Massive Chinese bot farm caught conducting US ‘influence operations’ pushing coordinated online narrative
The social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, has uncovered a massive suspected Chinese bot farm conducting “influence operations” online in the United States, including pushing an anti-artificial intelligence and anti-data center narrative. This comes as a national debate rages over the costs and benefits of continuing to develop artificial intelligence at breakneck speed and the massive data centers required to power it. The debate also has immense political implications, dividing parties internally as many members of the GOP break with President Donald Trump on AI and data centers. As this national conversation unfolds, X’s Global Government Affairs account said the platform’s safety team identified a bot farm of approximately 200,000 inauthentic Chinese accounts “involved in influence operations.” The X team said that within the bot farm, 200 accounts were found posting “in a manner that could manipulate a legitimate debate about American AI and energy policy.” BLANCHE URGED TO INVESTIGATE ALLEGED FOREIGN INFLUENCE IN FIGHT AGAINST DATA CENTERS According to the platform, posts by these accounts contained claims that AI data centers are driving up household electricity prices and straining the grid. The X team said other accounts also posted AI-generated cartoons depicting data center developers enriching themselves at the public’s expense. One image shared by the team depicted horrified citizens across from data center developers with bags of cash with the caption, “Data centers get subsidized while we foot the bill!” Another image read that “the AI industry is booming, but the costs are being borne by ordinary people.” Earlier this summer, OpenAI announced that it had banned a “cluster of ChatGPT accounts that likely originated in China” that were being used to generate a “covert influence operation” primarily targeting U.S. audiences. OpenAI said the accounts generated short comments and images similarly claiming that data centers and AI were increasing electricity demand and causing higher costs. The influence campaigns were discovered as debate rages over AI. Critics of AI development say the data centers required to power it harm the environment, drive up electricity costs and decrease neighborhood property values. Proponents, meanwhile, say AI data center development is critical to national security and boosts local economies by creating jobs. REPORT: CHINESE PROPAGANDA, SINGHAM NETWORK, FOREIGN DARK MONEY LINKED TO CAMPAIGNS AGAINST DATA CENTERS Speaking at the White House earlier this week, Trump suggested that the AI industry needs “a little public relations help,” pointing to a May Gallup poll that showed a majority of Americans oppose data centers being built in their communities. He said that local communities and states should want to welcome data centers because “the jobs are enormous, and the money paid, the taxes paid are just enormous.” “And if you don’t take it, you’re going to be left behind because there are plenty of places that want it,” he added. Meanwhile, Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., has warned that China benefits from “overreaction” to “AI doomsdaying” in the U.S. as the two countries compete for dominance in the industry. Fetterman wrote that “AI supremacy and energy dominance underpins our national security.” FETTERMAN ALIGNS WITH TRUMP ON AI PUSH, WARNS CHINA BENEFITS FROM US ‘OVERREACTION’ Following the discovery of the Chinese influence campaign, X’s Global Government Affairs team wrote that “we take seriously any attempts to undermine the integrity of the global town square and suspend accounts that violate our Authenticity policy.” SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER The platform said it remains “committed to maintaining an open and authentic platform where people debate topics of public interest.” Fox BUSINESS‘ James Cirrone and Fox News Digital’s Michael Sinkewicz contributed to this report.
Trump admin blocks more than $1.6B in potentially improper Medicare lab payments, agency says
FIRST ON FOX: Federal officials have blocked or clawed back more than $1.6 billion in potentially improper Medicare laboratory payments since President Donald Trump returned to office, including $732 million tied to 157 lab providers booted from the program for alleged fraud. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) said the labs were suspected of billing Medicare for tests that were never performed, tests patients did not need and services billed at higher rates than they should have been. “When laboratories bill Medicare for tests they never performed, it drains the Medicare Trust Fund and diverts resources away from beneficiaries who need them,” CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz said. DOJ CHARGES 19 DEFENDANTS IN ALLEGED $4M PHILADELPHIA MEDICARE AND MEDICAID FRAUD In one case, the owner of a consulting company enrolled 14 labs in Medicare and billed the program more than $24 million, even though CMS said none of the labs appeared to be operating. CMS has since held back $12 million in payments to the labs and recovered another $7 million. Eleven of the 14 labs have been removed from Medicare, while the remaining three are still under investigation. CMS said it is using artificial intelligence and other technology to sift through Medicare claims and spot unusual billing that could be a sign of fraud. The technology looks for billing that falls outside normal patterns and can flag suspicious claims for closer scrutiny. CMS can then hold, reject or deny a claim before Medicare pays it. Of the $1.6 billion cited by the agency, more than $500 million in suspected fraudulent payments were stopped through 185 payment suspensions after CMS investigated 600 labs. “The previous administration treated our taxpayer-funded programs as piggy banks for fraudsters,” the White House told Fox News Digital. “That is no longer the case, thanks to President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Dr. Oz, who is an anti-fraud superstar.” TREASURY HAILS SUCCESS OF ANTI-FRAUD PROCESS THAT FLAGGED AND PREVENTED $99 MILLION IN PAYMENTS TO DEAD PEOPLE The agency also recovered more than $276 million in overpayments made to 442 suspect labs and said another $127 million in potentially fraudulent payments was prevented after 85 cases were referred to law enforcement. CMS pointed to two recent cases in Texas as examples of labs suspected of billing Medicare for services they did not provide. One lab began billing Medicare in late February. CMS said it caught the suspicious activity early and denied $1.2 million in claims. The lab then changed the way it billed Medicare in early April in an apparent attempt to get around the agency’s safeguards, according to CMS. Officials continued watching its claims and stopped more than $150,000 in additional payments before removing the provider from Medicare later that month. DR OZ SAYS 800 HOSPICE PROVIDERS SUSPENDED IN CALIFORNIA OVER ALLEGED $1B MEDICARE FRAUD SCHEME Another Texas lab began billing heavily in May after submitting test claims two days earlier in the year. CMS denied $1.9 million in claims and captured another $1.7 million in payments. The lab remains under review and could be removed from Medicare. The lab cases are part of a wider Trump administration push to combat improper Medicare billing involving medical equipment, hospice care, skin treatments and other services. CMS said its Medicare fraud prevention efforts saved $42 billion in fiscal year 2025. So far in 2026, the agency says it has identified $1.8 billion in Medicare overpayments and recovered $378 million in overpayments from post-payment reviews. Since Jan. 1, CMS has also frozen more than $371 million in Medicare payments involving 267 providers and suppliers. That includes more than $226 million in suspected improper billing for medical equipment, more than $53 million involving skin treatments and more than $23 million involving hospice providers. “We won’t stop until we’ve restored program integrity and ensured that fraudsters have nowhere left to hide,” Oz said.
House Dem’s ‘Lake Natalie’ jab at Trump aide sets social media ablaze: ‘Stay classy’
A House Democrat’s jab at one of President Donald Trump’s most loyal aides prompted a firestorm on social media. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., is getting heat from the right and praise from the left after she quipped about Trump’s decision to rename Lake Ontario. “Let’s just call it Lake Natalie so we know you’ll start protecting our Great Lakes,” she wrote on X. Trump signed an order on Thursday renaming one of the five Great Lakes “Lake America” amid an ongoing trade dispute with Canada. HOUSE DEM DEBBIE DINGELL PLACES TRUMP’S LAKE ONTARIO NAME CHANGE IN THE CROSSHAIRS Dingell’s comment appears to be aimed at Trump aide Natalie Harp, a close confidante of the president, whom Democrats have seized on after she was reportedly one of the small group of people who joined Trump on a separate plane after a potential Iranian plot to take down Air Force One. The comment has prompted fierce backlash from Trump allies who accuse Democrats of unfairly targeting a White House aide trying to do her job — a sentiment that was on full display online this week. JON OSSOFF DODGES ON WHY HE INVOKED TRUMP AIDE’S NAME DURING GEORGIA CAMPAIGN RALLY “You’re being exactly who I said Democrats were all along. You don’t care about protecting women from sexism/misogyny. You just care if they have an R behind their name,” GOP commentator Melik Abdul wrote on X. Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Robert “Buzz” Patterson said, “Wow. Stay classy, Michigan.” OBAMA STRATEGIST TURNS ON RISING DEM STAR OVER VIRAL TRUMP ATTACK: ‘GRATUITOUS AND UNNECESSARY’ “Ouch! Not so nice to a young woman staffer .. i suspect your target is the President but it is not nice to the young staffer.. why does she deserve this ? …this all started with a snarky comment by a dem senator,” veteran news anchor Greta Van Susteren wrote. Van Susteren was referencing a comment by Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., that kicked off the frenzy over Harp in the first place. Ossoff said during a rally that Trump would rather “build his ballroom and travel with Natalie” than do the job of president. CNN, MS NOW HAVE MENTIONED TRUMP AIDE NATALIE HARP HUNDREDS OF TIMES SINCE OSSOFF’S VIRAL JAB “Is this the new move when a dem wants to pretend they’re relevant?” former Trump spokeswoman Elizabeth Pipko wrote on X. Pundit Rich Baris wrote, “We’re starting to see glimmers of the Ole’ Democrat crazy we all have come to know in the Trump Era.” But left-wing social media circles cheered Dingell on. “Debbie wins the Internet today, full stop,” wrote former conservative lawyer and failed congressional candidate George Conway. Democrat Janice Hough wrote, “Rep. Debbie, I was not familiar with your game.” “Debbie hits a grand slam,” quipped Norman Ornstein, contributing editor for The Atlantic.
Biden-honored Iraqi official lands on US terror watchlist as Trump State Dept revokes visa
FIRST ON FOX: Four years ago, Taif Sami Mohammed was being celebrated by the United States as one of the world’s most courageous women. Secretary of State Antony Blinken praised the senior Iraqi official as the country’s “Iron Woman,” crediting her with stopping bribes, uncovering schemes that enriched corrupt officials and fighting corruption despite threats against her. Today, Mohammed is believed to be outside Iraq, on the U.S. terrorist watchlist and can no longer enter the United States. A State Department official told Fox News Digital that the department revoked Mohammed’s visa this week, marking a dramatic reversal for an official who received one of the Biden administration’s highest-profile awards for women in 2022. “While the Biden State Department shamefully celebrated and awarded foreigners who threaten our nation, the Trump State Department revokes their visas and ensures these individuals are removed from our country,” Assistant Secretary of State for Global Public Affairs Dylan Johnson told Fox News Digital. TRUMP ADMIN EYES HISTORIC MASS VISA REVOCATION TARGETING UP TO 200K ASYLUM SEEKERS: REPORT “Under President Trump and Secretary Rubio, suspected terrorists will never be allowed to remain in the United States.” The State Department did not immediately provide details about when Mohammed was placed on the terrorist watchlist or the intelligence that led to that determination. Mohammed’s fall from Washington’s favor had been building publicly for more than a year. Republican lawmakers previously accused her of helping facilitate terrorist financing through Iraq’s financial system and urged the Trump administration to take action against her. Reps. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., and Greg Steube, R-Fla., called Mohammed a “key enabler of terrorist funding in Iraq” and pushed the administration to impose sanctions. Those allegations stand in stark contrast to how the Biden administration described Mohammed when it selected her for the State Department’s International Women of Courage Award in 2022. At the time, Mohammed was Iraq’s deputy finance minister and director general of its budget department. The State Department described her as a “frontline leader against corrupt practices” who had been integral to preventing corruption in Iraq’s budget. Blinken went further during the March 2022 awards ceremony, saying Mohammed had “stopped bribes” and uncovered efforts to inflate government payrolls and enrich corrupt officials. The ceremony, hosted by Blinken and featuring remarks from then-first lady Jill Biden, honored twelve women whom the State Department said had shown extraordinary courage and leadership. Mohammed later rose to become Iraq’s finance minister, overseeing the federal budget, government spending and Baghdad’s financial relationship with Iraq’s Kurdistan region. Her troubles have since spread beyond Washington. An Iraqi court summoned Mohammed and placed her on a judicial wanted list as authorities widened a corruption investigation into former senior government officials, IraqiNews reported Aug. 9, 2025, citing sources familiar with the proceedings. FBI BRINGS IRAQI MAN ACCUSED OF COORDINATING NEARLY 20 TERROR ATTACKS IN EUROPE TO FACE TRIAL IN NEW YORK According to the report, Mohammed is believed to be outside Iraq and has not been detained. The court action is part of an investigation and does not establish that she committed wrongdoing. SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER The investigation grew out of a broader corruption probe involving government contracts and large sums of public money and has reached other former Iraqi officials, according to the report. Mohammed’s placement on the U.S. terrorist watchlist represents a separate and potentially more serious development. The State Department has not said whether it is connected to the terrorist financing allegations raised by members of Congress, the Iraqi corruption investigation or other intelligence gathered by the U.S. government.
Hillary Clinton’s dig at Trump over Lake Ontario name change sparks viral backlash: ‘Shooting blanks’
Former secretary of state and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton found herself on the wrong end of social media criticism after taking issue with President Donald Trump’s move to rename Lake Ontario amid a heated trade war with Canada. “It’s Lake Ontario,” Clinton posted on Thursday, inserting herself into the debate stemming from Trump’s executive order instructing the Department of Interior to refer to the lake as “Lake America” from now on. Clinton, whose X account does not allow replies, was immediately mocked by conservatives over her failed presidential run against Trump as the post surpassed 3 million views in just a few hours. “It’s not President Hillary Clinton…and never will be,” conservative commentator CJ Pearson posted on X. CLINTON’S EYEBROW-RAISING SOCIALISM TAKE SPARKS BRUTAL MOCKERY: ‘DEFINITION OF INSANITY’ “Trump Controls the News Cycle Volume 87187585124782,” former Trump DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin posted on X. “It’s President Donald J. Trump,” the Republican National Committee (RNC) posted on X. “And you’ll never be President,” Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., posted on X. ‘CAPTAIN CANADA’ FIREBRAND UNLOADS ON TRUMP WITH PROFANE ONE-LINER AS TRADE WAR ESCALATES “Loser says what?” conservative commentator Jillian King Anderson posted on X. “Democrats preferring Canada to America is the least surprising thing I’ve seen all day,” conservative commentator Michael Knowles posted on X. “Hillary’s out here shooting blanks ,” conservative radio host Vince Coglianese posted on X. Trump’s move to rename the lake, which sits on the U.S.-Canada border, came amid a breakdown in trade between both nations, with Trump accusing Ottawa of unfair trade practices. The U.S. imposed new 50% tariffs on Canadian goods such as wine, furniture and dairy products, while Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said U.S. trade demands proved Washington wanted to “destroy our major industries,” including autos, steel and aluminum. “Canada has been ripping us off for a long time on trade,” Trump said Thursday. “Very sadly, even the military, you know, we defend Canada for nothing. We don’t get anything. They don’t pay us to defend Canada.” Trump previously used geographic names to make political statements, ordering the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America in January 2025. “The Lake of America was something I’ve been thinking about for a long time, actually. As you know, we took something called the Gulf of Mexico — we changed it — and now it’s very routinely the Gulf of America,” Trump said in the Oval Office on Thursday. Several prominent Democrats have come out against the name change, including New York’s Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul who said New York, which borders the lake’s southern side, “won’t be calling it that.” Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano contributed to this report . .
Soros-backed DA accused of going easy on illegal immigrants gets squeezed by House GOP
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, is warning that subpoenas are on the table if county prosecutors accused of going easy on illegal immigrants who commit crimes do not cooperate. Jordan’s committee is investigating district attorneys for so-called “sanctuary jurisdictions” who have been accused of taking immigration status into account when pursuing criminal complaints, even when the alleged crime has nothing to do with the suspect’s legal status. “If we have to, we’ll use subpoenas to get the documents that we think they may not be giving us. There’s a process we always go through. We ask for things, we ask again, we explain why, we work with their office — in some cases their counsel — and back and forth,” Jordan explained in an interview with Fox News Digital. “And then if we have to use subpoenas, we certainly will do that … but we want to know the facts.” DOJ OPENS INVESTIGATION INTO SOROS-BACKED DA ACCUSED OF SHIELDING ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS FROM CONSEQUENCES Of particular concern, Jordan said, is Fairfax County, Virginia, DA Steve Descano. Descano was recently thrust under scrutiny after the stabbing death of 41-year-old U.S. citizen Stephanie Minter, whose accused killer came to the U.S. illegally from Sierra Leone in 2012. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said the man had been arrested over 30 times before Minter’s killing. SOROS PROSECUTOR IN DANGER OF BEING REMOVED AFTER GRIEVING MOM’S DESPERATE ALARM: ‘CAN’T BELIEVE THIS’ Descano, who has led the Fairfax County District Attorney’s Office since January 2020, issued plea bargaining guidance that year saying prosecutors should “consider immigration consequences where possible” and consider “the collateral immigration consequences of the specific crime(s) the defendant is charged with,” according to local outlet WTOP News. Fairfax County is known as a sanctuary jurisdiction, meaning local law enforcement is not bound to cooperate with federal immigration authorities. SANCTUARY COUNTY REFUSED 615 ICE TRANSFER REQUESTS, TURNED OVER JUST 11 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS, RECORDS SHOW “This is one of the dumbest policies I’ve ever heard of. You’re going to tell local law enforcement not to work with federal law enforcement when it comes to enforcing federal law?” Jordan said. “And then you have people like Mr. Descano, who are releasing bad guys, and they have a stated policy saying, you know, ‘We will look at their immigration status before we make a decision on charging,’ and in certain clear agreements and they’re releasing guys. You have then you have bad things happen.” He noted Minter’s case as an example. SOROS-BACKED PROSECUTOR SET FOR CAPITOL HILL GRILLING AS SANCTUARY POLICIES FACE RECKONING Descano’s 2019 campaign for DA notably received hundreds of thousands of dollars from Justice and Public Safety PAC, which boasts billionaire George Soros among its backers. Fairfax County happens to be a major suburb of Washington, D.C. Jordan argued its proximity to the country’s national security epicenter made its sanctuary policies even more dangerous. “That’s definitely a concern that I think probably any American with common sense would have,” he said. But there are other sanctuary jurisdictions his committee would probe as well, Jordan suggested. DOJ ACCUSES MARYLAND OF ‘ACTIVE AND DELIBERATE EFFORT’ TO PREVENT DEPORTATIONS OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS: LAWSUIT “You’ve got not just Descano, but it looks like Alvin Bragg up in New York, [Larry Krasner] in Philadelphia, so many of these DAs who are doing the same darn thing,” he said. Fox News Digital reached out to Descano’s office for comment.
House Dem Debbie Dingell places Trump’s Lake Ontario name change in the crosshairs
Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich. declared that she will introduce legislation targeting President Donald Trump’s executive order to rename Lake Ontario as Lake America. “The Great Lakes are a shared treasure that generations of Americans and Canadians have worked together to protect. That’s why I’m introducing legislation to keep Lake Ontario as Lake Ontario and block President Trump’s idiotic order,” Dingell declared in a Thursday post on X. The president’s executive order called for updating “the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) to reflect the renaming of the Lake and remove all references to Lake Ontario from the GNIS, consistent with applicable law.” The order also stated that, “The Board on Geographic Names shall provide guidance to ensure all Federal Government references to Lake Ontario, including on executive department and agency maps, contracts, and other documents and communications, shall reflect its renaming.” TRUMP RENAMES LAKE ONTARIO ‘LAKE AMERICA’ AMID INTENSIFYING US-CANADA TRADE DISPUTE Trump posted to Truth Social on Thursday what appeared to be the content of a message from U.S. Geological Survey Director Dr. Ned Mamula. “As of 4:30 pm today the U.S. Geological Survey has officially designated the former Lake Ontario to be renamed as Lake America in all official USGS electronic documents,” Mamula noted. “The change will begin occurring in printed documents over the next several days. This change has also been made official in the Geographic Names Information System.” Dingell’s post on X linked to a Politico report, which stated that Dingell noted in an interview that she plans to introduce a measure on Monday to nullify Trump’s move to change the lake’s name. NEW YORK GOV HOCHUL REJECTS TRUMP’S ‘LAKE AMERICA’ RENAMING WITH BLUNT MESSAGE The report linked to a copy of Dingell’s proposed “Hands Off Our Great Lakes Act,” which would declare that Trump’s Aug. 27 order renaming Lake Ontario “Lake America,” along with actions taken under it, has “no force or effect.” Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and to Dingell’s office early on Friday morning. TRUMP FLOATS RENAMING THE ATLANTIC AND PACIFIC OCEANS AFTER REBRANDING HISTORIC LAKE Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney declared in a Thursday post on X, “The name Lake Ontario comes from the Wendat word Ontari’io, which, appropriately, means ‘the lake is beautiful, the lake is big’. The name is more than 400 years old, predating both the Confederation of Canada and the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America. “We know that America is changing. Their trading relationships, their foreign policies, their national monuments, their hydronyms. Canadians also know that naming reality means calling it Lake Ontario – then, now and always,” Carney said in the post.
One of the world’s hottest industries is sparking a blue-collar jobs boom
The race to build the infrastructure behind artificial intelligence is creating a new boom for America’s blue-collar workforce, as construction firms scramble to fill jobs building data centers, power systems and the facilities that keep the technology running. The rapid buildout is putting a new premium on skilled trades, with data centers requiring armies of workers to prepare sites, pour concrete, install electrical systems and handle the infrastructure needed to bring them online. “For many years, there’s been a lack of focus just in general from what is the benefit of a career in the trades,” explained Cole Renken, general manager of Merlo America, the U.S. division of Italian construction equipment manufacturer Merlo Group. “It’s a very stable income, very stable lifestyle that you can provide for,” he added. ONE OF AMERICA’S OLDEST MANUFACTURERS SAYS AI IS CREATING JOBS — NOT REPLACING THEM Now, the AI infrastructure boom could bring renewed attention to those careers. U.S. construction spending is projected to climb from $2.22 trillion in 2026 to $2.85 trillion by 2031, according to a new report from Merlo America developed with predictive sales intelligence firm BiltData.ai. Industrial construction, which includes factories and data centers, is projected to reach $684 billion by 2031, representing 24% of total U.S. construction spending. Much of that growth is being driven by the infrastructure needed to power AI, cloud computing and 5G, with data centers emerging as a major source of construction and industrial activity. And building those facilities requires skilled workers at nearly every stage of a project. Renken said large projects require heavy-equipment operators to prepare sites and logistics workers to coordinate materials, followed by concrete workers, electricians, plumbers and other skilled trades as construction progresses. Electrical workers, he said, could face particularly high demand. A SOUTHERN STATE JUST TOOK THE TOP SPOT IN ONE OF THE WORLD’S FASTEST-GROWING INDUSTRIES And the jobs don’t necessarily disappear once construction is complete. Brittany Kaiser, CEO of AI infrastructure company Alpha Compute, told Fox News Digital that data centers require workers not only to build the facilities and energy infrastructure, but also to install equipment, monitor operations, perform maintenance and support future expansion. “These are projects that can provide hundreds or thousands of jobs over many, many years,” Kaiser said. “It’s not a quick construction project.” She described data centers as “a constant construction project,” requiring workers across construction, electricity, energy development, monitoring and maintenance as facilities grow and expand. That ongoing demand could create opportunities for surrounding communities, particularly for workers who can be trained for specialized positions. “It’s jobs that can also be taught and trained,” Kaiser said. “So it’s very possible to engage with the community on education and training initiatives to allow people to get access to these higher paying jobs that they didn’t have a skill set for before.” But as projects multiply, finding enough skilled workers could become a challenge. Renken said shortages in the trades have persisted throughout much of his career and could intensify as more projects come online. The boom, he said, is also a reminder that even the most advanced technology depends on physical infrastructure and the skilled workers needed to build and maintain it. That need, he said, could bring new attention to skilled trades that have long been overshadowed by the focus on high-tech jobs. “To me, it has been kind of an overshadowed market that hasn’t gotten the attention that it needs,” he said.
Socialist mayoral candidate ignites online mockery for touting basic city service
A Los Angeles councilwoman’s celebration of a newly painted neighborhood crosswalk has drawn online mockery after critics seized on the months-long timeline and glossy “street infrastructure” rollout for what they said amounted to a basic city service. Los Angeles Councilmember Nithya Raman, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, is facing online mockery after celebrating the completion of a neighborhood crosswalk project, which was first raised by the Los Feliz Neighborhood Council late last year, in a post on X. The post featured before-and-after images and thanked her field team for “continuing to problem-solve, push for solutions, and make our streets safer.” “Dear Lord, Nithya. Your standards are so incredibly low,” responded Richard Grenell, Presidential Envoy for Special Missions amid Donald Trump’s second term. “They didn’t even fix the street, they painted over cracks. And it took them a year…..” “Holy s—t, my sides…Nithya Raman’s big accomplishment is taking 9 months to paint 7 yellow stripes over a cracked street?” quipped former L.A. mayoral candidate and reality television star Spencer Pratt. “How dumb do you have to be to post this? BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA” DEM’S MELTDOWN OVER ‘TERRORIST SYMPATHIZER’ HASAN PIKER TRIGGERS INSTANT CONSERVATIVE MOCKERY: ‘YIKES’ “This is beyond parody,” responded conservative commentator Ben Shapiro. “Eight months to paint some yellow lines. Huge infrastructure victory! Make her mayor!” “They’re calling it the most ambitious infrastructure project since the Golden Gate Bridge,” added the Manhattan Institute’s Chris Rufo. AOC’S SOCIALIST CREDENTIALS FACE FRESH SCRUTINY AFTER GLARING 7-YEAR GAP SURFACES: ‘VERY CONVENIENT’ Fox News Digital reached out to Raman’s office and Pratt for comment but did not receive a response before publication. Raman’s announcement labeled the work “Improving Our Neighborhood Street Infrastructure” and included before-and-after photos showing yellow crosswalk markings across the cracked roadway. She said the Los Feliz Neighborhood Council had brought the issue to her office in late 2025. The post did not specify the project’s cost, when physical work began, which city department performed it or whether the work involved safety improvements beyond the painted markings.
Dems derided Trump’s midterm gamble — until he ended up winning big
One year ago this week, Texas passed a new congressional redistricting map, giving President Donald Trump his first major victory in his push to give Republicans a big boost heading into the midterm elections by drawing more right-leaning districts. One year later, as they fight to hold their razor-thin House majority, Republicans are the big winners, with partisan redistricting netting them at least 10 additional right-leaning congressional seats in time for the midterms. Democrats and left-leaning pundits repeatedly railed against Trump’s efforts and charged they would “shred our country’s democracy.” Top Democrats aimed to fight fire with fire but fell short. Their efforts to keep pace with the GOP were derailed following major court rulings by the Supreme Court and Virginia’s top court earlier this year, which were seen as major legal victories for Republicans. And the GOP scored another redistricting win earlier this month in Missouri, when a judge allowed a new map, backed by Trump and passed last year by Republican state lawmakers, to be used in November’s elections. BLOCKBUSTER SUPREME COURT RULING IGNITES REDISTRICTING WARS ACROSS SOUTHERN STATES Progressive pundits that cast Trump’s push for Texas to redraw its congressional map before the 2026 midterms as a threat to voting rights and democracy. Among them was former MSNBC anchor Joy Reid. She branded the fight a “Voting Rights 911” and later titled a segment on “The Joy Reid Show” as “Texas’s War on Democracy Through Gerrymandering.” John Oliver, host of “Last Week Tonight” on HBO, was also among a group of pundits that criticized the redistricting push as a power grab by Trump and the GOP. Oliver said gerrymandering was the practice of manipulating maps “to get the outcome you want,” and called it “putting a heavy thumb on the scale of who gets elected.” Fox News Digital reached out to representatives for Reid and Oliver to see if they continue to stand by their criticism, but didn’t receive responses by the time this story was published. It wasn’t just pundits who spoke out. Top Democrats also took action, after Trump, aiming to prevent what happened during his first term in the White House when Democrats reclaimed the House majority in the 2018 midterms, first floated the idea of rare, but not unheard of, mid-decade congressional redistricting. After Texas led the way last summer, Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin called a ruling by the conservative-dominated Supreme Court to greenlight the redistricting a victory for a “rigged map” meant to protect the GOP from midterm accountability. “But it will backfire,” Martin predicted. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who led a successful redistricting effort in his Democrat-dominated state last year to negate the GOP gains in Texas, emphasized, “California will not sit idle as Trump and his Republican lapdogs shred our country’s democracy before our very eyes.” TWIN COURT RULINGS RESHAPE HOUSE BATTLEFIELD AS DEMOCRATS FIGHT UPHILL REDISTRICTING BATTLE And Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York, who considered but decided against redrawing congressional maps in the blue-leaning state, charged that Trump and Republicans were aiming to “erode our democracy and drag us toward authoritarianism.” A veteran Republican strategist sees the Democrats’ arguments as hypocritical. “The left’s overcharged political rhetoric is undermined by Governor Gavin Newsom’s willingness to spearhead a power grab in his state that eliminated at least 5 GOP congressional seats,” Colin Reed told Fox News Digital. Reed argued that “Democratic leaders had the same goal as Republicans with mid-decade redistricting; they just weren’t as successful, but their intent makes any complaints about democracy ring hollow.” But Democrats stand by their resistance. “Elected leaders in every state should respond aggressively to this unAmerican attempt to rig control of congress for a generation,” John Bisognano, executive director of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, told Fox News Digital. SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER While Texas and California were the first major battlegrounds in the redistricting war, the fight quickly spread from coast-to-coast. Republican-controlled Florida, Missouri, and Ohio and swing state North Carolina, where the GOP dominates the legislature, drew new maps as part of the president’s push. But in blows to Republicans, a Utah district judge late last year rejected a congressional district map drawn by the state’s GOP-dominated legislature and instead approved an alternate that created a Democratic-leaning district ahead of the midterms. And Republicans in Indiana’s state Senate in December defied Trump, shooting down a redistricting bill that had passed the state House. But Democrats were dealt a major blow this spring when the Virginia Supreme Court struck down the Democrat-controlled state’s congressional redistricting ballot measure, which would have produced up to four more left-leaning House seats. DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUB Concurrently, a blockbuster decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that gutted key portions of the landmark Voting Rights Act – ruling that race should not dictate the redrawing of legislative districts – gave a handful of GOP-dominated Southern states the greenlight to move forward with redistricting. The legal rulings locked in an advantage for Republicans in this year’s battle for the House. Now it’s up to voters to decide which party will control Congress. But the redistricting fight is far from over. Democrat-controlled New York is taking steps toward redistricting in time for the 2028 elections. So is blue state Maryland, but a court ruling on Wednesday dealt Democrats a setback. A Maryland court blocked Democrats from adding a congressional redistricting initiative to the November ballot on Wednesday. The Democrat-backed effort would have allowed Maryland residents to vote on an amendment to the state constitution to let lawmakers redraw district maps ahead of the 2028 elections. Meanwhile, battleground Georgia, where Republicans currently control the governor’s office and state legislature, is also mulling a move. “The gerrymandering crisis Trump started last year is is not over. We expect him to continue demanding new congressional maps that manipulate voting districts to protect Republicans despite what American voters want,” Bisognano told Fox News Digital. He urged state