Hawley zeroes in on Lia Thomas locker room controversy: ‘Did they consent?’
Senate Judiciary Committee member Josh Hawley, R-Mo., asked a witness at the panel’s hearing on fairness in women’s sports whether swimmers at Yale consented to sharing a locker room with then-University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas. Thomas, a biological male who identifies as transgender, became a central figure in the debate over sex divisions in scholastic athletics after competing against and defeating then-University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines and others. “Three years ago, Riley Gaines sat right where you’re sitting at a hearing in front of this committee, and she described for the committee what it was like to be forced to have a biological man in her locker room without her consent, forced to undress in front of him, forced to watch him undress in front of her, forced to then go compete with her — against her — in a totally unfair situation,” Hawley told Kim Jones, co-founder of the Independent Council on Women’s Sports. RILEY GAINES AND WOMEN’S SPORTS ACTIVISTS SHARE HONEST REACTIONS, EMOTIONS TO SCOTUS TITLE IX RULING Hawley said Jones’ daughter also swam competitively at Yale, which, like the University of Pennsylvania, is in the Ivy League. Jones confirmed that her daughter raced against Thomas in “multiple competitions” during the 2021-2022 season. WHAT THE SCOTUS TITLE IX RULING COULD MEAN FOR LAWSUITS SEEKING DAMAGES FOR WOMEN IMPACTED BY TRANS ATHLETES Jones also answered “no” when asked if girls on the team were asked whether they were comfortable sharing a locker room with Thomas. Jones told Hawley that swimmers were required to attend regular mandatory meetings where they were reminded that intersex swimming was the decision of their schools and league. SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER “If they wanted to speak on [the subject], they had to get their words cleared by their coaches and athletic directors. They were told to control their families. The threats were gigantic,” she said. “The pressure was enormous, and it came down on a regular, regular basis.” Hawley called that kind of dynamic “incredible,” but stopped short of “unbelievable,” saying the situations are believable “based on what we know [and] your daughter’s experience.”
Inside GOP Senate hopeful’s financial ties to controversial data center boom
Michael Whatley, the former chair of the Republican National Committee and the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in North Carolina, and his family hold between $246,000 and $690,000 in energy investments with companies fueling data center growth in the Tar Heel State, according to his federal disclosure. Those holdings raise questions about whether Whatley or his family stands to benefit from his support of data center expansion, an issue that has drawn national attention over community zoning, energy use and state growth. Most of his reported holdings are with four companies. FOX NEWS POLL: DEMOCRATIC ENTHUSIASM SHAPES NORTH CAROLINA SENATE RACE Whatley and his family have holdings between $149,000 and $410,000 in Duke Energy, between $1,000 and $15,000 in Arista Networks, from $80,000 to $200,000 with Dominion Energy, and between $16,000 and $65,000 in GE Vernova. While most of those, like Duke and Vernova, don’t directly build data centers themselves, they offer services or products used by them. Duke is a major utility provider in North Carolina, and Vernova produces on-site gas turbines used by data center facilities operated by companies like Amazon and Microsoft. In addition to those investments, Whatley reported $361,000 from CAPCVentures LLC, a D.C. firm, for consulting services in 2025, according to his financial disclosure. That firm lists GE Vernova— a major supplier of turbines and grid equipment used to power data centers — as a client, along with Centrus Energy and the Renewable Fuels Association. Earlier coverage put his pay from the same shop at about $755,000 between 2022 and 2025. When asked about his holdings and whether he saw them as a potential conflict of interest, Whatley’s campaign noted that he supports restrictions on stock trading for members of Congress. “Whatley supports the Stop Insider Trading Act and urges the U.S. Senate to pass the commonsense legislation, and supports commonsense reforms requiring elected officials to place their assets in qualified blind trusts, ensuring they have no control over how those assets are invested,” DJ Griffin, a campaign spokesperson, said in a statement to Fox News Digital. The campaign also said that Whatley would support letting local communities decide for themselves what kinds of data center projects to accept and which ones to rule out. “Michael Whatley’s standard is simple: data centers pay their own way, families pay nothing and communities decide. That means Big Tech builds or buys every megawatt it needs and covers every dime of the grid upgrades to deliver it, with zero costs shifted onto residential ratepayers. It means no special subsidies and no sweetheart deals cut over the heads of taxpayers,” Griffin continued. “And it means the people of North Carolina’s counties and towns, not bureaucrats in Raleigh or Washington, decide what gets built in their communities. North Carolina should win the AI economy, and it should win it on terms that protect the families who live here.” THE DATA CENTER FIGHT COULD DECIDE THE NEXT PRESIDENT AND COST AMERICA THE AI RACE Whatley’s campaign also turned the spotlight on his Democratic opponent, Roy Cooper, the former governor of North Carolina. “Roy Cooper is the only candidate in this race who has used the powers of his elected office to recruit data centers to NC and to have them subsidized by NC Taxpayers,” Griffin added, noting that Cooper also has supported restrictions on congressional stock trading. Notably, the bulk of North Carolina’s tax breaks already existed by the time Cooper became governor in 2017. The year before, in 2016, the state had implemented statute G.S.105-164.13. Under that provision, lawmakers had expanded data center tax exemptions on sales, servers, storage and networking for companies investing at least $75 million in projects over five years. The state did, however, approve several major grants to companies like Apple and Corvid Technologies under Cooper’s watch through “Job Development Investment Grants” (JDIGs). Those aimed to further job development in the state, dovetailing with existing development efforts. Among the more high-profile JDIGs, Apple entered into a $845 million grant over a period of 39 years alongside another $112.4 million that would go to an industrial development fund to build out rural infrastructure. The agreement is contingent on Apple creating a certain number of jobs, but the company has yet to meet the JDIG’s projected goals since its implementation. For his own part, Cooper’s campaign bashed Whatley for, in their view, not being sensitive enough to local resistance to data center expansion. “Longtime utility company lobbyist Michael Whatley believes people’s concerns about data centers are fake as he continues to shill for his billionaire buddies in the utility industry instead of standing up against rate hikes that are crushing hardworking families,” a spokesperson for the Cooper campaign said in a statement. Cooper has taken a more critical approach to their expansion, arguing that they are forcing local communities into higher and higher utility bills. SILICON VALLEY IS LOSING THE DATA CENTER FIGHT, RISKING A REPEAT OF A CLASSIC FAILURE Like many Democrats on the topic, Cooper has framed his stance in the broader context of championing affordability policies. “[Cooper] believes local communities must have the final say on new projects coming to their area, which includes local moratoriums, and data centers must pay for all of the energy they use without passing on any of their costs to consumers,” Cooper’s campaign said. Having cleared their respective primaries, Cooper and Whatley will face off in North Carolina’s general election on Nov. 3.
Mitch McConnell swarmed by security as reporter pleads: ‘Can you say a word for us?’
Sen. Mitch McConnell remained silent as reporters peppered him with questions about his health and his wife’s response to his hospitalization during a striking scene in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. “How’s it going, Mitch? Can we get a thumbs up?” one reporter called as security and aides surrounded the 84-year-old Kentucky Republican. “Were you upset that Elaine didn’t promptly return to see you in the hospital, sir?” another asked, referring to McConnell’s wife, former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao. MCCONNELL’S WIFE, ELAINE CHAO, SAW NO NEED FOR ‘IMMEDIATE RETURN’ FROM CHINA AS FORMER GOP LEADER HOSPITALIZED “Senator, how are you feeling today?” a reporter repeatedly called. “Can you say a word for us, sir?” McConnell did not answer as the group moved past the cameras. KENTUCKY GOVERNOR CALLS ON MCCONNELL TO PROVE HE IS FIT TO SERVE OR RESIGN: ‘ADDRESS THE PEOPLE’ The striking scene comes amid ongoing questions about McConnell’s health after a series of falls and public freezing episodes in recent years. McConnell returned to Capitol Hill last week after a roughly three-month absence following a June fall that briefly knocked him unconscious. He later said he was also treated for mild pneumonia. The longtime Kentucky senator stepped down as Senate Republican leader at the beginning of 2025 and announced weeks later that he would not seek reelection. His current term ends in January 2027.
Spencer Pratt warns ‘good luck LA’ after new poll vindicates his stunning prediction
A new poll indicates socialist Los Angeles Council member Nithya Raman has opened up a double-digit lead over Democratic Mayor Karen Bass with six weeks to go until Election Day. Raman, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), stands at 39% support among likely Los Angeles voters in the race for mayor, with Bass at 28%, according to a University of California Berkeley Institute of Government Studies/Los Angeles Times poll released on Wednesday. The survey, which found that a third of Los Angeles voters remained undecided, grabbed headlines less than two weeks before mail-in ballots are sent out in the Nov. 3 election. “It’s extraordinarily unusual to see this many undecided voters at this point in the race,” poll director Mark DiCamillio said in a statement. WATCH: RAMAN SAYS THE DSA WILL REMAIN A ‘PARTNER’ TO CITY HALL The poll indicates many of the current undecided voters were backers of reality TV star and online influencer Spencer Pratt. The conservative-leaning candidate who ran for mayor as an independent was eliminated in the June primary, coming in third with 26% of the vote. Bass and Raman, who finished first and second with 34% and 29% of the primary vote, advanced to the general election. According to the poll, 63% of Pratt supporters remain undecided on whom they will back in the general election, with 22% favoring Bass and 16% supporting Raman. FLASHBACK: DSA-MEMBER JUMPS INTO LA MAYORAL RACE “I told everyone that if you don’t vote for me, Raman will beat Bass. That’s why she entered the race 10 minutes before the clerk’s office closed. She knew I was gonna destroy Bass 1-on-1. Good luck LA,” Pratt posted on social media, as he pointed to the poll’s findings. And in a separate post he claimed, “Raman is Karen’s karma. Stabbed in the back by the commie she campaigned for, took pictures with her family… the moment Nithya saw an opening, she knifed Karen. Good lesson to all you democrats: NEVER trust the DSA. Socialists have no morals. They’ll gut you, too.” Pratt’s post included a past video of Bass supporting Raman for her 2024 re-election to the city council. CHECK OUT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLLING IN THE MIDTERM ELECTIONS The new poll indicates that Bass is being weighed down by a 63% unfavorable rating among LA voters, with just 28% holding a positive view of the mayor. By comparison, 40% held a favorable view of Raman, with 39% seeing her in an unfavorable light. The survey also pointed to a large generational gap, with the 45-year-old Raman overwhelmingly winning voters 18 to 39, while Bass led among those 65 and older by 20 points. Raman landed the endorsement of the DSA’s LA chapter earlier this month, and she’s also backed by some of the city’s local unions. The mayor, a former state lawmaker who was later elected to the U.S. House, is supported by members of Congress and the state legislature as well as LA County officials. The survey, which was conducted online, questioned 2,150 likely LA voters between Sept. 15 and 20. It had a margin of error of approximately 3 percentage points. DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUB Raman quickly highlighted the poll after its release. “Big news! In the latest Berkeley/LA Times poll, we’ve surged ahead of Mayor Bass with an 11 point lead. This poll reflects the momentum we’re seeing on the ground. Angelenos are ready for change and want to see a City That Works. But we can’t take our foot off the gas!” Raman wrote on X. Meanwhile, Bass took aim at the poll. “One outlier poll which got the June primary wrong, means very little with 40 days to go,” the mayor argued in a social media post. “This is going to be a close race, and we’re in it to win. Let’s get to work!”
Trump’s diesel idea could have unleashed a problem Americans never saw coming
The Trump administration has backed away from a potential diesel export ban that was floated as a way to lower prices at the pump, a proposal economists warned could have ultimately driven up costs for American consumers and businesses. The administration’s latest position marked something of an about-face after President Donald Trump told reporters Tuesday at the United Nations General Assembly in New York that he had urged aides to consider keeping more diesel at home. “I’ve said let’s not send out the diesel. We make a lot of diesel,” Trump said. “I’ve called for it within my people. I’ve been talking about it.” Alongside Trump, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the administration was evaluating whether an export ban was “feasible in terms of the overall refining capacity” and whether “a full or partial ban would work.” But a White House official told Fox News Digital on Wednesday that the administration was no longer considering an export ban, adding that “the president always makes the decision that is best for the American people. He wants to see gas prices at the pump fall and is evaluating all the options on the table.” Diesel and all major global crude prices have become an unexpected political headache ahead of November’s midterm elections as the war in Iran enters its eight month and shipping routes for oil remain significantly blocked or interrupted by conflict. The national average for diesel climbed to $6.53 per gallon for the week of Sept. 21, 2026, up from $3.75 during the comparable week a year prior, according to federal energy data. Gasoline may get the headlines, but diesel is the workhorse fuel powering the trucks, farm equipment, freight trains and heavy machinery that keep the U.S. economy moving. “The price of diesel touches everything within the transportation services category of the American economy. That means there will be an increase in your grocery prices, because everything that gets delivered to the grocery store will get that much more expensive with further rises in diesel prices,” Joe Brusuelas, principal and chief economist for RSM US LLP, told Fox News Digital. Those higher fuel costs can ripple through supply chains, raising expenses for trucking companies — including those that carry most goods available to U.S. consumers — farmers tending to their fields and other businesses. Some of those raising diesel costs can ultimately reach consumers by the supply chain resulting in higher prices for groceries, packages delivered to their doorsteps, household goods and even new homes. RECORD GAS PRICES SQUEEZE AMERICANS AS SUMMER TRAVEL SEASON ENDS, MIDTERMS LOOM AND IRAN WAR WAGES ON Brusuelas warned that while restricting diesel exports could initially lower prices in some parts of the country, any relief could prove short-lived and trickle down to other areas of life. “This is why this is one of those policies that sounds good on the surface but is significantly counterproductive, not just for overall inflation, but the balance sheets of American consumers and what they have to spend to maintain their livelihood,” he told Fox News Digital. Brusuelas estimated that if a ban were to go into effect, consumers could begin seeing prices rise within four to six weeks. WHY THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ MATTERS AS TRUMP ISSUES FRESH ULTIMATUM TO IRAN The record price of fuel comes as the Iran war continues to disrupt shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for global oil and refined fuel that has become a chokepoint of where roughly 20% of the world’s petroleum and liquid fuel supply usually traverse. Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy infrastructure have also disrupted refinery operations as Moscow already moved to restrict diesel exports, further tightening supplies. Additionally, Iran-backed Houthi’s advancing and attacking along Yemen’s coast has further restricted Middle East oil transport out of another key shipping route – the Bab al-Mandab Strait. The U.S. shipped a record 1.6 million barrels of diesel overseas each day in August, up from roughly 1 million barrels per day in February, according to data from energy analytics firm Kpler. Meanwhile, U.S. diesel supplies are nearly 13% below the average for this time of year, despite refineries operating at about 97% capacity. FORGET GASOLINE: THIS OVERLOOKED FUEL COULD RAISE THE PRICE OF NEARLY EVERYTHING YOU BUY Richard Stern, vice president of the Plymouth Institute for Free Enterprise, said the U.S. has already seen the consequences of restricting energy exports. “We already tried fuel export bans in the ’70s, and it led to higher prices, starved our industries and aided our enemies. We should not repeat this disastrous policy,” Stern told Fox News Digital. The U.S. imposed broad crude oil export restrictions in 1975. According to the institute’s analysis, gas prices more than doubled over the next six years, rising 50% faster than overall inflation. The report also says domestic oil production declined as reliance on foreign imports increased. Stern said the history shows an export ban could create new problems without shielding Americans from global prices. “Diesel and other fuels are part of a global market, and a U.S. export ban would simply redirect where fuel goes, not shield Americans from globally set prices,” Stern said. “Instead, the ban would force our allies to look to Russia and China for fuel and would ultimately interfere with the supply chains that feed American industry.” THE SIMPLE FIXES CONSERVATIVES SAY COULD MAKE LIFE CHEAPER FOR AMERICANS The ban could have initially pushed more diesel into the U.S. market and temporarily lowered prices, but analysts warn that relief could fade as refiners cut production and supplies tighten elsewhere. Europe, which relies heavily on diesel from the U.S. Gulf Coast, could be forced to seek fuel from other suppliers, including Russia. That could turn a proposal aimed at easing costs for Americans into a policy that raises prices, disrupts supply chains and complicates Trump’s pledge to make energy more affordable ahead of the midterm elections.
Javier Milei shreds ‘useless’ UN to its face in fiery speech to ‘fatally arrogant parasites’
Argentina’s libertarian President Javier Milei struck again, this time in a fiery speech to the United Nations General Assembly in New York, calling the body “useless” and made up of “fatally arrogant parasites.” Milei began by commending the U.N.’s founding mission of resolving conflict peacefully and promoting universal freedom and dignity as “noble words.” However, he went on to say that “today, regrettably, it is time to acknowledge that, in practice, that sacred covenant has been broken.” “That’s to say, it has become a useless organization whose only purpose is to sustain a caste of fatally arrogant parasites masquerading as well-intentioned bureaucrats,” he charged. To make his case, he pointed to the U.N.’s role in restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic, which he called a type of “genocide,” and the “gender agenda, environmental extremism and unchecked immigration.” IRAN’S PRESIDENT SAYS TEHRAN IS READY FOR DIPLOMACY WITH TRUMP BUT WON’T ACCEPT ‘LANGUAGE OF FORCE’ Milei said, “During the pandemic, bodies under the auspices of this house put themselves before scientific evidence and the sovereignty of nations and promoted forced lockdown policies throughout the world. “Where some allege a public health policy error, we see a global experiment in social control disguised as science. And when a state wearing public health blinkers deprives its population of the right to work, to receive an education and to bid farewell to their dead, this results in millions of avoidable deaths; there is a word for it, genocide.” He charged that “every time [the U.N.] failed, rather than reviewing the model or apologizing, they doubled down.” “Those who were supposed to guarantee collective security and human rights failed in their task. They allowed chaos, violence and international terrorism to flourish,” he said. “The alleged defenders of human rights have sheltered bloodthirsty dictatorships and regimes that stone women in the streets; they have systematically voted against Israel while remaining silent in the face of Islamic terrorism and the genocide of Christians in Africa.” Milei is widely considered a radical reformer, budget slasher and an ally of President Donald Trump. Similar to Trump’s previous criticisms of the U.N. before the assembly, Milei did not hold back in his address Wednesday. ZELENSKYY TO SEEK OFFRAMP FOR YEARSLONG RUSSIA WAR IN UN SPEECH AFTER TRUMP REVEALS PEACE DEAL IS CLOSE Turning to his own country’s grievances, Milei continued by saying, “And if that were not enough, an organization established to defend the territorial sovereignty of its members decided to look the other way with regard to the situation of the Malvinas [Falkland] Islands, South Georgia Islands, South Sandwich Islands and the surrounding maritime areas.” He said these islands “are a test of the gulf that exists between the words of international institutions and the reality upon which they purport to act.” “There’s no shortage of words or resolutions; what is lacking is consequences,” he asserted. “Because an institution that cannot ensure that its words carry weight in the real world loses the most important thing of all, its authority.” Milei said that, in addition to what he described as the Falkland Islands “failure,” the U.N. has “built a bureaucratic leviathan devoted to deciding how the peoples of the world and their citizens should live.” INTERNATIONAL ‘DEEP STATE’ PRIME TARGET OF TRUMP-STYLE CANDIDATE FOR UN CHIEF SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER “This amounts to a curious mixture of anarchy and tyranny, impotence in the face of those who break the most basic rules, such as bloodthirsty dictatorships and terrorist organizations coupled with Orwellian control and impositions on liberal democracies that abide by the rules.” Referencing free-market economist and philosopher Ludwig von Mises, Milei said, “I would remind them of what Mises said, ‘Good people do not think about controlling the lives of their fellow human beings.’”
Lawyer for Austin ICE shooting victim sparks online fury over ‘sickening’ deleted Charlie Kirk post
FIRST ON FOX: Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, the lawyer representing an alleged illegal immigrant shot by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), is facing heat over a post critics say mocked the assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk. In a deleted post, re-surfaced in a screenshot from retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Larry Brock Jr., Lincoln-Goldfinch wrote, “How do you resist getting shot in the neck? Does Charlie Kirk have any advice on that?” The post was quickly highlighted by conservatives on social media who made the argument that it questions Lincoln-Goldfinch’s credibility as she defends her client to the media and pushes back against the official story from federal law enforcement. “Ladies and gentleman, the lawyer representing the Venezuelan illegal who was shot in Austin by DHS after a high-speed car chase, is exactly how you’d imagine her,” Charlie Kirk Show Executive Producer Andrew Kolvet posted on X. DEM REACTIONS WITHIN MOMENTS OF AUSTIN ICE SHOOTING SPARK VIRAL OUTRAGE LOCALLY, ONLINE: ‘DISQUALIFYING’ “POS scum,” conservative influencer LibsofTikTok posted on X. “She represents a man shot resisting federal officers, then jokes about Charlie Kirk catching one in the neck,” conservative influencer Gunther Eagleman posted on X, adding that the lawyer’s post was “sickening and pathetic.” “That is not lawyering. That is cheering political violence. Remember her name. This is who they put on the case. America is done pretending these people are just professionals.” KIRK FAMILY MAY HAVE PATH AROUND ARCHAIC LAW SHIELDING GOV’T IN POLICE CHIEF’S ALLEGED ‘GOT YOU COVERED’ TEXT “Nasty woman,” Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) posted on X. In a statement to Fox News Digital, Lincoln-Goldfinch publicly addressed the issue for the first time, saying, “A post referencing the death of Charlie Kirk was removed from our account. We recognized the post could be misconstrued and that’s why it came down. We have also addressed this issue internally.” In a LinkedIn post last year, Lincoln-Goldfinch offered condolences to the Kirk family, pointing to “gun violence” as one of the main takeaways. “My heart goes out to the family of Charlie Kirk,” she wrote. “Incidents like these are a painful reminder that none of us is truly safe from gun violence. We owe it to each other to process this event with compassion and seriousness, and also to approach solutions with equal seriousness.” 28-year-old Wilber Garces Perez was shot by ICE officers on Sunday, sparking protests across the city that resulted in arrests and injured police officers. The Department of Homeland Security says that Perez was an illegal alien who fled during a targeted vehicle stop. “No amount of smears and false narratives will slow down ICE from doing its job to arrest illegal aliens from our communities,” the department said in an X thread outlining what it called misinformation about the shooting. Lincoln-Goldfinch as pushed back on several of the government’s claims on social media, including that Perez is in the country illegally.
Bipartisan duo wants to remind Congress, Trump of China’s ‘atrocities’ ahead of Xi visit
FIRST ON FOX: As President Donald Trump readies for a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping Thursday, some lawmakers want to remind the public of the several brutal acts the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has committed since its founding over a century ago. Senators James Lankford, R-Okla., and Angus King, I-Maine, have joined forces to push a reminder of a long list of actions obtained by Fox News Digital undertaken by the CCP in pursuit of its “tyrannical ambitions” to grab ahold of and maintain power in China. Both lawmakers want to put the “countless lives the Chinese Communist Party has destroyed and the people currently living in fear” at the forefront as Trump and Xi prepare for days of talks. And it comes as the CCP celebrates its 105th anniversary since its founding. GOP CRACKS WIDEN OVER IRAN WAR AS VULNERABLE CANDIDATES BREAK WITH TRUMP, DEMAND ITS END “For 105 years, the Chinese Communist Party has oppressed its own people, persecuted people of faith and denied basic freedoms,” Lankford said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “As the United States engages with Beijing, we cannot forget the millions who have suffered under the CCP or those who continue to live under its repression today,” he continued. “The United States must continue to stand for religious freedom, human rights and the dignity of every person.” Lankford and King’s resolution lists several instances over the last century when the CCP and its leaders have slain their own citizens, imprisoned dissidents and crushed opposition. WOMAN WHO SPENT 7 YEARS IN CHINESE PRISON DESCRIBES TORTURE, SURVEILLANCE AND LOSS OF HER HUSBAND Many happened during the CCP’s push for control, which left a wake of blood and carnage, during the vicious period when People’s Republic of China’s founder Mao Zedong was on the rise during and after World War II and up to the 1960s. During that period, there was the Yan’an Rectification Movement from 1942 to 1945, when “more than 10,000 people were killed” as the CCP purged dissidents of the movement, and the Chinese Land Reform movement of 1949 to 1953, when between 200,000 and 5 million were slain as the party redistributed rural property to peasantry. MOTHER RECOUNTS HORRORS OF BRUTAL CHINESE DETENTION CAMP WHERE INFANT SON DIED Then came the Campaign to Suppress Counterrevolutionaries from 1950 to 1952, with millions of arrests, imprisonments and over 700,000 executions. During that same stretch was the Three-Anti Campaign and the Five-Anti Campaign, when Zedong and the CCP “humiliated, terrorized, exiled, imprisoned, and killed thousands of political opponents and capitalists.” And, in the last three decades, the resolution noted, the CCP’s iron fist hasn’t loosened its grip, like undermining Hong Kong’s autonomy, targeting religions with “insidious tools of repression” and subjecting an estimated 1 million Uyghur Muslims to “mass detention and torture” in so-called reeducation camps. Trump will welcome Jinping at Joint Base Andrews Wednesday afternoon, teeing up meetings that are set to last until Friday. Lawmakers are hoping that Trump plays a strong hand during his meetings with Jinping and are urging him to strike trade deals and an agreement on the artificial intelligence race, among other top priorities.
Paxton’s estranged wife breaks silence on Texas Senate race after ‘biblical grounds’ divorce
After filing for divorce on “biblical grounds,” Texas Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton’s estranged wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, addressed whether she would support him this November. In an address to the Texas Federation of Republican Women themed “the elephant in the room,” the state senator stressed that “it’s not the people, it’s the seat.” “We have more control over that seat and the future when we control the seat, when it’s still in the family, even if we’re mad at them,” she said as the audience chuckled. Video of the address was posted on Facebook on Friday by the DeWitt County, Texas, GOP and state Republican Executive Committee member Cheryl Thompson-Draper. FOX NEWS POLL: GOP DIVISIONS SHAPE TEXAS SENATE RACE This is the first time Paxton’s estranged wife has publicly addressed the Texas Senate race since filing for divorce. Democrats are targeting the seat as they seek to win control of the Senate. Democratic candidate James Talarico held a 3-point edge over Paxton, 51% to 48%, in the most recent Fox News poll. Fox News has categorized the race as a toss-up. The state senator filed for divorce from Paxton in July 2025. In her filing, Paxton said that her husband had “committed adultery” and that their marriage had “become insupportable because of discord or conflict of personalities.” In a social media post, she wrote that “after 38 years of marriage, I filed for divorce on biblical grounds.” “I believe marriage is a sacred covenant and I have earnestly pursued reconciliation,” she added. “But in light of recent discoveries, I do not believe that it honors God or is loving to myself, my children, or Ken to remain in the marriage.” Despite the divorce, the state senator urged GOP voters to remain loyal to the party in this midterm election. “If we lose it to the other team, the nuances that we want to fix with maybe a certain candidate are nothing compared to what it’s going to take to get it back,” she said. 12 RACES SCRAMBLE SENATE BATTLEFIELD AS DEMOCRATS EYE COMEBACK She acknowledged that personal frustrations with a candidate may influence some voters but emphasized that “when you vote for the person, the party comes along with them.” “The party comes with the person,” she continued. “So, when you vote for that person because you like this one better or whatever, you just need to understand, they are not alone, like a standalone thing, like a menu item, you get the whole thing, and we have more control when it’s our party. We have more ability to influence when that person is attached to our party.” Fox News Digital reached out to the state senator, Paxton and Talarico for comment. After a bruising primary race in which he toppled longtime Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, Paxton has struggled to find his footing in the general election against Talarico. Even so, Paxton has projected confidence that voters will reject Talarico as a “fake” moderate, pointing to past comments by Talarico, including saying “God is nonbinary” and saying there are six sexes. Paxton has the support of President Donald Trump and financial backing from the president’s MAGA Inc. political action committee as well as Elon Musk’s America PAC. TALARICO HIT WITH ‘BLATANT CORRUPTION’ ALLEGATION OVER HEFTY SALARY FROM CONSULTING FIRM, CAMPAIGN PUSHES BACK In an interview with Fox News earlier this month, Talarico walked back his comments about God being nonbinary and there being six sexes, saying his statements “missed the mark.” SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER In the same interview, however, Talarico said, “I am proud of my legislative track record delivering for Texans.” “I brought Democrats and Republicans together to pass 60 bipartisan bills that lower people’s costs and get the economy back on track,” he said, adding, “I’ll put my record up against Ken Paxton’s every day of the week and twice on Sunday.”
Susan Collins tears into bribery allegations as new claims emerge during critical Senate battle
Maine Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican, is addressing claims she was caught up in an FBI bribery investigation, dismissing reporting on the story as the work of Democratic operatives and a known conman. ProPublica reported that Martin Kao, a former defense contractor CEO and convicted fraudster, told the FBI his company funneled $150,000 through a shell company to a super PAC supporting Collins’ 2020 reelection as part of what he described as a broader pay-to-play operation involving political contributions and government contracts. His cooperation later helped open a new phase of the federal investigation that developed into a broader bribery probe. Shortly after the story broke, Collins spoke up to dismiss Kao on the basis of his character and called into question the origins of the story. “I’ve got to say, I do not understand how anyone would take the word of a felon who’s been convicted twice — twice, two separate cases — of five counts of money laundering, counts of bank fraud, false submissions to the FEC. He is a convicted liar,” the senator told The Wall Street Journal’s Kim Strassel. GOP SENATOR ALLEGES SCHUMER BEHIND ‘HIT JOB’ REPORT ON FORMER PATIENTS In a separate interview with Punchbowl News, Collins blamed Democrats and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer for the controversy, calling the report a “political hit job” and questioning its timing. Collins is embroiled in a heated re-election campaign against Democrat Troy Jackson. Whether Collins keeps her seat could prove crucial to determining which party controls the Senate in 2027. Any hint of controversy for either candidate, naturally, is suited to become a national controversy. FOX NEWS POLL: MAINE SENATE RACE IS TIGHT, WITH CONCERNS ABOUT BOTH CANDIDATES Campaign finance records cited by ProPublica show that a shell company established by Kao made a donation to a super PAC supporting Collins’ 2020 re-election campaign. The outlet also obtained emails that it says show Scott Reed, head of the super PAC backing Collins that cycle, was aware of the fact that Kao had used a shell company to mask his illegal donation. A 2019 email from a naval officer shows that the senator had advocated on behalf of Navatek, the contractor Kao was leading at the time. The email, however, was sent months before Kao routed his illegal donation to Collins’ super PAC. Federal contractors are barred from donating to political campaigns, which is why Kao resorted to a shell company. FBI spokesman Ben Williamson told ProPublica the agency had investigated claims against Collins years ago “and ultimately found nothing implicating Senator Collins or Senator Collins’ campaign. Any suggestion otherwise is totally false.” The FBI, however, did not respond to ProPublica’s questions about a new investigation it says was launched in 2024 after Kao spent years cooperating with federal agents and detailing his dealings with Collins and other lawmakers. “The Biden-led Justice Department and FBI totally cleared my office, my campaign and me five years ago of these 7-year-old allegations,” Collins said, also not addressing the 2024 investigation directly. GOP SENATOR ALLEGES SCHUMER BEHIND ‘HIT JOB’ REPORT ON FORMER PATIENTS Kao had a clear incentive to cooperate with the FBI. He was facing years in prison and hoped that providing information would help reduce his sentence, although the judge ultimately gave him no leniency for his cooperation. “This is a smear job. And as someone who has always prided herself on serving with integrity, it really offends me,” Collins said. “And I’m offended for my staff too, both on the campaign and in the personal office.” Collins’ office did not return a request for comment when reached by Fox News Digital on Wednesday.