House Republicans unveil national memorial plan honoring Americans killed by illegal immigrants
Almost a year after record heights of illegal border crossings, Republican lawmakers unveiled plans to construct a memorial honoring Americans who had lost loved ones to violence caused by illegal immigrants at a press event on Friday afternoon. Rep. Abe Hamadeh, R-Ariz., the lawmaker spearheading the effort, said it would serve as a reminder of the costs of bad policy. ALINA HABBA BLASTS BIDEN IMMIGRATION POLICIES AS ‘ABSOLUTE FAILURE’ AFTER DEADLY NATIONAL GUARD AMBUSH “Now, this bill authorizes a permanent national memorial in Washington, D.C. honoring U.S. citizens and lawful residents whose lives are taken by individuals unlawfully present in the United States,” Hamadeh said. “But in many ways, it also shames the politicians who allowed this situation to happen,” he added. Hamadeh was joined Friday by several angel families who had experienced personal loss and by members of The American Border Story (TABS), an organization dedicated to documenting the U.S. southern border crisis. TABS Executive Director Nicole Kiprilov thanked President Donald Trump for his efforts to tamp down immigration-related crime. “I’d like to thank President Trump for leading an historic administration that has put these victims and families at the center of our immigration agenda,” Kiprilov said. “Secretary Kristi Noem, border czar Tom Homan and the entirety of the Trump administration has been working night and day tirelessly to ensure that our border is secure and that these tragedies that the Biden administration allowed to happen will never happen again.” NATIONAL GUARD KILLING REIGNITES IMMIGRATION WAR IN CONGRESS AS REPUBLICANS DEMAND SWEEPING REFORMS Hamadeh said his proposal would serve as a contrast between the Biden and Trump administrations. His announcement comes as the Trump administration’s DHS announced this past week that it had deported more than 2.5 million illegal immigrants in under a year. According to data collected by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, encounters at the U.S. Southern Border peaked last year with over 300,000 encounters in December 2024. Almost a year later, encounters have dropped precipitously with just 11,600 encounters this past September. Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., one of the lawmakers who also attended Friday’s event, said those numbers demonstrate two different postures towards enforcing the country’s laws. “They ended the remain in Mexico policy, restarted catch and release,” Biggs said of the Biden administration’s decision to bring immigrants with pending asylum claims inside the United States before adjudicating them. TOP REPUBLICAN REBUKES NOTIONS TO ARREST DHS AGENTS WITH PLAN TO PULL FUNDING FROM PROBLEM CITIES Angel families of victims at the event expressed outrage that the remnants of those policies persisted in some cases. In particular, they decried efforts to protect illegal immigrants with criminal records. Jennifer Boss, one of the parents there, said that after authorities discovered her daughter’s remains in a trash can mixed with bleach, the man suspected of having committed the crime had been let go. “He was let go the day after he was arrested. Illinois gave him grace and freedom in the name of fairness with their policies. And let him go. They also protected him from being picked up from ICE. Again, because of their policies,” Boss said. Kiprilov said that in addition to pointing back to a chapter in American history, the memorial proposed by Hamadeh would serve as a reminder going forward of the importance of strong immigration policy. “Today’s legislation, the American Border Story Memorial, is about truth, memory and accountability,” Kiprilov said.
House Democrat pushes Senate to reverse Trump federal union order after GOP revolt by 20 Republicans
EXCLUSIVE: Bipartisan House lawmakers are actively lobbying the Senate to take action on a bill reversing President Donald Trump’s executive order on federal worker unions, a moderate Democrat said. Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, successfully forced a vote on his legislation Thursday evening despite little appetite from the majority of House Republicans. It passed, however, with 20 GOP lawmakers’ support — a significant number at a time when few in the party are willing to publicly butt heads with Trump. “When I said on the House floor that union collective bargaining rights are not a partisan issue, I meant it,” Golden told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview. “The greatest evidence of that is union members themselves. They vote Democrat, they vote Republican. They don’t all vote, but they might vote if they knew that someone supported their collective bargaining rights.” Golden introduced his bill in April and a companion was brought forward in the Senate in September. It has support from two Republicans as of now — Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Susan Collins, R-Maine — the latter of which appeared to sign on after House passage on Thursday evening. MODERATE REPUBLICANS STAGE OBAMACARE REBELLION AS HEALTH COST FRUSTRATIONS ERUPT IN HOUSE “I didn’t talk to her last night, but I’m really glad to see her on. It’s not a surprise to me. She’s supported unions on certain issues in the past, so she’s obviously a very important senator,” said Golden, who worked for Collins before coming to Congress himself. He did say he spoke with “a few” senators after the bill passed but added, “the real push is gonna be coming in the days and weeks ahead.” And Golden is not lobbying senators alone — he said Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., a moderate Republican who championed the bill in the House, is working alongside him. Fox News Digital reached out to Fitzpatrick’s office for comment. “As you probably saw, it was a long process in the House, so you’ve got to stay dogged and be patient. It’s important to do it in a way that’s bipartisan, to create space for members of both parties to work together,” Golden said. “I made sure all along that the Republican co-sponsors of the bill were comfortable with our messaging and also the steps that we were taking, so it’s gonna need to be just like that in the Senate, too.” Golden said he expected more Republican senators to sign on in the coming days. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., for instance, has not backed the legislation as of Friday afternoon, but Golden said he was a “great example” of someone who’s “shown himself to be pro-labor.” 58 HOUSE DEMS VOTE AGAINST RESOLUTION HONORING ‘LIFE AND LEGACY’ OF CHARLIE KIRK Hawley has also previously introduced his own bipartisan pro-union legislation earlier this year that would speed up the labor contract process for new unions. That bill is endorsed by Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien, a friend of the lawmaker’s. Fox News Digital reached out to Collins, Murkowski and Hawley’s offices for further comment. Golden got his bill passed by filing it as a discharge petition, which is designed to force a vote on legislation over the wishes of leadership, provided it gets support from a majority of House lawmakers. Discharge petitions are rarely successful in the House but have been used more frequently this year as Republicans grapple with a razor-thin majority. In Golden’s case, five House Republicans had signed onto the petition along with 213 Democrats — Fitzpatrick and Reps. Rob Bresnahan, R-Pa., Don Bacon, R-Neb., Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., and Nick LaLota, R-N.Y. Meanwhile, Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., introduced the companion version of Golden’s legislation in September. He said in a statement to Fox News Digital, “The bipartisan momentum in the House only strengthens our hand in the Senate, and I intend to build on it.” Collins, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, and Golden have a relationship that dates back to his first time in Washington, D.C., not as a lawmaker, but as a staffer for the longtime Maine senator. They’re also both known to buck their respective parties. Just before Golden’s successful vote, Collins joined Senate Democrats to back their three-year extension of expiring Obamacare subsidies. But Warner’s bill has sat in the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, chaired by Sen. Rand Paul, for several months. Whether it survives committee is unclear, given that Paul has introduced several right-to-work bills over the years. Republican opponents of the bill have said federal workers’ unions are not the same as labor unions in the private sector, arguing that collective bargaining is a different scenario when working against Americans’ own elected officials rather than for-profit companies.
Inside Minnesota’s $1B fraud: fake offices, phony firms and a scandal hiding in plain sight
As a massive fraud scheme costing state and federal taxpayers at least $1 billion dollars continues to unfold in Minnesota, Fox News Digital visited several locations that received funding through programs like Feeding Our Future and found several inconsistencies exposing the depth of the scandal. The now-infamous Griggs-Midway Building housed an “unusual concentration” of fraudulent entities involved in the HSS scheme, according to Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson. Twenty-two “businesses” connected to the HSS program were registered to this single location. Thompson described these entities as “purely fictitious companies solely created to defraud the system.” These 22 fraudulent businesses collectively billed Medicaid for a staggering $8 million between January 2024 and May 2025. OMAR ACCUSED BY GOP OPPONENT OF OPENING UP THE DOOR TO MASSIVE MINNEAPOLIS FRAUD: ‘DEEP, DEEP TIES’ An in-person investigation by Fox News Digital of the building, located in St. Paul, Minnesota, showed huge swaths of the southern side of the building completely abandoned. A black and white banner advertising open spaces in the building was adorned atop the “Griggs-Midway Building” sign. Several men sat together and engaged in conversation at the building entrance. When approached, the men told Fox News Digital that they did not speak English. However, the western side of the building housed a number of seemingly legitimate businesses on the first floor, including a hair salon, a financial support and loan service for African immigrants and a property management office. Following extensive FBI searches of the building, the Minnesota Department of Human Services conducted approximately 40 investigations into providers associated with the larger Griggs-Midway building. Brilliant Minds Services allegedly submitted over $2.3 million of the $8 million in fraudulent claims from the Griggs-Midway location, ranking as one of the state’s highest-billing HSS providers last year. Four defendants, Moktar Hassan Aden, 30; Mustafa Dayib Ali, 29; Khalid Ahmed Dayib, 26; Abdifitah Mohamud Mohamed, 27, were charged in the fraud case. Mohamed was the owner of one of the other fraudulent businesses implicated, Foundation First Services LLC. ‘HE HAD YEARS TO STOP THIS’: GOP LAWMAKERS BLAST WALZ OVER MASSIVE MINNESOTA FRAUD SCHEME Another false claim location took Fox News Digital to a second-story walkup above a sushi shop just blocks away from the Mississippi River. The entryway was locked, and it was unclear whether the fraudster simply utilized the address to keep distance, or if the fraudster was actually located at the unit number listed on the claim. The second floor showed little sign of life. Though one window displayed a “No Kings, No Fascists” sign facing out onto the snowy city street. A large uniform reddish-brown brick building known as “Winsor Plaza” was the next destination of Fox News Digital’s trek through a brewing Minnesota snowstorm. The simple, box-like form of the building was centered by a red canopy protruding from the structure’s primary entrance. A white-water tower with “Roseville” painted in red letters rose in the distance through the fog. Inside, a directory showed dozens of legitimate businesses, including doctors’ offices and wealth management services. A search through the quiet halls of 1935 W County Road gave way to confusion. Unit 150, the office space listed on the false claim, was nowhere to be found. It appeared that in the building’s current configuration the suite simply did not exist. Not only was the claim fraudulent, so was the address. A similar situation occurred at 9120 Baltimore St N. The claims report noted that the fraudulent entity was operating out of suite 100. Upon arrival, 9120 was seen affixed to a stone pillar in the center of a business parking lot. However, there was no conglomerate of office spaces or apartment units, no numbers affixed to different storefronts. Only a singular, operational dental office. Another apparent fraudulent address. The trend was broken at the next two locations. 2756 Douglas Dr N is a commercial address in Crystal, Minnesota, housing businesses like Rock Bridge Counseling & Mental Health and All Kind Painting & Cleaning, offering services for teens in crisis and home improvement, respectively. These two businesses comprise suites A and B of the building but were not the fraudulent entities listed on location claims. A real building, with real businesses, but a fake company that appeared to never exist in that space. MINNESOTA LAWMAKERS VOW NEW CRACKDOWN AFTER $1B FRAUD MELTDOWN THEY SAY WALZ LET SPIRAL Another stop, 1541 Como Ave, was found inside a narrow St. Paul, Minnesota alleyway. The address housed a small, rusted garage affixed to the back of a church. The garage appeared vacant, with no mailbox or garbage cans. A picnic bench just outside the garage door was covered in leaves, snow and other debris. Several gentlemen inside a nearby local business told Fox News Digital that a man named “John” had used the location for a small pop-up gym and fitness center. He was often seen driving around in a fancy car. There was no indication as to whether this location was the legitimate operation center of the fraudulent claim. 4601 E 54th St, another location tied to the scandal, was visited by Fox News Digital only to find an empty parking lot. The address listed was in the 400s on the street. However, there are no 400s on that street, only 500s. Another location, 2720 E Lake St, was completely boarded up and covered in graffiti with a homeless individual sleeping out front. The building appeared to have been inoperable for a long period of time. “Most of that $500 million hasn’t served a single meal and some of the simple things are if they would have just gone to the facilities, you know, you hear of the thousands of people being served out of an apartment twice a day, all they would have to do is show up and look at it,” Minnesota Republican state Sen. Mark Koran told Fox News Digital about the fraud that was hiding in plain sight in Minneapolis. “There was an legislative auditor report that showed that 30 property
Bolivia pivots to US as it breaks from China, Maduro and years of leftist rule
EXCLUSIVE: After decades of strained relations, Bolivia is seeking a new partnership with the U.S. as it repositions itself in the region and works to reduce its dependence on China. The country’s pro-business conservative President, Rodrigo Paz, was sworn in last month, and made quick work of pivoting his country away from alliances with China and Venezuela and toward Western nations. Foreign Minister Fernando Aramayo spoke with Fox News Digital as he visited Washington this week to sign an agreement reestablishing diplomatic ties with Israel, which had been cut off during the war in Gaza by the previous government. HOUSE REPUBLICANS SPLIT OVER WHETHER TRUMP SHOULD PURSUE REGIME CHANGE IN VENEZUELA “We are looking for a long-term relationship with U.S., relations based on the same values and interests that we share, for democracy and to create a new alliance in South America,” Aramayo said. Paz’s victory followed the unraveling of nearly two decades of leftist rule under Evo Morales and Luis Arce, whose MAS party fractured amid economic crises, corruption scandals and mounting public anger over alleged narcotrafficking networks embedded in the state. The collapse of that political machine opened the door for a conservative, pro-business candidate — a dramatic turn for a country that had been one of China and Venezuela’s closest ideological allies in the region. Aramayo said his nation would institute new laws and regulations to attract U.S. investment and break up China’s “monopoly” on mining its natural resources, particularly lithium. The “U.S. has a lot of technology and has a lot of experience and sustainable extraction of resources,” Aramayo said. “We want to take advantage of that. Of course, we want to receive some technology transfers and to be part of the whole chain of production.” PUTIN DOUBLES DOWN ON BACKING MADURO AMID MOUNTING US PRESSURE ON VENEZUELA Aramayo said he “of course” shares U.S. concerns that China uses its investments in Latin America to extract leverage. “We want to diversify our portfolio and we want serious investors.” Aramayo said one of the region’s most urgent challenges is the growing influence of transnational criminal organizations, which he argues have flourished amid years of political instability. He warned that cartels have embedded themselves across South America and that Bolivia is still grappling with the legacy of what he described as “narco authorities” governing the country over the past two decades. “We’re very concerned about the presence of these cartels in South America,” he said, noting that criminal networks undermine confidence in state institutions and fuel cross-border instability. The interview comes as the U.S. steps up pressure on Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, striking what U.S. officials describe as narco-trafficking vessels linked to his regime and seizing an oil tanker allegedly used to evade sanctions. Aramayo did not criticize or oppose the U.S. actions, saying instead that Washington — like any government — “has the right to represent their own interests.” He added that South American nations broadly share concerns about Venezuela’s trajectory and are open to diplomatic efforts to defuse the crisis. Bolivia’s new administration, he said, intends to support a “democratic transition” in Venezuela and work with regional partners to help restore the “legitimacy and reliability” of its institutions after years of political repression and economic collapse.
SEE IT: Feeding Our Future fraudsters bought mansions and Mercedes with $250M in stolen meal funds
No case in Minnesota’s sprawling fraud scandal captures the scale of taxpayer abuse like the Feeding Our Future scheme, in which the program’s director signed off on sham meal services for the poor only to have the men around her splurge on mansions, luxury cars and lavish lifestyles. Fox News Digital has obtained the court exhibits used at trial, including photos of the properties, vehicles and designer goods prosecutors say were purchased with stolen federal nutrition dollars. The scheme was headed by Aimee Bock, the founder and executive director of Feeding Our Future, an organization responsible for ensuring that needy kids didn’t go hungry during the COVID pandemic. Bock presided over a network that claimed to have served 91 million meals, for which the scammers fraudulently received nearly $250 million in federal funds. Bock, who was convicted by a federal jury on March 19, 2025, of wire fraud, conspiracy and bribery for her role, was dubbed the scheme’s “mastermind” by federal prosecutors. FEDERAL PROBE TARGETS ALLEGED MINNESOTA SOMALI FRAUD ‘NETWORK’ AS COVID-AID CRIME RINGS PERSIST Bock approved the meal sites, some of which were fake, and then certified the claims, signing off on the reimbursements from the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE). At least 78 people have now been indicted in the ongoing investigation. Court exhibits used in the case against Bock and Salim Said, a local restaurant owner, captured some of the opulent spending Said splurged his ill-gotten gains on. For instance, Said used $250,000 in stolen nutrition funds to buy a large home in Plymouth, while another $2.7 million wire transfer linked to the fraud was routed into a Minneapolis mansion-style office building, prosecutors said, that served as the headquarters for his company, Safari Group. The property stood in stark contrast to the daycare centers and after-school programs the federal money was supposed to help. The exhibits also showed that Said used fraud proceeds to buy a black 2021 Mercedes-Benz GLA and a 2021 Chevy Silverado. Said operated Safari Restaurant, a small Minneapolis eatery that claimed to be serving more than 4,000 meals per day to the poor, according to federal exhibits, while his company and co-conspirators opened additional sites, as well as dozens of shell companies, which received more than $32 million in Federal Child Nutrition Program funds, prosecutors said. MINNESOTA LAWMAKERS VOW NEW CRACKDOWN AFTER $1B FRAUD MELTDOWN THEY SAY WALZ LET SPIRAL According to the indictment, Said’s spending spree stretched far beyond the cars and houses shown in the courtroom exhibits — with additional real estate, electronics, cash transfers, restaurant buildouts and other luxury goods purchased through shell companies he controlled. Other members of the Safari group were also accused of funneling nutrition dollars into luxury cars and designer goods. Federal prosecutors did not accuse Bock of personally buying big-ticket items with the fraud proceeds. Instead, they said she built and protected the network that enabled others to spend the money. The exhibits show she approved the sites, signed the checks and kept investigators at bay, leaving her inner circle to splurge while she ran the system that made it all possible. The only money movement directly tied to Bock in the exhibits was a picture of her making a $30,000 cash withdrawal, evidence, prosecutors said, that she was involved in a kickback scheme by accepting cash payments from meal-site operators in exchange for site approvals and reimbursements. A series of reimbursement checks she signed for alleged fraud sites were also shown, evidence prosecutors said captured her role as the scheme’s “gatekeeper,” though not a big personal spender. Empress Malcolm Watson Jr., whom the Minnesota Department of Revenue describes as Bock’s boyfriend, appears in some of the exhibits, including a photo of him inside a Rolls-Royce with Bock standing next to him. He’s pictured in another photo standing in front of a Lamborghini. DEM-APPOINTED EDUCATION OFFICIALS FACE NEW SCRUTINY AS FEEDING OUR FUTURE SCANDAL WIDENS, TRUMP TARGETS FRAUD The latter exhibit also shows designer bags, jewelry and a white Mercedes-Benz — items prosecutors labeled as “Handy Helpers Spending” to illustrate the lavish lifestyle surrounding Bock’s network. Prosecutors made no claim that Bock bought the items herself and one co-conspirator even testified that Bock warned them not to splurge, telling them that luxury purchases would “become obvious.” Watson earned more than $1 million for work he did as an employee of Bock’s for-profit childcare consulting business, as well as work his own remodeling company performed for that business, according to the Minnesota Department of Revenue. Prosecutors say Watson spent more than $680,000 on travel, jewelry, vehicles, cash withdrawals, or transfers to other accounts. Watson has not been charged in the Feeding Our Future cases. He was charged with six tax-related felony offenses in September for allegedly underreporting his income for 2020 and 2021, failing to file a return for 2022 and failing to pay the income taxes he owed for those years. Watson allegedly owes more than $64,000 in unpaid income tax. He is currently being held in the Anoka County jail on a felony probation violation unrelated to the tax case. At trial, Bock’s attorneys claimed she was an unwitting administrator who trusted the wrong people and followed United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) rules during a chaotic pandemic. The USDA supplied the federal child nutrition funds via the MDE. Her defense team said she believed the meal sites were legitimate and was being blamed for systemic oversight failures. ‘SCHEMES STACKED UPON SCHEMES’: $1B HUMAN-SERVICES FRAUD FUELS SCRUTINY OF MINNESOTA’S SOMALI COMMUNITY Prosecutors countered that Bock personally approved many of the worst offenders, including the Safari network. The DOJ also introduced slides showing emails and communications where Bock accused the MDE of racism when regulators questioned suspicious claims. In 2021, when the MDE grew suspicious and tried to stop the flow of funds, Feeding Our Future sued, alleging racial discrimination. A judge ordered the state to restart reimbursements — a ruling prosecutors said enabled the scheme to escalate. “Bock lied to MDE and falsely
Progressive powerhouses launch primary war against Democratic establishment ahead of 2026 elections
A slate of progressive powerhouses rushed to endorse Durham County Commissioner Nida Allam upon launching a Democratic primary challenge against Rep. Valerie Foushee, D-N.C., on Thursday — the latest sign that the party’s far-left flank is gearing up to push the Democratic establishment further left ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. While the Democratic Party has claimed to be “on the offense” heading into the midterms — buoyed by two gubernatorial wins, success in California’s redistricting fight and an upset victory in Miami’s mayoral race — the growing docket of progressive primary challengers threatens to once again expose the party’s widening generational and ideological rift. Allam entered the Democratic primary for North Carolina’s 4th Congressional District on Thursday with support from progressive star Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and endorsements from a slew of progressive groups, including Justice Democrats, Leaders We Deserve, Sunrise Movement, Indian American Impact and the Working Families Party. “I’m not here to stay quiet while Washington fails us,” Allam said in her campaign launch video. “I’m here to fight for the people who built this district. This seat doesn’t belong to lobbyists and billionaires. It belongs to us. To use every dollar, resource and tool to fight back against Trump’s authoritarianism and corporate greed, and to build a brighter future for every North Carolinian.” SOCIALIST WAVE SPREADS COAST TO COAST AS PROGRESSIVE DEMOCRATS RALLY AROUND ZOHRAN MAMDANI’S NYC WIN Allam accused Foushee of being “silent” this year while North Carolina’s 4th Congressional District faced federal funding cuts, especially in research grants, tied to President Donald Trump’s second-term agenda and Elon Musk’s mandate to slash government waste, fraud and abuse. PARKLAND SURVIVOR JUMPS INTO CROWDED NYC HOUSE RACE AS GEN Z PROGRESSIVES CHALLENGE PARTY ELDERS Foushee did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. Former Democratic National Committee Vice Chair David Hogg, a 25-year-old activist and founder of Leaders We Deserve, said Thursday that he was “proud” to support Allam’s primary campaign. Hogg sparked an intra-party rift earlier this year when he announced he would invest millions through his super PAC, Leaders We Deserve, to primary older, incumbent Democrats who he said are “asleep at the wheel.” Leaders We Deserve has led a nationwide effort to elect young, progressive candidates to Congress and statewide legislatures across the U.S. The group endorsed high-profile progressive Democrats this year, including New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani and congressional candidate and Gen Z activist Deja Foxx, who lost a special election to Rep. Adelita Grijalva, D-Ariz., this year. Hogg resigned from his vice chair position earlier this year after DNC Chair Ken Martin gave him an ultimatum to either forego his involvement with Leaders We Deserve or resign from his vice chair role. Amid a procedural challenge to his election, Hogg resigned, arguing party politics were at play in pushing him out — an accusation the DNC has rejected. The 25-year-old’s plan to primary challenge Democrats in safe, blue districts triggered a debate about the party’s future as Democrats spent much of 2025 without a clear message or leader following losses up and down the ballot last year. On the heels of Mamdani’s success in New York City — a race that took national politics by storm as a socialist millennial was elected to lead the largest city in the U.S. — more progressive, anti-establishment House candidates have been jumping into races across the U.S. As California redraws its congressional map ahead of next year’s midterms, Leaders We Deserve is supporting progressive Planned Parenthood leader Lauren Babb Tomlinson for California’s 6th Congressional District and educator Randy Villegas for California’s 22nd. And while Texas finalizes representation under its new congressional maps, Leaders We Deserve is backing Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee in the race for Texas’ 18th Congressional District, even as longtime Rep. Al Green, who currently represents the 9th District, also prepares to run for the seat in 2026. The progressive group is also supporting Menefee this January in the 18th District’s special election. Leaders We Deserve has also endorsed Michigan state Rep. Donavan McKinney in his Democratic primary challenge against Rep. Shri Thanedar, D-Mich., and Tennessee state Rep. Justin J. Pearson’s bid for longtime Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen’s seat in the 2026 Democratic primary. In San Francisco, two high-profile Democratic challengers announced campaigns for former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s congressional seat before she had confirmed her plans to retire from the seat she has held since 1987 at the end of next year. Saikat Chakrabarti, former chief of staff to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and state senator Scott Wiener, are running to Pelosi’s left, part of a broader coast-to-coast battle for the Democratic Party’s progressive base. Chakrabarti is also a co-founder of Justice Democrats, a super PAC focused on recruiting a new generation of leaders to Congress who endorsed Allam this week. Like Leaders We Deserve, Justice Democrats has thrown its support behind a slew of progressive Democratic primary challenges, including McKinney in Michigan and Pearson in Tennessee. Justice Democrats is also supporting former Rep. Cori Bush’s comeback campaign for Missouri’s 1st Congressional District, now held by a comparably more moderate Rep. Wesley Bell, who defeated Bush in a Democratic primary last year. The group has also endorsed Angela Gonzales-Torres for California’s 34th Congressional District, which is currently represented by Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-Calif.; Melat Kiros for Colorado’s 1st Congressional District against incumbent Democratic Rep. Diana DeGette; and Darializa Avila Chevalier for New York’s 13th Congressional District, challenging longtime Rep. Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y. And just this week, Brad Lander secured his own high-profile endorsements in his primary challenge against Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., who refused to endorse Mamdani’s mayoral campaign. Lander is considered the more progressive candidate for his outright condemnation of the war in Gaza, while Goldman told CBS New York’s Marcia Kramer that he feared Mamdani wouldn’t do enough to protect Jewish New Yorkers. Since launching his campaign, Lander has secured endorsements from Mamdani, Sanders, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and the New York Working Families
Harris thanks supporters for ‘standing up for democracy’ at annual DNC meeting
Former Vice President Kamala Harris thanked her supporters for “standing up for our democracy” and the “rule of law” on Friday at the Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) annual winter meeting in Los Angeles. Harris, who became the party’s 2024 presidential nominee without a primary election after former President Joe Biden dropped out of the race, said Democrats express gratitude toward her because she is the “public face of a lot of the work that we do.” “People then come up to me in various places, and when they thank me, they are thanking you for standing up for our democracy, for the rule of law, for values and principles, for community, for the breadth and depth of who we are with all of our beautiful differences as a nation,” she said during her remarks. KAMALA HARRIS DOESN’T RULE OUT ANOTHER PRESIDENTIAL RUN IN NEW INTERVIEW: ‘I AM NOT DONE’ Harris continued, “When they thank me, they are thanking you for the work that you do that are about upholding basic principles that are at the foundation of the declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States. So thank you for everything that you have done, that you are doing and you will do.” Harris recently passed on launching a 2026 gubernatorial campaign in her home state of California, but is keeping the door wide open to a 2028 presidential run. “Obviously, we must focus on the midterms,” she said on Friday. “But Democrats, we must also have a clear vision for what comes after the midterms. And then after Trump. We need to answer the question. We need to answer the question: what comes next for our party and our democracy?” KAMALA HARRIS HINTS AT POLITICAL FUTURE, TELLS CHARLAMAGNE SHE’S ‘IN IT FOR THE FIGHT’ “And in so doing, we must be honest that for so many, the American dream has become more of a myth than a reality,” she added. “Whether it’s the cost of food, energy, health care, transportation or housing, America is facing an affordability crisis, a crisis that we are witnessing is fueling a system fear, frustration, and a lack of confidence in our systems.” The former vice president also addressed Democrats’ recent wins in key local races. “From Jackson to Atlanta, from Sacramento to New York. The American people sent a message they want leaders who fight yes for affordability, for health care, for the right of people to participate in their democracy,” Harris said. Harris also took jabs at President Donald Trump, as well as his policies and his “Make America Great Again” movement. “We all know that in the midst of all this, the truth and reality of the moment that just a few days ago, he said the economy was, I had to count the pluses there. A plus, plus, plus, plus, plus. That’s what he said when asked to rate the economy – a plus, plus, plus, plus, plus. There is nothing A plus about any of this,” she said. “We must be candid and clear. Donald Trump is not the only source of our problems,” Harris added. “He and the rise of the MAGA movement, I believe, are a symptom of a failed system that is the result of years of outsourcing and offshoring, financial deregulation, growing income inequality, a broken campaign finance system and endless partisan gridlock all contributing to how we got here today.”
After Australia passes social media ban, lawmakers probed on why Congress hasn’t done more to protect kids
After Australian teens were kicked off of social media this week following a nationwide social media ban for anyone in the country under the age of 16, several lawmakers and other political figures called on the United States to do something similar. Congress has passed some general online safety laws, such as limits on the collection of minors’ information by social media platforms, but thus far, Congress has not enacted any laws that would change who can use social media platforms, or how the apps are designed for minors. “I imagine it’s the opposition from the tech industry,” said Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y. “I see social media as a catastrophe for the mental health of the next generation, and I feel like society is conducting an unprecedented experiment on the psyche of young Americans.” TEXAS FAMILY SUES CHARACTER.AI AFTER CHATBOT ALLEGEDLY ENCOURAGED AUTISTIC SON TO HARM PARENTS AND HIMSELF Torres added that he believes there is a need for reform but also conceded that it is a “complicated area” in light of the First Amendment. “I do think more congressional action would be wise,” Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., told Fox News Digital when asked why he thought Congress had not passed laws that will better protect kids on social media. “Obviously, we’re a country that values freedom, and so a lot of people feel like that would be either power better exercised by the state, or power better exercised by parents.” However, Johnson said, he does think “we need to hold some of these platforms accountable,” noting that “they have technological tools that they could very easily use to keep kids safe.” After Australia passed its social media ban on kids under the age of 16, Republicans and Democrats came out to urge the United States to enact better safety measures for kids on social media. These figures included former President Barack Obama’s chief of staff while he was in office, Rahm Emanuel, Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii. PROTECTING KIDS FROM AI CHATBOTS: WHAT THE GUARD ACT MEANS Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., told Fox News Digital that one of the reasons Congress has potentially stalled on passing legislation to protect kids on social media was because “a lot of people don’t know” about the dangers. “I think it’s gotten worse,” Norman said, in regard to the dangers of social media for kids. “Got to have an age and got to track down something that is destroying our children.” However, some Republicans have also been weary of the push to regulate social media for kids, particularly efforts to create an age limit for the platforms. Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., told Fox News Digital that she would likely not be in favor of “an all-out ban.” “I’m still a capitalist, and there’s federalism and we have freedom here,” Boeert said. “But we have a lot of good legislation for solutions but, unfortunately, leadership prioritizes things that the American people don’t, and I think it’s time to read the room of America so we can pass good legislation.”
DHS to focus on arresting illegal immigrants with serious offenses amid negative polling on ICE raids: report
The Department of Homeland Security is amending its immigration enforcement operations by moving away from raids targeting all illegal immigrants in the U.S. and focusing more on the ones who have committed serious offenses, according to a report. Teams under U.S. Border Patrol Commander at Large Gregory Bovino will shift their focus to specific targets, including illegal immigrants who have been convicted of serious crimes, NewsNation reported. The change means federal agents will put a smaller emphasis on carrying out large raids that have happened at Home Depot stores and other locations, according to the outlet. JUDGE BLOCKS ICE FROM MAKING WARRANTLESS ARRESTS IN DC WITHOUT FLIGHT-RISK PROOF Illegal immigrants have been targeted based on characteristics such as ethnicity, accent, language or location, such as being at a Home Depot or a car wash. Agents will still conduct traffic stop enforcement, but Border Patrol is unlikely to continue grabbing people off the streets, the outlet reported. The reported change in immigration enforcement comes as support for President Donald Trump‘s mass deportation policies has tanked in the polls. 250 BORDER AGENTS TO DEPLOY TO LOUISIANA FOR ‘SWAMP SWEEP,’ REPORT SAYS A Public Religion Research Institute survey released earlier this week found that approval of Trump’s handling of immigration dipped from 42% in March to 33%. A YouGov poll last month found that a majority of Americans oppose Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations tied to Trump’s immigration crackdown. In a survey last month by the health policy research group KFF and The New York Times, about half of the immigrants polled said they — and their family members — “feel less safe” with Trump as president. Border Patrol has carried out migrant raids this year in various cities, including in Los Angeles, Chicago and Charlotte. The raids have prompted several protests and lawsuits, as the operations have been scrutinized for going too far. A new operation in New Orleans, dubbed “Catahoula Crunch,” will continue despite the updated tactics. Agents have already arrested more than 250 people, and DHS said it aims to reach 5,000, according to NewsNation.
EXCLUSIVE: Inside Trump’s private schedule as media fixates on his health
EXCLUSIVE: Fox News Digital obtained a copy of President Donald Trump’s personal schedule since Dec. 1, showing back-to-back calls and meetings that frequently drag into the evening. The president has come under heightened scrutiny in recent months from the media over his health and age, including the New York Times reporting last month that Trump, 79, is “facing the realities of aging” while in office. The concern surrounding Trump’s stamina follows the media’s silence on the topic when the then-oldest sitting president, Joe Biden, led from the Oval Office – a health saga that has continued long after Biden dropped out of the 2024 federal election and exited 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. on Jan. 20. Over the 12 days covered in the internal schedule obtained by Fox Digital, Trump is on the books for roughly 10 hours a day, averaging around 21 separate meetings, calls or events per day – while some days pack in more than 30 such events. A copy of the president’s schedule shows Trump begins most scheduled calls and meetings around 8:30 or 9 a.m., with his days typically not wrapping up until after 8 p.m. TRUMP TORCHES BIDEN’S SHUTOUT PRESS RECORD — OPENS FLOODGATES OF MEDIA ACCESS IN FIRST YEAR BACK On Monday, Dec. 1, for example, Trump kicked off his day at 8:30 am with a phone call to his chief of staff Susie Wiles, which was followed by a 9:30 call to Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, and a 9:35 a.m. call into a rally. Across 10 minutes, Trump then held a series of rapid-fire meetings with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, press secretary Karoline Leavitt and Wiles, before holding calls with a member of Congress and a political advisor. The day continued with 18 other meetings, phone calls and events, including a bill signing, remarks at a Christmas reception, additional meetings with the secretary of state, Leavitt and his trade team. According to Trump’s schedule, his busiest day so far this month was on Wednesday, Dec. 3, when he held 32 events, meetings and phone calls. He began the day at 9 a.m. with a call to senior staff members, and wrapped the day up at 7:30 p.m., when he met with a “television personality.” TRUMP’S LONG-RUNNING FEUD WITH NEW YORK TIMES ESCALATES WITH NEW INSULTS, LAWSUITS Every hour between 9 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. that day included a scheduled event or meeting or call. Trump’s longest work day this month fell on Tuesday, Dec. 9, according to the schedule, at 13 hours and 9 minutes. Trump began his day at 9:46 a.m. with a call to a Cabinet secretary, before holding five other meetings, and one other call. He wrapped up the day at 10:55 p.m. after traveling to Pennsylvania on Tuesday, where he delivered a speech focused on his economic policies. The schedule overall showed a heightened focus on foreign policy and business, including 11 separate meetings or calls with his secretary of state, eight head-of-state sessions, three meetings with a special envoy and two with an ambassador. Trump had at least one CEO or business-focused engagement on 10 of the 12 days, including 17 direct CEO calls or meetings, a call with “business leaders,” and other events on the economy or technology. One of Trump’s lightest days was on the weekend, when Saturday, Dec. 6, recorded 5 hours and 51 minutes of scheduled events, including meetings with Kennedy Center leadership and Secret Service leadership, meeting with the Kennedy Center Honorees, and taking part in the Kennedy Center’s Honors Dinner. Trump entered his second term as the oldest person ever inaugurated at 78, with the media becoming increasingly focused on his health, including when he was spotted with swollen legs in July while attending the FIFA Club World Cup final in New Jersey, as well as other photos stretching back to February showing bruising on his hand. DEMS, MEDIA CREDIBILITY IN SHAMBLES AS PRESS FIXATES ON TRUMP MRI AFTER YEARS DOWNPLAYING BIDEN HEALTH ISSUES The White House attributed the bruising to frequent handshakes and said the swelling stemmed from chronic venous insufficiency — “a benign and common condition, particularly in individuals over the age of 70,” according to previous comments from Leavitt. The media most recently focused on an MRI scan Trump received during a checkup at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland in October, which was described as routine by the administration. The checkup was Trump’s second in 2025, following an April visit that Navy Capt. Sean P. Barbabella, the physician to the president, said found Trump “remains in excellent health.” Trump pledged to release the results of the scan when pressed about it by the media, with the White House releasing the report a day after Trump’s pledge. The report found Trump was in normal and good health. SCOTT BESSENT CALLS OUT NY TIMES’ TRUMP REPORTING DURING PAPER’S SUMMIT, SAYS IT’S NOT PAPER OF RECORD “The purpose of this imaging is preventative to identify any issues early, confirm overall health, and ensure the president maintains long-term vitality and function,” Leavitt said during a press conference while reading Trump’s MRI report. “… Overall, his cardiovascular system shows excellent health.” The White House has been quick to challenge reporters’ focus on Trump’s health, pointing to his health reports and the lack of media coverage Biden received over his mental acuity concerns. Biden’s mental acuity had been under conservatives’ microscope since before the 2020 election. Concerns among the mainstream media, however, did not heighten until February 2024, when special counsel Robert Hur, who was investigating Biden’s alleged mishandling of classified documents as vice president, announced he would not recommend criminal charges against Biden for possessing classified materials after his vice presidency, calling Biden “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.” “I can tell you there was certainly a lack of transparency from the former president, from the entire former administration,” Leavitt told reporters in April. “And frankly, a lot of people in this room,