Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner embraces democratic socialism at Bernie Sanders rally in Portland
Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner appeared alongside Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., on Monday and echoed several Sanders-style progressive themes, criticizing five-term Republican Sen. Susan Collins, criticizing and U.S. weapons spending tied to conflicts in Gaza and Iran. Platner, the presumptive Democratic nominee seeking to unseat Collins in November, made the fiery remarks during a “Fighting Oligarchy” rally led by Sanders in Portland — an event aimed at mobilizing progressive activists and expanding grassroots organizing efforts ahead of the midterm elections. The Portland event was one of Sanders’ Maine stops with Platner and gubernatorial candidate Troy Jackson. During the rally, Platner leaned heavily into anti-corporate rhetoric, telling a crowd of cheering progressives they must build a “political revolution” and take back “what is ours.” “We are taking back what is ours. We’re going to take it back from the corporations that seek profit, no matter the cost from the billionaires for whom greed is the point, and from corrupt politicians like Susan Collins, corrupt politicians who have sold us out,” Platner said. ‘MAINE’S MAMDANI’: MAINE GOP CHIEF ISSUES WARNING ABOUT NEW CHALLENGER LOOKING TO OUST SUSAN COLLINS “It is a system that is the politics of Susan Collins, a politics that turns politicians into millionaires, but tells you to be grateful for crumbs.” Throughout the evening, Platner echoed Sanders’ economic talking points, accusing health insurance executives of “lining their pockets with our blood, sweat, and tears.” BERNIE SANDERS TO FORCE SENATE VOTE ON BLOCKING ARMS SALES TO ISRAEL He also made sharp comments regarding the Middle East, claiming American tax dollars are being weaponized to “blow up someone else’s children.” “Our tax dollars can build schools and hospitals in America instead of bombs to drop on them in Gaza and Iran,” he said. Sanders later took the stage and cast Platner’s election as a key moment for the progressive movement, telling supporters, “You elect Graham Platner senator, you’re going to transform America.” The Vermont senator explicitly tied Platner to his tax proposals targeting the ultra-wealthy. “I introduced legislation, which Graham will be by my side in fighting for, which says that we are going to impose a 5% annual wealth tax on 938 billionaires in America,” Sanders said. Sanders introduced legislation earlier this year proposing a 5% annual wealth tax on 938 U.S. billionaires. Platner was also portrayed as an ally in battling major tech billionaires such as Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, warning that a “handful of billionaires” could otherwise control the future of artificial intelligence and robotics. “Graham understands… we are not going to let a handful of billionaires control the future of this country,” Sanders said.
Trump calls on Arab nations to sign Abraham Accords
President Donald Trump is pressuring Muslim-majority nations to join the Abraham Accords if they want to participate in a developing Iran agreement, according to multiple reports. The Abraham Accords are a series of agreements aimed at normalizing diplomatic relations between Israel and several Arab and Muslim-majority nations. PRESIDENT TRUMP SAYS DEAL WITH IRAN IS ‘LARGELY NEGOTIATED’ Trump said Saturday that he urged Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, Pakistan, Turkey and Jordan to normalize relations with Israel during a phone call with regional leaders. “I stated that, after all the work done by the United States to try and pull this very complex puzzle together, it should be mandatory that all of these Countries, at a minimum, simultaneously, sign onto the Abraham Accords,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. TRUMP SAYS MORE NATIONS LINING UP TO JOIN ABRAHAM ACCORDS AFTER KAZAKHSTAN The president also said he planned to speak with the leaders of the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. The UAE and Bahrain became the first two nations to sign the accords in 2020. Trump also floated the idea that Iran could eventually become part of the Abraham Accords. US MILITARY IS ‘IRON SHIELD’ PROTECTING AMERICAN BASES, LIVES FROM IRAN PROXIES: HEGSETH “In speaking to numerous of the Great Leaders mentioned above, they would be honored, as soon as our Document is signed, to have the Islamic Republic of Iran as part of the Abraham Accords. Wow, now that would be something special,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. U.S. and Israeli officials do not expect the UAE to move forward on the issue until after Israel’s elections in September.
New Jersey governor, Democratic senator spend Memorial Day protesting ICE facility
New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill and Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., met with the families of detainees being held at a migrant detention facility that critics say should be shut down amid “unacceptable” conditions and an ongoing hunger strike. Kim and Sherrill, both Democrats, have asked U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for access to the Delaney Hall center in Newark, where hundreds of illegal immigrants are being held. “I’m back at Delaney Hall with @GovSherrillNJ and other members of the NJ delegation to meet with families of detainees and listen to community advocates,” Kim wrote Monday on X. “We’re working together to make sure they’re heard and to speak out with them. Delaney Hall must be shut down immediately. ICE cannot be allowed to continue operating in this way.” BUMPY WEATHER OVER NEWARK: HOUSE DEMOCRATS COULD FACE CONSEQUENCES FOR DELANEY HALL INCIDENT Fox News Digital has reached out to ICE for comment. A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson said Kim personally called Secretary Markwayne Mullin, and that he was allowed in the facility to conduct his congressional oversight responsibilities. However, the spokesperson criticized Sherrill over he appearance at the detention center. “Governor Sherrill’s visit to Delaney Hall is nothing more than a political stunt on Memorial Day when visitation is currently suspended due to riots outside the facility,” the spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “Yesterday, approximately 125 agitators surrounded Delaney Hall Detention Facility, many carrying anti-ICE signs and Antifa flags. They formed a human chain around entrances to the facility and set up barricades, blocking all entries and exits.” On Sunday, protesters clashed with authorities outside the privately run facility — which was revamped as an immigration detention center last year — where some detainees have gone on a hunger strike to protest allegedly poor conditions inside. Sherrill said she was “deeply disturbed” by the conditions inside Delaney Hall, noting that she has always opposed private detention facilities and advocated against them. “I will continue to call for the closure of Delaney Hall because of reports like these,” she wrote Sunday on X. “I have contacted ICE to gain access to the facility and my office remains in close coordination with our federal delegation and with advocates, and I commend their continued oversight and work to hold DHS accountable.” Kim and Rep. Rob Menendez, D-N.J., arrived at Delaney Hall on Sunday but were denied entry. Critics of the facility allege that detainees endure squalid conditions and mistreatment from staff. US ATTORNEY ALINA HABBA ANNOUNCES REP. MCIVER HIT WITH FEDERAL CHARGES OVER NEWARK ICE CLASH “In sum, Delaney Hall is dangerous for those being detained, their loved ones, and all who care about immigrants’ rights, fundamental constitutional freedoms, and democracy,” the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey said in February. “Yet in the face of these cruel conditions, community members and families have united in fierce opposition to Delaney Hall’s existence and the abuse of human beings therein.” All detainees are provided with 3 meals a day, clean water, clothing, bedding, showers, soap, and toiletries, “DHS said. “Illegal aliens also have access to phones to communicate with their family members and lawyers,” the agency said. “Certified dieticians evaluate meals. In fact, ICE has higher detention standards than most U.S. prisons that hold actual U.S. citizens.” “It is a longstanding practice to provide comprehensive medical care from the moment an alien enters ICE custody,” the statement continued. “This includes medical, dental, and mental health services as available, and access to medical appointments and 24-hour emergency care. For many illegal aliens this is the best healthcare they have received their entire lives.” Democrats have repeatedly called for Delaney Hall to be closed. In May 2025, protesters — including three congressional lawmakers and Newark Mayor Ras Baraka — gathered outside the facility and clashed with authorities. They allegedly rushed past security through the gates, which had opened to allow an ICE bus inside. U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-N.J., faces a federal three-count indictment for allegedly assaulting, resisting and impeding federal law enforcement officers that day. She allegedly shoved and struck officers to prevent the arrest of Baraka. At the time, then-Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin categorized some of the detainees inside Delaney Hall as “murderers, terrorists, child rapists and MS-13 gang members” while questioning why the lawmakers continued to advocate for them.
Rubio pushes back on India’s concerns over US visa curbs, says policy must be ‘America First’ under Trump
Secretary of State Marco Rubio pushed back against criticism of President Donald Trump’s immigration reform as Indian officials and media raised concerns that U.S. visa and immigration reforms may curb migration from India. “What I want to leave clear is that the changes, while they may be having a disproportionate impact on a place like India that provides so many high-skilled workers to the U.S. economy, it is not a system that is targeted at India,” Rubio said during a Sunday news conference in New Delhi, India. “It is one that’s being applied globally.” India’s foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar pushed back in his remarks. THIS JULY 4TH, HERE’S HOW MY FAMILY EARNED THE RIGHT TO BE CALLED ‘AMERICANS’ – LEGALLY “I apprised Secretary Rubio of challenges that legitimate travelers face in respect of visa issuance,” Jaishankar said. “While we cooperate to deal with illegal and irregular mobility, our expectation is that legal mobility would not be adversely impacted as a consequence. After all, this is very relevant to our business, technology, and research cooperation,” he said. Ultimately, Rubio – a son of Cuban immigrants – stressed that the U.S. values India as a “strategic ally” and vital trade partner, but immigration policy must be America First under Trump. AMERICA NEEDS WORKERS, BUT TRUMP’S POLICIES ARE SHARPLY CUTTING LEGAL IMMIGRATION “Everything that you do as a country needs to be in your national interest, and that includes your immigration policy,” Rubio continued. “The United States, I believe, is the most welcoming country in the world on immigration.” “Every single year, a million people, roughly, become permanent residents of the United States and contribute greatly,” he said. “Modernization” was the keynote to Rubio’s reply to concerns about the “contribution that Indians have made to the U.S. economy,” noting “over $20 billion have been invested in the U.S. economy by Indian companies.” ‘AMERICA FIRST’ IMMIGRATION OVERHAUL BILL WOULD CODIFY TRUMP’S CAMPAIGN PROMISES ONCE AND FOR ALL “The changes that are happening now or the modernization of our migration system into the United States is not focused – it’s not India-specific; it is global,” Rubio stressed. “It’s being applied across the world.” “We are in a period of modernization, and I’ll be frank and honest with you, because it’s important to talk about this: We’ve had a migratory crisis in the United States,” he said. “This is not because of India, but broadly, we had over 20 million people illegally enter the United States over the last few years, and we’ve had to address that challenge.” THEIR PLAN WAS A FLOOD OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION. OUR ANSWER IS AN IMMIGRATION MORATORIUM The reforms were “long overdue,” he added. “It has to be a process that’s adjusted in every era to the realities of the modern times in which you live, and we are, and it’s long overdue,” Rubio added. “So the United States is currently undergoing a process of reforming the system by which we choose how many people come into our country, who comes in, when they come in, et cetera.” HOUSE REPUBLICAN GREG STEUBE INTRODUCES BILL TO NIX CONTROVERSIAL H-1B VISA PROGRAM Rubio urged India to give the reform process time during the period of deepest adjustment. “Anytime you undertake a reform, anytime you undertake a change in the system by which you admit people, or frankly, anytime you undertake a reform in any system – not just on immigration – there are going to be – there’s going to be a period of transition that’s going to create some friction points and some difficulties and so forth,” he said. “Ultimately, we think when this process is in place, once this process has been modernized – and that’s really what it is – we are modernizing the U.S. immigration system for the 21st century so that it is an immigration system that’s not just good for America but it’s also good for the people that are coming.” JENNIFER WELCH TARGETS RUBIO IN RANT ABOUT HOW ‘BROWN-SKINNED’ MAGA SUPPORTERS ARE WHITE NATIONALISTS The U.S. and India will be stronger in the end, according to Rubio. “We’re going to wind up with a system that’s more efficient and even better than the previous system, and in some ways may prove to be even more beneficial than the previous system was to people from India that seek to enter the United States to work and innovate,” he concluded. “But obviously, there’s going to be a period of adjustment along the way. “We’re in a period of transition, and like any period of transition there’s going to be some bumps on that road. But we think ultimately our destination is going to be a better system, a more efficient system, one that works better than the one that we had in place previously, and more sustainable, by the way,” Rubio said. Rubio also addressed allegations of anti-India racism in America, urging India to not listen to the “stupid people.” “I’ll take that very seriously about the comments,” Rubio said. “Look, I’m sure that there are people that have made comments online and other places, because every country in the world has stupid people. I’m sure there are stupid people here.” “There are stupid people in the United States that make dumb comments all the time. I don’t know what else to tell you other than the United States is a very welcoming country,” Rubio said. “Our nation has been enriched by people who come to our country, have come from our country from all over the world, have become Americans, have assimilated into our way of life, and have contributed greatly.”
Vets torch Dem Senate hopeful who called Army ‘fat, lazy trash,’ mocked soldier shot four times
Veterans are ripping Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner after resurfaced posts showed him calling the Army “full of fat, lazy trash” and mocking a soldier who was shot multiple times in combat before receiving a Purple Heart. “I am a decorated veteran, and people need to understand what serving in the Army cost me: congestive heart failure, bilateral hearing loss, COPD, sleep apnea, high blood pressure, hypothyroidism and PTSD,” Holland “Ricky” White, a Vietnam War veteran who served in the Army’s 173rd Airborne Brigade, told Fox News Digital. The 173rd Airborne Brigade, also known as “The Herd,” was one of the first ground combat units to deploy to Vietnam, where it endured some of the war’s most intense fighting. “I understand ridicule better than most. I was ridiculed not only as a Vietnam veteran, but as a black man as well,” White continued. “I lost friends over there, and it still hurts to talk about them. I often ask God, ‘Why did You spare me and not my friends?’ I believe God wasn’t done with me when I came home, and that’s why I continue trying to make a difference today.” “That is why comments like Graham’s are so offensive,” White said. PLATNER IN THE HOT SEAT AS MAINE VOTERS RIP HIS ‘HORRIBLE’ COMMENTS AMID REDDIT SCANDAL The backlash adds to a mounting controversy over Platner’s deleted Reddit account as the veteran-turned-oyster farmer seeks to challenge Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, in one of the nation’s most closely watched 2026 Senate races. Platner has leaned heavily on his military background in pitching himself to Maine voters, but the resurfaced posts threaten to derail his campaign as his use of slurs, embrace of socialism and criticism of the armed forces come under scrutiny. Perhaps Platner’s most controversial Reddit post came in 2019 when he sharply criticized a soldier who was shot multiple times by the Taliban in 2012. “Dumb motherf—er didn’t deserve to live. At least his stupidity and fat a– wheezing are available for all future infantrymen to witness and hold in contempt,” Platner wrote on Reddit, reacting to combat footage another user had posted. “Poor marksmanship on the Taliban’s part is the only reason this mouthbreather made it home.” The video that Platner was commenting on came from the helmet cam of U.S. Army veteran Ted Daniels, who was shot four times and awarded the Purple Heart. “As a Purple Heart recipient myself – having been wounded for my country, I find his comments to be especially vile,” Steve, a veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan who has built a large social media following, told Fox News Digital. “Mocking a fellow American that took enemy fire, to protect his squad shows a lack of basic understanding of brotherhood and selfless service.” Steve requested that Fox News Digital withhold his last name for privacy reasons. WARREN SAYS HER ‘KIND OF MAN’ IS LEFT-WING SENATE HOPEFUL ROCKED BY NAZI-TATTOO, REDDIT CONTROVERSIES Platner expressed a general distaste for the Army in his deleted forum posts. “I spent another 4 in the Army after the Corps, and while I was very lucky to serve in some sh–t hot units with good dudes, as a whole the organization is absolute trash,” Platner wrote in April 2019. “As an organization it’s awful. Full of fat, lazy trash who would rather not be in uniform.” “A Senator who calls soldiers ‘trash’ and mocks a man’s Purple Heart has shown who he really is,” Bill Brown, a retired Navy SEAL who served in Iraq, told Fox News Digital. “A Senator votes to send soldiers to war, confirms the generals who lead them, and funds the equipment that protects them. Platner’s own words in his deleted post prove he can’t be trusted to do right by those that protect us.” PLATNER’S DELETED REDDIT SPARKS OUTRAGE AGAIN AS HE APPEARS TO MOCK WOUNDED SOLDIER: ‘DIDN’T DESERVE TO LIVE’ “Being a veteran does not make someone honorable. Honor is how you carry yourself, how you treat others, and how you speak about those who served beside you. In this case, the uniform may have been earned, but respect clearly was not,” Kate Monroe, the CEO of VETCOMM and a Marine Corps veteran, told Fox News Digital. John Rourke, a retired Army staff sergeant who saw combat during Operation Iraqi Freedom, seconded Monroe’s sentiments, saying that Platner’s mockery doesn’t “make him edgy or tough” but “a disgrace to the uniform.” LEFT-WING DEM SENATE HOPEFUL CHEERED ON ANTIFA VIOLENCE IN UNEARTHED RANT: ‘KILL A MOTHERF—ER’ Some of Platner’s possible future colleagues in the Senate who served in the armed forces have also condemned his comments. “As a combat veteran, I’ve seen the cost of war up close. I’ve watched brave Americans come home with wounds, visible and invisible, that they’ll carry for the rest of their lives,” Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, told Fox News Digital. “Mocking servicemembers for getting wounded or killed is absolutely despicable. These are our brothers and sisters, people who volunteered to put everything on the line for this country.” Ernst served 23 years in the Army Reserve and Iowa Army National Guard, including as a company commander in Kuwait during Operation Iraqi Freedom, and retired as a lieutenant colonel. MAINE SENATE CANDIDATE CITES COMBAT TRAUMA WHEN CONFRONTED ON ‘TERRIBLE’ POSTS ABOUT SEXUAL ASSAULT “Platner’s comments about American servicemembers are disgraceful, but it’s what we should expect from a communist with a Nazi tattoo,” Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., told Fox News Digital. Cotton served as an Army infantry officer with combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. “Let’s see the courageous Democrat vets defend this one … can’t wait to hear it,” Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., a retired Navy SEAL, said of Platner’s remarks. Fox News Digital reached the offices of some Democratic veterans serving in the Senate on Friday. None responded to requests for comment. The Platner campaign also did not respond to a request for comment when reached by Fox News Digital. “The motto and ethos of the Marine
Omar confronted on camera over GOP proposal targeting foreign-born lawmakers: ‘Good luck to her’
Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., appeared unbothered when asked about the newly proposed GOP resolution barring anyone foreign-born from serving in Congress. “Good luck to her,” Omar told Fox News Digital when asked her opinion on the potential legislation. Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., announced Wednesday that she is proposing a constitutional amendment that would require any member of Congress, federal judges, or Senate-confirmed officers to be a natural-born citizen. This amendment would impose the same natural-born citizen standard required for presidents and vice presidents in the U.S. DR. PHIL EXCORIATES ILHAN OMAR, CALLS HER BASHING OF AMERICA ‘ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING’ Omar was one of three targets that Mace specifically pointed out when she posted to X on Wednesday to announce her new “long overdue” joint resolution. Omar was born in Somalia and became a naturalized citizen in 2000. “Ilhan Omar. Shri Thanedar. Pramila Jayapal,” Mace posted to X “All born in foreign countries, none were citizens by birth. All sitting in the United States Congress. All making clear every single day their loyalty is not to America.” There are currently 26 individuals serving as members of Congress that are not natural-born citizens — 19 Democrats and seven Republicans. Omar told Fox News Digital that she is not concerned about this legislation having the legs to pass. “If you hold power in the American government, you should be a natural-born American citizen,” Mace told Fox News Digital in a statement. “For too long we have allowed foreign-born members to hold seats in this government, while making clear their loyalty is not here. We see it every day.” MACE FILES RESOLUTION TO EXPEL HOUSE DEMOCRAT AFTER HER ARREST AT ICE DETENTION FACILITY PROTEST Changing the Constitution is not an easy feat, requiring approval from two-thirds of both the House and Senate before an additional ratification of three-fourths of U.S. states. The proposal has not yet drawn widespread public backing from House GOP leadership or any large group of Republican co-sponsors. Omar was also asked about Rep. Randy Fine’s, R-Fla., “Disqualifying Dual Loyalty Act,” which he introduced in October. This legislation would ban anyone from serving in Congress who has dual citizenship in another country. It would force individuals to renounce their foreign citizenship in order to serve or be considered for Congress. NIKKI HALEY’S SON SAYS ‘THIS ISN’T THE COUNTRY FOR YOU’ IF YOU CAN’T CHOOSE YOUR LOYALTY “Who’s that?” Omar said when asked about Fine’s proposed legislation. “I think it’s a fair argument to say you can only swear allegiance to one country, and if you’re in Congress, that allegiance should be to America,” Fine said in a statement. “This bill ensures that the people making laws for our citizens are themselves fully committed to our country, not divided between two.” Fine’s legislation has not shown significant movement in Congress since being referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary last year.
EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Marine vet prosecutor refuses to cross constitutional line on Spanberger ‘assault weapon’ ban
EXCLUSIVE: Ryan Mehaffey, a Marine veteran and Virginia prosecutor, is taking a hard-line stance against what he believes is an “unconstitutional” new gun ban signed by Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger. Spanberger, who has been slipping in the polls amid criticisms of her progressive policy agenda, signed a new bill last week banning the future sale and manufacture of “assault weapons,” including many semiautomatic rifles, pistols and shotguns. The law also bans the future sale of magazines with a capacity of more than 15 rounds. The move caused immediate backlash from many Virginians and raised new Second Amendment violation concerns. Rather than protest, however, Mehaffey, who serves as the commonwealth attorney for Spotsylvania County, is drawing a line in the sand and flatly refusing to enforce the ban. With the bill set to take effect this July ahead of America’s 250th anniversary of independence, Mehaffey sent a letter to Spotsylvania Sheriff Roger Harris, instructing him that the ban is “unconstitutional and cannot be lawfully enforced.” LEGAL EXPERT UNLEASHES ON SPANBERGER’S NEW EXECUTIVE ORDER TARGETING ICE: ‘POLITICAL THEATER’ A statement released by Spanberger’s office called the assault weapons ban a “critical step toward protecting families, communities, and the law enforcement officers who serve them.” Spanberger remarked she signed the bill into law “because firearms designed to inflict maximum casualties do not belong on our streets.” She added that “while the General Assembly chose not to adopt my amendment that specifically carves out certain firearms frequently used for hunting, I will work with the patrons to clarify this language.” In response, Mehaffey said in an interview with Fox News Digital that the law “is striking at the core of the militia system that existed in Virginia.” According to Mehaffey, the Second Amendment is not just an assurance of personal freedoms, but also a safeguard for a community’s ability to defend itself through a “well-regulated militia.” “Our founders were careful to make sure when they drafted our founding document, that the ultimate right of the people was preserved to defend themselves and to defend their community,” he explained. “So, the linchpin of the constitutional analysis is going to be does this instrument have some reasonable relationship to the preservation or efficiency of a regulated militia.” ‘BACKYARD BRAWL’ IGNITES AS WEST VIRGINIA’S MORRISEY MOVES TO POACH BLUE STATE RIVAL SPANBERGER’S JOBS Mehaffey argues that in Virginia, historical tradition and case law precedent not only allow citizens to own firearms but even require them to arm themselves with the weapons of a basic infantryman for common defense. In the Founding Fathers’ time, Mehaffey said the standard issue was a musket and 20 rounds. Today, the basic infantry weapon in the U.S. military is the M4A1 carbine equipped with a 30-round magazine. “The second amendment may not mean that you are allowed to have a nuclear weapon,” he laughed. “But what it does allow you to have is a basic infantry weapon.” “That sort of weapon is the core of what’s protected by the Second Amendment. Not necessarily a nuclear warhead, but a rifle that you can take out and form either a fire team or a company to defend yourself and to defend your community.” Mehaffey is not alone in his stance. In addition to what he characterized as the “overwhelmingly positive” response from his community, Smyth County Commonwealth’s Attorney Phillip Blevins, an Air Force veteran, has also refused to enforce the bill, arguing it is unconstitutional. The ban is also facing lawsuits from gun-rights groups, including the NRA, Firearms Policy Coalition and Second Amendment Foundation. Blevins told Fox News Digital that “ultimately, courts will continue to address these issues, and I respect the role of the judiciary. But as the elected Commonwealth’s Attorney for Smyth County, I will continue to stand for what I believe the Constitution requires, without apology or hesitation.” “My position is not based on politics. It is based on constitutional fidelity,” he continued, adding, “The Bill of Rights either means something, or it does not.” “As Commonwealth’s Attorney, I took an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of Virginia. That oath is not situational, and it does not change based on politics, headlines, or pressure from either side of an issue.” Mehaffey believes he and those standing beside him on this issue will ultimately prevail. “The Second Amendment is the supreme law of the land, both in the U.S. Constitution and the analog in the Virginia Constitution,” he explained. “So, whatever law is passed by the General Assembly is not going to have the ability to supersede the Constitution.” POWERFUL DEM’S JABS AT TRUMP COME BACK TO HAUNT HER AFTER OFFICE RAIDED BY FBI: ‘AGED WELL’ While he has gotten a lot of personal attention for his stance, Mehaffey emphasized that, “I want nothing more than to fulfill my office with honor and to be a good servant to the people that elected me to represent them and to stick up for their rights.” “That’s what I’m trying to do,” he continued, adding, “I would expect any government official to remain faithful to the Constitution and to discharge their duties as servants of the people in the same way that I have.” Fox News Digital reached out to Spanberger for additional comment.
‘After your boy’: Hasan Piker lashes out over fed probe into Cuba trip
Marxist political influencer Hasan Piker is lashing out over a federal inquiry into his recent trip to communist Cuba, calling it an “intimidation tactic” prompted by his harsh stance on Israel and the U.S. The response by Piker — echoed by other leaders from Democratic Socialists of America and pro-communist and anti-Israel leaders — illustrates how quickly the Cuba “solidarity” movement, pro-communist influencers and anti-Israel activist networks converged online to frame the federal inquiry not as a sanctions or foreign influence investigation, but as political repression aimed at broader anti-capitalist, anti-Western, anti-Israel activist movements. Piker told followers during a livestream on Twitch Sunday afternoon that he is being targeted for being a “loudmouth” and “rabble-rouser,” criticizing Israel and the “fascist” United States. Fox News Digital reported Saturday that the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has sent administrative subpoenas to Piker and leftist CodePink co-founder Medea Benjamin to get documents about the financial, logistical and communications details of their March trips to Cuba, in possible violation of laws and regulations about doing business with the government of Cuba. “It’s not great,” Piker told his followers in the early minutes of his livestream on Sunday afternoon. “The news is not great, okay? Um, I mean, it’s bulls—. But still not great…I mean it’s bulls— but still not great that they’re after your boy. They’re up my a–.” Piker didn’t respond to requests for comment, although he acknowledged receiving the queries as he spoke to his followers during his livestream. He said that he got his trip cleared by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, saying, “Everything we did was cleared by Treasury.” The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control didn’t respond to a request for comment. By the end of his segment on the federal inquiry, Piker pivoted from the Cuba sanctions inquiry to argue that the scrutiny was really driven by backlash to his comments on Israel. “A lot of this, by the way, does still have a lot to do with Israel,” he said, charging that his critics “don’t like that I talk s— about Israel” and “don’t like that I am a loudmouth, a rabble-rouser.” He claimed the investigation was not “just about Cuba” but also about his role in boosting anti-Israel voters and candidates. “They recognize that Democrats and young people are against Israel” and see him “campaigning with candidates who are anti-Israel, and they are winning their races,” he said. FEDS SUBPOENA HASAN PIKER, MEDEA BENJAMIN OVER CUBA TRIPS Piker’s response followed a pattern that has become common among online activist influencers under scrutiny: reframing a legal or regulatory inquiry as political persecution while broadening the issue into a sweeping ideological struggle. Rather than focus narrowly on the sanctions questions surrounding the Cuba trip, Piker repeatedly cast himself as the victim of a coordinated campaign by “Israel first” Democrats, pro-Israel activists, mainstream media figures and the “fascist” Trump administration. He frequently shifted the conversation away from the specifics of Treasury’s inquiry and toward a larger narrative in which the federal government is allegedly criminalizing anti-Israel activism, anti-capitalist politics and opposition to U.S. foreign policy. He sought to portray the investigation as evidence that powerful political and media institutions are targeting dissenting voices who challenge establishment positions on Israel, Cuba and American foreign policy. At one point, Piker said he created a mini-documentary about life in Cuba during his March trip, saying he was serving as a journalist. In other moments, he has described the mission as a “humanitarian” effort, framing his trip as providing “humanitarian aid” to the people of Cuba. Piker also characterized the controversy using language increasingly emerging from socialist, communist and anti-capitalist movements online, where activists have used the phrase “Epstein class” as shorthand for wealthy elites and the supposed moral corruption of American capitalism. The rhetoric repeats the propaganda of U.S. adversaries, including Cuba, China, the Islamic Republic of Iran and Russia. He read a comment from a fan, who wrote, “We’ll free you, my brother.” POWER COUPLE OF CHAOS: HOW A TYCOON AND ACTIVIST BUILT A ‘REVOLUTIONARY BASE’ AT THE HOUSE OF SINGHAM Piker responded, “I’m seemingly going to be made an example of…in America’s galloping toward fascism.” He batted away suspicions that Elon Musk made a “boss call” to subpoena Piker after he did an interview yesterday with Ashley St. Clair, the mother of a baby with Musk. The two are going through a custody dispute. “I haven’t gotten anything yet,” said Piker. “Yes, I’ll get lawyered up,” he said, in response to a follower. He said he needed a lawyer with expertise on the First Amendment and “knowledgeable on OFAC.” “I haven’t had anything happen to me yet,” he said. “And it’s not like anything I’ve done.” Saturday evening, Piker posted on X that “the American govt would rather try to criminalize delivering aid to a country we’d starved, than punish the Epstein class.” MEDIA TAPS TWITCH STAR WHO TOLD VIEWERS TO ‘KILL’ REPUBLICANS FOR COMMENT ON CHARLIE KIRK’S ASSASSINATION At 10:51 p.m., CodePink’s Benjamin posted: “Taking medical supplies to pediatric hospitals in Cuba is now a crime? Saving the lives of babies is a crime? The administration is beyond grotesque.” Benjamin repeated the movement’s broader framing of the Cuba trips as “humanitarian” missions, even as organizers and participants repeatedly paired the aid campaigns with overt political rhetoric condemning the Trump administration, U.S. sanctions policy and what activists described as “imperialism” and “settler colonialism” in Cuba and Latin America. Piker’s uncle, far-left commentator Cenk Ugyur, the co-founder of Justice Democrats, a socialist organization that helped elect Ilhan Omar, Rashida Talib and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to Congress in 2018, defended him online Saturday night. “Government apparently sent some bullshit subpoena to Hasan,” Ugyur wrote. “They’re tightening the noose on speech. Remember, they’ll always have an excuse or some technicality. It’s not like they’re going to tell you, ‘We did it because we don’t like what you’re saying.’” Uygur then linked the investigation to broader left-wing claims about suppression
Retiring senator warns if Trump continues to do ‘stupid things’ it will kill GOP in November
A Senate Republican warned that President Donald Trump’s decisions were “killing our chances” for the GOP holding onto power in the Senate. It’s another chapter in the ongoing breakdown of the relationship between Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and Trump that started last year during Republicans’ push to pass the president’s “big, beautiful bill.” The latest episode on Friday came after Trump accused Tillis of being a “nitpicker” on Truth Social. “When I told him that I would not, under any circumstances, endorse him for another run, too much work and drama (he couldn’t have won, anyway!), he immediately quit the race and publicly announced that he was going to ‘retire,’” Trump said. TRUMP DOUBLES DOWN ON $1.8 BILLION ‘SLUSH FUND’ THAT KILLED HIS AGENDA, SPURRED REPUBLICAN REBELLION “I said, ‘Wow, great news, that was easy!’ The media said how brave he was to take me on, but he wasn’t brave, he was just the opposite – HE WAS A QUITTER,” he continued. “Now he can have all the fun he wants for a few months, with some of his RINO friends, screwing the Republican Party.” Tillis has not shied away from being critical of the Trump administration since announcing his decision not to run for office again, and he has typically aimed his barbs at the president’s top advisors. He did so again by blaming Trump’s nearly $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund on U.S. Pardon Attorney Ed Martin, pushing 50-year mortgages and the bipartisan Senate housing package on Housing Director Bill Pulte, the push to acquire private companies with taxpayer dollars on Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and the spate of firings of top generals at the Pentagon — and “not holding Putin accountable for his systematic kidnapping, rape, torture, and murder of Ukrainian civilians,” on War Secretary Pete Hegseth. SENATE GOP ERUPTS OVER TRUMP DOJ ‘ANTI-WEAPONIZATION’ FUND, PUNTS ICE, BORDER PATROL FUNDING “If opposing these things makes me a RINO, then I gladly accept that nickname,” Tillis said on X. “We need Republicans to do well in November, but the stupid stuff is killing our chances!” White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales told Fox News Digital in a statement that Trump is “the unequivocal leader, best messenger, and unmatched motivator for the Republican Party, and he is committed to maintaining Republicans’ majority in Congress to continue delivering wins for the American people.” REPUBLICANS RECOIL AS TRUMP’S BILLION-DOLLAR DOJ ‘SLUSH FUND’ FOR ALLIES THREATENS ICE, BORDER PATROL PLAN “In just over one year, the President has made our country greater than ever before with the most secure border in American history, the largest middle-class tax cuts ever, and the lowest murder rate since 1900,” Wales said. “President Trump will continue to draw a sharp contrast with his commonsense agenda and the radical Democrats in Congress who allowed millions of illegal aliens to flow through the border, unanimously opposed the Working Families Tax Cuts, and are soft-on-crime.” Still, many of those decisions have given Republicans across the spectrum of the Senate GOP heartburn, and most recently, the “anti-weaponization” fund derailed Congress’ effort to fund immigration operations across the country for the remainder of Trump’s term. Tillis was one of several Republicans who blasted the fund created by the Department of Justice (DOJ) shortly after its announcement earlier this week and joined in a dogpile against acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on Wednesday behind closed doors. Like several others, Tillis was concerned that the fund could be used by Jan. 6 rioters convicted of assaulting police officers. “Imagine that,” Tillis said earlier this week. ”A fund that is set up to compensate people who assaulted Capitol Police officers and other responding agencies, right? People that had pled guilty to physical acts against the president may actually be able to get compensated. How absurd does that sound coming out of my mouth?”
‘Wasteful distraction’: Experts slam Mamdani’s taxpayer-funded grocery stores
As New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani moves forward with plans for city-owned grocery stores, economists and local business owners warn the proposal could crush small grocers while leaving taxpayers with a hefty bill. The initiative, a key Mamdani campaign pledge, would establish city-backed supermarkets across the city in an effort to lower food costs. Adam Lehodey of the Manhattan Institute believes the city could address food affordability more efficiently through private-sector partnerships and existing assistance programs rather than operating grocery stores itself. “I think really it’s a distraction and a pretty wasteful distraction,” Lehodey told Fox News Digital. “There’s an easier and better way to solve the problem.” NYC VOTERS FLOCK TO SOCIALIST-STYLE FREEBIES AS MAMDANI PUSHES RENT FREEZES, CITY-RUN STORES The first location is expected to open in 2027 in the Bronx neighborhood of Hunts Point as part of The Peninsula redevelopment project at the former Spofford Juvenile Detention Facility, according to the mayor’s office. The larger redevelopment plan includes 740 affordable housing units, more than 50,000 square feet of public open space, 30,000 square feet of light industrial space and more than 50,000 square feet of community facilities. It would also include a 20,000-square-foot grocery market intended to serve the South Bronx. MAMDANI’S PUBLIC GROCERY STORES MAY HAVE DEVASTATING EFFECTS ON CITY’S FOOD SUPPLY Lehodey also warned the city-backed stores could put small neighborhood grocers at a disadvantage because the projects would receive public support that private businesses do not. “Yeah, the prices might be a little bit cheaper, but that comes at the cost of other businesses running sustainable operations,” he said. He argued the city is also sacrificing valuable public land and potential revenue by subsidizing the projects. MAMDANI’S WALL STREET COURTSHIP SPARKS CRITICISM OF ANTI-BILLIONAIRE AGENDA “That land does have value,” Lehodey said. “By giving it out for free, the taxpayer again is losing money, and we’re losing revenue that could have been spent on other things.” A second city-backed grocery market is slated to open next year at La Marqueta, a public market space in East Harlem. The city plans to spend roughly $30 million to build the location. Critics question whether another grocery option is needed in the neighborhood. Roughly 45 grocery stores are located within a 35-minute walk of the proposed site, according to a Fox News Digital analysis. Those stores range from major chains, including Whole Foods and Lidl, to smaller neighborhood markets and bodegas. The area is also well served by public transit, with multiple subway and bus lines giving residents several ways to reach nearby grocery options. Some local grocers say the city-backed market could siphon away customers and hurt already thin profit margins. Despite the abundance of nearby grocery options, some local store owners fear the city-backed market could undercut existing businesses by offering lower prices backed by public support. “Of course it will affect this store,” said Sarah Kang, manager at a CTown Supermarkets location about a 35-minute walk south, or one subway stop, from La Marqueta. “A lot of people walk 20 to 30 minutes to get here,” she explained to Fox News Digital. “If they find a cheaper supermarket, I don’t think they’ll be willing to make that trip. It’s going to affect small grocery stores. Definitely.” “I hope we don’t lose customers,” Kang added. About a 30-minute walk north of La Marqueta, Joel Martinez, a manager of a supermarket at 128th Street and Frederick Douglass Boulevard, said the impact may depend on proximity to the proposed site. FROM FREE BUSES TO CITY-OWNED GROCERY STORES, HERE ARE MAMDANI’S KEY ECONOMIC PROMISES “I hope it doesn’t impact us,” Martinez said in a call with Fox News Digital. “The store will be a little far from us, so that’s good. But it will affect smaller businesses that are closer.” Bodegas and small grocery stores are a staple of New York City neighborhoods, often serving as primary food sources for nearby residents. Similar proposals for local government-owned and operated grocery stores and markets have surfaced in other cities, including Boston. Atlanta officials appear to have pioneered the effort, opening a city-backed grocery store aimed at improving food access in underserved communities.