New Jersey’s Motor Vehicle System led to the registration of roughly 6,600 people who indicated that they were not U.S. citizens between June 2023 and June 2024, almost three years prior to my taking office.” “These individuals answered ‘no’ when asked on a keypad whether they were a U.S. citizen when applying for drivers’ licenses and identification cards, but through no fault of their own, the system registered them anyway,” according to Sherrill. CALIFORNIA ACCUSED OF BLOCKING FEDERAL VOTER ROLL AUDIT AS DOJ ESCALATES PROBE OF ELECTION FRAUD CLAIMS She stressed that while the “error” occurred under the previous administration, headed by Democrat Phil Murphy, she ordered her administration’s attorney to look into the matter and remove the illegally-registered voters from the rolls. “Our preliminary analysis shows fewer than 400 individuals who were newly registered for the first time because of the error voted,” she said. “They were registered as Democrats, Republicans and Unaffiliated voters and were scattered across the state.” “I am appalled by the reckless failures that allowed this to happen and the lack of transparency shown by those in charge at the time,” she said, emphasizing for the third time that the improper voting didn’t happen on her watch. NJ TAXPAYERS ON THE HOOK FOR $12M MORE AS DEM GOVERNOR PROTECTS ILLEGAL ALIENS BATTLING DEPORTATION In the same message admitting that people in her state improperly voted, Sherrill then attacked President Donald Trump for what she described as spreading lies about the legitimacy of American elections. An elected New Jersey official slammed Democrats for failing on the issue of election integrity. “This is another example of Democrats failing to secure elections. If Democrats would embrace voter ID – which has broad public support – the MVC’s voter registration failures would have been corrected at the ballot box,” said NJ Assembly Minority Leader John DiMaio, R-Hackettstown. “New Jersey needs voter ID, because citizens deserve confidence in election results and Trenton Democrats have proven they do not respond to known problems in the voter rolls.” So did another state lawmaker. “Our election integrity is built on a foundation of sand,” said Sen. Joe Pennacchio, R-Boonton/Montville. You have illegals being given driver’s licenses, really no precaution to tell whether or not they should be getting them. “[Sherrill] said, ‘oh, you, know, it was a mistake of 6,600. They specifically said they didn’t want to vote, they didn’t have the — they did not register.’ And in the meantime, 400 of them did, and … excuse my cynicism but, you know, this is the same administration through their sanctuary state policies and through their DMV policies that’s created this whole mess, so for them to say 6,600 I would not be surprised if it’s exponential to that number.” The Republican National Committee’s spokesperson on election integrity similarly slammed the New Jersey governor for her classification of the issue. “Mikie Sherrill says election integrity is ‘fundamental to our democracy,’ yet just last month the RNC and NJGOP uncovered hundreds of noncitizens on New Jersey’s voter rolls and records of noncitizens voting in past elections,” Ally Trilio told Fox News Digital. “Every time Democrats say noncitizen voting is a ‘non-issue,’ voters learn about another case that proves otherwise. It’s time to stop making excuses and pass the SAVE America Act.” We have, through their policies of the DMV, through the policies of fighting us tooth and nail as a sanctuary state they refuse even to get the criminals out of this country. What makes you think they wouldn’t do things that would encourage voting like this? So if we’re cynical, we cannot allow the state itself to police itself when it comes to this issue because they’ve been the ones that created this issue. This issue started in 2023 – last I saw we had a governor’s election right in the middle of that in 202(5) so uh obviously there’s a conflict of interest. Tomorrow [our] letter goes out to the United States attorney general asking them to come in and take over and for them to do their own investigation. In June, Fox News Digital exclusively reported that noncitizens were registered to vote in the state over a period of years. Some of them voted in elections. Others, when attempting to become naturalized citizens, copped to being on the voter rolls and said they were registered by mistake. The New Jersey Republican Party (NJGOP) and the Republican National Committee (RNC) requested voter rolls from all 21 counties in the Garden State and ultimately found multiple instances of noncitizens who were seeking naturalization asking to be removed from the rolls, claiming they were unknowingly registered to vote. Most were registered as Democrats. RNC LEGAL VICTORY CLEARS NORTH CAROLINA VOTER ROLL PURGE OF NONCITIZENS THROUGH JURY RESPONSES In official letters viewed by Fox News Digital from Atlantic County, Superintendent of Elections & Commissioner of Registration Maureen Bugdon certified that noncitizens came to her asking to be removed. “Please allow this letter to confirm that on today’s date, the below referenced individual came before this office to confirm her registration and voter status,” a typical letter read. “She relayed that she did not wish to be a New Jersey registered voter and does not understand how she became registered through the Department of Motor Vehicles, allegedly.” Other documents showed noncitizens directly asking to be removed from the rolls through a state voter registration cancellation form. When prompted about why they wished to be removed, the vast majority of the unknowingly registered voters checked a box labeled “other” and wrote that they were not citizens. Fox News Digital reached out to the Federal Election Commission and Department of Homeland Security for comment on the latest revelations.
Trump may have endorsed Darline Graham, but GOP Senate hopefuls aren’t backing down
As the starting gun in the Republican race to succeed the late Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina is officially fired, the showdown is shaping up as the latest test of President Donald Trump’s immense clout over the GOP and the power of his endorsements in party primaries. On the eve of Tuesday’s kickoff of a weeklong filing period for the Aug. 11 primary, Sen. Darline Graham, who was appointed last week to fill the remainder of her late brother’s term, announced in an interview on Fox News’ “Hannity” that she’s running for a full six-year term in the Senate. Graham’s announcement came three days after she met with Trump at the White House, and the president gave her his “complete and total endorsement” as he encouraged her to run. But Trump’s backing of Graham, while potent, isn’t deterring other Republicans from jumping into the race. WHO’S UP AND WHO’S DOWN: CHECK OUT THE FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS ON THE MIDTERM ELECTIONS “South Carolina voters want to have a choice and not be told who they need to be voting for,” Palmetto State-based Republican consultant Dave Wilson told Fox News Digital. Veteran Republican strategist and communicator Ryan Williams noted that “the Trump endorsement is a major boost for any candidacy, but it doesn’t necessarily give you a lock on the seat.” “Senate seats in South Carolina do not come up very often, and politics is all about timing. You’ve got to seize the opportunity when it presents itself,” Williams told Fox News Digital. “If you’re an aspiring House member in South Carolina, this is your time to run, regardless of whom the president is supporting.” Republican Rep. Ralph Norman, who unsuccessfully campaigned this year for the GOP gubernatorial nomination in the race to succeed term-limited South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, announced his intention to run this past weekend. WHAT DARLINE GRAHAM TOLD FOX NEWS’ SEAN HANNITY On Monday, Republican Rep. Russell Fry jumped into the race. Businessman Mark Lynch, who lost to Lindsey Graham by nearly 30 points in last month’s GOP Senate primary, also announced he’d take another shot at the Republican nomination. Republican Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette on Tuesday left the door open to running, writing in a social media post, “We need a strong, proven conservative to fill the shoes of a man who dedicated his life to serving the people and fighting for what South Carolina needs to support our businesses, our infrastructure, and our growing economy.” Wilson noted that “the president’s quick endorsement of Darline Graham was very symbolic.” But, he added, “We’re seeing in South Carolina that his [the president’s] endorsement didn’t carry as much weight as people thought it was going to.” Wilson was referring to Trump’s endorsement of Evette ahead of the GOP gubernatorial primary. Evette was the top vote getter in the primary but lost the ensuing runoff election against South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson in a landslide. Days before the runoff, with Wilson leading the public opinion polls, Trump made an 11th-hour endorsement of the attorney general in addition to his backing of Evette. “People here in South Carolina saw that Trump’s endorsement of Evette didn’t put her over the top, and they feel like the Senate primary could also be up for grabs,” a Republican operative who asked for anonymity to speak more freely told Fox News Digital. Trump a week ago lauded Fry, a two-term congressman who represents the northeastern corner of South Carolina, as “very talented” and “very popular” and said he would be an “outstanding” contender for the vacant Senate seat. Asked about Fry’s decision to launch a Senate campaign in the wake of Trump’s backing of Darline Graham, a source in Fry’s political orbit told Fox News Digital, “This is really about giving voters a choice and not a coronation.” DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUB Fry and Norman, both Trump allies in the House, are highlighting their support for the president. “South Carolina doesn’t need just another senator. It needs President Trump’s strongest ally in the United States Senate. Make no mistake: I will be President Trump’s favorite U.S. Senator, and you will have a MAGA fighter you can count on,” Fry wrote in a social media post as he announced his Senate run. Fry described himself as a “MAGA warrior” in an accompanying video, which included pictures of him smiling alongside Trump. Norman emphasized that he’s “running to represent the people of South Carolina in the U.S. Senate because we need a fighter who will stand with President Trump and carry on Lindsey Graham’s legacy!” And pointing to Trump’s top legislative priority, he noted, “I want to get the SAVE America Act passed in the Senate!” Republican Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Rick Scott of Florida, conservatives and staunch Trump allies in the chamber, both cited Norman’s support for Trump’s election reform bill as they went against the president and endorsed the congressman. Norman is also being backed by the political arm of the powerful conservative group Turning Point USA. Graham does have the backing of heavy hitters in the Senate GOP, however, including Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., who said, “Darline Graham is an excellent senator. She’ll continue to be an excellent senator, and she has my full support.” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., however, is staying out of the race for now. NANCY MACE REVEALS SENATE DECISION AS LINDSEY GRAHAM’S SISTER REDRAWS THE RACE Thune said that Graham is a “strong candidate,” and though she lacked elected experience, he noted she was “very accomplished in her own life.” “She has a right, like everybody else, to get in that race,” Thune said. Backed by Trump’s endorsement and enjoying plenty of name recognition thanks to her well-known last name, pundits view Darline Graham as a frontrunner in the three-week sprint to the Republican primary. And the winner of the GOP nomination will be considered the clear favorite against Democratic nominee Annie
The real reason behind Hegseth’s viral military testosterone screening order
Military veteran Chad Robichaux was home from Afghanistan, eating well and training hard enough to compete as a professional athlete. Still, something felt wrong. Some days, the force recon Marine vet was irritable and agitated. Other days, he was deeply depressed. He was tired, struggled to focus and felt what he described as “a real sense of doom.” VA doctors prescribed antidepressants, he said. Only after seeking blood testing elsewhere did he learn his hormones were severely out of balance. “Once I got my hormones in check, I didn’t need to be on SSRIs anymore,” he said, referring to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor medication. “I felt like I knocked 10 to 15 years off the way I felt.” LOW TESTOSTERONE? HEGSETH SPARKS CONVERSATION AS DOCTORS REVEAL WARNING SIGNS EVERY MAN SHOULD KNOW Now, the Pentagon is requiring every active-duty and reserve service member age 30 and older, man and woman, to be screened for testosterone deficiency each year — a sweeping new mandate shaped in part by veterans like Robichaux who say hormonal problems have gone undetected for years. Service members younger than 30 will be permitted to request the screening as part of their annual periodic health assessment . Secretary of War Pete Hegseth recently ordered the new protocol, saying it would establish a comprehensive baseline across the force and allow military doctors to offer “targeted testosterone therapy” when medically appropriate. The order is expected to reach hundreds of thousands of troops, although the Pentagon has not said exactly how many people will be subject to mandatory screening. More than 451,000 active-duty service members were age 31 or older in 2023, according to the department’s demographic data. That figure excludes 30-year-olds and members of the reserve components. Roughly 82% of the active-duty force is male, but the directive also applies to women. The Pentagon did not immediately provide a breakdown of how many male and female service members will be screened. The directive does not yet explain how testosterone deficiency will be defined in women, for whom diagnostic and treatment standards are less established. It also is unclear whether testosterone deficiency is more common among service members than among similarly aged civilians. The Pentagon has not published a force-wide prevalence estimate, and Hegseth described the new screening program as a way to establish a comprehensive baseline across the military. Fox News Digital has reached out to the Pentagon for more details. The Pentagon’s new policy reflects a broader debate within medicine over whether symptoms such as fatigue, depression and cognitive decline are too often treated with medication before physicians rule out underlying physiological causes — including hormonal disorders — that can produce similar symptoms. Testosterone testing was available to service members before Hegseth’s directive, but it was generally ordered when a physician believed a patient’s symptoms or medical history warranted it. It was not previously a required component of every annual periodic health assessment after age 30. For Robichaux, the issue was personal. “I’m kind of a grinding-through-things person,” he told Fox News Digital. “I was trying to grind and grind through that state, and it was super frustrating because I’m like, ‘Man, what’s wrong with me?’” That experience helped propel Robichaux into a yearslong campaign urging military and veterans’ health providers to look for hormonal deficiencies in troops experiencing fatigue, depression and other symptoms that can also signal mental health conditions. Interviews with several people involved pushing policy makers for the screening requirement show how the mandate was promoted by an alliance of former special operators, members of Congress, physicians and private hormone-treatment executives — some of whom say the Pentagon has asked for their help implementing it. Robichaux said his experience was not unusual. Through his work with the Mighty Oaks Foundation, which provides faith-based programs for veterans and service members, he encountered others reporting similar combinations of exhaustion, depression and diminished physical performance. He came to believe that counseling and psychiatric treatment alone could not address every underlying problem. “This shouldn’t be like an either-or,” Robichaux said. “It should be an ‘and.’ We should bring them all together.” That conviction eventually brought together an unusual coalition on Capitol Hill. ‘WOKE’ MILITARY ACADEMIES TARGETED IN NEW BLUEPRINT FOR SWEEPING WARFIGHTING OVERHAUL Hours before Hegseth announced the new screening requirement, Robichaux organized a forum in the Cannon House Office Building featuring veterans, lawmakers, physicians and private-sector health executives. Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., a former Navy SEAL, agreed to serve as its congressional host. Crane said he first became aware of the issue around the time he left the Navy in 2014, when other SEALs told him that doctors had detected low testosterone among members of the special operations community. “It actually really surprised me. I thought it would be the exact opposite,” Crane said. SLEEP APNEA MAY BE QUIETLY CHANGING YOUR BODY IN AN UNEXPECTED WAY, STUDY FINDS They attributed the problem to the chronic stress, physical demands and sleep deprivation associated with their work, he recalled. But at the time, Crane said, service members struggled to access testing and treatment. “I think this is a tremendous step forward for our men and women in the service, whether they’re a part of special operations or not,” he said. Testosterone generally declines with age, but low levels can also result from obesity, diabetes, testicular injury, pituitary disorders and medications including opioids and corticosteroids. Severe illness, inadequate nutrition and excessive exercise can temporarily lower a reading as well. Some of those risk factors may be especially relevant in a military population exposed to demanding training, irregular sleep, injuries and prolonged stress. Also participating in the effort was Sidney Gordon, CEO of Core Medical Group, a private clinic specializing in hormone replacement therapy. Gordon said he has spent roughly a decade pushing military and veterans’ health providers to more closely examine hormonal deficiencies. His affiliated nonprofit, Core Medical Foundation, has paid for veterans to receive hormone replacement therapy, Gordon said. His for-profit clinic also treats veterans, active-duty service members, first
Texas Gov Abbott signs executive order cracking down on ‘birth tourism,’ says US citizenship not for sale
FIRST OF FOX: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday took steps to crack down on the birth tourism industry in the state in an effort to curb the flow of pregnant women coming into the United States with the intention of giving birth so their child can automatically obtain American citizenship. An executive order signed by Abbott empowers state agencies to investigate birth tourism schemes within Texas’ healthcare industry and to take enforcement action against any licensed or regulated individual or entity found to be advertising, soliciting, assisting or providing unlawful birth tourism schemes. “Texas will not tolerate the exploitation of our immigration laws by individuals traveling to the U.S. illegally or under false pretenses to give birth and secure citizenship for their child,” Abbott said in a statement. “This executive order directs state agencies to investigate birth tourism schemes and hold accountable any provider that facilitates this fraud.” BIRTH TOURISM CRACKDOWN EXPANDS AS HOUSE CHAIRMAN RAISES CRIMINAL CONSPIRACY CASE “U.S. citizenship is not for sale, and Texas will put a stop to individuals seeking to profit from birth tourism,” the governor added. Enforcement action includes revoking or suspending licenses, prohibiting participation in state contracts, denying state benefits, or pursuing other enforcement actions. The executive order builds on a previous directive from Abbott when he tasked the state Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) earlier this month to investigate Texas hospitals accused of advertising birth tourism packages. SEN ERIC SCHMITT SEEKS TO END BIRTH TOURISM, REVOKE CITIZENSHIP FOR BABIES OF FOREIGN DIPLOMATS One hospital, Mission Regional Medical Center, previously confirmed to Fox News Digital that it advertised Spanish-language “Birth Packages in South Texas” on billboards in Mexico. The ads promoted childbirth services to pregnant foreign nationals near the U.S.-Mexico border. The services included promotional deliveries starting at $3,950 for a natural birth and $5,525 for a C-section. “The marketing materials regarding maternity services are no longer in use due to any unintended misunderstanding,” a hospital spokesperson said in a statement to Fox News at the time. “We do not support or facilitate any unlawful activity and work to comply with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations.” Opponents of birthright citizenship have long cited birth tourism as a major immigration loophole. Meanwhile, the State Department has enacted several measures to crack down on birth tourism through amended visa visitor rules and giving consular officers the power to deny visa applications if they believe the applicant’s primary purpose is to give birth in the U.S. President Donald Trump has called birth tourism a major abuse of the immigration system and a magnet for illegal immigration. Fox News Digital’s Jasmine Baehr contributed to this report.
New Jersey removes 6,600 people from voter rolls who were eligible to cast a ballot for 2024 election
New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill announced Tuesday that the state has removed roughly 6,600 noncitizens from its voter rolls who would have been eligible to vote in the 2024 presidential election. Sherrill, a Democrat, said there was a “serious software error” in New Jersey’s Motor Vehicle System that led to thousands of people without legal status being registered to vote between June 2023 and June 2024. “In the case of this error, some individuals indicated that they weren’t citizens and weren’t eligible to vote, but the software registered them anyway. The error in the software was corrected a year later in June of 2024,” Sherrill said in a press conference. According to the state’s preliminary findings, fewer than 400 individuals who were improperly registered ended up voting. Sherill said they lived all across the state and mostly lacked a party affiliation, though there were some registered as Democrats or Republicans. MORE THAN A QUARTER-MILLION NONCITIZENS MAY BE REGISTERED TO VOTE IN 4 KEY STATES, DHS ALLEGES Sherill said that immediately upon learning this last Wednesday, she ordered an immediate investigation and the removal of anyone who was not supposed to be on the state’s voter rolls. She added that the state’s Division of Elections is currently working to remove ineligible voters. “I am appalled by the reckless failures that allowed this to happen and the lack of transparency shown by those in charge at the time. This failure didn’t occur under my watch, but accountability starts now. I am taking action to prevent anything like it from occurring in the future and make sure those responsible are held accountable,” Sherrill said in a statement on social media. SEN MARK WARNER CALLED OUT IN ABC INTERVIEW FOR INACCURATE VOTER ID CLAIMS She also attacked President Donald Trump for working to “undermine Americans’ faith in our elections by spreading lies about legitimate election results, attempting to overturn a free and fair election, encouraging an attack on our Capitol when he couldn’t accept the will of the voters, and defunding election security at the federal level.” This comes after Trump announced last week that the Department of Homeland Security found that 250,000 noncitizens are registered to vote in New Jersey, California, Nevada and Pennsylvania. In the four letters dated Friday, DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the department compared publicly available voter registration records with federal immigration data and uncovered thousands of potential matches. He asked state election officials to work with DHS to verify the identities before taking any action. According to the letters, DHS estimates there may be as many as 190,832 noncitizens registered to vote in California, 35,152 in New Jersey, 15,903 in Nevada and 14,576 in Pennsylvania. The department said it found 81,336 California registrants, 19,497 New Jersey registrants, 8,576 Nevada registrants and 8,594 Pennsylvania registrants whose names, dates of birth, addresses and Social Security numbers match noncitizens in DHS records. DHS has described these findings as a preliminary review.
Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi released as Sonia Gandhi arrived at Mandir Marg Police station
Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi have been released from their detention and soon after which Sonia Gandhi arrived at Mandir Marg Police Station.
Republican Rep María Elvira Salazar declares, ‘After Cuba, Nicaragua is next’
Republican Rep. María Elvira Salazar of Florida stated in a Monday social media post that “After Cuba, Nicaragua is next.” The Central American nation’s president, Daniel Ortega, said on Sunday, “There won’t be any more elections here for them to try to seize the government and seize power,” according to Reuters. “The days when parties backed by the Yankees (United States) and the Somocistas would return to power are over – never again,” he said, according to the outlet. In her Monday post on X, Salazar said, “Daniel Ortega just announced that Nicaragua will no longer hold elections. When a communist dictator knows the people would vote him out, he takes away their vote. Repression, fear, and force become the only way to stay in power. The Ortega-Murillo regime has declared war on the Nicaraguan people’s right to choose their own future.” Ortega’s wife Rosario Murillo is co-president, reports indicate. “The United States must stand unequivocally with the people of Nicaragua, increase the pressure on this despicable regime, and ensure that those responsible for its crimes are held accountable. After Cuba, Nicaragua is next,” Salazar added in the post. NICARAGUA’S ORTEGA SAYS COUNTRY WILL ‘NEVER AGAIN’ HOLD ELECTIONS, SHUTTING OUT OPPOSITION The U.S. snatched Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro and his wife out of Venezuela and transported them back to the U.S. earlier this year. The U.S. later launched a war against the Islamic Republic of Iran in conjunction with Israel. And then, during a speech in March, President Donald Trump said, “Cuba’s next.” US MILITARY HITS IRAN IN PUSH TO DEGRADE REGIME’S ABILITY TO TARGET SHIPS IN STRAIT OF HORMUZ Fox News Digital reached out to Salazar’s office on Tuesday to ask more about her comment suggesting that “After Cuba, Nicaragua is next.” The congresswoman said in a Tuesday post on X, “One by one, the dictators of the last era are answering for their crimes. Maduro sleeps in a cell in New York. The Ayatollah is dead. Raúl Castro is under indictment. Daniel Ortega, whose regime killed more than 300 peaceful protesters in 2018, jailed opposition candidates before elections, exiled priests, stripped hundreds of Nicaraguans of their citizenship, and has now abolished elections altogether, still sits in Managua. Communist dictators don’t fear losing elections. They fear having them. His day will come.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a Tuesday statement, “Daniel Ortega’s declaration that under his family’s dictatorship Nicaragua will never again hold elections lays bare their true authoritarian nature. Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo have abandoned even the pretense of popular consent. CUBA BUILT COVERT NETWORK INSIDE AMERICA THROUGH SPIES, ACTIVISTS AND UNIVERSITIES, STATE DEPT ALLEGES “The Nicaraguan people have the right to choose their own leaders through democratic elections. The United States calls on the international community to join forces to demonstrate to the Murillo-Ortega dictatorship that it cannot expect to maintain business as usual with other nations when it is thwarting the basic tenets of our democratic hemisphere,” Rubio asserted.