From Democratic insider to party exile: Lindy Li isn’t ruling out another run for Congress
Before raising millions of campaign dollars for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris or breaking ranks with the Democratic Party to publish a tell-all political memoir, Lindy Li was trying to build a political career from the candidate’s podium. “I just knew,” Li said. “I knew that I was supposed to run for Congress. But I didn’t know I was supposed to do it at twenty-four years old.” In the lead-up to the 2024 election, that ambition crashed headlong into lifelong convictions about loyalty and stretched them to a breaking point. Li’s status as a top Democratic fundraiser would soon crumble as she switched her party affiliation over unheeded warning signs about President Joe Biden’s decline in the 2024 election. That break has left her uncertain about her future, but hasn’t stopped her from thinking about what could come next. EX-DEM INSIDER REVEALS SHE WILL EXPOSE DEMOCRATS WHO COVERED UP BIDEN’S COGNITIVE DECLINE IN NEW BOOK. “President Rubio calls me in two years, four years, then there’s an open seat in Pennsylvania for whatever reason,” Li said, ruminating about her future. “You know, I could solidify my hand on a hundred million dollars. I think few people could do a better job, and I’m sorry if that sounds conceited. And I’m not saying I want it; I’m just saying if it falls into my lap, then sure, but who knows?” Li’s family initially came to the United States from China, fleeing persecution from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which Li said had killed her great-grandfather. After growing up briefly in Sheffield, England, Li joined her parents in New England at the age of five. She recounted how her family moved from Boston to New Haven to Pennsylvania as her father worked as a doctor. From her parents, Li said she inherited a sense of work ethic that enabled her to fuel her sense of political destiny. At Princeton, Li used that work ethic to become the only woman class president to hold the office for four consecutive years. “I used to go around with candy and just be like, ‘Can you please vote for me? This is what I intend to do. I want to expand late meals and offer sushi,’ whatever the platform was. I was tenacious; nobody could outwork me,” Li said. EX-DEM INSIDER BLOWS LID OFF FUNDRAISING ‘GIMMICKS’ DURING 2024 ELECTION: ‘PYRAMID SCHEME’ The “plan,” Li said, was to become a senator. But that wasn’t supposed to happen for another ten years when, in 2012, a school shooter attacked Sandy Hook Elementary School, killing 20 children. Li recalled how the attack accelerated her convictions to enter public life and prompted her to leave a budding career in finance. “I just felt it in my heart that I was supposed to help do whatever I could to save those kids,” Li said. Despite conservative leanings, Li ran twice as a Democrat, never advancing past the primary stage. But her fundraising caught the attention of Democratic strategists. In 2016, she raised nearly $515,000 and in 2018 another $168,000. “I didn’t intend to become a fundraiser,” Li recalled. “It’s a lot of salesmanship, and I hated it. I hate it. And I also know I’m very good at it. This is not me bragging; I just know.” “They came to my home. I remember. The executive director showed up to my home to recruit me for this. It was like Scientology. He noticed— I mean, everybody noticed that as a kid I basically raised $700,000. I just caught the eye of party leadership.” Alongside her aspirations, Li said she also cultivated a sense of loyalty, a quality she said has been a key part of her character since she can remember. “Like if somebody’s kind to me, I will go to the ends of the earth for them. And it always surprises me and I shouldn’t be surprised when someone doesn’t reciprocate because that’s just how I operate. You have to give me a reason to walk away from you. If you have my loyalty, there’s very little I wouldn’t do for you,” Li said. That loyalty, combined with her fundraising prowess, led Li to climb swiftly, rubbing shoulders with some of the party’s top operatives. During the Biden and Harris campaigns, Li communicated with figures like Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., — many of whom she built personal relationships with. But that loyalty reached a tipping point in 2024 when, as a fundraiser, Li saw the party selling donors and voters on the idea that President Joe Biden could serve effectively as president for another four years despite mounting concerns about his cognitive abilities. In recent months, Li has published a book, Unbroken, documenting the party’s internal deliberations around Biden’s age and how, according to her, many of them knowingly understood the political liabilities that came with his age. EX-DEM INSIDER REVEALS WHY BIDEN’S DAUGHTER THREATENED TO SUE HER: ‘BORDERED ON PARODY’ That book and the warpath to writing it have severed virtually all of her relationships from when she was a Democrat. As she documented in her book, it even cost her a personal romantic relationship of eight years. To an extent, Li understood the price tag that came with her decision to go public with her insider knowledge. She suspects some of the people she left behind understand that price, too. “If Josh Shapiro ever walks into the room, I know we’re gonna understand each other, I know. Like despite everything that’s happened. I think he’s going to understand. I understand why he needed to throw me, you know, to the wolves.” “I never would have done that to him, though,” she added. Li still holds fast to the idea of loyalty as a matter of personal conviction. But regardless of where her ambitions take her next, she believes she will have to temper them with honesty that makes few allowances for party narratives. “I think I would describe my worldview as realpolitik
How foreign hackers could ‘crumble’ America by targeting one essential utility
A massive surge in cyberattacks on Americans’ water supply in recent years has exposed a shift in hackers’ focus from financially motivated ransomeware to attacks designed to disrupt one of the most essential pieces of civilian infrastructure, senior Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials told Fox News Digital. “Everyday life completely crumbles” when drinking water and wastewater systems are impacted, warned EPA Assistant Administrator for Water Jess Kramer. “There is definitely been an increase, several fold on attacks recently,” Kramer added in an interview with Fox News Digital. “You’re seeing everything from failure to change password, leading to cyberattacks all the way to … system specifics being available online.” Asked why the water sector has become such an attractive target, Kramer said the answer begins with how deeply embedded it is in Americans’ daily lives. AN AI CYBERATTACK COULD TURN OFF AMERICA’S LIGHTS BEFORE WASHINGTON EVEN UNDERSTANDS WHY “Our everyday life completely crumbles without access to drinking water and wastewater infrastructure,” she said. “Everything from hospitals to daycares, everything that we care about and need on an everyday basis can be impacted” if one of those cyberattacks succeeds. EPA Assistant Administrator for Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Jeff Hall said water utilities have also become appealing targets because many continue to operate aging infrastructure while lacking the resources to modernize their cybersecurity. “We will see water systems left vulnerable to cyberattacks where there have not been significant amounts of investment in cybersecurity protocols,” Hall said, pointing to basic protections such as virtual private networks and firewalls that are still missing at some utilities. Hall explained how hackers have “moved from ransomware attacks designed to extort payments from critical infrastructure generally to more specific attacks designed to disrupt critical infrastructure and particularly water and wastewater systems.” Attackers, he said, are increasingly “manipulating the human-machine interface to change critical settings which disrupts the service and also puts people at risk.” FOREIGN HACKERS BREACH TWO MORE US WATER UTILITIES, THREATEN SAFETY OF COLORADO RESIDENTS The warning comes as cyber threats targeting U.S. water infrastructure have drawn heightened attention from federal and state officials. In July, a coordinated cyberattack targeted more than 30 community water systems across Minnesota, disrupting technology used to remotely monitor and control equipment. More recently, Colorado officials disclosed that foreign actors breached two small water utilities and manipulated equipment used to control drinking water systems. Officials said drinking water remained safe in both cases, but the incidents highlighted growing concern over cyber threats to critical infrastructure that millions of Americans rely on every day. WATER CYBERATTACK HITS AT LEAST 7 STATES Unlike data breaches that primarily expose personal information or ransomware attacks intended to extract payment, successful cyber intrusions into water systems have the potential to interfere with services that underpin nearly every aspect of daily life — from hospitals and schools to manufacturing, emergency services and businesses — raising concerns among national security officials about the vulnerability of critical civilian infrastructure. Kramer added that workforce shortages have compounded the challenge, making it harder for many utilities to recruit and retain employees with the expertise needed to defend increasingly complex networks. The officials said many of the vulnerabilities EPA continues to identify are surprisingly basic. Since 2025, the agency has identified more than 900 cybersecurity vulnerabilities at water systems across the country. Kramer said the most common include “failure to change passwords, lack of multi-factor authentication” and critical system information that is “easily accessible” online. Hall said EPA and its law enforcement partners have also issued advisories about vulnerabilities involving programmable logic controllers, or PLCs, and other industrial control systems that operate pumps, valves and other critical equipment inside water facilities. “There are aging infrastructure that is embedded in these drinking water systems,” Hall said. “It’s often left open to the open internet and not protected by any specific firewalls or virtual private networks that would ensure that cyber attackers cannot easily manipulate those.” Hall said the agency remains concerned about a range of adversaries, including state-affiliated actors, hacktivist networks and insider threats. CHINA-LINKED HACKERS INFILTRATED US GOVERNMENT NETWORKS BEFORE FBI TAKEDOWN “There are certainly state affiliated actors targeting water and wastewater systems,” Hall said, adding that investigators are increasingly concerned about the sophistication and intent behind those attacks. Despite the growing threat, both officials said utilities are making progress by addressing many of the most common weaknesses. Kramer acknowledged it is difficult to measure national progress because EPA does not have authority to require every water system to report cyber incidents. Still, she said the agency has observed clear evidence that attackers are becoming more sophisticated as utilities work to improve their defenses. Hall said EPA inspectors review cybersecurity planning at larger drinking water systems, while the agency’s Office of Water provides technical assistance, training and one-on-one support to help utilities identify and remediate vulnerabilities before they can be exploited. “We are seeing an increase in the number of systems that are addressing their basic vulnerabilities,” Hall said. “But … there are real concerns that cyber attackers are going up to the next level and that there are still a lot of vulnerabilities out there that we will have to be addressing.”
Expert tears apart Talarico’s viral claim his agenda is based on Jesus’s teachings: ‘Butchering the Bible’
Texas Senate nominee James Talarico once proclaimed the Bible gives him a moral reason to fight for his progressive policies, but one expert is now accusing Talarico of spreading a “perverted version” of Christianity to justify his agenda. Talarico, a Presbyterian seminarian, set off a wave of criticism this week after saying his support for universal healthcare and rejection of “this corrupt system” are rooted in “biblical grounds.” He pointed to the actions of Jesus and the Hebrew prophets as the rationale. “When Jesus healed the sick, he didn’t ask for a deductible. So when I fight for universal healthcare, I’m doing it on biblical grounds,” he wrote in an X post viewed over 2 million times. “When he fed the hungry, he didn’t price gouge for a profit. When the Hebrew prophets saw corruption, they spoke truth to power. When I take on this corrupt system, I’m doing it on biblical grounds.” Just Facts president and co-founder Jim Agresti told Fox News Digital Talarico publicly opposes Christian nationalism while “imposing his own version, a perverted version, of Christian morals on the public.” DETROIT PASTOR SAYS PROGRESSIVE CANDIDATES ARE TRYING TO ‘VIRTUE-SIGNAL’ TO CHRISTIAN VOTERS “Talarico bills himself as a Christian. He talks about how he’s a seminarian,” Just Facts President and co-founder Agresti told Fox News Digital. “He frequently quotes the words or misquotes the words of Jesus. And he tries to also, at the same time, say, ‘I hate Christian nationalism,’ while he’s imposing his own version, a perverted version, of Christian morals on the public.” Agresti, who also preaches monthly at his church in Texas and wrote a book about the veracity of the Bible, said the first time he heard Talarico’s comments, he immediately believed Talarico was not only “butchering the Bible” but also misrepresenting the Constitution. “He’s perverting the words of Jesus, and he’s also flouting the U.S. Constitution,” he said. Agresti said he found more than 50 Bible passages about giving to people in need, none of which described government handouts. “In every single instance, it’s about self-sacrificing generosity,” he said. TEXAS DEM NOMINEE JAMES TALARICO INVOKES FAITH TO DEFEND ABORTION RIGHTS, ‘THE BIBLE IS SILENT ON ABORTION’ He said Talarico’s interpretation conflicts with the parable of the Good Samaritan, a story that teaches individuals to voluntarily help those in need. “It was about an individual who saw someone in desperate need and sacrificed their own time and their own money to help that person,” he said. “There was no role for government.” For that reason, Agresti said Talarico’s public support for taxpayer-funded universal health care is fundamentally at odds with the Bible. “He’s not even offering to give away his own money,” he said. “He’s offering to take money from others and then give it to other people.” But Agresti said his concerns go beyond the Bible. He argued both the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence are rooted in biblical principles, with the Declaration saying government exists to secure God-given rights and the Constitution limiting the government’s role. “These are not things that the Democrats are typically pushing,” he said, adding that government welfare programs have contributed to a large national debt, leaving less money for other priorities. UNEARTHED INTERVIEW EXPOSES WHAT TALARICO THOUGHT ABOUT ‘TOUGH-ON-CRIME’ TACTICS Agresti highlighted how both Talarico and the left overlook the government’s biblical responsibility to “stop crime, stop murder, stop theft.” “These are the things that people on the left are often very soft about,” he said. Agresti argued history offers a similar example, comparing Talarico to Founding Father Alexander Hamilton. Agresti said Hamilton similarly “misled the public” by pushing for a larger role for the government after the Constitution was ratified. “He was clear upon that, but then flipped after the Constitution was enacted,” he said. “In other words, he misled the public about what his true agenda was.” But this is not the first time Talarico has faced controversy over his religious remarks. Talarico previously said “God is non-binary” on the Texas House floor in 2021 while objecting to a bill that would ban transgender athletes from women’s sports, called Jesus was a “radical feminist,” and described the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022 was “unchristian.” With the pivotal general election approaching, Talarico is set to face Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in a high-stakes Senate race in November. Agresti cited Jesus’ warning about “false prophets” when speaking about Talarico, saying “they’re dressed like sheep, but inwardly they’re ferocious wolves.” “I don’t know what’s in his heart,” he said. “He might be deluded. I just don’t know. That’s for God to determine.” In a statement to Fox News Digital, Talarico campaign spokesperson JT Ennis said, “James is a Christian seminarian who’s dedicated his life to the teachings of Jesus Christ — fighting corruption when he sees it because there’s nothing Christ-like about powerful people using scripture to justify hate and greed and score political points. While billionaire-bought politicians like Ken Paxton attack James for his faith — he will continue encouraging Texans to come together by loving their neighbors as themselves.”
Three college students face federal charges over alleged threats against Trump ahead of campus rally
Three University of South Alabama students were arrested Friday over alleged threats against President Donald Trump ahead of his evening rally on the Mobile campus, a source familiar with the matter told Fox News. The students were each charged with threatening the president over social media posts allegedly made in the days leading up to Trump’s visit, according to the Lagniappe Daily. The federal cases were unsealed Friday afternoon, just hours before Trump was scheduled to take the stage at the university’s Mitchell Center, the outlet reported. OHIO MAN CHARGED OVER GRAPHIC THREATS TO KILL TRUMP, BEHEAD GOP LAWMAKER Federal investigators discovered the posts while conducting social media intelligence searches ahead of the president’s visit and used emergency disclosure requests and information from University of South Alabama police to identify the individuals, according to FBI affidavits cited by Lagniappe. One student allegedly wrote a threatening remark toward Trump under a TikTok post about the president’s planned visit to the campus, according to an FBI affidavit cited by the outlet. Another student allegedly posted on X that people would “remember the University of South Alabama the same way they remember Utah Valley University,” according to the outlet’s account of the FBI affidavit. Investigators noted that Utah Valley University was where conservative activist Charlie Kirk was fatally shot last year. CHARLIE KIRK’S FAMILY ALLEGES UVU KNEW OF ROOFTOP SECURITY RISK BEFORE HIS ASSASSINATION: LEGAL FILING A third student allegedly replied to a TikTok post about Trump’s appearance. Mobile County Sheriff Paul Burch said earlier in the week that his office was assisting federal authorities as they monitored social media activity related to the president’s upcoming appearance. The University of South Alabama said ahead of the event that the rally was not university-sponsored and that the Mitchell Center had been rented by the Republican National Committee (RNC). “The University of South Alabama unequivocally condemns any form of threats directed at elected officials or any individual with whom we disagree,” the university said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “We encourage open dialogue and active civic participation, and having a difference of opinion is a natural part of any vibrant community. “However, there is a clear line between exercising free expression and engaging in intimidation or unlawful conduct.” PROSECUTOR DROPS CASE AGAINST WOMAN ACCUSED OF THREATENING TRUMP ON TIKTOK Trump took the stage for the midterm campaign rally Friday evening as scheduled, returning to Mobile roughly 11 years after his 2015 rally in the city during the opening months of his first presidential campaign. “It sort of all began here,” Trump told the crowd Friday, recalling the 2015 event. He also recognized Burch and University of South Alabama President Jo Bonner from the stage. Fox News Digital reached out to the Department of Justice, FBI, Secret Service and the University of South Alabama for additional information.
Blue state councilman mocked after claiming self-driving cars are ‘murdering’ pets: ‘Hide your cats’
One Minneapolis city council member prompted widespread mockery on social media after going to bat for “cat lovers,” claiming Waymo cars are killing cats and urging officials to require humans in the self-driving vehicles. “I will say cats have been killed and cats have been killed by these autonomous vehicles,” Jason Chavez told fellow council members. “I have a cat. I don’t want my cat getting killed because of these autonomous vehicles. “So, to those cat lovers out there, just know that these Waymo vehicles, these autonomous vehicles have killed cats and that’s unfair. “I just watched a video sitting here from the dais, and it was really hard to watch. Literally, cats being murdered by these vehicles.” WAYMO DRIVERLESS CARS OVERRUN ATLANTA NEIGHBORHOOD, CIRCLING CUL-DE-SACS AND ALARMING FAMILIES WITH KIDS The ordinance, which narrowly passed Thursday, would mandate a human operator and a special license for all autonomous vehicles. But its future remains uncertain. Mayor Jacob Frey announced he plans to veto the proposal in a statement to multiple Minnesota outlets, saying it “doesn’t make sense,” and the city will continue its efforts to embrace “innovative technology,” including transportation options. Despite acknowledging the safety concerns, Frey added he would not support a “backdoor ban” of the vehicles. As Waymo vehicles with rooftop sensors and empty seats become a more common sight, supporters argue requiring a human operator would effectively ban autonomous taxi services and result in higher fares, while opponents insist the technology poses safety risks and takes away jobs. Social media users were quick to pile on Chavez’s remarks about the potential threat to cats, accusing him of blowing the issue out of proportion and shifting focus from more pressing priorities in Minneapolis. “The Minneapolis City Council wants to require a human in driverless vehicles because cats are being ‘murdered’ by them,” Townhall columnist Dustin Grage posted on X. “This guy’s salary is $110,000/year, by the way.” Grage took more swipes at Chavez in separate X posts, writing, “They’re calling it the cat genocide” and, “Hide your cats. The Waymos are coming.” In another post on X, conservative commentator Gunther Eagleman wrote, “LOL! MINNEAPOLIS HAS FOUND ITS REAL CRISIS, AND IT’S ROBOT CARS ‘MURDERING’ CATS.” JACOB FREY CRITICIZED FOR REMEMBERING GEORGE FLOYD ON MEMORIAL DAY, SIX YEARS AFTER DEATH SPARKED RIOTS Eagleman also argued the city should be addressing larger issues such as crime and fraud, describing the situation as a sign of failed leadership. “A council member in a city that let rioters burn down a police precinct and watched a $250 million fraud scheme happen under its nose now wants a human in every driverless car to protect the cats,” he wrote. “He’s pulling down $110,000 a year of taxpayer money to say this with a straight face. Minneapolis doesn’t have a driverless car problem. It has a leadership problem.” “They’re driving over the cats, they’re driving over the dogs!” Fox News Digital columnist David Marcus posted on X. “Why is a city council member making 110,000 when families and seniors are getting priced out of their homes in Minneapolis and taxes are sky rocking????? That’s absurd – where is the equality in that???” Three Rivers Park Commissioner Jennifer DeJournett posted on X. TERRIFIED PASSENGERS FILM WAYMO AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE DRIVING INTO LIVE FIREWORKS IN SAN FRANCISCO “Fwiw I’ve been in a self-driving Tesla that stopped for cats to cross the road and Waymo is a lot more advanced,” journalist Zaid Jilani posted on X. “My FSD Tesla avoids animals on the road. He is full of it,” Dealer Teamwork CEO and co-founder Sean Stapleton posted on X. Fox News Digital reached out to Chavez for comment.
Dems demanding Venezuela brief face State Department fury as senators leave town before meeting
The State Department is accusing Democrats of performative “grandstanding” by demanding a sweeping Venezuela oil deal briefing then postponing it so the Senate could leave town early. Four senior Senate Democrats demanded documents they already knew were coming, according to material reviewed by Fox News Digital. Then, the Senate rescheduled a congressional briefing on the agreement planned for Oct. 1, 2026, so it could break for fall recess. The group of lawmakers were seeking more information on the Pentagon’s involvement in an agreement with North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP) that gives the Department of War a 35% stake in one of Venezuela’s largest oil producers. TRUMP TOUTS ACCESS TO 65 BILLION BARRELS OF VENEZUELAN OIL IN DEAL HE SAYS WILL SLASH GAS PRICES State says the lawmakers had known for weeks that administration officials planned to brief the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and provide documents on the deal on Thursday. The department went forward with delivering copies of the U.S. government’s strategic partnership agreement with NABEP to the committee, claiming it did so despite the briefing being pulled down “as a courtesy.” “Copies of the USG Strategic Partnership Agreement with NABEP for your Members are in the SFRC front office,” a senior State Department official wrote. “Each Member has a folder with their copy.” State Department Assistant Secretary for Global Public Affairs Dylan Johnson claimed Senate Democrats canceled the briefing so they could “skip town and go on vacation.” “This is pure grandstanding,” Johnson wrote on X. “When they sent this letter, they had known for weeks that we planned to brief them and provide the documents today, on October 1.” A congressional source familiar with the planned briefing disputed State’s characterization, telling Fox News Digital that lawmakers had not been told the written NABEP agreement would be provided before writing the letter and that the briefing was intended as a broader update on U.S. policy toward Venezuela, not specifically the oil deal. And emails reviewed by Fox News Digital show the briefing postponement request itself came from a Republican majority staffer on the Foreign Relations Committee, who told State early Oct. 1 that “the Senate has left town” and asked to move the briefing until November. A State Department official told Fox News Digital the staffer was acting on behalf of the full committee. The congressional source said Republican leadership had ended legislative business for the week, with senators on both sides of the aisle preparing to leave Washington ahead of next month’s midterm elections. The group of Democrat lawmakers demanding the briefing are challenging the legality and prudence of the Trump administration’s agreement with NABEP, which would give the Pentagon rights to a 35% stake in one of Venezuela’s largest oil producers. Under the arrangement, the Pentagon’s Office of Strategic Capital would receive rights to the stake through so-called penny warrants, while the State Department would receive preferential rights to purchase 20% of the company’s production at cost. The unusual structure is part of the administration’s broader effort to revive Venezuelan oil production and expand U.S. economic influence after Nicolás Maduro’s ouster. Democrats argue the Pentagon may lack legal authority to take the stake and have raised questions about the administration’s vetting of NABEP and its leadership. The administration argues the structure could generate substantial returns for the U.S. without requiring taxpayers to buy the stake up front. The White House has said the government’s 35% position could ultimately be worth hundreds of billions of dollars in equity and dividends if NABEP succeeds in developing the fields. The deal could also give Washington a new source of relatively low-cost crude at a time when the administration is trying to increase global supply and bring down fuel prices. State would have the right to buy 20% of NABEP’s production at cost and the right of first refusal on the remaining output, which the administration says could help replenish the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and supply U.S. military and other sensitive needs. The White House also says millions of barrels of additional Venezuelan production could eventually flow through U.S. refineries and be developed using American drilling equipment and infrastructure, generating investment and jobs in the United States. NABEP produces roughly 220,000 barrels a day and has said it plans to more than double production to 500,000 barrels a day by late 2028. The administration is betting that private investment can revive fields that have suffered years of underinvestment and mismanagement. The agreement is part of a much broader U.S. effort to remake Venezuela’s economy after the dramatic removal of Nicolás Maduro earlier this year. On Jan. 3, U.S. forces carried out a military operation in Venezuela to capture Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and transport them to the United States to face federal charges. The administration has characterized the operation as a law enforcement mission supported by the military and has since made rebuilding Venezuela’s oil sector a central part of its stabilization strategy. Interim leader Delcy Rodríguez, Maduro’s former vice president, has remained in power while cooperating with Washington, even as Venezuela’s political transition remains unsettled and opposition figures continue pressing for elections. The White House has described the NABEP agreement as part of a three-part strategy of stabilization, reconstruction and eventual democratic transition, arguing that restoring oil production is necessary to rebuild Venezuela’s economy and reduce the influence of China, Russia and other U.S. adversaries in its energy sector. TRUMP ‘SERIOUSLY CONSIDERING’ PLAN TO MAKE VENEZUELA AND ITS $40 TRILLION IN OIL PERMANENT PART OF USA Senators Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H.; Jack Reed, D-R.I.; Martin Heinrich, D-N.M.; and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., challenged both the legality and prudence of the deal in a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, War Secretary Pete Hegseth and Energy Secretary Chris Wright. Among their central questions is whether the Pentagon office being used to structure the investment has the legal authority to acquire an equity position in a foreign oil company. The senators also demanded the agreement itself, details about how
Obama judge halts Trump firing bid as decades-old legal authority tees up possible major reversal
An Obama-appointed judge blocked President Donald Trump from firing court-appointed U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington Roger Rogoff, ordering the Justice Department to recognize Rogoff as the rightful officeholder and restore his ability to serve. “This is yet another ruling from an activist judge trying to thwart President Trump’s agenda and undermine his constitutional authority. U.S. attorneys serve at the pleasure of the President,” White House spokesperson Lauren Bis told Fox News Digital. Judge Stanley Bastian, who was first nominated by Obama in 2013, issued a preliminary injunction reinstating Rogoff and barring the administration from treating him as having been lawfully removed. The ruling sets up a legal fight over whether a president can fire a U.S. attorney appointed by federal judges. A 1979 Justice Department opinion and a 2000 federal appeals court ruling both concluded that the president has that authority. “We disagree with the decision and intend to seek an immediate stay and will appeal,” the DOJ Rapid Response account wrote. TRUMP ADMIN FIRES US ATTORNEY IN SEATTLE MINUTES AFTER HE WAS APPOINTED Some legal experts and conservative attorneys took to social media to sharply criticize the ruling, arguing it infringes on the president’s constitutional authority over the executive branch. “Another lawless and dangerous ruling. Violating the separation of powers. By another Democrat activist judge. This time? Seattle Obama Judge Stanley Bastian,” wrote Article III founder and president Mike Davis. “Democrat judges handpicked their own U.S. attorney. The President, through his attorney general, fired him. Under Article II of the Constitution, the President clearly has the executive power to fire Justice Department officials,” Davis added. Davis also noted Bastian’s first name was misspelled in the order, missing the “e” in Stanley. ‘ROGUE’ OBAMA JUDGE’S SMACKDOWN OF TRUMP ELECTION RULES PROVOKES OMINOUS WARNING FROM WHITE HOUSE DEPUTY “The Federal Judge misspelled his own name in his order. That’s how you know it’s quality legal work,” wrote one user. “Now Judge Bastian created an unnecessary constitutional crisis by essentially ordering a coup at the Justice Department, by ordering the removal of the President’s pick and putting in Bastian’s judicial puppet. The Ninth Circuit must fix this. Or the Supreme Court will have to step in. Again,” Davis concluded. “The President’s power to remove U.S. Attorneys must be unfettered consistent with Article II of the Constitution. Judge Stanley Bastian is wrong here to order Rogoff reinstated. I predict Judge Bastian will eventually be reversed, whether at the Ninth Circuit or by the Supreme Court,” said Oversight Project litigation vice president Jeff Clark. WHITE HOUSE RIPS ‘ACTIVIST’ BIDEN JUDGE WHO UPENDED TRUMP BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP ORDER “Judicial overreach, plain and simple. The judiciary does not get to run the Executive Branch. Period,” said Holtzman Vogel partner Brian Nieves. In Myers v. United States (1926), which centered on President Woodrow Wilson’s firing of a postmaster without Senate consent, the Supreme Court ruled that the president generally has constitutional authority to remove executive branch officers. More recently, the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel concluded in a 1979 opinion that the president’s statutory authority to remove “each United States attorney” also extends to prosecutors appointed by federal judges. The case is the latest in a string of legal fights over President Trump’s U.S. attorney appointments, following similar disputes in New Jersey, Virginia and New York. A similar dispute unfolded in New Jersey after the administration sought to keep Alina Habba leading the U.S. attorney’s office after her interim term ended. Federal courts ultimately rejected the administration’s effort to maintain her authority, although the judges’ original appointee, Desiree Grace, did not simply take over the office. Rogoff’s case goes a step further, directly testing whether a president can remove a U.S. attorney appointed by federal judges under the statutory process for filling a vacancy.
Socialist streamer Hasan Piker faces fury after pressuring Talarico to enact far-left policy if elected
Far-left streamer Hasan Piker is getting dragged online after calling for Texas Senate nominee James Talarico to “play ball” by governing as a leftist if elected in this year’s midterms. Talarico, running to be the first Democrat to win a Senate seat in Texas in more than three decades, has publicly realigned on some of his more radical stances and tried to campaign on a more moderate platform despite his previous comments. But Piker, who has gained prominence through his relationship with socialist-aligned Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, appears to want Talarico to pull a bait-and-switch if he wins in November. “Hopefully, after James Talarico wins, we’ve got to hold him to account,” Piker said during a campus event at the University of Texas at Austin. “We’ve got to make sure that he doesn’t become another, ‘do nothing Democrat’ ‘business as usual,’ and we’ve got to keep up that pressure. HASAN PIKER SPEAKS TO UT AUSTIN STUDENTS AFTER BACKLASH FROM TEXAS LAWMAKERS As his campaign has progressed, Talarico has rolled back on some of his controversial statements like his claim that “God is non-binary.” But he continues to back progressive policies like universal healthcare, arguing his beliefs stem from “biblical grounds.” Piker’s recent remarks quickly became ammunition for Republicans. Talarico’s opponent, GOP Senate nominee Ken Paxton, and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, pounced, claiming that Piker is saying the quiet part out loud and showing the pressure Talarico could face from the party’s left flank if he were to ascend to the U.S. Senate representing the Lone Star State. “James Talarico is bought and paid for by the Democratic Socialists,” Paxton posted in response to Piker’s comments on Talarico. “And if he wins, they’ll cash in at YOUR expense: raising your taxes and making life more expensive to pay for their radical agenda. Texas can’t afford Talarico.” Ted Cruz said on X: “When they tell you who they are…believe them.” EL-SAYED TRIES TO PUT THE HASAN PIKER DEBATE BEHIND HIM AS MIDTERMS APPROACH “James Talarico will be nothing more than a puppet of the radical left,” Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas posted. Piker erupted in the left-wing party over the past couple years, most notably campaigning with El-Sayed. Democrats, including El-Sayed, are now distancing themselves from Piker after many of his controversial statements caught heat — like his claim that “America deserved 9/11.” “Hasan ‘America Deserved 9/11’ Piker expects James Talarico would support his extreme agenda & be beholden to his base,” Fox News Political Analyst Guy Benson warned. “He think he’s a mafia boss, and with the psychotic state of today’s Democrat party, he’s kinda right…” Dave Rubin posted. New York City Council member Vickie Paladino said, “Hasan Piker says he’s the one actually in charge of the Democrat party.” Piker’s comments, mixed with Talarico’s back-and-forth from progressive to moderate rhetoric, have sparked skepticism about the direction the Texas Democrat would take in governing if elected. “Here we have Hasan Piker—an outspoken socialist, hater of Israel and opponent of capitalism — telling us exactly what he expects from James Talarico if elected,” one user posted. “He says, ‘We gotta remind [James] that we are the force that backed him…’ and got him elected and that we expect him to remember that and fall in line. Every Republican, Independent and even common-sense Democrat even thinking about voting for Talarico needs to see this and think deeply about it.” “A huge reason not to vote for Talarico he has to answer to the Fascist wing of his party,” another posted. “No thanks.” TALARICO SAYS HE ‘MISSED THE MARK’ AS HE BACKTRACKS ON CONTROVERSIAL WOKE STATEMENTS Other users on social media argued Piker’s comments are irrelevant to Talarico’s campaign, and would not impact the agenda he would bring to the Senate if elected. “Hasan needs to shut the hell up,” a X user named Adam Cochran posted. “He has nothing to do with Talarico’s campaign. Talarico’s campaign is the success of Talarico’s morals, policies and his hard working team’s outreach to the people of Texas.” “What is Hasan even talking about,” another user posted. “Talarico isn’t DSA and doesn’t owe DSA anything. He will be a senator that represents Texans, not California Socialists like Hasan.” Talarico’s campaign did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Trump campaign insider reveals strategy behind midterm blitz that White House hopes pays off big
A veteran campaign strategist who worked for Donald Trump’s 2024 reelection bid told Fox News Digital that pundits are misreading the strategy behind the president’s 32-state pre-midterms rally tour, which includes stops in deep red states. Thursday, the president spoke in Denton, Texas, a suburb of Dallas before traveling to Oklahoma, a longtime bastion of conservatism that hasn’t been carried by a Democrat in a presidential election since Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964. Trump on Friday will rally in Mobile, Alabama, another traditionally Republican-dominated state. While political analysts speculate Trump’s blitz signals doom for the GOP in November, Luke Ball, who knows intimately the inner-workings of how the 47th president operates on the campaign trail, has a different view. CAN THE ‘BEST SHOWMAN IN POLITICS’ DELIVER AGAIN? GOP BETS ON TRUMP AT HISTORIC MIDTERM CONVENTION “So for people who are maybe commenting and doing it from a perspective of ‘the president’s in trouble,’ I think that’s kind of a lazy analysis for you to just take it at surface value that he’s in red states,” Ball said. He added that Texas and Oklahoma go “hand in hand,” and that the appearing in both places can boost Republican midterm turnout in November across swing district or more competitive districts found in some deep red states. Though he admits the strategy is a “risk” for Trump, he says the month-long tour isn’t a fly-by-night operation. GOP FACES BRUTAL MIDTERM HEADWINDS AS REPUBLICANS PAINT ELECTION AS ‘COMPETITION WITH COMMUNISM’ “They keep saying — and it’s a risk politically for the president — but they keep saying that he is on the ballot and on the top of the ballot, but the reason they’re doing it is because the RNC the MAGA Incs, and the James Blair‘s of the world have the data that show who’s going to turn out for the president and nobody else,” said Ball. MAGA Inc. is a Super PAC that poured more than $375 million into electing Trump in 2024, and is now backing Republican congressional candidates nationwide. James Blair was Trump’s 2024 campaign political director, and is now the White House Deputy Chief of Staff. BLACK CONSERVATIVE REVEALS HOW GOP CAN LOCK DOWN MINORITY VOTERS WITHOUT TRUMP ON BALLOT “The next stop is in Mobile, Alabama, another media market that I worked in, which is going to encompass Pensacola, Florida — which always brings out the vote for the rest of the state,” Ball said. “So if you want to solidify your standing in Florida and show that you still are the kingmaker in that state that used to be purple a few years ago, and now Democrats don’t even bother spending in it, you’ve got to make sure that you lock that down.” “So, great optics in Alabama, great optics in Oklahoma, but in addition to that, you’re getting a red area of Texas motivated to turn out and a very, very red area of Florida to turn out for those elections.” Nationwide media coverage of the rallies is in itself part of the strategy, too. “Other traditional candidates would strategically target and fine-tune the principal’s time in various states, but people were saying Trump wasn’t going to go out on the campaign trail at all, and now it’s the total opposite,” Ball explained. “It’s, ‘why is he doing so much? Why is he hitting all of these deep red states?’ It’s also from a perspective too, when you have these major rallies in Mobile, Alabama, or Oklahoma or deep red states across the nation, that still gets major national coverage.” LARGEST-EVER US STEEL PLANT IS COMING TO A KEY RED STATE AS TRUMP UNVEILS $15B INVESTMENT In Denton, Trump toured a Peterbilt truck manufacturing plant, where he met with employees of the company and made brief remarks. Stops like that are part of a broader campaign strategy, according to Ball. “When we were on the campaign trail, I remember [former co-campaign manager] Susie Wiles saying that at every stop he goes to, she wants him at an off the record event, whether that’s going into the Bluebird Diner in Iowa or eating a hoagie in Buc-ee’s or whatever it might be, and I almost see a little bit of parallel here with the macro strategy behind the tour,” he said. Wiles is now Trump’s closely trusted White House Chief of Staff. “Instead of popping into a mom and pop show or store, he’s touring manufacturing, or he’s going to a specific industry in one state and then holding a rally that captures the media market in another. So you’re not just showing up and leaving,” Ball continued. “You always think about what’s the additional thing you can do to draw out voters in that state.”
DOJ moves to boot federal judges from immigration cases over NYT interview
The Justice Department wants several Minnesota federal judges removed from immigration cases after accusing them of crossing an ethical line by publicly criticizing President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. The complaint argued the judges improperly commented on the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement while related cases were still pending, undermining public confidence in their impartiality. Attorney General Todd Blanche announced Wednesday that the Justice Department filed a judicial misconduct complaint with the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals against seven Minnesota federal judges over their participation in a New York Times interview published last September. “These judges talked to the media, or at least The New York Times, about cases, some of which are ongoing, in a manner which the Department views as a clear violation of their ethical duties,” Blanche said. ‘UNPRECEDENTED’: JUDGES REVEAL BEHIND-THE-SCENES COORDINATION ON TRUMP IMMIGRATION CASES The complaint specifically names Judge Patrick Schiltz, appointed by President George W. Bush, and Judge John Tunheim, a Clinton appointee, along with unnamed district judges who also participated in the interviews. The Justice Department asked the Eighth Circuit’s Judicial Council to investigate the judges’ conduct and order Schiltz and Tunheim to recuse themselves from Department of Homeland Security immigration cases, arguing that their impartiality could reasonably be questioned. But, whether that happens, however, is not up to the Justice Department. Under the federal judiciary’s judicial misconduct process, complaints are reviewed within the judicial branch. The chief judge of the circuit — which for the Eighth Circuit is Steven Colloton, a Bush-appointee — would first determine whether a complaint should be dismissed or referred to a special committee for further investigation, according to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. If a committee is appointed, it submits findings to the circuit’s Judicial Council, which decides whether any corrective action is appropriate. The judiciary also notes that the misconduct process “cannot be used to obtain automatic disqualification of a judge presiding over a case” or simply challenge a judge’s legal rulings. OBAMA, BIDEN JUDGES DRAW FRESH FIRE AS TRUMP’S IMMIGRATION COURT CLASHES HEAT UP: ‘ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE’ The Justice Department’s complaint stemmed from a Sept. 17, 2026, New York Times article in which Judge Schiltz and Tunheim and six other Minnesota federal judges discussed the wave of immigration litigation that followed the Trump administration’s “Operation Metro Surge.” The judges described an unprecedented influx of habeas petitions and reflected on how the cases strained court resources, while also expressing concerns about aspects of the administration’s immigration enforcement efforts. Both Schiltz, who sat for a nearly 90-minute interview, and Tunheim made remarks that were specifically cited in the DOJ complaint. BLANCHE TORCHES TRUMP FOE BOASBERG AFTER APPEALS COURT BLOCKS JUDGE AGAIN IN DEPORTATION FIGHT The Department argued those interviews crossed an ethical line because they addressed issues involved in active litigation. The complaint cited comments attributed to Schiltz describing the administration’s actions as threatening “the constitutional order” and “the rule of law,” as well as remarks from Tunheim criticizing the administration’s immigration arrests. The Justice Department alleged that those statements violated the Code of Conduct for United States Judges by commenting publicly on ongoing matters and creating the appearance that the judges had prejudged issues that were likely to come before them. “The Framers insulated judges so they would exercise judgment, not will,” Chad Mizelle, chair of Litigation for America First Policy Institute, wrote on X. “What we have now is the inverse: a bench enslaved to its own political ideology. When judges become politicians in a robe, the system starts to collapse.” Mizelle pointed out that, in the past, judges have been removed from cases due to their conversations with the press, which “created an appearance of bias.” “In 2001, Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson gave embargoed interviews, including to the Times, while handling United States v. Microsoft,” Mizelle wrote on X. “The D.C. Circuit called that conduct ‘deliberate, repeated, egregious and flagrant’ and removed him from the case. That standard still applies. What has changed is the willingness of sitting judges to ignore it.” Meanwhile Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison chalked the complaint up to be the Trump administration’s attempt to intimidate judges. “This complaint has nothing to do with judicial ethics and everything to do with political punishment,” Ellison said in a statement. “Blanche and Trump are trying to punish the judges who ruled against federal government actions during Operation Metro Surge — including the Administration’s undisputed non-compliance at the time with hundreds of court orders — even though sometimes the court ruled with the government.”