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‘This is not normal’: AOC unloads on McConnell’s prolonged absence

‘This is not normal’: AOC unloads on McConnell’s prolonged absence

Sen. Mitch McConnell’s disclosure of new details about the medical issues that have kept him away from the Senate has sparked fresh scrutiny on Capitol Hill, with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., questioning whether his prolonged absence is “legal at this point” even as Republicans insist he’ll return when the Senate needs him. “How is everyone pretending this is normal?” Ocasio-Cortez said to Fox News Digital. “This is not normal. At all.” “How is it that we have sitting elected members of Congress going missing for months at a time?” MITCH MCCONNELL BREAKS SILENCE ON MYSTERY HOSPITALIZATION AFTER GRAHAM’S DEATH The Kentucky senator broke his silence on his previously undisclosed medical conditions that have kept him absent from the Senate since he was first hospitalized on June 14. He posted to social media claiming that his childhood fight with polio contributed to the fall that left him “briefly unconscious” and hospitalized last month, and then was hit with a “mild case of pneumonia” in the midst of his recovery. “Leader McConnell is tough as nails,” Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., said. “This guy survived polio. For days on end, he went through therapy. People have no idea how tough he is. “ McConnell’s silence fueled online speculation about his condition, with unsubstantiated rumors ranging from cardiac arrest to claims that he had died. “When you’re not very forthcoming with a lot of information, whether it’s personal or professional information, you do leave the conclusion up to conspiracy theorists,” Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., said. “And people’s imagination is far greater than reality almost every time.” Even after McConnell released his statement on his medical absence, including a photo of him with his wife in the hospital, rumors circulated about the senator, claiming he could be in a vegetative state. MCCONNELL FACES FRESH CALLS TO COME CLEAN ABOUT HEALTH ISSUES The statement also did not address specifically when McConnell would return to the Senate, only stating that he would not “be able to return to the Senate floor to vote quite yet.” But Republican senators seemed confident that McConnell would return to the Senate floor for key votes, with Cramer even claiming GOP leaders have been in “regular” contact with him throughout his absence. “Enough of our leadership have regular conversations with him for me to be comfortable,” Cramer said. “I don’t have any doubt if there was a vote for a Supreme Court justice tomorrow that he’d find a way to be here for that,” Marshall said. “I think he’ll be here when we need him, and I just would never count him out. He’ll be back.” McConnell, 84, is set to retire next year at the end of his term, but has promised he will be “finishing the job” he was elected to do until then. “I think that Mitch McConnell has always been exactly who he is right now,” Cramer said. HOUSE DEM URGES TRANSPARENCY BY PUBLIC OFFICIALS AFTER GOP COLLEAGUE REVEALS REASON FOR EXTENDED ABSENCE “He’s not the most transparent person in the world. He thinks strategically, tactically. He thinks about what serves the institution best — what serves his political ambitions and his political priorities.” Ocasio-Cortez told Fox News Digital that while medical emergencies can often be inevitable, she believes there needs to be some regulations pertaining to the length of absences, as well as potentially some legislation passed to prevent lawmakers from being able to be absent for long periods. “Listen, things do happen,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “People get into medical incidents. If you’re in the hospital, you’re in the hospital. But I do think that there should be some sort of… there’s a line here. And I think almost everyone can agree that it’s been crossed.”

Amy Coney Barrett recalls heartbreaking question from 12-year-old son over bulletproof vest

Amy Coney Barrett recalls heartbreaking question from 12-year-old son over bulletproof vest

Justice Amy Coney Barrett told the House Appropriations Committee the uptick in threats waged against her and fellow Supreme Court justices have taken a toll on her children. “They have required my children to think about and see things that children should not have to see or think about,” Barrett testified Tuesday. Barrett shared how her security detail gave her a bulletproof vest to wear, and one day when she brought it into her bedroom, her 12-year-old son asked what it was. “And I didn’t know how to respond because maybe I lack imagination, but I didn’t expect that performing this service was going to put me in the position of explaining to my children what a bulletproof vest was and why I had to wear one,” Barrett told the committee. SUPREME COURT JUSTICES HEAD TO CAPITOL HILL FOR FIRST CONGRESSIONAL APPEARANCE SINCE 2019 Barrett and Justice Elena Kagan’s testimony before Congress came as the Supreme Court seeks a 10% budget increase for fiscal year 2027, with roughly $16.6 million of the $20.7 million increase dedicated to expanding security for the justices. Barrett, who was the target of a swatting incident in May, recounted how her and her family’s lives drastically changed following the leaked Dobbs decision in 2022, which ruled that abortion was not a constitutional right, causing threats on her life to intensify. In that incident, someone falsely reported gunshots at her home, Barrett testified, saying her teenage son and his friends were the first to discover the street filled with police. AMY CONEY BARRETT DRAWS BACKLASH FROM CONSERVATIVE CRITICS WHO WANT HER TO BE A TRUMP PARTISAN “I was very, very grateful that I had Supreme Court police outside my home because they were able to stop and meet with and explain to the county police that it had been a false alarm, and so the police did not actually attempt to enter our home,” Barrett said. She also shared that her and other justices are receiving anonymous packages being sent in the name of Daniel Anderl, the 20-year-old son of U.S. District Court Judge Esther Salas, who was killed in 2020. The gunman was an attorney posing as a delivery driver. Judge Salas was his target. Salas’ husband was seriously injured as well. MORNING GLORY: THE SUPREME COURT OFFICIALLY CLOSES THE BOOKS ON ANOTHER TERM “I think the message on these deliveries being sent in his name is clear,” Barrett said. “As Justice Kagan said, federal judges across the country, throughout the judiciary, including the Supreme Court, continue to do their jobs without fear or favor, but the threat level is really high.” The testimony underscored the urgency behind the Supreme Court’s push for more security funding during its first appearance before Congress since 2019. In total, the Supreme Court is requesting roughly $89 million to cover personal security costs, which Kagan said is necessary given that the justices have experienced a 35% increase in threats just in 2026, compared to a 25% increase in threats the year prior. Kagan noted how recent growth in the budget can be entirely attributed to security expenses. “For some of us, those threats have come very close, and all of us live with the knowledge that they may again materialize,” Kagan testified. She recalled that when she arrived at the Supreme Court in 2010, justices did not receive around-the-clock personal protection. Instead, the court’s police primarily guarded the building, and she only had security accompanying her during work-related public events. But Kagan said the heightened focus on justices’ security began after Justice Antonin Scalia’s death in 2016. Scalia died while on a hunting trip in Texas, where he was hours away from security personnel after declining a private security detail for the trip. Kagan recalled that Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and the late Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, D-Md., went to Chief Justice John Roberts to push them to step up security. “This was how the chief described it to us — they said, kind of like, ‘We think you’re crazy, you know, that you have less security than the director of the Office of Personnel Management does. And we think that you have to do better.’ “Then, of course, the Dobbs leak happened, and that really increased the urgency of the entire thing,” Kagan said. “But we’ve been working on this now for about a decade and actually, I think, are grateful to Congress for coming to us and saying, ‘You have to up your game in this area.’”

Senate Dems draw rare line against must-pass Pentagon bill

Senate Dems draw rare line against must-pass Pentagon bill

Senate Democrats drew a rare line in the sand against a yearly, must-pass defense package in an act of rebellion against President Donald Trump. Democrats blocked a procedural hurdle for the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), a perennial bill that opens up funding for the Pentagon and military. Many were already frustrated by the overall funding target of the package and pushed over the edge by the renewal of the Iran war. “It’s very disappointing,” Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told Fox News Digital. REPUBLICANS BREAK WITH TRUMP TO REBUKE IRAN WAR — BUT IT WON’T CHANGE POLICY “It’s about supporting our troops, supporting our military, and it’s disappointing when Democrats play games with that,” he continued. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., charged on the Senate floor that Republicans wanted the upper chamber to take up the bill “as though none of this is happening.” “The president is waging an unauthorized war, defying bipartisan majorities in Congress, refusing to level with the American people at the cost of the mission or the endgame,” Schumer said. “The NDAA cannot become a permission slip for that recklessness that we see occurring in Iran.” CLOSED-DOOR OUTBURST TURNS INTO VICTORY FOR TRUMP’S IRAN NEGOTIATIONS Early signs of trouble for this year’s NDAA first appeared during the Senate Armed Services Committee’s vote to advance the legislation. The majority of Democrats, nine out of 13 on the panel, voted against it. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., was one of the “no” votes, something he acknowledged was a rare move. He said guardrails needed to be added to Trump’s war authorities in Iran and a deeper explanation provided of where exactly the staggering $1.15 trillion authorized by the bill would come from. IRAN WAR’S PRICE TAG HITS $80B — MORE THAN DOUBLE WHAT CONGRESS WAS TOLD “The Iran war issue is, I think, one of the major issues about the NDAA, but it’s not the only issue,” Kaine said. “The absence of knowing where this money is coming from to do this dramatic top-line increase? That still has to get resolved.” Republicans, however, contended that taking the first step on the bill would allow for an amendment process to modify it. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., who also sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, told Fox News Digital, “It’s pretty frustrating, people need to come together and act in the best interest of the country.” “We have to, you know, we have to have a strong military,” Scott said. “Whether we like it or not, people decide to be our enemies. They want to destroy us. So I think we ought to, you know, get on the bill and if we need to do amendments, let’s start amending it.”

DOJ charges 3 Russians in alleged $63M cybercrime scheme targeting Americans

DOJ charges 3 Russians in alleged M cybercrime scheme targeting Americans

Three Russian nationals allegedly scammed Americans in 21 states out of more than $63 million, according to a December 2024 indictment that the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio unsealed Tuesday. The trio — Alexander Alexandrovich Volosovik, 43, Kirill Andreevich Zatolokin, 34, and Yulia Vladimirovna Pankova, 29 — conducted “malicious cyber activities against U.S. critical infrastructure” through their St. Petersburg, Russia-based companies Media Land, LLC and ML.Cloud, LLC, according to federal prosecutors. “From their overseas safe haven, these defendants ran the criminal infrastructure that powered attacks on critical institutions across our nation,” Department of Justice Criminal Division Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva said in a statement. GLOBAL SCAM CRACKDOWN LEADS TO 276 ARRESTS “Their actions put the American public at risk. We will continue to dismantle these networks and protect our critical infrastructure from cybercriminals at home and abroad.” A grand jury indicted the trio on charges of conspiracy to commit and aid and abet computer fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering in December 2024. The U.S. Department of State’s Rewards for Justice (RFJ) program is offering up to $10 million for information on foreign government-linked associates of the trio or for affiliates of their companies. FBI ADDS 2 FUGITIVES TO ‘MOST WANTED FRAUDSTERS’ LIST AMID HISTORIC $6.5B HEALTHCARE TAKEDOWN: PATEL The U.S. and allied countries levied sanctions on the companies in 2025. Media Land and MLCloud, according to the indictment, provided hosting services and information technology infrastructure for business both in the U.S. and abroad. Specifically, the groups offered “bulletproof hosting” services meant to be used by those trying to evade detection by law enforcement. The companies “provided infrastructure and tech support to criminal client co-conspirators with the means to infect victim computers with malware and ransomware and then extorted those victims for money and cryptocurrency,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office Tuesday announcement read. STOLEN IDS SOLD FOR ‘HAPPY MEAL’ PRICES FUEL BILLIONS IN US BENEFIT FRAUD “Other computer-based crimes facilitated by Media Land and ML.Cloud included supporting criminal marketplaces, fraudulent domain registrations, and providing the platform from which to launch phishing and brute force attacks,” the announcement added. While many U.S. residents were alleged victims of the group’s products, their organizations targeted victims across the globe, prompting U.S. authorities to collaborate with international partners, a fact the U.S. attorney and the FBI both stressed. “The victims in this case are not only in Ohio, but also in 20 other states across the country, touching every aspect of Americans’ lives. They include banks, schools, government entities, hospitals and media companies,” United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio David M. Toepfer said in a statement.  “Together with our international partners, we will aggressively combat the efforts of individuals who hide behind computers anywhere in the world who seek to profit and wreak havoc by targeting the infrastructures that support our communities.” Other international organizations that Toepfer thanked included the National Police of the Netherlands and the Netherlands’ Public Prosecutor’s Office, the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency, the United Kingdom Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Australian Federal Police. “Today’s announcement underscores the importance of global partnerships and international collaboration, especially in a borderless world riddled with cyber criminals,” FBI Cleveland Special Agent in Charge Josh DelManzo also said. “The methods used by these bad actors, including ransomware, malware, phishing and other cyber activity, serves as a reminder that whether for business or personal use, when you are online, criminal networks will stop at nothing to hack, attack, share, or sell your information for their own greed, gain, and profit. The FBI and its partners will continue to identify and cripple criminal networks and freeze their infrastructures to reduce or remove the threats to the public and further protect trusting individuals and companies.” Fox News Digital contacted the DOJ for further comment. The U.S. Attorney’s office for the Northern District of Ohio declined to comment, citing an ongoing investigation.

Johnson scores win as conservative rebels end House floor blockade over voter ID bill

Johnson scores win as conservative rebels end House floor blockade over voter ID bill

House conservatives ended their weeks-long blockade of the House floor Tuesday, handing Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., a key victory after the rebellion brought legislative business to a standstill for nearly a month. The House successfully passed a procedural vote 215-211, teeing up votes on an appropriations bill funding the State Department, legislation making daylight saving time permanent and a measure seeking to improve veterans’ benefits. Johnson also agreed to pair the State Department funding bill with the SAVE America Act, prompting several conservative holdouts to flip their votes after demanding the House increase pressure on the Senate to pass the stalled measure. Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla., was the lone Republican to oppose the rule, while all Democrats voted “no” during a party-line procedural vote. The conservatives had blocked all major House legislation since late June in an effort to force GOP leaders to hold floor votes on the Trump-backed SAVE America Act and a sweeping border security bill. Given House Republicans’ slim majority, Johnson could afford to spare just a handful of GOP defections. The speaker has been under mounting pressure to get the House moving again and advance a backlog of legislation ahead of the November midterm elections. GOP leaders are racing to draft the blueprint for a third “big, beautiful bill” in addition to clearing government funding bills before the Sept. 30 deadline and a potential supplemental package covering the price tag of the Iran war. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., who was among the GOP rebels who effectively shut down the chamber to pressure the Senate to pass the SAVE America Act, agreed to unlock the floor after Johnson proposed pairing the election measure with the State Department appropriations bill. Johnson sought to attach the SAVE America Act to the House’s version of an annual defense policy bill before the July 4 recess, but Luna continued the blockade anyway. “If John Thune strips it out in the Senate, that will be on him and the entire country should be watching what he does,” Luna wrote on social media Monday. TRUMP TAKES UNUSUAL STEP, LETS BIPARTISAN HOUSING BILL BECOME LAW UNSIGNED AMID SAVE PRESSURE CAMPAIGN Thune, who is supportive of the SAVE America Act, has repeatedly insisted that the votes do not exist in the upper chamber to pass the Trump-backed legislation amid unified opposition from Democrats. That leaves House Republicans with little leverage to force Senate action on the SAVE America Act. Some of the GOP holdouts had also threatened to oppose the rule unless House Republican leadership agreed to schedule a vote on a border security package. Members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus are advocating for a vote on the Permanent Trump Secure Border Act, which would codify several Trump executive orders targeting illegal immigration, including and end to catch-and-release policies. “We need to deliver on codifying border security, deal with the birthright citizenship issue,” Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, said. “These are all issues people that I represent care about intently and that we’ve talked about doing, and we need to deliver.” In a potential sign of trouble for GOP leadership, some holdouts criticized Johnson’s planned legislative goals for the week. “Making Daylight Saving Time permanent won’t matter at all if we don’t have election integrity,” Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, wrote on social media Monday, referring to the SAVE America Act. “Priorities.” Self voted “yes” during the procedural vote. The GOP rebels’ hardball tactics frustrated many House Republicans, who argued the strategy risked backfiring and paralyzing the conference’s legislative agenda. “There’s a small group of Republicans who are upset at the Senate, as I think all of us are,” Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., told Fox News Monday. “But I don’t know how … if you’re upset at the Senate, why do you take it out on the conservative Republican agenda in the House?” But some conservatives argued the House should do whatever it takes to get the SAVE America Act to President Donald Trump’s desk. Trump has repeatedly said the election integrity measure is his top legislative priority. He even refused to sign a bipartisan housing bill last week aiming to boost supply and lower costs in protest of the SAVE America Act. “We shouldn’t vote on anything else unless it has the SAVE [America] Act, period,” Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., said Monday. “Ideally, the Senate ought to take it up every day and make them vote on it and do a talking filibuster and keep them up all night,” he continued. “That’s the best course of action. I don’t think they’ll do that.”