DOJ sues Virginia school board over Christian students’ rights
The Justice Department has filed a lawsuit accusing a school board in Virginia of violating the constitutional rights of two Christian students by enforcing a gender-identity policy that officials say punished them for their religious beliefs. According to the DOJ, the Loudoun County School Board suspended two Stone Bridge High School boys for 10 days after they reported an incident in the boys’ locker room. A female student had allegedly entered the locker room and recorded audio and video of the boys inside. Several boys reported the incident, including the two Christian students whose religious beliefs require them to use biologically accurate pronouns and sex-segregated facilities, the lawsuit says. Loudoun County allegedly applied its Policy 8040 — a gender-identity rule that the DOJ says requires students and staff to “accept and promote gender ideology” regardless of religious beliefs. BOYS BRANDED SEXUAL HARASSERS FOR COMPLAINTS ABOUT TRANS CLASSMATE USING THEIR LOCKER ROOM GO TO FEDERAL COURT “Plaintiffs faced a choice: violate their consciences or stay true to their beliefs,” the lawsuit argues. School officials determined the two boys committed “sex-based discrimination” and “sexual harassment,” according to the suit. As punishment, the DOJ says the district suspended them for 10 days and ordered them to undergo a “Comprehensive Student Support Plan.” BOYS SUSPENDED IN TRANSGENDER LOCKER ROOM CONTROVERSY SPARK GOP BACKLASH IN VIRGINIA The Justice Department claims the school board violated the boys’ rights under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. “Students do not shed their First Amendment rights at the schoolhouse gate,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division. “Loudoun County’s decision to advance and promote gender ideology tramples on the rights of religious students who cannot embrace ideas that deny biological reality.” The Loudoun County School Board did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
HUD chief blames ‘unchecked illegal immigration’ pricing-out families amid new housing report
EXCLUSIVE: Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner slammed the Biden administration for what he called an illegal immigration and refugee crisis that rattled the housing market – particularly for low-income renters – though some analysts dispute the findings. Every two years, HUD releases its “Worst Case Housing Needs Report” – considered the agency’s flagship assessment of the state of the housing market for low-income Americans – and how many lack affordable and adequate housing. The report serves as a nationwide barometer of housing stress and shows whether the availability of affordable housing is improving or worsening, and who may be being hurt by the current conditions, which Congress can then use to craft policy. Policymakers use it to gauge gaps in the supply of low-cost rentals, target federal housing programs, and understand trends in who is being left behind. In short, it’s HUD’s way of tracking the renters in the greatest need — and how the U.S. housing system is failing to meet them. TRUMP’S HOUSING CHIEF RIPS POWELL FOR BLOWING MILLIONS ON FED FACELIFT DURING HOUSING CRISIS HE PERPETUATES Turner told Fox News Digital there are damning findings in this year’s assessment that he places right on the policies of former President Joe Biden’s immigration crisis. “The unchecked illegal immigration and open borders policies allowed by the Biden administration continue to put significant strain on housing, pricing out American families,” Turner said. “These policies have plagued America’s housing market, but in President Trump, Americans finally have a leader fighting to restore sanity to American immigration policy.” TRUMP’S DHS TOUTS MASSIVE NUMBER OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS DEPORTED AS DEMS LASH OUT AT ICE But Jenna Stauffer, Global Real Estate Advisor at Sotheby’s International Realty of Key West, told Fox News Digital she didn’t think immigration was the primary driver of the “housing mess we are in.” “Housing affordability has been unraveling for years, and the problems we’re dealing with go way beyond any one factor,” she said. “We’ve really been under building for almost two decades. After the Great Recession, construction basically stalled, and it took years to recover. By some estimates, the U.S. is short four to seven million homes, and that long-term shortage is the core issue behind today’s affordability challenges.” HUD’s 2025 report found that increased immigration has driven up housing prices, and that the “unrestricted” nature of the influx has both strained the housing market and priced-out many American families. The report found that an estimated 15 million illegal immigrants constitute 30% of all foreign-born residents. Turner added in separate comments to Fox Business that HUD took away Federal Housing Authority-backed mortgages from illegal immigrants offered during the Biden administration, saying the former president “turned a blind eye” to the issue. In California and New York, immigrants have accounted for 100% of all rental growth and over one-half of all growth in owner-occupied housing in recent years, the report found – while nationally, the foreign-born population accounted for more than 60% of the growth in rental demand. KRISTI NOEM SAYS BIDEN USED DHS ‘TO INVADE THE COUNTRY WITH TERRORISTS’ Nationwide, the foreign-born population accounted for two-thirds of rental demand growth. HUD’s report contrasted that figure with the 13% growth attributed to noncitizens in 2019 and 2023’s lookbacks. “This further demonstrates that non-citizen households are playing an increasing role in the household growth that is straining the affordable housing supply,” the 109-page report said. NEW GOP BILL WOULD CUT OFF HOUSING FUNDS TO SANCTUARY CITIES DEFYING TRUMP DHS The agency found that without the migrant surge, housing inventory pressures would have been far lower and prices would not have climbed as sharply, noting roughly 784,000 fewer households would have formed over that period. Net additions to the housing market from 2015 onward have not kept up with “household formation among citizens” and non-citizen population growth has also inordinately affected rental markets. Worst-case housing reports have been released regularly since 1991, but the 2025 findings mark a sharper warning about the illegal immigration crisis’ impact on the numbers. BIPARTISAN PLAN AIMS TO MAKE THE AMERICAN DREAM AFFORDABLE AGAIN FOR MILLIONS OF FIRST-TIME HOMEBUYERS In August, Turner ordered an audit of every public housing authority, seeking data on verifiable citizenship of those living in subsidized housing. “No longer will illegal aliens be able to leave citizenship boxes blank or take advantage of HUD-funded housing, riding the coattails of hardworking American citizens,” Turner said. “Currently, HUD only serves one out of four eligible families due, in part, to the lack of enforcement of prohibition against federally funded assistance to illegal aliens,” he continued. TRUMP’S BORDER MIRACLE: FROM BIDEN’S CHAOTIC IMMIGRATION CRISIS TO ‘ALL QUIET’ IN RECORD TIME Vice President JD Vance highlighted a recent comment from Turner – who had been responding to a CNBC report that rents have dropped for four straight months. “Six months of zero illegals released into our country. Two million illegals removed. Rents dropped for the fourth straight month. Coincidence? I think not,” Turner said. Vance echoed what the agency ultimately would find in its report, remarking that the “connection between illegal immigration and skyrocketing housing costs is as clear as day.” SEC SCOTT TURNER: BLAME DRUGS AND MENTAL ILLNESS, NOT PRESIDENT TRUMP, FOR THE CHAOS GRIPPING OUR STREETS HUD’s findings, as expressed by Turner and others prior to the official report, also had other critics. Harvard Joint Center For Housing Studies senior research analyst Riordan Frost previously wrote that while the “surge in immigration” has affected the market, other factors like the coronavirus pandemic contributed to increases in housing costs during that time in history. “Immigrants play a role in household growth, sometimes to a substantial degree, but housing demand during the pandemic has been primarily shaped by native-born household growth in a time of constrained housing supply,” Frost said. BOMBSHELL REPORT ALLEGES BIDEN TEAM FORCED AIRPORTS TO HOUSE MIGRANTS, RISKING SAFETY Rep. Bonnie Watson-Coleman, D-N.J., also lit into Turner at a recent hearing, saying “you (Turner) are worsening the housing crisis with
‘Prices are coming down’: Trump hails his economy, blames Biden as voters say costs still sting
President Donald Trump declared the U.S. economy is strong and holds an “A-plus-plus-plus-plus-plus” grade under his leadership despite inheriting a “mess” from the Biden administration. “The word affordability… I inherited a mess,” Trump told Politico in a sit-down interview published Tuesday. “I inherited a total mess. Prices were at an all-time high when I came in. Prices are coming down substantially. Look at energy. You and I discussed before the interview, energy… energy has come down incredibly. When energy comes down, everything… ’cause it’s so much bigger than any other subject. But energy has come down incredibly. Prices are all coming down. It’s been 10 months. It’s amazing what we’ve done.” The Trump White House is facing a crisis over its economic messaging after Democrats swept a series of elections in November while campaigning on platforms focused on “affordability,” lowering the current cost-of-living prices skyrocketing from grocery store shelves to rent, while touting a vote for Democrats was a vote against Trump and his policies. The Democratic election wins earlier in 2025 — which included the gubernatorial races in New Jersey and Virginia and the mayoral race in New York City — are viewed as a bellwether ahead of the 2026 midterms, lighting a spark among Republicans to fine-tune their messaging on the economy. JEN PSAKI MOCKS TRUMP, GOP OVER ‘AFFORDABILITY’ MESSAGE DURING COLBERT APPEARANCE The White House and Trump increasingly have amplified blame for the current affordability woes on former President Joe Biden’s leadership as voters’ financial anxiety grows at peak holiday shopping season. “Putting an end to Joe Biden’s inflation and affordability crisis has been a Day One priority for President Trump,” White House spokesman Kush Desai told Fox News Digital Monday morning when asked about the White House’s message on affordability. “Every Trump administration official has been playing their part over the past year to deliver on this priority, from slashing costly regulations to securing historic drug pricing deals — efforts that have cooled inflation and raised real wages,” he continued. “Much work remains, but President Trump is highlighting the meaningful progress that his Administration has made and will continue to make to turn Joe Biden’s economic disaster around.” VANCE ACKNOWLEDGES VOTERS ‘IMPATIENT’ ON AFFORDABILITY, REJECTS ‘TOTALLY BULLS— NARRATIVE’ Voters have reported they are spooked by the current state of costs in the U.S. Some 76% of voters, however, reported that they view the economy negatively, up from the 67% who reported the same in July, and the 70% who said the same at the end of Biden’s term, a November Fox News national survey found. The survey found that voters overwhelmingly blamed Trump over Biden. About twice as many voters polled reported that Trump, rather than Biden, is responsible for the current economy, with three times as many voters reporting that Trump’s economic policies have hurt them, which is on par with their feelings during Biden’s final year in office. Andrew Bates, who served as the Biden White House’s deputy press secretary, pointed to the voter survey when asked for response to the Trump administration’s heightened comments, pinning blame for economic concerns on policies held over from the Biden White House. “Democrats and the Biden-Harris Administration warned Trump against making the biggest health care cuts in history so billionaires could get tax breaks; just like they warned against the tariffs that are a record-level tax hike on working people,” Bates said in an emailed comment to Fox News Digital. “Maybe Donald Trump can’t remember prices were lower last year. That’s what I wondered when he started building himself an assisted living ballroom.” The White House on Tuesday told Fox News Digital: “The fact of the matter is that Joe Biden inflicted a generational economic crisis on the American people. “Turning this crisis around has been a Day One priority for the Trump administration, which has already delivered cooled inflation, multi-year low gas prices, trillions in investments, and historic drug pricing deals to dramatically cut costs for American patients,” White House spokesman Desai said. “Biden flacks who insisted Biden was in absolute peak health and wasn’t dropping out of the 2024 presidential race just days before Biden did just that need to get a grip on reality.” Trump continued in his Politico interview that he grades the current economy as “A-plus.” “I do want to talk about the economy, sir, here at home. And… and I wonder what grade you would give your economy,” Politico asked Trump. Trump: “A-plus.” Politico: “A-plus?” Trump responded: “Yeah, A-plus-plus-plus-plus-plus.” The Biden administration oversaw the highest inflation to rock the nation in 40 years, 30-year mortgage rates that rocketed to roughly 8%, up from under 3%, and the sharpest rise in interest rates in decades. REPUBLICAN POPULISM CRATERS AS TRUMP STUMBLES, DEMOCRATS SURGE Trump hammered again in the interview that Democrats created the current affordability woes while stressing that they are the party that would bring prices down. “You talk about affordability, the Democrats love to say affordability, afford… but then they never talk about it,” he said. “They’re the ones that gave us the high prices. I’m the one that’s bringing them down.” Trump is set to travel to Pennsylvania Tuesday, a key battleground state that helped deliver him his 2024 victory, to promote his administration’s economic policies and growth amid voters reporting financial anxiety. TRUMP TORCHES DEMS’ ‘FAKE AFFORDABILITY’ PITCH – BUT GOP PANIC IN DEEP RED STATE HINTS VOTERS AREN’T BUYING IT White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt previewed Trump’s speech during an appearance on “Fox & Friends” Tuesday, which included taking shots at the Biden administration’s economic record. “We greatly look forward to going to northeast Pennsylvania tonight,” Leavitt said. “And President Trump is going to give a positive, economic focused speech where he talks about all that he and his team has done to provide bigger paychecks and lower prices for the American people.” She added: “And don’t forget, a year ago, President Trump inherited the worst inflation crisis in modern American history from the Biden administration.
Zelenskyy ready to present new peace proposals to US and Russia after working with European talks
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that his country is ready to propose details for a new peace deal with Russia to the U.S. on Tuesday. Zelenskyy made the announcement on social media, saying Ukrainian and European negotiators had come to a more solid agreement on a proposal. Ukraine had previously ruled out any peace proposal that involved ceding land to Russia. “We are working very actively on all components of potential steps toward ending the war. The Ukrainian and European components are now more developed, and we are ready to present them to our partners in the U.S. Together with the American side, we expect to swiftly make the potential steps as doable as possible,” Zelenskyy wrote. “We are committed to a real peace and remain in constant contact with the United States. And, as our partners in the negotiating teams rightly note, everything depends on whether Russia is ready to take effective steps to stop the bloodshed and prevent the war from reigniting. In the near future, we will be ready to send the refined documents to the United States. Glory to Ukraine,” he added. US ENVOY GAVE RUSSIAN AIDE TIPS ON HOW TO SELL UKRAINE DEAL TO TRUMP: REPORT President Donald Trump had expressed frustration with Zelenskyy earlier this week, arguing he had been sluggish in responding to a proposal from the Russian side this weekend. Russian President Vladimir Putin met with U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner for five hours last week. EX-CIA STATION CHIEF WARNS PUTIN USING TALKS TO GAIN LEVERAGE AS UKRAINE DELEGATION MEETS TOP TRUMP OFFICIALS After the meeting, Putin traveled to India for a state visit with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and gave an interview to the India Today news channel, where he said the negotiations with the Americans were long but productive. The Russian leader stuck to his maximalist demands in the interview, arguing his war will only end when his country takes Ukraine’s eastern Donbas or Ukrainian troops withdraw.
New Jersey twins charged in threats to kill DHS official, ‘shoot ICE on sight’
EXCLUSIVE: Two New Jersey brothers were arrested on charges tied to terroristic threats against DHS chief Kristi Noem’s top public-facing deputy, including alleged vows to “shoot ICE agents on sight.” One brother also faces unlawful weapons-possession charges. The harrowing allegations come amid a reported 8,000% increase in death threats against Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel. The alleged targeting of Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin presented a new danger for those working to realize President Donald Trump’s mass deportation of the “worst of the worst” illegal immigrant criminals. Ricardo Antonio Roman-Flores and Emilio Roman-Flores, twins from Absecon, New Jersey, next to Atlantic City; were arrested after allegedly posting to X that they wanted to torture and kill McLaughlin in a medieval fashion. “[The Second] Amendment is in place for moments like this. Shoot ICE on sight,” one of the brothers allegedly tweeted in a partially redacted response to a McLaughlin message: MEXICAN GANGS OFFERING UP TO $50K BOUNTIES FOR ICE AGENT ASSASSINATIONS IN US, DHS SAYS “We Americans should find you, tar you, feather you, and hang you as we did to anyone serving tyrants before the Revolutionary War.” A second partially redacted tweet, reportedly from the other brother, read: “Shoot ICE on sight.” McLaughlin has been front-and-center on broadcast media throughout DHS’ immigration enforcement missions. DHS BRASS SLAM VIRGINIA BEACH PRINCIPAL ACCUSED IN ‘CHILLING’ PLOT TO LURE, AMBUSH ICE AGENTS Seen as Noem’s top representative in the press, McLaughlin has not been shy about defending her agency, recently lambasting those like the Absecon brothers who allegedly threaten ICE agents as “despicable” and repeating that attacks on federal officers are a direct result of violent rhetoric from Democrats and the political left. She has also criticized far-left city leaders like Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, who has stood up against DHS operations. ICE Director Todd Lyons told Fox News Digital the swift arrests — within three days of the alleged threats — serve as a warning: ICE PROTESTER WHO IDENTIFIED AS ‘BIN LADEN’ FACES CHARGES OVER ALLEGED SEXUALLY EXPLICIT THREATS TO AGENTS “We will find you, we will arrest you, and we will prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law. We are not afraid of you.” Lyons added, as McLaughlin previously said, that “extreme rhetoric” from the press, sanctuary-city politicians and left-wing activists are the direct precursor to these situations. “If you threaten our law enforcement or DHS officials, we will hunt you down, and you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.” The two suspects are American citizens. Emilio was charged with unlawful possession of an assault weapon, possession of prohibited weapons, conspiracy, terroristic threats, criminal coercion and cyber harassment. His brother, Ricardo, was charged with one count of conspiracy-terroristic threats. DHS credited the Absecon Police Department and its SWAT team for successfully taking the brothers into custody after they executed a search-and-arrest warrant in the Atlantic County community.
Bipartisan lawmakers unveil Obamacare extension as pressure grows on Johnson for play call
A bipartisan group of House lawmakers has introduced legislation aimed at keeping COVID-19 pandemic-era Obamacare subsidies alive for another two years. Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., and Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., co-chairs of the Problem Solvers Caucus, have told reporters for weeks that they are working on such a measure as Capitol Hill scrambles to avert skyrocketing health insurance costs for millions of Americans beginning next year. Democrats in Congress voted twice during the pandemic to expand the availability of premium tax credits for Obamacare, also called the Affordable Care Act (ACA), to make sure more Americans had access to healthcare coverage. Those enhanced subsidies are set to expire at the end of this year. BIPARTISAN DEAL ON OBAMACARE SUBSIDIES FADES AS REPUBLICANS PUSH HSA PLAN A majority of House Republicans have signaled they are not open to extending them, at least not without significant reforms. Conservatives in particular have panned the enhanced subsidies as a COVID-era relic that benefited insurance companies rather than Americans themselves. But some GOP lawmakers have joined Democrats in warning that failing to extend them at least temporarily at this point will result in millions of Americans seeing their healthcare premiums skyrocket while Congress does nothing to help. House Republicans are now largely looking to Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and their leaders for the next move. Johnson has said he intends to hold a vote on some kind of healthcare package before the end of this year, while panning Obamacare as a long-broken system badly in need of reforms. HOUSE GOP SPLITS OVER OBAMACARE FIX AS COSTS POISED TO SPIKE FOR MILLIONS One House GOP source told Fox News Digital that they expect Johnson to lay out a roadmap on healthcare at Republican lawmakers’ weekly conference meeting on Wednesday morning. The bipartisan bill released Tuesday is being pushed by a group of four Democrats and four Republicans — Fitzpatrick, Suozzi, along with Reps. Don Bacon, R-Neb., Rob Bresnahan, R-Pa., Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., Jared Golden, D-Maine, Don Davis, D-N.C., and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash. Fitzpatrick called the legislation “a practical, people-first fix that protects families now, while preserving the space to keep working toward a stronger, smarter, more affordable healthcare system.” “When the stakes are this high, responsible governance means securing 80% of what families need today rather than risking 100% of nothing tomorrow,” he said in a statement. In addition to extending the enhanced Obamacare subsidies for two years, the bill also “stops unauthorized plan and subsidy changes by requiring consent and prompt notification before any modifications take effect,” according to a press release. It would also rein in pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) profits and expand access to health savings accounts (HSAs) — two reforms that other rank-and-file House Republicans have been advocating for. But it’s not clear yet if House GOP leaders would put the bill on the floor for a chamber-wide vote, nor if it has the backing of their Democratic counterparts. Still, there are ways to force a vote on legislation without leadership’s approval. One of those methods is called a discharge petition, which requires signatures from a majority of House lawmakers to override leaders’ wishes to vote on a given bill. ABORTION RESTRICTIONS CREATE MAJOR ROADBLOCK FOR BIPARTISAN OBAMACARE SUBSIDY DEAL IN SENATE Fox News Digital asked Fitzpatrick last week if a discharge petition could be filed, but he did not give a direct answer, instead saying that the bill would be released imminently. Bacon told Fox News Digital on Tuesday that a discharge petition is a realistic possibility but cautioned, “It would be wiser to see if we have 60 votes in the Senate first.” The plan is one of several put forward by House Republicans to deal with the looming healthcare cliff. Republican Study Committee Chairman August Pfluger, R-Texas, introduced legislation last week to allow states to opt out of Obamacare altogether while radically expanding the availability of HSAs. And late last week, a bipartisan group of House lawmakers introduced a plan to extend the enhanced Obamacare subsidies — with income caps and extra guardrails against fraud — for a year. The Senate, meanwhile, is expected to vote this week on Democrat-led legislation to extend the enhanced subsidies, though it’s likely to fail. It’s not yet clear if Senate Republicans will put up their own counter-proposal.
House Democrat drops re-election bid after Texas redraws congressional map
Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Texas, announced on Monday that he will not seek re-election to Congress and will instead run for Tarrant County judge. “I’m running because this county deserves a leader who will unite our communities, protect our democracy, expand economic opportunity, and fight for every family,” the lawmaker said in a statement. Veasey has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2013. SCOTUS ALLOWS TEXAS TO USE TRUMP-PUSHED REDRAWN CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING MAP FAVORING REPUBLICANS He represents the Lone Star State’s 33rd Congressional District, which has been redrawn in the state’s new congressional maps. Veasey is challenging incumbent Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare. “Congressman Veasey brings a consistently liberal Washington record of being soft on crime, weak on border security, and supportive of higher taxes,” O’Hare campaign spokesperson Nick Maddux said in part of a statement. EX-HOUSE DEMOCRAT DROPS OUT OF TEXAS SENATE RACE AS JASMINE CROCKETT CANDIDACY RUMORS SWIRL Veasey said in part of his statement, “Tarrant County is at a crossroads. I’ve seen firsthand how racially gerrymandered maps were designed to weaken the power of Black and Latino voters in North Texas — communities I have spent my entire career fighting for. The people here deserve leadership grounded in truth, service, and respect — not division, extremism, and political stunts. I refuse to sit on the sidelines while County Judge Tim O’Hare drags this community backward.” Former Rep. Colin Allred, a Democrat, dropped his U.S. Senate bid and announced that he will instead run for the House seat in the “newly drawn” 33rd Congressional District. DEMOCRAT ADMITS ‘OF COURSE’ JASMINE CROCKETT IS A FACTOR IN HIM DROPPING OUT OF TEXAS SENATE RACE House Democratic Rep. Julie Johnson, who currently represents the state’s 32nd Congressional District, is also running for the new 33rd District.
GOP lawmaker unveils bill to ensure fathers shoulder 50% of pregnancy expenses
FIRST ON FOX: A House Republican is mounting an effort to make it easier for women to keep and raise their babies after birth. Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, is unveiling a bill called the Supporting Healthy Pregnancy Act that would ensure pregnant mothers get financial support from the father even before their child is born, Fox News Digital learned first. It’s an effort by the Republican Party to affirm its pro-family ideology as Democrats continue to accuse the GOP of being anti-choice while also being unwilling to support women who keep their babies. GOP RISING STAR REVEALS HOW TRUMP’S AGENDA WILL BE CRUCIAL TO KEEPING SENATE SEAT RED, LANDS KEY ENDORSEMENTS Hinson’s bill would require states to establish systems where the biological father of a child is required to pay at least 50% of out-of-pocket costs for medical expenses associated with a pregnancy and delivery, including health insurance premiums. There are certain limitations on costs incurred, however, and abortion costs are excluded altogether. The payments must also be requested by the mother before the father is legally obligated to make them. Single mothers are currently eligible to request a legal order for child support beginning at birth in most states, meaning many are left to deal with the costs associated with pregnancy. TRUMP ENDORSES HINSON IN 2026 RACE TO KEEP KEY SENATE SEAT RED It’s the latest piece in a package of bills Hinson introduced related to helping women through maternity. Another bill Hinson introduced would mandate that pregnant women in higher education institutions know what rights and resources they have on campus in an effort to give them more options aside from abortion. A bipartisan bill co-led with Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet, D-Mich., would expand access to and career training for midwives, particularly in underserved parts of the country. “I’m a mom on a mission to make life easier for my fellow moms and families. That’s why I’m working to expand access to maternal care, ensure women have resources throughout pregnancy and beyond, and improve child care options for growing families,” Hinson, who is running for Senate in Iowa, told Fox News Digital. “Strong families make a strong nation, and we should work together to support the parents and women who are building America’s future,” she said. “As a mom of two, I’m proud to be a leader in that fight for Iowa and for families nationwide.”
Federal judge approves releasing Ghislaine Maxwell case grand jury material
A federal judge has ruled the Justice Department can release investigative materials from the criminal prosecution of Ghislaine Maxwell, citing the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Judge Paul Engelmayer has granted the DOJ’s motion to unseal the grand jury transcripts and exhibits in Maxwell’s criminal case with some redactions. FEDERAL JUDGE ORDERS UNSEALING OF EPSTEIN CASE GRAND JURY RECORDS Engelmayer’s ruling comes just ahead of the Dec. 19 deadline to release records related to the Epstein case. “In the case of the Maxwell and Epstein grand juries, under the Act, public disclosure of such materials is the rule, subject to the limited exceptions set out in the Act. The Act thus requires the Attorney General to make public the Maxwell grand jury materials, subject to the withholdings and redactions that the Act permits,” Engelmayer’s ruling reads. Maxwell, who was convicted of sex trafficking charges in December 2021, is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence. Her attorney said that she took no position on the requested unsealing of records but noted that the release could harm Maxwell’s plan to file a habeas petition, according to The Associated Press. HOUSE VOTES OVERWHELMINGLY TO FORCE DOJ TO RELEASE JEFFREY EPSTEIN FILES Engelmayer’s decision is the second in the past week approving the release of Epstein-related files. Last week, Judge Rodney Smith moved to allow the DOJ to release transcripts from an abandoned federal grand jury probe from the 2000s. The Epstein Files Transparency Act requires the DOJ “to publish (in a searchable and downloadable format) all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials in DOJ’s possession that relate to the investigation and prosecution of Jeffrey Epstein.” The act was passed in November and paves the way for the public to have more insight into the infamous cases against the late disgraced financier. There is a possibility that a judge could rule to release grand jury transcripts from the 2019 Epstein criminal case prior to the deadline under the Epstein Files Transparency Act. The AP noted that attorneys for the Epstein estate did not take a position on the unsealing of records. The DOJ is reportedly working with survivors and their attorneys to redact records to protect survivors’ identities and prevent the dissemination of sexualized images, according to the AP. Fox News Digital reached out to the Justice Department for comment. The Associated Press contributed to this report. This is a developing story, please check back for updates.
White House official presses allies to free AI from innovation-killing regulations
White House science and technology advisor Michael Kratsios opened a meeting of G7 tech ministers by urging governments to clear regulatory obstacles to artificial intelligence adoption, warning that sweeping new rule books or outdated oversight frameworks risk slowing the innovation needed to unlock AI-driven productivity. Kratsios, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy director, spoke Tuesday at the G7 Industry, Digital and Technology Ministers’ Meeting in Montréal, Quebec. “The United States is committed to promoting private-sector-led development of AI systems, applications, and infrastructure, to protect and foster innovation. This primarily requires us to throw off regulatory burdens that weigh down innovators, especially in the construction of the infrastructure that undergirds the AI revolution,” said Kratsios in a draft of his remarks obtained by Fox News Digital. “However, we also recognize the benefits of AI will not be fully realized by complete de-regulation. Regulatory and non-regulatory policy frameworks that safeguard the public interest while enabling innovation are necessary to earn the public trust in AI technologies that will allow broad deployment and fast adoption.” TRUMP LAUNCHES ‘GENESIS MISSION’ TO SUPERCHARGE US SCIENTIFIC AI INNOVATION The U.S. official told Fox News Digital that the White House wants its allies to build a “trusted AI ecosystem defined by smart, sector-specific regulations tailored to each nation’s priorities and designed to accelerate innovation.” “Together, we can deliver transformative growth, keep critical data secure, and ensure the future of AI is built on freedom and human ingenuity,” Kratsios added. President Donald Trump has put artificial intelligence at the forefront of his administration, appointing David Sacks as his “AI czar” and issuing an executive order in January that rolled back many of the federal government’s previous AI safety and oversight policies in an effort to speed deployment — a move critics say could weaken safeguards and increase risks as the technology spreads. Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform Monday that he will issue a “One Rule” executive order later this week to establish a single national framework for artificial intelligence regulation, arguing that U.S. dominance in the technology will be “destroyed in its infancy” if he doesn’t. WHEN AI CHEATS: THE HIDDEN DANGERS OF REWARD HACKING “We are beating ALL COUNTRIES at this point in the race, but that won’t last long if we are going to have 50 States, many of them bad actors, involved in RULES and the APPROVAL PROCESS. THERE CAN BE NO DOUBT ABOUT THIS!” he said in part. “You can’t expect a company to get 50 Approvals every time they want to do something. THAT WILL NEVER WORK!” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis criticized the notion of stripping states of jurisdiction to regulate AI, arguing on X in November that it amounts to a “subsidy” to Big Tech and would prevent states from “protecting against online censorship of political speech, predatory applications that target children, violations of intellectual property rights and data center intrusions on power/water resources.” “The rise of AI is the most significant economic and cultural shift occurring at the moment; denying the people the ability to channel these technologies in a productive way via self-government constitutes federal government overreach and lets technology companies run wild,” DeSantis added. “Not acceptable.”