Illegal trucker cases fuel GOP push to crack down on CDL mills as Dems largely silent
Republicans in Pennsylvania are pressuring Democrats to act on a legislative crackdown targeting illegal immigrant truckers on America’s highways. Several foreign nationals involved in dangerous incidents around the country were found to be holding commercial driver’s licenses from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, leading to tensions between Harrisburg and Homeland Security. Republicans have called on state Democrats to address the issue, arguing such discrepancies do not appear to occur at the same level in other states. Democrats, including Gov. Josh Shapiro, previously alleged DHS failed to properly maintain its “alien verification” (SAVE) database, which PennDOT said it uses to verify an applicant’s “lawful presence,” while a top Republican recently demanded answers from PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll after illegal immigrants with CDLs were apprehended as far away as Oklahoma. On Wednesday, Shapiro’s camp did not dismiss Republican-led bills aimed at addressing the issue, including efforts to shut down so-called “CDL mills,” which allegedly produce unqualified truckers and generate significant profits. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the Biden administration adjusted rules to allow trucking schools to self-certify, creating a dynamic he compared to the Minnesota-Somali social-services fraud scandal and called “total bull—“ at a recent conference. LAWMAKERS WARNED PENNDOT OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT-CDL CRISIS BEFORE BUST; GOP DEMANDS ANSWERS FROM SHAPIRO “Highway safety is a cornerstone of our mission at PennDOT and the Shapiro administration remains unwavering in our work to make sure Pennsylvania’s roads are safe,” Shapiro spokeswoman Rosie Lapowsky said when presented with the bills newly passed out of Senate committee and considered favorable to the GOP-majority upper chamber. Harrisburg has faced divided government for some time, as the House is 102-99 Democratic, with two Republican-favored seats vacant that would normally create a one-seat margin, while the Senate holds a 27-23 GOP majority. Lapowsky pointed to the SAVE database and said PennDOT continues to issue CDLs to drivers verified by that and otherwise in accordance with applicable state and federal law. ICE ARRESTS 13 AFTER TIP ON TRUCK DRIVERS AT PENNSYLVANIA DMV SPARKS CHAOTIC SCENE “The fact remains that every person who applies for a non-domiciled commercial driver’s license issued by PennDOT must provide proof of identity and proof of their lawful presence in the United States,” she said. “We will monitor the bills as they go through the legislative process.” However, Shapiro’s allies in the State House were mum on the subject. When reached for comment, a representative for House Speaker Joanna McClinton, D-Southwest Philadelphia, said the lawmaker was unavailable due to a floor session and could not review Fox News Digital’s inquiry by next week. House Majority Leader Matt Bradford, D-Schwenksville, House Majority Whip Mike Schlossberg, D-Allentown, and House Transportation Committee Chairman Ed Neilson, R-Northeast Philadelphia, did not respond by publication time. While the top Republican on the Senate Transportation Committee that approved the bills — Sen. Judy Ward of Hollidaysburg — could not immediately be reached, other Republicans touted the plans as “commonsense reforms” needed to secure America’s highways. DEM GUBERNATORIAL HOPEFULS RIPPED FOR PLAYING ‘GARBAGE’ RACE CARD OVER CRACKDOWN ON TRUCKERS’ ENGLISH “Cracking down on CDL mills and requiring English language proficiency for truck drivers are easy ways for Pennsylvania to make the roads a little safer,” Senate Intergovernmental Operations Committee chairman Jarrett Coleman, R-Allentown, told Fox News Digital. Coleman previously led the charge against illegal immigrant truckers receiving CDLs in Pennsylvania after an Uzbek national residing in Philadelphia was nabbed in Kansas earlier this year. In that case, Ahkror Bozorov was also found to be wanted back home in Tashkent on suspicion of ties to terrorist groups, according to DHS. Coleman also highlighted a Senate fact-finding hearing involving Carroll and several trucking interests following another incident in which a Kyrgyz national with a PennDOT CDL caused a crash that killed a person in Indiana. “I can’t imagine how anyone could be opposed to these types of changes, and quite frankly they’re overdue,” said Coleman, a former commercial pilot and ex-member of the Parkland School Board. The first of the bills, SB 1294, seeks to crack down on so-called CDL mills that produce undertrained truck driver candidates who pay for their services. DOT CRACKDOWN PULLS HUNDREDS OF ENGLISH-ILLITERATE, ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT TRUCKERS OFF ROADS AS CRASHES MOUNT Ward, whose family owns the regionally prominent Ward Trucking firm out of Altoona, was listed as the lead sponsor of all three pieces of the package, accompanied by several colleagues as co-sponsors, including Sens. Camera Bartolotta, R-Washington, Wayne Langerholc, R-Johnstown, and Lisa Baker, R-Dallas. The first piece officially creates a CDL school licensing board and enforces $25,000 penalties on people who provide entry-level driver training without being certified. The second bill in the package would require English to be the primary language spoken or understood in testing applications in order to operate commercial vehicles in excess of 40 tons on Pennsylvania highways. The third bill, SB 1296, establishes new penalties for out-of-service violations issued to unsafe CDL drivers, including operating a heavy commercial vehicle on public highways without English comprehension. A Pennsylvania Democratic source familiar with the topic also pointed Fox News Digital to a recent hearing before Ward’s committee, where Deputy Secretary of Education Lynnette Kuhn testified about commercial vehicle safety policies under the Shapiro administration. Kuhn pointed out that the federal government lists 1,273 Pennsylvania-based CDL training firms, but only 40 are registered with Harrisburg. “Registration is a self-certifying process, and an applicant only needs to check a box attesting that they have met all applicable state requirements,” Kuhn said. “Additionally, FMCSA (a USDOT sub-agency focused on trucking) registration does not require a physical or mailing address, phone number, email address, website, business information, or an individual’s personal information, making it extremely difficult to locate a provider based on the registry.” “As a result, unlicensed training providers can appear legitimate to consumers, employers, and state regulatory agencies.” With the package likely to be approved by the full Senate soon, the fight will shift to McClinton’s chamber, where just a few Democratic defections on a nationally spotlighted issue could
California mom rips Newsom-backed ‘diversion program’ that appears to benefit her son’s killer
Compounding layers of leniency in California laws are allowing drivers charged with vehicular manslaughter to walk away with clean criminal and driving records, prompting calls for reform from victims’ families. Allison Lyman, who is looking for accountability for the crash that killed her son last year, believes soft-on-crime laws passed under Gov. Gavin Newsom’s tenure have weakened accountability for road deaths, amounting to what she described as “negligence.” “You know, our hunch is this was all happening during ‘soft on crime,’ ‘let’s clear the jails,’” Lyman said of California’s laws. “And the consequence now is us — with these drivers right back on our roads.” BLUE CITY ERUPTS AS 91-TIME FELON TRIES TO DODGE PRISON, WEASEL INTO REHAB AFTER CRASH Lyman’s son, Connor Lopez, was killed in a collision on April 23, 2025, when Harkit Kaur, a 50-year-old woman, turned into a clear view of incoming traffic and blocked the path of Lopez’s motorcycle, according to eyewitnesses to the accident. Kaur did not show signs of intoxication after taking a standardized field sobriety test, police reports indicate. Fox News Digital reached out to Kaur’s legal representation. After the accident, Lyman was shocked to hear the death was considered a “misdemeanor” under California laws dealing with non-violent crimes — something amounting to less than a shoplifting crime. But her shock only grew when she was told Kaur could soon have the accident wiped entirely from her record through a law Newsom approved in 2020. “I won’t ever forget the day I sat in front of the DA. He said something about a ‘diversion program.’ And then we learned: Governor Newsom signed AB 3234 into law,” Layman explained. CALIFORNIA’S SOROS-BACKED PROGRESSIVE EXPERIMENT COLLAPSES AFTER A DECADE That law expanded judges’ authority to grant pretrial dismissal in some misdemeanor cases, allowing charges to be completely dismissed if defendants complete court-ordered programs and “would deem the arrest upon which diversion was imposed to have never occurred.” The law can apply to more than just traffic violations. “And then the charge is dismissed. It is erased,” Lyman said. “The driver that killed Connor has never lost her license. I’ve seen her driving,” Lyman said. Lyman noted that Kaur hasn’t yet officially received a diversion ruling and will receive a final sentencing ruling next week. Coupled with other Newsom-approved laws, Lyman said courts are specifically told to consider diversion ahead of possible jail sentences. “I zoomed in for a woman whose husband was killed in Sacramento. It’s a misdemeanor. She has the same judge as Connor. And the judge was talking about making his decision and cited this code that I had never heard of — 17.2. And it was another law passed in 2023 that essentially tells judges to consider everything, including diversion, before jail,” Lyman said. Newsom approved 17.2 through AB 2167 — a law that requires “a court to consider alternatives to incarceration including collaborative justice court programs, diversion, restorative justice and probation.” In the wake of her son’s death, now one year ago, Lyman is working with state lawmakers to advocate for SB 953 — a law that would require all vehicular manslaughter to be reported to the California Department of Motor Vehicles. THIS IS HOW WE’LL KNOW IF CALIFORNIA GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM’S EPIPHANY ON ‘LIBERAL GOVERNANCE’ IS REAL Sen. Roger Niello, R-Calif., the bill’s sponsor, explained his legislation would put two points on the defendant’s driving record, regardless of diversion. “Under current laws, a speeding ticket can now have a greater reflection on a driver’s record than killing somebody with a car. A diversion does not change the fact that a fatality occurred,” Niello said at a press event earlier this week. “The DMV cannot do its job of determining who poses a risk and who does not.” SB 953 advanced unanimously out of committee on Tuesday. Fox News Digital reached out to Newsom’s office.
Viral Marco Rubio clip on his vision for America sparks more 2028 speculation
A viral clip of Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivering a hopeful vision for America’s future while answering a question this week at the White House is stoking more buzz about a possible 2028 presidential bid. Rubio, in his debut performance at a White House briefing, gave an uplifting answer that noted America’s “story of perpetual improvement” when asked about his hope for the country in the years ahead. Recordings of the secretary of state’s 53-second answer, including a campaign-style video put out by Rubio’s team, grabbed tons of views on social media. The frenzy is understandable, as every move and each comment Rubio makes is often seen as a possible prelude to a potential White House run in the race to succeed his boss, term-limited President Donald Trump. RUBIO GAINS MOMENTUM IN HYPOTHETICAL 2028 GOP PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION RACE AS VANCE REMAINS CLEAR FRONT-RUNNER Rubio, briefing reporters ahead of his current overseas trip, including Thursday’s meeting with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican amid strained relations due to recent critical comments of the U.S.-born pontiff from Trump, said his “hope for America is what it’s always been. I think it’s the hope I hope we all share. We want it to continue to be the place where anyone from anywhere can achieve anything, where you’re not limited by the circumstances of your birth, by the color of your skin, by your ethnicity, but frankly, it’s a place where you are able to overcome challenges and achieve your full potential.” “I think that should be the goal of every country in the world, frankly, but I think in the U.S. – we’re not perfect. Our history is not one of perfection, but it’s still better than anybody else’s history,” Rubio said. “And ours is a story of perpetual improvement. Each generation has left the next generation of Americans freer, more prosperous, safer, and that is our goal as well.” The secretary, who is a devout Catholic, added, “But it is a unique and exceptional country and, as we come upon this 250-year anniversary, I think we have a lot to learn and be proud of in our history. It is one of perpetual and continuous improvement, where each generation has done its part to bring us closer to fulfilling the vision that the founders of this country had upon its founding.” A clip of the comments grabbed over 6 million views on X. Rubio’s team also put out a minute-long vertical video of the soliloquy that included voice-over video of the secretary of state, Trump, jets flying over the White House, a diverse mix of Americans, the late President Ronald Reagan and the American flag being raised. The video, on the secretary’s X account, was viewed over 3 million times and grabbed the attention of some of the biggest names in MAGA world. Right-wing activist Laura Loomer, who is close to Trump, retweeted the video and said, “Wow! This looks like it could be a launch video for a Presidential campaign. Amazing production quality and vibes.” Meanwhile, Elon Musk retweeted a separate video of the Rubio comments. Vice President JD Vance has long been seen as the heir apparent to Trump and his MAGA and America First base. While Vance remains the hypothetical clear frontrunner ahead of the start of the 2028 White House race, which won’t ignite until after this year’s midterm elections, Rubio appears to be on the rise. WHITE HOUSE RACE UNDERWAY: WITH 2026 LOOMING, BOTH PARTIES ARE ALREADY PLAYING FOR 2028 Thanks to an increase in his responsibilities and public profile, more recently around the U.S. operation in Venezuela and the war against Iran, Rubio has seen speculation and support for a possible presidential bid soar in recent months. Among the most notable evidence is Rubio’s strong second-place finish in March in the 2028 Republican presidential nomination straw poll at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). Rubio, who was one of more than a dozen Republican contenders who ran and lost to Trump in the tumultuous 2016 presidential race, grabbed 35% of the vote at CPAC when the straw poll results were announced this past weekend, up from a mere 3% a year earlier. Vance, who is popular with MAGA and America First groups, finished first at 53%. While the vice president saw his support slightly edge down from 61% last year, Vance’s numbers are higher than anyone else in CPAC presidential straw poll history other than Trump. Rubio insists he’ll support Vance if the vice president launches a White House campaign. “If JD Vance runs for president, he’s going to be our nominee, and I’ll be one of the first people to support him,” Rubio told Vanity Fair late last year. MARCO RUBIO SPOTTED BEHIND DJ BOOTH AT FAMILY WEDDING AS SOCIAL MEDIA REACTS TO VIRAL CLIP Vance, who like Rubio has highlighted his Catholic faith, will likely get plenty of chances next month to spotlight his devotion amid the release of his new book, “Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith.” VANCE IN ‘CATBIRD SEAT’ FOR 2028 GOP PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION, BUT THESE REPUBLICANS MAY ALSO RUN Partially fueling Rubio’s rise has been Trump, who has lavishly praised his secretary of state. The president recently declared that Rubio would go down as “the greatest secretary of state in history.” Trump has also promoted a Vance-Rubio ticket — calling it “unstoppable” a few months ago — but has not said who should be at the top of the ticket. But the president said last year that Vance is “most likely” his heir apparent. “In all fairness, he’s the vice president,” Trump added. And Trump, in an interview on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” last year, called Vance a “fantastic, brilliant guy.” Trump, who has yet to say whom he would endorse in the race for the 2028 Republican presidential nomination, added in that interview, “certainly you would say that somebody’s the VP, if that person is outstanding, I guess that person would have an advantage.”
Bipartisan lawmakers push to remove Secret Service from DHS after Trump assassination attempts
FIRST ON FOX: A pair of House lawmakers are seeking a major change to the Secret Service after heightened scrutiny following the third assassination attempt against President Donald Trump in April. Reps. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., and Russell Fry, R-S.C., introduced legislation Thursday that would transfer the Secret Service from DHS supervision and make the agency a direct report to the White House. The measure is part of a broader package of bipartisan reforms that Moskowitz, a former emergency management director, is unveiling to reform the sprawling department that has come under frequent criticism for bureaucratic dysfunction. His legislative package would also make FEMA an independent cabinet-level agency and move TSA under the jurisdiction of the Department of Transportation. The goal, Moskowitz said, is to cut red tape at DHS that impedes its subagencies’ ability to function — an observation he saw up close as a member of the congressional task force investigating the first assassination attempt against Trump in Butler, Pa. TRUMP BUTLER RALLY SECRET SERVICE TEAM FAILED MULTIPLE BASIC PROTOCOLS BEFORE ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT, DOCS REVEAL “Going to Butler, talking to Secret Service, is when I realized, well, the Secret Service is suffering the same problems that FEMA is suffering,” Moskowitz said in an interview with Fox News Digital. “Because they were such a small agency, they couldn’t get the resources they needed. They couldn’t get decisions being made.” “These pieces of legislation would streamline all three of those agencies,” Moskowitz added. “It would cut a lot of the bureaucracy we’re getting at DHS.” Moskowitz, who was present at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, where the Secret Service subdued the alleged shooter, said the assassination scare reinforced the need to make the agency directly accountable to the president and provide agents with “more resources, not less.” Fry, who is co-leading the bill, said the measure would better allow the Secret Service to fulfill its responsibility of protecting the president. “In a time where political attacks are becoming increasingly rampant, the Secret Service should be able to focus solely on its mission of protecting top U.S. officials — not dealing with bureaucratic tape that ultimately serves as a distraction to keeping the president safe,” Fry said. WITNESSES RECOUNT CHAOS AT WHCA DINNER AFTER SHOOTING, SECRET SERVICE AGENTS DREW GUNS TO EVACUATE TRUMP Moskowitz’s DHS reform package comes after the embattled department endured a record-breaking funding lapse that concluded in late April after lasting for 76 days. The Florida lawmaker repeatedly joined Democrats against full-year DHS spending bills, but supported funding the department’s non-immigration functions. If Moskowitz’s reform package was signed into law, the TSA, Secret Service and FEMA would likely be shielded from another prolonged DHS funding lapse. More than 1,000 TSA agents quit during the shutdown, leading to long security lines at major airports and a spike in missed flights for passengers. “I don’t think the American people should have their lives interrupted at the airport because of the dysfunction in Washington,” Moskowitz told Fox News Digital. He also argued that TSA would function better if it was transferred out of DHS. “The idea that the Department of Transportation, they have the FAA that keeps our skies safe, but then Homeland keeps the people safe in the airport … we should put things under one roof,” Moskowitz said. “I’m trying to unify keeping people safe in the air and safe on the ground when flying.” Moskowitz’s previous efforts to make FEMA a cabinet-level agency have stalled in committee. The Florida lawmaker, however, said he has talked with members of the Trump administration about reforms to DHS and believes there is extensive bipartisan support for overhauling the department. “The question is, are we able to function and actually do something like this anymore?” Moskowitz said. “Or are we just only able to fund the agencies now and can’t do any reform?” Moskowitz is partnering with Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., on the FEMA reform measure and co-leading the TSA transfer bill with Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn. He told Fox News Digital that he is planning to seek re-election in the new GOP-leaning 25th Congressional District, following Florida Republicans passing an aggressive gerrymandered map that carved up his Democratic seat last week. Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and the DHS before publication.
Reality TV star Spencer Pratt gains traction in Los Angeles mayoral race after fiery debate
An aggressive and impassioned debate performance this week by reality TV star and online influencer-turned Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt is the latest evidence that his populist pitch to lead the nation’s second-most populous city appears to be gaining traction. Pratt tangled with the debate moderator after charging that incumbent Mayor Karen Bass was an “incredible liar” and argued that progressive City Council member Nithya Raman would get “stabbed in the neck” if she tried to offer treatment to homeless people encamped in underpasses below the city’s freeways. His apparent rise is fueled in part by his well-known status as one of the victims who lost their homes in last year’s devastating wildfires, when over 17,000 homes in Los Angeles County were destroyed, as well as his right-leaning focus on homelessness, crime, and government accountability in a city long run by Democrats. Pratt, who is running as an independent and outsider and has labeled himself a “truth-to-power” candidate, has grabbed significant media attention for his campaign ads targeting both Bass and Raman. DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUB Pratt, who has blamed Bass for the destruction of his home, released an ad last week that aimed to tap into Angelenos’ frustration over the city’s current leadership, its response to the wildfires, and its handling of the homeless crisis. “This is where Mayor Bass lives. Do you notice something? Or here, where Nithya Raman’s $3 million mansion sits,” Pratt said in the ad, as he stands in front of homes of his top two rivals. “They don’t have to live in the mess they’ve created.” His opponents say that Pratt is borrowing a page from President Donald Trump’s politics of grievance playbook. LA MAYOR BASS AND TOP RIVALS FACE OFF ON THE DEBATE STAGE “Spencer is doing his best Trump impression, but it’s not going to work in LA,” Bass’ campaign argued, in response to the recent ad. It was a similar response from Raman’s campaign, which charged, “Spencer Pratt plays directly from the Donald Trump playbook — incendiary language, fear mongering, and political stunts meant to divide and distract.” But Pratt’s campaign appears to be resonating with plugged-in voters. According to recent city figures, Pratt has raised more in donations since the start of the year than any of the other contenders. There has been a dearth of recent polling in the race, but surveys conducted a month ago suggested Bass held a small double-digit lead over Pratt and Raman, with a large percentage of respondents undecided. ROGAN BACKS REALITY TV STAR SPENCER PRATT’S BID FOR LA MAYOR, SAYS ‘I’D VOTE FOR YOU’ “He’s got some very harsh but imaginative videos online,” veteran Los Angeles-area political scientist Jack Pitney of Claremont McKenna College told Fox News Digital. “He’s catching fire online,” Pitney said. “Whether he’s catching fire with people who vote in Los Angeles is a different question.” If no candidate tops 50% in the June 2 primary, the top two finishers will face off in November. “His shot is the dissatisfaction message,” Pitney said as he pointed to what may be Pratt’s real strength. “He was displaced by the fire and people are very dissatisfied with the state of government in Los Angeles.”
Far-left groups pivot from May Day protests to mobilize voters for 2026 midterms, pushing Dems leftward
Far-left nonprofits are pivoting from their May Day protests last week to mobilize voters for November’s midterm elections and push Democrats further left, even criticizing party leaders for shunning their candidates. In an hour-long webinar hosted Tuesday night by “May Day Strong,” an organizing coalition for last week’s protests, speakers laid out an electoral plan to win key races in the 2026 midterm election and “the ballot box.” The far-left Working Families Party, which political experts say is exercising growing influence in electoral races throughout the country, was front-and-center in the presentation. The party was one of about 600 groups with collective revenues of $2 billion that organized an estimated 6,000 events last week for May Day, according to an investigation by Fox News Digital, with many organizations pushing talking points that were anti-American and pro-communist. Fox News Digital has identified 730 races in 19 states where the Working Families Party is endorsing candidates for offices ranging from the U.S. Senate to the Wauwatosa School Board in Wisconsin and the post of Mecklenburg County Sheriff in North Carolina, according to the organization’s publicly available data. 600 GROUPS WITH $2B IN REVENUE MOBILIZE 3,000 MAY DAY PROTESTS IN A ‘RED-BLUE’ ALLIANCE, PROBE FINDS During the webinar on Tuesday, Maurice “Moe” Mitchell, national director at the Working Families Party, introduced himself by his political party and title and encouraged attendees to “help elect WFP champions across the country by joining upcoming phone banks and canvases.” “We’re going to organize our communities and build working class power at the ballot box,” he said, Neither Working Families Party nor Mitchell responded to requests for comment. The political refrain about the “ballot box” was repeated by other webinar participants, many of them representing nonprofit organizations with legal restrictions on the amount of political work they can do. Despite those guardrails, much of the call was devoted to electoral politics, voting rights, redistricting, canvassing, candidate support and preparation for the mid-term elections in November. UNEARTHED FILING SHOWS TOP TEACHERS UNION FUNNELING MILLIONS TO FAR LEFT ORGS: ‘SOCIAL JUSTICE UNIONISM’ “We have such an overwhelming amount of support at the polls that this election cannot be stolen,” said Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson, a self-described “movement strategist” who moderated the webinar on behalf of May Day Strong. “We have to legislate, and we have to litigate, and we have to vote. But all of that has to matter because we are organizing them to an expansion of democracy,” Stacy Davis Gates, president of the Chicago Teachers Union, said. Jon Reid, a Republican podcast host who lost his race for lieutenant governor in Virginia to a Working Families-backed candidate last year, warned that Republicans and Democrats must face the threat from groups like the Working Families Party moving the country toward socialism, communism and Marxism. MODERATE DEMS IN ALBANY SHIFT FURTHER LEFT AS MAMDANI PUSHES SOCIALIST AGENDA, ASSEMBLYMAN WARNS “This is no longer some college student who is reading Karl Marx. There are organized groups – from the Working Families Party to the Democratic Socialists of America – that have clearly put together a plan to execute a takeover of America, city by city. We have to pay attention to them,” Reid said. “They are moving swiftly to try to galvanize the disgruntled,” Reid said. While the Working Families Party doesn’t explicitly identify as socialist, calling itself a “multiracial party of the working class,” the organization promotes socialist beliefs, including free universal healthcare, higher minimum wages, free college and heavy criticism of “the rich” and capitalism. It also endorses openly socialist political candidates. NYC VOTERS EMBRACE DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISM AS AOC, SANDERS STUMP FOR MAMDANI In 2016, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, described the Working Families Party as the “closest thing there is to a political party that believes in my vision of democratic socialism.” The No. 1 state where the Working Families Party is endorsing candidates is in New York, where it endorsed Zohran Mamdani in his race for mayor last year and is endorsing 393 candidates this year, from Letitia James for attorney general to Brad Lander and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for the U.S. House of Representatives. New York state is followed by California, which has 89 endorsements and Oregon with 48. Completing the top five states, it has 38 endorsements in Wisconsin and 35 in Colorado. Pennsylvania ranks sixth with 30, and Georgia follows with 20. Other states with 10 or more endorsements include Maryland (13) and New Jersey (10). A large number of states have single-digit endorsements, with North Carolina and Texas both at nine, District of Columbia at eight, Washington at seven, Ohio and Delaware at six each and Michigan at five. Finally, Illinois, Kentucky, and Maine each have one endorsement. SOCIALIST WAVE SPREADS COAST TO COAST AS PROGRESSIVE DEMOCRATS RALLY AROUND ZOHRAN MAMDANI’S NYC WIN In July 2023, the Working Families Party issued a press release touting the “progressive champions” it helped elect, including Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Florida, former Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, and Congressional Progressive Caucus Chairman Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, among others. Mitchell took to Capitol Hill in late April, according to his Instagram account, where the Working Families Party held a press conference in front of the U.S. Capitol, with Mitchell standing beside Frost, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wa., and Rep. Adelita Grijalva, D-Ariz. While using the Democratic Party to advance its agenda, the Working Families Party is also openly battling in primary elections, pushing its large following to denounce candidates backed by the Democratic Party and stand with the Working Families Party’s further-left endorsements. THE PLOT TO STOP MAMDANI: DEMOCRATS SCRAMBLE TO BLOCK FAR-LEFT TAKEOVER IN NEW YORK “THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY IS TRYING TO TANK A WORKING FAMILIES PARTY CANDIDATE FOR CONGRESS WITH THE PRIMARY JUST THREE WEEKS AWAY,” the Working Families Party posted to social media on Tuesday, regarding a race in California for the U.S. House of Representatives. “Well folks, looks like the Democratic party establishment is back again with the shenanigans,” the post
Justice Department zeroes in on UCLA for alleged illegal DEI admissions as elite school crackdown expands
The Justice Department has concluded that UCLA’s medical school engaged in illegal race-based discrimination in admissions, alleging the school favored Black and Hispanic applicants in violation of federal law. The finding follows a yearlong federal investigation and marks the latest escalation in the Trump administration’s push to crack down on diversity-based admissions practices across U.S. universities. A lawsuit filed by medical advocacy group Do No Harm prompted the Justice Department’s investigation into UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine. “UCLA’s admissions process has been focused on racial demographics at the expense of merit and excellence — allowing racial politics to distract the school from the vital work of training great doctors.” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Racism in admissions is both illegal and anti-American, and this Department will not allow it to continue.” The Justice Department investigation unveiled that UCLA’s medical school intentionally selected minority medical students based upon the presumption that minority patients will receive better care if they are under the treatment of a minority doctor. However, the Justice Department found that the medical school’s focus on selecting minority medical students resulted in the selected students having significantly lower GPAs and MCAT scores on average than their White and Asian counterparts. UCLA MEDICAL SCHOOL HIT WITH CLASS-ACTION LAWSUIT FOR ALLEGEDLY STILL USING RACE-BASED ADMISSIONS PROCESS Amid its investigation, the Justice Department found that David Geffen School of Medicine’s executive director of admissions distributed a document outlining how the medical school could still achieve its “diversity goals” to admission committee members. This document also stated the theory that “diversity” of healthcare workers will be crucial in improving healthcare outcomes for Black and Hispanic patients and that denying Black and Hispanic students’ admission could cause the deaths of future Black and Hispanic patients. The medical school has also adopted a “holistic” approach in its admissions process, implying that factors such as “citizenship,” “distance travelled,” “relationship status,” “cultural events,” “race,” “national origin” and “sexual orientation” are all taken into consideration, according to an Association of American Medical Colleges model used by the school. MEDICAL WATCHDOG CHALLENGES KEY STUDY USED TO JUSTIFY DEI HEALTH POLICIES: ‘SCIENTIFICALLY UNSOUND’ Prospective medical students of UCLA’s medical school also engaged in a PREview Exam, a multiple-choice test, which specifically asked applicants if they were part of a marginalized group. “By design, this question asks Black and Hispanic applicants to reveal their race so that DGSOM can know and consider it,” the Justice Department report stated. The Justice Department found major disparities between the test scores of White and Asian students and Hispanic and Black students admitted in the 2023 and 2024 cohorts. In the 2023 cohort, the median MCAT scores among Black and Hispanic test takers were at the 68th percentile, while those who did not report their race scored at the 96th percentile. GPAs also show a significant gap, with the lowest median (Hispanic) trailing the highest median (Asian) by 0.26 grade points. And in the 2024 cohort, Hispanic students scores averaged in the 66 percentile, Black students in the 72 percentile; while those who declined to share their race scored at the 92 percentile. “Federal law and the Supreme Court precedent are clear: Race discrimination has no place in our nation’s institutions of higher learning,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California. “The pattern of illegal and odious conduct by UCLA’s medical school is abhorrent to our Constitution and our nation’s founding principles.” The conclusion of the investigation comes as the Trump administration launched investigations into the admission process of medical schools at Stanford University, Ohio State University, and the University of California, San Diego in March. Fox News Digital reached out to UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine for comment.
Rubio holds ‘constructive’ meeting with Pope Leo after Trump sends hard-line Iran message to Vatican
Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Pope Leo at the Vatican for “constructive” conversations on Thursday following heightened tensions between President Donald Trump and the pontiff over the U.S.-Iran conflict. “The conversations today were friendly and constructive,” a State Department official told Fox News Digital. Rubio, a Catholic, held a private meeting with the pope to reaffirm the Vatican-U.S. partnership early on Thursday morning. Trump said he sent Rubio to deliver what he described as a “very simple” message: Iran must not obtain a nuclear weapon. Rubio and Leo discussed the situation in the Middle East and “topics of mutual interest in the Western Hemisphere,” according to a State Department readout. RUBIO TO VISIT ITALY, VATICAN AMID TROOP DRAWDOWN CALL, TENSION WITH TRUMP, POPE LEO: REPORTS “The meeting underscored the strong relationship between the United States and the Holy See and their shared commitment to promoting peace and human dignity,” said spokesperson Tommy Pigott in a statement. The Vatican issued a statement following the “cordial talks” that “renewed” a common commitment to bilateral relations.“There was then an exchange of views on the regional and international situation, with particular attention to countries marked by war, political tensions and difficult situations Humanitarian, as well as on the need to work tirelessly for peace,” the statement said. The meeting marked the Trump administration’s first engagement with the pontiff in nearly a year following tension. POPE LEO CALLS OUT TRUMP’S IRAN RHETORIC BEFORE LAST-MINUTE CEASEFIRE EMERGES The pope has criticized the war with Iran by casting the conflict as a moral issue, warning that rhetoric targeting Iran’s population crosses a dangerous line. “There has also been this threat against the entire people of Iran, and this is truly unacceptable,” the pope said in April. “There are certainly issues of international law here, but even more so a moral issue for the good of the whole entire population.” POPE LEO SLAMS THOSE WHO ‘MANIPULATE RELIGION’ FOR MILITARY OR POLITICAL GAIN, TRUMP RESPONDS The comments were seemingly in reference to one of Trump’s Truth Social posts, where he wrote, “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will… God Bless the Great People of Iran!” Trump has taken an aggressive approach to his messaging with Iran and told reporters on Wednesday he only has one message for the pope. “I can tell you this, that as far as the Pope is concerned, and it’s very simple. Whether I make him happy or I don’t make him happy, Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. And he seemed to be saying that they can. And I say they cannot, because if that happened, the entire world would be hostage. And we’re not going to let that happen,” he said. Following his meeting with the pope, Rubio met with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, secretary of state of the Holy See, to discuss shared priorities related to the conflict with Iran. “They reviewed ongoing humanitarian efforts in the Western Hemisphere and efforts to achieve a durable peace in the Middle East. The discussion reflected the enduring partnership between the United States and the Holy See in advancing religious freedom,” said Pigott in a readout. Rubio is set to meet with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Friday.
Mamdani’s latest tax pledge ‘makes no sense’ and will only exacerbate Florida ‘exodus’: former mayor
The former Republican mayor of Boca Raton is speaking out against the economic and tax policies of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and warning that reports of business owners and job creators fleeing to red states like Florida are likely to continue. “I didn’t have to be a soothsayer to know that when you elect a Democrat socialist with far left ideas that are just intent on taxing, taxing, taxing and have plans that have no hope of passing, you’re going to cause more capital to flee,” Scott Singer, running for Congress as a Republican in Florida’s 25th District, told Fox News. Mamdani has faced heavy criticism over his “tax the rich” platform since taking office, including from Citadel CEO and billionaire Ken Griffin, who recently pledged to increase his investment in Florida in response to new taxes on the wealthy imposed by the new socialist mayor. Singer, who predicted a business exodus from New York City to Florida in an interview with Fox News Digital in October, says the “exodus is going to continue naturally.” NYC LOST HIGH EARNERS AND BILLIONS IN INCOME, WITH MIGRANTS REVERSING POPULATION DECLINE: REPORT “People have already gotten wise and crazy statements like taxing people just because we can, and putting surtaxes on what are already the highest tax rates in the country, and thinking people aren’t going to move is a bad idea,” Singer said. “It’s not going to work, and people are going to continue to move.” Mamdani recently celebrated a proposal to tax luxury second homes owned by the ultra-wealthy, a plan expected to generate at least $500 million annually. “It makes no sense from a policy standpoint,” Singer said. “A part-time resident in New York City who’s already paying tons of property taxes at a rate that Mamdani wanted to increase, what, 11% more? They’re not using any services. So why would people continue to invest there? All they’re going to do is drive more capital away, depress values, and create fewer job opportunities.” CHICAGO KNOWS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN KEN GRIFFIN TURNS ON A CITY, NOW MAMDANI MAY FIND OUT The right path forward, according to Singer, is “creating job growth, lowering taxes, shrinking government and allowing the free market to continue to attract jobs to attractive places.” Fox News Digital reached out to Mamdani’s office for comment. Mamdani claimed last month that threats of the city’s wealthiest residents leaving the city over high taxes are “imagined.” “For all of the discussion of the imagined exodus that would take place were we to tax the wealthiest New Yorkers by the appropriate amount — I say imagined because before I was a mayor I was a state legislator, and I was part of an effort to increase taxes on millionaires at that time — we were told the same thing then — and what we find now is that we have more millionaires today than we did at that time even after having passed that tax,” Mamdani said. New York City’s population declined in 2025, the year before Mamdani took office, resulting in a net loss of about 12,000 people. The drop follows post-pandemic gains of 70,000 in 2023 and 163,000 in 2024, driven largely by increased immigration, including asylum seekers, according to an April 20 report from the Citizens Budget Commission. Fox News Digital’s Sophia Compton contributed to this report
WATCH: Left-wing LA mayor faces reality TV challenger’s blunt takedowns in heated mayoral debate
Incumbent Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, Republican challenger Spencer Pratt, and Democratic Socialists of America-aligned city councilwoman Nithya Raman squared off in a heated nonpartisan debate on Wednesday as the city heads toward its June 2 mayoral primary. The debate, hosted by NBC4 and Telemundo 52, centered on questions of public safety, affordability and immigration. Conservative commentators on social media, as well as some on the left, generally felt that Pratt exceeded expectations as he jumps into politics following his history as a reality star on “The Hills.” Fox News Digital took a look back at the top moments of the debate, including Bass confronting top issues such as the Palisades fires that tore through Southern California in 2025. CALIFORNIA MAYOR WANTS TO GIVE HOMELESS PEOPLE ‘ALL THE FENTANYL THEY WANT’: ‘NEED TO PURGE THESE PEOPLE’ “First off, Inside Safe, I like to say Inside Safe makes all of us outside, unsafe,” Pratt said near the midpoint of the debate. Inside Safe is a municipal program spearheaded by Bass intended to take people out of homeless encampments and bring them into temporary or permanent indoor housing. A city report found that it spent $300 million on the project, which assisted roughly 6,000 people, 40% of whom have since ended up back on the streets. “The reality is, no matter how many beds you give these people, they are on super meth,” Pratt continued. “They are on fentanyl. The DEA statistic says 93% of this is a drug addiction problem. I will go below the Harbor Freeway tomorrow with [Raman] and we can find some of these people she’s going to offer treatment for. She’s going to get stabbed in the neck.” LA-AREA MAYORS PLEAD WITH TRUMP ADMIN TO STOP ICE IMMIGRATION ARRESTS Near the end of the debate, moderator Enrique Chiabra asked the three candidates a straightforward question. “I want to ask you all three if this is a yes or no question and answer,” Chiabra said. “So there’s an LA council member. He wants voters to decide. He is saying that noncitizens, should they be allowed to vote in local elections. Is this a yes or no, Mr. Pratt?” LA MAYOR BASS PROVIDES CASH PAYMENTS TO ILLEGALS, ISSUES ORDER TO THWART IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT Pratt answered in a single word: “No.” Bass gave a longer answer, differentiating between green card holders and illegal immigrants, pointing out that some cities allow the former category to vote in local elections. Raman, meanwhile, gave an answer that a Los Angeles Times columnist described as “tongue-tied.” “Yeah, I would say again, it does depend in other places, school boards have noncitizens, noncitizens who are residents who vote for these,” she began to say, before a moderator cut her off. Early in the debate, Pratt took a jab at Bass over her handling of the January 2025 Pacific Palisades fires. “To the mayor, Karen Bass, the thousand firefighters that were available, but there [were] no engines for them because of the $17 million that Chief Crowley had asked the mayor for nine weeks before, and Mayor Karen Bass denied it,” Pratt said. “Not to mention Janisse Quinones, who Mayor Karen Bass put into a position of power at the LA DWP. She drained both of these reservoirs that these firefighters needed to put out these fires.” SPENCER PRATT ENLISTS SEN. RICK SCOTT FOR FEDERAL INVESTIGATION INTO CALIFORNIA WILDFIRE RESPONSE Pratt called Bass’ conduct in the lead-up to the fires “the most dangerous thing that the mayor put us up against.” Raman, who has been struggling to break through in the polls, accused Bass and Pratt during the debate of working together to block her out of the general election. “You’re going to watch today as Mayor Bass and Spencer Pratt attack me because they want to run against each other in the general election,” Raman said, directly addressing debate viewers. “First off, Mayor Bass and I are definitely not working together,” Pratt responded. “I blame this person for burning my house and my parents’ house and my town and all my neighbors down.” RESIDENTS IN EXCLUSIVE ENCLAVE DEMAND DEM MAYOR ACT ON CRIME SURGE He went on to point out that Bass’ strong relationship with labor unions and her status as incumbent mayor made her a stronger opponent than Raman, in his view. Pratt concluded his statement by dismissing Raman as a “random council member.” As the debate shifted to public safety, Pratt took an opportunity to slam Raman for historically advocating for decreased police funding. “Councilwoman Raman keeps saying that the police department is over funded –public safety should be our number one priority,” he said. “And we’re going to find all this money when we stop her useless open bed plans. That actually doesn’t put drug addicts in these housing, that we’re spending billions of dollars, and we’re going to actually start checking where this money is going.” Pratt proposed providing more resources to the Los Angeles Police Department to ultimately build the force to 12,500 officers.