Trump says Rogers ‘completely obliterated’ El-Sayed in debate
President Donald Trump said that Michigan GOP U.S. Senate candidate former Rep. Mike Rogers “obliterated” Democratic opponent Abdul El-Sayed in a Thursday night debate. “Mike Rogers, the great American Patriot and Republican Candidate for the U.S. Senate from Michigan, completely obliterated Mohammad El-Sayed in the big debate tonight. If this was a fight they would have stopped it,” the president declared in a Truth Social post issued shortly after midnight on Friday. “Mohammad is a Jihadist lunatic who hates our Country, the Black People of Detroit, and wants to see the U.S. fail. Short on Stature, Patriotism, and Truth, Mohammed’s statements have been loaded up with lies and deceit. I won Michigan BIG, and know that Mike Rogers, a total winner, is the man for you!!!” Trump added. MICHIGAN SENATE DEBATE ERUPTS INTO PERSONAL ATTACKS AS ROGERS, EL-SAYED CLASH OVER ISRAEL, IRAN AND MORE El-Sayed’s campaign and the White House did not immediately respond for comment to Fox News Digital. Trump has endorsed Rogers, who previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives from early 2001 until early 2015. Trump also backed Rogers in 2024, but the GOP candidate lost the 2024 Michigan U.S. Senate race to then-Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin. EL-SAYED’S SCATHING OBAMA CRITIQUE RESURFACES AHEAD OF JOINT CAMPAIGN RALLY In part of a Wednesday Truth Social post, the president wrote, “Mohammed El-Sayed is a terrible Candidate for the Dumocrats. While his opponent, Mike Rogers, is an extremely good one, Mohammed goes back to the days of the Jihad. He is a RADICAL Extremist, Terrorist Sympathizer, and no different from his best friend, America Hating Hasan Piker.” UNEARTHED SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS CONTRADICT EL-SAYED’S ‘CAPITALIST’ NARRATIVE El-Sayed, whose full name is Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed, declared in a statement on Thursday, “He knows my name is Abdul. He says it every day. But he’s not just attacking me. He’s attacking all of us. He thinks so low of us. He thinks he can use my name and my faith to distract us from the suffering his policies are inflicting on us at the pump, at the grocery store, and at the doctor’s office. He thinks we don’t know any better. It’s time for change.”
Trump sets up committee to investigate Fed Governor Lisa Cook over mortgage fraud allegations
President Donald Trump has set up a committee to investigate Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook over allegations she made false statements on mortgage documents, the same accusations Trump has cited for over a year in a bid to remove her from office. Trump attempted to remove Cook in August 2025, triggering a lengthy legal battle that culminated in the Supreme Court blocking her firing in June 2026. In a 5-4 ruling, the court ruled she had not been given adequate time to respond to the allegations against her. This newly-formed committee appears to be the process the White House has settled on to give Cook a chance to advocate for herself, as she will be allowed to submit a written statement ahead of her first scheduled hearing on Nov. 5, 2026. WHO IS LISA COOK? THE CENTRAL BANK GOVERNOR AT THE HEART OF THE SUPREME COURT’S TRUMP-FED SHOWDOWN Her statement must be received by the committee at least three days ahead of the hearing, which will unfold at the White House and will last no more than four hours, according to a notice dated Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026, but released on Friday by the Trump administration. At the hearing itself, Cook will be able to “present argument, written evidence, and written witness statements regarding the evidence and allegations,” the White House said. In turn, lawyers with the Department of Justice will question her. The hearing will be closed to the public but will be transcribed. EXPLAINED: HOW LISA COOK’S THREE HOME LOANS BECAME CENTRAL TO TRUMP’S FIGHT OVER HER FEDERAL RESERVE SEAT Three White House staffers, including National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett, will serve as members of the committee. Hassett was one of Trump’s top picks to replace Jerome Powell as Fed Chair before he ultimately settled on Kevin Warsh. The White House said it expects Cook to submit another written statement after the hearing, after which the committee will make a recommendation to Trump on whether there is adequate cause to remove her from her post. The White House revisited its effort to fire Cook in August, sending her a letter informing her that Trump was once again considering terminating her. This time, Cook was given 21 days to respond. Her attorneys submitted a letter to the White House on Aug. 26 denying that she had committed mortgage fraud. The White House alleged that Cook claimed homes in Atlanta and Michigan as her primary residence on separate mortgage agreements and later rented out the Atlanta property. Cook’s attorney said the Atlanta designation was an inadvertent mistake, arguing that she sought financing for it as a vacation home and consistently identified Michigan as her “primary” or “permanent” residence.
Denver, Boulder ignored ICE detainers for migrants with child abuse, assault arrests, House GOP report reveals
FIRST ON FOX: A blue state’s law enforcement officials are keeping illegal immigrants accused of violent crimes out of the reach of federal authorities, a new report claims. The House Judiciary Committee, led by Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, released new findings Friday in its investigation into sanctuary jurisdictions and their impact on law enforcement across the country. The latest is a 25-page report that accuses top prosecutors in Denver and Boulder of helping illegal immigrants evade Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), while also revealing for the first time the names and graphic charges against some of those whom House GOP investigators say are being shielded from President Donald Trump’s federal crackdown. Both the district attorneys for Denver and Boulder pushed back against Republicans’ accusations. JIM JORDAN SUBPOENAS BLUE STATE DAS ACCUSED OF ‘PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT’ FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CRIMINALS Among the list is “Fernando Barrios-Ramirez, a Venezuelan national arrested for sexual assault on a child,” the report said. Denver District Attorney John Walsh told Fox News Digital, “Unfortunately, in Barrios-Ramirez’s case, we were prevented from pursuing a decades-long sentence by ICE, who deported Barrios-Ramirez to Mexico over our objection, effectively setting him free.” Walsh said his office prosecuted other cases listed in the report as well. Another alleged criminal Denver is accused of ignoring an ICE detainer for is Juan Andres Holguin-Mendez, a Mexican national whose “criminal history also includes arrests for willful cruelty to a child, DUI, malicious mischief, possession of a controlled substance, trespassing, disturbing the peace, and evading a peace officer.” Holguin-Mendez was arrested for damage to property, the report said. A Venezuelan national named Diego Cano-Diaz with multiple alleged protective order violations was “arrested for aggravated assault with a weapon, resisting arrest, and assault,” the report said. At least four illegal immigrants were arrested due to alleged domestic violence in Denver but also had their ICE detainers ignored, the report said. WATCH: DEM DEMANDS ‘ONE CASE’ WHERE SANCTUARY CITIES DIDN’T TURN OVER ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS; DHS PROVIDES LIST In Boulder, “Mario Hernandez-Quiroz, a Mexican national arrested for child abuse and failure to appear,” was among those whose ICE detainer was ignored. Ignoring an ICE detainer does not necessarily mean law enforcement released the accused back onto public streets. It does, however, delay potential federal deportation proceedings to ensure the accused does not stay in the U.S. DHS BOSS REVEALS OVAL OFFICE PLAN TO ‘WITHHOLD FUNDING’ FROM SANCTUARY CITIES AFTER AGGRESSIVE NEW YORK BUST But the report did accuse district attorneys in Denver and Boulder of helping illegal immigrants suspected of criminal acts to evade ICE, including being more lenient with their treatment in order to avoid federal immigration proceedings — in effect, accusing them of letting more undocumented criminals back onto the streets. For instance, House GOP investigators said they obtained internal documents that show the Denver Sheriff’s Department provided written explanations in a suspected illegal immigrant criminal’s preferred language that said they have “the right to refuse to speak to federal immigration authorities.” DENVER MAN’S ESCAPE EXPOSES CHILLING TREN DE ARAGUA KIDNAPPING PLOT THAT LANDS TRIO IN PRISON The report also accused Denver officials of providing insufficient notice when they do notify ICE about suspected illegal immigrant criminals. An example highlighted in the report involved a suspected Tren de Aragua gang member, about whom ICE was given “between one and two hours’ notice to take him into custody.” The suspected gang member, Abraham Smith Gonzalez, was subsequently released, the report said, and “as a result, when ICE officers attempted to arrest Gonzalez outside a Denver jail in 2025, he assaulted one officer.” The report also accused both Boulder and Denver prosecutors of weighing immigration consequences when pursuing charges against an individual. DOJ ACCUSES MARYLAND OF ‘ACTIVE AND DELIBERATE EFFORT’ TO PREVENT DEPORTATIONS OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS: LAWSUIT “In Boulder, District Attorney Dougherty prohibits information sharing with ICE,” the report said. “Before President Trump even took office in January 2025, Dougherty emailed Boulder defense attorneys to remind them of his office’s pro-illegal alien policies, including his office’s consideration of collateral immigration consequences.” An excerpt that the report noted is part of Boulder County District Attorney’s Office guidance stating that attorneys “consider the immigration and other collateral consequences to a defendant in recommending dispositions.” Both Denver and Boulder encourage suspected illegal immigrants to not cooperate with ICE unless a judicial warrant is presented, the report said. ICE ARRESTS ILLEGAL ALIEN ACCUSED OF SEXUALLY ASSAULTING CHILDREN AFTER FAIRFAX COUNTY RELEASE: DHS Dougherty in Boulder has already been targeted by Jordan’s probe, with the Ohio Republican subpoenaing Dougherty and accusing him of failing to sufficiently cooperate. He told Fox News Digital in response to the report, “This report is a political stunt to sway voters before the midterm elections. My responsibility is to do justice, enhance public safety, and fight for victims. I’m not going to be distracted by political theatre or intimidated into abandoning my responsibility to protect the community and uphold the law. I am proud of our amazing and dedicated staff. They work incredibly hard to uphold the best interests of Boulder County and Colorado. It is my privilege to work alongside the outstanding women and men in the District Attorney’s Office.” Dougherty’s office also accused committee Republicans of “intentionally” misrepresenting one individual’s case in its report that was not mentioned in this article. “Under the Republicans’ approach, Contreras would have been released to ICE and immediately deported. That would have been a violation of state law. Also, Contreras would be free in another country with no consequences for his criminal conduct, the harm to the victim, and the risk he poses to the community,” the office said. “Under Boulder County’s approach, the Sheriff complied with state law and, ultimately, Contreras was held fully accountable by the prosecutors in our office and sent to state prison for eight (8) years. When he completes that sentence, he will then face deportation.” Walsh told Fox News Digital, “The men and women of the Denver District Attorney’s Office work tirelessly every
Radical anti-Trump language riddles California voter guide on high-stakes ballot measure
A California ballot measure on voter identification provides voters with guidance replete with far-left jargon, including a dig at “MAGA billionaires,” that has turned heads online. Proposition 39 is a citizen-led effort, organized by a group called Californians for Voter ID, that submitted 1.3 million signatures in favor of the ballot initiative in March — far outpacing the required nearly 875,000 signatures in order for it to be adopted as a ballot measure. Californians are slated to vote on the voter ID initiative in November. If approved, it would require a government-issued identification card or number to vote in person or by mail. It would also require election official to verify U.S. citizenship. But the language explaining the proposition from those who oppose the measure in the California voters guide has been flagged online for its highly political nature. SEN MARK WARNER CALLED OUT IN ABC INTERVIEW FOR INACCURATE VOTER ID CLAIMS Groups that support the initiative are allowed to argue in favor of it on the ballot, while groups opposed are allowed to do the same on the ballot. “No on Prop. 39,” begins the arguments section on the ballot initiative. “This would advance Trump’s voter suppression agenda by adding costly, unnecessary barriers that could block eligible California voters, expose personal information to identity theft, and waste hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars.” “Don’t let MAGA billionaires decide which voters count. Vote No,” it concludes. Opponents of the measure are listed as the ACLU California Action, Common Cause and the League of Women Voters of California. INSIDE HOUSE REPUBLICANS’ PLAN TO END RUN DEM OPPOSITION AND PASS TRUMP-BACKED VOTER ID The summary section of the ballot measure in the guide states the expected financial impact should the measure take effect. “Costs of between tens of millions of dollars and low hundreds of millions of dollars each year to implement new voting requirements,” it says. A third section titled “What Your Vote Means” also features language describing the ramifications of voting “yes” or “no” on the initiative. “A YES vote on this measure means: Voters would be required to present additional identifying information to elections officials each time they vote,” it says. The voter guide explains that a “no” vote means “[a] voter’s identity would continue to be established with the voter’s signature.” Groups advocating in favor of the measure include the Transparency Foundation, Latino American Political Assn, and the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association. “Yes on Prop. 39 gives California a BIPARTISAN solution for VOTER ID,” their argument section says. “Supported by a solid majority of Democratic, Independent and Republican voters. Increases trust and confidence in our elections.” WATCH: BLACK BISHOP CALLS VOTER ID ARGUMENT ‘DEEPLY INSULTING’ AFTER EXPLOSIVE NONCITIZEN REGISTRATION REPORT A Pew Research study released in 2025 shows that 83% of Americans back voter ID. “It is so dark that this is the level of discourse in the OFFICIAL California voters guide,” said X user Daniel Keller, who first posted a screenshot of the ballot language. Others agreed with that sentiment, like a user named David Masten, who said: “Democracy is a farce in California.” “Good God,” user Brad Pierce put it simply. Early voting is already underway in California, as Election Day on Nov. 3 rapidly approaches. If Proposition 39 is approved, the measure would require voters to present a government-issued ID when voting in person, while mail-in voters would be required to provide the last four digits of a government-issued ID number that matches the one they designated during voter registration. It would also require election officials to use government data to verify U.S. citizenship and publish annual reports showing the percentage of registrations verified for citizenship in each county of the state. The California State Auditor would also be required to conduct regular audits of compliance with the new voter ID and citizenship requirements. Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and California Gov. Gavin Newson’s office, but did not hear back at time of publication.
‘Thrill killer’ and desert executioner — meet the dozens of criminals Dem AG backed for parole: ‘No brainer’
Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford voted to support clemency for several convicted murderers, including men responsible for the kidnapping and execution-style killing of a teenager, the “thrill killing” of a Pizza Hut worker and the beating death of another victim with a cinder block. Ford is currently facing backlash over his clemency bid for a convicted killer who took the life of a pregnant woman while out on bail for a series of armed robbery attacks on Vegas tourists. Now, a Fox News Digital review of state pardon hearings that took place during Ford’s nearly eight years as attorney general show him supporting clemency for dozens of other violent offenders, with some convicted killers receiving reduced sentences, pardons or earlier parole eligibility while others had their requests denied. Ford is running to be Nevada’s next governor, seeking to oust incumbent Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo. His race is shaping up to be one of the most competitive gubernatorial elections of the cycle. Unlike governors in most states, Nevada’s governor cannot unilaterally grant pardons or commute prison sentences, with those decisions instead resting with the state’s Board of Pardons Commissioners, made up of the governor, attorney general and Nevada Supreme Court justices. JOE LOMBARDO CRUISES PAST SIX GOP CHALLENGERS TO SECURE NEVADA REPUBLICAN GUBERNATORIAL NOMINATION Since becoming the state’s attorney general, Ford has voted to pardon or significantly reduce the sentences of 30 people convicted of murder, Fox News Digital found. While Lombardo has joined Ford on some of these votes, the Democrat broke with the Republican in supporting mercy for some of the most brutal killers. Ford, for example, supported a convicted kidnapper and murderer eligible for parole when Lombardo voted against him. Michael Cu, the convict in question, kidnapped a 16-year-old in 1996, forced him to drive out to the desert, then killed him execution-style — all to steal the rims off his car. The victim was shot seven times with a rifle, with the fatal shot being fired at nearly point-blank range into his head. “Mr. Judge I would like to tell you these people, I don’t want them to be free,” the deceased’s mother pleaded with the judge at Cu’s sentencing in March 2000. “There’s a lot of people outside, a lot of mothers outside … I’m afraid because I have more children.” Cu could eventually make it back onto the streets after the board commuted his sentence, making him eligible for parole in 2035 — though his release would still require approval from the state’s parole board. Ford has made his experience as Nevada’s top law enforcement official a focal point of his gubernatorial campaign. ABBOTT SPOTLIGHTS NO-SHOW TALARICO, LAUNCHING TEXAS-SIZED CRIME CRACKDOWN “As Attorney General, Ford has worked with federal and local law enforcement to prosecute criminals and protect our communities,” his campaign website reads. “He’s gone after corporate landlords who are illegally jacking up prices, taken on big drug companies, prioritized putting child predators in jail, battled fentanyl being trafficked across our borders, and fought to keep dangerous untraceable ghost guns off of our streets. He ended a decades-long rape kit back log and has prosecuted human traffickers who threaten the safety of our communities.” Republicans may seize on some of Ford’s pardon votes to challenge the image he’s cultivated of a crusader for public safety. While Ford offered no substantive remarks in most of the pardon hearings, he occasionally had something to add. “I gleefully vote yes for this motion,” he said, explaining his June 2022 support to make a man who killed someone in an armed robbery when he was 15 eligible for parole. Ford talked to the man, Shaquille Hazelwood, on the importance of the moment and advised him to live up to the faith the state was placing in him. He called his decision to grant parole eligibility to an individual who stabbed a 17-year-old to death a “no-brainer” in September 2025. Ford sponsored the hearing where witnesses spoke to the character of the murderer, Bobby Thomas. Ford also supported a commutation for Anthony Amati, whom police and prosecutors described as a “thrill killer,” in a June 2025 decision that allowed the convicted murderer to become immediately eligible for parole. Amati was convicted of ambushing a 22-year-old Pizza Hut worker as he walked a co-worker home. The co-worker, who was at the trial, testified that Amati and his friends “cackled … laughed like it was a big joke” and jumped around while firing multiple bullets into the victim. Deputy District Attorney Christopher Lalli argued at the time that Amati should never be eligible to walk free because his crime was a “thrill killing … for the mere pleasure of it.” Amati became immediately eligible for parole following the board’s decision, although his release was not guaranteed. HOUSE DEMOCRAT BLASTED AFTER EARLY RELEASE LAW FREED INMATES LATER CHARGED WITH MURDER Ford also supported clemency for Arlander Givens, who beat his victim to death with a cinder block and was sentenced to two consecutive life terms, but the board ultimately denied his application, Fox News Digital found. Other convicted killers Ford voted to grant clemency included a murderer involved in a carjacking, a man who stabbed a 17-year-old to death over a basketball game and another who lured his victim into his home with the promise of a drug deal before shooting him dead, Fox News Digital found. GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE VOWS TO PARDON COP CONVICTED OF MANSLAUGHTER IN DEATH OF FLEEING SUSPECT Lombardo and Ford did vote together for leniency in some cases. For instance, the duo both voted to pardon a man found guilty of masterminding a contract killing after he was exonerated by DNA evidence. Ford’s office and his gubernatorial campaign did not respond to a request for comment when reached by Fox News Digital on Wednesday.
Talarico disappearance has Dem volunteers worrying and Trump asking, ‘What is going on?’
President Donald Trump and Texas Republican Senate nominee Ken Paxton are raising questions about Democratic challenger James Talarico’s whereabouts after the candidate spent nearly two weeks away from the campaign trail, as new reporting reveals concerns about his absence among members of his own volunteer network. Talarico, who is challenging Paxton in Texas’ closely watched Senate contest, has not appeared at an in-person campaign event since late September, citing a case of the flu. The prolonged absence has prompted attacks from Republicans, including Trump, who questioned Talarico’s whereabouts during a Wednesday campaign rally in San Antonio and later on his social media platform Truth Social, calling the Texas Democrat “MISSING IN ACTION.” “TalaFREAKo has been missing for 12 days! Now, after looking for him throughout all of Texas, and beyond, probably even weirder places than anyone would think possible, he put out a statement that he has the ‘flu.’ 12 days is a long time to rid yourself of the so-called flu bug,” Trump wrote Wednesday. “What’s going on? We need a Senator that’s a proven Champion like one that has been, without question, the Greatest Attorney General in the History of Texas, and one of the Greatest in the U.S.A.” PAXTON VENTS OVER LACK OF CAMPAIGN CONTROL AS DC ESTABLISHMENT HE ONCE BATTLED COMES TO HIS AID Paxton similarly questioned his opponent’s absence, asking supporters at Wednesday’s rally, “Where is James Talarico?” “If it’s as tight as they claim it is, and he’s got a lead the way they claim that he is, and you’re a billionaire writing these big checks right now to Talarico, wouldn’t you want an ROI, like a return on your investment?” conservative radio host Ben Ferguson questioned on “The Will Cain Show” Thursday. “Why have we not gotten transparency from his campaign? What is really going on? Why did a guy disappear after doing an interview where he didn’t look like he had the flu?” Talarico’s absence comes during the final stretch of Texas’ closely watched Senate race, with Election Day less than a month away. The Democrat’s last publicly documented in-person campaign event in Texas was Sept. 26, when he held a news conference in Carrollton addressing rising gasoline prices and the war in Iran, according to CNN. Talarico subsequently attended a private fundraiser in New York and participated virtually in a Sept. 30 business forum, where he said he had been diagnosed with the flu at a Dallas urgent care facility the previous evening. Talarico has Type 1 diabetes, which puts him at greater risk of developing serious flu complications, according to the CDC. His campaign has said Talarico expects to return to in-person campaigning this weekend ahead of a publicly scheduled CNN town hall on Oct. 14. The campaign also cited “more than 100 public events” Talarico has already done. TEXAS VOTERS HAVE PLENTY TO SAY ABOUT WHETHER LONE STAR STATE COULD TURN BLUE “I guess I’ve been shaking too many hands on the campaign trail, and so I want to keep everybody safe,” Talarico explained, adding he did not want to risk spreading the illness to vulnerable individuals. “Ken Paxton has been ignoring Texans this entire campaign, and his priorities are clear: he doesn’t answer to the people of this state — he answers to his billionaire megadonors and special interests,” campaign spokesperson JT Ennis told Fox News Digital. Meanwhile, the New York Post reported Thursday that leaked messages from a private Slack channel showed members of Talarico’s volunteer network discussing his prolonged absence, with one expressing concern that he could lose momentum. “I think it’ll be fine. It’s [j]ust conservatives blasting him. I’m just worried about him losing momentum,” a Talarico campaign volunteer wrote in a group chat with other volunteers, featuring nearly 4,000 people, according to The Post. “But I 100% expect him to make a comeback at the CNN [t]own hall that’s a given.” “It’s a buncha people that don’t actually want him to be out touring that are causing a stink. No one’s genuinely upset,” another volunteer wrote. Fox News Digital reached out to the Talarico campaign for additional information on where the candidate is recovering and when this weekend he will reappear on the campaign trail but did not receive a response by the time of publication. “I would much rather have my candidate rested and have any ailments out of the way now than down the stretch, because if they’re sick two weeks before the election, they’re still going to be on the road which means it’s only going to get worse. So let them heal up and get their strength back,” veteran Texas-based Democratic strategist Ed Espinoza told Fox News Digital. “Even though Talarico’s off the trail, he’s still on the airwaves,” Espinoza added, referring to the campaign’s significant ad spending in Texas. “He’s got plenty of money to get his message out.”
Mullin calls Mamdani’s anti-ICE rhetoric ‘dangerous’ following New York shooting
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin on Friday pushed back on New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani who had lambasted U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Thursday after the agency opened fire in the Big Apple, shooting an individual while a child was in the vehicle. Mamdani said on Thursday that ICE has “killed far more of our neighbors than they could ever have claimed to save,” reiterating his call to abolish the agency. “His words are dangerous and incite hostility,” Mullin said during a Friday press conference. “Well mayor, if you abolish ICE,” who will “take criminals off the streets of your own town?” MAMDANI DEMANDS TRUMP RELEASE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT SHOT BY ICE AGENT AS PROTESTS ERUPT IN THE BRONX Oscar Belgal, the individual shot by ICE on Thursday, refused to get out of his vehicle and then ran into two government vehicles, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Executive Associate Director Marcos Charles said during the press conference on Friday. The man “refused lawful orders to exit his vehicle,” Charles said. “He then accelerated his vehicle, smashing into two of our government ICE vehicles and then weaponized his vehicle and proceeded to accelerate going towards other officers,” he said. PROTESTS ERUPT IN THE BRONX AFTER ICE AGENT SHOOTS MAN DURING IMMIGRATION OPERATION He “evaded law enforcement before when we attempted to arrest him in September,” Charles noted. Mullin explained that authorities were not aware there was a child in the vehicle at the time of the incident, but pointed out that “Oscar knew he had a child in his car.” DHS UNLOADS ON TEACHERS UNION BOSS OVER ‘DANGEROUS RHETORIC’ AND ANTI-ICE ACTIVISM Mullin said that the man, who is from the Dominican Republic, entered the U.S. illegally and has since perpetrated “crime after crime.”
Democrats are changing their transgender message. Republicans say they’re just flip-flopping
South Carolina Democratic Senate nominee Dr. Annie Andrews appears to be distancing herself from her past opposition to restricting transgender athletes in girls’ sports, telling Fox News Digital she opposes biological males competing in women’s sports and gender transition surgeries for minors. As Democrats fight to regain control of the House and Senate in the midterm elections, Andrews is among a group of candidates in competitive races in red and swing states who seem to be shifting positions on transgender issues. Meanwhile, Republicans are aiming to use the highly-charged issue as a cudgel to bash Democrats for a second straight cycle. “I don’t support biological men playing in women’s sports, and I don’t support gender surgery on minors,” Andrews told Fox News Digital. Andrews, who’s locked in an increasingly competitive midterm election showdown with Republican Sen. Darline Graham in reliably red state South Carolina, delivers the same message in a new campaign commercial, adding, “I want you to hear me loud and clear.” DEMOCRATS THINK A BLUE WAVE IS FORMER – HERE ARE THREE FACTORS THAT COULD STOP IT But Graham, who was appointed to the Senate following the sudden death this summer of her older brother, longtime Sen. Lindsey Graham, is accusing Andrews of trying to conceal her previous position on transgender athletes. Andrews “has spent years supporting biological males competing in girls’ sports. Now that she’s running for Senate, she’s trying to hide from that radical record,” Graham recently charged. Graham and Republicans point to Andrews’ opposition to a 2022 South Carolina law barring transgender athletes from competing on girls’ and women’s public school sports teams. “This is shameful legislation that does nothing to protect or support women or children in SC. In fact, it is actively harmful. I will always support trans youth,” Andrews wrote in a social media post at the time. Republicans are seeking to once again make the issue a campaign liability. The GOP effectively blasted Democrats in the 2024 election, with President Donald Trump‘s campaign targeting Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris with ads declaring “Kamala is for they/them. President Trump is for you.” WHO’S UP AND WHO’S DOWN IN THE LATEST FOX NEWS MIDTERM POWER RANKINGS Republicans spent more than $200 million to run ads targeting Democrats on the transgender issue in the 2024 campaign, arguably helping the GOP to sweeping victories. The latest national polls indicate that most Americans oppose transgender athletes playing on sports teams that don’t match their birth sex. More than three-quarters (76%) of those questioned in a Fox News national poll conducted last month backed banning biological men from competing in women’s sports, with one in five opposed. The survey indicated bipartisan support, with 90% of Republicans, 77% of independents and 61% of Democrats backing the ban. Facing a rough political climate amid an unpopular war in Iran and soaring gas and diesel prices as they try to hold their fragile congressional majorities, Trump and the GOP are increasingly looking to replay their transgender political playbook. Trump, at last month’s GOP midterm convention, described anti-trans messaging as one of the party’s most effective campaign tools to drive voter turnout and target Democrats in the final stretch leading up to Election Day. “It’s one of our great sound bites of all time,” the president said at the two-day confab in Dallas. DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUB And some of the other top speakers at the convention, including Vice President JD Vance, Speaker Mike Johnson, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, and Senate and House GOP re-election chairs Sen. Tim Scott and Rep. Richard Hudson highlighted the issue in their addresses. Meanwhile, Republican ads on the issue are running for a second straight cycle. But Democrats are recalibrating, and learning to fight back. One of the first to pivot following the 2024 election setbacks was California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidate. In early 2025, he suggested that biological males playing in women’s sports was “deeply unfair.” Also making headlines and sparking a debate among Democrats was Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts, who said soon after the 2024 elections that he opposed transgender athletes competing in girls’ sports and that Democrats spent too much time trying not to offend people. Veteran Democratic strategist Maria Cardona told Fox News that “Democrats are being smart on this issue in terms of defining where they are on it so their opponents can’t define them and then pivoting back to the issues that they know that voters actually care about.” “I have two little girls, I don’t want them getting run over on a playing field by a male or formerly male athlete, but as a Democrat I’m supposed to be afraid to say that,” Moulton told The New York Times. Fast-forward to present day, and while most Democratic politicians remain steadfast supporters of transgender rights, there are an increasing number who have changed course. Texas state Rep. James Talarico, the Democratic Senate nominee trying to flip a GOP-held seat in red-leaning Texas, has been targeted by Republicans over his past support for allowing transgender athletes in girls’ sports. But he told Fox News last month, “I oppose trans athletes playing in girls’ sports if it endangers safety or fairness.” SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER In Republican-dominated Iowa, where Democrats are aiming to capture another open-GOP held Senate seat, Democratic nominee state Rep. Josh Turek has expressed opposition to biological males competing in women’s sports and gender transition surgeries for minors after facing Republican criticism. Longtime Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur of Ohio, who is facing a tough re-election bid, is running ads saying “boys should not play in girls’ sports” and that she is focused on “making your life more affordable.” In her campaign mailers she touts that she “voted to ban schools from touting gender ideology in classrooms,” and, “Unlike the far left, I believe boys shouldn’t play girls’ sports.” But the National Republican Congressional Committee pointed out that Kaptur
‘Expect deaths in that plant’: Former employees describe hazardous conditions at Chinese-owned Ohio plant
A Chinese glass manufacturer’s decision not to comply with a congressional oversight inquiry prompted Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., to convene a revealing roundtable with the plant’s former workers, where they described a series of hazardous work conditions and fears for their safety. Khanna, the ranking member on the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), first reached out to Fuyao Glass America and its Chinese parent company Fuyao Glass Industry Group Co., Ltd. in July, requesting documents detailing the company’s business and labor practices. Fuyao quickly drew the attention of Americans in the Rust Belt and beyond when it became the subject of the 2019 Netflix documentary “American Factory,” which chronicled its takeover of a former General Motors plant outside of Dayton, Ohio. LAWMAKERS PRESS DHS IN LETTER OVER CHINESE FORCED LABOR ALLEGATIONS, FLAG POPULAR LABUBU DOLLS The company has since been mired in scandals ranging from hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for workplace safety violations to the 2018 death of factory worker Ricky Patterson. In a subsequent October letter to Fuyao leadership, Khanna decried the company’s refusal to dialogue, condemning them for only sending one single letter in response to his numerous inquiries. Fuyao’s Sept. 23 response, Khanna wrote in his Oct. 1 letter to the company, “answers virtually none of the Committee’s questions in a material way and fails to include any document submissions.” CHINA’S INFLUENCE MACHINE: FEDERAL RECORDS EXPOSE BEIJING’S PUSH TO SWAY AMERICA Despite Fuyao’s silence, Khanna made the journey to Western Ohio, an area of the country decimated by a loss of manufacturing jobs in recent decades. Khanna convened a roundtable discussion on Tuesday involving former Fuyao employees and current union leaders at the Industrial Division of the Communications Workers of America (IUE-CWA) headquarters in Dayton, Ohio. DAVID MARCUS: IN DAYTON, OHIO, BOTH PARTIES FACE BITTER POLITICAL DESPONDENCY During the discussion, former Fuyao workers described unbearable heat, an inability to communicate with their Chinese supervisors and apparent labor violations involving their Chinese counterparts, among other grievances. “The heat in there is unbearable. They don’t care,” Tiffany Moore, who worked at Fuyao for three years, told the group. AMERICA’S BROKEN LEGAL IMMIGRATION SYSTEM IS REPLACING US WORKERS BY DESIGN “There’s the language barrier. They can’t communicate with you. When you try to communicate with them, they’ll send someone else to you. Maybe one of them speaks English,” Moore continued. Like many of the former Fuyao employees at the table, Moore now works at Duramax, a General Motors-owned engine manufacturer, where she says she is much happier. But to even apply for the position she had to employ clandestine measures to avoid retaliation from her Fuyao bosses. I’M THE ACTING SECRETARY OF LABOR AND I’M HERE TO SAY THANK YOU TO THE AMERICAN WORKER “You can’t put your two weeks in because if you put your two weeks, they’ll get rid of you before your two weeks come up for any reason. They’ll tell you they don’t have to have a reason to get rid of you just so that they can fill your position. So when I left there, I had to actually sneak out, do my orientation at DMAX. And then call them and tell them that I wasn’t coming back and for them to release my 401k,” Moore said. Demetria Hodges, another worker who fled Fuyao for Duramax, recounted the time a Chinese forklift driver, who she believed to be unlicensed, struck her with the machine and faced no accountability. WELDER TURNED LAWMAKER SEES A ‘NUCLEAR BOMB FOR WORK’ — AND A CHANCE TO HELP BLUE COLLAR AMERICANS “It was on camera, they have cameras in there, and they acted like they didn’t know who the forklift driver was,” she told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview. “So when I tried to pursue a lawsuit and my workman’s comp, they pretended like they didn’t know who the person was.” While the American workers described abysmal conditions for themselves, they said the Chinese workers were treated even worse. WHAT THE GOLF CART INDUSTRY CAN TEACH US ABOUT CHINA’S THREAT TO AMERICAN JOBS “They were treated horrible,” Moore told the group. “They weren’t allowed to take anything from us. They weren’t really allowed to communicate with us. They weren’t allowed to mix with us.” Moore, Hodges and others said the Chinese workers were almost always the ones chosen for promotions because Fuyao could pay them less. They also said the company was constantly busing in new workers from elsewhere. CORPORATE AMERICA’S CHINA ADDICTION HAS BECOME A NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT “They used to rotate them out every couple months. Like they will go to New York and get a bus for or a van full of people and bring them down here. And they work for a certain amount of months, and then they rotate and send them back,” Hodges said. When Hodges explained that workers were still forced to come to work the day after part of the factory caught fire, Khanna asked her if the workers were undocumented. “I believe that’s why they accepted it because they were undocumented,” Hodges said. Darrell Jones, another former Fuyao employee, told Khanna he felt the workers needed a union backing them, a point which quickly drew heated commentary from the group. “They wouldn’t let a union come in there,” Moore chimed in. “You couldn’t even speak of a union being in there.” “Or you could lose your job,” Hodges added. Jones went on to explain that Fuyao threatened employees, telling them the company would take away their health insurance if they unionized. Hodges then added that the company offered employees a one-time pay bump of $2 an hour if they voted no on a planned unionization referendum. “They said if we ever get a union there, he was going to shut it down,” Jones recalled a supervisor telling him. Jones also recalled the circumstances that led up to the tragic 2018 death of 57-year-old
US Attorney calls out ‘loud-mouth’ California Dems as feds step in with Skid Row drug bust: ‘They’re lunatics’
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli called out California Democrats for watering down the state’s criminal law after federal law enforcement led the charge on a massive drug crackdown in the infamous Skid Row neighborhood on Thursday. Essayli told Fox News Digital in an interview that California’s state and local law enforcement have worked with the feds just fine, but that it’s the politicians who are getting in the way. “Unfortunately, states like California have totally watered down their laws, their criminal justice laws. They’ve also emptied their prisons and closed prisons, so effectively, there’s not much of a deterrence on the state side. No one faces any serious consequences on the state side,” Essayli said. NEWSOM BLASTED BY SHERIFF IN HIS OWN BACKYARD OVER CALIFORNIA CRIME AS VICTIMS CRY FOUL “We work really well with our local law enforcement partners,” he continued. “Local law enforcement isn’t the problem. It’s more the governor, it’s the legislature, it’s these loud-mouth federal, you know, Congress members who all they care about is attacking the administration, attacking the president.” Essayli did give credit to Mayor Karen Bass for approving the Los Angeles Police Department to participate in Thursday’s Operation Save Skid Row. KAREN BASS GRILLED OVER BROKEN HOMELESSNESS PROMISE, BLAMES BUREAUCRACY FOR SLOWED PROGRESS “This is a climate in which you have people right now trying to defund the police. You have people trying to disarm the LAPD, and those people are on the side of criminals,” he added. “Anyone who’s calling for disarming the police is on the side of the drug dealers that we arrested today. They’re lunatics.” Operation Save Skid Row saw federal and city authorities execute 28 arrest warrants and 44 search warrants in an effort to dismantle drug distribution networks in the notorious neighborhood. TALARICO PUT ON DEFENSE AFTER 2020 COMMENTS ABOUT DEFUNDING POLICE RESURFACE: ‘WE MUST REPLACE’ Over 100 law enforcement vehicles were involved in the operation, with arrests targeting members of multiple gangs, including the “Main Street Crips,” “Grape Street/Raymond Avenue Crips” and the “Pueblo Bishop Bloods.” “We are no longer going to have open-air drug markets in the United States, let alone on Skid Row. And that is the reason you see so many homeless people who are experiencing psychotic episodes, who are unwell, they aren’t seeking help, it’s because you have people, like the drug dealers we are arresting today, keeping them addicted and taking their public assistance money to pay for their drugs,” Essayli said during a news conference on Thursday.