Inside NYC’s ‘perfect scam’: Luxury cars, dusty shelves and the EBT secret behind the counter
Stocked with food that expired years ago and lined with dusty shelves, some New York City bodegas and delis have allegedly been operating as fronts for organized Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card-skimming schemes, using hidden devices to steal information and ultimately taxpayer-funded benefits, according to an expert who is sounding the alarm. Criminals attach hidden skimming devices to checkout payment terminals to capture EBT card data while using pinhole cameras or keypad overlays to record customers’ PINs, according to the FBI. The stolen information is then used to create counterfeit cards and drain Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, costing consumers and financial institutions more than $1 billion each year. “A large percentage of these convenience stores are actually EBT ATMs,” Haywood Talcove, CEO of LexisNexis Risk Solutions Government, told Fox News Digital “Their sole purpose is to traffic cards, not sell food.” Speaking after joining the Secret Service on a recent fraud operation in New York City, Talcove continued: “I saw firsthand a can of tuna that expired three years ago. I saw firsthand pancake syrup that was two years expired, sardines that were expired. What struck me is the industry that is built around trafficking these EBT cards, taking away money from individuals and their families that actually need it.” SNAP FOOD STAMP FRAUD HAS NEFARIOUS TERRORISM LINKS, TOP AGRICULTURE WATCHDOG WARNS CONGRESS According to the Secret Service, the agency’s New York Field Office conducted a three-day operation across Brooklyn, the Bronx and Queens in June that uncovered 35 illegal skimming devices and prevented an estimated $36.5 million in fraud, marking its fourth anti-skimming operation in New York City this year. Eligible households receive monthly SNAP benefits on an EBT card, which works like a debit card and is used to buy eligible food at authorized retailers, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Talcove said he saw multiple stores on the same block with shelves stocked with expired food, which led him to believe some were operating primarily to facilitate EBT fraud rather than as legitimate grocery sales. During the operation, the Secret Service uncovered skimming devices on checkout payment terminals that can capture EBT card data that criminals can encode onto counterfeit cards for unauthorized purchases or withdrawals. “The logical question you ask yourself is, ‘How can there be enough economic activity to sustain stores that are all selling the same thing and they’re very small?’” he said. Talcove said “that’s not why they’re there,” adding the condition of many stores led him to believe some businesses were operating primarily to facilitate EBT fraud rather than as legitimate grocery stores. “They’re there to not provide nutrition because across the street is a wonderful supermarket with fresh food and fresh fish and produce and shelves that aren’t dusty that don’t sell food that’s expired,” he said. Although the fraud may appear to be carried out by only a small group, Talcove said it runs much deeper than that. “You start looking at these groups and you very quickly realize they’re criminal and they’re organized,” he said. FRAUD EXPERT WARNS AI IS HELPING CRIMINALS OUTPACE THE GOVERNMENT: ‘DON’T HAVE THE RIGHT TOOLS’ Michael Peck, assistant special agent in charge of the U.S. Secret Service’s Criminal Investigative Division, told The City Reporter in June that criminals have packed as much as $1.2 million in stolen cash into dishwashers before shipping it overseas, and that the runners installing skimming devices earn about $150. The City Reporter, citing the Secret Service, also reported that many of the organized crime groups behind the EBT skimming schemes originate in Eastern Europe and are “living large off the scam, renting $10,000-a-month apartments and Lamborghinis.” However, Talcove said the fraud extends beyond bodegas and delis, arguing many other retailers fit “into this category.” He also said the SNAP program does not require itemized purchase records, making suspicious transactions harder to detect. “I’ve got firsthand insights into one that was pretending to be a store, but it was actually a laundromat,” he said. “I’m looking at one right now on the West Coast that is pretending to be a store that is actually a strip club accepting EBT.” Talcove called the fraud the “perfect scam,” citing weak identity verification, outdated card technology, and limited purchase records. “Number one, you’re not going to get caught, number two, the government never runs out of money, and number three, the SNAP program has fundamental flaws in its administration,” he said. But Talcove said the “real victim here” is the families on SNAP who don’t receive the food they need, something he said he witnessed firsthand in New York City. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, more than 250,000 retailers nationwide are authorized to accept SNAP benefits. “The problem there is they have families,” he said. “They have children that are hungry and the money that was intended to go to the child is being diverted to something that it was never intended to do.” Emphasizing the impact, Talcove said hard-earned taxpayer dollars are being lost while criminals take advantage of those “who show up every day, that try to do the right thing.” ALLEGED FEEDING OUR FUTURE FRAUD RINGLEADER TRANSFERRED FROM SOMALIA TO FACE US CHARGES “They’re transnational in nature,” he said. “They are taking advantage of our empathy because they understand that you’re not gonna stop somebody from getting an EBT or SNAP benefit, because who would want to take food away from the hungry?” Talcove proposed “a concerted effort” to remove suspicious stores from the SNAP program, upgrading EBT cards to chip technology, strengthening identity verification, and monitoring large purchases to detect potential fraud. In a statement to Fox News Digital, a New York City Department of Social Services spokesperson said EBT skimming is a “nationwide crisis,” saying the city has been working closely with state officials and law enforcement to help “vulnerable” New Yorkers who may be impacted. Just this month, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the state will begin replacing current EBT
GOP erupts over 6,600 noncitizen voters found in blue state as scandal deepens: ‘Worse than anyone expected’
Republican outrage went into overdrive after New Jersey Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill announced that the state had mistakenly registered 6,600 noncitizen voters, prompting calls for an immediate end to automatic voter registration through the New Jersey Motor Vehicle System (MVC). Sherrill announced on Tuesday that a “serious software error in New Jersey’s Motor Vehicle System led to the registration of roughly 6,600 people who indicated that they were not U.S. citizens between June 2023 and June 2024, almost three years prior to my taking office.” Sherrill said preliminary analysis indicates that 400 individuals voted due to the error. Republican state Sen. Declan O’Scanlon told Fox News Digital that New Jersey Republicans have been raising concerns about the MVC registration system for years and “each time we were reassured that this ‘could never happen.’” “It happened, and it’s worse than anyone expected,” he said. DEMOCRAT NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR SAYS THOUSANDS OF NONCITIZENS DISCOVERED ON VOTER ROLLS, PURGED In light of the error, O’Scanlon called for a pause on all voter registrations through the MVC until a thorough investigation is completed for every registration processed through the system. He emphasized that beyond any software glitch, when state Democrats “made it law for noncitizens to obtain driver’s licenses, Republicans warned that this very problem could occur.” “If we know that more than 6,000 noncitizens were improperly registered to vote over two years, why on earth would we stop the investigation there? This system has been in place for years. We should be reviewing every registration processed through the MVC over the last decade,” he told Fox News Digital. “Until that thorough investigation is complete, the MVC should suspend all voter registrations.” In a Tuesday news conference, Sherrill emphasized that the mistake did not occur while she was in office. She criticized her predecessor, former Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, the MVC and the state’s software contractor, IDEMIA, for their alleged role in the scandal. “It’s unacceptable that the vendor released software with such a glaring error. It’s unacceptable that the MVC took a year to get this issue fixed, and it’s unacceptable that no one in the previous administration brought this to light,” said Sherrill. IDEMIA, however, released a statement pushing back on Sherrill’s assertion that its software is to blame. The company said that its role is to “transmit information through the motor vehicle system” and that the New Jersey Department of State’s Division of Elections “is ultimately responsible for verifying eligibility to vote.” This comes as President Donald Trump and Republicans push for passage of the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act, which proponents say would crack down on noncitizen voting. NEW JERSEY DEM GOV’S BLAME GAME BACKFIRES AFTER TECH COMPANY PINS NONCITIZEN VOTER REGISTRATION ON STATE Vice President JD Vance called on New Jersey senators to vote in favor of the SAVE America Act, writing in a tongue-in-cheek post on X, “If only there was a way to stop this type of ‘software error’ that allowed non-citizens to vote in our elections.” “I hope Senators @CoryBooker and @SenatorAndyKim will join us in voting to pass the SAVE America Act to ensure that only eligible American voters can participate in New Jersey elections, and all elections across the United States,” wrote Vance. New Jersey’s junior U.S. Sen. Andy Kim, however, said during an interview with MSNBC that “this is something that needs fixing, but it’s not this widespread systemic problem that Trump has been using and weaponizing to try to push forward a very extreme agenda,” according to Breitbart. Kim said that “this is unacceptable and this needs to be fixed immediately and needs people need to be held accountable,” but added, “We also need to make sure that we’re looking at the problems in the right size, that this is not akin to what Donald Trump was talking about.” SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER Ally Triolo, a spokesperson for the Republican National Committee, reacted by telling Fox News Digital that “Democrats’ refusal to acknowledge that the thousands of noncitizens found on New Jersey’s voter rolls represent exactly the kind of election integrity failure President Trump highlighted last week proves one thing: their hatred of the President matters more than doing what is right for voters and securing American elections once and for all.” Back in the state capitol in Trenton, New Jersey Assembly Republican Leader John DiMaio called for both a halt to automatic MVC registrations and a “top-to-bottom” audit of the state’s voter rolls. He believes the problem “is much more pervasive than 6,600 noncitizen voters.” “New Jersey Republicans have been sounding the alarm for years that the automatic voter registration process at the MVC was highly problematic,” said DiMaio. “Until citizens are 100% assured that not one illegal resident will be mistakenly or intentionally registered to vote, the automatic process should be immediately halted.” He also called on Sherrill to “put politics aside for once and focus on election integrity” by cooperating with the federal government to “get all the non-citizens off the rolls.” CNN’S JAKE TAPPER HITS DEMS FOR REJECTING ILLEGAL VOTING CONCERNS AMID NEW JERSEY VOTER ROLL CONTROVERSY In the state senate, Minority Leader Anthony Bucco told Fox News Digital that many of the issues stem from “the fact that New Jersey has been allowing undocumented immigrants to obtain a driver’s license since 2020.” “Over six years ago, Trenton Democrats chose to allow undocumented immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses despite our opposition, and they placed voter registration in the hands of the MVC—an agency with a long history of administrative failures,” he explained. New Jersey Sen. Kristin Corrado, who serves as ranking member of the state Judiciary Committee, said that before the scandal broke out, she had sent six letters to the Murphy administration warning of voter registration issues. “Democrats wrote this law, Democrats implemented this process, and Democrats failed to fix the obvious problems that followed,” she said. “Now we are learning that a catastrophic government failure allowed thousands of non-citizens to
Republicans sound alarm over far-left group’s push to transform America into ‘Cuban dictatorship’
Senate Republicans are warning that a new policy push from a far-left group gaining momentum in politics would unravel the Constitution, and could leave them without a job. As a progressive surge threatens to rewrite the core of the Democratic Party, earlier this month the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), which scored early victories in primary elections across the U.S. over the last several weeks, unveiled its vision for government. Among the three main pillars was a call to abolish the Senate in favor of an expanded House of Representatives with multiple parties in a bid to effectively eliminate the age-old, two-party system that has dominated American politics and representation for more than two centuries. WARREN DEFIES SCHUMER AS DEM CIVIL WAR EXPLODES OVER MUST-WIN SENATE RACE “I mean, we are important,” Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., quipped to Fox News Digital. “[It’s] pretty disgusting. I mean, you know the Senate is here so we can represent all — make sure all the states are represented. So, yeah. I think the Founding Fathers were pretty smart.” While the number of members in the House of Representatives depends on the population of every state, the Senate is the great equalizer where every state, regardless of size or population, receives two senators to represent them in the upper chamber. The progressive swell during this midterm cycle, so far, has largely been contained to the House, where DSA-backed candidates toppled longtime Democratic incumbents in New York City and Colorado last month. But one candidate, Abdul El-Sayed, who is running for the Democratic nomination in the Michigan Senate race, has tenuous links to the DSA from events the organization has sponsored that he’s attended. They’ve also not formally endorsed him in his battle against Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich. WATCH: SURFACED VIDEOS OF DEM SENATE CANDIDATE BACKING ‘DEFUND THE POLICE’ CONTRADICT RECENT DENIALS Still, he has the backing of two of the top DSA-aligned lawmakers in Congress: Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. The DSA’s program, dubbed Workers Deserve More, was officially launched last week on a call with DSA members and called to eliminate the upper chamber of Congress. One of the group’s top organizers, Michaela Branagan, contended, “Well, why do we have a Senate?” “A lot of people are going to see that, and they’d be, like, ‘Wait a second. What’s so great about the Senate?’ I mean, I’m not sure about this, but I’m pretty sure the only popular senator is Bernie Sanders — because he ran for president as a Democratic Socialist,” Branagan said on the call. BERNIE SANDERS, DSA REVEAL DEMANDS FOR DEM PARTY AFTER SOCIALISTS SWEEP NEW YORK ELECTIONS Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., told Fox News Digital that the DSA ought to test their vision of governance far from where anybody could see it. “Maybe a little pilot project on an island nation where the entire world experiment is on somebody’s shoulders, like, ‘ooh, I didn’t get that one right,’” Tillis said. “My God. I’m pretty happy with being the exceptional nation on the planet right now. I’m into course correction, a little tuning there, trimming the sails, but not sinking the boat.” And Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, questioned “where did this group of geniuses come from in America?” He argued that the midterm election, and the schism within the Democratic Party, was turning the battle into not being about the GOP versus Democrats, but rather “people who hate this country versus people who love this country.” Moreno, who was born in Columbia before moving to Florida with his family as a child, said that he learned there was a “very specific reason the Senate was created” after his mother made him read the Federalist Papers before obtaining his citizenship. “I think if somebody goes through that exercise they’re going to say, ‘What were these guys thinking? Like, why was the Senate created? Why is it the way it is?’ They’ll understand it,” Moreno said. “They also, remember, want to abolish the electoral college.” “Basically, they just want to have a Cuban dictatorship in America,” he continued. “It hasn’t worked out so well for Cuba.”
Rep Cory Mills under active criminal investigation by the Department of Justice, source says
Embattled Republican Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla., is under active criminal investigation by the Department of Justice, Fox News has learned. A source familiar with the matter told Fox News that the DOJ is investigating the Florida lawmaker, though the specifics of what he is being investigated for are unknown. Mills, who serves on the House Armed Services and Intelligence committees, has separately been under investigation by the House Ethics Committee regarding allegations of campaign finance violations, sexual misconduct, and dating violence. RESIGNATION IS THE NEW ESCAPE HATCH AS LAWMAKERS FACE EXPULSION Mills faces allegations of domestic abuse from an incident in February 2025 and a separate case of blackmail from July that same year, where he allegedly threatened to release explicit images of a romantic partner. Mills has denied any wrongdoing and hasn’t been charged with any crimes. The House Ethics Committee released a statement in April stating that its investigation into Mills that began in November 2025 was still ongoing. The panel noted at the time that its inquiry involves “sexual misconduct and/or dating violence.” REPUBLICAN LAWMAKER WELCOMES HOUSE ETHICS PROBE INTO SEXUAL MISCONDUCT ALLEGATIONS AGAINST HIM The traditionally secretive panel did not specify a timeline for when it plans to wrap up the probe. Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., also filed a motion to expel Mills in April. The resolution accused 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. Mills was first elected in 2022 and was re-elected in 2024. He is seeking a third House term this November. Fox News Digital’s Adam Pack and Leo Briceno contributed to this report.
House Dems hand GOP a win on trans sports as party unity cracks
Five House Democrats broke away from their party leaders on Tuesday night to vote with Republicans on a measure cracking down on transgender participation in school sports. The House voted on a slew of amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) on Tuesday, an annual bill setting military and national security policy each fiscal year. Among those that prevailed was an amendment led by Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., to block students born male from participating on girls’ athletic teams at schools run by the Department of War (DOW). HOUSE NARROWLY BACKS ALLOWING TROOPS, PENTAGON WORKERS TO CARRY PERSONAL GUNS ON MILITARY BASES The vast majority of Democrats — 203 of them — voted to allow transgender participation, save for Reps. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, Shomari Figures, D-Ala., Don Davis, D-N.C., Vicente Gonzalez, D-Texas, and Terri Sewell, D-Ala. The amendment was adopted in an overall 221 to 203 vote, with all Republicans voting in favor. DOW-run schools serve the dependents of active duty military personnel and civilian department employees throughout the world and parts of the United States. All four senior leaders in the House Democratic Caucus, including Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., voted against the amendment. Tuesday night’s vote shows how the issue of transgender participation in school sports — and topics surrounding transgender youth overall — is still fueling division within the Democratic Party. “Men are not women. Men will never become women. Yet male athletes are stealing medals, invading locker rooms and putting girls in the hospital, all in the name of gender ideology. Our NDAA amendment would end this nonsense,” Mace said of her amendment on Tuesday. ‘WOKE’ MILITARY ACADEMIES TARGETED IN NEW BLUEPRINT FOR SWEEPING WARFIGHTING OVERHAUL “It would ban biological males from competing against biological women in Department of Defense Education Activity schools. Our warfighters’ daughters deserve better than this.” Although it passed the House, the amendment and the NDAA overall are far from becoming law. Both chambers of Congress must pass identical versions of the sweeping bill before it gets to President Donald Trump’s desk.
Clarence Thomas’ constitutional argument against federal gun law gets first major court test
A convicted heroin trafficker’s appeal could upend one of the federal government’s most-used gun laws after a federal appeals court agreed to reconsider its constitutional foundation, weeks after Justice Clarence Thomas urged lower courts to take a fresh look at whether Congress had the authority to enact it. The full Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals voted Monday to rehear United States v. Squire, a case that could determine whether Congress exceeded its constitutional authority when it enacted the federal law making it a crime for convicted felons to possess firearms. The case stems from an appeal by convicted felon Curtis Squire, who was charged after police found a handgun in his New Orleans home while executing a search warrant. While his appeal began as a Second Amendment challenge, the case has evolved into a broader question: whether Congress had the constitutional authority under the Commerce Clause to criminalize firearm possession by convicted felons at all. SUPREME COURT UNANIMOUSLY LIMITS USE OF GUN LAW USED TO PROSECUTE HUNTER BIDEN The appeals court’s decision marks a significant shift in the case and the first major appellate response to Thomas’ recent concurrence in United States v. Hemani, in which he urged courts to reconsider the constitutional foundation of federal law. For decades, courts have upheld the law because Congress has the power to regulate interstate commerce, even if the only connection is that the gun crossed state lines before the defendant possessed it. But Thomas argued that goes too far, writing in Hemani that the Commerce Clause authorizes Congress only “to regulate the buying and selling of goods and services trafficked across state lines,” not “activities wholly separated from business, such as gun possession.” MAJOR APPEALS COURT DECLARES NEW JERSEY AR-15 BAN UNCONSTITUTIONAL IN LANDMARK SECOND AMENDMENT RULING He also rejected the long-standing theory that Congress may regulate firearm possession simply because the firearm once moved in interstate commerce. “Congress cannot regulate the possession of every thing that ever traveled across state lines,” Thomas wrote, warning that such an interpretation risks converting Congress’ limited commerce authority into “a general police power of the sort retained by the States.” He concluded that the issue “merits a closer look in an appropriate case.” “The Court, and lower courts, should revisit the constitutionality of §922(g),” Thomas wrote. The Fifth Circuit’s decision to rehear Squire suggests at least some judges agree that question warrants fresh consideration, though the move sharply divided the court. Judge Stephen Higginson, who dissented, warned the case has evolved from a narrow Second Amendment dispute into a much broader challenge to Congress’ power under the Commerce Clause, one that could have far-reaching consequences for federal law. INSIDE TRUMP’S UNPRECEDENTED BATTLE PLAN TO EXPAND SECOND AMENDMENT RIGHTS THROUGH JUSTICE DEPARTMENT He said striking down Section 922(g) would be “a significant departure from existing, settled, and binding Commerce Clause jurisprudence” and could “mark the start of a new, severely contracted Commerce Clause era.” “Can the federal government no longer criminalize possession of child pornography? Of explosive materials? Of biological weapons?” Higginson asked. “Past the Title 18 level, do we lose regulations on financial transactions? On intellectual property? On endangered species?” “All told, this case hazards untold consequences for federal law,” he concluded. Eric Wessan echoed Higginson, saying the case now presents fundamental questions that extend beyond the Second Amendment. “The case began as a Second Amendment as-applied challenge but now has been reframed to raise core questions about federal power,” Wessan told Fox News Digital. “A ruling could significantly reshape Second Amendment jurisprudence, longstanding Commerce Clause precedent, and the scope of federal criminal law.” “If the Fifth Circuit finds that the law exceeds Congress’s authority, it could potentially affect millions of Americans, interstate regulation, and the balance between federal authority and constitutional limits,” Wessan said. SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER Squire was indicted after police found a handgun inside his New Orleans home while executing a search warrant during a shooting investigation. Although the firearm was never tied to the shooting and related state charges were dropped, federal prosecutors charged him under the statute because of his extensive criminal history, which included convictions for drug trafficking, firearm offenses, burglary, obstruction of justice, and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. Before pleading guilty, Squire argued the statute violated the Second Amendment as applied to him under the Supreme Court’s decisions in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen and United States v. Rahimi. He contended historical tradition protected his right to possess a firearm inside his home. A three-judge Fifth Circuit panel rejected that argument in June, before Thomas’ concurrence in Hemani, holding that Congress may constitutionally prohibit individuals convicted of dangerous crimes, including drug trafficking, from possessing firearms in their homes. The panel emphasized that its ruling was narrow and did not decide whether people convicted of non-dangerous offenses could be permanently disarmed.
Reporter’s Notebook: House’s final sprint puts SAVE America Act and Iran funding in play
The late Sen. John Warner, R-Va., said to me once that “we don’t do a lot in Congress. But when we do it, we do it all at once.” That is kind of where we find the House of Representatives today. Today is the penultimate day in the House before the August recess. In fact, the House may not be here much at all until after the election. So that’s why the House is trying to cram EVERYTHING into today. HOUSE GOP VOTES TO PUNT GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN BATTLE TO AFTER NOVEMBER MIDTERMS Let’s start with what the House approved late last night. It approved a stopgap spending bill, renewing all funding at current levels to avoid a fall shutdown in October. The bill would run through Dec. 4. Fiscal conservatives liked the bill because it “kind of” saves money by simply renewing the current spending. By nature, these temporary bills do just that. They don’t add in new spending. So – in a way – that kind of holds the fiscal bottom line. But looming over everything is the touchstone of the GOP’s agenda. That’s the SAVE America Act. The House today plans to advance a budget framework and prospectively include the SAVE America Act later on. The Senate must also adopt the same framework so it can use the special budget reconciliation process – which is immune from filibusters. But the House and Senate can’t get to the meat and potatoes of the bill without adopting the framework. That’s why today is so important. What’s in “Reconciliation 3.0?” House Republicans will likely dump the SAVE America Act into the actual bill. They will also load up the bill with tens of billions to cover the war in Iran and restock the Pentagon with munitions. Money for agriculture programs will be in there, too. SENATE PLOTS PERMANENT END TO GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWNS WITH BIPARTISAN PUSH But here’s the rub. House and Senate Republicans aren’t on the same page. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., says his body will likely consider the House-approved government funding plan. But that needs 60 votes and is subject to a filibuster. Most Democrats will reject the House’s interim spending plan since they weren’t involved in drafting it. But that’s where Reconciliation 3.0 comes in. “We will hold that, subject to obviously, being able to move a continuing resolution to fund the government. It’s a possibility, that if necessary, we could pull that budget resolution passed by the House and use it to fund government,” said Thune when pressed by yours truly yesterday. In other words, the Senate won’t take up the House’s Reconciliation 3.0 plan any time soon. Many Senate Republicans have been cool to another reconciliation plan from the get-go. But Thune knows Senate Democrats will balk at the House’s stopgap spending bill. So he may use the reconciliation package to bypass Democrats and fund the government this fall. Remember that reconciliation is NOT subject to a filibuster. Thus, 60 votes are unnecessary. TRUMP INTERVENES AS HOUSE GOP REVOLT PUTS SAVE AMERICA ACT AT CENTER OF SPENDING SHOWDOWN However, this is something of a negotiating tactic by Thune. He knows Democrats don’t want Republicans to pass their own spending plan via budget reconciliation. He also believes it’s a bad precedent to resort to reconciliation to pass appropriations bills to keep the government open. So, he will hold the ball for now. This means that money to plus-up depleted programs and pay for the war in Iran is stalled for months. Maybe until at least December. That could be a problem at the Pentagon if the conflict drifts on. Finally, the House plans to vote on a separate bill today to ban its members from trading stocks. Congress passed – and President Obama signed into law – the STOCK Act 14 years ago. That law prohibits lawmakers and aides from using “inside information” collected on the job to play the market. However, today’s bill goes a step further. It outright prohibits House members from trading stocks. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., opposes this version of the bill. That’s because he wants a stock ban to apply across all of government. But that’s not what the House is poised to tackle today. So this is an especially ambitious day in the House. Money for the Iran war and SAVE America Act swing in the balance. And if you’re wanting to understand what Congress may face this fall, today’s action will give you a clue.
New Jersey Dem gov’s blame game backfires after tech company pins noncitizen voter registration on state
The vendor that Democratic New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill blamed for a “software error” leading to illegal voting in the Garden State denies wrongdoing and is instead pointing its finger back at the state. IDEMIA is a French multinational company that provides identity-related security services. Sherrill appeared to divert any government blame for 6,600 noncitizens being added to the voter roll onto the software company used by the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). The company said, ultimately, that the voter registration buck stops with the state. “The voter registration information is transmitted to the New Jersey Department of State, Division of Elections, which is ultimately responsible for verifying eligibility to vote,” IDEMIA said. “Information submitted by IDEMIA must still be validated and adjudicated by the Division of Elections.” NEW JERSEY REMOVES 6,600 PEOPLE FROM VOTER ROLLS WHO WERE ELIGIBLE TO CAST A BALLOT FOR 2024 ELECTION IDEMIA said that for more than 40 years the software company has worked with the New Jersey DMV Commission to “support the process through which eligible individuals may indicate their interest in registering to vote when applying for or renewing a driver’s license or state-issued identification card.” “IDEMIA’s role is to transmit information through the motor vehicle system,” it added in a statement. But the actual process for getting on the voter rolls in New Jersey is up to the state, IDEMIA insists. The state and the company will no longer be working together after the scandal. Sherrill announced Tuesday that a “serious software error in New Jersey’s Motor Vehicle System led to the registration of roughly 6,600 people who indicated that they were not U.S. citizens between June 2023 and June 2024, almost three years prior to my taking office.” NONCITIZEN EX-KANSAS MAYOR PLEADS GUILTY TO ILLEGALLY VOTING MULTIPLE TIMES Sherrill also said that about 400 noncitizens registered to vote in this manner actually cast ballots. The news caused a major firestorm, as Democrats for years have insisted that it is impossible for noncitizens to vote, and have sharply rebuked Republicans pushing for stricter voter ID laws and for suggesting that election security is a cause for concern. “These individuals answered ‘no’ when asked on a keypad whether they were a U.S. citizen when applying for drivers’ licenses and identification cards, but through no fault of their own, the system registered them anyway,” according to Sherrill. TRUMP INTERVENES AS HOUSE GOP REVOLT PUTS SAVE AMERICA ACT AT CENTER OF SPENDING SHOWDOWN She stressed three times in the same statement that while the “error” occurred under the previous administration, headed by Democrat Phil Murphy, she ordered her administration’s attorney to look into the matter and remove the illegally-registered voters from the rolls. “Our preliminary analysis shows fewer than 400 individuals who were newly registered for the first time because of the error voted,” she said. “They were registered as Democrats, Republicans and Unaffiliated voters and were scattered across the state.” “I am appalled by the reckless failures that allowed this to happen and the lack of transparency shown by those in charge at the time,” she said, emphasizing for the third time that the improper voting didn’t happen on her watch. Sherrill and the Democratic Party were torn to shreds by state and federal officials alike, along with conservative pundits, in the wake of the news. “This is another example of Democrats failing to secure elections. If Democrats would embrace voter ID – which has broad public support – the MVC’s voter registration failures would have been corrected at the ballot box,” said NJ Assembly Minority Leader John DiMaio, R-Hackettstown. “New Jersey needs voter ID, because citizens deserve confidence in election results and Trenton Democrats have proven they do not respond to known problems in the voter rolls.” The Trump administration weighed in, too. “Democrats and their media allies have repeatedly said it is impossible for noncitizens to register to vote, let alone cast a ballot. Time and again, they have been proven wrong. As President Trump has said, there is nothing more important than the integrity of our elections,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said. “And this latest incident underscores the absolute necessity of the SAVE America Act. American voters deserve to have confidence that our elections are safe and secure.” “In the same speech where she admits over 6,000 non-citizens were registered to vote, Democrat Governor Mikie Sherrill says that President Trump’s address on election integrity is a ‘bizarre conspiracy theory about fraud,’” the Republican National Committee said on X. Reached for comment, Sherrill’s office told Fox News Digital: “We will let Governor Sherrill’s remarks yesterday and her disgust at the failure of the outgoing vendor and previous administration speak for itself.” Fox News’ Charles Creitz and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
House panel subpoenas 3 left-wing groups in probe of $39M tied to Marxist tycoon Neville Singham
FIRST ON FOX: The powerful House Ways and Means Committee has subpoenaed three left-wing nonprofits in an investigation into more than $39 million that flowed from Marxist tech tycoon Neville Roy Singham to the groups, Fox News Digital has learned. In three letters dated July 21 and obtained by Fox News Digital, the committee accused the three nonprofits of failing to turn over a “single responsive document” to earlier requests for information. The committee, led by Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., issued the subpoenas to the People’s Forum Inc., a New York-based activist hub; BreakThrough News, a left-wing nonprofit media outlet; and Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research, which says its work is anchored in “national liberation Marxism.” RUBIO PUTS ENTIRE WORLD ON NOTICE AGAINST RISE OF ‘POISONOUS’ FAR-LEFT TERROR ‘MASKED AS EQUALITY’ The legislative action emerges as far-left nonprofits face growing scrutiny from law enforcement agencies, policymakers and federal agencies for their alleged roles in promoting communist propaganda, engaging in money laundering schemes and fomenting discord and even political violence. Last week, Secretary of State Rubio convened a summit of 65 nations to counter “far-left terrorism. On Monday, the State Department released a 100-page report on a network of U.S. organizations that allegedly promote propaganda for the communist regime in Cuba. The panel said it is investigating whether existing laws governing tax-exempt organizations adequately protect against foreign influence — and whether Congress needs to change those laws. The letters cite a five-part Fox News Digital investigation published in March that exposed the flow of $285 million from Singham into a sprawling international network of nonprofits, activist groups and media operations. “Your responses have failed to include a single responsive document and misrepresented both the scope and purpose of the Committee’s oversight,” the nearly identical letters state. “Accordingly, the Committee is invoking compulsory process to obtain the requested materials.” Singham network The panel alleges that Singham channeled money through shell companies and donor-advised funds before reaching the three tax-exempt groups. Such arrangements, the committee said, can allow foreign-linked funding to pass through intermediaries that “by design, obscure the original source of the contribution.” Singham is an American-born technology tycoon and longtime Marxist activist who sold his software company, ThoughtWorks, for an estimated $785 million in 2017 and now lives in Shanghai. He has since poured hundreds of millions of dollars into organizations advancing socialist and communist causes in the United States and around the world, according to Fox News Digital’s investigation. The Fox News Digital investigation found Singham pumped $22.44 million to People’s Forum, $16.76 million to Tricontinental and $1.098 million to Breakthrough BT Media Inc., a parent of its media arm. The committee cited Fox News Digital reporting. In a hearing earlier this year on malign foreign influence on U.S. nonprofits, Smith said Singham maintains business ties with people and companies linked to the Chinese Communist Party and works alongside a Chinese propaganda company. The committee first sought records from the People’s Forum in September 2025 and from BreakThrough News and Tricontinental in February. After attorneys for the organizations refused to comply, the panel issued narrower requests on May 4. The committee asked for records about foreign-linked funding and projects whose finances the groups managed. It also sought contracts tied to foreign people or organizations, communications with Singham about the groups’ finances or operations, contacts with other foreign interests, foreign donors who gave more than $5,000 and grants sent overseas. Attorneys for the organizations argued that the committee lacked a sufficiently clear legislative purpose, improperly invoked the Foreign Agents Registration Act and infringed on First Amendment rights, according to the committee’s account of their objections. BreakThrough News also invoked freedom-of-the-press protections. WATCH: In rare footage, Neville Roy Singham critiques ‘fascism’ of the West while supporting CCP and Xi Jinping INTEL EXPERT SAYS SINGHAM NETWORK IS MORE THAN A NONPROFIT SCANDAL—IT’S A SECURITY THREAT The attorneys later argued that the committee had “changed materially” the purpose of its investigation without adjusting its demands, leaving the organizations unable to determine whether the requested records were relevant. Attorneys for the People’s Forum also compared the investigation to a “witch hunt” by the House Un-American Activities Committee of the 1950s and questioned whether the Ways and Means Committee had jurisdiction to investigate potential issues involving the Foreign Agents Registration Act, according to the panel’s letter. The committee rejected those arguments, maintaining that it is investigating the organizations’ finances and structures — not their political views or reporting — and whether tax-exempt laws allow foreign-linked money to move through intermediaries without public disclosure. “The Committee’s inquiry here is directed at financial arrangements and organizational structure, specifically whether existing tax-exempt law adequately guards against foreign-influenced funding networks of the kind documented in public reporting about Mr. Singham’s activities,” the letter to the People’s Forum states. The panel said the organizations’ failure to produce “a single responsive document” left it with no choice but to compel their compliance. The subpoenas require the groups to turn over the requested materials by Aug. 7. Smith told Fox News Digital that the subpoenas would help expose whether America’s tax laws and charitable sector “have been exploited to advance the CCP’s influence operations inside the United States.” “The American people deserve to know whether the CCP has exploited America’s tax-exempt sector to advance its agenda,” Smith said. “The Ways and Means Committee is acting on two fronts: exposing the networks that exploit our tax laws and advancing legislation to close those loopholes for good.” Singham network faces broader federal scrutiny The subpoenas represent the latest government scrutiny of Singham’s financial network. On June 29, Fox News Digital reported that a federal grand jury in Manhattan was investigating alleged financial crimes involving Singham and organizations he funded. The investigation, launched by U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton for the Southern District of New York, is examining possible wire fraud, bank fraud, money laundering and other financial crimes, according to sources familiar with the matter. No charges have been announced. Fox News Digital’s five-part investigation
Trans college student melts down over pronouns in new viral bodycam footage: ‘Just say she’
Viral bodycam video shows transgender University of Central Florida student Jarrett Vick being pepper-sprayed, tased and arrested after a confrontation with campus police escalated when the student accused an officer of misgendering. The Feb. 5, 2025, footage shows the blue-haired student shouting at an officer inside a campus building after police reportedly responded to a disturbance. A UCF Police Department spokesperson said officers had responded to reports that a student was involved in a verbal altercation with several juveniles and became combative with officers when they arrived, according to Storyful. “What’s the problem?” the officer asks at the start of the video. BODYCAM CATCHES SUNNY HOSTIN INVOKING HER LEGAL CHOPS AS COPS CITE HARVARD-GRAD SON FOR TRESPASSING “Why do you let those kids get away with this? They are not supposed to be here,” the student responds, according to the footage. The officer then warns the student to calm down or face being placed in handcuffs and taken to a Baker Act facility, which is reserved for individuals experiencing a mental health crisis. “F–ing try it!” the student yells back. The officer can later be heard calling for another unit. “Can we get another unit… he is having a breakdown.” The student immediately objected to the officer’s pronoun use. “She! She! Just say the right pronoun!” the student screamed. SAN FRANCISCO YMCA CHANGES LOCKER ROOM RULES AFTER TRANSGENDER CONTROVERSY: REPORT The pronoun dispute continued even as officers tried to put the student in handcuffs. At one point, an officer warned, “I’m gonna spray him,” referring to his pepper-spray, before the student became enraged. “Don’t say him!” the student yelled at the officers. “OK, her. I’m going to spray her,” the officer said as he scuffled with the student with handcuffs in hand. “Thank you,” the student said while allegedly continuing to resist arrest. As the officer had his pepper-spray deployed, and was calling for Vick to calm down, the student began pleading for help from a nearby university administrator. “Stop! Josh, please!” the student could be heard yelling in the footage as cops tried to wrestle Vick to the ground. “Can you please just tell them to use the right pronouns?” the student also requested of the administrator amid the altercation. “Please, you know it’s causing me a lot of distress.” As police tried to take the student into custody, the video showed the student resisting orders to get on the ground. Vick was eventually tased and handcuffed before being placed in a patrol vehicle. In the aftermath, one officer can be heard saying the out-of-control student threw a closed fist, grabbed an officer’s microphone and kicked an officer during the struggle. The student was arrested and charged with battery on a law enforcement officer, disorderly conduct and resisting an officer with violence, according to a UCF Police Department spokesperson cited by Storyful. Vick pleaded not guilty to the charges, and Orange County records listed the cases as closed, according to the New York Post. The UCF spokesperson told Storyful that the student was enrolled at the university in spring 2025 but is not a current student and did not graduate from the school.