Category: Fox News

First lady Melania Trump rolls out AI audiobook of first memoir in Spanish: ‘Amazing journey’

EXCLUSIVE: First lady Melania Trump is launching a Spanish-language edition of the audiobook of her memoir using artificial intelligence (AI) audio technology to bring her story to millions of Spanish-speaking listeners, Fox News Digital has learned. The first lady released her first memoir, “Melania,” last year and released the English-language audiobook in May. On Tuesday, the first lady released her first foreign-language edition of the audiobook—powered by AI. Fox News Digital has learned that additional foreign-language AI audiobooks will be announced in the coming weeks. AI MELANIA: FIRST LADY EMBARKS ON ‘NEW FRONTIER’ IN PUBLISHING WITH AUDIOBOOK OF MEMOIR “Today, we launch the very first foreign-language version of my audiobook, beginning with Espanol, built with artificial intelligence,” the first lady told Fox News Digital. “This release is inspired directly by the Spanish-speaking community, whose enthusiasm and heartfelt requests encouraged me to make my story accessible to Spanish speakers everywhere.” The Spanish language edition features an AI-generated voice of Mrs. Trump—expertly created by ElevenLabs—to deliver the audiobook in a way that maintains the first lady’s “mannerism, purpose, and authenticity,” while bringing her story to millions of Spanish-speaking listeners. Meanwhile, billboards to promote the audiobook will be up in Times Square in New York City.  Upon the release of the English audiobook, the first lady told Fox News Digital she was “proud to be at the forefront of publishing’s new frontier – the intersection of artificial intelligence technology and audio.” MELANIA TRUMP TO RELEASE ‘COLLECTOR’S EDITION’ OF MEMOIR FEATURING IMAGES PHOTOGRAPHED BY FORMER FIRST LADY The first lady said ElevenLabs AI developed “an AI-generated replica of my voice under strict supervision, which will establish an unforgettable connection with my personal story, in multiple languages for listeners worldwide.” ElevenLabs AI CEO Mati Staniszewski told Fox News Digital earlier this year that they are “excited that Melania Trump trusted our technology to power this first-of-its-kind audiobook project.” The Spanish and English versions of the audiobook are available on MelaniaTrump.com. Upon the release of the memoir last year, the first lady told Fox News Digital that writing her story was “an amazing journey filled with emotional highs and lows.” “Each story shaped me into who I am today,” she said. “Although daunting at times, the process has been incredibly rewarding, reminding me of my strength, and the beauty of sharing my truth.”  “Melania” is the first lady’s first book. She released the original book along with a special collector’s edition that includes photos hand-selected by the first lady, many of which she photographed herself of her home and of various trips she has taken around the world.  Meanwhile, MELANIA, the film, will debut exclusively in theaters worldwide on January 30th, 2026. The first lady will be the subject of the upcoming documentary.

Hegseth erupts over WaPo ‘fake stories’ smear, vows to stop ‘poisoning of the American people’

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth chastised the press following media reports that he signed off on a second strike against an alleged drug boat after the first one left survivors.  The Trump administration has come under renewed scrutiny for its strikes in the Caribbean targeting alleged drug smugglers, after the Washington Post reported on Friday that Hegseth verbally ordered everyone onboard the alleged drug boat to be killed in a Sept. 2 operation. The Post reported that a second strike was conducted to take out the remaining survivors on the boat.  On Monday, the White House confirmed that a second strike had occurred, but disputed that Hegseth ever gave an initial order to ensure that everyone on board was killed, when asked specifically about Hegseth’s instructions. Hegseth said that he watched the first strike live, but did not see any survivors at that time amid the fire and the smoke — and blasted the press for their reporting. HEGSETH BACKS SPECIAL OPS CHIEF’S ‘COMBAT DECISIONS’ IN DEADLY CARIBBEAN STRIKE AHEAD OF CLASSIFIED BRIEFING  “This is called the fog of war. This is what you in the press don’t understand,” Hegseth told reporters at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday. “You sit in your air-conditioned offices or up on Capitol Hill and you nit pick, and you plant fake stories in the Washington Post about ‘kill everybody’ phrases on anonymous sources not based in anything, not based in any truth at all. And then you want to throw out really irresponsible terms about American heroes, about the judgment that they made.”  Hegseth said that after watching the first strike, he left for a meeting and later learned of the second strike. The White House said Monday that Hegseth had authorized Adm. Frank “Mitch” Bradley to conduct the strikes, and that Bradley was the one who ordered and directed the second one.  At the time of the Sept. 2 strike, Bradley was serving as the commander of Joint Special Operations Command, which falls under U.S. Special Operations Command. He is now the head of U.S. Special Operations Command. TRUMP SAYS HE BELIEVES HEGSETH ‘100%’ ON VENEZUELAN DRUG BOAT STRIKE DENIAL AMID ALLEGATIONS  According to Hegseth, carrying out a subsequent strike on the alleged drug boat was the right call.  “Admiral Bradley made the correct decision to ultimately sink the boat and eliminate the threat,” Hegseth said Tuesday.  Meanwhile, reports of the second strike have attracted even more scrutiny from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle on Capitol Hill and calls for greater oversight, amid questions about the strikes’ legality.  “This committee is committed to providing rigorous oversight of the Department of Defense’s military operations in the Caribbean,” Reps. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., and Adam Smith, D-Wash., who lead the House Armed Services Committee, said in a statement on Saturday. “We take seriously the reports of follow-on strikes on boats alleged to be ferrying narcotics in the SOUTHCOM region and are taking bipartisan action to gather a full accounting of the operation in question.” Hegseth said Tuesday that although there has been a pause in strikes in the Caribbean because alleged drug boats are becoming harder to find, the Trump administration’s campaign against the influx of drugs will continue.  “We’ve only just begun striking narco-boats and putting narco-terrorists at the bottom of the ocean because they’ve been poisoning the American people,” Hegseth said.  The Trump administration has carried out more than 20 strikes against alleged drug boats in Latin American waters, and has bolstered its military presence in the Caribbean to align with Trump’s goal to crack down on the influx of drugs into the U.S.

Vance, Trump unleash on Democrats’ affordability ‘scam’: ‘Fixing what [they’ve] broken’

President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance hit Democrats during a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, saying that the current administration is working to fix the mess left by former President Joe Biden.  “The word ‘affordability’ is a Democrat scam. They say it, and then they go into the next subject and everyone thinks they had lower prices. No, they had the worst inflation in the history of our country,” Trump said during his opening remarks at the meeting. He also said affordability was a “con job by the Democrats.” The president boasted that since he took office, his administration has “stopped inflation in its tracks,” but said their work is not over. He said that while inflation is at “a very good level” now, he would like to see it drop even further without putting the country at risk of seeing deflation. DOUBLING DOWN: TOP HOUSE DEMOCRAT SAYS FOCUS ON HIGH PRICES ‘ABSOLUTELY GOING TO CONTINUE’ On Saturday, when boasting on Truth Social about lowering drug prices, Trump declared himself to be the “affordability president,” possibly signaling his administration’s focus on reclaiming the term. Vance, who spoke later in Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting, touted the administration‘s work on the economy and predicted that “2026 is going to be the year when this economy really takes off.” “I think for congressional Democrats in particular, if they want to talk about affordability, they ought to look in the mirror. We are fixing what [they’ve] broken,” Vance said. The vice president also pointed out that under the Biden administration, the American family lost over $3,000 of household income, while they gained over $1,000 of household income under Trump. TRUMP FLIPS DEMS’ ‘AFFORDABILITY’ SCRIPT, TURNING BUZZWORD INTO MAGA MATERIAL AS MAMDANI VISIT LOOMS Several leading Democrats, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., have increasingly centered their message on affordability in recent months, even pointing to the issue as a decisive factor in last month’s Democratic victories across the country. “Republicans have failed the American people on the economy. The cost of living in the United States of America is completely and totally out of control,” Jeffries said during a news conference last month. “Republicans promised to lower the high cost of living on day one. Costs have not gone down, they’ve gone up.” Jeffries’ remarks came one day after Schumer made similar comments about what Senate Democrats called the “Republican Affordability Crisis.” He said that affordability was “the most important issue keeping Americans up at night” and that Trump and Republicans made it worse. “Donald Trump may think affordability is some kind of Democratic ‘con job,’ as he recently called it, but the opposite is true. Americans are fed up with high costs, and they need a lifeline, while Donald Trump is tossing them an anchor,” Schumer said. NEWT GINGRICH: THE SIMPLEST WAY TO MAKE AMERICAN LIFE AFFORDABLE AGAIN In November, the Democrats saw a string of major victories, including New Jersey Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill, Virginia Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger and New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani. All three candidates focused on affordability in their campaigns. After Sherrill and Spanberger’s victories, the Democratic Governors Association (DGA) said that they “ran and won on the economy.” “With cost-of-living concerns top-of-mind for Americans nationwide, Sherrill and Spanberger were laser-focused on affordability, releasing their Affordability Agenda and Affordable Virginia Plan, respectively, as they ran on platforms centered around bringing down the costs of health care, housing, and energy costs,” the DGA statement read. Mamdani’s campaign was focused on affordability in the city.  After his meeting with Trump, Mamdani said he would work with the administration — not against it — to make life more affordable for New Yorkers, citing his and the president’s mutual love of the city.

State Department yanks visas from Mexican executives in migrant smuggling crackdown

FIRST ON FOX: The State Department is yanking visas from Mexican executives it says helped move unlawful migrants toward the U.S. border, Fox News Digital has learned. The department revoked visas and imposed travel restrictions on six individuals who worked at an air travel company, along with their immediate family members. U.S. officials say the group collaborated with smuggling networks to coordinate transportation and provide fraudulent travel documents for migrants — including minors — from the Caribbean and other regions, routing them through Central America before many attempted to reach the United States. The department did not name the company involved.  Mexican officials were notified of the revocations, which were carried out under Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. That authority allows the U.S. to bar foreign nationals when their entry is deemed to carry potential foreign-policy risks. Any previously valid visas held by the individuals have been canceled, and they are now prohibited from entering the country. STATE DEPARTMENT ‘IMMEDIATELY’ HALTS ALL AFGHAN PASSPORT VISAS FOLLOWING DEADLY NATIONAL GUARD ATTACK A State Department official said investigators determined the executives “actively supported operations that facilitated the movement of aliens, including minors,” enabling travel that ultimately fed illegal border crossings. Deputy principal spokesperson Tommy Pigott said the United States “will not allow those who enable or profit from illegal immigration to evade responsibility,” calling the actions part of a broader push to disrupt smuggling networks and protect the integrity of U.S. borders. The State Department has revoked some 80,000 non-immigrant visas since the start of the Trump administration as of last month.  STATE DEPARTMENT REVOKED MORE THAN 80K NONIMMIGRANT VISAS THIS YEAR, INCLUDING 8K STUDENT VISAS Visa restrictions that extend to immediate relatives are part of a strategy to cut off the benefits of U.S. travel — schooling, shopping, business — that many upper-tier executives rely on. It’s intended to signal consequences for the individuals directly involved. In recent years, U.S. officials have increasingly warned that migrant-smuggling networks are relying on commercial air routes to move people from the Caribbean, South America and Africa into Central America before they head north by land. The strategy has become a preferred alternative to the dangerous Darién Gap, allowing smugglers to sell “travel packages” that include airfare, ground transportation and forged documents needed to continue the journey toward the U.S. border. Still, border apprehensions have tanked under the Trump administration’s crackdown on unlawful immigration. October saw 30,561 total encounters nationwide, the lowest figure of any October on record. 

Trump signs Medal of Honor Act to raise pensions for America’s military heroes

President Donald Trump signed into law the Medal of Honor Act, which directs the Department of Veterans Affairs to “increase the rate of the special monthly pension payable to living Medal of Honor recipients,” the White House said. The move “ensures Medal of Honor recipients are rightfully compensated with an increase to their pension after their military service is over,” according to the White House. “Medal of Honor recipients truly embody the best of our nation,” Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, who sponsored the legislation, said Monday after Trump signed it. The 63 living Medal of Honor recipients receive a special pension of $16,880 annually, but the Medal of Honor Act now increases that pension “to around $67,500 annually, a nearly fourfold increase,” the Republican’s office said. PURPLE HEART RECIPIENT AND VETERAN ADVOCATE SGT. MICHAEL VERARDO LAID TO REST WITH HONORS AT ARLINGTON “They never ask for special recognition or demand special treatment. Many of the living Medal of Honor recipients spend most of their time traveling our country, telling their stories inspiring the next generation of America’s heroes,” Nehls added in a statement. “My bill, the Medal of Honor Act, eases their financial burden by increasing their special pension — ensuring they know that America is grateful for all they’ve done to serve our country and defend our freedoms.” RETIRED ARMY CAPTAIN DEDICATES HIS MEDAL OF HONOR AWARD TO FELLOW SOLDIERS IN AFGHANISTAN “I am beyond grateful to President Trump, our Commander in Chief, for signing my bill into law,” Nehls also said. “The least we can do is lift the financial burden off of these selfless warriors who continue to serve our great nation.”   The first Medal of Honor was given to Army Private Jacob Parrott in 1863, according to Nehls’ office. There have been 3,528 total recipients, the Congressional Medal of Honor Society said. “These individuals are heroes. The Medal of Honor recipients are extraordinary,” Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said in a video posted on Instagram Monday. “We see you. We remember you. We are grateful for you.”

Trump torches Dems’ ‘fake affordability’ pitch – but GOP panic in deep red state hints voters aren’t buying it

President Donald Trump unleashed on Democrats for their “affordability” messaging that drove support for left-wing candidates in the 2025 election cycle, calling it a “fake narrative” that “doesn’t mean anything to anybody.” “You just say it. Affordability. I inherited the worst inflation in history. There was no affordability. Nobody could afford anything. The prices were massively high,” Trump said Tuesday during his administration’s monthly Cabinet meeting – the final such meeting for 2025.  “But the word affordability is a con job by the Democrats,” Trump continued.  The Cabinet meeting marked Trump’s ninth in his second term, matching the number of all the full Cabinet meetings former President Joe Biden held during his four years in the Oval Office.  SURVEY SAYS: ISSUE THAT HELPED TRUMP AND REPUBLICANS IN 2024 HURT THEM NOW Affordability was the top campaign platform for the handful of high-profile elections held last month during the off-year cycle. Democrats emerged from the 2025 election cycle victorious, including socialist candidate Zohran Mamdani notching a win to become the next mayor of New York City, as well as Democrats winning the only two gubernatorial elections this year, which were held in Virginia and New Jersey.  In New Jersey, voters reported that the state’s notoriously high taxes and the economy were their top issues heading into the polling stations, according to Fox News Voter Poll data last month. In Virginia, half of voters reported that the economy was their top issue, more than double the number who reported healthcare as their top concern, according to Fox polling data.  In New York City, affordability was by far voters’ top concern in the notoriously expensive Big Apple, according to previous Fox News Voter Poll data.  This week, left-wing Democrats and Republicans are in a fierce battle to win a congressional seat in Tennessee where the Democratic nominee, known as the “AOC of Tennessee,” is building support among voters in the deep red state.  Trump railed during the Cabinet meeting that his administration is lowering prices for citizens after inheriting “the worst inflation in history” under the Biden administration, including by making massive deals with foreign industries to create jobs in the U.S. and his tariff policies that aim to bring parity to the U.S.’ chronic trade deficit with foreign countries.  “Our prices now for energy, but for gasoline, are really low. Electricity is coming down. And when that comes down, everything comes down. But the word affordability is a Democrat scam. They say it and then they go into the next subject and everyone thinks, ‘Oh, they had lower prices.’ No, they had the worst inflation in the history of our country,” Trump continued.  In Tennessee, Trump, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and other high-profile Republicans have made a mad dash to rally support for Trump-backed congressional candidate Matt Van Epps as he faces off against Democratic Tennessee state Rep. Aftyn Behn, who has been compared to socialist politicians, including Mamdani and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The Tennessee race is a special election to fill Republican Rep. Mark Green’s seat in the 7th Congressional District following his resignation from Congress in July. Republicans have previously easily won the seat in the deep red state, but recent left-wing wins during November’s elections built Democratic momentum to flip the seat blue.  Johnson headlined rallies in the state for Van Epps and Trump called into rallies, as well as posted social media messages promoting that Tennessee voters reject the Democrat candidate.  “The whole world is watching Tennessee right now, and they’re watching the district,” Trump said during one call.  TRUMP FLIPS DEMS’ ‘AFFORDABILITY’ SCRIPT, TURNING BUZZWORD INTO MAGA MATERIAL AS MAMDANI VISIT LOOMS Polls suggest a close contest between Van Epps and Behn in a race that will again serve as a bellwether ahead of the highly anticipated 2026 midterm races.  Behn, similar to her Democrat colleagues in November’s elections, has made affordability one of her top campaign platforms.  “Angry about high grocery prices? Worried about health care costs? Feeling burned by tariffs? Then Dec. 2 is your day to shake up Washington,” she said in her campaign’s final ad.  “That struggling to afford groceries, healthcare, and rent is the life we have to accept,” Behn wrote in a Substack post in November. “We have the opportunity through this election to tell those in power that we’re done begging for crumbs, we’re done being sold out, and we’ve had it with the cost of living and the chaos.” SETTING THE STAGE: WHAT THE 2025 ELECTIONS SIGNAL FOR NEXT YEAR’S MIDTERM SHOWDOWNS Meanwhile, Democrats such as Ocasio-Cortez and former Vice President Al Gore have backed Behn’s campaign, making Tennessee an unlikely epicenter for another campaign showdown that pits a left-wing candidate promoting affordability against a Republican.  When asked about Democrats’ affordability messaging and if Trump’s messaging is falling flat with voters considering the Tennessee race, the White House argued Democrats don’t have “have a leg to stand on when it comes to affordability.” “The idea that Democrats, who spent four years during the Biden presidency creating the worse inflation crisis in a generation, have a leg to stand on when it comes to affordability is beyond laughable. Americans remember how President Trump’s agenda created historic job, wage, and economic growth during his first term, and Americans know that this same agenda is again restoring working-class prosperity in President Trump’s second term,” White House spokesman Kush Desai told Fox Digital. Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.

GOP rep weighs bolting California for Texas seat as dueling redistricting wars upend 2026 map: report

GOP Rep. Darrell Issa is reportedly considering a run for Congress in Texas next year rather than his current district in California as major redistricting in California and Texas continues to change the political landscape for the midterm elections.  Issa could head to Texas to run in the state’s 32nd Congressional District currently represented by Democratic Rep. Julie Johnson after Texas split her district in the controversial GOP-friendly redistricting effort. The redistricting incited California to redraw its districts in favor of Democrats, which made the path forward more difficult for Issa, Punchbowl News reported on Monday. Issa was significantly affected by California’s newly redrawn maps that voters approved last month. The change transformed the landscape from a district where Trump won by 15 points to new boundaries where former Vice President Kamala Harris would have won by 3 points, according to the Cook Political Report. A source told Fox News Digital Issa did not “go looking” for the opportunity but that friends in Texas encouraged him to run, and he is “working through it.” GOP LAWMAKER FLIPS SCRIPT ON NEWSOM, BASS BY DEFINING ANTI-ICE RIOTS WITH 1 WORD Further complicating the situation is the fact that redistricting in both California and Texas is facing legal challenges. And it is unclear whether they will be in effect for next year’s critical midterm election that will decide the balance of power in Congress. The Supreme Court is expected to decide on Texas’ redistricting in the next few days after a panel of federal judges blocked the state from using its redrawn congressional map, calling it “racially gerrymandered,” a ruling which Republicans across the country have blasted as a “double standard.” CALIFORNIA VOTERS PASS CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING PROPOSITION IN VICTORY FOR NEWSOM, DEMOCRATS In California, where Gov. Gavin Newsom successfully backed a ballot measure to erase the new seats Republicans were likely to pick up in Texas, Trump’s Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit challenging the redistricting, arguing that race was “used as a proxy” in California to justify creating districts favorable to Democrats. The move by Republicans in Texas to attempt to add more GOP seats has created a political firestorm across the country as lawmakers in other states have pledged to make counteracting moves as Republicans try to defend a razor-thin majority in the House of Representatives, where Democrats need a pickup of just three seats to win back control. Lawmakers in Indiana, North Carolina, Missouri, Maryland, Utah and Virginia are exploring or moving forward with plans to change their maps.  “We must keep the Majority at all costs,” Trump wrote recently. Fox News Digital’s Ashley Oliver and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.

DHS demands Letitia James take action over New York’s refusal to honor ICE detainers

The Department of Homeland Security is calling on New York Attorney General Letita James to take action against New York City over its handling of illegal immigrants. “New York City’s failure to honor ICE detainers has resulted in the release of 6,947 criminal illegal aliens since January 20. There are another 7,000 still in the custody of a New York jurisdiction with an active detainer,” DHS wrote on X. “We are calling on NY Attorney General Letitia James to stop this dangerous derangement and commit to honoring our ICE arrest detainers. It’s common sense.” In response to a request for comment, James’ office referred Fox News Digital to a letter that the state attorney general sent to Acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Todd Lyons in September. The letter from James was sent in response to a Sept. 10 message from Lyons. First, she stated that the New York Attorney General’s Office does not receive detainer requests “as we rarely take custody of individuals.” ICE OFFICERS IN ILLINOIS TARGETED BY ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS WHO USED ‘VEHICLES AS WEAPONS,’ OFFICIALS SAY She said “detainer requests are sent to a variety of entities within the State of New York, many of them local police department and local jails, each of which may have applicable laws and policies with respect to whether, to what degree, and under what circumstances to respond to federal detainer requests.” “This creates a range of lawful practices that we cannot address in our capacity as the attorney general,” James’ letter reads. On Monday, Lyons sent a fresh letter to James. In the letter, which was obtained by Fox News Digital, he included details about criminals in New York’s custody and examples of instances in which ICE was able to capture illegal immigrants accused of criminal activity. “These are people who are not only in the country illegally but who have committed additional crimes, including heinous crimes like murder, rape, possession of child pornography, armed robbery, and many others. Virtually all Americans agree that people like this should be swiftly removed from the United States when they leave New York’s custody and not be returned to our streets to wreak havoc on law-abiding citizens,” Lyons wrote. RIOTERS ARRESTED AFTER ATTACKING ICE VEHICLES IN NEW YORK CITY; OFFICIALS SAY GROUP ORGANIZED ON SOCIAL MEDIA One of the men mentioned in Lyons’ letter was Steven Daniel Henriquez Galicia, who was arrested by local authorities for attempted murder and criminal possession of a weapon. ICE later nabbed him in the Bronx, New York, and he remains in federal custody pending the outcome of immigration proceedings. Vyacheslav Danilovich Kim, who was also featured in Lyons’ letter, was arrested by New York State Police for “use of a child less than 17 years of age in a sexual performance; rape in the second degree; disseminate indecent materials to minors; and patronizing a person for prostitution in the second degree of a person less than 15 years of age.” Lyons said Kim was convicted in February 2013 and was sentenced to time served as well as five years’ probation. He also alleged that “Albany County and New York Probation refused to assist ICE in locating and/or arresting Kim.” However, ICE was able to arrest him in September 2024 as he was leaving an appointment with his probation officer. He was deported, according to the letter. Another man mentioned in the letter was Anderson Smith Satuye-Martinez, an accused Crips gang member. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) noted that Satuye-Martinez had a conviction for assault. He was arrested in August for criminal possession of a weapon and possession of a controlled substance. Despite having an active ICE detainer, Satuye-Martinez was released. However, ICE arrested him in September. He remains in federal custody. US ATTORNEY NARROWLY ESCAPES KNIFE ATTACK BY ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT, BLAMES NEW YORK’S SANCTUARY POLICIES “Attorney General James and her fellow New York Sanctuary politicians are releasing murderers, terrorists, and sexual predators back into our neighborhoods and putting American lives at risk,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital. “We are calling on Letitia James to stop this dangerous derangement and commit to honoring the ICE arrest detainers of the more than 7,000 criminal illegal aliens in New York’s custody. It is common sense,” she added. “Criminal illegal aliens should not be released back onto our streets to terrorize more innocent Americans.” McLaughlin also directed her ire at New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, writing in a post on X, “Under [Gov. Hochul] New York has refused to honor [ICE] detainers and RELEASED back onto New York’s streets 6,947 criminal illegal aliens since January 20.” McLaughlin said that the crimes committed by the nearly 7,000 illegal immigrants include 29 homicides, 2,509 assaults, 207 sexual predatory offenses, 199 burglaries, 305 robberies, 392 dangerous drug offenses and 300 weapons offenses. There are currently 7,113 illegal immigrants with active retainers in custody in New York, according to DHS. The individuals who are locked up are accused of committing 148 homicides, 717 assaults, 134 burglaries, 106 robberies, 235 dangerous drug offenses, 152 weapons offenses and 260 sexually predatory offenses. ICE has faced challenges in New York City as it engages in a crackdown on illegal immigrants in Chinatown. The operation has sparked protests in the area for over a month. On Saturday, police confirmed officers made multiple arrests during a protest in Lower Manhattan.  The NYPD told Fox News Digital that upon arriving at the scene, officers found agitators blocking the street and its exits at different locations. Video footage showed rioters pushing large potted plants in front of ICE vehicles, throwing trash at officers and screaming obscenities. They were also spotted hurling trash cans and recycling bins and pushing barricades against officers. Many were arrested after failing to comply with police demands that they disperse. Fox News Digital reached out to Hochul’s office for comment. Fox News Digital’s Alexandra Koch and Fox News’ CB Cotton contributed to this report.

Experts dispute Nigerian government’s claims amid congressional probe of escalating attacks on Christians

House appropriators and foreign affairs leaders convened a rare joint briefing Tuesday as part of a broader congressional investigation into what lawmakers and experts describe as escalating and targeted violence against Christians in Nigeria. The session — led by House Appropriations Vice Chair and National Security Subcommittee Chairman Mario Díaz-Balart, R-Fla. — is feeding into a comprehensive report ordered by President Trump on recent massacres of Nigerian Christians and potential policy steps the U.S. could take to pressure Abuja to respond. Trump directed Congress, led by Reps. Riley Moore, R-W.Va., and Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., to probe Christian persecution in Nigeria and produce a report for the White House to review. He has floated the idea of taking direct military action against Islamists who kill.  Vicky Hartzler, chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, told lawmakers that “religious freedom [is] under siege,” citing the abduction of more than 300 children and attacks in which “radical Muslims kill entire Christian villages [and] burn churches.” She said violations are “rampant,” “violent,” and disproportionately affect Christians, who she argued are targeted “at a 2.2 to 1 rate” compared with Muslims. ARMED ATTACKERS IN NIGERIA KIDNAP 25 GIRLS FROM BOARDING SCHOOL Hartzler said Nigeria has taken some initial corrective steps — including reassigning about 100,000 police officers from VIP protection details — but warned the country is entering a “coordinated and deeply troubling period of escalated violence.” She recommended targeted sanctions on Nigerian officials “who have demonstrated complicity,” visa restrictions, blocking U.S.-based assets, and conditioning foreign and humanitarian aid on measurable accountability. She also urged Congress to direct the Government Accountability Office to conduct a review of past U.S. assistance and said Abuja should retake villages seized from Christian farming communities so widows and children can return home. Dr. Ebenezer Obadare of the Council on Foreign Relations offered the sharpest challenge to the Nigerian government’s claim that the violence is not religiously motivated. He said the idea Boko Haram and other militant groups target Christians and Muslims equally is a “myth,” arguing the groups “act for one reason and one reason only: religion.” Any higher Muslim casualty count, he said, reflects geography, not equal targeting. ‘GENOCIDE CAN’T BE IGNORED’: GOP LAWMAKER BACKS TRUMP’S THREAT OF MILITARY ACTION IN NIGERIA Obadare described Boko Haram as fundamentally opposed to democracy and said the Nigerian military is “too corrupt and incompetent” to dismantle jihadist networks without strong external pressure. He urged the U.S. to press the Nigerian government to disband armed groups enforcing Islamic law, confront corruption inside the security forces, and demonstrate genuine intent to curb religious violence. He added that Washington should insist Nigerian officials respond immediately to early warnings of impending attacks. Sean Nelson of Alliance Defending Freedom International added that Nigeria is “the deadliest country in the world for Christians,” claiming more Christians are killed there than in all other countries combined and at a rate “five times” higher than Muslims when adjusted for population. He said extremists also target Muslims who refuse to embrace their extreme ideology, which he argued further undercuts Abuja’s narrative that the crisis is driven mainly by criminality or local disputes. With a population of more than 230 million, Nigeria’s vibrant and often turbulent cities and villages are home to people of strikingly diverse backgrounds. The nation’s roughly 120 million-strong Muslim population dominates the north, while some 90 million Christians are centered in the southern half of the country. Nelson urged tighter U.S. oversight of assistance to Nigeria, including routing some aid through faith-based organizations to avoid corruption. He called for greater transparency in how Abuja handles mass kidnappings and ransom payments and said sustained U.S. and international pressure is essential because “without transparency and outside pressure, nothing changes.” Díaz-Balart criticized the Biden administration for reversing the Trump administration’s designation of Nigeria as a “country of particular concern” in 2021, arguing the change has had “clearly deadly consequences.” Lawmakers on the Appropriations, Foreign Affairs and Financial Services committees signaled additional oversight actions in the months ahead as they prepare the Trump-directed report to Congress. Hartzler noted that Nigeria has recently begun taking several steps that could signal a shift toward confronting the crisis more directly. She pointed to President Bola Tinubu’s decision to pull about 100,000 police officers from VIP bodyguard assignments and redistribute them across the country, calling it “a promising start after years of neglect.” She said the move reflects growing recognition inside Nigeria’s political leadership that the violence has reached an intolerable level. She also highlighted comments last week from Nigeria’s speaker of the House, who acknowledged the country is facing a “coordinated and deeply troubling period of escalated violence.” Hartzler said that acknowledgment — coupled with a push from the Nigerian House majority leader for more intensive legislative oversight — suggests the government may finally be admitting the scale and severity of the attacks. Even with these developments, Hartzler warned the measures are far from sufficient. She emphasized that the Nigerian government must show clear intent to “quell injustice,” act quickly when early warning signs of attacks appear, and commit to transparency and accountability if the recent steps are going to amount to meaningful progress. The Nigerian Embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Dem free-for-all engulfs NJ as 13 contenders scramble for Sherrill’s House seat ahead of critical 2026 fight

Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill’s win in New Jersey’s gubernatorial race has triggered a crowded special election to fill her U.S. House seat, with 13 Democrats contending for the nomination to face the lone Republican candidate in the race. The staggering 13-candidate Democratic field in New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District could set the tone for Democrats’ messaging priorities as the country heads into a midterm election year that could determine if Republicans maintain control of the House and Senate in 2026 amid President Donald Trump’s second-term. Monday marked the filing deadline for candidates vying to replace Sherrill, where candidates were required to secure at least 500 signatures to make the special election ballot. Outgoing Gov. Phil Murphy, D-N.J., issued the writ of election on Friday, Nov. 21, after Sherrill formally resigned from office on Thursday, Nov. 20. The special primary election is set for Feb. 5, 2026, and the special general election will be held on April 16, 2026. FORMER OBAMA STAFFER, EX-CONGRESSMAN AMONG CANDIDATES IN CROWDED DEMOCRAT PRIMARY FOR MIKIE SHERRILL’S SEAT The election comes as Democrats secured gubernatorial victories in New Jersey and Virginia and passed Proposition 50 in California this year, allowing the state to move forward with a new congressional map that is expected to add up to five Democratic-leaning districts. FORMER HOUSE DEMOCRAT TARGETS TRUMP IN BID FOR POLITICAL COMEBACK Murphy has already endorsed Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill, touting his commitment to affordability and protecting “freedoms” in the fight against Trump. As the Essex County commissioner-at-large, Gill represents 22 towns in Essex County, and according to his campaign website, is committed to “taking on tough fights and delivering results that make our communities stronger, safer, and fairer.” While Gill has secured a coveted endorsement from the outgoing governor, Democratic voters in New Jersey’s 11th will have 12 more candidates to choose from in February. Progressive star Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., has also thrown his hat in the ring to endorse the national political director of his 2020 presidential campaign, Analilia Mejia. “As oligarchs and corporate interests continue to capture our government, we need true progressives to take our country back for working people. Analilia’s experience and deep dedication to working families make her the best choice for this seat. I’m proud to endorse her,” Sanders said last month. Mejia served in the Department of Labor under President Joe Biden and is currently the co-executive director of Popular Democracy, a progressive grassroots advocacy group demanding “transformational change for Black, brown, and low-income communities.” Another high-profile candidate with his own high-profile endorsement, former Rep. Tom Malinowski is running to return to Congress after losing his re-election for New Jersey’s 7th District in 2022. Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., has endorsed Malinowski, touting his experience fighting the Trump administration. Malinowski served as President Barack Obama’s assistant secretary of state for democracy and human rights and was a senior director on President Bill Clinton’s National Security Council. Outgoing Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way is also in the running for New Jersey’s 11th. The Democratic Lieutenant Governors Association has endorsed Way, spotlighting her commitment to “expanding opportunity and delivering results.” Way has also served as New Jersey’s secretary of state and was the first Black person and first secretary of New Jersey to lead the National Association of Secretaries of State as president.  SHERRILL PULLS OUT ALL STOPS WITH OBAMA ENDORSEMENT, STAR-STUDDED NEW JERSEY CAMPAIGN PUSH AS RACE TIGHTENS Meanwhile, Chatham Councilman Justin Strickland, a U.S. Army veteran, Bronze Star recipient and former Pentagon official, is also competing for the Democratic nomination. Strickland has centered his campaign on affordability — the winning issue in the past two election cycles. “Our campaign revolves around one simple principle: ensuring everybody has the economic liberty to fulfill the American Dream,” Strickland said on his campaign website. Another Democratic candidate, Anna Lee Williams, is an activist who, according to her campaign website, has spent the past decade in the “nonprofit and private sectors bringing people together around causes that matter to them.” Democratic candidate Jeff Grayzel is a local leader who currently serves as a committeeman for Morris Township, as chairman of the police commission and on the Board of Health. He is the former mayor of Morris Township who is “committed to solving everyday problems facing residents, such as keeping taxes stable, controlling over-development, improving our infrastructure, and addressing our deteriorating environment,” according to his campaign website. U.S. veteran and former Army paratrooper Zach Beecher said he is “running for Congress because Donald Trump and a failed Congress are putting our people and our country at risk,” citing rising costs, healthcare and leadership on the world stage. Per his campaign website, Beecher is currently a major in the U.S. Army Reserves, and his congressional run marks his political debut. Passaic County Commissioner John Bartlett, who is also competing for the Democratic nomination, said he is running because New Jersey deserves “another fighter who’s ready on day one, with a record of results and a focus on what really matters to us here” and “because it’s clear that Washington needs leaders who believe in the idea of public service and are willing to put country over party.” Another Democratic candidate, Cammie Croft, helped the Obama administration pass the Affordable Care Act, touting her commitment to “advancing humane, bipartisan immigration reforms, to building a clean energy nonprofit that helps families lower their energy bills.” Her priorities in Congress are “lowering costs for families, ending corruption, and building a stronger, fairer economy that works for everyone,” according to Croft’s campaign website. Marc Chaaban, a former congressional staffer for Sherrill, is seeking to replace his former boss in the office he once served. Reflecting the sentiment of his fellow Gen Z activists and politicos, the 25-year-old said “too many Democrats in Washington are asleep at the wheel” and the moment “demands a different kind of politics.” His commitments include rejecting Trump’s agenda, banning members of Congress from stock trading, prohibiting corporate PAC money in elections and investigating the “Trump-Epstein cover-up.”