EXCLUSIVE: Ousted DHS counterterrorism chief sues millionaire ex over alleged sugar daddy smear campaign
FIRST ON FOX: A former high-ranking Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official who was publicly sidelined in a “sugar daddy” media firestorm is fighting back with a major defamation lawsuit, accusing her wealthy ex-boyfriend of weaponizing her gender to destroy her counterterrorism career after she rejected a marriage ultimatum. Julia Varvaro, the 29-year-old former DHS deputy assistant secretary for counterterrorism, filed a federal complaint Monday in the Eastern District of Virginia, alleging defamation per se and defamation by implication against Robert “Bob” Bianchi, multimillionaire CEO of federal contractor SDVO Solutions. The lawsuit accuses Bianchi, 57, of fabricating a DHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) complaint that falsely claimed Varvaro’s college education was funded by “sugar daddies” and her jewelry consisted of “trophies.” He then leaked the confidential complaint, private photos and text messages to The Daily Mail to ignite a tabloid scandal, according to the suit. NAVY VETERAN WHO BEAT CNN IN COURT SAYS CIA WANTS HIM TO DELETE, BURN BOOK MANUSCRIPT: ‘THAT’S CENSORSHIP’ The lawsuit specifically targets “defamation by implication,” accusing Bianchi of strategically manipulating intimate text messages to frame their age-gap relationship as a transactional “sugar baby” arrangement. Attorneys argue a leaked text message exchange where Bianchi teased, “Don’t f— with Daddy on fashion,” and Varvaro replied, “Daddy knows all,” was lighthearted banter about their age difference — not evidence of sex work. The lawsuit also addresses Apple Cash transfers that Bianchi framed as “consideration for sex,” noting the payments were standard financial flows of a committed relationship. In one private text exchange, when Bianchi suffered from kidney stones in Europe and Varvaro allegedly covered his emergency medical bills, screenshots included in the suit show he texted her, “I’m sorry lover … Thanks for your help today. I was struggling,” to which Varvaro replied, “It’s okay lover as long as you are good is the only thing that matters … Whatever you need I will figure out as long as you’re good.” BLAKE LIVELY ALLEGES ‘MEAN GIRL’ SMEAR CAMPAIGN DAMAGED HER CAREER, SEEKS UP TO $296M Later, after she drove him through snowy roads, screenshots show Bianchi messaged her: “I love you Julia. Thanks for being You,” and gave her his home keycode, texting, “I’m yours lover… you are always welcome, any time or day.” Bianchi also frequently messaged her support, writing, “I’m proud of the work you do. You’re making a difference,” and expressed his gratitude after introducing her to his children: “Thanks for a nice evening. I appreciate you meeting all my kids… I love you.” However, attorneys claim the tone shifted during a historic 76-day government shutdown in February, when Varvaro was furloughed. The lawsuit alleges that when she planned to take a temporary bartending job to pay rent, Bianchi insisted she come to him for the funds instead. But when she accepted, Bianchi used her financial vulnerability as leverage for control. In another exchange, he purportedly texted her: “I told you I am not paying your bills until we are engaged.” Varvaro said she refused the ultimatum, ended the relationship, and told him she did not need “an ATM.” In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, Varvaro’s attorney, Vel Freedman, described the fallout of the subsequent media controversy as “devastating.” NY TIMES COLUMNIST KRISTOF SAYS NO PLANS TO SEEK OFFICE AGAIN AMID DISCLOSURE ISSUES, QUERIES ON UNUSED FUNDS Freedman revealed Varvaro has been “terribly” impacted, suffering public humiliation, losing her position and seeking therapy under the care of physicians. He also highlighted the unique weaponization of gender in the alleged smear campaign, noting that Bianchi’s allegations were tailored to be “extraordinarily devastating to her career and her reputation… in a way that is sort of unique to being a woman.” The legal battle flips the narrative from April 22, when the media initially reported she was ousted. An anonymous complainant, now identified as Bianchi, told The Daily Mail he spent $40,000 on Varvaro, that she used drugs, and had a dating profile on Seeking — a website that markets itself as “a space where love and luxury meet.” Varvaro maintains she met Bianchi on Hinge, a separate dating app that uses a Nobel-Prize-winning algorithm to learn users’ “type,” according to the company. Once his identity was unmasked by the press, however, attorneys said Bianchi recanted, telling People Magazine their relationship was actually “brief and personal” and “not a ‘sugar’ relationship.” Despite his retraction, Varvaro was terminated from DHS and had her employment offer as a CIA targeting officer rescinded. It is unclear what specific concerns or infractions prompted Varvaro’s dismissal. The CIA, DHS, Hinge and Seeking did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment. Bianchi could not immediately be reached for comment.
Johnson has three-word answer on whether House will leave early
With the House facing a jam-packed final week before August recess, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is making clear lawmakers won’t leave Washington until they finish their work. Asked by Fox News on Monday whether he would send the House home early if GOP leaders failed to win a critical vote slated for Tuesday afternoon that would tee up consideration of several major bills, Johnson had a quick three-word response. “I will not,” he said. The speaker’s comments come as he attempts this week to put a GOP-authored stock trading ban on the floor along with a stopgap spending measure funding the government through the midterm elections, while bringing a must-pass annual defense policy bill up for a second time. GOP’S $95B DEFENSE PACKAGE SURVIVES CRITICAL HURDLE AMID FISCAL HAWK REVOLT GOP leaders are also racing to pass a $95 billion budget framework providing for $73 billion in defense and intelligence funding as the Iran war drags on while also funding agriculture and election integrity priorities. The Trump-endorsed blueprint has spurred criticism from fiscal conservatives, who argue it lacks spending offsets. The first test comes Monday evening when the House Rules Committee is expected to report out a rule setting up a chamber-wide procedural vote on the legislative items Tuesday. Given House Republicans’ slim margins, Johnson can afford to lose just three GOP defections if all members are present and voting. House conservatives have repeatedly demonstrated a willingness to vote down party-line procedural votes this year over various concerns, including frustration over the SAVE America Act stalling in the Senate. “The fact that there is no payfor and no language defunding Planned Parenthood is enough for me to vote no,” Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., a fiscal hawk, told Fox News Digital on Monday, regarding the budget framework. Trump urged Republicans in a Truth Social post Monday to support the budget plan, arguing it would include as much of the election measure “as possible.” GOP CIVIL WAR ERUPTS OVER TRUMP’S LATEST AGENDA PUSH AS KEY REPUBLICANS THREATEN TO SINK MEGABILL Burlison has voiced concern about getting elements of the SAVE America Act through the Senate’s stringent budget reconciliation requirements — a process in which the Senate parliamentarian plays an outsize role. “I am open to a dialogue with the administration on how we can ensure that the SAVE language is solid and what we might be able to do with stopping abortions by mail,” he told Fox News Digital. Meanwhile, Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., said Monday that Congress should stay in Washington until a short-term funding package and the SAVE America Act reach Trump’s desk. “After this week, the House and Senate won’t be in session at the same time again until SEPTEMBER 14 if we keep the current schedule,” he wrote on social media. “That’s insane. We STILL need to pass the SAVE America Act and prevent Democrats from shutting down the government in October.” “This would NOT fly in the business world. We need to stay here until we get ALL our work done. That’s what the American people expect of us,” he continued.
Birth tourism fight shifts to US ‘tropical maternity ward’ with history of Chinese exploitation
The congressional fight over birthright citizenship shifted to the U.S. territories this week after the Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump’s effort to deny citizenship to children born in the United States to parents who are unlawfully or temporarily present. Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Va., said a Senate proposal as well as the overall birthright citizenship debate leaves untouched the five inhabited U.S. territories, where citizenship at birth was established by federal law rather than directly under the Fourteenth Amendment. “The ‘Barbara’ decision leaves open the door for Congressional action on citizenship in the American territories,” Griffith said in introducing the End Birthright Citizenship for Territories Act, referring to the Supreme Court’s recent birthright citizenship ruling. BIRTH TOURISM CRACKDOWN EXPANDS AS HOUSE CHAIRMAN RAISES CRIMINAL CONSPIRACY CASE “Because of the current birthright laws in place in the territories, any child born in a U.S. territory minus American Samoa, regardless of a parent’s nationality, accesses U.S. citizenship automatically.” Four of the five U.S. territories – the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) would be covered by Griffith’s bill. American Samoans are not automatically conferred U.S. citizenship upon birth. “This bill should stop the so-called ‘birth tourism’ that is taking place in the American territories,” Griffith said. SEN ERIC SCHMITT SEEKS TO END BIRTH TOURISM, REVOKE CITIZENSHIP FOR BABIES OF FOREIGN DIPLOMATS Congress established birthright citizenship in most territories by statute, and Griffith argues it therefore has the authority to revise those laws. “Accordingly, I am leading the charge in Congress to rectify this problem, clarify U.S. citizenship laws in the territories and combat foreign nationals who are exploiting loopholes in our citizenship laws to take advantage of U.S. generosity.” After the federal government assumed control of CNMI immigration in 2009, DHS used parole authority to permit eligible Chinese and Russian visitors to enter the islands without visas — a policy critics say facilitated birth tourism. ‘IT’S INSANE’: GOP SENATOR SAYS SUPREME COURT BIRTHRIGHT RULING HANDS CHINA A CITIZENSHIP LOOPHOLE That change led CNMI to be “flooded with so-called birth tourists” in what a New York Post report described as a “tropical maternity ward” of citizens ripe to reach voting age around 2030. Residents of the five inhabited territories cannot vote in the presidential general election while living there, though they participate in party presidential nominating contests. Guam, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa and CNMI elect House delegates, while Puerto Rico elects a resident commissioner. None may vote on final passage of legislation on the House floor. Federal prosecutors shut down one of the CNMI’s largest commercial birth-tourism operations during the first Trump administration. Prosecutors said one individual, Sen Sun, operated a lucrative birth-tourism business on Saipan that “illegally employed dozens of caretakers… all Chinese nationals… without work authorization,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Guam and CNMI. Sun pleaded guilty to harboring illegal aliens. Griffith’s bill relies partly on the Insular Cases, a group of early-20th-century Supreme Court decisions addressing how constitutional protections apply in U.S. territories. Lower courts later applied that territorial framework in citizenship cases, including the D.C. Circuit’s 2015 decision in Tuaua v. United States, which held that the Citizenship Clause does not confer birthright citizenship on people born in American Samoa. Asked about Griffith’s bill and the recent reports on birth tourism in her territory, Del. Kimberlyn King-Hinds, R-CNMI, said she supports securing U.S. borders and stopping anyone who “tries to abuse America’s immigration laws.” “If someone is exploiting our immigration system, they should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. I have zero tolerance for fraud or abuse,” King-Hinds said. However, she claimed Griffith’s bill is targeting the wrong people – noting the 2009 shift in territorial immigration authority to the federal government. King-Hinds said that with people admitted to CNMI under federal oversight, Congress should strengthen enforcement rather than “single-out” Americans living there. King-Hinds said CNMI has a unique relationship with the mainland through what is called its “Covenant” – a negotiated agreement she said deserves “careful consideration” before Congress adjusts rights granted to people born there. “I am also deeply concerned about creating one standard of citizenship for Americans born in the fifty states and another for Americans born in the territories. The people of the CNMI have disproportionately and proudly served in our Armed Forces, contributed to this nation, and lived as loyal Americans for generations. They should not become the testing ground for policies that Congress cannot or will not apply elsewhere.” “I stand ready to work with my colleagues to accomplish those goals, but I will always fight to protect the rights of the people of the Northern Mariana Islands,” she said. Fox News Digital also reached out to Dels. Stacey Plaskett, D-V.I., Pablo Jose Fernandez, D-P.R., and James Moylan, R-Guam, for comment. In the 2022 case United States v. Vaello Madero, the Supreme Court upheld Congress’ exclusion of Puerto Rico residents from the Supplemental Security Income program. Justice Neil Gorsuch agreed with the judgment but wrote separately to argue that the Insular Cases should be overruled. SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER “A century ago in the Insular Cases, this court held that the federal government could rule Puerto Rico and other territories largely without regard to the Constitution. It is past time to acknowledge the gravity of this error and admit what we know to be true,” Gorsuch wrote – potentially setting up another court battle, should Griffith’s bill gain further steam. Other critics have countered that if territorial residents want full rights, they should actively pursue statehood as Alaska and Hawaii did in the modern era. Griffith’s proposal could force Congress and the courts to confront how much authority lawmakers retain over citizenship rules in the territories. Fox News Digital’s Robert Schmad contributed to this report.
Infantino tries to usher Trump away as Spain lift World Cup
Skip linksSkip to Content Live Navigation menu News Africa Asia US & Canada Latin America Europe Asia Pacific World Cup Middle East Explained Opinion Video Features Economy Sport Human Rights Climate Crisis Investigations Interactives In Pictures Science & Technology Podcasts Travel Sponsored Content Live Navigation menu Trending US-Israel war on Iran World Cup 2026 Tracking Israel’s ceasefire violations Donald Trump Infantino tries to usher Trump away as Spain lift World Cup NewsFeed FIFA President Gianni Infantino attempted to usher Donald Trump to move away from the stage as Spain’s team lifted the World Cup trophy on Sunday. Published On 20 Jul 2026 Adblock test (Why?)
Last night, I was Spanish, and so were millions around the world
Last night, Spain defeated Argentina to win the World Cup. Ordinarily, for those of us with no national connection to either country, the choice of whom to support would have been gloriously trivial. We might have chosen the team that played more beautiful football, the player we most admired or simply the side whose colours we preferred. But these are no ordinary times. Gaza and Palestine have changed the way many of us see the world. It has become a moral prism, refracting our judgments not only about governments and political leaders, but about institutions, universities, media, corporations and public figures. We have watched people and institutions we once respected avert their eyes from the destruction of a people. We have watched others discover elaborate vocabularies of qualification and equivocation when confronted with horrors that, in another place and against another people, they would have condemned without hesitation. And we have remembered those who refused to look away. That is why, last night, I was Spanish. Of course, a football team is not a government. Spanish footballers are not responsible for the policies of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, any more than Lionel Messi and his teammates are responsible for the politics of Argentinian President Javier Milei. But sport has never existed in the hermetically sealed apolitical world we sometimes pretend it inhabits. We bring ourselves to sport. We bring our histories, our identities, our sympathies and, inevitably, our moral judgements. We decide whom we want to win for reasons that often have very little to do with formations and statistics. And so, for many people of conscience, Spain has come to represent something larger. At a moment when much of the Western political establishment has twisted itself into moral and linguistic contortions over Gaza, Spain has stood apart. Sánchez and his government have been willing to speak with a clarity conspicuously absent from many of Spain’s Western allies. Spain recognised the State of Palestine. Sánchez has openly used the word genocide to describe what is being done in Gaza. His government has moved to entrench an arms embargo against Israel. One need not agree with every policy of the Spanish government to recognise the significance of that position. Moral courage is measured precisely when taking a position carries a cost. There was also something deeply moving about seeing Lamine Yamal, one of the brightest young stars in world football, waving the Palestinian flag during Barcelona’s celebrations after winning La Liga. It was a small gesture in the vast landscape of Palestinian suffering. But symbols matter, particularly when so many powerful institutions have worked so hard to make Palestine invisible. There was Yamal, at the summit of sporting success, surrounded by celebration, holding up the flag of a people whose suffering the world has been asked repeatedly to forget. And last night he wore the colours of Spain in a World Cup final and emerged a world champion. On the other side stood Argentina, a magnificent footballing nation led by perhaps the greatest footballer of his generation. And here, too, Gaza intruded upon the emotions with which some of us watched. An image of Lionel Messi at the Western Wall in occupied East Jerusalem has circulated widely. It dates back to Barcelona’s 2013 visit to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, years before the present catastrophe. But images have lives beyond the circumstances in which they were created, and Gaza has transformed the way many of us see them. FC Barcelona football player Lionel Messi puts a paper with wishes in a crack in the Western Wall, Judaism’s holiest site, in occupied East Jerusalem on August 4, 2013 [Oliver Weiken/AFP] The contrast with Lamine Yamal is striking. There is the image of Messi at the Western Wall. And there is the image of Yamal, at one of the happiest moments of his young career, waving the Palestinian flag. Different moments, different circumstances, different intentions. But symbols matter. For those whose view of the world has been transformed by Gaza, it is impossible not to feel the emotional force of the contrast. And beyond Messi stands the politics of Javier Milei. Argentina’s president has made his allegiances clear. He has embraced US President Donald Trump and declared himself “the most Zionist president in the world” at precisely the historical moment when Palestinians in Gaza have endured unimaginable destruction. Argentina’s footballers are not responsible for Milei, and its people cannot be reduced to their president. But neither can those politics be entirely erased from the emotions with which the rest of us watch. Then there was another recent vote, far removed from Gaza but revealing in its own way. In March, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a landmark resolution confronting the historical wrongs of the transatlantic trafficking and enslavement of Africans and calling for reparatory justice. One hundred and twenty-three countries voted in favour. Fifty-two abstained. Only three countries in the entire world voted against it: the United States, Israel and Argentina. There is something extraordinary about that alignment. On an issue concerning one of humanity’s greatest historical crimes and the continuing demand for reparatory justice, Trump’s America, Benjamin Netanyahu’s Israel and Milei’s Argentina found themselves standing together, virtually alone. It is difficult for those of us who increasingly view the world through the prism of Gaza not to notice the pattern. The issues are different, the histories are different and the legal questions are different. But the moral instinct seems eerily familiar: when the victims of historical injustice demand recognition, accountability and redress, the same governments so often seem to find reasons to stand on the other side. So, yes, last night I watched a football match. I admired Messi because greatness remains greatness. I marvelled at the extraordinary history of Argentine football. But I wanted Spain to win. And Spain won. Perhaps that says something about what Gaza has done to us. It has rearranged our moral geography. Countries that once felt distant can suddenly feel close because
Singapore minister resigns over ‘interactions with a woman’, PM says
The People’s Action Party, which prides itself on a clean reputation, has been rocked by a series of scandals recently. Singapore’s acting Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Faishal Ibrahim has resigned over his interactions with a woman, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong has said. “Most of their interactions took place through online messages,” Wong said in a statement on Monday. “They also met on the sidelines of public events.” Recommended Stories list of 4 items list 1 of 4Singapore celebrates success on 60th anniversary but challenges loom ahead list 2 of 4Singapore telecom apologises over outage linked to deaths in Australia list 3 of 4Singapore’s economy beats expectations as gov’t warns of Iran war fallout list 4 of 4Indonesia’s jailing of Gojek founder raises fears for investor confidence end of list Both parties made allegations of harassment against each other, and the matter is being investigated by the police, he added. The People’s Action Party, which prides itself on a “whiter than white” reputation, has been rocked by a series of political scandals in recent years. In 2023, then Transport Minister Subramaniam Iswaran was put under investigation for corruption alongside Malaysian billionaire hotel tycoon Ong Beng Seng. A year later, Iswaran pleaded guilty to receiving more than 380,000 Singapore dollars ($294,000) worth of gifts from Ong, including tickets for West End shows and football matches, some of them in exchange for advancing Ong’s business interests. Two senior members of Singapore’s largest opposition party also resigned in 2023 after they admitted to having an affair, while two ministers were investigated and cleared of wrongdoing over their rental of state-owned properties. This prompted former Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to say that his party’s image was damaged by a series of scandals. Wong said no criminal offence had been committed by either party in Faishal’s case, and no criminal action would be taken, but “there was a separate question of whether Associate Professor Faishal’s conduct met the standards expected of a political office holder and member of parliament”. Faishal has been a member of parliament since 2006 and became the acting minister-in-charge of Muslim affairs in 2025. He has now resigned from the ruling People’s Action Party as well as his cabinet position. In his resignation letter posted on the website of the prime minister’s office, Faishal said: “While there was no physical relationship between us, and I did not intend for the interactions to develop into one, there was a lapse of judgment on my part in the way I handled the interactions, and in failing to establish clearer boundaries at an earlier stage.” Wong said he was saddened Faishal was leaving politics under such circumstances. Adblock test (Why?)
Sonam Wangchuk Health Row: Wife moves HC challenging order denying transfer to private hospital
In the appeal, Angmo submits that the impugned order fails to deal with the issue of informed consent and overlooks the settled legal principle.
‘Shame on Delhi Police’: Abhijeet Dipke alleges planting stones, van to defame CJP’s Parliament march
Delhi Police have heightened security in central Delhi ahead of the Cockroach Janata Party’s proposed march to Parliament on Monday, July 20, 2026.
Dimple Yadav, SP leaders stage ‘NEET Hai Ya Cheat Hai’ protest in Parliament
Before the protest, SP MP Dimple Yadav alleged that the government was unwilling to engage with students despite repeated demands for dialogue.
QDENGA approved in India: 2-dose vaccine protects against all 4 dengue serotypes; know age group and key details
DCGI has approved QDENGA, India’s first dengue vaccine for ages 4-60. The 2-dose vaccine protects against all 4 dengue types and does not need prior testing.