‘Gone too far:’ GOP candidate runs to Trump’s left on signature issue in deep red district
Rep. María Elvira Salazar, a Republican who represents a solidly red district in Miami, has broken with the president on immigration as the midterms cycle hits a fever pitch. “Mr. President, some of your immigration enforcement efforts have gone too far,” Salazar said in a newly released campaign advertisement. “Be careful what your advisors are telling you about immigration policy. The same Hispanics who helped you get to the White House in 2024 feel betrayed today. You can be for immigration what Lincoln was for slavery and Reagan was for communism. “I’m not talking about giving them amnesty. I’m talking about giving them a dignified life in this promised land.” THE HISPANIC VOTE IS UP FOR GRABS IN 2026; CANDIDATES WHO IGNORE IT WILL LOSE A Fox News poll released Wednesday found President Donald Trump’s overall approval rating at 39%, with 61% of registered voters disapproving of his job performance. Voters disapprove of Trump generally by a margin of 61% to 39%, according to the poll. On immigration, however, only 56% of voters are unhappy with the president’s performance, beating out his handling of the economy and foreign policy. VOTERS SAY REPUBLICANS OUTDO DEMOCRATS ON THESE KEY ISSUES: FOX NEWS POLL Salazar’s break with the president on immigration follows a legislative record that has combined tougher enforcement measures with support for legal status reforms. During her time in Congress, Salazar has supported tougher border enforcement while also backing legislation that would provide legal status to some long-term noncitizens, including through the bipartisan DIGNITY Act. She also voted for the 2023 Secure the Border Act and the 2025 Laken Riley Act, which expanded immigration enforcement and required the detention of certain undocumented immigrants accused of crimes. TRUMP ADMIN MARKS 15 STRAIGHT MONTHS WITH ZERO BORDER RELEASES AS APPREHENSIONS PLUNGE 94% Trump’s hardline stance on immigration, likewise, is nothing new. The issue defined his initial rise to power during the 2016 presidential election, and he leaned heavily into promises of deportations while on the campaign trail in 2024. Amid the president’s hawkish rhetoric, Hispanics in places such as the Miami metropolitan area and along the Southern border shifted heavily to the right. Trump has endorsed Salazar’s bid for re-election. The Salazar campaign did not respond to a request for comment when reached by Fox News Digital on Thursday.
Radical El-Sayed ally doubles down on anti-American rhetoric with stunning terrorist comparison
A popular far-left streamer tied the Democratic nominee in the high-stakes U.S. Senate race in Michigan doubled down on anti-American comments he’s made in the past during an on-camera interview released Thursday. Hasan Piker was featured in an episode of “The Axios Show” taped in Los Angeles, where he resides, where interviewer Alex Thompson recalled the internet personality’s past claim that “America is the top dog in terrorism.” “Do you think America, then, is worse than al-Qaeda?” Thomspon asked. HASAN PIKER INSISTS ABDUL EL-SAYED ASKED HIM TO ‘STUMP’ FOR MICHIGAN CAMPAIGN AMID BACKLASH “Pound for pound as far as the number of deaths, yes,” Piker replied. “We have caused tremendous terror all around the world.” “I think that that is not only terror that we are waging on regular civilians, and nations in the periphery, but it’s also having consequences on ourselves,” the Twitch streamer continued. “It’s having dramatic consequences on the home front.” “One clear example of this is what we did in Minab [Iran],’ Piker said, referring to American attacks earlier this year that struck a school. A United Nations mission said it found “reasonable grounds” to believe that the U.S. committed a war crime. “There’s no distinction between blowing up a school, tripple-tapping it with Tomahawk missiles. If you’re killing 140 school girls, that is an act of terror.” Piker conceded that not all Americans are terrorists, but still called for an “environment of accountability.” EL-SAYED PALS AROUND WITH FAR-LEFT STREAMER HASAN PIKER THE DAY BEFORE CRUCIAL MICHIGAN SENATE ELECTION Piker is closely tied to Abdul El-Sayed, the controversial far-left U.S. Senate candidate in Michigan. Piker joined El-Sayed on the campaign trail during primary season. The two were pictured partying together on the night El-Sayed ended up winning his primary election. Since winning the Democratic primary, El-Sayed hasn’t been able to shake Piker’s shadow, and has refused to condemn him for past controversial comments. Instead the candidate has painting him as a “streamer from California” who has no bearing on the race in Michigan in attempts to distance himself from Piker’s more radical views and comments. Piker said in 2019 that “America deserved 9/11.” He has also praised Mao Zedong and Communist China, said capitalists should be murdered in the streets and is known for making antisemitic comments. El-Sayed’s campaign responded to Piker’s comments on The Axios Show, but did not mention Piker by name. ABDUL EL-SAYED DISMISSES QUESTIONS ABOUT HASAN PIKER TIES ON ‘FACE THE NATION,’ PIVOTS TO GROCERIES “I do not agree with this statement [on al-Qaeda], nor do I give much weight to the statements made by a social media streamer,” the campaign told Axios. “I am more concerned with the dangerous policies of Donald Trump and Mike Rogers that are raising the prices of gas, groceries and healthcare for Michiganders.” El-Sayed’s campaign reiterated that statement when reached by Fox News Digital on Thursday. During a trip to Washington, D.C. on Wednesday to meet with potential future colleagues, El-Sayed was caught on camera walking into the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC). When asked by Fox News Digital whether he would condemn Piker, El-Sayed waved off the question and swiftly ducked into the building where he sat down with Democrat senators. El-Sayed’s staff later banned Fox News Digital from joining an impromptu post-meeting press event where he took questions and discussed a range of issues key to the 2026 midterms.
Fox News Poll: 71% think Trump administration lacks plan to end Iran war
Nearly seven months into the war with Iran, a new Fox News national survey finds views souring as voters feel the Trump administration lacks a clear strategy for ending the war, a growing number think the conflict will make the U.S. less safe and a majority believes the decision to take military action was wrong. Seven in 10 voters think the Trump administration lacks a clear strategy for ending the conflict, including 95% of Democrats, 83% of independents and 43% of Republicans. In addition, a growing 47% of voters say the conflict will make the U.S. less safe in the long run, up from 39% in April. By comparison, 32% think it will make the country safer, and 20% say there will be no difference. The rise in concern is largest among White voters, voters under 45 and independents. Sixty percent say U.S. military action against Iran was the wrong decision, while 37% say it was right, widening the margin to 23 points, up from 17 points in June (58% to 41%). Attitudes against the war have increased modestly across most demographic groups, with the largest shifts among Hispanic voters, voters under age 30, moderates and voters 65 and over. FOX NEWS POLL: ECONOMIC ANXIETY AND CANDIDATE CONCERNS DEFINE OHIO SENATE RACE “Typically, the public rallies around the president in response to a foreign policy crisis,” said Republican pollster Daron Shaw, who conducts the Fox News Poll with Democrat Chris Anderson. “But two things are different here. First, President Trump hasn’t consistently and forcefully made the case for the war, and the U.S. doesn’t have boots on the ground. Both of those things matter for public opinion.” FOX NEWS POLL: SQUEEZED BY COSTS, FRUSTRATED VOTERS TURN TO THE DEMOCRATS Trump’s overall job performance stands at 39% approval and 61% disapproval. The president’s ratings on foreign policy are underwater by 24 points. His 37% approval is a second-term low and is just one point above his first-term low of 36% in September 2019. When asked to name the most important issue facing the country, in their own words, only 4% of voters say Iran and a miniscule 1% name foreign policy in general. By comparison, 34% mention the top issue of the cost of living. Meanwhile, by a 10-point margin, more voters say the Democrats are better equipped to handle foreign policy than the Republicans, a reversal from the previous midterm cycle when Republicans were more trusted by 6 points in September 2022. Israel and Ukraine A low of 48% say they side more with the Israelis than the Palestinians (38%) in the ongoing conflict in Gaza. That is down from 54% in June and a high of 68% at the conflict’s outset in October 2023. Since 2023, the sharpest decline in support for Israel — down at least 20 points — comes from women, Hispanic voters, voters under age 45, voters with a college degree and Democrats. Republican support has fallen 10 points during the same time. On Ukraine, voters favor the U.S. continuing to provide financial aid to fight Russia by 16 points (55% to 39%), roughly unchanged during the past two years. Democrats favor supporting Ukraine, while Republicans and independents are divided. One more thing… Ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s upcoming visit to the U.S., more than twice as many voters say Trump is not tough enough on China (45%) as say he is too tough (20%). Three in 10 (30%) say his approach is about right. There is bipartisan agreement on this: the largest share of Democrats (44%), Republicans (47%), and independents (44%) say Trump is not tough enough on China. Republicans are more split, with 43% saying his approach is about right. CLICK HERE FOR CROSSTABS AND TOPLINE Conducted September 11-14, 2026, under the direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), this Fox News survey includes interviews with a sample of 1,211 registered voters randomly selected from a national voter file. Respondents spoke with live interviewers on landlines (96) and cellphones (821) or completed the survey online after receiving a text (294). Results based on the full sample have a margin of sampling error of ±3 percentage points. Sampling error for results among subgroups is higher. In addition to sampling error, question wording and order can influence results. Weights are generally applied to age, race, education and area variables to ensure the demographics are representative of the registered voter population. Sources for developing weight targets include the most recent American Community Survey, Fox News Voter Analysis and voter file data.
Fox News Poll: Majority says immigration enforcement has crossed the line
A 53% majority of registered voters say the Trump administration’s enforcement of immigration laws has gone too far, according to new Fox News polling, a view that has stayed consistent since June 2025. The remaining voters are split between enforcement not going far enough and enforcement that’s just about right (23% each). The results skew along party lines: 87% of Democrats and 60% of independents say enforcement has gone too far, while most Republicans split between not far enough (40%) and about right (43%). Among those saying enforcement has gone too far, voters are divided on the reason: 45% point to the government using too much force, while 49% say the wrong people are being targeted. FOX NEWS POLL: SQUEEZED BY COSTS, FRUSTRATED VOTERS TURN TO THE DEMOCRATS Democrats say the government is targeting the wrong people (by 7 points) while independents say it’s because of using too much force (by 2 points). There are not enough Republicans saying the enforcement has gone too far to draw meaningful conclusions. Consequently, President Trump’s approval rating on immigration sits at 43%, down from a high of 48% last summer. For the past four years, until this summer, voters consistently said the Republicans would do a better job handling immigration than the Democrats. That advantage has all but disappeared, as voters are split between the parties (48% D vs. 49% R). The Democrats are competitive on immigration due to independents backing them over the GOP by 6 points and 15% of non-MAGA Republicans preferring the Democrats. FOX NEWS POLL: COOL YOUR SERVERS! VOTERS REJECT DATA CENTERS “The immigration issue has been defined in terms of border security since the Biden years,” says Daron Shaw, the GOP pollster who helps conduct the survey with Democrat Chris Anderson. “But voters now think of immigration policy as ICE crackdowns, and many say these have been too aggressive.” Despite fewer than 1 in 10 (8%) voters identifying immigration as their priority, it only trails the cost of living (34%) and the broader economy (14%) as the most important issue facing the country. One more thing… Nearly two-thirds of voters (63%) agree that a child born to an illegal immigrant in the United States should automatically become a citizen. While overall support has softened from previous highs around 67-69%, it’s still far above its low of 45% in 2006. CLICK HERE FOR CROSSTABS AND TOPLINE Again, results are defined by partisanship: roughly 9 in 10 Democrats and 6 in 10 independents support birthright citizenship, while 6 in 10 Republicans oppose it. Among Hispanic voters, two-thirds disapprove of Trump’s overall job performance and his handling of immigration. They trust the Democrats over the Republicans on the issue by 19 points, while 60% say immigration enforcement has gone too far. Three-quarters of Hispanic voters think citizenship should be guaranteed for those born in the U.S. to illegal immigrant parents. Conducted September 11-14, 2026, under the direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), this Fox News survey includes interviews with a sample of 1,211 registered voters randomly selected from a national voter file. Respondents spoke with live interviewers on landlines (96) and cellphones (821) or completed the survey online after receiving a text (294). Results based on the full sample have a margin of sampling error of ±3 percentage points. Sampling error for results among subgroups is higher. In addition to sampling error, question wording and order can influence results. Weights are generally applied to age, race, education and area variables to ensure the demographics are representative of the registered voter population. Sources for developing weight targets include the most recent American Community Survey, Fox News Voter Analysis and voter file data.
WATCH: Gaffe-prone Seattle socialist mayor cuts off police chief in yet another awkward interview
Already known for awkward, gaffe-prone interviews and public appearances, Seattle socialist Mayor Katie Wilson is being mocked again for another uncomfortable on-camera moment. This time, Wilson, a Democrat and self-identified socialist, is being criticized for a strange interview about the city’s gun violence reduction plan alongside Seattle Police Assistant Chief Nicole Powell and Amy Barden, chief of Seattle’s Community Assisted Response and Engagement (CARE) Department. At one point during the interview, Wilson interjected after a long pause when Powell was questioned by a reporter about the usefulness of new Flock-type surveillance cameras being installed in the city. KOMO News reporter Chris Daniels had asked Powell whether the new cameras could assist with Seattle’s slate of unsolved cases. The assistant police chief hesitated, looked down and began to speak twice before Wilson interjected. “Cameras are obviously a useful tool, right? We’ve seen in the ‘Bite of Seattle’ shooting there’s been camera footage from businesses around Seattle center, we have cameras at Seattle center, those cameras have been useful tools in solving crime, there’s no doubt about that,” said Wilson. SEATTLE MAYOR GRILLED ON PUBLIC SAFETY CRISIS AS RESIDENTS DEMAND ANSWERS Visibly uncomfortable after Wilson interjected, the assistant police chief chuckled, motioned to the mayor and repeatedly looked off camera. The reporter continued pressing them, saying, “What’s going to be the metric of success?” Powell looked to Wilson, whose voice cracked slightly as she answered, “Ultimately, we want to see zero homicides, we want to see fewer homicides, and we want to see fewer guns shot.” While Wilson spoke, Powell nodded along and looked to the side off camera again. The reporter persisted, asking, “Would either of you like to answer that question?” as he motioned to Powell and Barden. Barden jumped in quickly, steering the conversation away from Flock cameras. “From my side, in addition to shots fired and homicides, you want to look at referrals in the services and whether or not somebody is making meaningful improvement in their life,” said Barden. BLUE-CITY POLICE CHIEF DRAWS SCRUTINY AFTER REFERRING TO KNOWN GUN VIOLENCE SUSPECTS AS ‘TRIGGER PULLERS’ After Barden finished speaking, the reporter turned the floor over to the assistant police chief, who laughed and finally answered, “Just to piggyback, taking a holistic approach, this strategy works.” “It is proven in other cities like this, and it takes all of us,” Powell added, as she looked back at Wilson and Barden. This comes as debate continues over the expansion of surveillance cameras in Seattle and other cities across the country. During her campaign last year, Wilson argued against expanding surveillance cameras in the city but has taken a different tone since becoming mayor. Last September, Wilson remarked that “turning on more cameras won’t magically make our neighborhoods safer. But it will certainly make our neighbors more vulnerable,” reported The Urbanist. However, after becoming mayor, Wilson announced that she would pause expansion of Seattle’s surveillance-camera system pending a privacy and data-governance audit, while allowing the existing cameras to remain in operation. She said the city would use the audit’s findings to determine whether and how to proceed with further expansion. During the KOMO News interview this week, Wilson was pressed on when she would set a date for a decision. She answered, “I’m going to sound like a broken record on this, but we’ve been conducting this audit of our data security and storage and privacy practices, we’re expecting the results of that audit around the end of this month and so, at the end of this month, we’ll be making that information public, and then I’ll be making a decision about that expansion.” SEATTLE MAYOR ADMITS BREAKING STARBUCKS BOYCOTT AFTER URGING RESIDENTS TO SHUN COFFEE GIANT The awkward on-camera moment was quickly called out by many online. Popular conservative account “End Wokeness” called it an “incredible moment.” SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER “Seattle Assistant Police Chief Nicole Powell gets asked if turning back on Seattle CCTV cameras would help[,] she looks nervously at Mayor KatieWilson (who turned off the CCTV) Look at the face she gives the camera,” the account wrote. Some voiced their frustration, such as political advocacy group Future 42, which posted, “Daniels asks the SPD Chief sitting beside the mayor if the crime cameras ‘could be a tool to help in any of these unsolved cases.’ The Chief’s facial expression and silence say it all, which is then followed by Katie Wilson interjecting that cameras are in fact a ‘useful tool’, even though she personally made the decision to turn them off,” the group wrote, adding, “What else can we say, except Katie Wilson still has no idea what she is doing as Mayor of Seattle?”
Starbucks resolves Florida DEI lawsuit with blockbuster agreement
EXCLUSIVE — Starbucks will pay Florida $1 million and will not use race-and sex-based goals, quotas and preferences in employment practices companywide under a sweeping settlement ending the state’s civil rights lawsuit against the coffee giant. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier’s office confirmed to Fox News Digital that the agreement applies to all Starbucks operations nationwide, not just the company’s locations in Florida. “Every Floridian deserves to be hired, promoted and compensated based on merit, qualifications and character — not race or sex,” Uthmeier told Fox News Digital. “This resolution ensures that Starbucks’ policies and practices fully comply with Florida’s civil rights laws. DEI can never be an excuse to violate civil rights.” The negotiated resolution ends the lawsuit Uthmeier filed in December 2025 accusing Starbucks of violating the Florida Civil Rights Act through racial and sex-based goals, quotas and preferences in its workplace policies. GOP FRESHMAN FIREBRAND TARGETS GLOBAL CONSULTING GIANT OVER ‘PLAINLY ILLEGAL’ DEI PRACTICES Under the agreement, Starbucks committed to complying with the state civil rights law, which prohibits race and sex-based preferences in hiring, promotions, pay, executive compensation, mentorship programs, supplier selection and board composition. The company also agreed it will not participate in organizations that require it to increase the racial diversity of its board of directors. GEORGIA DISTRICT QUIETLY TRAINED TEACHERS TO BLAME ‘WHITENESS,’ ‘DECOLONIZE’ UNDER FEDERAL CRACKDOWN: REPORT Starbucks’ chief legal officer will be required to submit annual certifications of the company’s continued compliance for four years. The company will also pay $1 million to the Florida Department of Legal Affairs to reimburse the office for the time, expenses and costs of bringing the case. “We’re pleased to have resolved this matter without admission of wrongdoing and appreciate the constructive engagement of the Attorney General’s Office throughout this process,” Pilar Ramos, executive vice president and chief legal officer of Starbucks said. “We will continue to focus on offering great jobs and career opportunities to our partners who wear the green apron, while making a positive impact on the communities we serve in Florida and around the world.” The agreement includes no admission of liability or wrongdoing by Starbucks. SEATTLE MAYOR’S STARBUCKS BOYCOTT CALL SLAMMED BY LOCAL RADIO HOST AS COFFEE GIANT ADDS NASHVILLE-BASED ROLES The settlement follows Uthmeier’s lawsuit, which alleged Starbucks had turned diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives into a system that discriminated based on race. The December complaint pointed to goals Starbucks announced in 2020 to have people of color fill 40% of retail and manufacturing jobs and 30% of corporate positions by 2025. ‘SEATTLE CAN’T SURVIVE THIS’: CRITICS HAMMER SOCIALIST MAYOR AFTER STARBUCKS REVERSAL It also alleged the company paid certain employees more than workers of other races with the same experience and skills and, before March 2024, tied executive bonuses to diversity goals. For fiscal year 2024, the lawsuit alleged that bonus criteria included executives mentoring Black, Indigenous and other employees of color, holding monthly meetings with mentees and keeping retention among those workers above a stated threshold. TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACCUSES PRESTIGIOUS LAW SCHOOL OF FAVORING BLACK APPLICANTS OVER WHITE, ASIAN PEERS The complaint further alleged that Florida Starbucks employees and job applicants contacted the attorney general’s office and reported feeling excluded or humiliated because they were White. Uthmeier accused the company of “systemic discrimination” against workers it considered “non-diverse.” “Starbucks made DEI more than a slogan,” Uthmeier said when the lawsuit was announced. “They turned it into a mandatory hiring and promotion system based on race.” FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY HIT WITH FEDERAL CIVIL RIGHTS INVESTIGATION OVER RACE, SEX-BASED SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMS He said at the time that race-based hiring goals and executive bonuses tied to meeting them amounted to discrimination prohibited under Florida law. The state initially sought $10,000 in damages for each alleged instance of racial discrimination against a Florida resident, an amount Uthmeier’s office said could have reached tens of millions of dollars or more. Starbucks operates more than 900 stores in Florida, according to the complaint. TRUMP ADMINISTRATION PROPOSES STRIPPING TAX-EXEMPT STATUS FROM SCHOOLS USING RACE-BASED PROGRAMS The effort began in 2024 under then-Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, now a Republican U.S. senator, after she called for an investigation into the company’s hiring practices. Florida was not the only state to challenge Starbucks’ DEI policies. Then-Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey filed a separate federal lawsuit in February 2025 alleging the company used race and sex-based hiring quotas and unlawfully tied executive pay to diversity targets. OAKLAND SCHOOLS IN HOT SEAT OVER ‘STUDENTS OF COLOR’ PROGRAM WHILE TAKING MILLIONS IN FEDERAL FUNDING A federal judge dismissed that case in February 2026, finding that Missouri had not identified a resident who was actually harmed by the policies. The state appealed the ruling. Starbucks previously disputed Florida’s allegations, telling Fox News Digital after the lawsuit was filed that its programs and benefits were open to everyone and lawful. “Our hiring practices are inclusive, fair and competitive and designed to ensure the strongest candidate for every job, every time,” a company spokesperson said at the time. Fox News Digital’s Rachel del Guidice and Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report. EDITOR’S NOTE: This story was updated to reflect Starbucks’ commitment to not using race-and sex-based goals, quotas and preferences in employment practices companywide.
Fraud mastermind behind multimillion-dollar Ponzi scheme that victimized Travis Kelce is illegal immigrant
The mastermind behind the multi-million-dollar Ponzi scheme that even victimized NFL star Travis Kelce is an illegal immigrant from India. Thirty-eight-year-old Siddharth Jawahar was sentenced to 11 years in prison this week for running a $35 million investment wire fraud scheme. At his sentencing, Judge Zachary Bluestone said that through his investment company, Swiftarc Capital LLC, Jawahar “weaponized” investors’ trust, resulting in “massive” losses for the victims. Jawahar raised more than $35 million from investors between 2016 and 2023 and only invested roughly $10 million of that total. He spent the remainder funding personal luxuries, including private jet charters, upscale apartments in Austin and New York, high-end dining, shopping sprees at clothing stores and exclusive private club memberships. He has now been ordered to pay $31.35 million in restitution to his victims. But that is not the end of Jawahar’s legal issues. He may also be subject to deportation. According to the Department of Justice and a court document reviewed by Fox News Digital, Jawahar is an illegal immigrant from India who has been living in the U.S. since 2005. TRUMP ADMIN’S FRAUD CRACKDOWN TARGETS FOREIGNERS ACCUSED OF INFILTRATING US FEDERAL PROGRAMS Further, the DOJ said that after his indictment on three counts of wire fraud and one count of investment-adviser fraud in 2023, Jawahar tried to obstruct justice by coaching a victim into giving a favorable statement to the FBI while lying about his immigration status and finances. He also tried to get his sister to remotely wipe his iPhone to hide evidence, the DOJ said. Jawahar pleaded guilty to three counts of wire fraud in January 2026. Among Jawahar’s victims was Kelce, the Kansas City Chiefs tight end who recently married pop superstar Taylor Swift, and several NBA players, including Gary Harris, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Mason Plumlee. The DOJ said Jawahar’s victims resided in Missouri and elsewhere. FORMER USCIS OFFICIAL, ACCOMPLICE CHARGED IN ALLEGED $960K CITIZENSHIP BRIBERY SCHEME Instead of managing a diversified portfolio for his investors, Jawahar allocated roughly 99% of client capital into a single stock, Philip Morris Pakistan. As that position tanked, Jawahar hid the losses, issued falsified statements and used funds from new investors to pay out earlier clients. Jawahar also managed 17 additional entities that he utilized during his scheme. ALLEGED CRYPTOSCAM RINGLEADER SET FOR PLEA HEARING IN $240M BITCOIN THEFT SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER In an X post, Colin McDonald, an assistant attorney in the DOJ’s National Fraud Enforcement Division, celebrated Jawahar’s sentencing, calling him an “illegal alien fraudster.” He congratulated the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri and partners for their “great work” on the case.
Historic newspaper gives El-Sayed a savage rebuke for hiding his past while endorsing his opponent
A top newspaper in battleground Michigan is skewering left-wing Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed over past radical rhetoric as it endorses Republican rival former Rep. Mike Rogers in a crucial midterm showdown. The race between El-Sayed and Rogers to succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters is a must-win battle for the Democrats as they try to recapture the Senate majority from the GOP. The Detroit News, which has the second-largest newspaper circulation in Michigan, charged in its endorsement of Rogers that El-Sayed “has worked so hard covering his tracks leading up to this Senate race that it’s impossible to know who he really is or where he would stand in the Senate.” WHO’S UP AND WHO’S DOWN IN THE LATEST FOX NEWS MIDTERM POLLING “He has deleted social media posts that reportedly called into question his attitude about America in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. He’s taken down roughly 100 YouTube videos that paint an unflattering picture of him and his cultural views,” the conservative-leaning newspaper argued. “A candidate who feels the need to hide his past from voters is not someone who can be trusted to be the same person after Election Day as he was on the campaign trail.” As he runs for the Senate, El-Sayed has removed or archived thousands of past social media posts and older podcast/YouTube videos. Some of those past comments include floating the idea of abandoning fireworks on July 4th, suggesting replacing the nation’s Second Amendment with the “right to have health care,” and one-time support for the “defund the police” movement. El-Sayed, who was captain of his high school football team, also criticized football’s ties to toxic masculinity and a “bro culture.” DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUB The Rogers campaign and other Republicans have blasted El-Sayed for many of his past controversial comments. The El-Sayed campaign said this summer that some of the past comments were removed “to prevent any old posts from being taken out of context.” And last week, around the 9/11 25th anniversary, the El-Sayed campaign emphasized that “Abdul has always unequivocally condemned terrorism and the September 11 attacks.” Fox News Digital reached out to the El-Sayed campaign for additional comment on the Detroit News’ criticisms, but didn’t receive a response at the time this story was published. The newspaper praised Rogers, calling him “the prototype of a United States Senator.” SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER “He spent 14 years in the House of Representatives, rising to chair of the vital Intelligence Committee. The 63-year-old Republican left Congress at the end of 2014, having been elected to his House seat seven times by his mid-Michigan constituents. Rogers then embarked on a successful career in private industry, becoming an expert in cybersecurity,” the newspaper noted as it referred to his career. An average of the latest polls in the El-Sayed-Rogers showdown indicates a margin-of-error race. The most recent Fox News poll in Michigan, conducted a month ago, showed Rogers holding a slight four-point edge.
Powerful teachers’ unions share striking link with states struggling to teach kids to read
States with stronger teachers’ unions tend to have weaker literacy performance and have adopted fewer of the policies credited with improving reading outcomes, according to a new analysis from a center-left think tank. Eight of the 10 states to score among the worst in the Progressive Policy Institute’s (PPI) assessment of early-literacy policies were home to powerful teachers’ unions. Among the top 60% of states in terms of early-literacy policy scores, only four had strong teachers’ unions. Mississippi, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, South Carolina and Indiana, all Republican-leaning states with weak unions, were among the states with the best literacy outcomes. Maine, New York, Illinois, Hawaii, Washington and Rhode Island, blue states, were among the worst. ARKANSAS STUDENTS OUTPERFORM NATIONAL AVERAGE AFTER UNIVERSAL SCHOOL CHOICE EXPANSION, GOVERNOR SAYS The pattern isn’t universal. Maryland, a blue state with a strong teachers’ union, has posted strong reading results, while South Dakota, a red state with a weaker union, has struggled. The differences suggest union strength and party control alone don’t explain states’ reading performance. Rachel Canter, PPI’s director of education policy, conducted the analysis with colleagues by comparing teacher-union strength rankings with states’ early-literacy policy scores. Canter is also one of the people behind the slate of educational reforms in Mississippi that propelled the state from among the worst in the country for educational outcomes to among the best. “Democrats, however, don’t often ask me how to replicate Mississippi’s success,” Canter said. “They ask if it’s possible at all, given the power of teachers’ unions in their home states.” Teachers’ unions, according to Canter, exert massive amounts of influence over both educational policies and how those policies are implemented in the classroom. This can make schools in states with stronger unions slower to adapt to challenges or to adopt new, better methods. TEACHERS UNION FACING YEARS OF DEFICITS SEEKS TO BECOME OREGON’S LARGEST PAC, INTERNAL DOCUMENTS SHOW Mississippi’s reforms, among other things, added kindergarten-through-third-grade screenings, literacy coaches, individual reading plans and held back third-graders who failed the state reading test. The state reinforced those measures with science-based reading instruction, increased teacher training and tougher licensing requirements. Tweaks to teaching like these can be difficult to achieve in states with influential teachers’ unions, with labor reps arguing that the changes place undue burdens on educators. ILLINOIS DEMOCRATIC GOVERNOR BUCKS TEACHERS’ UNIONS IN SUPPORT FOR STATEWIDE CLASSROOM PHONE BAN Many of the states that underperformed in the Progressive Policy Institute’s study also have Democratic leadership. Teachers’ unions spend hundreds of millions of dollars every electoral cycle on electing Democrats and pushing left-of-center policies. “States dominated by Democrats have been slower to embrace similar reforms,” Canter said. “Organized labor might explain some of this gap.” Multiple GOP-led Southern states have adopted educational reforms similar to those introduced in Mississippi. Those same states dominated the Progressive Policy Institute’s rankings of the states with the best student literacy.
Trump’s $5K checks could join stack of past unfulfilled promises, former Congress budget chief warns
President Donald Trump’s latest cash promise to Americans is unlikely to come to fruition, just like others before it, an economist and former congressional budget hawk told Fox News Digital. “So the president has promised a lot of checks, the most recent being $5,000 to every American if Republicans hold on to the House and Senate. We ever going to see these? Well, I don’t think so,” said Douglas Holz-Eakin, president of fiscal policy think tank American Action Forum. Holz-Eakin previously served as the director of the Congressional Budget Office and as the director of domestic and economic policy for late Republican Sen. John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign. TRUMP DEFENDS $5,000 DIVIDEND PROPOSAL, PRAISES ‘BEAUTIFUL’ TARIFFS ON ‘INGRAHAM ANGLE’ “The DOGE checks were never realistic because DOGE was never going to save that much money,” said Holz-Eakin in reference to the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency’s sweeping layoffs and budget cuts to federal agencies. He continued: “And the tariff checks were never that realistic because [Trump] didn’t have the authority to issue the checks, and that’s actually true of all of these promises.” Holz-Eakin also mentioned the Trump administration’s recently proposed plan to give $9,000 checks to stay-at-home mothers likely won’t come through either. “Trying to get money to stay at home moms for childcare, there’s a route to that, but it’s gonna be tough … we’ll see if they actually pull it off,” he said. “So, I would be skeptical that any of these checks are gonna be in your mailbox very soon.” The internationally-known economist likened the Trump administration’s fiscal policy to that of former President Joe Biden’s Democratic administration. “I think we’ve seen two successive administrations get themselves in the following position: inflation is too high and wages aren’t keeping up with it. Well, that’s failing at the American dream,” Holz-Eakin explained. THE FED JUST THREW A WRENCH IN TRUMP’S MIDTERM ECONOMIC MESSAGE He said that getting inflation under control was the first step in restoring order, as well as being “utterly supportive” of the Federal Reserve, which Holz-Eakin says is working to achieve that goal. The Fed hiked interest rates Wednesday for the first time in three years, and signaled that more rate increases could be coming. This comes despite Trump’s push to have the world’s most powerful central bank lower interest rates to lessen the monthly burden on Americans seeking home and auto loans. “Inflation remains elevated,” the Federal Open Market Committee said in a post-meeting statement. “Today’s policy action will support a timelier return to the Committee’s 2 percent goal. The Committee will deliver price stability.” “You need to have, I think, a more vibrant economy, and this economy is doing okay, but it’s putting up with a lot of headwinds,” said Holz-Eakin. He named specific Trump administration policy decisions he says are to blame for the lackluster economy, which has burdened the middle class as grocery prices continue to rise. “The first headwinds were tariffs, second headwinds were the oil prices and fight with Iran, and we need to get past those battles, and let the economy just go, and … that would be a better environment for the families,” he told Fox News Digital. CONGRESS SPENDS $7 TRILLION. HERE’S HOW THAT MATH WORKS OUT IF YOU THINK OF JUST $100 As for overall fiscal policy, Holz-Eakin says he’s worried that the country is going in the wrong direction when it comes to economic and fiscal policy. “I’m a former director of the Congressional Budget Office. I have to every day get up and look at the books and wonder, ‘how’s this going to add up?’” he said. “And right now it doesn’t add up.” “We’re $41 trillion in debt. The deficit is $2 trillion every year and it’s getting larger. You can’t just keep putting people on the on government programs. It won’t add up.” He proposed a fix — reverting to “old-school conservative” politics. “I’d like to see a bit of a U-turn that got the debt under control, didn’t spend quite so much money, and got through this without having to raise our taxes. So, that sounds like an old-school conservative plan to me, but that’s not what we’re seeing right now.” Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment on Trump’s economic promises, but did not hear back at time of publication.