Lasers, space radars, missile interceptors: Defense leaders lay out vision for Trump’s ‘Golden Dome’ project
Forty years after President Ronald Reagan first conceived the idea, defense industry leaders say the technology is finally advanced enough to build an invisible protective dome of space-based radars, missile interceptors and laser weapons over the United States. President Donald Trump, infatuated by the Iron Dome missile defense system over Israel, first ordered the Defense Department to begin drawing up plans for a U.S. version, the “Golden Dome,” in January. But Israel is roughly the size of New Jersey, so a dome of protection could prove far more daunting for the much larger land mass of the U.S. And the threats to Israel usually come from its neighbors, who use short-range weapons. America’s foes — North Korea, Iran, Russia and China — are half a world away and armed with intercontinental ballistics missiles (ICBMs) and hypersonics, all factors that make the project more challenging for a nation on the size and scale of the U.S. So questions remain. Will the Golden Dome encompass the entire country, including Hawaii, Alaska and U.S. military bases in locations like Guam? Would it be able to protect against short-range missiles, long-range missiles, unmanned and manned aircraft? TRUMP’S ‘GOLDEN DOME’ WILL NEED MANHATTAN PROJECT-SCALE WHOLE-OF-GOVERNMENT EFFORT, SPACE FORCE GENERAL WARNS Answers may come at least in part at the end of the month, when the Department of Defense and the Office of Management and Budget present a funding plan for the project to the White House. But defense industry leaders say the technology exists to make a Golden Dome a reality. “In our view, it has to kind of be a layered system. Because, you know, shooting a UAV, for example, is very different than shooting a hypersonic vehicle or hypersonic weapon,” Raytheon CEO Phil Jasper told Fox News Digital. His aerospace company, a major U.S. defense contractor, manufactures the Patriot missile system, Javelin anti-tank missiles and a variety of radar and air defense systems. The U.S. already employs a layered missile defense system known as the Command, Control, Battle Management, and Communications (C2BMC) System that uses radar to detect incoming missiles and fire off interceptors. It has technology like the THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) battery to intercept ballistic missiles and the Patriot to intercept cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and aircraft. But the country only has seven active THAAD batteries deployed globally, with an eighth expected to become operational this year. FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP’S ‘IRON DOME’ PLAN FOR AMERICA Space Force Gen. Michael Guetlein said weeks ago that building a Golden Dome will require a Manhattan Project-level whole-of-government approach from the missile defense agency, Air Force, Army, Navy, Space Force, Coast Guard and more. Defense contractors, some of whom have believed a Golden Dome-like project was on the horizon for years, say the protection zone may start around major cities like New York and Washington, D.C., or sensitive military sites before expanding to protect the entire homeland. “What I’m understanding [the goal] really is to protect the entire U.S. It is to put a dome around the homeland,” said Edward Zoiss, president of space and airborne systems for L3Harris Technologies. Jasper predicted some of these defensive measures could be installed rapidly, as soon as 2026. “What the administration has laid out is that building block approach that you can start to protect certain areas, at times, certain regions, and build that out as you continue to produce these systems. And they can continue to come off of production lines,” he said. BlueHalo CEO Jonathan Moneymaker said the dome would be “less of a technology problem” and more of an organizational structure challenge. “The full potential of all of those capabilities working in conjunction with each other, at that scale, there’s definitely some new elements there,” Moneymaker said. John Clark, Lockheed’s vice president of technology and strategic innovation, said the plan will require the Pentagon to “think about what it has on the shelf.” “There are systems that sit today in the Air National Guard or in our current local defense infrastructure domestically. Those could actually be deployed inside of the U.S,” he said. Clark noted that deploying defense infrastructure at home would “draw down our current inventory for conflict in the greater world.” But he suggested that anything pulled out of an Army base today could be backfilled at a later date for global use. Zoiss, whose company, L3Harris Technologies, has already built satellites for the missile defense agency that could be used for space-based radar systems for a Golden Dome, said the biggest challenge is missiles that no longer follow predictable paths. “If you go back to your high school physics class, if you understand the angle and trajectory of a bullet, you understand exactly where it’s going to land because it follows a parabola,” he said. “ICBMs followed parabola trajectories for decades. But a new class of highly maneuverable cruise weapons and hypersonic weapons now don’t,” he explained. “Their endpoint is uncertain. And our defensive systems in the U.S. now have to change to be more robust in order to track that weapon throughout its entire trajectory.” Space-based radar will be the critical element of threats to the homeland in the future, according to Zoiss. “Our challenge is really long-range weapons. You know, it’s weapons progressing large distances that are maneuvering around our current land-based and sea-based radar systems. So, if the weapons maneuver around those systems, that means our current architecture can’t provide fire control ordnance. And, therefore, it has to be moved to space.” The Golden Dome could draw on missile defense missions already in the works, like the National Capital Region Integrated Air Defense System, which is designed to protect Washington, D.C., from incoming threats and employs systems like the Norwegian National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS). And it could look to other systems already in the works on a smaller scale. The Army is working on a new Iron Dome-like air defense system in Guam known as the Indirect Fire Protection Capability (IFPC)
Pentagon announces investigation into leaks, which could include polygraph tests
The Pentagon said it would investigate what it claims are leaks of national security information, saying that the probes could include polygraph tests for employees in the Defense Department. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s chief of staff, Joe Kasper, sent a memo Friday saying that the Pentagon’s intelligence and law enforcement arms are probing “recent unauthorized disclosures” of national security information, without offering details about alleged leaks. “Recent unauthorized disclosures of national security information involving sensitive communications with principals within the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) demand immediate and thorough investigation,” Kasper wrote. HEGSETH SUGGESTS JUDGE REPORT TO MILITARY BASES AFTER RULING THAT PENTAGON MUST ALLOW TRANSGENDER TROOPS “If this effort results in information identifying a party responsible for an unauthorized disclosure,” then the information “will be referred to the appropriate criminal entity for criminal prosecution,” he added. Kasper’s memo said the polygraphs would be used “in accordance with applicable law and policy.” President Donald Trump rejected a report from The New York Times that his senior adviser, Elon Musk, would be briefed on how the U.S. would handle a potential war with China. Musk responded by suggesting that people leaking “maliciously false information” to the media will be identified and prosecuted. HEGSETH SAYS DEFENSE DEPT ELIMINATE HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS IN ‘WASTEFUL’ SPENDING AFTER DOGE FINDINGS “The New York Times is pure propaganda,” Musk said Friday on X. “Also, I look forward to the prosecutions of those at the Pentagon who are leaking maliciously false information to NYT. They will be found.” Investigations into the alleged leaks at the Pentagon come after Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem revealed a move to step up lie-detector tests on employees in an attempt to identify people who may be leaking information to the media about immigration enforcement operations. The Justice Department also announced an investigation on Friday into what it purported to be “the selective leak of inaccurate, but nevertheless classified, information” from intelligence agencies about a Venezuelan gang called Tren de Aragua, alleged members of which are being targeted by the Trump administration for removal from the U.S. Leaks from within the federal government happen in every administration across various agencies. While polygraph exams are typically not admissible in court proceedings because of concerns about their unreliability, they are often used by federal law enforcement agencies and for national security clearances. The Supreme Court also ruled in 1998 that polygraph tests were inadmissible in military justice proceedings. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Hegseth suggests judge report to military bases after ruling that Pentagon must allow transgender troops
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Saturday said the judge who ruled that the Pentagon must allow transgender troops should report to military bases since she is “now a top military planner.” U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes in Washington, D.C., issued a preliminary injunction last week blocking the Pentagon from enforcing President Donald Trump’s executive order banning transgender people from serving in the military. Trump’s Jan. 27 order said “expressing a false ‘gender identity’ divergent from an individual’s sex cannot satisfy the rigorous standards necessary for military service” and instructed the Department of Defense to update its medical standards for military service and pronoun policies. TRUMP ADMIN ASKS FEDERAL JUDGE TO DISSOLVE INJUNCTION BARRING TRANSGENDER MILITARY BAN The president’s order said that “beyond the hormonal and surgical medical interventions involved, adoption of a gender identity inconsistent with an individual’s sex conflicts with a soldier’s commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one’s personal life.” In her ruling, the judge said Trump’s order contains language that is “unabashedly demeaning,” adding that the policy “stigmatizes transgender persons as inherently unfit.” Hegseth responded to the ruling on the social media platform X. PENTAGON TO APPEAL JUDGE’S DECISION BLOCKING TRANSGENDER BAN, HEGSETH SAYS “Since ‘Judge’ Reyes is now a top military planner, she/they can report to Fort Benning at 0600 to instruct our Army Rangers on how to execute High Value Target Raids…after that, Commander Reyes can dispatch to Fort Bragg to train our Green Berets on counterinsurgency warfare,” he wrote. The judge delayed her order until Friday morning to allow time for the Trump administration to appeal, which it said it would do. Reyes said in her decision that the executive order likely poses constitutional rights violations. “The court knows that this opinion will lead to heated public debate and appeals. In a healthy democracy, both are positive outcomes,” Reyes wrote. “We should all agree, however, that every person who has answered the call to serve deserves our gratitude and respect.” “Indeed, the cruel irony is that thousands of transgender servicemembers have sacrificed – some risking their lives – to ensure for others the very equal protection rights the Military Ban seeks to deny them,” the judge added, noting that the defendants, on the other hand, “have not shown they will be burdened by continuing the status quo pending this litigation, and avoiding constitutional violations is always in the public interest.”
Tim Walz says he was joking when he mocked Tesla’s falling stock: ‘These people have no sense of humor’
First he was a “knucklehead” now he’s a “smarta–.” Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, said Saturday that he was making a joke when he made a comment last week mocking Tesla and its CEO Elon Musk for the company’s recent downward trend in the stock market. Walz attempted to clarify his comments during a town hall in Rochester, Minnesota. “This guy bugs me in a way that’s probably unhealthy,” Walz said, referring to Musk. “I have to be careful about being a smarta–. I was making a joke. These people have no sense of humor. They are the most literal people.” “But my point was, they’re all mad, and I said something I probably shouldn’t have about a company,” he continued. TIM WALZ CHEERS TESLA SOCK TUMBLE, BUT MINNESOTA STATE EMPLOYEES’ PENSION OWNS OVER 1M SHARES Earlier in the week, the governor was holding an event in Wisconsin when he mocked Tesla’s falling stock. “Some of you know this. On the iPhone, they’ve got that little stock app. I added Tesla to it to give me a little boost during the day — $225 and dropping,” Walz said. “And if you own one, we’re not blaming you. You can take dental floss and pull the Tesla thing off.” As of March, Tesla’s stock is down 41.4% year-to-date. There have been a series of recent vandalism incidents targeting Tesla vehicles in a protest against Musk for his role in President Donald Trump’s administration. Walz further criticized Musk on Saturday for his role in the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, in which the billionaire tech executive seeks to cut the federal workforce as a cost-cutting initiative for the federal government. SUSPECTED TESLA ARSONISTS HIT WITH FEDERAL CHARGES IN ACTS OF ‘DOMESTIC TERRORISM’: AG “They’re all butthurt about the Tesla thing, but they don’t care about the disrespect they have shown to employees at the Minneapolis VA who care for our veterans, and they fire them. They don’t care,” the governor said. “Maybe it’s just me. If I’m the richest man in the world, I’m like out on the streets handing out money,” he added. “It’d be fun as hell just to help people out. Go help people out. Not this guy.”
Trump suggests US could join British Commonwealth if offered by King Charles
President Trump said Friday he liked the idea of the United States joining the British Commonwealth after a report claimed King Charles III would make an offer. “I love King Charles,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Friday morning while linking to an article citing a Daily Mail report that said the monarch would secretly offer the U.S. associate membership in the Commonwealth during Trump’s second state visit to Britain. “Sounds good to me!” Trump also reposted the same report about the king’s “secret” offer of membership late Saturday morning. Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment. PRINCE WILLIAM VIEWS TRUMP RELATIONSHIP AS KEY TO MONARCHY ‘S FUTURE: EXPERT The British Commonwealth, created in 1926, is made up of 56 countries, including Australia and Canada, most of which were originally British colonies. The monarch is the head of the Commonwealth, whose maintenance was a major priority of Queen Elizabeth II. Membership is voluntary. The U.S. was part of the British Empire before winning independence after the Revolution. India was the first country to decide to remain within the Commonwealth after gaining independence in 1947. Trump had a friendly relationship with the late queen and always spoke highly of her. “I got to know her very well, and, you know, I got to know her in her ’90s, OK, but she was great,” Trump told Fox News’ Mark Levin in 2023. “This is a woman … 75 years she reigned, and she never made a mistake.” Trump has also praised Charles and the heir to the throne, Prince William, whom he met with in December in Paris, but he had fewer nice things to say about Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle. TRUMP ACCEPTS SECOND STATE VISIT TO UK, REVEALS LETTER FROM KING CHARLES The president is scheduled to meet with King Charles during a rare second state visit later this year. He met with the late queen and Charles during his first state visit in 2019. The Daily Mail said Commonwealth membership was first floated during Trump’s first term, and this time around the hope is that it would ease tensions between the U.S. and Canada as the countries trade tariff threats. “This is being discussed at the highest levels,” a member of the Royal Commonwealth Society told the Daily Mail. “It would be a wonderful move that would symbolize Britain’s close relationship with the U.S. “Donald Trump loves Britain and has great respect for the royal family, so we believe he would see the benefits of this. Associate membership could, hopefully, be followed by full membership, making the Commonwealth even more important as a global organization.” Late last month, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer presented Trump with Charles’ invitation for a second state visit while the two politicians were meeting in the Oval Office. “I think that just symbolizes the strength of the relationship between us. This is a very special letter. I think the last state visit was a tremendous success,” Starmer said. “His majesty the king wants to make this even better than that.” Trump responded, “The answer is yes. On behalf of our wonderful first lady Melania and myself, the answer is yes, and we look forward to being there and honoring the king and honoring, really, your country. Your country is a fantastic country.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Trump described Charles as “beautiful” and a “wonderful man.” “I’ve gotten to know him very well actually, first term and, now, a second term,” he added.
Kitty Dukakis, wife of former Massachusetts governor and presidential hopeful Michael Dukakis, dead at 88
Kitty Dukakis, the wife of former Massachusetts governor and 1988 Democratic presidential nominee Michael Dukakis, has died at the age of 88, Fox News Digital has confirmed. Her son, John Dukakis, said that the wife and mother of three died Friday night “surrounded by family.” “She was born on December 26, 1936, and lived a full life fighting to make the world a better place and sharing her vulnerabilities to help others face theirs,” he said in a statement. “She was loving, feisty and fun, and had a keen sensitivity to people from all walks of life. She and our dad, Michael Dukakis, shared an enviable partnership for over 60 years and loved each other deeply. Thank you to all who have touched our lives over the years or who were touched by our mother.” MICHAEL DUKAKIS BASHES TRUMP, SAYS VOTERS MUST ‘GET THIS GUY OUT OF THE WHITE HOUSE BEFORE HE DESTROYS US’ The Washington Post and the New York Times both reported that John Dukakis said his mother’s cause of death was complications from dementia and that she died at her home in Brookline, Mass. Kitty Dukakis was the first lady of Massachusetts during her husband’s three nonconsecutive terms and supported Michael Dukakis during his unsuccessful presidential run against Vice President George H.W. Bush. In what was considered a pivotal moment of the campaign, Michael Dukakis was asked by CNN moderator Bernard Shaw during the first presidential debate, “Governor, if Kitty Dukakis was raped and murdered, would you favor an irrevocable death penalty for the killer?” He responded flatly, “No, I don’t, Bernard,” and went on to reiterate his opposition to the death penalty. Kitty Dukakis later said her husband admitted “I really blew it,” with an answer that was widely perceived as emotionless and tone-deaf. She also condemned the question as “outrageous.” DUKAKIS CALLS PROGRESSIVE ‘DEFUND THE POLICE’ PUSH ‘NUTS,’ SAYS IT TAKES AWAY FROM PROVEN COMMUNITY POLICING In her 60s, Kitty Dukakis, supported by her husband, became an advocate for electroconvulsive therapy to treat depression. She authored books opening up about her addiction to diet pills and alcohol. She was of Jewish background, though her husband was Greek Orthodox. A longtime advocate who was involved in projects on subjects including the homeless, refugees, and AIDS, Kitty Dukakis was appointed by former President Jimmy Carter, and by former President H.W. Bush, her husband’s former rival, to commissions that led to the creation of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. Her father was Ellis Dickson, the first violinist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and a conductor of the Boston Pops. She detailed a more complicated relationship with her mother, Jane (Goldberg) Dickson, in her first book, “Now You Know.”
Blue city mayor ripped by local leaders for prioritizing politics over safety: ‘Undermining public trust’
Local leaders and an immigration expert are slamming Boston’s Democratic Mayor Michelle Wu for prioritizing left-wing politics above safety, saying the mayor has proved that she “continues to prioritize political agendas over the safety of Boston residents, particularly women and children.” Wu, who has previously said that Boston would not cooperate with ICE immigration enforcement operations, delivered a raucous “State of the City” address on Wednesday in which she reiterated “we stand with immigrants.” Addressing immigrants directly, Wu said, “You belong here.” “No one tells Boston how to take care of our own, not kings, and not presidents who think they are kings. Boston was born facing down bullies,” she said. DEMOCRAT MAYOR BLASTED FOR VOWING TO MAKE MAJOR CITY ‘SAFE HAVEN’ FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS This take, however, enraged some local leaders who say that harboring illegal immigrants from ICE poses a serious threat to local citizens. Massachusetts GOP spokesperson Logan Trupiano told Fox News Digital that “there is simply no justifiable reason for her to stand in the way of this critical progress.” Despite her claim in the speech to be speaking for all 700,000 Boston residents, Trupiano pointed out that “polling consistently shows that the majority of Americans support these efforts.” “Mayor Wu must move beyond fearmongering and the mischaracterization of ICE and federal authorities,” he said, adding, “The city’s sanctuary policies have led to the release of dangerous individuals back into our communities, undermining public trust and security.” BUCKING BIG-CITY TREND: MAJOR TEXAS CITIES NOW ALERTING ICE OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ENCOUNTERS He also pointed to the recent spike in arrests of illegal immigrant child sex predators and other serious criminals in the Boston area. “ICE has apprehended child predators, drug dealers, and gun runners – individuals responsible for heinous crimes that threaten public safety,” said Trupiano. “Given the recent arrests made by ICE in Massachusetts and Boston, it is hard to understand why Mayor Wu continues to oppose the Trump administration’s efforts.” Meanwhile, former immigration judge and Center for Immigration Studies policy expert Andrew Arthur told Fox News Digital that sanctuary policies endanger not only citizens but also immigrant communities. “Sanctuary policies actually harm people in immigrant communities that are sanctuaries because they know that the cops aren’t going to turn those people over to ICE, they’re going to turn them back out onto the streets. So, they don’t want to come forward [to report crimes], because they’re afraid that they’re going to be retaliated against,” he explained. BLUE SANCTUARY STATE OPERATING AS ‘CONTROL’ CENTER FOR VICIOUS MIGRANT GANG: ACTING DEA CHIEF “Street cops want criminals off the street,” he went on. “They want to help ICE. It’s only poorly reasoning public officials that ever promote these policies.” “What we’ve created is a sanctuary for criminals,” said Arthur. “Immigration enforcement is the best way to protect not only communities but immigrant communities in particular.” CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE Jon Fetherston, a former Massachusetts migrant shelter director who lives in the Boston area, told Fox News Digital that Wu’s policies “prioritize political agendas over the safety of Boston residents” and have “emboldened criminal networks, making our communities more dangerous.” He said that Wu’s “Trump Derangement Syndrome” has “made all of us unsafe, especially women and children.” ‘BRING IT ON’: SHERIFF PUSHES BACK AFTER BLUE STATE LEADERS SUE TO STOP IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT He pointed to the recent arrests of Guatemalan national Sostenes Perez-Lopez, who was charged with two counts of indecent assault and battery on a child in Brighton, and Bilal Karayigit, an illegal Turkish national, who was apprehended in Burlington after being charged with raping a Massachusetts resident. “Tom Homan cannot get to Boston fast enough!” he said. “Continuing on this path not only endangers our communities but also undermines the rule of law.”
Musk threatens to sue after Democrat ex-Rep Jamaal Bowman calls him a ‘Nazi’ and ‘thief’ during TV appearance
Elon Musk has threatened to sue after former Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., used a recent TV appearance on CNN to call President Donald Trump’s top adviser a “Nazi” and a “thief.” “I’ve had enough. Lawsuit inbound,” Musk wrote on X on Friday, replying to a clip of Bowman’s recent round table discussion on CNN. Bowman, who was defeated in last July’s Democratic primary by a centrist pro-Israel candidate, told a panel of commentators that the “American people do not trust Elon Musk and Elon Musk is incompetent in his position.” TRUMP FLOATS IDEA OF CONVICTED TESLA ARSONISTS SERVING SENTENCES IN EL SALVADOR PRISONS: ‘LOVELY CONDITIONS’ “How do we know? Because they fired tens of thousands of people, was challenged in court. The court said the people have to go back, and now the people are coming back,” Bowman told CNN. “He’s incompetent. He’s a thief. He’s a Nazi. And people don’t trust him,” Bowman claimed of Musk. Left-wing media accused Musk of doing a “Nazi salute” when the tech billionaire addressed a crowd on Trump’s Inauguration Day. His mother, Maye Musk, called on her son to sue CNN and other outlets for peddling the “Nazi salute” narrative. Other Democrats have lauded fascist claims against Musk, including Bowman’s former fellow “Squad” member, Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., who said last month Musk was a “Nazi nepo baby.” JEWISH TESLA OWNER DEMANDS HATE CRIME CHARGES AFTER CYBERTRUCK DEFACED WITH SWASTIKA Bowman, a former member of the progressive, left-wing “Squad” of Democrats of color in the House of Representatives, was defeated by George Latimer in July’s Democratic primary in New York’s 16th congressional district. Bowman, who accused Israel of “genocide” during its war against Hamas terrorists, claimed that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the deep-pocketed pro-Israel group, spent millions to “brainwash” voters against him. The House notably censured Bowman in 2023 for pulling a fire alarm in the Capitol to interrupt government shutdown negotiations. Those who supported Musk’s potential legal action included conservative journalist Andy Ngo, who notably garnered recognition after being assaulted by Antifa rioters in Portland, Oregon, in 2019. “Accusing people of crimes is not protected opinion. CNN is putting itself at risk of liability for bringing on guests who repeat potentially defamatory claims unchallenged,” Ngo wrote. “Sue him! Defamation against conservatives can’t go unaddressed or it will never end,” Rep. Mike Lee, R-Utah, wrote from his personal X account. “Fight back!” Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., also wrote.
EXCLUSIVE: Groundbreaking new prayer book designed for demographic most targeted for abortion
EXCLUSIVE – Marking Down Syndrome Awareness Day, Bishop Robert Barron’s publishing company, Word on Fire, is releasing a groundbreaking new book specifically designed to help adults with Down syndrome and other intellectual disabilities, who are disproportionately targeted for abortion, to pray. Written by Mark Bradford, an advocate for persons with intellectual disabilities, the book – titled “Let Us Pray: Catholic Prayers for All Abilities” – features simplified traditional prayers, large print for readability, and an accessible font for those with dyslexia and other reading challenges. Persons with Down syndrome are significantly more likely to be targeted for abortion. Between 67 and 87 percent of babies prenatally diagnosed with Down syndrome are aborted, according to a study published by the NIH. KIDS WITH DOWN SYNDROME CAN LIVE ‘ABUNDANT LIVES,’ DAD TELLS FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR There are an estimated 250,000 persons with Down syndrome in the United States, and millions more with other types of intellectual challenges. Despite this, there has been no prayer book designed for adults with these learning challenges … until now. “Prayer is meant for every one of us,” Louisville Archbishop Edward Kurtz writes in the book’s foreword. Kurtz, who grew up with an older brother with Down syndrome, called the book a “beautiful gift” for those who desire to grow in their faith but have no means to do so. VANCE VOWS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION WILL BE ‘BIGGEST DEFENDERS OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTIES,’ CATHOLICS Bradford told Fox News Digital that he was inspired to create the new book when he saw his 20-year-old son Thomas Augustine – who has Down syndrome – having to use a book with “horrible illustrations” designed for small children to pray the rosary. “There are no resources like this for adults with intellectual disabilities,” he explained. “I want this to be a resource that provides something beautiful to encourage adults with disabilities, and really anyone whose reading level is around the 3rd to 6th grade, to develop a habit of prayer using a book that was prepared just for them.” Fox News Digital obtained an exclusive copy of the book. Bradford explained that through the book’s visually striking but not childish imagery, easy-to-read text, and engaging layout, it can help anyone, especially those with learning challenges, to form a habit of prayer. According to Bradford, even the typeset chosen for the prayers is a unique font designed by a typographer in Holland specifically to assist dyslexic readers. CATHOLIC BISHOP INVITES AMERICANS TO ‘TAKE THE TIME TO FOCUS ON THE LORD’ DURING 10,000 HOUR PRAYER CAMPAIGN “Let Us Pray” includes four main sections: “Making a Habit of Prayer,” “Getting More Involved at Sunday Mass,” “Devotions” and “Prayers for Special Times,” which includes “Prayers for Your Life’s Purpose” and “Prayers When Someone You Love Has Died or Is Dying.” The book even includes a portion on “Prayers to End Abortion,” which acknowledges the “very sad” reality that many Down syndrome babies are selected for abortion because of their disability. “When some women find out they are going to have a baby, they are very sad and afraid. They don’t want their baby — sometimes especially if they find out the baby will have Down syndrome or another disability,” the book reads. “They need us to pray for them every day so that they say yes, just like Mary did, and have their special baby to love.” There is also a section at the end of the book for the reader to write down their own prayers. CHRIS PRATT CALLS FAITH THE ‘BEST PART’ OF HIS LIFE AFTER TEAMING UP WITH HALLOW APP Despite the stigma often associated with Down syndrome and other learning disabilities, Bradford said that through “Let Us Pray,” he wants to send the message that “EVERY human person made in God’s image is called into a relationship with him.” “Those living with intellectual disabilities can have a rich and fruitful prayer life,” he said. “That needs to be honored with resources that encourage prayer and the development of that relationship with their creator that happens through prayer.”
Bush DOJ lawyer warns Trump admin against ‘terrible mistake’ in judicial standoff
A top former Bush administration lawyer is warning the White House not to begin ignoring court orders amid its standoff over President Donald Trump’s deportation flights under the Alien Enemies Act. “I worry that there might be some people in the administration who would actually like to defy a judicial order. Which I think would be a terrible mistake,” John Yoo, Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of California at Berkeley, told Fox News Digital in an interview on Tuesday. More than a dozen injunctions have been levied to at least temporarily block Trump policies across the country, including his deportation flights, birthright citizenship reforms and Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) efforts. Republican allies of the president have accused “activist judges” of seeking to override the executive in an improper breach of the co-equal branches of government. Yoo, who previously served as deputy assistant attorney general in the Office of Legal Counsel at the Department of Justice (DOJ) during former President George W. Bush’s first term, said such a fight between the executive and judicial branches could threaten the legal system as a whole. “There’s only been one time in our history a president has refused to carry out a judicial order. And that was Abraham Lincoln at the start of the Civil War,” Yoo said. “It’s almost something that really should only happen when the existence of the country is at stake, because if presidents don’t obey judicial orders, then they deprive the judiciary of their primary means for carrying out their decisions.” VANCE KNOCKS GLOBALIZATION’S ‘CHEAP LABOR’ AND LAUDS ‘AMERICA’S GREAT INDUSTRIAL COMEBACK’ AT AI SUMMIT “If the courts can’t render reliable decisions, then our legal system doesn’t function. If our legal system doesn’t function, the country is in really bad shape,” he added. The White House has repeatedly said it has not disobeyed any lawful court orders. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg issued an emergency order on March 15 to halt deportation flights of suspected gang members to El Salvador for a period of 14 days. The Trump administration has pointed out that the judge’s written order was issued after two planes carrying alleged gang members were already in the air, arguing it was too late to turn the planes around at that point. A third plane that took off after the first two was not carrying any Alien Enemies Act deportees, the administration said. “As I said from the podium and will continue to say, all of the flights that were subject to the written order of the judge took off before the order was pushed in the courtroom. And the president is well within his… Article II power and his authority under the Alien Enemies Act to make these decisions,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday. “And we think it’s egregious that a single district judge is trying to tell the President of the United States who he can and cannot deport from our soil, especially when it comes to designated foreign terrorists.” DOJ lawyers argued that Boasberg’s verbal order to turn the planes around, issued shortly before the written order, is non-enforceable. Josh Blackman, a constitutional law professor at South Texas College of Law Houston, said the case was “complex,” but warned judges should be careful not to overstep their authority on matters with coequal branches of government. “The judge held a hearing where, apparently, the ACLU presented oral arguments. The judge then issued an oral order where a DOJ lawyer was on the line. But the government was not able to make any arguments. The judge also did not give the government the time to take a timely appeal,” Blackman told Fox News Digital on Tuesday. “As a result, a judge is now inquiring why the government did not turn a plane around in international waters. Things are not so simple. Judges are losing sight of the fact that they are a coequal, and not superior, branch of government.” THESE ARE THE JUDGES GOING TOE TO TOE AGAINST TRUMP’S AGENDA Yoo also noted the case was complex and said both parties were in uncharted territory, but pointed out that verbal orders have been valid in albeit very different circumstances. “That’s playing a little cute, is what appears to have happened,” he said Tuesday of the administration’s argument on the verbal order. “But maybe that’s the case.” Yoo noted that often judges would make one-word rulings, such as denying motions, which are usually only then found in the written transcript of the proceedings, but he made clear the situation now was vastly different. “This is an unprecedented exercise of judicial power, in response to an unprecedented claim of authority by the president,” Yoo said. Boasberg is currently considering whether the Trump administration violated his court order, which the White House denies. A Friday hearing on whether to maintain the ban quickly grew contentious when the judge accused DOJ lawyers, without specifics, of being “disrespectful” in the court filings. The administration said Boasberg was engaging in a “judicial fishing expedition,” according to Reuters.