Top Virginia Dem dinged for on-air correction of state’s voter ID law; opponent demands answers
Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner’s Republican challengers are seizing on the Virginia Democrat’s on-air exchange over his opposition to the SAVE Act after a TV anchor corrected him on his own state’s election laws. Warner argued the SAVE Act — part of conservatives’ election security push — could disenfranchise married women and others, while pointing to Republican Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s opposition as evidence of bipartisan concern. “It’s astonishing that a man who has spent nearly two decades representing Virginia in the United States Senate doesn’t even know Virginia’s own voter ID laws,” Marine Reserves Lt. Col. David Williams exclusively told Fox News Digital Tuesday. “If Senator Mark Warner can’t get a basic fact about our elections right on national television, how can Virginians trust him to protect the integrity of those elections?” TRUMP INTERVENES AS HOUSE GOP REVOLT PUTS SAVE AMERICA ACT AT CENTER OF SPENDING SHOWDOWN Williams, an Iraq War veteran and former diplomat, said the SAVE Act is the “common-sense” move to secure America’s elections without disenfranchising “legal vote[s].” “If Senator Warner believes only American citizens should vote in American elections, he should join me in demanding an immediate vote on the SAVE America Act. If he won’t, Virginians deserve to know why.” On Sunday, ABC News anchor Jon Karl told Warner 80% of Americans, including 71% of Democrats, support nationwide voter ID. Warner replied that, “in Virginia, we have voter ID and photo ID – I have to show my …,” trailing off as Karl cut in. “That’s actually not the case. I’m a Virginia voter,” Karl said. “You don’t need to show voter ID in Virginia. There are a wide range of things you can show for it.” MARINE VETERAN DAVID WILLIAMS LAUNCHES SENATE BID Karl added that voters can still provisionally vote if they sign an affidavit. Warner replied there are a variety of ways Virginians can legally vote, adding he found irony in some states purportedly accepting “NRA gun licenses” while rejecting student IDs. The Virginia Department of Elections’ list of acceptable forms of identification includes some that do not require photographs, such as a water bill. Under Virginia law, election officers must ask in-person voters for identification, but acceptable forms include voter confirmation documents, utility bills, bank statements, government checks and paychecks, which do not need to include a photograph. A voter without acceptable identification can sign an ID Confirmation Statement under felony penalties and cast a regular ballot. Voters who provide neither must cast a provisional ballot. “[C]ertain states will say we’re going to let you show your NRA gun license, but you can’t show your student ID. If you’re going have a set of IDs, let’s have it across the board as long as it comes from some official point,” Warner said. SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER Retired Maj. Gen. Bert Mizusawa, who is also seeking the Republican nomination to challenge Warner, echoed Williams’ criticism. “The biggest takeaway is that Mark Warner opposes the SAVE America Act, which is required to secure America’s defining democratic process: honest elections that reflect the will of legitimate voters,” Mizusawa said in a statement. “The question is why? He either knows that our current flawed elections are rife with fraud and likes it that way or chooses to stay ignorant, both to the detriment of the American people.” Fox News Digital reached out to Warner’s campaign for comment. Mizusawa said that, if elected, he also would join fellow Republicans in supporting the SAVE Act and “finally secure our federal elections.” Tech executive Kim Farington, the other candidate in the race, replied to coverage of Warner’s interview on X. “You either still don’t know Virginia’s voter ID requirements after serving three terms, or you’re not telling Virginians the truth,” Farington said. The SAVE Act would require documentary proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote in federal elections, a proposal Republicans say is needed to secure elections and Democrats argue could create new barriers for eligible voters. Fox News Digital’s Brian Flood contributed to this report.
Newsom admin faces questions over $6.2M diaper contract after touting ‘competitive’ process
California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration on Friday released the contract behind the state’s $6.2 million diaper program after questions about the deal’s noncompetitive designation and a reported delay in making the agreement public. The agreement with nonprofit Baby2Baby will provide families of newborns with 400 free diapers at participating California hospitals. Newsom said in May that the deal went through a “competitive bidding process.” However, the state’s contract database lists it as “NON-COMPETITIVELY BID,” according to CBS California Investigates. CONSERVATIVES FLIP SCRIPT ON NEWSOM AFTER HE DEMANDED 25TH AMENDMENT FOR TRUMP: ‘PROPPED UP A VEGETABLE’ Instead of seeking formal bids, the state asked interested groups to submit information through a “Request for Information.” The document said it was “not a solicitation” and that prices submitted would not count as bids, CBS California Investigates reported. Newsom’s office pushed back on the report, saying 15 groups responded and were reviewed based on cost and their ability to make and distribute diapers. “The governor was referring to the process being competitive in nature, which remains accurate,” Newsom’s office told the outlet. The records reportedly did not include scoring sheets, rankings or clear evaluation standards. ACTING AG TODD BLANCHE SAYS NEWSOM’S DOJ CLAIMS ARE NOT ‘GROUNDED IN FACT’ Several applicants said they only learned they were no longer being considered when Newsom announced the Baby2Baby partnership, CBS California Investigates reported. California’s 2025 budget exempted the program from normal bidding rules and other state review requirements, according to the outlet. CBS California Investigates found more than two dozen similar exemptions in the state budget, covering over $1 billion in spending. About two-thirds never expire. The state released the contract on July 17, 66 days after the outlet filed a public records request. The governor’s office said the extra time was needed to “grant our legal team adequate time to process and work on these requests,” according to CBS Investigates. NEWSOM BLASTED BY SHERIFF IN HIS OWN BACKYARD OVER CALIFORNIA CRIME AS VICTIMS CRY FOUL CBS California Investigates reported that the agreement marks at least the third time Baby2Baby has received California funding without a competitive bid. The nonprofit also has a connection to the Newsom administration. Baby2Baby co-CEO Norah Weinstein serves on the board of the California Partners Project, which was founded by first partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, according to the outlet. Newsom’s office and Baby2Baby could not immediately be reached by Fox News Digital for comment.
Trump just expanded his tariff playbook with a powerful trade weapon no president has ever used
President Donald Trump is opening a new chapter in his playbook by invoking a tariff authority that no previous president has ever used, a move that could reshape future trade wars. Trump used a little-known provision of the 1930 Tariff Act to impose 50% tariffs on a range of Canadian goods. Known as Section 338, the nearly century-old law gives the president broad authority to impose duties on imports from countries deemed to discriminate against U.S. commerce. Its first-ever use by a U.S. president could establish a new legal blueprint for future trade disputes. Canada, one of America’s top trading partners, is the first country targeted under the long-dormant authority, with 50% tariffs covering exports ranging from wine and hockey sticks to cement, dairy products and furniture. TRUMP BET TARIFFS WOULD BRING BACK AMERICAN FACTORY JOBS; NEW REPORT SAYS IT DIDN’T WORK In a statement, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney criticized the tariffs as the latest in a series of U.S. trade actions he said violate the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement while reaffirming Canada’s commitment to negotiations. The new duties are expected to take effect in the next 30 days. “The significant thing is Trump uncorked a new tariff statute that has never been used and is pretty wide open in terms of the president’s supposed power to impose tariffs,” Scott Lincicome, vice president of general economics at the Cato Institute, told Fox News Digital. “It’s a lot more about what could be coming and the new uncertainty that just got injected into a multitrillion-dollar trading environment.” The law has taken on added significance since the Supreme Court ruled against the administration’s use of emergency powers for Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs, prompting new interest in alternative legal authorities. Against that backdrop, Lincicome said Section 338 could provide a broader legal avenue for imposing tariffs than authorities that have faced legal challenges or carry greater procedural constraints. Tariffs are taxes on imported goods that U.S. importers generally pay upfront. Businesses can absorb the costs or pass them on to wholesalers, retailers and consumers through higher prices. TRUMP DEFENDS TARIFFS, SAYS US HAS BEEN ‘THE KING OF BEING SCREWED’ BY TRADE IMBALANCE Lincicome said the limited scope of the tariffs may reflect political realities ahead of the midterms. “The president knows that the midterms are just a couple months away and that Americans generally don’t like tariffs because they associate them with affordability issues,” Lincicome said. David Clement, policy director at the Consumer Choice Center, argued the administration’s latest move appears designed to preserve Trump’s broader tariff agenda despite recent legal setbacks while increasing uncertainty for businesses. “I would actually view this as almost like a last-ditch effort to try and keep some tariffs on the table,” Clement told Fox News Digital. “All this means is that, for roughly $20 billion in imports, they’re just going to pay more for them.” He said the bigger long-term risk is not the collapse of North American trade but businesses delaying investment because of the uncertainty surrounding future tariff policy. Monthly tariff collections have more than tripled since Trump returned to office, rising from roughly $9 billion to more than $30 billion. The government collected $30.4 billion in duties in January, a 275% increase from a year earlier, bringing fiscal-year collections to $254.8 billion. Tariffs have been a defining feature of both of Trump’s presidencies, with the president arguing they protect American industries, boost domestic manufacturing and strengthen the U.S. economy. But with affordability remaining a defining issue ahead of the midterms, any tariff policy that raises consumer prices is likely to face renewed political scrutiny.
America bashed as ‘disgusting’ fascist regime during progressive call with Abdul El-Sayed, Cori Bush
Several prominent Democrats were caught on camera participating in a progressive political video call which began with one speaker comparing America to a Nazi regime ruled by “dead-eye psychopaths” and “bloodthirsty imperialists.” Participants on the call, which was hosted by Progressive Victory in March, included Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., whose name has been floated as a possible presidential contender, and several Democratic Socialists of America-endorsed candidates, including Abdul El-Sayed, Cori Bush and Darializa Avila Chevalier. A spokesperson for Khanna has since disavowed the speaker’s comments and said Khanna was not on the call at the time the remarks were made. The virtual event, which also featured controversial streamer Hasan Piker, was titled “Choose Your Fighter” and was meant to highlight progressive politicians opposing the ongoing conflict in Iran. At the start of the call, organizers introduced left-wing podcaster Kyle Kulinski, who they called an “up and comer” in the movement. Kulinski launched into a diatribe in which he accused the U.S. and Israel of “creating the fourth Reich.” WATCH: HOUSE DEMS DODGE QUESTIONS ON SOCIALIST AGENDA THAT THREATENS TO ABOLISH KEY INSTITUTIONS “These are genuinely repulsive, disgusting, wretched, depraved human beings, okay? They enjoy the pain and the violence and the suffering and the death and the destruction that they inflict on the rest of the world,” Kulinski railed, adding, “It is absolutely accurate to compare these people to the worst criminals in history, to Mussolini, to Adolf Hitler.” Kulinski claimed that “we have descended into fascism” and that the U.S. is “governed by dead-eye psychopaths and sociopaths and bloodthirsty imperialists.” He asserted that “people need to come to terms with the fact that in this instance the U.S. government and the Israeli government, they are the terrorists … they are doing terrorism,” adding that “if Iran is off the table as a regional power that means Hezbollah can’t be funded, Hamas can’t be funded, the Houthis can’t be funded, like the Shia crescent falls and then you have nothing but regional domination for Israel.” Kulinski also referred to the make America great again movement as “an imperialist fascist death cult,” saying, “It’s time to take them down.” In response, a spokesperson for Canary Mission, an antisemitism watchdog, warned that Kulinski’s rhetoric evidences the growth of self-hatred for the U.S. on the part of the left. “Kyle Kulinski’s speech at Progressive Victory’s online rally attended by prominent DSA and Democratic politicians indicates the hateful and anti-American ideas proliferating on the left,” the spokesperson said. “Support for terrorist regimes and historical revisionism has no place in American politics,” the spokesperson continued, adding, “This level of extremism must be distanced from the Democratic Party.” Meanwhile, Benjamin Gilbert-Lif, deputy executive director of Progressive Victory, told Fox News Digital that “we stand by the comments made by Kyle Kulinski” and confirmed that “they reflect the views of our community and of the many Jewish members of our national Leadership.” DEM ‘EPSTEIN CLASS’ ATTACK BACKFIRES AS TOP CANDIDATES FUNDED BY EPSTEIN-TIED BILLIONAIRE “We also question why anyone would consider the idea of a ‘Jewish State’ to be anything other than an explicit desire for an ethno-state,” Gilbert-Lif added. “PV stands against all ethno-states and at Choose Your Fighter sought to uplift voices that would push for the region to peacefully transition to a secular, one-state democracy where Israelis and Palestinians can coexist without artificially imposed borders or legal preferences toward one ethnicity dividing them.” Sarah Drory, a spokesperson for Khanna, told Fox News Digital that “Ro Khanna has always believed America is an exceptional country and was not on at the time these remarks were made.” She said that the congressman “joined for 5 minutes to speak and left” and added that “he obviously disagrees with them.” Fox News Digital reached out to Bush, Sayed, Chevalier and Piker for comment. Oliver Larkin, a progressive Democrat running for Congress in Florida whose campaign helped to organize the call, told Fox News Digital that the virtual event raised $40,000 for 20 “progressive anti-war candidates” nationwide. COLORADO’S SOCIALIST CANDIDATE CALLS FOR ‘MORE IMMIGRANTS INTO OFFICE’ TO STOP AMERICA’S ‘EXPLOITATIVE’ NATURE He also charged that “Congress must reassert its constitutional war powers and bring accountability to this dangerous, lawless Trump administration.” SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER Asked whether he stands by Kulinski’s statements, Larkin remarked, “The crimes of the Epstein class are depraved.” He accused the Trump administration of “rather than enforcing U.S. and international law … continuing to fund an ongoing genocide.” Fox News Digital also reached out to the White House and DSA for comment.
Trump’s DNI pick clears key hurdle, reviving path for nation’s top anti-terror surveillance program
Senate Republicans quietly advanced President Donald Trump’s pick to run the nation’s intelligence agencies and placed Congress back on a path to restart a crucial counterterrorism tool. Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Tom Cotton, R-Ark., revealed that the panel voted U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton out of committee in a 9-8 vote during a closed-door session. That tees up a later confirmation vote for Clayton to serve as the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). “Jay Clayton is a highly qualified nominee with a deep experience combatting a wide range of national security threats,” Cotton said. “I’m pleased that the Senate Intelligence Committee voted to advance his nomination to be Director of National Intelligence.” TRUMP’S DNI PICK JAY CLAYTON LOCKS HORNS WITH DEMOCRATIC SENATOR IN FIERY CONFIRMATION HEARING CLASH The role was previously vacated by former DNI Tulsi Gabbard and then hastily filled on an interim basis by Trump with Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte, who Democrats railed against as an unqualified loyalist who would weaponize the intelligence community against the president’s enemies. Clayton, who served as chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) during Trump’s first term, ended up becoming a victim of the political firestorm that surrounded Pulte. SENATE PUSH TO REAUTHORIZE NATION’S SPY POWERS STUMBLES OVER CONTROVERSIAL TRUMP DECISION His first hearing was derailed by Trump, who demanded that the Senate confirm his replacement for the Southern District in New York and attach the SAVE America Act to must-pass legislation to reauthorize a key surveillance tool that has been inactive since June. Clayton will now face a full confirmation vote in the Senate, where several Senate Democrats previously voted for him to be SEC chair. TRUMP’S DNI PICK WILL HAVE TO WAIT FOR HIS CONFIRMATION HEARING AFTER TRUTH SOCIAL BOMB But his hearing was dominated by questions about whether he would admit that former President Joe Biden won the 2020 election and Trump had lost, which Clayton shrugged off as “theater.” That could play out on the Senate floor in the coming days, and he will need Democratic votes to clinch the nomination. Movement on his nomination could open up a path to reauthorizing the nation’s top counterterrorism tool, Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which was notably used to thwart a terrorist attack at a Taylor Swift concert years ago. Democrats derailed the process after Trump appointed Pulte, but with a new face leading the nation’s 18 intelligence agencies, Section 702 could soon see the lights come back on.
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