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JD Vance clashes with anti-Trump social media personality over cartel killings: ‘I don’t give a s—‘

JD Vance pushed back against an anti-Trump social media personality Saturday after he criticized a post the vice president made on X. The clash between Vance and Brian Krassenstein began when Vance wrote, “Killing cartel members who poison our fellow citizens is the highest and best use of our military.” Vance made the remark following a U.S. military strike against an alleged drug-laden Venezuelan boat in the southern Caribbean. Officials said 11 suspected Tren de Aragua narco-terrorists were killed on Tuesday. When Krassenstein responded that “killing the citizens of another nation who are civilians without any due process is called a war crime,” Vance told him, “I don’t give a s— what you call it.” TRUMP CAPS WEEK WITH BOLD MILITARY MOVES FROM PENTAGON NAME CHANGE TO CARTEL CRACKDOWN Krassenstein later claimed that Vance “should be impeached for this tweet.” Secretary of War Pete Hegseth told “Fox & Friends” Wednesday, “It’s a new day. It’s a different day, and … this is an activity the United States is not going to tolerate in our hemisphere.” Hegseth described the strike as a direct hit against a “narco-terrorist organization” that aims to “poison” the U.S. with illicit drugs. TRUMP’S STRIKE ON CARTEL VESSEL OFF VENEZUELA SENDS WARNING TO MADURO: ‘NO SANCTUARY’ President Donald Trump shared footage of the fiery explosion, declaring that the strike should serve as notice to anyone attempting to traffic narcotics into the United States. He also emphasized that no U.S. forces were harmed in the operation. The president later confirmed the blast occurred in the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) area of responsibility while the alleged terrorists were in international waters transporting illegal narcotics to the U.S. “It won’t stop with just this strike. Anyone else trafficking in those waters, who we know is a designated narco-terrorist, will face the same fate, and it’s important for the American people to protect our homeland and protect our hemisphere,” Hegseth said. Fox News Digital’s Taylor Penley and Diana Stancy contributed to this report.

Billionaire backer of NYC Democratic socialist Mamdani funds controversial ‘woke math’ program: report

Philanthropist and billionaire heiress Liz Simons, who donated $250,000 to New Yorkers for Lower Costs, a PAC supporting Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani, oversees a foundation that is reportedly behind the push to bring “woke math” to public schools. Critics told the New York Post that the math program was aimed at turning children into socialist revolutionaries. While a typical math problem challenges a child to answer a quantitative question, race-neutral math incorporates social issues into questions and doesn’t focus on numbers alone. The outlet noted that while the approach has been embraced in states like California, others, including Florida, have rejected it. PRO-MAMDANI SUPER PAC TAKES HEFTY CHECK FROM ULTRA-WEALTHY DONOR DESPITE SAYING BILLIONAIRES SHOULDN’T EXIST The Heising-Simons Foundation, which Simons co-founded with her husband, Mark Heising, has given $1.7 million since 2023 to the Racial Justice in Early Mathematics (RJEM) Project at Chicago’s Erikson Institute, according to the Post. RJEM was established in December 2019 and led by Dr. Jennifer McCray of the Erikson Institute and Dr. Danny Bernard Martin of the University of Illinois Chicago. A January 2023 press release by the Erikson Institute says the project “focuses on addressing issues of systemic racial injustices in the math education of young learners.” BERNIE SANDERS, ZOHRAN MAMDANI TEAM UP TO ‘FIGHT OLIGARCHY’ IN NYC The statement goes on to describe RJEM’s main goals as identifying issues of racial injustice in early math that spark “difficult (and often uncomfortable) conversations” about racism and offer educators the opportunity to develop practices “that foster racial justice.” On its website, the Heising-Simons Foundation says its mission is “to advance sustainable solutions in climate and clean energy, enable groundbreaking research in science, enhance the education of our youngest learners and support human rights for all people.” Mamdani, a self-described Democratic socialist, stunned observers when he secured the Democratic nomination for New York City mayor in June. Despite his far-left stances, Mamdani has gotten the backing of Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y. Another establishment Democrat, Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., meanwhile, has been more cautious of Mamdani. Mamdani has also been supported by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and he hosted an event Saturday in Brooklyn with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. Fox News Digital reached out to the Heising-Simons Foundation and the Mamdani campaign for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

What is Eswatini? Meet the African country where Kilmar Abrego Garcia could go next

The looming possibility of Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s latest deportation led to global Google searches for the small African nation of Eswatini. Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland, is largely surrounded by South Africa and is partially bordered by Mozambique. It has a population of over 1.2 million, according to the World Bank. At just 6,704 square miles, it’s a similar size to the land area of Hawaii. Abrego Garica was originally going to be deported to Uganda from the U.S., but his attorneys listed Uganda as a “persecution or torture risk,” along with over 20 other countries, many of which are in Latin America. ABREGO GARCIA RENEWS PUSH FOR ASYLUM IN US, REVEALS NEW COUNTRY WILLING TO ACCEPT HIM “That claim of fear is hard to take seriously, especially given that you have claimed (through your attorneys) that you fear persecution or torture in at least 22 different countries,” an ICE notice states. The Department of Homeland Security posted to X on Friday that “Homie is afraid of the entire western hemisphere.” CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE The name was changed to Eswatini by its king in 2018. It was part of the British empire as a protectorate in 1903 and became its own country in 1968. However, it is part of the Commonwealth of Nations, along with dozens of other former parts of the British Empire, despite having its own patriarch. DEMOCRATS OUTRAGED THAT ALLEGED GANG MEMBER COULD BE SENT TO UGANDA On Saturday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio released a statement commemorating the country’s Independence Day. “On behalf of the United States of America, I extend best wishes to the people of Eswatini as you celebrate the 57th anniversary of your independence. The longstanding friendship between our nations reflects a shared commitment to security, public health, and economic opportunity,” Rubio stated. “We look forward to continued cooperation and effective partnerships that advance our mutual safety, strength, and prosperity. “Please accept our sincere congratulations as you mark this special day.” FEDERAL JUDGE TEMPORARILY BARS ABREGO GARCIA FROM DEPORTATION TO UGANDA The State Department has the country at a level two travel advisory, suggesting that American travelers “exercise increased caution,” which is the case for many countries around the globe, including in Europe and Africa. As for Abrego Garcia, he was deported to El Salvador in March, which led to intense backlash from Democrats about due process concerns for immigrants. He was then brought back to the United States to face human smuggling charges based on a 2022 Tennessee traffic stop. The State Department maintains he is an MS-13 gang member who has allegedly beaten his wife and engaged in human trafficking. He is in federal custody in Virginia, as U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis halted the possible deportation to Uganda. “None of those things are true, full stop,” Chris Newman, an attorney for Abrego Garcia’s family, told Fox News Digital regarding the charges and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem describing him as a “human trafficker, serial domestic abuser and child predator.”

America’s largest gun lobby speaks out as Trump administration mulls possible trans firearms ban

The National Rifle Association (NRA) has sounded off on reports that the Trump administration is mulling a way of limiting transgender people’s ability to purchase firearms. The gun lobby group, the largest in the U.S. with 5 million members, according to its website, released a statement Friday reinforcing its commitment that all law-abiding Americans have a right to bear arms. It comes as Department of Justice officials have had several internal meetings about placing restrictions on trans people after Annunciation School shooter Robin Westman, who identified as trans, killed two people and injured 18 others late last month. Westman’s guns were purchased legally, according to The Associated Press. FEDERAL APPEALS COURT APPROVES ILLINOIS RESTRICTIONS ON CARRYING GUNS ON PUBLIC TRANSIT “The NRA supports the Second Amendment rights of all law-abiding Americans to purchase and use firearms,” the statement says. “NRA does not, and will not, support any policy proposals that implement sweeping gun bans that arbitrarily strip law-abiding citizens of their Second Amendment rights without due process.” The Gun Owners of America (GOA) issued a clear, uncompromising stance on the issue. “GOA opposes any and all gun bans. Full stop,” the GOA wrote on X. In another post, the group quoted Senior Vice President Erich Pratt as saying, “Gun Owners of America does not compromise with our support for the right of all people to keep and bear arms.” The National Association for Gun Rights (NAGR), another major gun lobby group, has not formally weighed in on the issue, but its president, Dudley Brown, said he opposes the idea. He argued on X that labeling people “mentally defective” to strip them of gun rights would be a due process violation. The DOJ officials’ conversations are in an early stage, and no concrete steps have been taken, multiple sources told Fox News. One source pointed to a “pattern” of shootings carried out by transgender people, including Westman’s attack. Audrey “Aiden” Hale, who identified as transgender, killed six at The Covenant School in Nashville in 2023. Alec McKinney, a transgender teen, was one of two shooters at STEM School in Colorado, where one person was killed and eight others were wounded. Another source said the DOJ’s discussions about banning transgender people from buying or owning guns have involved the Office of Legal Counsel, which provides legal advice to the executive branch. APPEALS COURT BLOCKS NEW MEXICO’S 7-DAY WAITING PERIOD FOR GUN PURCHASES, SAYING IT VIOLATES 2ND AMENDMENT The source indicated that the DOJ officials are thinking through a feasible legal framework. Such discussions would likely rope in the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), which is part of the DOJ and has authority over federal rules related to firearms. When asked about the talks, a DOJ spokesperson downplayed the discussions targeting transgender people. “The DOJ is actively evaluating options to prevent the pattern of violence we have seen from individuals with specific mental health challenges and substance abuse disorders,” the spokesperson said. “No specific criminal justice proposals have been advanced at this time.” One of the sources said DOJ officials “are reviewing ways to ensure that mentally ill individuals suffering from gender dysphoria are unable to obtain firearms while they are unstable and unwell.” People with mental health conditions are typically not banned from buying guns under current laws, which the Supreme Court reaffirmed as recently as 2024 in United States v. Rahimi. But in some instances, such as a court deeming someone mentally incompetent, that information is supposed to crop up during a background check and block a customer from obtaining a gun license. LGBTQ advocates called the idea of a ban misguided and dangerous, arguing that the vast majority of mass shootings in the U.S. are carried out by men and do not involve transgender people. “Transgender people are less than 2% of the overall population, yet four times as likely to be victims of crime,” GLAAD said. “Everyone deserves to be themselves, be safe and be free from violence and discrimination. We all deserve leaders who prioritize keeping all of us safe and free.” Since President Donald Trump returned to office, his administration has removed transgender people from military service, scrubbed some federal websites of mentions of them and is trying to bar changing the sex marker on passports. The administration has also been vehemently opposed to allowing biological males to compete in female sports and curtailed access to gender surgery. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Jeffrey Epstein saga continues as Congress returns from recess

Congress wasn’t in session in August. But the Epstein files certainly were. The Epstein files dominated Congress before the summer recess. But when lawmakers returned to Capitol Hill in recent days, the first thing lawmakers wrestled with were the Epstein files again. Note: If you want something to go away, do not make it among the first orders of business. The Epstein issue gurgled through the summer. And House Republicans did little to tamp down the embers by adjourning the body a day early in July – because they struggled to pass unrelated bills without delving into a complicated and sticky discussion of the Epstein files. Then, when the House returned, GOP leaders immediately prepped a resolution to formally bless an Epstein investigation by the Oversight Committee. The panel released some 32,000 pages of Epstein-related documents. Just hours after returning to session, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and others met with Epstein accusers. ‘NOT GOING AWAY’: INSIDE THE EPSTEIN DRAMA THAT’S THROWN HOUSE GOP INTO CHAOS That explains why the issue isn’t ebbing any time soon. “It is very much a possibility that Jeffrey Epstein was an intelligence asset working for our adversaries,” declared Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., after talking to the Epstein victims at the Capitol. “I think this is going to be a criminal investigation for sure. I will say that what’s been released, obviously, the American people have wanted for a long time.” Before the recess, Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Ro Khanna, D-Calif., teamed up to potentially bypass Johnson and compel the House to vote on releasing the Epstein files. The Epstein milieu quickly infected virtually every single legislative effort in Congress, effectively hamstringing the body. So Johnson cut everyone loose a bit early. But the issue festered over the recess. Massie and Khanna were back with their parliamentary gambit to go over Johnson’s head and force an Epstein vote. Lawmakers from both sides routinely convene press conferences at a spot just outside the Capitol called the “House Triangle.” Lawmakers often use this venue to feature non-members or people specific to the legislation they’re pushing at the news conference. Sometimes members bring a throng of people with them. A crowd occasionally gathers, depending on the issue. But I had never before witnessed the multitude of people who showed up at the House Triangle on Wednesday morning to hear Massie, Khanna and victims talk about their effort to pry open the files. People spilled out onto the walkways and plaza. That forced U.S. Capitol Police to restrict access to the area. Some of the victims recounted their Epstein stories in harrowing detail. “When I got into the massage room, Jeffrey Epstein undressed and asked me to do things to him, my eyes welled up with tears. And I have never been more scared in my life,” said Epstein accuser Haley Robson. “I was even taken on a trip to Africa with former President Bill Clinton and other notable figures. In those moments, I realized how powerless I was,” said Epstein victim Chauntae Davies. EPSTEIN VICTIMS SET TO BREAK SILENCE AMID BIPARTISAN PUSH TO RELEASE FILES: ‘PEOPLE ARE GOING TO BE OUTRAGED’ Massie and Khanna are deploying what’s called a “discharge petition.” It’s a rarely successful gambit to go over the head of the Speaker and force a debate and vote on your issue – provided one can engineer 218 House signatures. If Massie and Khanna cobble together enough signatories, they may be able to force a vote later this month. House GOP leaders are concerned about this. That’s why Johnson hoped to intervene with his own measure to formalize the House Oversight Committee’s inquiry into Epstein. But Johnson designed the measure in a way that the House could approve it – without taking a direct vote on it. That way, Republicans could point to angry constituents that they were in fact taking the Epstein files seriously – without an actual roll call vote documenting their position and perhaps infuriating President Donald Trump. Or, they could tell other constituents who wouldn’t want them to cross the President on Epstein to say they never directly voted on it at all. After all, it was buried in an unrelated measure. Make sense? But there was another motive behind the leadership’s unique parliamentary maneuver on Epstein: They wanted to give Republicans cover to say that the House was in fact addressing the Epstein issue. The move might coax fewer members to support the Massie/Khanna effort. That would prevent the House from taking a concrete vote tied to Epstein. But otherwise, the House may need to directly wrestle with it. Massie called this a “political cover” to block his plan with Khanna to release the files. Johnson fired back at Massie. “I would not put much stock into what Thomas Massie says. The House Republicans have been very consistent about maximum disclosure and maximum transparency,” said Johnson. Trump long promised to release the files. But Trump’s position this week was to blame Democrats. “This is a Democrat hoax that never ends. You know, it reminds me a little of the [President John F.] Kennedy situation. We gave them everything over and over again. More and more and more and nobody’s ever satisfied,” said Trump. “But it’s really a Democrat hoax because they’re trying to get people to talk about something that’s totally irrelevant to the success that we’ve had as a nation since I’ve been president.” Massie suggested that Johnson is just trying to stay on Trump’s good side by walking a political tightrope. HOUSE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE RELEASES THOUSANDS OF EPSTEIN DOCUMENTS “The Speaker is wrestling with [whether] he’s going to have to choose between supporting Donald Trump’s new position that the files shouldn’t be released, or finding justice for these victims and survivors. The Speaker probably doesn’t appreciate that he’s going to have to choose one,” said Massie. “The Speaker’s position depends on him not just rubber-stamping but reinforcing anything Donald Trump wants, even if Donald Trump is wrong.

DHS fires back at ‘activist judges’ blocking temporary protected status crackdown

The Department of Homeland Security blasted a federal judge’s order preventing the Trump administration from scrapping temporary protected status for more than a million Venezuelan and Haitian nationals in the United States. The temporary protected status, or TPS, applies to over 1 million people from the two countries, allowing them to remain in the U.S. for the time being, according to The Associated Press. The outlet reported that it applies to 600,000 Venezuelans and 500,000 Haitians. FED COURT OF APPEALS GRANTS TRUMP ADMIN PAUSE ON PROTECTIONS FOR 60K IMMIGRANTS “For decades, the TPS program has been abused, exploited, and politicized as a de facto amnesty program. Its use has been all the more dangerous, given the millions of unvetted illegal aliens the Biden Administration let into this country,” a DHS spokesperson said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “While this order delays justice, [DHS] Secretary [Kristi] Noem will use every legal option at the Department’s disposal to end this chaos and prioritize the safety of Americans,” the statement continued. “Under God, the people rule. Unelected activist judges cannot stop the will of the American people for a safe and secure homeland.” CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE Judge Edward Chen, of the Northern District of California, wrote in his ruling that ending the TPS was “unprecedented” and that Noem’s actions broke the law. VENEZUELAN MIGRANTS, PROGRESSIVE GROUP SUE TRUMP ADMIN AFTER NOEM NIXES BIDEN-ERA ‘PROTECTED STATUS’ “This case arose from action taken post haste by the current DHS Secretary, Kristi Noem, to revoke the legal status of Venezuelan and Haitian TPS holders, sending them back to conditions that are so dangerous that even the State Department advises against travel to their home countries,” the judge wrote. TPS for Venezuelans and Haitians was granted under the Biden administration, as the qualifiers for immigrants from a country to get the status include an active war or a major public health crisis in their homeland. FEDERAL JUDGE FINDS ‘RACIAL AND DISCRIMINATORY ANIMUS’ IN TRUMP MOVE TO CANCEL TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS Immigrants who fall under TPS cannot be deported because of their legal status and are able to work in the U.S, according to the DHS website. “The environmental situation in Haiti has improved enough that it is safe for Haitian citizens to return home,” a DHS spokesperson said of Haiti in July. “We encourage these individuals to take advantage of the Department’s resources in returning to Haiti, which can be arranged through the CBP Home app. Haitian nationals may pursue lawful status through other immigration benefit requests, if eligible.” District-level federal judges have repeatedly been at odds with the Trump administration on a wide range of legal battles, especially on immigration-related cases. The administration has successfully appealed many of the cases.

Trump caps week with bold military moves from Pentagon name change to cartel crackdown

President Donald Trump wrapped up the week Friday signing an executive order to change the name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War. The executive order gives the green light to use the name “Department of War” as a secondary title for the Department of Defense, along with terms like “secretary of war” for Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, according to a White House fact sheet. The order also calls for Hegseth to propose both legislative and executive actions to permanently cement the title as the U.S. Department of War. Additionally, a White House official told Fox News Digital that implementing the order would mean making alterations to public-facing websites and office signage at the Pentagon. For example, one change on the horizon is renaming the public affairs briefing room the “Pentagon War Annex,” the official said, noting other longer-term projects also will emerge. TRUMP TO RENAME PENTAGON, RESTORING HISTORIC ‘DEPARTMENT OF WAR’ IN LATEST MILITARY MOVE The U.S. previously used the Department of War title for its military agency until 1949, but modified it to the Department of Defense to align with multiple reforms included in the National Security Act of 1947. Trump signaled in late August the change might happen. “Everybody likes that we had an unbelievable history of victory when it was Department of War,” Trump told reporters Aug. 25. “Then we changed it to Department of Defense.” Here’s what also happened this week: Trump also announced that the U.S. military strike against an alleged drug-laden Venezuelan boat in the southern Caribbean killed 11 suspected Tren de Aragua narco-terrorists Tuesday. Trump shared a video on social media Tuesday depicting the strike against the Venezuelan vessel, just days after he authorized sending three U.S. Navy guided missile destroyers to enhance the administration’s counternarcotics efforts in the region. “You had massive amounts of drugs,” Trump told reporters Wednesday about the recent strike. “We have tapes of them speaking. It was massive amounts of drugs coming into our country to kill a lot of people. And everybody fully understands that fact. You see it, you see the bags of drugs all over the boat and they were hit.” MADURO CLAIMS US SEEKS ‘REGIME CHANGE THROUGH MILITARY THREAT’ AMID CARIBBEAN BUILDUP “Obviously, they won’t be doing it again. And I think a lot of other people won’t be doing it again. When they watch that tape, they’re going to say, ‘Let’s not do this.’ We have to protect our country, and we’re going to. Venezuela has been a very bad actor.” After the deployment of the destroyers, Maduro said Venezuela was ready to respond to any attacks and said the ship’s presence in the region was “an extravagant, unjustifiable, immoral and absolutely criminal and bloody threat.” “In the face of this maximum military pressure, we have declared maximum preparedness for the defense of Venezuela,” Maduro said during a Monday press conference. Meanwhile, the Pentagon confirmed Thursday that two Venezuelan aircraft buzzed a U.S. Navy vessel in international waters. “This highly provocative move was designed to interfere with our counter narco-terror operations,” the Defense Department wrote in a statement posted to X. “The cartel running Venezuela is strongly advised not to pursue any further effort to obstruct, deter or interfere with counter-narcotics and counter-terror operations carried out by the U.S. military.” Trump also unveiled plans Tuesday to move Space Command’s headquarters from Colorado to Alabama — putting an end to the controversy about where the command would be based. Space Command has been operating out of Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colorado, but Trump long has backed moving the command’s headquarters to Huntsville, Alabama. But in 2023, former President Joe Biden announced that the command would remain based in Colorado. TRUMP PLANS TO MOVE SPACE COMMAND TO ALABAMA, COUNTERING BIDEN ORDER TO KEEP IT IN COLORADO “The U.S. Space Command headquarters will move to the beautiful locale of a place called Huntsville, Alabama, forever to be known from this point forward as Rocket City,” Trump told reporters Tuesday.

Bernie Sanders, Zohran Mamdani team up to ‘fight oligarchy’ in NYC

Democratic socialists Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani are joining forces on Saturday to fight oligarchy in the nation’s financial capital. “It is an honor to welcome Senator Sanders to New York City as we fight against the corporate greed, billionaires, and corrupt politicians responsible for the affordability crisis,” Mamdani said in a statement ahead of the “Fighting Oligarchy” event in Brooklyn. Mamdani’s June primary win shocked not only the political establishment, but the real estate and business leaders who drive New York City’s economy. With affordability central to Sanders’ and Mamdani’s platforms, both have railed against America’s wealth inequality. “While oligarchs and Donald Trump try to place their thumb on the scale of this election, we’re laser-focused on the New Yorkers who built this city, call it home, and deserve a leader who will deliver dignity for all,” Mamdani said, referencing The New York Times reports alleging President Donald Trump has conspired against Mamdani’s campaign. Trump has dubbed Mamdani a “100% Communist Lunatic.” ZOHRAN MAMDANI SUPPORTERS UNFAZED BY TRUMP’S ‘COMMUNIST’ LABEL, DEFEND THE CANDIDATE’S AFFORDABILITY FIGHT The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s inquiry regarding the report that Trump discussed offering incumbent Mayor Eric Adams a position in the Trump administration so he would drop out of the race and hurt Mamdani’s election odds. Meanwhile, Trump and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo denied discussing how to defeat Mamdani this November. CITY-RUN GROCERY STORES, DEFUNDING POLICE, SAFE INJECTION SITES: WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT NYC’S NEXT POTENTIAL MAYOR Ahead of the town hall in Brooklyn, the two progressive leaders plan to march alongside union members in Manhattan’s Labor Day parade on Saturday morning. After headlining the New Hampshire AFL-CIO’s annual Labor Day breakfast on Monday, Sanders told Fox News Digital that Trump is “leading us toward authoritarianism, toward more income and wealth inequality and making the planet even more dangerous.” “No, billionaires should not be able to get away with not paying their fair share of taxes while working people are being, in many cases, overtaxed,” Sanders said, urging Americans to unite against Trump and deliver for more than just the top 1%. Sanders and Mamdani met in July when the mayoral hopeful visited the nation’s capital for a digital campaign skill-sharing breakfast hosted by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. Mamdani called Sanders “Brooklyn through and through” and said it was an honor to meet “one of my heroes,” while Sanders said he is “deeply impressed by the grassroots campaign he is running.” Sanders, a two-time Democratic presidential nominee runner-up, was an early endorser of Mamdani’s primary campaign, alongside Ocasio-Cortez. Their endorsements helped Mamdani consolidate progressive support in the 11-candidate field during the final weeks of the primary campaign. Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez sparked sizeable buzz on the “Fighting Oligarchy” tour earlier this year, firing up thousands of Democrats at rallies across the United States who have been left without a clear party leader since devastating losses up and down the ballot in 2024. While Sanders’ “Fighting Oligarchy” tour seemed for a time a glimmer of hope for a fractured party, Mamdani’s surprising primary win this summer seems to have reignited that Democratic base in a new, albeit more progressive, direction. Mamdani’s campaign platform promises progressive ideas like rent freezes, city-run grocery stores, free buses and raising the minimum wage – all of which he plans to pay for by raising taxes on corporations and the 1%. Many of those ideas are in line with the Democratic socialist agenda that Sanders has been pushing for years. “At a time of massive and growing income and wealth inequality, we are building a strong grassroots movement to take on the billionaire class and corporate greed,” Sanders said in a statement ahead of the Brooklyn town hall. Sanders said the “oligarchs” – or wealthy business leaders with political influence – will “undermine democracy” and won’t hesitate to “buy elections.” “But candidates who stand boldly with the working class can — and will — beat them. When we stand together we can defeat authoritarianism and create an economy that works for all our people, not just the privileged few,” the Vermont senator and former presidential candidate said. Sanders’ campaign has touted turning out more than 300,000 people across 34 rallies in 20 states since kicking off his “Fighting Oligarchy” tour this year. Fox News Digital reached out to Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa, Cuomo and Adams for comment regarding Mamdani’s event with Sanders but did not immediately receive responses. Fox News Digital’s Diana Stacy contributed to this report.

Trump calls Florida’s move to eliminate vaccine mandates a ‘tough stance’: ‘You have vaccines that work’

President Donald Trump said on Friday that Florida officials are taking a “tough stance” by moving to eliminate all vaccine mandates for students, as he stated that some “vaccines should be used.” “I think we have to be very careful. You have some vaccines that are so amazing. The polio vaccine, I happen to think, is amazing,” Trump told reporters, adding that he believes the COVID-19 vaccine developed during his first term is also “amazing.” He continued: “You have some vaccines that are so incredible, and I think you have to be very careful when you say that some people don’t have to be vaccinated. It’s a very tough position … it’s a tough stance.” The president added that there are “vaccines that work, they just pure and simple work.” SCHOOL VACCINE MANDATES MAY GO AWAY IN SOUTHERN STATE, SURGEON GENERAL ANNOUNCES “They’re not controversial at all,” Trump said. “And I think those vaccines should be used, otherwise some people are going to catch it and they endanger other people. And when you don’t have controversy at all, I think people should take them.” On Wednesday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and state Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo announced the move to eliminate all vaccine mandates. Ladapo even went as far as to compare vaccine requirements to slavery. “All of them,” Ladapo said during a news conference. “Every last one of them is wrong and drips with disdain and slavery.” He also said vaccine mandates are “wrong” and “immoral.” REPUBLICAN DOCTORS CLASH WITH RFK JR OVER VACCINES IN TENSE SENATE SHOWDOWN Ladapo said the Florida Department of Health would repeal mandates under his authority, while the state legislature would need to address the others. Florida has required students going to school to receive vaccinations for polio, diphtheria, measles, rubella, pertussis, mumps, tetanus and other communicable diseases, although parents could still request exemptions on religious grounds. Every U.S. state and Washington, D.C., currently requires vaccines for children to attend school. Across the country, there has been a decline in vaccinations among children. The COVID-19 vaccine, which Ladapo referred to as “poison,” was removed from the recommended list for healthy children by the federal government under Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “Who am I as a government or anyone else, who am I as a man standing here now, to tell you what you should put in your body?” Lapado said. “Who am I to tell you what your child should put in [their] body? I don’t have that right.” “You want to put whatever different vaccines in your body, God bless you. I hope you make an informed decision,” he added. “You don’t want to put whatever vaccines in your body, God bless you. I hope you make an informed decision. That’s how it should be.”

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