Illegal immigrant’s ‘over-the-top’ sexual assault on elderly woman sends sheriff into rage: ‘Out of control’
A sheriff in the Florida suburbs took to X to voice his outrage over a 24-year-old illegal immigrant allegedly breaking into a local home to conduct an “over-the-top,” “vicious sexual battery” on a 77-year-old woman. Polk County, Florida, Sheriff Grady Judd blasted Honduran illegal immigrant Axel Antonio Espinal Herrera, who he said is was arrested on charges of committing “one of the most horrific crimes that we’ve seen in this county in a very long time.” Though the sheriff voiced his frustration that “this couldn’t have occurred if [Herrera] was not in this country,” he promised that his office’s goal is to make sure that Herrera “will be in a United States prison for the rest of his life upon conviction.” “Sexual battery of an individual is without a doubt one of the most horrific crimes that occurs. And a violent, out-of-control sexual battery on a stranger even elevates that one more level. And then you take on top of that the suspect is in this country illegally, that pushes it over the top,” said Judd. EXCLUSIVE: DHS ASKS FLORIDA NOT TO RELEASE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ACCUSED OF DRUGGING, RAPING WOMAN AFTER CLUBBING According to the sheriff’s office, the sexual assault occurred around 4 a.m. on Saturday. A statement by the office said the elderly victim awoke after a noise and saw an unknown man who entered her bedroom, forcibly removed her clothes and sexually battered her, slapping her when she attempted to get away. The office said the victim “attempted to escape through the front door when the suspect went into the bathroom, but the suspect chased after her and dragged her back inside and choked her.” After the assault, the suspect vacated the scene, which is when the victim contacted the sheriff’s office. Sheriff’s Office detectives canvassed the neighborhood and encountered Herrera in a nearby home with two other illegal immigrants also from Honduras. WHITE HOUSE BRINGS RECEIPTS AFTER MEDIA CLAIMS NONCRIMINAL ICE ARRESTS ‘SOARING’: ‘FALSE NARRATIVES’ Herrera was in the shower when detectives first arrived at the house. The office said that Herrera matched the victim’s description and that clothing described by the victim was found in the home. During the detectives’ search, they found multiple scratches on Herrera’s body consistent with the victim’s statements. He was also found to be in possession of cocaine. Herrera was arrested and taken to the sheriff’s processing center. He is being charged with kidnapping, sexual battery by force, burglary and battery, tampering with evidence, possession of cocaine, possession of drug paraphernalia, loitering and prowling. The sheriff’s office also noted that under Florida law, each charge against Herrera is elevated by one category due to his illegal status, meaning he is facing the possibility of multiple life sentences. The office said it notified U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which placed a detainer on Herrera. The two other illegal immigrants found in the house were also taken into custody on ICE holds. DOZENS OF ILLEGAL ALIEN TRUCK DRIVERS BUSTED WITH LICENSES FROM DEEP BLUE STATES Judd did not hold back in his disgust for Herrera’s alleged crimes, calling him a “very violent, very dangerous rapist” and his actions “graphically very vile and out of control.” “He was a young man, 24 years of age, sexually battering a 77-year-old woman after he broke into her house in the middle of the night. Do I need to say more?” said the sheriff.
Another ActBlue leader pleads Fifth as House investigates alleged foreign donations
Kimberly Peeler-Allen, a board member of the ActBlue Democratic fundraising organization, invoked her Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate herself while testifying during a House probe into alleged foreign donations to ActBlue, sources familiar with the testimony told Fox News. Allen’s appearance on Capitol Hill came amidst a joint probe by the House Administration, Judiciary and Oversight Committees into allegations that ActBlue accepted illicit foreign donations and failed to prevent fraud. Allen’s decision to plead the Fifth follows suit with ActBlue co-founder Matt DeBergalis, who pleaded the Fifth during his closed-door deposition in front of the same three committees on Aug. 20. FAR-LEFT POLITICIANS STILL USING ACTBLUE AS 88-YEAR-OLD DISPUTES DONATING NEARLY $150,000 TO FUNDRAISING GIANT The Committee on House Administration first opened a probe into ActBlue in 2023. Chairman Bryan Steil, R-Wis., claimed the group could be potentially accepting foreign or fraudulent donations by neglecting to require a credit card CVV number for contributions. Steil, in a Tuesday interview with Fox News’ Mark Meredith, expressed consternation over the ActBlue-affiliated individuals’ refusal to cooperate with the investigation. ACTBLUE SCRUTINY FUELS NEW GOP BILLS TO TIGHTEN ELECTION DONATION RULES “I’ve been frustrated, that individuals [in] ActBlue haven’t answered our questions on the record,” he told Meredith. “We’ve had individuals come, in public testimony, and plead the Fifth. They have a right to do that. And I understand why they did that. But I think the American people deserve to know exactly what’s going on. We have an entity here with ActBlue, that has raised roughly $20 billion since its creation. And moved that into Democratic campaigns and Democratic causes. We want to make sure that they have the fraud preventions. We want to make sure that they have the fraud prevention protocols in place to make sure that foreign funds are not coming into U.S. elections,” he said. HOUSE DEM LASHES OUT AT GOP EFFORTS TO PROBE FOREIGN DONATIONS WITH STUNNING CLAIM ON MOTIVE Responding to allegations that the investigation into ActBlue is partisan in nature, Steil rebuked the notion. “This investigation began is a review of online fundraising platforms and a determination whether or not those platforms had fraud prevention programs in place to prevent foreign funds from coming into U.S. elections. One of those, ActBlue, has been called out by The New York Times [for] having misled or lied to Congress. We’re trying to get to the bottom of that exactly what has been taking place inside Act Blue, per the public reporting,” he told Meredith. KEY HOUSE COMMITTEE SCHEDULES HEARING WITH EMBATTLED ACTBLUE CEO: ‘NEEDS TO COME CLEAN’ In an April investigative report, The New York Times revealed that ActBlue’s legal counsel advised the organization that, in a letter to House Republicans, ActBlue’s chief executive Regina Wallace-Jones may have misled lawmakers. Responding to a congressional inquiry, Wallace-Jones characterized the organization’s screening process to ensure its donations were not foreign as “multilayered,” according to the report. TEXAS AG PAXTON SUES DEM FUNDRAISING PLATFORM ACTBLUE, ALLEGING ‘FRAUDULENT AND FOREIGN DONATIONS’ The Times, however, noted that ActBlue’s counsel advised them that they didn’t always follow the steps Wallace-Jones described in her letter, calling her response “a substantial risk for ActBlue.” Wallace-Jones, in her own deposition to Steil’s committee in June, also pleaded the Fifth. Fox News Digital contacted ActBlue for further comment.
Johnson quells House GOP rebellion to advance anti-socialism resolution
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., scored a commanding victory on Tuesday after overcoming a House GOP rebellion to advance a resolution to condemn socialism. House conservatives had threatened to tank a procedural vote, called a “rule vote,” meant to unlock debate on several bills GOP leaders wanted lawmakers to vote on this week. Five House Republicans voted with nearly all Democrats and would have successfully ground legislative proceedings to a halt if not for two moderate left-wing lawmakers coming to the GOP’s rescue in an almost unheard-of move. But the rebels’ issue was not with the measure itself, nor the bills it would have allowed the House to pass. Their votes were a protest against how their leaders handled a plan to avert a government shutdown just before the midterm elections, a short-term funding bill called a continuing resolution (CR). That measure passed just before the rule vote began. JOHNSON SCORES WIN AS CONSERVATIVE REBELS END HOUSE FLOOR BLOCKADE OVER VOTER ID BILL “NO ON CR. NO ON RULE THAT DOES NOT ALLOW US TO AMEND AND FIX THE CR: The House of Representatives will be voting for a government funding continuing resolution TODAY that FAILS to deliver on common-sense policies for the American people,” Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, wrote on X. House Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris, R-Md., also told reporters he would vote against the rule in protest of the CR. A handful of GOP lawmakers took issue with how the Senate modified an original House-passed CR, including adding an unrelated measure to delay a congressionally approved hemp product ban by 30 days and a provision curbing the Trump administration’s control over federal grants. TENSIONS ERUPT IN HOUSE HEARING AS GOP ADVANCES ANTI-SOCIALISM RESOLUTION WHILE DEMS RAGE: ‘SILLY SEASON’ “The Senate did violence to our bill,” Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital. “Hemp and the grants are the two big ones…and frankly, I just don’t think CRs ought to be on suspension…when you put it on suspension, you’re not asking for my vote, okay, you’re going to get Democrats.” Roy also criticized the bill for not cutting off funding to sanctuary jurisdictions or abortion providers like Planned Parenthood. Self wound up voting for the rule, but not the CR. The rule vote passed by a narrow 209-208 margin, with Reps. Jared Golden, D-Maine, and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash., getting Johnson over the finish line. It’s a stunning move, given it’s almost unheard of for the minority party to help their political rivals pass a rule. The five House Republicans who voted against it are Reps. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, Chip Roy, R-Texas, Ralph Norman, R-S.C., Clay Higgins, R-La., and Andy Harris, R-Md. DEMOCRATS BLINK AS SCHUMER HELPS GOP CLEAR KEY SHUTDOWN HURDLE Voting on a bill under “suspension” means it gets fast-tracked past multiple procedural hurdles in exchange for raising the threshold for passage from a simple majority to two-thirds. That means the rule vote’s survival does not affect whether the CR passes or fails. A CR is a short-term extension of current federal funding levels. It’s normally used to give lawmakers extra time to cobble together a new budget for the next fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1. The CR up for a vote on Tuesday would kick the government shutdown fight to a Dec. 11 deadline. A rule vote traditionally falls along party lines and until recently, it was unheard of for lawmakers to defy their leaders by joining the other side to defeat it. But it’s become increasingly common in recent years for lawmakers, specifically on the right, to weaponize it as a form of protest.
Baby killed after illegal immigrant allegedly strikes family at grocery store parking lot
An illegal immigrant from Guatemala was charged with manslaughter after allegedly crashing into a mother and her two children, killing her 9-month-old son, in a New Jersey grocery store parking lot Friday, according to authorities. A 9-month-old boy was pronounced dead at Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune after Maria Cobon-Guzman allegedly struck his mother and the baby carriage carrying him and his 5-year-old sister in the parking lot of a kosher grocery store in Jackson on Friday. “An innocent baby would still be alive today had it not been for Joe Biden’s disastrous open border and reckless immigration policy that released countless illegal aliens into our country,” a DHS spokesperson told Fox News Digital. EXCLUSIVE: DHS ANNOUNCES NEW JERSEY ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ARRESTS AS NEWARK PROTESTS RAGE OUTSIDE FACILITY “We are urging the Ocean County Jail to honor ICE’s detainers on these two criminal illegal aliens to take them out of American communities once and for all,” the spokesperson said of the Republican-friendly county in the otherwise blue state. All three victims were transported to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune. The mother and her five-year-old child remained hospitalized in stable condition, while the 9-month-old boy died. Another woman, Ariadna Lazaro-Flores, was also charged in the incident after she reportedly allowed Cobon-Guzman to drive her car knowing she was unlicensed. An inmate report listed Lazaro-Flores as charged with “endangering the welfare of an incompetent person.” Both women illegally entered the U.S. during the Biden administration, with Lazaro-Flores doing so five times in October 2023 and being removed each time, DHS told Fox News Digital. “She last illegally entered the United States through the Biden Administration’s open border at an unknown place and time,” the agency said. ICE MAKES NATIONWIDE ARRESTS OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS, MURDERERS, PEDOPHILES IN HOLIDAY BLITZ Cobon-Guzman entered once but was released unvetted into the nation’s interior, DHS added. On July 31, an immigration judge issued an order of removal against her. “New Jersey must honor ICE’s detainers on these two criminal illegal aliens to take them out of American communities once and for all,”,” the agency tweeted. Democratic New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill, who signed legislation codifying New Jersey’s Immigrant Trust Directive, had not commented as of Tuesday morning. When reached for comment, a Sherrill spokesman directed Fox News Digital to Attorney General Jennifer Davenport. Davenport did not immediately respond. Observers took notice of the relative silence as Sherrill’s social media posts about other things including a critique of President Donald Trump’s battle with Iran sparked outrage: “How about sticking to doing something about the highest property taxes in the US [or] stopping illegals from killing and maiming us?” read one response. “Any comment yet? Hello?” another said. SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER The Trust Directive, as drafted by Davenport predecessor Gurbir Grewal, limits voluntary assistance New Jersey law enforcement may provide DHS. New Jersey Republicans fired back at Trenton leadership, suggesting they created the conditions to allow the tragedy to occur. “An innocent baby is dead. A mother and another child were seriously injured. Now, ICE is seeking custody of the two women charged in connection with the crash,” the state party said in a statement. “This should not be complicated: New Jersey must comply with ICE detainers. Governor Sherrill has a responsibility to put the safety of New Jersey families ahead of sanctuary policies. When federal immigration authorities seek custody of individuals charged with serious crimes, the state should cooperate — not stand in the way.”
DHS secretary bashes New York leadership after announcing thousands of arrests in sweeping operation
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin detailed the arrest of thousands of individuals in New York considered to be public safety threats during a press conference Tuesday announcing the success of the federal Operation Rotten Apple. During the announcement, Mullin blasted New York’s leadership, including Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York City’s democratic socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani, for working against law enforcement. “Operation Rotten Apple was initiated because New York City has a liberal, socialist mayor who, instead of working with law enforcement, tried to cut NYPD’s budget by $22 million and refused to cooperate with federal law enforcement. You also have a governor who refuses to work with us. Over the last 30 days, Operation Rotten Apple has taken over 2,100 of the worst criminals off our streets statewide,” Mullin said. ICE MAKES NATIONWIDE ARRESTS OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS, MURDERERS, PEDOPHILES IN HOLIDAY BLITZ Mullin specifically cited the cases of three foreign nationals, each with violent criminal histories. One arrestee was a 39year-old Indian national with an International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) red notice out on him for an alleged rape he was charged with in Germany, Mullin relayed. ICE ARRESTS ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS CONVICTED OF ATTEMPTED MURDER, RAPE AND CHILD SEX CRIMES IN TARGETED CRACKDOWN Another, a 50-year-old Ukrainian citizen, has a lengthy criminal history that includes convictions for kidnapping, abduction, possession of a weapon and murder, Mullin said. Mullin said the individuals were roaming New York’s streets because of the city and state’s sanctuary policies. DHS DEMANDS NEW YORK SANCTUARY POLITICIANS HONOR DETAINER FOR MAN CONVICTED OF RAPING CORPSE ON SUBWAY “These individuals should never have been on our streets. While radical-left sanctuary states protect illegal immigrants, the Trump administration and ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) officers are out there every day protecting Americans,” he said. He also claimed New York’s Democratic politicians have successfully lobbied for the release of over 13,000 illegal immigrants, while imploring those politicians to cease obstructing DHS and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents from doing their jobs. MAMDANI SAYS EVEN IF HE CAN GET ALONG WITH TRUMP, HE STILL DEMANDS THAT ‘ICE SHOULD BE ABOLISHED’ “Earlier this summer, the mayor of New York City said he believes ICE raids are ‘cruel, inhumane and do nothing to protect public safety.’ Are you telling me that taking these arrested individuals off the street is not in the interest of public safety? We took them off the streets to protect New Yorkers, while the mayor refuses to cooperate and attempts to slash NYPD’s budget. He is extremely out of touch with what the American people want and what public safety looks like,” Mullin added. Mullin specifically bashed Hochul for terminating 287(g) agreements, which allow local municipalities’ police departments to coordinate and work with federal agents. “Keep in mind that seven of the safest cities in the country cooperate with ICE and the 287(g) program,” he said. HOCHUL REMAINS DEFIANT AFTER SHERIFFS SUE OVER LAW BANNING COOPERATION WITH ICE: ‘BRING IT ON’ “In private, almost every sheriff and police chief wants to work with us. They took an oath to enforce the law, but radical local politicians prevent them from doing their jobs. I thank the sheriffs who stand up against local political interference on behalf of their constituents. Restoring law and order is an issue supported by 80% of the public across party lines,” Mullin continued. He also revealed that the federal government is willing and able to send more federal agents into New York and other cities where leadership refuses to cooperate with federal law and immigration enforcement. BORDER CZAR HOMAN VOWS TO ‘FLOOD’ NEW YORK WITH ICE AGENTS DESPITE HOCHUL’S RESISTANCE “Because local leadership refuses to cooperate through the 287(g) program, we will send as many personnel as necessary to restore law and order. President Trump loves New York and is committed to restoring safety here alongside ICE and DHS,” Mullin said. Fox News Digital contacted the offices of Hochul, Mamdani, DHS and ICE for further comment.
Dad of girl left permanently disabled in crash with illegal immigrant rips Dems: ‘I reject your sympathy’
The father of a 7-year-old girl left permanently disabled after an illegal immigrant driving an 18-wheeler slammed into the vehicle she was traveling in tore into Democratic lawmakers during a fiery Capitol Hill hearing Tuesday, rejecting their expressions of sympathy and accusing them of failing families like his. “I reject your guys’ sympathy,” Marcus Coleman, whose daughter Dalilah suffered a fractured skull, broken femur and traumatic brain injury in the 2024 California crash, told lawmakers during a House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement hearing on sanctuary policies across the United States. Coleman said Democratic lawmakers had “never reached out to me” after his daughter’s catastrophic injuries. GRIEVING MOTHERS SCORCH DEM LAWMAKER AFTER HE PIVOTS DURING HEARING TO ATTACK ‘MAGA REPUBLICANS’ “Not one of you guys have ever sat there and seen me in the hallways and said, ‘Hey, sorry about your daughter.’ You guys do it right here where you guys are grandstanding on top of your soapbox,” Coleman said. “This is when you guys care. Right here inside this room is the only time you guys care.” Coleman said his daughter “doesn’t deserve” what happened to her. “She didn’t ask for any of this,” the father said. “The people that jumped the fence did though. They knew exactly what they were doing. They still chose to move forward in that direction. And every day something’s happening to somebody, and it is your guys’ fault. I hold each and every one of you responsible for it, and I always will.” Dalilah was critically injured in Southern California in 2024 when an 18-wheel tractor-trailer traveling at 60 mph slammed into a vehicle she was riding in. Authorities identified the truck driver as Partap Singh, an illegal immigrant from India who had obtained a commercial driver’s license in California. Singh was driving at an unsafe speed and failed to stop for traffic in a construction zone before the crash, authorities said. The hearing focused on sanctuary policies in California, Colorado and Maryland and Republicans’ argument that the policies put Americans at risk by limiting cooperation with federal immigration authorities. Coleman told lawmakers the consequences for his family have extended far beyond his daughter’s catastrophic injuries, saying he has stopped working as a truck driver and is now struggling financially while raising nine children. “I’m no longer truck driving. I no longer make the money that we used to make. I’m now pinching pennies,” Coleman said. “I have nine kids, by the way, that I take care of, and I had to sit there and stretch that.” ANGEL FAMILIES PLEAD WITH LEADERS TO ‘CHOOSE’ AMERICAN CHILDREN OVER PROTECTING ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS Another parent testifying at Tuesday’s hearing described the lasting toll a separate crash involving an illegal immigrant has taken on her family. Patricia Fox said her daughter, Carissa “Luu” Aspnes, was permanently disabled after a March 2025 hit-and-run crash in Colorado involving an illegal immigrant from Venezuela. Fox told lawmakers her daughter was thrown headfirst into a concrete barrier at nearly 50 mph and that the driver and passenger fled without checking whether she was alive. “Despite her initial prognosis, Carissa survived. Praise God, but survival and recovery are not the same,” Fox testified. Fox said she now uses a Hoyer lift to get her adult daughter out of bed because Aspnes cannot sit up or stand on her own. She said she blends her daughter’s food and feeds her through a G-tube, administers her medications and bathes her, while sleeping lightly at night in case her pulse oximeter sounds an alarm. “One collision created an entire family of victims,” Fox said, arguing that her daughter’s case carried an additional source of anguish because of the accused driver’s immigration status. “If an American citizen had hit my daughter, I wouldn’t be here asking, ‘Why was somebody who had no lawful right to be in this country here to hit her in the first place?’” Fox said. Fox later delivered a pointed message about the partisan divide over immigration policy, telling lawmakers that cases like her daughter’s “shouldn’t be partisan.” “The lives of American citizens should matter to both sides,” Fox said. “We get it. You guys hate Trump. The campaign ads, they’re all the same. Taking the fight to Trump, standing against Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump. “You need to love Americans more than you hate Trump,” she added. “That’s not partisan politics. It’s literally your job.” MOM FROM VIRAL RO KHANNA DEBATE SAYS DEMS CAN’T CLAIM TO SUPPORT BOTH SECURE BORDERS AND SANCTUARY POLICIES Coleman also pointed to his wife, an immigrant who he said followed the legal process to come to the United States, while arguing that people who enter the country illegally should not be afforded the same treatment. “My wife, an immigrant. She did what she’s supposed to do,” Coleman said. “She did exactly what she’s supposed to do to get here.” Coleman saved one of his sharpest attacks for lawmakers who support sanctuary policies, telling them the consequences were sitting directly in front of them. “I think that building needs to get checked for mold or something, because you guys are really out of your guys’ mind thinking that sanctuary cities are the way to go,” Coleman told the Democratic lawmakers. “This is the end result of Sanctuary City right here,” he said, pointing to his daughter
Democrats blink in shutdown fight, hand Trump and GOP win before midterms
House Democrats relented to Republicans in their quest to prevent a government shutdown after spending months raising the possibility ahead of the crucial midterm elections. Tuesday’s successful vote in the House, the second such attempt since July, means that lawmakers have officially punted funding the government until after the November election and are sending the short-term funding patch, known as a continuing resolution (CR), to President Donald Trump’s desk. It also marks the end of months of concerns that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., would again shut the government down for political gain as they vie for control of Congress. DEMOCRATS BLINK AS SCHUMER HELPS GOP CLEAR KEY SHUTDOWN HURDLE Both top Democrats caved on pushing for another shutdown, for now. And that gave House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who needed Democratic votes to pass the bill, a win. But while House Democrats agreed to support the bipartisan CR that passed the Senate last month, conservatives raged about certain changes that negotiators in the upper chamber wove into the bill. Conservatives were outraged over an unrelated measure to delay a congressionally approved hemp product ban by 30 days and a provision curbing the Trump administration’s control over federal grants. TRUMP COULD FACE IMPEACHMENT IF DEMOCRATS SEIZE HOUSE MAJORITY, GOP LEADER WARNS House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris, R-Md., and members of Johnson’s right flank have criticized the CR over the hemp ban delay and grant rule change, a sentiment shared by Republicans in the Senate. “The Senate did violence to our bill,” Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital. “Hemp and the grants are the two big ones…and frankly, I just don’t think CRs ought to be on suspension…when you put it on suspension, you’re not asking for my vote, okay, you’re going to get Democrats.” Voting on a bill under “suspension” means it gets fast-tracked past multiple procedural hurdles in exchange for raising the threshold for passage from a simple majority to two-thirds. But the modification to the grant rule doesn’t permanently kill it. SCHUMER CAVES, HANDS REPUBLICANS SHUTDOWN WIN AFTER MONTHS OF UNCERTAINTY Senate Republicans were assured by the administration that the push for more control over federal grants could be ready to go by the time the stopgap expires in December. Democrats argue it could be used as a tool to dictate which states do and don’t get federal dollars. Meanwhile, the CR punts the deadline to avert a government shutdown to Dec. 11, giving lawmakers a little over a month to create a new federal budget for fiscal year 2027, which begins Oct. 1. But House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., whose panel is in charge of writing those spending bills along with its Senate counterpart, told Fox News Digital that would not be enough time. He placed blame squarely on Senate Democrats, who he argued were trying to hinder Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Susan Collins, R-Maine, and her bid for re-election come November. “They clearly do not want Susan Collins to have any success. So all of America has to suffer until they figure out who’s going to win in Maine,” Cole said. “We’re going to risk a year-long CR, if not a shutdown. So they’ve just been incredibly irresponsible.”
NY Gov Kathy Hochul accuses Trump of ‘defunding the police,’ says DHS is ‘withholding’ counterterror funds
Ahead of the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul accused President Donald Trump’s Department of Homeland Security of “withholding” millions of dollars in counterterrorism funding. “The Department of Homeland Security, the agency created in response to 9/11, is withholding 40% of New York State’s counterterrorism funding,” Hochul asserted during a press conference with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday. “That 40% adds up to $87 million,” she said. FLASHBACK: MAMDANI TORCHED FOR RECYCLING 9/11 TRIBUTES AFTER YEARS OF NEAR-IDENTICAL POSTS The Democratic governor accused the president of “defunding the police” and said he is “endangering public safety to yet again extract revenge on a blue state.” “Don’t play political games with people’s lives. Release the $87 million you owe us,” Hochul said to the president. “Because if you don’t release the counterterrorism funding, you’re betraying every family that lost someone on 9/11. You’re betraying every police officer and firefighter who puts their lives on the line every single day. And you’re betraying every New Yorker who no longer believes that the federal government is there to protect them,” she said. BORDER CZAR TOM HOMAN FIRES BACK AFTER DEMOCRAT CHRIS MURPHY CLAIMS ICE IS ‘TERRORIZING LITTLE KIDS’ Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and the DHS on Tuesday. Mamdani declared that “the federal government’s refusal to provide $87 million in critical public safety and emergency readiness funding that was promised is so unacceptable.” RETIRED PORT AUTHORITY OFFICERS TELL MAMDANI, HOCHUL TO STAY AWAY FROM GROUND ZERO ON 9/11 “We are talking about the money needed to fully fund 12 bomb squads across New York. We are talking about the money needed to ensure that in the event of a catastrophic attack, the FDNY can communicate internally and respond effectively. And we are talking about making sure that should New Yorkers ever face a radiological threat, our first responders have the training, the equipment and the capabilities they need to respond. To put it simply, there is no excuse for the federal government to leave the nation’s largest city to shoulder this burden alone,” he said.
El-Sayed torched online after uneasy union member struggles through campaign event
A woman delivering remarks at a news conference held by Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed on Monday appeared visibly nervous and repeatedly paused during her speech, prompting a wave of speculation on social media about the reason for her unease. The woman, whom El-Sayed’s staff identified as a union member employed by a truck factory, paused at multiple points during her speech, was breathing heavily and appeared uneasy. El-Sayed and Democratic State Sen. Mallory McMorrow both attempted to comfort the woman as she trudged through her remarks. Some conservative commentators on social media questioned whether the woman had been coerced into speaking at the event, while others used the moment to criticize El-Sayed’s campaign organization. These claims drew the ire of Mallory McMorrow, who ran against El-Sayed in the state’s Democratic primary but has since endorsed his candidacy. “She had never spoken at a press conference before. Beforehand, she shared with me that she was really nervous. But she told me it was important for her to be there as a UAW member because she believed in using her voice for her fellow members and for working families,” the state senator wrote on X. “But the way you all are tearing her apart … It’s callous, cruel and it’s no wonder why so many people absolutely despise this moment that we’re in.” DEMOCRATS’ CIVIL WAR HEADS TO MICHIGAN WHERE PROGRESSIVES FACE BIGGEST TEST YET IN HIGH-STAKES SENATE SHOWDOWN Some commentators focused on the union member’s race, tying the episode to broader criticism of El-Sayed‘s support among Black voters in the Democratic primary. BLACK VOTERS RIP DEMS OVER TAKING THEM FOR GRANTED IN EL-SAYED’S BACKYARD: ‘HUSH US UP’ “Abdul’s support from black Michiganders summed up perfectly in 40 seconds,” radio host and conservative columnist Derek Hunter wrote on X. “The El Sayed campaign is in free fall,” Trump administration official Richard Grenell said. Others questioned whether the woman even wanted to be speaking at a campaign event. “Are they holding a gun to her back?” an organization purporting to represent Democrats backing GOP Senate nominee Mike Rogers posted in response to the clip. “She seems to be under duress! Looks like she’s being coerced into speaking. Very eerie!” conservative commentator Link Lauren wrote. “Is it just me or does she look hostage-level nervous?” another X user asked. “Haven’t seen someone set themselves on fire for no reason like this since Aaron Bushnell,” Daily Signal senior correspondent Tony Kinnett posted. MICHIGAN DEMOCRAT MALLORY MCMORROW DROPS OUT OF SENATE RACE WEEKS BEFORE PRIMARY Zaid Jilani, a left-of-center journalist, responded to criticisms of the union member by stating that “conservatives lose a lot of support by being needlessly cruel.” The El-Sayed campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment when reached by Fox News Digital on Tuesday.
WATCH: FBI agents confront Swalwell at airport in new footage as viewers zero in and pile on
New footage shows former Rep. Eric Swalwell being met by FBI agents at San Francisco International Airport, prompting criticism and mockery on social media. The video, first obtained by the California Post, shows Swalwell sporting a black sweatshirt and hat deboarding a plane where FBI agents met him at his gate on Aug. 15. The FBI seized Swalwell’s cellphone and laptop at the airport on Aug. 15, according to Fox News Digital’s previous reporting. Swalwell resigned from Congress in April amid allegations of sexual misconduct. The FBI searched his Washington, D.C., home the following day, Fox News Digital previously reported. FBI SEIZES SWALWELL’S DEVICES AT AIRPORT AS SEXUAL MISCONDUCT INVESTIGATION ESCALATES: SOURCES Critics took to social media to roast the California progressive, including for his attire. “I needed this lol,” wrote former Rep. George Santos. “He’s still cooked,” said popular conservative account Catturd. “Looks like he’s headed to an Eminem concert,” wrote one user. “Why is he dressed like Eminem,” said another user. HOUSE AVOIDS UNPRECEDENTED FOUR-MEMBER EXPULSION WEEK AS SWALWELL AND GONZALES RESIGN INSTEAD “WTF is he wearing,” asked one woman. Swalwell resigned from Congress in April after 13 years in office following mounting allegations of sexual misconduct, which he has denied. He also withdrew from the California gubernatorial race. At least five women, including one former staffer, have accused Swalwell of sexual misconduct or rape. “I will fight the serious false allegations made against me,” Swalwell wrote at the time of his resignation. “However, I must take responsibility and ownership for the mistakes I did make.” SWALWELL ACCUSERS DETAIL EXPERIENCES WITH LAWMAKER AFTER HE ANNOUNCES HIS RESIGNATION FROM CONGRESS The White House recently released declassified documents related to an FBI investigation into his relationship with Christine “Fang Fang” Fang, a suspected Chinese intelligence operative. The California progressive told FBI agents he had “physical relations” with Fang on a handful of occasions and their last sexual encounter occurred in March 2015, according to documents released by the White House Government Transparency task force. Swalwell was interviewed by the FBI first in May 2015 and later in March 2016 regarding his relationship with Fang. CONGRESS IS A HUGE TARGET FOR SPIES. MEMBERS AND STAFF NEED A WAKE-UP CALL AND TRAINING Fang was previously described by U.S. officials as having suspected ties to China’s Ministry of State Security, while her parents were reportedly linked to Chinese intelligence. Fox News Digital reached out to Swalwell’s attorney and FBI for comment. Fox News Digital’s Peter D’Ambrosca contributed to this report.