Ted Cruz takes victory lap as iconic American brand’s stock plunges to 12-year low
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, is again dunking on a popular sports brand as the company’s stock price hits a 12-year low. Cruz joined in on social media criticism of Nike, the Swoosh-emblazoned brand whose stock price has been on a steady decline for years. The lawmaker responded to conservative social media influencer Douglass Mackey’s list of reasons why Nike’s stock was suffering in a callback to his own boycott of the brand several years ago. MARY CAIN’S BOOK AND NIKE’S TRANS-ATHLETE STUDY REVEAL THE SAME PATTERN OF CORPORATE HYPOCRISY “Sad & predictable,” Cruz posted on X, where he reiterated that Nike’s decision to nix its Betsy Ross themed shoe was how the company “lost me.” “For my whole life, I wore nearly 100% Nike for athletic wear,” Cruz said. “Kaepernick pissed me off, but when they cancelled the Betsy Ross shoe it showed that their marketing plan was America-hate. I went out & bought brand new shoes, shorts, t-shirts.” “Turns out I wasn’t the only one,” he continued. “#GoWokeGoBroke.” Nike’s stock price hit a 12-year low earlier this week, dropping nearly 80% since the company’s all-time high in 2021. NIKE CRITICIZED FOR WALKING BACK BOSTON MARATHON AD FOLLOWING ‘PACE SHAMING’ BACKLASH The yearslong tumble downward saw nearly $200 billion in market value erased for the company, which five years ago saw its share price hit an all-time high of $177.51. It’s also not Cruz’s first foray into bashing the brand. In 2019, Cruz joined several conservatives to boycott Nike after the company opted to dump its planned Betsy Ross-themed shoe. Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who earned the ire of conservatives for sitting and kneeling during the national anthem in an act of protest against police brutality a decade ago, reportedly urged the company to drop the product. MLB GREAT JIM EDMONDS SAYS HE WOULDN’T HAVE TOLERATED NATIONAL ANTHEM PROTESTS: ‘WE STAND UP AND SALUTE’ He argued that the Revolutionary-era flag, with 13 white stars in a circle on a blue backdrop, was a symbol that had been adopted by White nationalist groups and a reminder of a time when Black people were enslaved. Nike said in a statement at the time that it opted to yank the shoe, which was set for a July Fourth release, because of “concerns that it could unintentionally offend and detract from the nation’s patriotic holiday.” Cruz at the time blasted the company and dumped his Nike gear. “It’s a good thing @Nike only wants to sell sneakers to people who hate the American flag…. @NFL #HappyFourth,” he said on X. He wasn’t the only major political figure to take a shot at the brand. Then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., criticized the decision to pull the Betsy Ross-themed shoe, and countered that if any other company had the same idea, he’d be the first in line to buy. “If we’re in a political environment where the American flag has become controversial to Americans, I think we’ve got a problem,” McConnell said.
Fauci scandal grows as top House committee accuses Biden Cabinet official of hiding COVID diary
FIRST ON FOX: Dr. Anthony Fauci’s woes on Capitol Hill are far from over after his contentious Senate hearing late last month. The House Oversight Committee is now questioning why Fauci’s COVID-19 pandemic-era diary and cellphone were not turned over to Congress before this year, and it is placing the blame on former President Joe Biden’s top health official. In a letter sent Monday, Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., highlighted a November 2023 request by House Republicans for former Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra, a California gubernatorial candidate, to produce any records from Fauci containing the words “COVID-19,” “gain-of-function,” and “Wuhan.” EXCLUSIVE: BIDEN PARDON WON’T SHIELD FAUCI IF HE LIES TO CONGRESS, COMER SAYS “These terms, among others outlined in the document request, appear throughout Dr. Fauci’s diary. Despite the existence of this clearly relevant and responsive information, you failed to include any portion of Dr. Fauci’s diary in your response, let alone even acknowledge its existence,” Comer wrote. “The Committee is concerned that you either intentionally withheld this information, or that you failed to conduct an adequate search of the Department’s systems as requested in the November 2, 2023, letter.” FAUCI HELD IN CONTEMPT AS COVID CELLPHONE LANDS IN HANDS OF SENATE INVESTIGATORS Current HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. turned over Fauci’s COVID-era diary and cellphone to Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Ron Johnson, R-Wis., earlier this year. The diary in particular caused an uproar among Fauci’s critics, who accused him of gloating about his influence and celebrity during the pandemic at a time when millions of Americans were grappling with a slew of government regulations. FAUCI’S NEWLY RELEASED COVID DIARIES REVEAL BIZARRE FIXATION ON FAME AS PANDEMIC DEATHS MOUNTED More than 1,000 pages released to the public showed insight into Fauci’s private thoughts as pandemic science rapidly evolved, as well as entries of the longtime public health official mulling over his newfound fame. Fauci told the Oversight Committee’s now-defunct pandemic subcommittee in June 2024, “The CDC was responsible for those kinds of guidelines to schools, not me,” when discussing measures like the six-foot distancing rule that played a major role in keeping schools closed across the country. Multiple diary entries suggest Fauci at least discussed school closures with political leaders. For example, one 2020 excerpt has the doctor saying he “convinced” then-New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio “based on what I was saying publicly and my conversation tonight to close the NYC schools.” Fauci spoke to none of that during his Senate hearing in late July, however. Instead, the infectious disease expert invoked the Fifth Amendment over 100 times as Republicans hammered him over the pandemic’s effects and the revelations from his diary. Becerra, whom Comer is directing scrutiny at now, is currently running for governor of California. Comer asked him to answer a series of questions by Sept. 2 of this year, including whether he was aware of the diary’s existence, why it was not produced in House Republicans’ initial document request, and whether any fellow Biden officials pressured him to withhold anything from the 2023 request. Fox News Digital reached out to Becerra’s gubernatorial campaign for a response. It comes on the heels of a former Fauci advisor, David Morens, pleading guilty to conspiracy to conceal COVID-19 records related to grant funding. During his June 2024 House hearing, Fauci conceded it was “inappropriate” for Morens to edit a press release concerning grant funding and that Morens violated federal health policy by editing a letter sent to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), among other actions.
Iran loses key economic lifeline in Middle East that Trump’s sanctions couldn’t reach as deadlock persists
The United Arab Emirates suspended all trade, commercial exchanges and financial transactions with Iran after accusing Tehran of firing ballistic missiles toward maritime traffic. The action severs one of the Islamic Republic’s most important commercial and financial links and threatens to close off an economic route President Donald Trump’s sanctions have struggled to reach. It also further deepens Iran’s isolation amid its standoff with the U.S. The UAE supplied 31% of Iran’s imports, valued at roughly $21 billion, in 2024, and was the destination for 13% of its exports, according to World Trade Organization trade data. IRAN DEAL CLOCK HITS ZERO AS TRUMP DEMANDS ‘WHITE FLAG’ WITH NEW PRESSURE CAMPAIGN LOOMING Miad Maleki, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and former Treasury official, said the UAE is one of Tehran’s two key economic lifelines. “The UAE and China are Iran’s two economic bloodlines. If UAE is serious about its economic embargo against Iran, then it’ll close the one the U.S. Navy couldn’t touch,” Maleki wrote on X. KEY CHINA-IRAN INFRASTRUCTURE EXPOSES CRITICAL HOLE IN TRUMP’S WAR STRATEGY Maleki said Dubai has become Tehran’s gateway to global commerce, with third-country goods routed through the emirate to Iran. “Most of what Iran calls ‘imports from the UAE’ was never Emirati. Dubai has been basically Iran’s window to the world economy,” he said. The UAE Foreign Ministry said the measures would remain in place “until further notice,” citing a regional escalation that it said undermined peace and security. Emirati officials said two ballistic missiles launched from Iran fell into the sea and were targeting maritime navigation. Iran denied responsibility, with its foreign ministry deeming the accusation as “baseless.” Spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said the UAE’s claim ran counter to good-neighborliness and referred to what he called a history of “multiple false-flag operations” in the region. Dubai has also served as an important conduit for Iranian financial networks facing U.S. sanctions. Earlier this month, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Dubai-based exchange houses and trading fronts it said helped Iranian networks move hundreds of millions of dollars and recover revenue from oil sales. The Treasury said this action advanced Trump’s maximum-pressure policy, though neither Washington nor Abu Dhabi has said the UAE’s new trade freeze was coordinated with the U.S. campaign. IRAN FAILS TO STRIKE DEAL WITH US AS DEADLINE PASSES AND TRUMP CALLS FOR ‘WHITE FLAG OF SURRENDER’ The UAE’s move to suspend trade comes at a time when U.S.-Iran diplomacy has again broken down due to disputes over the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic waterway that had carried roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas before the war started earlier this year. A deadlock again emerged this week after Monday’s 60-day deadline came and went with no new deal on the table. Trump said Tuesday that no talks with Iran were underway or planned after a 60-day window for a broader agreement expired. He also said the U.S. naval blockade remained in effect and insisted the strait was “open and operating,” while Iran maintained it would remain closed until Washington lifted oil sanctions, ended its blockade of Iranian ports and met other conditions. A day earlier, Trump posted a map on Truth Social labeling the Strait of Hormuz “NEW U.S. Territory,” escalating the dispute over control of the strategic waterway.
Lindsey Graham’s sister admits she’s ‘not that informed on national security’ while seeking full Senate term
Sen. Darline Graham, the late Sen. Lindsey Graham’s sister who was appointed to fill his vacant seat, admitted during a South Carolina GOP Senate debate that she is “not that informed on national security” as she campaigns for a full six-year term. Graham made the candid admission just days before South Carolina’s GOP Senate runoff between her and Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., after a moderator asked whether Taiwan and the South China Sea are national security issues for the United States. She responded that national security is “not my thing” and “not my area of expertise.” The political newcomer has the backing of President Donald Trump, who urged her to seek a full term and endorsed her candidacy after she was appointed to the Senate by South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster. “Are Taiwan and the South China Sea national security issues for the United States, and if so, why or how?” the moderator asked. RALPH NORMAN SUGGESTS SPECIAL GOP PRIMARY RUNOFF RIVAL DARLINE GRAHAM IS THE ESTABLISHMENT’S CHOSEN CANDIDATE “I’m just going to be honest here. I’m not that informed on national security,” Graham responded. “But I do support the military. My brother was in the Air Force for 33 years, so I will do everything I can to support the military. My dad was in the Army. I’m not a polished politician up here. National security is not my thing, not my area of expertise. But I do support the military.” The gaffe earned Graham backlash and responses on X, including from Nikki Haley, former U.N. ambassador and South Carolina governor. “Lindsey Graham was well informed on the United States’ national security. Darline Graham admits she’s not. This is not something you inherit. And it’s critical in the U.S. Senate,” Haley wrote on X alongside a clip of Graham’s remarks. “DEVASTATING: Darline Graham can’t answer a softball question about China and Taiwan, admitting she doesn’t know much about foreign policy,” wrote South Carolina talk-show host Tara Servatius, noting that her “stunned 16 year old answered it off the top of his head.” After the debate, Graham told reporters that South Carolinians are “worried about their pocketbooks more than they’re worried about the South China Sea, quite honestly,” according to the Post and Courier. TRUMP’S FIERCEST GOP CRITIC BECAME HIS MOST INFLUENTIAL VOICE ON WAR AND PEACE Graham’s spin room comments echoed how she has previously described the differences between herself and her late brother, who made foreign policy and national security a hallmark of his Senate career. During a July interview on Fox News’ “Hannity,” Graham recalled urging her brother to focus more on the everyday issues facing voters rather than national security. “I would watch him, and I’d be like, ‘Lindsey, are you just talking about national security all the time?’” Graham said, pointing instead to issues such as groceries, gas and healthcare. SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER Graham’s response to the Taiwan question wasn’t the only gaffe she had during Tuesday night’s debate. Graham is also facing heat for saying that South Carolina was home to 50 million residents, when in fact it only has about 5 million. “Darlene Graham doesn’t even know how many people live in South Carolina! Here she is saying 50 million people live here. Darlene darling, approximately 5.5 million people, not 50 million people live in South Carolina. I can’t even right now with this Senate race,” said Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., on X.
5 takeaways from Florida Senate primary: GOP Sen Ashley Moody will face DSA’s Nixon
President Donald Trump celebrated the primary defeat of longtime political foe Alexander Vindman on Tuesday night after Democratic Florida State Rep. Angie Nixon pulled off a stunning upset in the primary that sought to flip the seat held by Sen. Ashley Moody, R-Fla. This will be the first general election race for Moody, outgoing Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ handpicked successor for former senator and current Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and it will be an ideological battle between a leading legal mind and one of the Democratic Socialists of America’s up-and-coming figures in Nixon. Here are five takeaways from Tuesday night’s high-profile Florida Senate primary: FAR-LEFT SOCIALIST WINS MASSIVE FLORIDA UPSET: KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM TUESDAY’S PRIMARIES Trump dunks on Impeachment 1 witness The Obama-Biden establishment Democrat era sees another one of its national political figures suffer a loss in Florida, a state that once was former President Barack Obama’s key swing state. “SleazeBag Vindman loses tonight to a Radical Left Lunatic,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post Tuesday night. “How cool is that???” Vindman, a retired Army Lt. Col. who fled Soviet Ukraine as a child with his twin brother Eugene, rose to prominence as a Russia hawk during the final years of the Obama administration’s Pentagon. Vindman testified during the first Trump impeachment trial that he “was asked to serve” on the National Security Council in July 2018, serving under fellow impeachment witness Fiona Hill. He became a polarizing national political figure when he testified during the 2019 House impeachment inquiry about Trump’s phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. SOCIALIST SURGE: FAR-LEFT DEMOCRATS TEST NATIONAL PLAYBOOK AFTER BLUE-CITY PRIMARY SHOCKS Dems again burn big money opposing DSA candidate Vindman, backed by the Democrat establishment, raised 16 times as much money as Nixon, but like the big-ticket loss in the Michigan Democratic primary race won by Abdul El-Sayed against Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., it proved to be money wasted before November’s midterm general elections. That comes as Democrats have widely reported issues with fundraising right now. They trail Republicans’ national apparatus and Trump’s MAGA coffers by hundreds of millions, showing the power of incumbency, despite the long historical challenges of midterm elections swinging power back to the opposition party. EXCLUSIVE: OVERSIGHT PROJECT SUES TO BLOCK MARYLAND DEMOCRATS’ REDISTRICTING MEASURE BACKED BY GOV MOORE Vindman raised $16.27 million to roughly $1 million for the DSA-backed Nixon, according to federal filings. Despite the nearly 16-to-1 cash advantage, Vindman lost in roughly a 12-point blowout. That comes on the heels of the estimated $70 million spent on Stevens. Democrats, whose small-donor platform ActBlue is under congressional investigation, could use those millions against the RNC’s reported $128.5 million June cash on hand and Trump’s reported $800 million. Florida delivers Election Night results fast: A contrast of red state-blue state “Florida proved there’s no excuse for elections to drag on for days or weeks,” Republican National Committee (RNC) spokeswoman Ally Triolo wrote in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Floridians voted, ballots were counted, and we woke up knowing who won. It can be done — and it should be the standard nationwide.” Defeated California independent mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt marveled in a trolling X post on election integrity. “Wait. How did Florida count all their votes already?” Pratt wrote. “I was reliably informed democracy takes 5 weeks.” ELECTION ‘HUMAN ERROR’ DELAYS KEY PRIMARY RESULTS IN LATEST VOTING MISHAP TO HIT BLUE STATES RNC Chair Joe Gruters, who resides in southwest Florida, called that quick result shot to Fox News Digital weeks ago, repeating a long-hailed refrain by Gov. DeSantis. “I always say, go look at Florida, my home state, state of 23 million people, a state where literally within 90 minutes, we can give you results everybody has full faith and confidence – that’s with Democrat and Republican supervisor of elections across the state,” Gruters said. “We could do this nationwide. It’s not rocket science, but when you have a party that does everything they possibly can to cheat, lie, and steal to win elections, when it’s all about control and power, rather than trying to make sure we protect democracy, we got to do everything we can to put the ship in the right direction, and that’s what we’ve done at the party. We’re going to continue to do anything we can make sure these elections are safe and secure.” Florida won redistricting, but Nixon won Democratic voter cred Nixon sparked national headlines during Florida’s legislative redistricting battle when she pulled out a bright pink megaphone on the House floor to protest a GOP-drafted congressional map. Undeterred by a state reprimand, Nixon stood by her actions, famously stating that “fighting for democracy is more important than having decorum” and declaring that she had no regrets about speaking out. That viral floor protest helped define Nixon’s political identity as a confrontational progressive willing to break norms, serving as a signature centerpiece for her high-profile U.S. Senate campaign. In the primary, the newly redrawn maps shifted competitive dynamics across the state, while Nixon’s stand against redistricting became her primary rallying cry against the well-backed establishment. In her campaign, Nixon urged voters to “make sure you wear your pink to the polls.” Moody’s law-and-order résumé gives Nixon a steep credibility test Moody, who served six years as Florida’s attorney general before DeSantis appointed her to fill the seat vacated by Rubio, enters the general election with a résumé built around the issues Republicans are likely to put front and center: crime, fraud and public safety. By contrast, Nixon comes to the race from activism on the pavement, not the courtroom. The Jacksonville Democrat built her profile as a progressive organizer and state lawmaker, championing government-run healthcare, expanded social programs and other priorities aligned with DSA. The Florida Senate seat will be a target for the cash-strapped Democratic National Committee, but it will have to invest its resources of time, energy and money into a DSA candidate opposing a tough on crime fraud-fighter.
Massive piece of 9/11 history makes stunning 10,500-mile journey across America
The Tunnel to Towers Foundation is transporting a steel beam recovered from the South Tower on the final stretch of a 10,500-mile journey across America, bringing a piece of Ground Zero to communities across the nation in remembrance of the 9/11 attacks as the 25th anniversary approaches. “This tour is about ensuring that every generation can remember, and truly understand, what happened 25 years ago,” said Tunnel to Towers Foundation chairman and CEO Frank Siller said in a press release of the campaign. The 16,900-pound, 21-foot steel beam from the South Tower will travel to over 20 different states with events featuring appearances from local officials, first responders and members of the foundation. The steel beam serves as a traveling memorial to the victims and first responders of 9/11. AS AMERICAN PRIDE HITS A 25-YEAR LOW, A NEW 9/11 EDUCATION PLATFORM URGES THE NATION TO NEVER FORGET “Steel Across America is our promise to bring this sacred piece of history to every corner of this country – honoring the civilians, first responders, and service members who gave their lives on 9/11 and in the years that followed,” Siller added. “No one, regardless of their age or, where they live, should ever forget what happened here or the bravery that was shown by so many heroes.” Siller founded the organization in honor of his brother, FDNY firefighter Stephen Siller, who died responding to the attacks. The truck hit the road on May 2, beginning its journey in Lower Manhattan. It will travel across nearly half the country, making stops in places like California, Arizona, Washington, D.C., and Texas before reaching its final destination at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. The beam will be on display at museums, town squares, sporting events and the White House before returning to Ground Zero on the 25th anniversary of 9/11. 9/11 MUSEUM TO OFFER FREE ADMISSION FOR VETERANS AHEAD OF MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND One stop was Emma E. Booker Elementary School in Sarasota, Florida, where President George W. Bush was informed that America was under attack on Sept. 11, 2001. Former White House chief of staff Andy Card, who whispered to Bush, “A second plane hit the second tower, America is under attack,” was at the school for the truck’s visit in May. Tunnel to Towers has provided mortgage-free homes to families of fallen service members and first responders while also working to combat veteran homelessness. The foundation is honoring the 343 FDNY firefighters who died on 9/11 by delivering 343 mortgage-free homes this year.
Turkey accuses Netanyahu of pursuing ‘expansionist’ policies after Israeli strike on Syrian airbase
The Turkish government publicly denounced Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for allegedly pursuing “expansionist and destabilizing policies” after Israel launched airstrikes on a Syrian airbase this week. Netanyahu’s office took responsibility for the Tuesday morning strike on the Abu al-Duhur airbase the next day, saying Syria was on the verge of breaching a security agreement by allowing Turkish troops to deploy from the base, which is near Aleppo. “Israel repeatedly warned Syria that such a deployment would pose a threat to Israel’s security,” Netanyahu’s office said Tuesday night. “Syria chose to ignore these warnings. Israel will not tolerate threats to its security, and would welcome a return to the status quo.” On Wednesday, Turkey called these allegations from Israel “untenable,” arguing that they are “intended to legitimize Israel’s unlawful airstrikes targeting Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.” CRITICS SAY TURKEY’S VERBAL ATTACKS ON ISRAEL HAVE CROSSED INTO ANTISEMITISM “The imputations voiced stem from Netanyahu’s intent to pursue expansionist and destabilizing policies in the region ahead of the elections in Israel,” Turkey’s government said in a social media post. “Türkiye, like the vast majority of the international community, stands for the consolidation of lasting peace in our region. The sole path to this objective lies in Netanyahu’s abandonment of his aggressive and coercive policies and in his respect for international law,” it continued. “Türkiye will resolutely continue to cooperate with the Syrian Government on a legitimate basis for the establishment of peace, stability, and prosperity in Syria, and will never allow the destabilization of Syria,” the statement concluded. TRUMP BETS ON FORMER NATO TROUBLEMAKER AS TURKEY’S STRATEGIC VALUE SURGES The strike on the Syrian airbase, which caused damage but no casualties, also drew criticism from U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack, despite a senior Israeli official telling Fox News that “highly sensitive intelligence was shared with the United States in advance” of the attack. “We are deeply concerned that the confirmed Israeli airstrikes on Abu al-Duhur Airbase constitute an unnecessary escalation that does not advance regional stability,” Barrack said in an X post. Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has not “adopted a predatory posture nor maintained proxy forces” and has “repeatedly indicated a preference for de-escalation with Israel,” Barrack added. Barrack, who is also the U.S. special envoy for Syria, told Reuters he is working to establish a deconfliction mechanism to ease tensions between Israel, Turkey and Syria. TRUMP’S TURKEY ARMS SALE PROPOSAL SPARKS CONGRESSIONAL QUESTIONS BEFORE NATO SUMMIT Al-Sharaa, formerly the head of al Qaeda’s affiliate group in Syria, became the country’s new leader in January 2025 after he led rebel forces that ousted Bashar al-Assad from power. President Donald Trump has expressed strong support for al-Sharaa’s government, including the lifting of broad economic sanctions on Syria in late June. But Turkey, which has been training Syria’s soldiers to rebuild the country’s armed forces, has routinely accused Israel of trying to destabilize the region. BRIEF ALCOHOL BAN IN DAMASCUS SPARKS CONCERNS ABOUT PRESIDENT AL-SHARAA’S VISION FOR SYRIA Since al-Assad was deposed in December 2024, Israel has repeatedly struck targets within Syria seeking to prevent the new government from building up its military capabilities near the border. Netanyahu reiterated in July that he wants the region south of Damascus to remain demilitarized, while also professing a desire to protect the Druze population, an ethnoreligious minority that lives in Syria. The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
Socialists capture major Florida victory on hit-or-miss night for Trump-endorsed primary candidates
Tuesday night’s primary elections featured closely watched federal races from sunny South Florida to the frigid Alaskan tundra and two states in between, all of which will help decide whether Republicans maintain control of Congress, or whether Democrats overtake them. Three states also featured critical gubernatorial primary elections. Observers are already using the race results as bellwethers to gauge Trump’s grip over the GOP and the power of the emergent socialist movement. Here’s what stood out: A socialist will have a chance to unseat a sitting Republican senator after upsetting a heavily favored opponent who outspent her nine-to-one. Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) member and Democratic state Rep. Angie Nixon scored a massive upset in the state’s Democratic primary for U.S. Senate. Nixon ran against retired Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a prominent critic of Trump who played a central role in the left’s failed 2019 impeachment attempt, who was expected to emerge victorious. She defeated Vindman by almost 12 points, despite his $16.3 million war chest, compared to hers of only about $1 million. As of July, Vindman had spent about $9 million on the race, while Nixon had spent just over $700,000. TRUMP’S HANDPICKED DESANTIS SUCCESSOR WINS CROWDED GOP PRIMARY FOR FLORIDA GOVERNOR Nixon will square off in a statewide race against Sen. Ashley Moody, R-Fla. Across the country, some of Trump’s endorsed candidates won their respective races, while others struggled. Trump-endorsed Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., won the Sunshine State’s Republican gubernatorial primary against a field that included Lt. Gov. Jay Collins and outsider James Fishback. Donalds won 47%, compared with 25% for Collins and 10.5% for Fishback. Donalds will face former Florida Republican congressman-turned-Democrat David Jolly, who won the nod for the job on the Democratic side. TRUMP FLEXES GOP MUSCLE IN ARIZONA PRIMARIES AS DEMS DODGE FAR-LEFT UPSET Likewise, Republican Sen. Ashley Moody, herself a Trump endorsee, took home a victory in a special Senate primary election to finish the remainder of Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s U.S. Senate term, which ends in 2028. Moody was appointed to the seat last year after Rubio joined the Trump administration. Republican Rep. Randy Fine of Florida’s 6th Congressional District, also endorsed by Trump, easily won his reelection bid. However, it wasn’t all smiles for Team Trump. Scandal-plagued incumbent Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla., who represents the state’s 7th Congressional District, lost his race to challenger and former TV anchor Ryan Elijah. Trump endorsed Mills in February, but the congressman is facing a wide-ranging House Ethics Committee investigation into possible campaign finance violations, allegations of assault against a romantic partner and allegations of improperly received or solicited gifts. Mills has denied wrongdoing. The 7th District leans red, meaning Elijah should have an edge come November. Meanwhile, Catalina Lauf, who scored an 11th-hour endorsement from Trump last week, lost her bid to fill Donalds’ seat in Florida’s 19th Congressional District in a race that featured several unusual political twists. Media executive Jim Schwartzel won the five-way race with 29.1% of the vote, while Lauf earned 22%. Businessman Jim Oberweis placed third with 15.7% of the vote. Lauf and Oberweis are familiar rivals, having squared off in a crowded midwestern Republican primary years ago. Both ran in Illinois’ 14th Congressional District back in 2020. Oberweis won that round, but lost to a Democrat in the general election. Two years later, Lauf ran unsuccessfully in Illinois’ 11th Congressional District, though that race did not feature Oberweis. The fourth-place finisher in Tuesday night’s 19th Congressional District race in Florida was former Rep. Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina, who was defeated in 2022 amid scandal and after attempting to change districts. Schwartzel is all but certain to win his November general election in the deep red district. AMERICA’S REDDEST STATE CROWNS GOP GOVERNOR NOMINEE A similar story played out in the western U.S. In Wyoming’s U.S. Senate primary, Trump-endorsed Rep. Harriet Hageman, who serves as the state’s at-large congresswoman, won in a landslide. She defeated cattle rancher Sam Mead. With 80% of the votes counted, Hageman held a 62% to 28% lead over Mead, with three others lagging well behind. However, in Wyoming’s gubernatorial primary, Republican voters spurned Trump’s choice, electing state Sen. Eric Barlow over Megan Degenfelder, the state’s superintendent of public instruction. Barlow, too, won decidedly, holding a lead of 50% to Degenfelder’s 29.7% with three quarters of the votes counted. Both races were called shortly after polls closed. TRUMP-ALIGNED CONSERVATIVE EMERGES FROM CROWDED PRIMARY TO DECIDE WHO FILLS WYOMING’S LONE HOUSE SEAT Wyoming’s Secretary of State Chuck Gray won a competitive five-way primary, garnering 25% of the vote. Businessman Steve Freiss earned 20.7% of the vote. Army veteran Kevin Christensen won 17.8% of the vote. The state hasn’t elected a Democrat in a statewide race since 2006, and that trend is likely to continue in November. Incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan finished second in the state’s non-partisan primaries, and will move on to the general election where he will face three other candidates, including former Democratic congresswoman Mary Peltola, the top vote-getter, in November. Trump buried the losses in a post on TRUTH Social. “A lot of great WINS tonight!!!” he said. VETERAN DEM DEFEATS SCANDAL-PLAGUED FORMER LAWMAKER, PROGRESSIVE CHALLENGER IN TRUMP’S BACKYARD On the House side, a familiar face won in the newly redrawn 20th Congressional District in Florida. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., was drawn out of the 25th District, which she currently represents. Wasserman Schultz defeated four other candidates, including self-proclaimed socialist activist Elijah Manley, a serious contender who raised nearly $1 million in his bid. Despite the fundraising haul, Manley placed third behind former mayor of Broward County Dale Holness. Manley argued on Monday night in an appearance on NBC News that it was inappropriate for Wasserman Schultz to run in the 20th District when she lives in what is now the 22nd District, and said Democrats “need fresh leaders” in Washington. He also argued that it was inappropriate for a White person to occupy the seat.
Inside the tension that drove Trump’s South Korea alliance from ‘historic new era’ to military pullback
President Donald Trump is scaling back major joint military exercises with South Korea after Seoul declined to support U.S. operations against Iran, a sharp U-turn with an ally his administration publicly praised just days prior. The move came just three days after Secretary of State Marco Rubio called South Korea an “indispensable partner” and said the allies had entered a “historic new era” of cooperation following Trump’s state visit to Seoul last fall. Victor Cha, the Korea chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told Fox News Digital that Trump appears to see the drill reduction as a win-win for the U.S. — pressure Seoul to move faster on investment and burden-sharing while offering Kim incentives to reopen diplomacy. “He sees this as a two for one,” Cha said. “A combination of things led to Trump’s frustration that South Korea is not moving the trade and investment framework agreement on investments faster and his desire to meet the North Korean leader.” TRUMP ORDERS MAJOR CUT TO US-SOUTH KOREA DRILLS AS NORTH KOREA RAMPS UP MISSILE TESTS Behind the administration’s recent praise of Seoul, strains have been building, potentially leading to the mixed-messaging. Trump has grown frustrated with the slow rollout of a $350 billion trade and investment framework, commercial disputes involving American companies and what he sees as South Korea’s unwillingness to do more for U.S. priorities, Cha detailed. “That combination of things led Trump to make a decision where he said, ‘Hey, yeah, I’m gonna scale down these exercises maybe it’ll get a response from Kim Jong-un. At the same time, the South Koreans are rich, they should be doing their own exercises and like we should not be paying for them.’” The deal would bring substantial South Korean investment to the United States while offering Seoul expanded cooperation on shipbuilding and nuclear-powered submarines. But the first investments have moved slowly, despite Trump’s earlier threat to raise tariffs on South Korean goods by 25%, while parallel agreements with Japan are advancing faster. The pressure on Seoul comes as Trump returns to another unfinished project from his first term: diplomacy with Kim. Trump’s tumultuous relationship with the North Korean leader swung between threats of “fire and fury” and historic summits. The first was in Singapore in 2018 and the second in Hanoi in 2019, which was followed by a third meeting at the Korean demilitarized zone later that year. NORTH KOREA EXPERT WARNS US CAN ‘NEVER TAKE THEIR EYE OFF’ KIM JONG UN FOLLOWING MISSILE TEST DURING IRAN WAR The formal encounters made Trump the first sitting U.S. president to meet a North Korean leader, but the diplomacy ended without a denuclearization deal after negotiations collapsed over the terms of sanctions relief and North Korea’s nuclear program. In announcing the exercise cut, Trump wrote that the drills “send a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile” to North Korea, which he said “has been unthreatening and respectful” during his second term. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for more details. A War Department official said the department is “actively working on executing the commander in chief’s directive,” while declining to offer details. Kim’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, has said her brother retains good memories of Trump, but North Korea has expanded its nuclear and missile capabilities since the first summits while deepening its ties with Russia and China. Pyongyang has not ruled out returning to diplomacy, but it has also signaled that Washington would first need to abandon its demand for North Korean denuclearization. NORTH KOREA LAUNCHES ANOTHER BALLISTIC MISSILE AS US, SOUTH KOREA PREPARE FOR MILITARY DRILLS “Where they haven’t ruled out negotiations with the U.S., but they have basically said, unless the U.S. accepts their nuclear status, there isn’t really a reason to talk,” Jenny Town, a senior fellow at the Stimson Center and director of 38 North, told Fox News Digital. The drills are more than a show of force. They are where American and South Korean troops practice how to fight together if deterrence fails — from moving forces and equipment to sharing targeting information and operating under a single command structure. Before Trump’s order, this year’s Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise was set to incorporate lessons from the war in Ukraine, including drone warfare, GPS disruption and the prospect of losing communications in a crisis. Those are no longer theoretical concerns for the alliance: North Korean troops have fought alongside Russian forces and brought battlefield experience back to the peninsula. SOUTH KOREAN PRESIDENT JUMPS TO INVEST IN MILITARY AFTER TRUMP CUTS JOINT EXERCISES “The exercises are the biggest military maneuver exercise that the Alliance does every year,” Cha said. “There’s nothing that can substitute for live fire and military exercises.” Town said the last-minute nature of the decision risks creating uncertainty inside the alliance. “This last-minute haphazard way of sending this message really sends a lot of mixed messages, but also creates a lot of angst in the U.S.-South Korea alliance,” she said. Trump’s order drew bipartisan criticism on Capitol Hill. Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., said: “North and South Korea are still technically at war.” “Our ability to help defend our ally against the North Koreans is because our forces are well-trained and able to coordinate with the South Koreans. Hollowing out these joint exercises is shortsighted and a mistake,” the retired U.S. Navy captain added. Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, a Republican, said reducing the drills “does nothing more than free up thousands of North Korea’s troops to support Putin’s systematic kidnapping, torture, rape, and murder of innocent Ukrainian citizens.” “President Trump is playing right into Kim Jong-Un’s hands,” Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., claimed on X. “Our alliance with South Korea is critical to U.S. security and announcing a decision to unilaterally scale back joint exercises, over social media, all while touting a ‘very good relationship’ with Kim, is a gross miscalculation,” she added. “Trump is rewarding a regime that sends weapons and troops to fight
State of play: What to know about California showdown to replace Swalwell after massive scandal
The special election to fill the seat vacated by former Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., remained undecided in the early Wednesday morning hours. The battle to succeed Swalwell comes after he resigned in April amid sexual assault allegations from at least five women. Prior to the allegations, Swalwell was also making a bid for California’s gubernatorial race, but he dropped that bid as well. Vying for Swalwell’s seat are two women: progressive state Sen. Aisha Wahab and moderate Democrat and Bay Area Rapid Transit Board (BART) President Melissa Hernandez. Tuesday’s primary race will determine who will immediately fill Swalwell’s seat for the remainder of the term. However, it is also serving as the primary race for the midterms, meaning that Wahab and Hernandez will face each other again in November. STATE OF PLAY: HIGHLY WATCHED HONG RACE REMAINS TOO CLOSE TO CALL AS PROGRESSIVES NOTCH KEY PRIMARY WINS Wahab and Hernandez both emerged as the “top-two” vote getters in the special election’s jungle primary race held on June 16 for California’s 14th Congressional District. Under California law, elections have open primaries, meaning whoever the top vote getters are, regardless of their party affiliation, will move on to the general election. The race between Hernandez and Wahab mirrors a larger trend reflected across Democratic primary races, as far-left progressive candidates, often backed by the Democratic Socialists of America, are seeking to defeat establishment-backed Democratic candidates. Wahab, who has served in the state Senate since 2022, is running on a campaign platform centered on cracking down on ICE, having co-authored legislation making it easier for citizens to sue agents, lowering prescription drug prices and pushing for investments in green and renewable energy. She has received the backing of Our Revolution, a group that was founded by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Attorney General Rob Bonta, and fellow progressives Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal and Congressman Greg Casar. Hernandez, on the other hand, has taken a moderate approach on key issues such as immigration. Hernandez, who is the daughter of Mexican immigrants, acknowledged that the immigration system is “broken” but that she “supports smart border security and regional cooperation.” She has received the endorsement of close to a dozen Congressional members. But despite Wahab’s critical stance of ICE, she found herself in the hot seat when her father took to Facebook calling for his daughter’s supporters to “call ICE” on Hernandez. The mishap led to Wahab’s campaign to issue an apology on its website.