Trump front-and-center as nation’s biggest city holds primary election for mayor
He’s not on the ballot, but President Donald Trump is front-and-center in the city where he was born and made his fame, as heavily blue New York City holds its Democratic Party primary for mayor. And in the nation’s most populous city, where Democrats for generations have dominated the political landscape, Trump has been the boogeyman on the mayoral campaign trail. “LA’s in chaos. Imagine it’s Times Square. Trump’s coming for New York. Who do you think can stop him?” said the narrator in an ad earlier this month by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination. “Trump’s at the city gates,” the narrator in Cuomo’s ad warned. “We need someone experienced to slam them shut.” NEW YORK CITY ON HIGH ALERT AHEAD OF DEMOCRATIC MAYORAL PRIMARY AFTER U.S. STRIKES IRAN Cuomo was spotlighting the recent protests in Los Angeles, sparked by immigration raids carried out by ICE at the Trump administration’s direction, to raise warnings about Trump and showcase his own experience. The former three-term governor of New York, who resigned from office in 2021 amid multiple scandals and is now working to pull off a political comeback, was arguing that the president had “declared war” on the Big Apple and other cities across the country and suggested Trump may eventually send troops into New York City. Cuomo, who said recently that, as mayor, he’d mount a national campaign to try and thwart Trump’s agenda, vows to protect New York City from what he suggests is a possible future federal crackdown against immigration protests. And on the eve of the primary, Cuomo told a large crowd of supporters at a union hall that Democrats need to “stand strong, stand united, stand tall” against Trump. THIS FORMER PRESIDENT BACKS ANDREW CUOMO IN NEW YORK CITY’S DEMOCRATIC MAYORAL PRIMARY It’s not just Cuomo. Most of the other candidates in the 11-candidate Democratic mayoral field have also taken aim at Trump and showcased the steps they’d take to push back against the president. And Trump was a top topic at the final primary debate earlier this month. And that was before Trump further dominated headlines this past weekend by launching military strikes against Iran. ‘GLOBALIZE THE INTIFADA’ PHRASE STIRS TENSIONS ON NYC CAMPAIGN TRAIL AS MIDDLE EAST CONFLICT RAGES While national and at times even international events and figures often impact the campaign trail in New York City, Marist University Institute for Public Opinion director Lee M. Miringoff noted that “the fact that Trump is so front-and-center is so unusual.” Cuomo’s commercial, part of what his campaign said was major ad buy, came as progressive Zohran Mamdani was surging in the latest public opinion polls, closing the gap with the more moderate former governor. Mamdani, a 33-year-old state assembly member from Queens, is a democratic socialist originally from Uganda. His primary bid was boosted earlier this month after he landed an endorsement from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the progressive rock star and New York City’s most prominent leader on the left, and Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, the progressive champion and two-time Democratic presidential nominee runner-up. With multiple candidates on the left running in the primary, the endorsements by Ocasio-Cortez and Sanders aimed to consolidate the support of progressive voters behind Mamdani. AOC BACKS RISING PROGRESSIVE CANDIDATE IN NYC DEM PRIMARY IN PUSH TO DEFEAT FRONTRUNNER CUOMO The 67-year-old Cuomo, for weeks, has been questioning Mamdani’s experience leading New York City. Cuomo’s campaign has criticized Mamdani as a “dangerously inexperienced legislator” while touting that the former governor “managed a state and managed crises, from COVID to Trump.” Mamdani is also spotlighting the president, as he aims to tie Cuomo to Trump by pointing out that many of the former governor’s donors had backed Trump in last year’s presidential election. “Oligarchy is on the ballot. Andrew Cuomo is the candidate of a billionaire class that is suffocating our democracy and forcing the working class out of our city,” Mamdani’s campaign argued in an email to supporters. Trump and his administration were also in the New York City mayoral campaign spotlight last week when New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, who is in a distant third place in the most recent polls, was arrested in Manhattan by Department of Homeland Security agents. Lander was detained for allegedly assaulting a federal officer as he tried to escort a defendant out of an immigration court. Temperatures are forecast to reach 100 degrees in New York on Tuesday as the city holds its primary. The dangerously high temperatures may keep some older voters from heading to the polls. Because of that possibility, the heatwave could affect turnout in a race that may come down to Cuomo’s union support and campaign structure versus Mandani’s volunteer forces. New York City election officials said that more than 384,000 Democrats cast ballots in early voting, which ended on Sunday. The election is being conducted using a ranked-choice voting system in which voters rank candidates by preference on their ballots. If no candidate receives a majority of first-choice votes, the lowest vote-getter is dropped, with that candidate’s votes reallocated to voters’ next-highest choices. The process is repeated until one candidate cracks 50%. Mamdani is hoping that the ranked-choice process boosts his chances against Cuomo. New York City’s primary comes as the Democratic Party works to escape from the political wilderness, following last year’s elections, when the party lost control of the White House, the Senate majority and failed to win back control of the House from the GOP. And it comes as the party works to resist Trump’s sweeping and controversial second-term agenda. Miringoff said the results of the primary will be seen as a barometer of which way the Democratic Party is headed, towards the center if Cuomo wins and towards the left if Mamdani is victorious. “Because it’s New York and it’s a very blue city and everything that happens is magnified, I think we’re going to be hearing a lot about the future of the Democratic
Exclusive: Red state updating education standards to address rise in antisemitism in schools
EXCLUSIVE: In light of the surge in conflicts in the Middle East and rising tension within the U.S., the Oklahoma Department of Education has sent a memo to all public schools within the state guiding them to “safeguard students from woke, radicalized, terrorist-sympathizing rhetoric pushed by leftist educators.” In the memo, Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters said, “Oklahoma kids will be taught facts, not indoctrination.” The memo issues new guidance to Oklahoma public schools to ensure that social studies courses present instruction on Israel that is “historically grounded and balanced,” requiring instruction using primary sources, historical evidence and “guarding against antisemitic or politicized narratives.” Its new guidance instructs Oklahoma public educators to present the history of Israel and its “fight to rightly exist in the world, including the atrocities of the Holocaust and the current struggle with Iran, in a way that is historically grounded, intellectually honest, and free from antisemitic bias.” THE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES OF HAMAS’ WAR ON ISRAEL FOR THE US AND GLOBAL SECURITY “These standards provide essential context for understanding modern threats to Jewish communities and democratic nations and require students to think critically while ensuring the instruction of Israel is historically grounded and balanced,” the memo states. This comes as antisemitic incidents have risen across the country since 2020. Tensions have risen even further following Israel’s launch of strikes against Iran and the U.S. joining in by launching strikes on three Iranian nuclear development sites on Saturday. Fox News Digital obtained a copy of the memo being sent to schools. In the memo, the Oklahoma State Department of Education points to the recent controversy in New York in which they said a state standardized exam study guide “described Zionism as a ‘colonial’ movement and included misleading references to terrorism.” The memo said that New York “serves as a staunch reminder that there exists ideology and educational materials not only distort historical fact but risk promoting ideologies that are inconsistent with Oklahoma values.” EXPERT CALLS CONTROVERSIAL UN REPORT ‘A FRIGHTENING INDICATION OF ANTISEMITISM’ “Oklahoma’s standards are designed to prevent this by setting clear expectations for content accuracy and instructional integrity,” says the memo. “The tragic events of October 7, 2023 — when Hamas militants launched a brutal surprise attack on Israeli civilians, killing over 1,200 people and taking hundreds hostage — marked a turning point in modern Middle Eastern history,” the memo states. “These developments are not just headlines, they are history in the making and highlight the urgent need for educators to present global conflicts with clarity, accuracy, and moral responsibility.” In a statement emailed to Fox News Digital, Walters touted Oklahoma’s history standards, saying they are “the best in the country” because “they are based on facts and safeguard students from woke, radicalized, terrorist-sympathizing rhetoric pushed by Leftist educators.” IRAN STRIKE ‘WORTHY’ OF NOBEL PRIZE IF SUCCESSFUL, FORMER DEMOCRATIC COUNSEL SAYS This comes amid heightened tensions in the U.S. due to the ongoing conflict between Iran and Israel and President Donald Trump’s decision to launch U.S. military strikes on three Iranian nuclear development sites. Iran has vowed to retaliate and on Monday launched missiles at the U.S. Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
Republicans congratulate Trump amid Iran ceasefire as Dems hold back applause
Following news that Iran and Israel have reached a ceasefire less than two days after the United States struck the Muslim country’s nuclear enrichment sites, Republican lawmakers came out in droves to congratulate the president on Monday evening. Democrats, meanwhile, appear to be withholding their congratulations, at least initially. “CONGRATULATIONS TO EVERYONE! It has been fully agreed by and between Israel and Iran that there will be a Complete and Total CEASEFIRE (in approximately 6 hours from now, when Israel and Iran have wound down and completed their in progress, final missions!), for 12 hours, at which point the War will be considered, ENDED!” President Donald Trump said on Truth Social Monday evening. TRUMP ANNOUNCES HISTORIC IRAN AND ISRAEL CEASEFIRE AGREEMENT TO END ’12 DAY WAR’ Following Trump’s announcement, which was later verified with Iranian officials, Republicans immediately took to social media and the airwaves to congratulate the president, with many extolling his negotiating prowess. “[Trump] is the greatest foreign policy mastermind in American history. Give him the Nobel Peace Prize—NOW,” Tennessee Republican Rep. Andy Ogles wrote on X. “Peace through STRENGTH!,” Speaker of the House Mike Johnson exclaimed on the platform. “President Trump just did what no other president could do. All it took was the American people electing Donald J. Trump and the world is safer for it. CEASEFIRE!” South Carolina GOP Rep. Nancy Mace also added on X. VICE PRESIDENT JD VANCE EXPLAINS TRUMP’S ANNOUNCEMENT OF ‘COMPLETE AND TOTAL CEASEFIRE’ AGREEMENT BETWEEN IRAN, ISRAEL “It’s huge if this sticks, which I don’t know why it wouldn’t,” Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-Ind., told Fox News. “Once Iran saw and heard what we’re capable of doing with our B-2 bombers and our bunker busters, it not only sends a message to them, but it sends a message to the greater part of the world that, this president, he will negotiate with you, he wants to find a way to do this, but, if you’re not going to negotiate, there’s going to be consequences.” “I think the president really hit the re-set button and said, ‘Look, let’s actually produce long-term peace for the region.’ That’s always been his goal,” Vice President J.D. Vance said on Fox News’s “Special Report” with Brett Baier. “I actually think when we look back we will say the 12-day war was an important reset for the entire region.” Meanwhile, Democrats appear to be withholding their congratulations. A Fox News Digital analysis of Democrat congressional leadership’s accounts on X, shows no congratulatory messages as of Monday evening. However, Fox News was able to catch up with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., to ask her about her take. The congresswoman’s response was not congratulatory, however. DETAILS REVEALED BEHIND TRUMP’S ANNOUNCEMENT OF IRAN-ISRAEL CEASEFIRE “He also said that it was a war,” Ocasio-Cortez told Fox News when asked about the ceasefire. “I think that the president of United States, admitting that he unilaterally brought the United States into a war without congressional approval, is a very grave public admission. It is illegal. It is unconstitutional. And, and so for me, while the president is posting something about a ceasefire, I think what he also posted was an official acknowledgment that this was war. And I think that is something that should be taken into very serious consideration.” Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., who was pushing to pass a resolution alongside Democrats ahead of this weekend’s attacks seeking to require Trump to gain congressional approval before attacking Iran, said that he would not seek to advance the measure any further on account of the ceasefire. “I talked to the speaker on the floor just now and told him we wouldn’t push it if the cease-fire holds, so it’s really in their court,” Massie said, according to Politico. Massie added that he would “wait and see” before making a final decision.
DOJ on ‘high alert’ for Iranian nationals living illegally in US, Bondi says
Attorney General Pam Bondi was questioned Monday during a House budget hearing about Iranian nationals who entered the country illegally during the Biden administration after the Trump administration warned the conflict with Iran raised threat levels in the United States. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, asked if the attorney general knew how many Iranian nationals in the United States have been convicted of crimes. Bondi said she was unsure, but that more than 1,000 entered the country during the last administration. “And I can tell you, we are on high alert, and everyone is looking at that very closely,” Bondi said. TRUMP CALLS IRAN RESPONSE TO STRIKE ON NUCLEAR FACILITIES ‘WEAK,’ SUGGESTS RETURN TO DIPLOMACY U.S. Border Patrol arrested 1,504 Iranians at the southern border during President Joe Biden’s term, and nearly half of them, or 729, were released into the United States, according to a senior Customs and Border Protection source. Bondi’s remarks echo those of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which issued a notice one day prior saying that the Iran conflict “is causing a heightened threat environment in the United States.” The DHS cited the possibility of extremists in the United States “independently mobilizing to violence” if Iranian leaders were to call for it. The department also said cyberattacks and incidents of antisemitism could increase. Gonzales asked Bondi about the threat of Iranian “sleeper cells,” to which the attorney general said she could “not talk about that in this setting.” The line of questioning during a hearing about the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) budget proposal for the upcoming fiscal year came amid a rapidly evolving conflict in the Middle East that Trump chose to intervene in over the weekend. OVER 700 IRANIAN NATIONALS RELEASED INTO THE US DEPSITE TERRORISM CONCERNS The Trump administration carried out airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities, leading to Iran launching a missile attack on a U.S. military base near Doha, Qatar, on Monday. Trump said the Iranians gave “early notice” of the offensive and that no casualties occurred as a result of the attack. Later Monday, Trump announced that a ceasefire between Israel and Iran would take effect in a matter of hours, though ceasefire deals have fallen through in the past, and it remains unclear if the agreement will hold. The DOJ brought an indictment against three men last year in connection to a murder-for-hire scheme that allegedly originated in Iran that involved assassinating Trump before the 2024 election, as well as killing a journalist. One of the men remains at large. He is an Afghan national but was allegedly being paid by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, an Iran-based militant group. “The charges announced today expose Iran’s continued brazen attempts to target U.S. citizens, including President-elect Donald Trump, other government leaders and dissidents who criticize the regime in Tehran,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said at the time of the indictment. Bill Melugin contributed to this report.
ICE arrests alleged gang member hiding from Mexican authorities in sanctuary city: ‘Heinous murderer’
EXCLUSIVE: Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested an illegal immigrant in New Haven, Connecticut, who is wanted for allegedly killing a Mexican law enforcement officer. Orlando Diaz-Cebada, known as “El Leches,” was taken into ICE custody on June 12, 2025, in Connecticut. He is allegedly a member of the Los Pochos gang that works with the Sinaloa Cartel, according to DHS. “Thanks to our brave ICE law enforcement and federal partners, this criminal illegal alien fugitive wanted for murdering a law enforcement official in Mexico is off America’s streets. This heinous murderer attempted to evade justice by hiding out in Connecticut,” Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. FEDERAL AGENTS CAPTURE ALIEN ACCUSED OF RAPE, ASSAULT WHILE LA POLITICIANS CONDEMN ICE OPERATIONS “These are the types of barbaric criminal illegal aliens our brave ICE law enforcement risks their lives every day to arrest. America is no longer a safe haven for violent criminals. If you are a criminal illegal alien considering entering America illegally, don’t even think about it. If you come here and break our laws, we will hunt you down. Criminals are not welcome in the United. States,” McLaughlin added. Diaz-Cebda entered the United States illegally in May 2024, and was deported twice by U.S. Border Patrol, as he tried to enter again two days after the first try. According to DHS, the circumstances of when he returned to the U.S. are unclear, as the department said he was not “inspected, admitted, or paroled” by federal authorities. A document reviewed by Fox News Digital from the attorney general’s office in Tlaxcala, a state in Mexico, showed that he is wanted in the country for aggravated homicide. ILLEGAL ALIEN CHARGED WITH ATTEMPTED MURDER FOR THROWING MOLOTOV COCKTAIL AT OFFICERS IN LA RIOTS: DHS The arrest warrant was filed on April 23, 2024, a month before he came to the U.S. New Haven is considered a sanctuary city, according to WSHU. In April, Mayor Justin Elicker touted a legal win as the Trump administration attempted to scrap federal funding for cities that do not comply with federal immigration enforcement. CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE “New Haven is a welcoming city and we’re committed to ensuring all our residents feel safe calling the police, seeking medical care, sending their children to school, and accessing critical public services. It’s not only the right policy, it’s the practical policy,” Elicker said in a statement in April. TWO ILLEGAL VENEZUELAN IMMIGRANTS, SUSPECTED TDA GANG MEMBERS CHARGED IN DEADLY CHICAGO MASS SHOOTING “We need to make sure our police department is working to fight crime and not commandeered to do the work of the federal government. We are very pleased with this ruling and that New Haven will be able to use lawfully obligated federal funds to further strengthen public safety in our city,” the Democrat added. Fox News Digital reached out to the mayor’s office. “We fully support the efforts of our federal partners in apprehending this individual, who stands accused of a heinous crime, the killing of a fellow officer. While everyone is entitled to due process, we stand firmly behind actions that protect our communities,” a spokesperson for the New Haven Police Department stated.
Hospitals in sanctuary cities could be most vulnerable to Iran terror attacks, warns expert
Following reports that 729 Iranian nationals illegally entered the U.S. and were released into the country by the Biden administration, experts are warning that sanctuary jurisdictions with policies obstructing ICE and federal immigration enforcement may be the most vulnerable targets for Iranian-sponsored terror attacks looking to retaliate for the U.S. strikes over the weekend. The number of Iranians released into the country by Border Patrol agents under former President Joe Biden’s administration increased successively each year of the administration. In total, Border Patrol arrested 1,504 Iranian nationals from fiscal year 2021 through fiscal year 2024. Of the 1,504 individuals who were arrested, 729 were released into the United States. Just hours after Trump addressed the nation on U.S. military strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, the DHS released a new memo sounding the alarm on a “heightened threat environment in the United States.” The bulletin states, “The likelihood of violent extremists in the Homeland independently mobilizing to violence in response to the conflict would likely increase if the Iranian leadership issued a religious ruling calling for retaliatory violence against targets in the Homeland.” ‘OPEN BORDERS’ UNDER BIDEN COULD HELP IRAN RETALIATE WITH US TERROR SLEEPER CELLS: FORMER FBI BOSS NBC News reported that Iran sent a message to Trump at the G7 summit last week that it could activate “sleeper cells” to conduct terror attacks in the U.S. “We have to assume threats may arise,” Lora Ries, a director of the Border Security and Immigration Center at the Heritage Foundation, told Fox News Digital. Ries said that while the government is aware of 729 Iranian illegal immigrants being released into the country under Biden, the real concern is that “we have no idea” how many unknown “gotaways” there could be in the U.S. presently. She said the concerns are most acute in so-called sanctuary jurisdictions that have policies or, in the case of Los Angeles, populations that are actively obstructing federal immigration authorities from carrying out deportations. MIDNIGHT HAMMER IS ‘MISSION ACCOMPLISHED’ BUT THERE’S ONE BIG RED FLAG “Democrats need to start supporting deportations,” she remarked, pointing out that despite a narrative that ICE agents are arresting innocent immigrants, many of the illegals are serious criminals, or in some cases, even terrorists. Andrew Arthur, an immigration policy expert at the Center for Immigration Studies, told Fox News Digital that the “ultimate soft target” for a terror attack would be a hospital, especially hospitals in sanctuary jurisdictions. He pointed out Iran’s recent bombing of a hospital in Be’er Sheva, Israel, demonstrating the regime is willing to carry out such an attack. “It’s a possibility in the United States,” said Arthur. “If we’re trying to think of a soft target that would potentially have catastrophic impacts, it would be a hospital.” To prevent such an attack, Arthur stressed the importance of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies all working together to monitor and proactively respond to threats. AMERICAN TRAVELERS SHOULD KNOW ESCAPE ROUTES AT TRANSIT HUBS AFTER IRAN STRIKES, SECURITY EXPERT WARNS “Fortunately, DNI [the Director of National Intelligence] should have an idea of what potential targets in the future are. DNI is not going to share that publicly, but all that should flow down through DHS to state and local law enforcement agencies,” he explained. “The problem is that right now, we have all these state and local law-enforcement agencies and sanctuary jurisdictions that really aren’t cooperating with DHS,” he said. “That could create its own vulnerability.” “It compounds the risk,” he went on. “Particularly in California, because I think a lot of law enforcement agencies in California are confused about what they can do and can’t do under SB-54 — the California Values Act — so it could potentially create its own vulnerability.” That being said, Arthur said an Iranian-sponsored terror attack inside the U.S. would likely be a “suicidal move” for the regime and would likely be a “last desperate move.” Even so, Arthur said there remains a “real concern” about Iranian-sponsored terror attacks inside America’s borders. AMERICANS VULNERABLE TO CYBERATTACKS, LONE WOLF THREATS IN WAKE OF IRANIAN AIRSTRIKES: FORMER FBI AGENT Other potential mass casualty targets could be places such as the National Mall in Washington, D.C., Times Square, Independence Hall in Philadelphia or other highly populated, open areas. “The threat is real. Whether they’re going to use it is a different question,” he concluded, adding, “The Biden administration exposed the American people to an unacceptable level of threat.” On Monday evening, Trump posted on social media that “it has been fully agreed by and between Israel and Iran that there will be a Complete and Total CEASEFIRE … for 12 hours, at which point the War will be considered, ENDED!”
Trump admin secures pledge from 75% of health insurers in bid to improve patient care
Roughly three-quarters of the nation’s health insurance providers signed a series of commitments this week in an effort to improve patient care by reducing bureaucratic hurdles caused by insurance companies’ prior-authorization requirements. Director of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Dr. Mehmet Oz, alongside Health and Human Services Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., announced the new voluntary pledge from a cadre of insurance providers, who cover roughly 75% of the population, during a press conference Monday. The new commitments are aimed at speeding up and reducing prior-authorization processes used by insurers, a process that has been long-maligned for unnecessarily delaying patient care and other bureaucratic hurdles negatively impacting patients. “The pledge is not a mandate. It’s not a bill, a rule. This is not legislated. This is a opportunity for industry to show itself,” Oz said Monday. “But by the fact that three-quarters of the patients in the country are already covered by participants in this pledge, it’s a good start and the response has been overwhelming.” A NEW LAW IN THIS STATE BANS AUTOMATED INSURANCE CLAIM DENIALS Prior-authorization is a process that requires providers to obtain approval from a patient’s insurance provider before that provider can offer certain treatments or services. Essentially, the process seeks to ensure patients are getting the right solution for a particular problem. However, according to Oz, the process has led to doctors being forced to spend enormous amounts of man-power to satisfy prior-authorization requirements from insurers. He noted during Monday’s press conference that, on average, physicians have to spend 12 hours a week dealing with these requirements, which they see about 40 of per week. “It frustrates doctors. It sometimes results in care that is significantly delayed. It erodes public trust in the healthcare system. It’s something we can’t tolerate,” Oz insisted. DR. OZ SAYS TAXPAYERS FOOTING $14 BILLION BILL FOR MEDICAID FRAUD WHILE ELIGIBLE PATIENTS STRUGGLE FOR CARE The pledge has been adopted by some of the nation’s largest insurance providers, including United Healthcare, Cigna, Humana, Blue Cross & Blue Shield, Aetna and many more. While the industry-led commitments aim to improve care for patients, it could potentially eat into their profits as well if patients start seeking care more often. The commitments from insurers cemented this week include taking active steps to implement a common standardized process for electronic prior-authorization through the development of standardized submission requirements to support faster turnaround time. The goal is for the new framework to be operational by Jan. 1, 2027. Another part of the pledge includes a commitment from individual insurance plans to implement certain reductions in its use of medical prior-authorization by Jan. 1, 2026. On that date, if patients switch insurance providers during the course of treatment, their new plan must honor their existing prior-authorization approvals for 90-days while the patient transitions. DR. OZ UNPACKS POSSIBLE WORK REQUIREMENTS FOR MEDICAID Transparency is also a key part of the new commitments from insurance providers. Health plans enjoined with the commitments will pledge to provide clear and easy-to-understand explanations of prior-authorization determinations, including guidance for appeals. The commitment also states that by 2027, 80% of electronic prior-authorization approvals from companies will be answered in real-time. Oz, during the Monday press conference, compared the industry-led pledge to the Bible, saying, “The meek shall inherit the earth.” “I always grew up thinking ‘meek’ meant weak, but that’s not what meek means. ‘Meek’ means you have a sharp sword, a sword that could do real damage to people around you, but you decide, electively, to sheathe that sword and put it away for a while, so you can do goods, so you can do important things where once in a while we have to get together, even if we’re competitors, and agree,” Oz said Monday. “That’s what these insurance companies and hospital systems have done,” he continued. “They have agreed to sheathe their swords to be meek for a while, to come up with a better solution to a problem that plagues us all.”
Reporter’s Notebook: Who really decides when America goes to war? The answer isn’t so clear
The Founding Fathers were clear about lots of things, but in the era of modern warfare, who calls the shots and has the final say to head into battle was not the Founders’ most crystalline moment. Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution grants Congress the power to “declare War.” But Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution anoints the President “Commander in Chief.” Constitutional scholars argue that Congress must adopt a resolution before sending service personnel into hostilities abroad under the aegis of “war.” But what if you just dispatch B-2 bombers from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri to fly halfway around the world and slingshot 14 bunker buster bombs into three of Iran’s nuclear facilities? Or if you greenlight Ohio Class subs to fire 30 Tomahawk missiles into Iran as well? TRUMP RECEIVES MIXED SUPPORT FROM CONGRESS FOR IRAN STRIKES AS WAR POWERS DEBATE RAGES Are you “at war?” Does the president have the authority to do that? What about Congress? Well, if you say the president — or Congress — both can be right. Or wrong. “I’m someone who believes in the Constitution and the War Powers Act,” said Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., on Fox. “(President) Donald Trump did not declare war. He has the right as commander-in-chief to execute a very surgical process.” SENATE GOP AIMS TO APPROVE MAJOR LEGISLATION NEXT WEEK AS TRUMP TOUTS PARTY UNITY Mace noted “there were no troops on the ground.” But then the South Carolina Republican added this: “The 2001 AUMF is still in place. If we didn’t like it, then Congress should get rid of it,” said Mace. OK. Hold on. We know what “troops on the ground” is. We think (think) we understand what “declaring war” is (or do we?). But pray tell, what in the world is an “AUMF?” That’s congressional speak for an “Authorization for Use of Military Force.” It’s kind of like Congress “declaring war.” Both the House and Senate must vote to “declare war.” Transom windows, pie safes and coal chutes in homes all started to become obsolete in the 1940s. So did “declaring war,” apparently. Congress hasn’t “declared war” since 1942. And that was against Romania. In fact, the U.S. has only “declared war” 11 times in history. And Congress doesn’t just “declare war.” Both the House and Senate must vote. And so what the modern Congress does now is approve an “authorization” to send the military into harm’s way overseas. That could be by sea. Troops on the ground. In the air. You name it. Congress authorized the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution in 1964. That was the gateway to years of fighting in Vietnam and Southeast Asia. More recently, Congress blessed an authorization to invade Afghanistan and wage the “war on terror” in 2001 after 9/11. Lawmakers followed that up in the fall of 2002 for authorization to invade Iraq — on suspicion that Saddam Hussein’s regime had an arsenal of weapons of mass destruction. The U.S. and its allies found nothing after the 2003 invasion. To Mace’s point, the 2001 AUMF is so broad that four American presidents have deployed it for various military action around the world. Mace’s argument would be that Iran or its proxies could launch terrorism attacks — or even a nuclear weapon somewhere. So, the 2001 AUMF is justification for American involvement. That said, most foreign policy and military experts argue that the 2001 and 2002 AUMFs are calcified, legislative relics. This is why it’s a political kaleidoscope about how various lawmakers felt about launching attacks on Iran and if Congress must get involved. Democrats who usually oppose President Trump supported airstrikes. ISRAEL-IRAN CONFLICT: LIVE UPDATES “I’ve been saying, ‘Hell yes’ for I think it’s almost six weeks,” said Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., is one of the most pro-Israel lawmakers from either party. “This window is open now,” said Wasserman Schultz before the attack. “We can’t take our boot off their neck.” But possible strikes worried lawmakers even before the U.S. launched them. There’s concern the conflagration could devolve into a broader conflict. “The idea that one strike is going to be adequate, that it’s going to be one and done, I think is a misconception,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn. Before the conflict, bipartisan House members just returned from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. “They are worried that this will escalate,” said Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb. “And it wouldn’t take a whole lot for it to spiral out of control.” This is why Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Ro Khanna, D-Calif., wanted the House to vote on their resolution before the U.S. attacked Iran. “I wouldn’t call my side of the MAGA base isolationists. We are exhausted. We are tired from all of these wars. And we’re non-interventionists,” said Massie on CBS. “You’re wasting billions of our dollars because we’re sending more troops to the Middle East. What did you accomplish? And why are you oblivious to the American people who are sick of these wars?” said Khanna, also on CBS. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., didn’t mention Trump by name, but in a screed posted on X, she excoriated the decision to strike Iran. “Only 6 months in and we are back into foreign wars, regime change, and world war 3. It feels like a complete bait and switch to please the neocons, warmongers, military industrial complex contracts, and neocon tv personalities that MAGA hates and who were NEVER TRUMPERS!” wrote Greene. Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, also questioned the authority of the president to fire on Iran. “While President Trump’s decision may prove just, it’s hard to conceive a rationale that’s Constitutional,” wrote Davidson on social media. But when it came to Republicans criticizing those who went against Trump, most GOPers took on Massie. “I’m not sure what’s going on with Thomas. He votes no against everything,” said Rep. Greg Murphy, R-N.C., on Fox Business. “I’m not sure why he’s even here anymore.” “He
Supreme Court allows Trump’s third-country deportations, in major test for president
The Supreme Court on Monday granted the Trump administration’s request to stay a lower court injunction blocking them from deporting individuals to third countries without prior notice— a near-term win for the Trump administration as it looks to quickly enforce its immigration crackdown. Justices on the high court ruled 6-3 to stay the lower court injunction, with Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissenting. “Rather than allowing our lower court colleagues to manage this high-stakes litigation with the care and attention it plainly requires, this Court now intervenes to grant the Government emergency relief from an order it has repeatedly defied,” Justice Sotomayor said. “I cannot join so gross an abuse of the Court’s equitable discretion,” she added. At issue was a group of migrants challenging their removals to third countries, or countries that were not their country of origin. Lawyers for those migrants had urged the Supreme Court earlier this month to leave in place a ruling from U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy, who previously ordered the Trump administration to keep in U.S. custody all migrants slated for deportation to a country not “explicitly” named in their removal orders – known as a third-country deportation. Murphy, a federal judge in Boston, presided over a class-action lawsuit from migrants who are challenging deportations to third countries, including South Sudan, El Salvador and other countries, including Costa Rica, Guatemala and others that the administration has reportedly eyed in its ongoing wave of deportations. SUPREME COURT ALLOWS TRUMP ADMIN TO MOVE ON ENDING LEGAL PROTECTIONS FOR SOME VENEZUELAN MIGRANTS Murphy ruled that migrants must remain in U.S. custody until they can have the opportunity to conduct a “reasonable fear interview,” or the chance to explain to U.S. officials any fear of persecution or torture should they be released into the country. Murphy stressed his order does not bar Trump “from executing removal orders to third countries.” Instead, he emphasized in an earlier order, “it simply requires” the government “to comply with the law when carrying” out such removals under the U.S. Constitution and the Trump administration’s wave of eleventh-hour removals and deportations. In appealing the case to the Supreme Court, U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer argued that Judge Murphy’s ruling had blocked them from removing “some of the worst of the worst illegal aliens,” including a class of migrants sent to South Sudan earlier this year without due process or notice. He reiterated in a separate order that the migrants remain in U.S. custody at a military base in Djibouti until each of them could be given a “reasonable fear interview,” or a chance to explain to U.S. officials any fear of persecution or torture, should they be released into South Sudanese custody. US JUDGE ACCUSES TRUMP ADMIN OF ‘MANUFACTURING CHAOS’ IN SOUTH SUDAN DEPORTATIONS, ESCALATING FEUD The Supreme Court update comes after a flurry of lower court challenges aimed at blocking Trump’s immigration crackdown in his second White House term. U.S. judges have repeatedly ruled that the Trump administration has violated due process by failing to notify the migrants of their imminent removals, or afford them any opportunity to challenge their deportations in court – a view reiterated, albeit narrowly, by the Supreme Court four separate times since Trump took office. White House officials, meanwhile, have blasted so-called “activist” judges as attempting to enact a political agenda, and have repeatedly rejected the notion that illegal immigrants are not entitled to due process. As many as a dozen people from several countries, including Vietnam and Myanmar, were allegedly ordered deported to South Sudan— which lawyers for the immigrants previously argued was in “clear violation” of Judge Murphy’s order. This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.
Moderate House Dem Jared Golden says Trump was ‘right’ to strike Iran
A moderate House Democrat is offering rare praise for President Donald Trump after his precision strikes on Iran over the weekend. “Iran is governed by a regime that is hostile to the United States and allied with others that seek the destruction of America. They sponsor terrorist organizations that have killed American troops and citizens and are a source of chaos and bloodshed in the region,” Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, said in a statement Monday. “Based on what I know so far, I believe the president was right to launch limited strikes to deter that outcome.” ISRAEL’S ACTIONS AGAINST IRAN CREATE STRATEGIC OPPORTUNITY FOR US IN NUCLEAR TALKS, EXPERTS SAY He cited the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) assessing that Iran was close to a nuclear weapon. “It is important now that the country learns what information helped inform the president’s decision and the timing of these strikes, and that we learn more about whether we were successful in destroying Iran’s nuclear program,” Golden said. “But what matters most now is what happens next: Just today, Iran launched missiles at American bases in Iraq and Qatar. The top priority for the president and his administration, as well as for Congress, must be to use every tool at our disposal to defend Americans and deter further escalation by Tehran.” Golden said he also looked forward to the House of Representatives’ expected briefing on the situation in Iran. The House-wide briefing is expected to occur at 3 p.m. Tuesday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said Monday. The Democratic response in Washington to Trump’s strikes has been largely negative, save for a handful of pro-Israel lawmakers, including Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa. Golden has been known to break from his own party on issues like trade, border security and national security, among other issues. A FULL BREAKDOWN OF OPERATION MIDNIGHT HAMMER, THE ‘LARGEST B-2 OPERATIONAL STRIKE IN US HISTORY’ Golden won his seat in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District by less than 1% in 2024, while Trump carried the district by 10%. When reached for comment on his statement, the White House pointed Fox News Digital to Trump’s recent Truth Social post on Iran’s attack on Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar, which houses U.S. troops. “Iran has officially responded to our Obliteration of their Nuclear Facilities with a very weak response, which we expected, and have very effectively countered. There have been 14 missiles fired — 13 were knocked down, and 1 was ‘set free,’ because it was headed in a nonthreatening direction. I am pleased to report that NO Americans were harmed, and hardly any damage was done,” Trump said. “Most importantly, they’ve gotten it all out of their ‘system,’ and there will, hopefully, be no further HATE. I want to thank Iran for giving us early notice, which made it possible for no lives to be lost, and nobody to be injured. Perhaps Iran can now proceed to Peace and Harmony in the Region, and I will enthusiastically encourage Israel to do the same.”