Another Democrat exits California’s crowded gubernatorial race weeks before the June 2 primary election
Another Democrat has dropped out of California’s crowded gubernatorial race as the primary election approaches in roughly six weeks. Former state Controller Betty Yee, of San Francisco, announced her withdrawal Monday after polling showed she had failed to break into the top tier of candidates, according to The Associated Press (AP). Her exit comes just a week after embattled former U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell also withdrew from the race amid multiple serious sexual misconduct allegations. “Today I am announcing that my campaign for governor will be suspended,” Yee said in a video announcement, Fox 11 Los Angeles reported. “This campaign has always been about something much bigger than any one candidate. It’s about building a California where opportunity is real and owned, where government regains trust by being responsible and accountable, and where no one is left behind.” JOY REID BLASTS CA DEMS FOR LETTING GOP CONTENDERS TAKE LEAD IN GOVERNOR’S RACE Yee, who had been vying to become California’s first female governor as Gov. Gavin Newsom prepares to leave office, consistently lagged in the polls, never rising above roughly 3% support among likely voters, according to local nonprofit outlet Cal Matters. She attributed her inability to gain traction in part to fundraising challenges in a race known for its steep costs and heavy advertising demands. “It was becoming clear that the donors were not going to be there. Even some of my former supporters just felt like they needed to move on,” Yee said, according to The AP. KEVIN MCCARTHY CALLS GAVIN NEWSOM’S LEADERSHIP A ‘FAILURE,’ WARNS CALIFORNIA IS ON ‘DOWNWARD SLOPE’ During an emotional announcement, Yee thanked her supporters who stood by her throughout her two-year campaign, which emphasized her experience managing the state budget and highlighted her family’s middle-class immigrant background. Before serving as state controller, where she audited government agencies and oversaw the allocation of state funds, Yee previously worked as a budget director under former Gov. Gray Davis before being elected to the State Board of Equalization. Yee’s exit leaves former Rep. Katie Porter as the primary woman in the race. As the June 2 primary election approaches in what is expected to be one of the nation’s most closely watched state contests, other remaining key candidates include Democrats Xavier Becerra and Tom Steyer, along with Republican frontrunners Steve Hilton and Chad Bianco. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Soros-linked dark money network fuels Virginia redistricting push backed by national Democrats
Virginians for Fair Elections, a main group fighting to get Virginia voters to approve a ballot referendum that will allow the state to redraw its congressional maps, has been pumped with millions in cash from a web of George Soros-backed dark money groups and top Democratic Party officials. The money the group has garnered ahead of Tuesday’s vote, which is poised to allow Democrats in the House of Representatives to potentially take four seats from Republicans going into the midterms, also comes from leading Democratic Party figures and organizations like Nancy Pelosi and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). Other left-wing juggernauts pumping money into the Democratic Party’s redistricting effort in Virginia include the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Eric Holder’s National Democratic Redistricting Committee, which once championed the adoption of “independent redistricting commissions,” national green energy group the League of Conservation Voters, and the U.S. House of Representatives campaign arm for the Democratic Party, according to a Fox News Digital review of state campaign finance records and records from the Virginia Public Access Project (VPAP), which tracks public spending in Virginia. VIRGINIA DEMS ACCUSED OF ILLEGALLY ‘STEAMROLLING’ STATE LAW THAT COULD UPEND REDISTRICTING CRUSADE “Dark money is flooding into Virginia,” GOP strategist Matt Gorman told Fox News Digital. “Democrats talked all about the cost of living during the campaign, but all they did once in office was raise taxes and rig elections. It’ll be the same elsewhere across the country in 2026 too.” Fox News Digital reported in March that the left-wing group fighting to redraw Virginia’s maps raised more than $38 million, according to VPAP’s donation totals based on state campaign finance records. As of right before the mid-April referendum vote, just a handful of weeks later, that total ballooned to more than $64 million. In 2026, the largest giver to Virginians for Fair Elections was House Majority Forward, the nonprofit counterpart of House Democrats’ House Majority PAC, which has donated over $38 million, records show. Meanwhile, entities directly tied to Soros, or that obtained significant funding which can be traced back to the billionaire Democrat megadonor, come in second and third in terms of total giving to the group, per VPAP’s accounting of donation totals. One of those groups, the Fund for Policy Reform Inc, was founded by Soros. The other, titled The Fairness Project, has been funded by groups like the Sixteen Thirty Fund, Hopewell Fund and the Tides Foundation, which Soros has given significant funding to. DAVID MARCUS: DESPERATE DEMS TAP OBAMA TO PITCH VIRGINIA GERRYMANDERING LIES Another one of the top donors to the left’s Virginians for Fair Elections is American Opportunity Action, described as “a pure pass-through entity” by Parker Thayer, a dark money expert from the conservative Capital Research Center. The group is so new that it does not even appear to have any 990s filed with the IRS but is still one of Virginians for Fair Elections’ top donors, according to VPAP and state campaign finance records. Top Democratic Party members of Congress from outside Virginia, including Reps. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., and Katherine Clark, D-Mass., also donated tens-of-thousands of dollars, according to a review of state campaign finance records. Democratic Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine’s leadership PAC donated $100,000 as well, while the Democratic Party of Virginia put up just shy of a million dollars, per VPAP’s accounting. Meanwhile, a group founded by Obama wingman Eric Holder, who previously championed “independent redistricting commissions,” provided a more than $10,000 in-kind contribution to the left-wing redistricting group, state election filings show. The League of Conservation Voters, and the Soros-backed MoveOn.org were also among Virginians for Fair Election’s top donors. In terms of labor union support, SEIU gave half-a-million, while AFT gave $100,000. CBS HOST PRESSES FORMER AG ON DEFENDING PARTISAN REDISTRICTING EFFORTS IN VIRGINIA Fox News Digital reached out to Soros’ Open Society Foundations and the other top donors pumping thousands or millions into the redistricting battle, but did not receive a response ahead of publication. “No one wanted to take this action, but in a democracy, we can’t let entire states rig their congressional maps just to bend to the will of one person,” Alexis Magnan-Callaway, a spokesperson for The Fairness Project, told Fox News Digital in March. “We have to respond. This amendment is a temporary, one-time exception that gives Virginia voters a voice and meets the needs of the current moment, while ensuring Virginia’s bipartisan redistricting process will resume after the 2030 census,” she continued. “This isn’t about favoring one party over another. This is about restoring fairness across the board by temporarily changing Virginia’s congressional districts.” A main group in Virginia opposing the redistricting effort led by Democrats, Virginians For Fair Maps, raised a little over $3 million at the time of Fox News Digital’s late March report. However, the right-wing redistricting group in Virginia appears to have gained some ground since then as well, albeit still far behind the left’s Virginians for Fair Elections funding totals. As of just before the referendum vote Tuesday, the anti-redistricting referendum group raised its fundraising total to nearly $20 million, with most of that money coming from a group by the same name that is also a significant donor to the Virginia Republican Party. Other donations to the group come from a series of several much smaller donors, such as $50,000 from the National Shooting Sports Foundation and $100,000 from a wealthy D.C.-area real-estate investor, who donates primarily to GOP campaigns. That investor is the top individual donor at $100,000 out of just a handful of individual contributions, according to VPAP. Former Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, has reportedly given more than $500,000 in efforts against the redistricting measure, per reporting from the Virginia Scope. He also has been a leading voice in Virginia holding events to campaign against the measure despite no longer being in office. Wealthy tech entrepreneur and Republican donor Peter Thiel has reportedly donated to Justice for Democracy PAC, which has been part
GOP blasts Virginia amendment as maps could swing delegation to 10-1 Democratic advantage
Ahead of a special election on Tuesday, Virginia Republicans blasted a proposed constitutional amendment in their state that could soon cost them their congressional seats, calling the effort the most “unfair” of a string of redrawn maps across the country. Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Va., believes it’s a sentiment shared by voters. “I was with a group of Virginia Watermen this morning from across the state and they’re [feeling] the same way. They say ‘no, we’re not going to let them turn us into a state that’s only governed by a portion of the state,’” Wittman said. The Virginia redistricting effort, which requires a statewide vote to go into effect, follows similar shakeups in Texas, California, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio and Utah. BETO O’ROURKE DROPS F-BOMB AS HE URGES DEMS TO ‘MEET FIRE WITH FIRE’ AGAINST GOP REDISTRICTING PLANS IN TEXAS But unlike many of those other states that already have a distinct party advantage one way or another, Virginia’s GOP blasted what they saw as a drastic power swing they say misrepresents the state’s purple voter base. If successful, the new maps would temporarily turn the current 6-5 congressional split to a 10-1 advantage for Democrats by stretching the borders of traditionally Republican areas across Democratic strongholds. The state’s normal process, conducted by a nonpartisan redistricting commission, would go back into effect in 2030 at the next U.S. census. With up to four more seats, Democrats hope to recapture control of the House of Representatives, where a razor-thin majority favors Republicans — for now. The GOP holds a 217-213 advantage in the chamber. Democrats supporting the idea argue that Virginia is key to balancing out Republican-led gerrymandering efforts that began in Texas, describing the push as purely retaliatory. “Virginia’s redistricting referendum gives voters the power to respond to a president who says he’s ‘entitled’ to more GOP seats in Congress before Americans vote in the midterms [and] to efforts in other states to give those seats to him,” Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger said in a post after teeing up the vote last month. Former Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin argued that the state’s current makeup more accurately reflects Virginia’s population. AS AMERICA TURNS 250, TRUMP SHOULD RESTORE WASHINGTON DC’S ORIGINAL BORDERS “We have fair maps today that represent Virginians, and what this constitutional amendment would mean is that we go to the most unfair maps in America, and therefore, ‘no’ is the right vote,” Youngkin said. Although the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that politically favoring one party through the design of state’s district is constitutional, the practice, better known as gerrymandering, has been banned in Virginia since a constitutional referendum in 2020. However, the Virginia Supreme Court ruled that the state could temporarily amend its constitution to allow the implementation of new maps. “’Do you want to restore fairness in elections temporarily?’” Rep. Jen Kiggans, R-Va., said, referencing the phrasing of the referendum. “It’s insane how that question is worded. So wrong how it’s written. But here we are. This is our chance to use our voice and our vote. And that’s very powerful. But the ball is in our court.’” Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Va., argued that undoing that prohibition now would be a mistake — even if it’s temporary in nature. FIRST TIME VOTING? HERE IS THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO BALLOT BOXES, CRITICAL ISSUES ON ELECTION DAY “Virginians spoke in 2020; you know what they said? By a supermajority, they said no to gerrymandering. They said: ‘Let’s have a bipartisan determination of these districts.’ And by the way, they’ve been shown to be the most bipartisan districts across the United States,” Wittman said. Polls open in Virginia at 6:00 a.m. and close at 7:00 p.m.
Lawyer for American detained in Iran says hostage deal is ‘easiest problem on the table’ for both sides
The matter of American hostages wrongfully detained in Iran could be resolved during negotiations between Tehran and Washington as both sides navigate a fragile ceasefire amid attempts to end the conflict, one expert said. Ryan Fayhee, a lawyer for Abdolreza “Reza” Valizadeh, 49, who has been detained by Iran for more than a year, stressed the urgency of a diplomatic solution to secure his client’s release as pressure on Iran remains high during the war against the United States and Israel. “It is my job as Reza’s lawyer to make sure that it doesn’t get lost,” Fayhee told Fox News Digital. “While I have high confidence that this is part of the negotiations, even though the administration hasn’t stated so publicly… it is officially my job to make sure it remains part of those conversations. And equally so — and this is the bigger challenge, because obviously, I don’t have full control — it’s my job to make sure Reza is safe and alive to allow for those negotiations to take place that ideally will secure his release.” Iran is currently holding six Americans, though only two have been publicly identified: Valizadeh and 61-year-old Kamran Hekmati. Both hold dual Iranian and American citizenship and were being held in Iran’s notorious Evin Prison. WHY TRUMP, IRAN SEEM LIGHT-YEARS APART ON ANY POSSIBLE DEAL TO END THE WAR In recent days, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have issued warnings on social media for residents living near the prison to evacuate the area amid continuing airstrikes. “Despite Reza and Kamran Hekmati both being American citizens, the Iranians don’t recognize their American citizenship,” Fayhee said. “For that reason, they don’t receive traditional consular services. And even if they did, we don’t have an embassy there.” In February, the State Department designated Iran a “State Sponsor of Wrongful Detention” for arbitrarily arresting Americans to use as bargaining chips in future negotiations. “For decades, Iran has continued to cruelly detain innocent Americans, as well as citizens of other nations, to use as political leverage against other states,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at the time. “This abhorrent practice must end.” IRAN THREATENS TO END CEASEFIRE OVER HEZBOLLAH’S EXCLUSION FROM TRUCE DEAL The designation adds extra layers of isolating tools, such as sanctions and travel restrictions, Fayhee noted. Fox News Digital has reached out to the State Department and the White House, which has called on Iran to release every American being detained. “President Trump has been clear that he wants every American wrongfully detained to be returned home safe and sound, and that there will be dire consequences for regimes who treat Americans as political pawns,” a White House spokesperson told The Associated Press. VANCE WARNS IRAN WILL ‘FIND OUT’ TRUMP IS ‘NOT ONE TO MESS AROUND’ IF CEASEFIRE DEAL FALLS APART A second round of talks between Tehran and Washington has stalled as a clear path to a diplomatic resolution of the seven-week war remains uncertain. On Monday, President Donald Trump said he was under no pressure to make a deal with Iran, “although, it will all happen, relatively quickly!” he wrote on Truth Social. Valizadeh was arrested in September 2024 during a visit to see family and was sentenced after being convicted of working with a “hostile government.” As a journalist, he previously reported on the 2009 pro-democracy protests in Iran and the regime’s heavy-handed response. As a result, he was exiled and began working for Radio Farda, the Iranian branch of the U.S. government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Securing a deal to free any Americans being held in Iran could prove difficult given Tehran’s proclivity for deception, Roger Carstens, the former U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, previously told Fox News. “Strangely, the Russians, the Chinese, the Taliban, and the Venezuelans — when you start getting into hostage discussions, they tell the truth, and they stick to what they promise. You can do a handshake deal with the Taliban, and they’re going to follow through,” Carstens said. “The Iranians? Absolutely not.” However, Fayhee, who also served as the lawyer for Paul Rusesabagina — the hotelier portrayed in the 2004 film “Hotel Rwanda” — said he maintains hope for Valizadeh’s release. He noted that Iran is increasingly isolated following its missile strikes on its Arab neighbors and the opposition it faces from Western powers. “It is the easiest problem on the table to solve, and both sides should acknowledge that,” Fayhee said. “Both sides should focus on it because clearly they’re trying to build a relationship of trust in these negotiations, and this is the surest way to do that.” “The easiest thing Iran can do to show they’re genuinely interested in backing themselves out of this corner is to release these Americans,” he added. “It is low-hanging fruit.”
WATCH: Cory Booker unleashes fiery call for ‘foot soldiers’ at Michigan Dem conference
Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., delivered a high-energy, revival sermon-style speech at the Michigan Democratic Convention, shouting and gesturing as he urged Democrats to become “foot soldiers for democracy” and warned that “darkness and wind” are sweeping the nation. Booker was one of several out-of-state leaders, including former Vice President Kamala Harris and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, to participate in the Michigan Democratic Convention. All three have been floated as possible contenders for the 2028 presidential election. Booker spoke for roughly 25 minutes and at several points bellowed at the crowd, adopting a poetic cadence and word choice. “Ladies and gentlemen, there is a storm in our nation,” Booker exclaimed, finishing his speech. “There is darkness and wind. People are getting hurt. What we need is not from on high. We need foot soldiers of our democracy who in times of trial, are willing to stand up.” MAJOR TRUMP CRITIC HAS ‘NOT DISMISSED’ ANOTHER PRESIDENTIAL RUN AHEAD OF 2028 ELECTION Booker then announced that it was time for Democrats to “redeem the dream of America.” “Will you stand for our democracy? Will you stand to get out the vote? Will you stand for our children? Will you stand up for our elders?” Booker said. “And will you stand together, unified, strong — be the hope that people need. We are Democrats. It’s time for a new deal. It’s time to redeem the dream of America.” Booker, who unsuccessfully ran for president in 2020, used the speech as an opportunity to introduce himself to Michigan voters, sharing his career in politics and his family ties to the Great Lakes State. CORY BOOKER ADMITS DEMOCRATS ‘FAILED IN MY GENERATION’ IN SCATHING ASSESSMENT OF HIS OWN PARTY At one point, he expressed his dismay with voters who opted out of voting for presidential candidates Hillary Clinton or Vice President Kamala Harris because they disagreed “on ten percent of her views.” “Well, you may disagree with her on 10% of her views, but you let someone get in office who you disagree with on everything,” Booker railed. “You let somebody get in office who is locking up our children. You let somebody in office who’s taking away our health care. You let somebody in office who’s taken away workers rights. You let somebody in office who got rid of the Department of Education.” He then suggested that Democratic voters in Michigan turn the Michigan hand — a reference to the state’s shape — into the “Michigan fist.” CORY BOOKER CONFRONTED WITH OLD CLIP OF HIMSELF SAYING HE LOVES DONALD TRUMP “I don’t want the Michigan hand after your August primary, I want the Michigan fist,” Booker shouted. “I want you all to unite. I want you to punch a hole in the wall of resistance. I want you to grab a sledgehammer and knock some stuff down. I want you to reach up and grab somebody and get them off the couch and get him on the field. We got points to put on the board. I want that Michigan fist. I want some unity.” However, former MSNBC commentator Medhi Hasan took issue with Booker’s assertion about Democratic voters who didn’t vote for Harris in 2024. Hasan said that Booker’s characterization places the blame on voters for a Democratic loss rather than the party platform. “I tried to tell people who didn’t vote Dem in 2024 ‘to teach Democrats a lesson’ that sadly Democrats will never learn that lesson,” Hasan said on X, sharing a video of Booker speaking. “Here’s Booker simply attacking and mocking people who didn’t show up to vote Dem. It’s always the voters’ fault, never the Dems or their candidates.” Other critics poked fun at Booker’s emphatic deliverance. “Calm down, Spartacus,” wrote America First Works, a non-profit group and the advocacy arm of the America First Policy Institute. Fox News Digital reached out to Booker for comment.
Leaked memos reveal how Supreme Court steamrolled Obama climate plan in 2016 showdown
The Supreme Court’s emergency order blocking former President Barack Obama’s signature clean energy initiative in 2016 came after a series of leaked internal memos among the justices that revealed a fight along ideological lines about whether to intervene. The rare glimpse at the high court’s internal memos, obtained by the New York Times, showed Chief Justice John Roberts, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, urging the Supreme Court to block Obama’s effort, while liberal justices pushed back. Roberts and the court’s conservatives were concerned not just with Obama’s policy itself, but with the possibility that the Clean Power Plan could reshape the power sector before the justices could fully review whether it was lawful, the newly revealed memos show. “Absent a stay, the Clean Power Plan will cause (and is causing) substantial and irreversible reordering of the domestic power sector before this court has an opportunity to review its legality,” Roberts wrote in one of the memos published by the New York Times on Friday. JACKSON-KAVANAUGH TENSIONS SURFACE IN CANDID EXCHANGE OVER SUPREME COURT ‘SHADOW DOCKET’ Fox News Digital reached out to the Supreme Court’s communications team Monday for comment on the leaks. The push from Roberts came as the justices were considering what was viewed at the time as an unusual request on the emergency docket, sometimes called a “shadow docket,” from red states and outside groups to halt the Obama-era regulation, which aimed to cut carbon emissions over the next 25 years, before lower courts had fully weighed in, a step that the liberal justices warned would break from longstanding practice. The emergency docket allows litigants to bypass typical court proceedings and seek immediate relief from the Supreme Court if lower courts block them through restraining orders or preliminary injunctions. The Clean Power Plan would have involved the Obama Environmental Protection Agency regulating coal, oil and gas plants under the Clean Air Act. Roberts wrote that without the Supreme Court stepping in, “both the states and private industry will suffer irreparable harm from a rule that is — in my view — highly unlikely to survive.” In another memo, Justice Elena Kagan, an Obama appointee, disagreed, saying “the unique nature of the relief sought in these applications gives me real pause.” JONATHAN TURLEY: CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTS COULD LEARN FROM BASEBALL GREAT TED WILLIAMS WHEN IT COMES TO LEAKS Justice Samuel Alito, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, circulated a memo the same day as Kagan in which he agreed with Roberts. “A failure to stay this rule threatens to render our ability to provide meaningful judicial review — and by extension, our institutional legitimacy — a nullity,” Alito wrote. Within a matter of days, the justices temporarily blocked Obama’s Clean Power Plan 5-4 along ideological lines, effectively dealing it a death blow because Democrats would lose the White House later that year. The New York Times noted that the Obama White House dismissed the ruling at the time as a small hurdle but that “behind closed doors, officials were astonished that the court had intervened so quickly.” The back-and-forth in the memos during the short period of time, from the end of January 2016 to Feb. 9, when the brief decision was issued, showed how fast the justices moved to weigh in on a major presidential action. Jonathan Turley, law professor at George Washington University, wrote in an op-ed that the anonymous leak of the memos to the New York Times, the second leak of confidential material after the Dobbs opinion leak in 2022, was “clearly designed to wound some of its members.” “For an institution that prides itself on its confidentiality and insularity, the court is looking increasingly porous and partisan in these leaks,” Turley wrote. KAGAN SCREAMED SO LOUDLY AT LIBERAL ALLY AFTER DOBBS LEAK THE ‘WALL WAS SHAKING,’ BOOK CLAIMS The New York Times’ report highlighted that legal experts have long viewed the Clean Power Plan decision as one of the first examples of the Supreme Court using the emergency docket in a way that limits executive power over national policy. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, has been among the most vocal dissenters in emergency cases during President Donald Trump’s second term as the president frequently benefits from the fast-paced docket. Jackson is sometimes joined by her two liberal colleagues, Kagan and Justice Sonia Sotomayor, in her dissents, and emergency cases have often split 6-3 in favor of Trump. Last week, Jackson aired her grievances in a different forum, blasting emergency docket decisions during a Yale Law School speech as rushed, “scratch-paper musings” that undermine the high court’s purpose. “Given the real world facts that a stay request asks the court to consider, the court’s stay decisions can, at times, come across utterly irrational,” Jackson said. “We cannot expect the public to have faith in our judicial system if, without clear explanation, we consistently greenlight harmful acts.” Legal experts have attributed the heightened activity on the emergency docket to a rise in presidents attempting to shape national policy through through executive orders. “[An increase in emergency motions] coincides with the rise of executive orders and other forms of unilateral executive action really as the primary form of lawmaking in our country with the disappearance of Congress, and that has posed enormous challenges for the court,” attorney Kannon Shanmugam said during a Federalist Society panel last fall. Fox News Digital reached out to Obama’s office for comment.
Dem Senate candidate ripped for Kamala Harris-style marching band theatrics at convention
Democrat Michigan Senate candidate Mallory McMorrow is getting dragged on social media after dancing into the state Democratic Party Convention on Sunday alongside a marching band — a flashy entrance that drew parallels to viral moments from former Vice President Kamala Harris’ 2019 presidential campaign. “Mallory McMorrow walked into the second half of today’s convention flanked by DrumKINGZ and a whole lot of supporters. Many are calling it McMentum,” her campaign wrote in a post to X, accompanied by the video. The entrance comes as McMorrow competes in a crowded Democratic primary to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters, with critics quickly portraying the moment as political theater and comparing it to Harris’ 2019 campaign optics. “Following right in the footsteps of the queen [of] losing primaries,” one account wrote alongside an image of Harris. MICHIGAN SENATE CANDIDATE RESPONDS TO BACKLASH OVER KHAMENEI COMMENTS, CALLS IRAN CONFLICT ‘WAR WE DON’T NEED’ Harris had a viral moment in 2019 when she joined a string of students who were energetically dancing to a marching band in Iowa as she looked to lock down the Democratic nomination that year. She was also spotted dancing with a marching band at another campaign event in South Carolina that same year. “This is Mallory McMorrow. She’s running for U.S. Senate in Michigan. This is how she entered the Democratic Party Convention The theater kids are at it again…” popular conservative X account Libs of TikTok said in a post highlighting the video. “That’s what you get when you don’t have a message,” Abdul El-Sayed, one of McMorrow’s primary challengers, reportedly told local media of the scene. Neither McMorrow’s office nor Kamala Harris responded immediately to requests for comment from Fox News Digital. DEM SENATE CANDIDATE’S JOB LISTING INVITES APPLICANTS OF ANY ‘CITIZENSHIP STATUS’ TO APPLY FOR TOP ROLE McMorrow is fending off challengers such as El-Sayed, a former physician, and Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., a four-term member of the House of Representatives. Stevens leads the trio in fundraising, reporting $8.8 million in contributions at the close of March. But she’s followed narrowly by McMorrow’s $8.6 million and El-Sayed’s $7.6 million, according to Federal Election Commission filings. As a former small business owner and Michigan state senator, McMorrow has tried to stake out a lane between Stevens, who is often seen as the more establishment-oriented candidate, and El-Sayed, the progressive candidate who has emphasized policies like Medicare for All. In her time at the state level, McMorrow worked to strengthen unions and raise wages, eliminated the retirement tax for seniors and repealed Michigan’s 1931 abortion ban, according to her biography page. “Mallory will bring that same determination to deliver for Michigan families in the U.S. Senate,” the website reads. WATCH: DEM SENATE HOPEFUL CAUGHT PLOTTING TO SILO CONSERVATIVE MEDIA OUTLETS WITH TOP AIDE McMorrow has attracted endorsements from Sens. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. The Democratic primary is set for August 4.
Warren says her ‘kind of man’ is left-wing Senate hopeful rocked by Nazi-tattoo, Reddit controversies
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., long a progressive force in New England, traveled to Maine over the weekend to boost left-wing Senate candidate Graham Platner ahead of the state’s pivotal Democratic primary. “Graham is a combat veteran. He’s an oyster farmer, he is an organizer, and he is the person who is going to beat Susan Collins,” said Warren at his campaign rally on Saturday in Portland. At one point during the rally, Warren said Platner was her “kind of man,” recalling that she first noticed him in an interview where he argued the system was “rigged” after the 2008 financial crash as no bankers were jailed. Warren is championing Platner as a “fighter” for Maine voters, drawing national attention to the candidate ahead of a showdown with two-term Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, who has the backing of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. A series of controversies, however, trail Platner. MAINE SENATE CANDIDATE CITES COMBAT TRAUMA WHEN CONFRONTED ON ‘TERRIBLE’ POSTS ABOUT SEXUAL ASSAULT “Insiders who go along to get along are not going to hose the corruption out of Washington. We need Graham Platner to come in and get the corruption out of Washington,” said Warren from the rally. ELIZABETH WARREN ENDORSES NAZI-TATTOOED GRAHAM PLATNER IN HIGH-STAKES MAINE SENATE PRIMARY “There are people who realize that when the system is this broken, when there are this many billionaires who have this much control over our country, it is no longer time to make little change at the margins, it is time for big, structural change,” Warren added. Maine’s Democratic primary is June 9, with Platner working to unseat Republican Sen. Susan Collins in November’s general election. Platner’s past controversies have been political fodder for the Mills campaign, including directing voters to his decade-old Reddit posts in which he appeared to place blame on sexual assault victims and defended Hamas military moves, among other messages from the 2013 and 2014 era. Platner also came under fire for having a chest tattoo recognized as a Nazi symbol, which he has since apologized for and covered. “For those of you who have read these things and been offended, have read these things and seen someone that you don’t recognize, I am deeply sorry,” Platner said in an apology video in 2025. Warren, who is one of President Donald Trump’s most relentless critics, notably condemned Department of War Secretary Pete Hegseth last year for his Christian tattoos, which include the Jerusalem Cross and the Latin phrase “Deus Vult,” which translates to “God wills it.” “We cannot have a Defense Secretary whose fellow service members feel concerned enough about to report as a potential insider threat,” Warren wrote in a lengthy letter to Hegseth in 2025 over her concerns with his tattoos. The Massachusetts Democrat has downplayed Platner’s past controversies since her endorsement of the Senate candidate. “Look, he has apologized for that, and he’s out there talking to the people of Maine every single day,” Warren told HuffPost when asked about Platner’s controversies. DEMOCRATIC SENATE CANDIDATE LAUGHS WHEN PRESSED IF VOTERS CAN TRUST HER AFTER PUBLIC BIDEN DEFENSE WARREN WARNED HEGSETH’S TATTOO MADE HIM A POTENTIAL ‘THREAT’ — NOW SHE BACKS CANDIDATE WITH NAZI-LINKED INK The race has amplified divisions within the Democrat Party, with left-wing lawmakers such as Warren and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders back Platner, while Schumer and Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer have backed Mills for the Senate. Platner, angling himself a Washington outsider, spoke Saturday about wealth being shifted to the “ruling class” through a system created by establishment politicians. “The money went somewhere, and it wasn’t down here. It was stolen from us, stolen from us in a system that was built by establishment politicians like Susan Collins,” said Platner, as Democrats increasingly lean into slamming the Trump administration and GOP for its economic policies in the lead up to the midterms. Fox News Digital reached out to the offices of Warren and Planter for comment on Monday. Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser and Bonny Chu contributed to this report.
Nancy Mace moves to expel fellow Republican Cory Mills, citing misconduct allegations
FIRST ON FOX: The House of Representatives could soon face another expulsion vote after Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., said she would seek the removal of an embattled Republican from Congress. Mace filed a motion to expel Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla., on Monday evening. The measure is not privileged, though Mace could move to force a vote in the future. Mace’s resolution, first obtained by Fox News Digital, accuses Mills of misrepresenting his military service, sexual misconduct, campaign finance violations and illicit involvement in federal contracts as a member of Congress, among other charges. The expulsion push comes after NOTUS reported on Monday that Mills was drafting a similar resolution to remove Mace from the chamber. NANCY MACE CALLS ON CONGRESS TO RELEASE SEXUAL HARASSMENT RECORDS, WANTS AN ‘AVALANCHE OF RESIGNATIONS’ A spokesperson for Mills did not immediately return a request for comment on Mace’s expulsion resolution or the status of the congressman’s measure targeting Mace. “As a survivor, I will always stand up and right the wrongs of others,” Mace, who is running for governor of South Carolina, wrote on social media Monday. “He is only coming after me because he knows he’s next.” Mills has faced a bevy of recent scandals, including allegedly threatening an ex-girlfriend with revenge porn after they broke up and a separate assault allegation that law enforcement responded to in Washington, D.C., last year. He has denied any wrongdoing and has not been criminally charged. Mills is seeking a third House term this November and President Donald Trump has endorsed his re-election campaign. It is unclear whether Mace’s resolution could clear the two-thirds threshold required to expel a member of Congress. HOUSE LAWMAKERS EXPRESS DISGUST OVER SWALWELL NOT BEING EXPOSED SOONER: ‘IT’S SHAMEFUL’: Lawmakers in both parties have largely stopped short of calling for Mills’ removal, though many have voiced concern about the serious allegations against him. “If there’s evidence of criminal misconduct and wrongdoing, I hold the same standard for every member of Congress, whether they’re a Democrat or Republican,” Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., told Fox News Digital last week when asked about whether she would support expelling Mills. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Fla., is also expected to face an expulsion vote as soon as Tuesday if she does not resign. The House Ethics Committee is expected to recommend its suggested punishment against Cherfilus-McCormick for violating more than two dozen ethics rules during a hearing Tuesday afternoon. She is also facing a separate federal criminal indictment. Reps. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., and Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, resigned last week to avoid looming expulsion votes, though both scandal-plagued lawmakers were likely at higher risk of being successfully removed by their colleagues. Swalwell has been accused by at least five women of sexual misconduct, while Gonzales admitted to an extramarital affair with a staffer who later died by suicide. The looming expulsion vote is not the first time Mace and Mills are set to clash on the House floor. Mace’s push to censure Mills and strip him of two committee assignments was overwhelmingly rejected by the House in November 2025. More than 300 lawmakers voted to send the matter to the House Ethics Committee, which is also investigating Mills for domestic violence and misrepresenting his military service, among other allegations of misconduct. House GOP leadership has continued to stand by the embattled Florida Republican. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who has urged lawmakers to let Ethics Committee proceedings run their course prior to punitive measures, told reporters last week that he would be “looking into” the status of the Mills probe. The House Ethics Committee released a statement Monday stating that its investigation into Mills that began in November 2025 was still ongoing. The panel noted its inquiry involves “sexual misconduct and/or dating violence.” The traditionally secretive panel did not specify a timeline for when it plans to wrap up the probe.
Cocaine worth over $1.1M seized from ’empty’ truck at Texas border
FIRST ON FOX: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers busted a massive drug smuggling attempt in Texas, resulting in more than $1.1 million in cocaine being seized at the southern border. Fox News Digital learned that U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Pharr International Bridge cargo facility intercepted nearly 100 pounds of suspected cocaine in an empty commercial tractor-trailer. The trailer was stopped on April 15 while crossing into the U.S. from Reynosa, Mexico. This comes as the Department of Homeland Security continues to report that Border Patrol agents have not released a single migrant into the U.S. interior for 11 consecutive months, pointing to what officials described as historically low levels of illegal crossings. Acting CBP Deputy Commissioner Ron Vitiello remarked that, besides stopping the illegal crossings, an “effective combination of technological tools and inspections experience” is ensuring that “these narcotics will not enter the U.S. and wreak any further havoc on our communities.” COAST GUARD CUTTER MUNRO RETURNS TO CALIFORNIA HOME AFTER RECORD-BREAKING 11-TON COCAINE SEIZURE According to CBP, officers flagged the empty vehicle for secondary inspection using nonintrusive inspection equipment and screening from a canine team. A physical inspection led to the discovery of 32 packages of suspected cocaine with a combined weight of over 83 pounds, concealed within the trailer floor. The agency said the cocaine has an estimated street value of $1,111,503. Officers seized the narcotics, tractor and trailer while special agents from Homeland Security Investigations initiated a criminal investigation into the seizure. After the seizure, Vitiello said in a statement shared with Fox News Digital that “under the powerful leadership of President Donald J. Trump and Department of Homeland Secretary Markwayne Mullin, our frontline CBP officers utilized an effective combination of technological tools and inspections experience to zero-in on and interdict this significant cocaine load.” Vitiello added that “these narcotics will not enter the U.S. and wreak any further havoc on our communities.” FIVE MEXICAN NATIONALS INDICTED AFTER MASSIVE METH LAB BUST UNCOVERS ENORMOUS QUANTITIES OF DRUGS Earlier this month, Mullin touted eleven straight months of “zero” releases at the border. He said that “under President Donald Trump’s leadership, we are delivering the most secure border in American history,” adding, “The world knows America’s borders are closed to lawbreakers.” DHS said that nationwide in March, CBP seized over 65,000 pounds of drugs, including 613 pounds of fentanyl. CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott credited “America First policies, real consequences, and a unified federal effort—backed by personnel, infrastructure, and technology” for “how we’ve delivered the most secure border in U.S. history.” GOP ZEROS IN ON SOUTH TEXAS DEM WHO URGED TRUMP TO ‘ALLOW PEOPLE TO CROSS FREELY’ “Under President Trump and Secretary Mullin, we’re building on what works, refining our approach, and locking in real border security,” he said, adding, “This isn’t temporary—it’s the new normal.”