Harris labeled ‘institutional arsonist’ for plan to fundamentally transform SCOTUS and Electoral College
Former Vice President Kamala Harris faced swift Republican backlash after calling on Democrats to consider expanding the Supreme Court and gutting the Electoral College the next time they are in power. “Let’s invite ideas, for example, that are about Supreme Court reform, including the notion of expanding the court,” Harris said on a call with the left-wing nonprofit Emerge. “Let’s invite a discussion about how do we push for statehood for Puerto Rico and D.C.; how are we thinking about the Electoral College.” “We’ve got to neutralize this red state cheating,” she continued. “There’s a brutality at play on the other side, and a ruthlessness. And we need to play to win.” Harris’ plea for “bold” reforms came after Democrats suffered two major setbacks in the redistricting wars, as both parties scramble to draw new congressional seats ahead of November’s midterm elections. HARRIS’ ‘NO BAD IDEA BRAINSTORM’ FOR DEMS INCLUDES PACKING SCOTUS, ELIMINATING ELECTORAL COLLEGE In late April, the Supreme Court moved to curb the use of race in the drawing of electoral districts, effectively gutting Black-majority districts held by Democrats across the South. Democrats were dealt another blow at the Virginia Supreme Court earlier in May when a Democratic-friendly gerrymander was struck down over a procedural concern. “What they have done with this decision, by saying that the politics of redistricting is okay, is they are back-dooring racism through politics,” Harris also said on the call. “What they are doing is intentionally about trying to suppress the voice of the people.” The 2024 presidential candidate’s ideas drew a sharp rebuke from House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who accused Democrats of being “institutional arsonists.” “It’s a dangerous thing, a dangerous gambit,” the speaker said. “You don’t just blow up the system when you lose.” “For the former vice president of the United States and a candidate for president to suggest that you should pack the Supreme Court or destroy these institutions because they lost is I just think outrageous,” he added. LIZ PEEK: WHAT KAMALA HARRIS BUZZ IS TELLING US. READ BETWEEN THE LINES, AMERICA Conservative Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., also criticized Harris’ comments, calling them “totally insane” in an interview with Fox News. “That’s why we can’t let her become president,” he said. “People … rejected her before; they’ll reject her again.” Not all Democrats are in agreement with Harris. “I think that’s putting the cart before the horse,” Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., told Fox News. “Right now I’m focusing on lowering costs, health care, ending a runaway war that’s costing Americans tens of billions of dollars. Those are the things that my constituents are talking to me about.” Harris’ calls for Democratic retaliation come as Republicans are emerging as the clear winners in the redistricting battle ahead of the midterms. The GOP could pick up more than a dozen seats after a bevy of GOP-led states have drawn new congressional maps while Democratic gains have so far been limited to California and Utah. Earlier in May, Tennessee carved up its lone Black-majority district, represented for decades by a white Democrat, allowing Republicans to pick up a seat that had long eluded them. Louisiana and South Carolina are conducting similar efforts to erase several Democratic-held seats following the Supreme Court’s ruling. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., has vowed to respond with his own gerrymander push in a swath of blue and purple states, including New York, New Jersey, Colorado and Oregon. But those states are not likely to move forward with new maps until 2028, making it a moot point ahead of November.
Inside the teen takeovers threatening to explode this summer as cities remain on edge: ‘Very worried’
A wave of social media-fueled teen takeovers in cities from Chicago to Washington, D.C., is putting officials on alert for a potentially volatile summer as experts warn the large youth gatherings could strain police, fuel violence and threaten recent public-safety gains. “It usually increases during the summer,” Zack Smith, a senior legal fellow at The Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C., told Fox News Digital of crime trends. “I think anyone who has looked at crime data and some kind of criminological studies recognized that that will increase and I think that is something that the city should be very worried about.” The warning comes after a wave of spring incidents across the country, where large teen crowds organized or amplified online have led to arrests, fights, weapons charges and emergency curfew debates. “So many of these incidents are fueled by two things: social media and boredom. That’s it,” Amy Swearer, a senior legal fellow at Advancing American Freedom, told Fox News Digital. GOP SENATOR TARGETS DC ‘YOUTH OFFENDER’ LAW AS TRUMP DEMANDS TOUGHER SENTENCES FOR VIOLENT TEENS “There is potential for this to escalate, and to really damage some really good progress that we’ve made in cutting back on that post-COVID violent crime spike,” Swearer added. Violent crime surged nationally during the pandemic, with homicides rising sharply in 2020 as cities were also rocked by protests and riots following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Social media has contributed to “under-the-radar” meetups, Swearer said, explaining that many teens are working to boost their “clout” online with outrageous videos. “There are massive accounts that are just dedicated to showing the chaos and the carnage and the street takeover events, where it’s almost like a social media clout thing,” she said. A Chicago teen takeover erupted Wednesday night when a car rammed a police cruiser as teen mobs cheered and filmed. In a similar incident last week, 22 people were arrested, ages 12 to 21, in Tampa, Florida, after a “teen takeover” at Curtis Hixon Park erupted into fights and disruptions, resulting in charges of affray, drug possession, resisting arrest and unlawful weapon possession. In March, about 200 teens swarmed D.C.’s Navy Yard, where fights broke out and a 15-year-old was arrested after allegedly firing a gun, days after a temporary curfew was imposed. Nearly a dozen more juveniles were arrested a month later after street brawls in Southwest D.C., prompting a push to extend emergency powers. A large crowd returned to Navy Yard a week later, where police reported no major incidents or arrests. The D.C. Council approved a long-term youth curfew earlier in May in an 8-5 vote after weeks of debate. The legislation still needs the mayor’s signature and congressional review before taking effect. PROGRESSIVE PROSECUTORS LIT THE FUSE, AND TEEN MOBS ARE THE EXPLOSION Chicago was also hit with more chaos in March and April. Hundreds of teens flooded streets, filled intersections and broke out into fights, resulting in multiple arrests and curfew violations. Mayor Brandon Johnson warned parents about the “teen trends” following the incidents, saying they “are dangerous and can often turn violent.” Johnson avoided using the term “takeover.” Struggles among teens, like poverty and mental health, could be fueling the “chaos,” Swearer said. “There’s a huge overlap between juvenile delinquency and poverty and mental health issues, and even delinquencies from school, truancy,” she said. Despite those broader challenges, she said the takeovers are not justified. “None of that is an excuse for allowing this type of large-scale chaotic disruption in this planned way,” she said. Authorities have made multiple arrests nationwide this year tied to the meetups, with several in the nation’s capital. President Trump, who campaigned on lowering crime and has warned criminals will face prosecution, has carried that message into efforts such as the Make D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force. The incidents have also created a political and public-safety test in Trump’s backyard, where the president has made D.C. crime a signature issue and deployed federal muscle to back it up. Trump’s Make D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force has made more than 10,000 arrests and recovered more than 1,000 illegal firearms since its launch, but the continued teen takeovers show how juvenile disorder remains a stubborn challenge even amid the broader crackdown. WHITE HOUSE LAUNCHES FEDERAL SECURITY BLITZ AS PRESIDENT VOWS TO END DC ‘CRIME PLAGUE’ However, the concern over an escalation in teen takeovers persists. The White House told Fox News Digital that the administration is ready to tackle potential rising crime “head on” when asked about concerns the teen takeover trends could spike in the warm summer months. “President Trump’s Safe and Beautiful Task Force has yielded tremendous results in a very short period of time – driving down crime rates in all categories and making the city safer for residents and visitors alike,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital. “As new law enforcement challenges arise, the Task Force remains committed to addressing them head on.” CHICAGO TEEN TAKEOVER MOB RAMS POLICE CRUISER BACKWARD, SWARMS CAR AS ONLOOKERS CHEER: VIDEO The D.C. incidents have revived a broader fight over juvenile accountability in the capital. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro announced Friday that parents who let kids take part in violent D.C. teen takeovers could now face fines and up to six months in jail under the city’s curfew law. “As we grapple with this problem, there is one area that hasn’t been discussed,” Pirro said. “Parent involvement has been a noted gap in any discussion, and I am here to say, as the United States attorney in the District of Columbia, that ends today.” “If the evidence shows the parent knew or should have known, permitted or failed to prevent participation, we’re gonna charge them,” she added. She criticized the city’s response to teen takeovers in April, saying the disorder falls largely outside her office’s jurisdiction because most juvenile cases in D.C. are handled by the local attorney general. “These alleged social gatherings turn into
Senators agree to forgo shutdown paychecks — but many won’t feel the pain
Senators will now go without pay during future government shutdowns, but for many, they don’t need the paycheck. The Senate unanimously agreed to forgo their paychecks during future shutdowns, with the money being withheld until a deal is struck to reopen the government. But much of the upper chamber is populated with lawmakers who are already wealthy before their time in office. “There are some members who are very independently wealthy that their congressional paycheck is a rounding error to their investments,” Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., told Fox News Digital. “Fine, I’m not pejorative of that at all. But we need to actually end government shutdowns.” SENATORS AGREE TO GO WITHOUT PAY DURING SHUTDOWNS AFTER HISTORIC CLOSURES LEFT WORKERS UNPAID In the last year, Congress has been unable to keep the government open twice. The first time for 43 days, and the most recent for 76 days. Republicans worry that before the midterm elections, and before the rule change becomes official, that Senate Democrats may again try to shutter the government to gain a political edge. They hope that the rule change, pushed by Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., is at least enough to convince some lawmakers not to do it. However, nearly three-quarters of the Senate are millionaires, according to an analysis of financial disclosure data reviewed by Fox News Digital and first reported by NOTUS, meaning the fear of missing a paycheck may not be enough to quell the desire to score political points. SENATE WEIGHS NEW, PAINFUL LEVERAGE TACTIC AS FEARS OF ANOTHER GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN GROW “It certainly doesn’t stop future shutdowns,” Lankford said. “It just says, ‘Hey, people are not being paid, we’re not being paid either.’” Others were more optimistic that by installing the new guardrails on themselves, it could open the door to future legislation that may take shutdowns off the table entirely — like Lankford’s bill that would automatically extend government funding on a temporary, two-week basis if lawmakers miss the mark. Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, who is one of the wealthier members of the Senate, believed that the success of Kennedy’s resolution could open the valve to his legislation that would dock members’ pay during shutdowns. “It’s about brick by brick, rebuilding confidence in the institution,” Moreno told Fox News Digital. GOP CAN’T AGREE ON KEY PART OF TRUMP’S HOUSING AFFORDABILITY PUSH AS INFIGHTING CONTINUES Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., another of the Senate’s wealthiest members, contended that lawmakers shouldn’t hold federal workers “hostage based on what we’re doing.” Over the past several months, hundreds of thousands of federal employees went without pay. And in the case of workers under the purview of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), they went without paychecks twice. “Hopefully it’ll get people to focus on getting [appropriations] done, because, you know, we don’t have a process to get this stuff done,” Scott told Fox News Digital. Meanwhile, Kennedy, who successfully pushed Senate Republican leadership to put the bill on the floor, viewed its success as progress. But it’s not as far as he wanted to go. “Look, if I were king for a day, I would pass a bill that doesn’t suspend member pay, it forfeits member pay during a shutdown,” Kennedy told Fox News Digital. “And I will also include in the bill a prohibition against members leaving Washington while we’re in a shutdown. But I don’t have the votes to do that. So I’m doing as much as I can.”
Hunter Biden resurfaces in LA, reacts to questions about Biden tapes, UFO files
EXCLUSIVE: Hunter Biden was spotted by paparazzi in West Los Angeles this week, where the former first son briefly reacted to questions about ongoing litigation surrounding former President Joe Biden’s interview tapes and alleged government UFO files. “Hunter, what do you think of the DOJ when they release your father’s interview tapes from the biography that he did?” a reporter asked as he approached Biden near Wilshire Boulevard. “What are you talking about?” Hunter Biden said. BIDEN SEEKS TO BLOCK DOJ RELEASE OF 2017 AUDIO, COURT FILING SAYS The exchange comes amid ongoing litigation seeking the release of audio tied to former President Joe Biden’s classified-documents probe, which fueled scrutiny over the elder Biden’s memory and fitness while in office. The probe examined Joe Biden’s handling and discussion of classified material during conversations with ghostwriter Mark Zwonitzer. Special Counsel Rob Hur said the author had deleted the files, but the Justice Department was able to recover them. BIDEN INTERVIEW AUDIO REVEALS WHO BROUGHT UP BEAU’S DEATH — AND IT WASN’T HUR The conservative watchdog Oversight Project sued the DOJ seeking release of audio recordings from Joe Biden’s interviews with special counsel Robert Hur. Biden has denied wrongdoing and said he cooperated fully with the probe. “I don’t know, man — I hadn’t heard that one,” Hunter Biden later said. ASHLEY BIDEN SLAMS REPORTING ABOUT HER DAD’S MENTAL ACUITY AS ‘DISRESPECTFUL AND UNTRUE’ The reporter also asked about the recently released UFO Files. “It’s crazy right?” Hunter Biden replied, but did not elaborate. Hunter Biden was also one of several recent individuals whose Secret Service protection was rescinded by the Trump administration. TRUMP REVOKES SECURITY CLEARANCES OF FORMER OPPONENTS KAMALA HARRIS, HILLARY CLINTON Trump announced in March 2025 that Hunter Biden and his half-sister Ashley Blazer Biden — child of Jill and Joe — would cease to have such protection. The president criticized the fact that Hunter had “as many as 18 people” on his USSS detail. Hunter Biden’s appearance marked a rare public sighting for the former first son, who has largely stayed out of public view in recent months.
EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Bishop Barron to address ‘true threat to democracy’ at Trump prayer event
EXCLUSIVE: At President Donald Trump’s “Rededicate 250” prayer event on the National Mall this weekend, Bishop Robert Barron will address the “marginalization of God” and religion in society, which he said he considers a “true threat to democracy.” Rededicate 250 is a major prayer event set for Sunday as a way of “rededicating” the nation as “One Nation Under God” ahead of America’s 250th anniversary. The event, which is being organized by the Trump-aligned “Freedom 250” nonprofit, is expected to include the president, White House Cabinet members and major faith leaders. In an interview with Fox News Digital, Barron, perhaps America’s most well-known and beloved Catholic bishop, revealed that his address at the event will emphasize his belief that “if you marginalize and privatize religion, democracy is in danger.” “God is essential to the very foundations of American democracy,” he asserted. “There’s a lot of talk today about the threats to democracy, that is a true threat to democracy, the marginalization of God.” TRUMP LAUNCHES MASSIVE ‘FREEDOM 250’ PUSH TO IGNITE AMERICA’S 250TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION Barron explained that many of the societal ills seen today are due to this cultural separation from God. “Take God out of the equation, what are you left with? Radical self-choice. Welcome to wokeism. Welcome to the culture of self-invention. ‘I make myself up, values is up to me, my gender, it’s up to the whole structure of my life, it’s my choice,’” he said. “That’s deadly to our democracy.” “Religion belongs to the very fabric of our democracy, that’s the theme of my talk,” he said. Barron said he will begin his speech by invoking Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. “We know from the early written versions [that] Lincoln didn’t have the phrase ‘under God’ when he said that this nation might have a new birth of freedom. But when he delivered the speech, he said this nation ‘Under God might have a new birth of freedom.’ So, what prompted Lincoln, as he was giving the Gettysburg Address, to add that phrase?” he said. “You could say, ‘Oh, it’s just a little pious declaration.’ No, no, no, I think that’s born of a very, very deep and correct intuition, America is a nation that’s conditioned by these great values, moral values, spiritual values that come finally from God.” Barron argued that one of America’s most foundational ideas — that all men are created equal — is a novel concept made possible only by Christianity. “We’re not equal in any way. Look at the classical political philosophers; they would never affirm the equality of all people. We’re not equal in intelligence or moral virtue or beauty or courage or anything. We’re radically unequal. So where does this come from?” he asked. “Why would you go from we’re not equal at all to it’s ‘self-evident that we’re equal’? And the answer is in that little word, ‘created,’ that ‘all men are created equal.’ So, despite all our differences, we are all equally children of God and then endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights.” BIBLE PODCAST CRACKS APPLE TOP 10 FOR THIRD YEAR AS HOST CELEBRATES: ‘PEOPLE ARE HUNGRY FOR GOD’S WORD’ This second concept of all possessing inalienable rights, Barron argued, is a uniquely Christian idea imbued in America’s values. “No one in the classical world believed that. Aristotle didn’t, Plato didn’t. Cicero didn’t, none of them,” he explained. “Look in societies more recent that don’t believe in God. Go to Soviet Russia, go to communist China, everyone has rights? No way.” “Where do they come from?” he said. “Well, Jefferson gives away the game. They’re endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights. Take the creator out of the equation, rights will go out in a minute. So, Lincoln’s intuition to say that this nation under God would have a new birth of freedom, God is essential to the very foundations of American democracy. If you marginalize and privatize religion, democracy is in danger.” Barron said he will also address the nature of freedom itself. “It’s a very modern sense of freedom that it means spontaneous choice, I’m free if I could just do whatever I want,’” he said. “But see, the founding fathers were trained both biblically and classically; they did not understand freedom that way.” TRUMP CHAMPIONS JESUS’ ‘MIRACULOUS RESURRECTION’ IN PALM SUNDAY MESSAGE VOWING TO ‘DEFEND THE CHRISTIAN FAITH’ “Freedom is more like this, it’s an ordering of desire toward the good, so as to make the achievement of the good first possible and then effortless.” He pointed to mastering a new language or the piano as examples. “Think of the way you become a free speaker of a language, not by talking any old way you want, but rather internalizing the laws of the language. How do you become a free player with the piano? Not by doing whatever you want, but by internalizing the structure of music.” “That’s the kind of freedom we’re talking about,” he said. “It’s the moral freedom to become the person you’re meant to be, that you can now effortlessly achieve the good, that this nation under God might have a new birth of freedom.”
After Indiana purge, Trump sets sights on Louisiana’s Bill Cassidy
BATON ROUGE, La. — After taking out five Indiana state senators who opposed his push for congressional redistricting, President Donald Trump‘s next target is Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana. Cassidy, who voted five and a half years ago to convict Trump in his impeachment trial, is fighting for his political life in a competitive race against two major challengers, including one backed by the president, in Saturday’s GOP Senate primary in the solidly red southern state. The president on Saturday morning took aim at Cassidy, arguing the senator is “a disloyal disaster” and “a sleazebag, a terrible guy, who is BAD FOR LOUISIANA.” Trump and his allies, including Republican Gov. Jeff Landry of Louisiana, are backing GOP Rep. Julia Letlow in the Senate primary. Also in the race is former Rep. John Fleming, who is the state treasurer. If no candidate cracks 50% of the primary vote, the top two finishers will face off for the nomination in a June 27 runoff election. The primary is the latest test of Trump’s endorsements in GOP nomination races and of the president’s immense grip over the Republican Party. DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUB After cruising to re-election six years ago, Cassidy was one of only seven Senate Republicans who voted in early 2021 to convict Trump after he was impeached by the House for his role in the violent Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters who aimed to upend congressional certification of former President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory. Trump was acquitted by the Senate. But since the start of Trump’s second term, Cassidy has been supportive of the president’s agenda and his nominees, including voting to approve Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. But Kennedy and his Make America Healthy Again movement are out for revenge. That’s because Cassidy, a doctor, has been a skeptic of Kennedy’s push to reform the nation’s health policies, including Kennedy’s efforts to cut back on vaccine recommendations. And Kennedy allies blamed Cassidy, chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, for helping sink the surgeon general nomination of Casey Means, a close Kennedy ally and top MAHA advocate, after Cassidy did not bring it to a committee vote. Meanwhile, Trump has blasted the senator as a “very disloyal person.” And on the eve of the primary, the president took to social media to praise Letlow as a “Highly Respected America First Congresswoman.” Making Cassidy’s climb to renomination even tougher, Louisiana will now run separate party primaries in the Senate race, which replaces a system where all candidates appeared in one single jungle primary. That guarantees a more conservative and pro-Trump electorate for the GOP nomination. Cassidy is highlighting his record over two terms in the Senate in delivering for Louisiana, which is one of the nation’s poorest states. And he’s showcased his support for Louisiana’s large oil and gas industry, which accounts for roughly 15% of the state’s workforce. “When people ask things such as, can you work with President Trump, I point out that he has signed into law four bills that I wrote or negotiated,” the senator said in a primary eve interview with Fox News Digital. “We continue to work together, by the way.” And Cassidy touted that he’s “a conservative senator who delivers.” In trying to avert becoming the first elected Republican senator in nearly a decade and a half to be ousted in a primary, Cassidy and an allied super PAC have dished out more than $20 million on ads, according to AdImpact, a national ad tracking firm. That total is more than Letlow and Fleming, combined, have spent. Some of those ads have knocked Letlow over her past support for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs during her tenure at the University of Louisiana at Monroe. Cassidy argued that Republican voters are “concerned about her shifting position on DEI. She was all in for DEI.” LETLOW EXPLAINS HER PAST SUPPORT FOR DIVERSITY PROGRAMS Defending her record, Letlow explained in a Fox News Digital interview on Friday that “back in 2020 whenever DEI was introduced to us, we had no idea what it was back then, and I quickly witnessed it. I was in higher education at the time. I quickly witnessed the left completely hijack it, turn it into this Marxist leftist indoctrination of our children. And so, when I got to Congress for the last five years, I’ve been fighting against it. And she charged that the criticism of her from Cassidy and Fleming over DEI is “all baseless attacks, desperate attacks.” Letlow won her congressional seat in 2021, after her husband, Luke Letlow, died six days after being sworn into the U.S. House after his 2020 election victory for the seat she now holds. She was backed by Trump even before she entered the race. “Not only did he encourage me to get into this race, but also to have his complete and total endorsement has been, wow, the honor of a lifetime,” Letlow said. Letlow has taken aim at Cassidy for his bipartisan efforts in the Senate, including his vote for the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law that was a signature domestic achievement for then-President Joe Biden. Asked about her criticism, Cassidy said the “people want someone who can deliver for Louisiana. The Infrastructure Investment Jobs Act has brought $13.5 billion to Louisiana for roads and bridges and high-speed internet, and along the way creating a lot of good paying jobs. My opponent opposed that bill.” Fleming, who served as a White House deputy chief of staff during Trump’s first term, has argued that he’s the most conservative candidate in the GOP Senate primary. ‘They see me clearly MAGA,” Fleming told Fox News Digital, as he referred to Louisiana Republicans. “I served in his entire first administration at various capacities. I was one of the first congressmen that endorsed him in 2016.” Fleming claimed that Letlow is “not the prototype for a Trump
Senator John Kennedy introduces America to ‘Margaret,’ his elliptical trainer named after Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher once ran Britain. John Kennedy’s “Margaret” mostly runs him into the ground. Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., is going viral after posting a tongue-in-cheek workout video introducing followers to “Margaret” — his elliptical trainer named after former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher — while wearing a red bandanna and speaking directly to the camera from his Louisiana carport. “Hey X, I have somebody I’d like you to meet,” Kennedy says at the start of the minute-long video posted to social media Friday. “This is Margaret. Margaret is my elliptical trainer. I named Margaret after Margaret Thatcher because both kick butt and take names.” ERIC SWALWELL’S ‘CRINGE’ WORKOUT VIDEO MOCKED FOR BENCHING LIGHT WEIGHT Kennedy goes on to explain that “Margaret” lives outside under the carport for three reasons: the machine is too heavy to move, his wife “won’t let” him bring it inside and because he enjoys getting in a workout during Louisiana summers. The Senator said he enjoys working outside during Louisiana summers, a detail that drew disbelief from many viewers familiar with the state’s famously brutal heat and humidity. “As you can see, Margaret, my elliptical trainer, is out here under my carport in Louisiana,” Kennedy says. “After Margaret kicks my butt, I look for air conditioning.” The surreal, self-aware clip quickly drew thousands of reactions online, with users roasting Kennedy’s bandanna look while also praising the senator’s everyman personality. SEN KENNEDY PRAISES FETTERMAN AS A ‘TOTAL BANGER,’ WHO ‘DOESN’T GIVE A DAMN’ ABOUT ANGERING LIBERALS “You are rocking the dadgum crap outta that bandana,” one user wrote. “I thought you were representing the Bloods for a minute. Tell Margaret I think she’s cute but evil.” Others praised Kennedy’s personality and down-home delivery style. “You are a gem to us normal folk Mr. Kennedy. Live long and prosper!” one supporter posted. “Senator Kennedy is that kind of Southerner that makes you feel you’re sitting on the front porch having some bit of common sense enlighten you in that poetic Southern way,” another wrote. The Louisiana Republican has long cultivated a folksy, humorous public image that often breaks through online with colorful one-liners and unconventional social media moments. Kennedy ended the video with a line that only added to the internet’s fascination. “My work here is done,” he said. “And I can see myself out.”
Colorado governor commutes Tina Peters’ sentence as Trump posts ‘FREE TINA!’
Democrat Colorado Gov. Jared Polis on Friday commuted the sentence of former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters — the former election clerk convicted in connection with a 2021 voting equipment breach case that became a flashpoint in the election integrity fight — drawing immediate backlash from Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold and praise from President Donald Trump, who posted “FREE TINA!” on Truth Social. Polis announced clemency for 44 individuals Friday, including 35 pardons and nine commutations, according to the governor’s office. Peters was among those granted a commutation reducing her prison sentence and granting parole effective June 1, 2026. “The Clemency power is a serious responsibility, and not one that I take lightly,” Polis said in a statement announcing the clemency actions. “This power has the ability to change lives – help grant a second chance for someone who has made grave mistakes – and it comes with great consideration, and sometimes even controversy,” he added. TRUMP ANNOUNCES PARDON FOR COLORADO CLERK: ‘SIMPLY WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR ELECTIONS WERE FAIR’ The move immediately prompted a blistering response from Griswold, who accused Polis of legitimizing “the election denial movement.” “This clemency grant to Tina Peters is an affront to our democracy, the people of Colorado, and election officials across the country,” Griswold said in a statement Friday. “The Governor’s actions today will validate and embolden the election denial movement, and leave a dark, dangerous imprint on American democracy for years to come,” she added. FEDERAL JUDGE REFUSES TO RELEASE PRO-TRUMP CLERK CONVICTED IN 2020 ELECTION SCHEME According to the executive order signed Friday, Peters’ sentence was commuted from 8 years and 3 months to 4 years and 4.5 months. The order grants her parole effective June 1, 2026, with conditions to be set by the Colorado Parole Board. “Tina M. Peters be and hereby is granted a limited commutation such that her total sentence, inclusive of time in County Jail and the Department of Corrections, is commuted to 4 years and 4.5 months, and that she is granted parole effective June 1, 2026,” the order states. The executive order also explicitly noted that the clemency action “shall not in any way affect the underlying criminal conviction.” TRUMP PARDONS RUDY GIULIANI, MARK MEADOWS, SIDNEY POWELL, OTHERS INVOLVED IN 2020 ELECTION INTERFERENCE SAGA Polis wrote in the order that “the constitutional and statutory conditions for granting this clemency petition have been satisfied, and granting this commutation is in the interest of justice.” According to the executive order, Peters was convicted in 2024 of three counts of attempt to influence a public servant, along with conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation – cause liability, official misconduct, violation of duty elections and failure to comply with secretary of state requirements. She had been sentenced to 8 years and 3 months in Department of Corrections custody, along with 6 months in county jail. Her mandatory release date had previously been listed in 2033, while her estimated parole eligibility date had been in 2028. BIDEN SETS RECORD WITH FIRST-TERM CLEMENCY GRANTS, HERE’S HOW OTHERS PRESIDENTS RANK Griswold’s office said Peters’ actions stemmed from a 2021 breach involving Mesa County voting equipment. “In 2021, then-Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters compromised her county’s voting equipment trying to prove conspiracies,” Griswold’s office said in a release Friday. The office said Griswold responded by decertifying the county’s voting equipment, working with Mesa County commissioners to remove Peters from election oversight and appointing a former Republican secretary of state to oversee the election process. Griswold’s office also said Peters’ actions cost Mesa County “nearly one million dollars in replacement equipment.” The secretary of state’s office noted that on April 2, 2026, the Colorado Court of Appeals upheld Peters’ convictions while ordering that she be re-sentenced by the district court. Trump weighed in on the commutation Friday afternoon with a brief Truth Social post reading simply: “FREE TINA!” Peters became a nationally known figure among 2020 election skeptics following the Mesa County voting equipment breach controversy and subsequent criminal prosecution. Friday’s clemency order immediately deepened political divisions surrounding one of the highest-profile criminal prosecutions in the wake of the 2020 presidential election. The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Supreme Court deals blow to Virginia Democrats in fight over state court election map ruling
Virginia Democrats suffered a major legal defeat after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to intervene in a high-stakes redistricting dispute, leaving intact a Virginia Supreme Court ruling that invalidated a voter-approved congressional map overhaul. The justices denied state Democrats’ emergency request to block the Virginia high court’s decision, which found the amendment process violated the state constitution because lawmakers advanced the proposal after early voting had already begun in the required intervening election cycle. SCOTUS acted in a brief unsigned order and no justice publicly dissented. The Virginia Supreme Court ruled May 8 in a 4-3 decision that the procedural defect “incurably taints the resulting referendum vote,” effectively killing Democrats’ effort to redraw congressional districts ahead of the 2026 midterms. VIRGINIA GOP LEADER BLASTS ‘POWER-HUNGRY’ JEFFRIES AS DEMS MOUNT ‘INSANE’ GAMBIT TO OVERPOWER HIGH COURT Democrats had pursued the revised map as part of a broader national fight over mid-decade redistricting ahead of the 2026 elections, where control of the House is expected to again hinge on a few competitive seats. Republicans currently hold a slim majority in the chamber. The Democratic-backed proposal was designed to make multiple Republican-held Virginia congressional seats more competitive and was approved by voters in an April 21 special election by a 51.7% to 48.3% margin. VIRGINIA DEMOCRATS’ $70M REDISTRICTING GAMBLE BACKFIRES AFTER COURT DEFEAT, IGNITES BLAME GAME The Virginia redistricting map was approved by voters in an April special election after the Virginia Supreme Court allowed the referendum to proceed amid an ongoing legal challenge over the process lawmakers used to place it on the ballot. Virginia Democrats had argued the state court improperly overrode the will of voters who approved the amendment and claimed the ruling relied on an overly broad interpretation of election law by counting the start of early voting as part of the election itself. In their emergency appeal to the Supreme Court, Democratic lawmakers said the Virginia ruling had “deprived voters, candidates and the Commonwealth of their right to the lawfully enacted congressional districts.” Democrat Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger blasted the ruling in a post on X after SCOTUS declined to intervene. “The Supreme Court of the United States has now joined the Supreme Court of Virginia in choosing to nullify an election and the votes of more than three million Virginians,” Spanberger wrote. “These Virginians made their voices heard — casting their ballots in good faith to push back against a President who said he’s ‘entitled’ to more seats in Congress before voters go to the polls. “As Governor, I will make sure voters know when and how to cast their votes this year,” she added. “Because our votes are how we choose the representation we deserve.” The case comes as both parties escalate efforts nationwide to redraw congressional maps ahead of the 2026 midterms, with Republicans and Democrats battling over district lines in several states.
Navy veteran Rocky Rochford seeks to turn Tampa Bay red, unseat 20-year House incumbent
Navy veteran Rocky Rochford served his country for 33 years, holding the title of commodore. Now, he’s on a mission to flip Tampa Bay from blue to red, in the midst of a spirited campaign to unseat 20-year incumbent Kathy Castor in Florida’s 14th congressional district. Rochford recently sat down to discuss his campaign with Fox News Digital. “So in 20 years, Kathy Castor has been the author of two bills that became law. And both of those were to rename post offices. So I would say that Kathy Castor has been ineffective. She hasn’t really helped Tampa Bay in the ways that matter the most. Affordability is probably the biggest thing on everyone’s kitchen table list of discussion points. Gasoline, groceries, electricity, insurance. I mean, the list goes on and on and on.” Rochford emphasizes that his leadership experience has prepared him to be ready to represent the people of Tampa Bay from day one. RAYS AGREE TO $2.3B DEAL FOR NEW BALLPARK IN TAMPA “So it’s about leadership. I have spent my entire adult life…33 years in the Navy, four years at Massachusetts Maritime Academy. I got to go back to the age of 18 for the first time before I was actually part of the military. So, it’s been entrenched in my being, it is in my soul, I’m very strong in my faith. And I believe that we need someone who is not only going to bring leadership to the process, but is going to bring their faith to the process up in D.C., and be part of the solution. People who are anti the other side, whether it doesn’t matter what side you’re sitting on, when they are against the other side to the point where they won’t even talk to them, that’s problematic. We’re not gonna get anything accomplished, we’re not going to get anything done. And that’s exactly what’s happening up in DC right now, we see a lot of that.” Children’s rights is an issue at the forefront of Rochford’s campaign. “I have three major bills that are the highlight of what I’ve been working on. And the first is my children’s bill of rights. I do believe that children are the future, and they need to be protected far better than they’re being protected now. So the laws that govern children are written amongst 11 different government agencies. Those agencies don’t overlap and they don’t talk to each other. This bill is designed to create a shield, an organization that oversees all of those laws. “This covers everything from AI for kids, online predators, and it provides new penalties with teeth. This is we’re going to get after those folks. The predators have been exploiting four different avenues on children across state lines. I’m going to close every one of those doors. Parental rights, no boys in girls sports. I mean, this bill covers adoption. It covers foster care, egg donor, IVF. It is complete.” Rochford argues that foreign influence plays a large role in shaping electoral outcomes, and particularly singles out China-based political donor and activist Neville Roy Singham. “There’s a lot folks who have nothing to do with the United States…that are influencing our elections, they’re influencing the people…We know that Neville Singham, who’s a U.S. citizen living in Shanghai, is taking money from the CCP to disrupt America from the inside. China calls this the smokeless war, and it really is and and they’re not the only ones. “Iran is doing the same thing, we know North Korea is involved, Russia so there’s a lot of influence happening in here that are that are causing wreaking havoc but we as a society need to see beyond that. We are one America, and I’m America first. I’m American first before politics, America first before party.” LAWMAKERS RAISE ALARM OVER NEVILLE ROY SINGHAM’S $278M NETWORK SPREADING CCP PROPAGANDA IN THE U.S. Florida’s 14th district is hardly politically monolithic, and Rochford emphasizes that he seeks to represent the entire district, not merely Republicans. “I’m about listening. So I’m here to not only listen to the right, I’m here to listen to the center, and I’m here to listen the left. Because if we can’t come together and find the commonalities that will make us a better country, then we are doomed as a country. So we must support what we’re all after, which is a great America, a great society that takes care of its own and helps around the world.” He views energy policy and independence as the foundation of affordability for American workers and families. “So I’ve been talking about affordability for some time. To me, the foundation of affordability for just about everything runs off of energy. The price of oil drives the price of gas, which is in our trucks, in our trains, in our airplanes, in ships. And so we need to get control. And so one of the bills that I have drafted will propose that…we first have to become energy independent. We’re the largest producer of energy in the world. So our people should be benefiting from it, not hurting from it.” Among the most important policy issues for Rochford is the national debt, which he has spent a great deal of time researching. He has a plan that would retire America’s national debt by the 2060s: “We don’t want to leave a legacy of debt to our children and grandchildren. So I had go back 40 years to try to figure out where this all started, and where we went off the tracks. And I now understand the entire policy. Balancing the budget is only treating a symptom. It does not treat the disease. So the disease is Congress, I’m sorry, but it’s true. “Every bit of money that comes in that’s extra from Congress goes into the general pool and they spend it. And all of the great ideas that have been used in the past, because I studied them all