Stephen Miller says Trump administration is pursuing policy to debank illegal immigrants
White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller said Friday that the Trump administration is seeking to debank illegal immigrants as an incentive for them to self-deport from the United States. Miller gave an update on the White House’s latest tactic to deter illegal immigration during an interview Friday on “The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton show.” “President Trump signed an executive order a few weeks ago saying that we are not going to allow illegal aliens to use banking services in this country,” Miller said. “Illegal aliens have credit cards, they have bank accounts and they’re paid with direct deposit. So, illegal aliens fully participate in the commercial systems, the financial systems of America. Shutting that down is a massive engine for deportation.” OBAMA-APPOINTED JUDGE TORPEDOES TRUMP‘S BID TO PROTECT US JOBS BY REFORMING CONTROVERSIAL IMMIGRATION POLICY Miller was likely referring to an executive order Trump signed on May 19 that directed banks and federal regulators to increase scrutiny of accounts and credit applications involving immigrants without legal status or work authorization. The order did not explicitly instruct banks to deny credit cards or bank accounts to illegal immigrants, but compliance with it could make it more difficult for them to participate in the financial system. Federal agencies have already begun acting on Trump’s executive order. TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ORDERS GREEN CARD APPLICANTS TO LEAVE THE US, APPLY FROM THEIR HOME COUNTRIES In early June, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, led by Russell Vought, issued guidance stating that lenders may — and in some cases must — consider applicants’ immigration status and work authorization when assessing their ability to repay loans. Miller also referenced guidance from three federal agencies issued on July 13, “reminding supervised financial institutions to apply existing safe-and-sound credit risk management practices when lending to borrowers who are not legally authorized to work in the United States.” Both advisories serve to tell banks that illegal immigrants could be higher-risk customers for loans. Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.
New Yorkers collected $2.6 billion in welfare cash payments last year, city data shows
New York City doled out more than $2.6 billion in cash assistance to city residents in 2025, a Fox News Digital review of city records showed. The money reached a record 864,999 people, a 30-year high not matched since before former Mayor Rudy Giuliani instituted major welfare reform in the early 2000s. The $2.6 billion figure represents a 71% increase from 2022’s $1.57 billion, data showed. MAYORS WANT TO KEEP HANDING OUT FREE CASH AFTER FEDERAL FUNDS DRIED UP When coupled with payments from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the city paid out more than $7 billion in welfare to residents in 2024, according to a Fox News analysis of data from the city’s Human Resources Administration (HRA). The rise in welfare payments comes as some of New York City’s wealthiest contemplate a Big Apple exodus due to what many have described as a policy environment unfriendly to businesses and moneymakers. NYC MAYOR MAMDANI CALLS THREAT OF RICH PEOPLE LEAVING NYC OVER TAXES ‘IMAGINED’ Billionaire hedge fund manager Ken Griffin notably threatened to put a major Midtown renovation on hold for his Citadel offices after socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani targeted him by name in a video announcing a new tax on second homes in the city. “When I ran for mayor, I said I was going to tax the rich. … Well, today we’re taxing the rich. This pied-à-terre tax is specifically designed for the richest of the rich,” Mamdani said while recording a video outside the building that houses Griffin’s penthouse. “This is an annual fee on luxury properties worth more than $5 million whose owners do not live full-time in the city — like this penthouse, which hedge fund CEO Ken Griffin bought for $238 million.” Griffin called the video “inappropriate” in critical comments. “What really upset me about the video was the fact that he put me in harm’s way. … And to put any citizen in harm’s way is just inappropriate for one of our political leaders,” Griffin said, also calling the video “creepy” and “frightening.” Though Mamdani inherited the state of his city’s welfare system from his predecessors, his policy decisions indicate a continuation of the upward rise in payments. The city’s new $126 billion budget that Mamdani and city councilors agreed to in June contains a $14.63 billion outlay for the HRA, which handles welfare and social services. The 2026 budget allocated $11.97 billion for the HRA, giving the 2027 budget a social services earmark over $2.6 billion more than the previous year’s. The $14.63 billion for 2026 represents 14% of the city’s total budget. Fox News Digital contacted the HRA and Mayor Mamdani’s office for further comment.
Two US service members killed in Iranian strikes on Jordan, CENTCOM says
Two U.S. service members were killed in action in Jordan during Iranian attacks on a U.S. base in Jordan on Friday, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed Saturday. “On July 17, two U.S. service members in Jordan were killed in action as U.S. Central Command … and partner forces defended against Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks. Additionally, one service member is currently missing,” CENTCOM wrote in a statement on X. “Four American service members were medically evacuated to Jordanian hospitals. They have since been discharged. Other personnel who were evaluated for minor injuries have returned to duty. LEAKED IRAN REPORT FINDS RECORD PUBLIC ANGER AS REGIME FOCUSES ON HOLDING POWER “Out of respect for the families, CENTCOM will withhold additional information, including the identities of the fallen warriors, until 24 hours after the next of kin have been notified,” the post concluded. War Secretary Pete Hegseth responded to the news on X Saturday, saying, “Godspeed, heroes. Their sacrifice only stiffens our resolve.” House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and other elected officials were among numerous lawmakers who offered prayers and support for the fallen troops, their families and the service member who remains missing. Rep. Abe Hamadeh, R-Ariz., said he was “heartbroken” by the loss of “two American soldiers who heroically defended our nation and partner forces against Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks in Jordan.” Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., called the news “devastating” and urged Americans to pray for the missing service member and the troops’ families. Some Democrats also paired their condolences with criticism of U.S. policy toward Iran. Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., said his “heart is with the families” of the fallen service members before calling to bring American troops “out of harm’s way.” Rep. Melanie Stansbury, D-N.M., said the service members were killed in “a war that never should have happened in the first place.” IRANIANS SPEAK OUT OVER POSSIBLE TRUMP-REGIME DEAL The service members’ deaths mark the first U.S. deaths in the Iran war since fighting resumed in June after the collapse of a ceasefire and memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran. Sixteen U.S. service members have died in the conflict since the war began in February. Iran’s strikes on Jordan come amid a wider wave of Iranian attacks on U.S. allies in the Persian Gulf. Iran has launched missile and drone strikes on Kuwait and Qatar in recent days as well. The attacks followed a six-day U.S. attack campaign in Iran in response to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) attacking commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. Fox News Digital contacted the White House and CENTCOM for additional comment. This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Kentucky governor says he received 2 calls from agencies indicating McConnell had ‘passed’
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said this week that he received two calls from agencies suggesting Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., died while he was in the hospital. In an interview with Katie Couric uploaded to YouTube on Thursday, Beshear, a Democrat, did not specify which agencies allegedly called him with the news or when the calls were made. “In fact, I’d gotten two calls from different agencies, not state agencies, suggesting he’d passed,” said Beshear, who has served as governor since December 2019. Fox News Digital reached out to Beshear and McConnell’s offices for comment. GOP SENATORS SPLIT AS TUBERVILLE DEMANDS MCCONNELL ANSWERS After nearly a month of being hospitalized, McConnell’s office released a lengthy statement on July 12 saying he was being treated for a fall he suffered in June. A picture of him in a hospital bed alongside his wife was also released. Prior to the announcement, there was speculation about what had happened to McConnell, given that his office did not reveal why he was in the hospital for weeks. Emergency dispatch audio from June 14, the day McConnell was hospitalized, revealed he was “unconscious” and may have suffered a heart attack. ‘THIS IS NOT NORMAL’: AOC UNLOADS ON MCCONNELL’S PROLONGED ABSENCE “My doctors have confirmed that I didn’t break any bones or suffer a concussion,” McConnell said in the statement last weekend. “I didn’t have a heart attack or a stroke. I don’t have any tumors or hemorrhages.” Two days before the longtime GOP leader shared more about his condition, Beshear posted on social media demanding that McConnell be more transparent. “I publicly and privately urged the last administration to address the public’s concerns with the former president’s health,” Beshear wrote, seemingly a reference to former President Joe Biden. “I’m calling on Sen. McConnell to do the same and provide voters an update on his own health.” Beshear ended the post by urging McConnell to “end the crazy speculation” and “just tell us what’s going on.” On July 8, Beshear also wrote a letter to the 84-year-old lawmaker requesting that he “fully update Kentuckians regarding the current status of your health.” McConnell’s doctor said he “developed pneumonia” early in his hospitalization but “responded rapidly to antibiotic treatment.” McConnell said he intends to return to the Senate, but his office has given no timeline on when he’ll be able to do so.
Rep Ralph Norman enters South Carolina Senate race despite Trump’s endorsement of Darline Graham
Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., will run for Senate in South Carolina following the death of Sen. Lindsey Graham, he revealed Saturday. “I’m here to announce that I will be a candidate for the Senate, I’ll be throwing my hat into the ring, and day one, Kayleigh, I will be laser-focused on passing President Trump’s America First” Norman said during an appearance on “Saturday In America with Kayleigh McEnany.” Norman then championed Trump’s SAVE America Act and said he would focus on eliminating the filibuster, saying Republicans need to “nuke” the procedure. Norman made the announcement just days after President Donald Trump publicly endorsed Darline Graham, Lindsey Graham’s sister who was appointed to finish the remainder of his term, to run for the seat fully when her term is up in January. CONSERVATIVES UNITE AROUND SAVE AMERICA ACT AFTER TRUMP DECLASSIFIES ‘SHOCKING’ ELECTION INTEL DARLINE GRAHAM IS CONSIDERING RUNNING FOR A FULL SENATE TERM, A REPORT SAID, AS MEMORIAL SERVICES HAVE BEEN ANNOUNCED FOR HER LATE BROTHER LINDSEY GRAHAM. “I hope Darline does this, in that there would be nobody better to honor the legacy of her beloved brother, Lindsey,” Trump said in a Truth Social post, also writing “Run Darline Run.” Norman acknowledged Trump’s endorsement Saturday, telling McEnany he asked for Trump’s blessing. “He decided to go with Darline, who’s a nice person, and he decided to go with her and I respect that, but that doesn’t deter my plans. I’m in this to win,” he said. Norman will be running in the Aug. 11 special GOP primary election, revealing that he is in the process of filing the paperwork. Though not backed by Trump, Norman has received support from GOP Senators Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Rick Scott, R-Fla., both of whom endorsed him. The pair, like Norman, are both vocal opponents of the filibuster. Norman will be entering a competitive primary, as at least two other candidates have declared their intentions to run with further challengers expected to enter the race. Businessman Mark Lynch, who ran against Lindsey Graham in the recent June primary, has announced his candidacy, as did attorney Duke Buckner. And though Rep. Russell Fry, R-S.C., hasn’t publicly announced an intention to run, state lawmakers are already eyeing his seat in the House should he decide to enter the fray, according to reporting from News From The States. Fox News Digital contacted Reps. Norman, Mace and Fry, along with Sen. Darline Graham for further comment.
Ousted Squad Dem stumps with radical activist who defended Hamas, promoted political violence
Former Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., is campaigning to return to Congress alongside a self-described Maoist activist and political organizer whose online videos and social media rhetoric has included urging leftists not to disavow Hamas or Hezbollah, has included calls to “unmake” America, applauded burning the American flag and endorsed political violence. The activist, Christopher Winston, has built an online presence across numerous platforms under the pseudonym “BlackRedGuard,” posting and appearing in videos about “Maoist organizing in DSA,” attacking leftists who say they do not support “Hezbollah/Hamas” and using rhetoric that appeared to condone political violence. In one video reviewed by Fox News Digital, Winston asked, “What’s wrong with throwing molotovs at a police station?” Bush, an ousted Squad Democrat mounting a comeback bid in Missouri’s 1st Congressional District, appeared in a recent social media post standing right beside Winston as he participated in supporting her campaign. SOCIALISTS LAUNCH RADICAL PLATFORM TO ABOLISH THE US SENATE IN BID TO FUNDAMENTALLY TRANSFORM AMERICA Fox News Digital asked Bush’s campaign whether Winston has any formal or informal role with the campaign, whether Bush knows him personally and whether he was invited to the event, but the campaign did not answer those questions, instead sending a link to a Fox News article about Joy Behar, co-host of “The View,” defending democratic socialism, noting it “should clear up any questions you have about DSA.” “If you say sh– like ‘I don’t support Hezbollah/Hamas’ and call yourself a leftist you lame. All power to all the resistance. Peace through the sword,” Winston, a St. Louis-area activist working with the DSA said in his social media post shaming those on the left who condemn Hamas and Hezbollah. Other posts from Winston called to “unmake” America and said the American flag “should always be desecrated.” “Do not fix America. Unmake it,” a June 2025 post from Winston’s X account said. “I applaud the burning of the American flag. That flag is a symbol of the slavery and genocide which built America. It should always be desecrated in that way,” a separate 2024 post from Winston said. Meanwhile, during a 2024 video posted on YouTube titled “Debating Commie Gobbledegook (Ft. Black Red Guard),” Winston is asked why, as a Maoist, he chooses to be a part of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). “Well, it’s obvious why I’m a Maoist in the DSA. There’s a lot of naive young white people to brainwash,” he said. POWERFUL LGBTQ+ GROUP’S ENDORSEMENTS COULD TANK VULNERABLE DEMS OVER RADICAL YOUTH TRANS AGENDA Fox News Digital reached out to Winston and the DSA for comment on Winston’s remarks and affiliation with the group, but did not hear back. At another point during the same video, Winston questions “what’s wrong with throwing Molotov cocktails at a police station?” When his co-host tried to check him, replying that doing such would be “an easy way to get your whole organization, like, kind of destroyed,” Winston shot back: “That’s why we want the masses to do it.” He later argued that if the goal is a “socialist” or “communist” revolution, “people are not going to pick up a gun and fight” for something they do not understand, adding that activists must “teach people what communism is.” A Fox News Digital review of Winston’s X account found several social media posts praising Bush, including a 2023 post where he said, “Yeah, I’m a Maoist ultra with dreams of riding into power on a tank like Fidel and Che but in the meantime Cori Bush is the best congressperson right now and we need to back her.” “Cori Bush is the best of STL, and DSA,” Winston said in May at a Bush campaign event. “Cori Bush is running for Congress again. STL-DSA voted to endorse her overwhelmingly. Help beat the AIPAC money that stole her seat here,” Winston said last year. Winston’s appearance alongside Bush is not the first time her political orbit has drawn scrutiny over hard-left activists and anti-Israel figures. Her comeback bid has already faced questions over campaign spending and alliances that critics say show the same activist network is helping power her effort to return to Washington. CORI BUSH RIPPED FOR ‘JAW-DROPPING’ HYPOCRISY ON KEY ISSUE AMID COMEBACK HOUSE BID Earlier this year, Fox News Digital reported that Bush’s comeback campaign paid more than $20,000 to “Unbought Power,” a consulting firm publicly linked to far-left activist Rasha Mubarak, whose ties to Rep. Rashida Tlaib’s political operation had already drawn scrutiny. Mubarak has close ties to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), “which was an unindicted co-conspirator in the 2009 Holy Land Foundation terror-financing trial,” according to the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy, and has publicly called to “abolish the police,” backed defund-the-police efforts and repeatedly accused Israel of “ethnic cleansing” and “apartheid.” “Mubarak has also been a speaker at events held by the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR), an organization that promoted the BDS movement,” the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy noted in a report. “Previously, in September 2023, she served as the press contact for the Arizona-based non-profit Alliance for Global Justice (AFGJ), which was investigated for ties to Samidoun, an anti-Israel advocacy group banned in Germany, Canada, and Israel and classified as a terrorist entity in the United States for financing the PFLP.” HIGH EARNERS FLEE NYC AMID TAXES, RADICAL POLICIES In her prior campaigns for Congress, Bush also received help from radical anti-Israel activists. During her 2024 re-election bid, Linda Sarsour and Marc Lamont Hill headlined a virtual “Jews for Cori” fundraiser, according to Jewish Insider, which described Sarsour and Hill as “controversial far-left activists with histories of antisemitism.” Sarsour has been accused of praising a convicted terrorist and has compared Zionism to white supremacy, while likening Zionists to neo-Nazis. She had to walk back remarks after stating Israel “is built on the idea that Jews are supreme to everyone else,” and lost her seat on the board of the Women’s
Fraud expert warns AI is helping criminals outpace the government: ‘Don’t have the right tools’
A fraud expert who testified before the House Oversight Committee Wednesday warned the federal government lacks the tools and policies needed to prevent criminals from using artificial intelligence against taxpayers. “What’s happening right now is the fact that we simply don’t have the right tools to deal with fraud,” David Maimon, head of Fraud Insights at SentiLink, told Fox News Digital. “We don’t have the right policies to deal with fraud. We don’t have enough deterrence. We have no close collaboration between the government and the [private] sector to try and find the right solution to this issue.” The hearing, titled “Emerging Fraud Threats and the Evolving Fraud Landscape,” was held by the Government Operations Subcommittee as the Trump administration wages a nationwide “War on Fraud,” led by Vice President JD Vance, and focused on how the federal government can better detect and prevent emerging fraud threats through stronger digital identity verification. ALLEGED FEEDING OUR FUTURE FRAUD RINGLEADER TRANSFERRED FROM SOMALIA TO FACE US CHARGES “Fraud against government programs is no longer a series of isolated schemes,” Maimon told lawmakers during the hearing. “It is a durable, specialized criminal infrastructure.” He also told lawmakers that “criminals exploit the seams between agencies precisely because our defenses are built program by program, while their infrastructure is built to move across all of them.” Maimon highlighted how his company has collected intelligence to “understand how the criminals work, what they do, and how they do what they do,” while uncovering networks where fraudsters share stolen information and tactics. “We were able to infiltrate thousands of markets where fraudsters are operating, where you can find identities and stolen checks, you can find tutorials of how to engage in fraud against the government or target financial institutions across the country,” he said. One of the biggest challenges, he said, is keeping pace with rapidly evolving fraud tactics. “The most important thing is to make sure that the government is aware of some of the fraud trends we’re seeing out there that fraudsters are engaging in, essentially stealing taxpayers’ money,” Maimon said. Maimon said the government’s slow deployment of fraud-fighting tools allows criminals to “take advantage of these opportunities” and “continue to exploit” resources. “The bad guys are moving faster than the government,” he said. “While the government is still trying to catch up and roll out better tools, criminals keep finding new ways to steal money.” Criminals are now using AI to create fake documents, videos, and phishing emails that steal passwords and personal information or bypass identity verification, according to Maimon. “It’s difficult to prove that you’re not essentially using AI while verifying your identity with documents and liveness tests and selfie images,” he said. TRUMP ADMIN INVESTIGATING 75 TRUCK DRIVER SCHOOLS FOR FRAUD, HELPING NON-CITIZENS GET LICENSES During the hearing, Maimon said that fraudsters are already using “AI-generated faces and deepfake video to defeat liveness checks at digital banks and tax preparers.” Pointing to his earlier investigation of Medicaid fraud, Maimon said his team discovered providers that had billed the government about $2 million and claimed to have staff and caregivers, but when investigators visited the addresses in person, many of the employees and operations didn’t exist. “Sometimes you need to take a look at signals that appear in the database, but also at the physical location,” he said. Instead of relying on a picture or video, Maimon said the government should verify identities using trusted historical data that is harder for AI to fake. I’M OHIO’S STATE AUDITOR — MEDICAID FRAUD IS NOT JUST A WASHINGTON PROBLEM “In order to make sure that we address this issue, and it really depends on the type of fraud that you’re dealing with, but to address this issue in a more effective way, maybe we need to have some historical signals around identities we’re trying to verify, rather than just looking at images that could be created easily by AI tools,” he said. Maimon told lawmakers the fraud affects more than the government’s finances, ultimately hurting the people these programs are designed to serve, saying “Every dollar we protect from organized fraud is a dollar that stays available for the people Congress intended to help. But after years of studying dark web and Telegram marketplaces, Maimon said law enforcement has uncovered only a fraction of organized fraud. “I think they’re just scratching the surface.”
READ THE DOCUMENTS: White House releases election integrity files after Trump speech
The White House released a trove of election-integrity documents Thursday night following President Donald Trump’s primetime address, posting files related to alleged voting-system vulnerabilities, China’s alleged acquisition of U.S. voter data, a Michigan voter-registration investigation and noncitizens on state voter rolls. The documents, posted on a new White House election-integrity page, are organized into four buckets and include intelligence assessments, FBI files, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency materials and Department of Homeland Security-related summaries covering issues ranging from election infrastructure cybersecurity to voter-registration database threats. The release gives the public access to records the White House alleges support Trump’s renewed push for election reforms, including voter ID and proof-of-citizenship requirements. The president claimed in his address that electronic voting machines are vulnerable and easily compromised. Fox News has not yet seen evidence supporting that claim and is not able to independently evaluate the accuracy of his statement at this time. “This vital information has for many years been covered up and hidden from you,” Trump said Thursday night during an address from the White House on election integrity. “But that all changes right now.” MORE THAN A QUARTER-MILLION NONCITIZENS MAY BE REGISTERED TO VOTE IN 4 KEY STATES, DHS ALLEGES The White House page lists the four document categories as “Vulnerabilities in Electronic Voting and Ballot-Counting Systems,” “China’s Acquisition and Exploitation of American Voter Data,” “Michigan Voter-Registration Investigation” and “Noncitizens on State Voter Rolls.” The page says the files span from January 2020 to June 2026. Fox News Digital could not independently verify the contents of the documents. In the section on voting systems, the White House says the documents include what it describes as previously classified intelligence assessments and other reports warning that U.S. adversaries could compromise election infrastructure, including voter-registration databases, pollbooks and election websites. A separate section includes White House claims that China acquired hundreds of millions of U.S. voter files, while another highlights FBI files tied to an alleged voter-registration operation in Michigan. CALIFORNIA ACCUSED OF BLOCKING FEDERAL VOTER ROLL AUDIT AS DOJ ESCALATES PROBE OF ELECTION FRAUD CLAIMS “Those responsible for sounding the alarm instead kept the information secret and hidden,” Trump claimed. “They did not disclose (it) to me as president or to anyone else.” The final bucket focuses on what the White House describes as a DHS review that the White House claims identified noncitizens on state voter rolls. The documents were posted to the White House website during the president’s speech Thursday night, and more updates, filings and findings are expected to drop, according to the new election integrity webpage. “The documents we will release starting tonight have been gathered by the White House Government Transparency Taskforce, a great group of people, along with the staff of the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board, supported by our top intelligence agency chiefs, who have all personally reviewed the findings we are presenting this evening and fully confirmed their authenticity,” Trump said during his speech Thursday. The files were released as Trump has intensified his election-integrity push ahead of the midterms, including calls for voter ID, proof-of-citizenship requirements and Senate passage of the SAVE Act. Trump previously signed an executive order aimed at requiring proof of citizenship on federal voter registration forms, but federal judges have blocked key portions of the order while the House-passed SAVE Act remains stalled in the Senate. “No trust, no greatness,” Trump told Americans Thursday.
Far-left activist conference at teachers union HQ raises classroom concerns
A two-day conference featuring socialist, anti-war and pro-Palestinian activists at Chicago Teachers Union headquarters is drawing criticism from an education advocate who says the gathering reflects priorities far removed from the classroom. The conference included workshops on protest and media tactics, approaching port workers, tracking weapons shipments, fundraising, coalition building and strengthening ties with labor and community groups in Latin America and Africa, according to AWAN’s website. “I’m not sure that has much to do with empowering teachers in the classroom,” North American Values Institute (NAVI) Chief Advocacy Officer Josh Weiner said about the conference. “We’ve seen the barriers and boundaries between this political activism and the classroom break down in a lot of different circumstances. Certainly, the classroom is not the priority. It’s a political agenda that’s very extreme.” INSIDE CUBA’S FOREIGN INFLUENCE CAMPAIGN: FROM THE ’60S VENCEREMOS BRIGADE TO A CALIFORNIA UNION HALL CTU was not listed as an official conference sponsor, although the venue featured union signage and a mannequin wearing a CTU T-shirt, according to the Washington Free Beacon. Conference rooms were temporarily named by conference organizers for political figures and activists including Fidel Castro, Nicolás Maduro, Cilia Flores, Rasmea Odeh, Ibrahim Traoré and Patrice Lumumba. Speakers addressed attendees from behind a podium draped in a Palestinian flag. The program included representatives of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network, the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Anti-War Action Network, Anti-War Committee Chicago, the Chicago Alliance Against Racism and Political Repression, and the Committee to Stop FBI Repression, according to the conference program. Other speakers were Michigan preschool teacher Jessica Plichta, a member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, which describes itself as a Marxist-Leninist organization fighting for socialism. Plichta was arrested on camera immediately after finishing a television news interview in support of Maduro. Police accused her of blocking a roadway and failing to follow commands to move. Another speaker, U.S. Palestinian Community Network Chairman Hatem Abudayyeh, previously served as a spokesperson for the Rasmea Defense Committee. Conference resolutions called for ending U.S. aid to Israel, supporting Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaigns, and expanding pro-Palestinian activism, while another resolution referred to the Iranian government as “anti-imperialist” and pledged support for Iranian sovereignty, according to NAVI. Weiner accused the union of intentionally keeping “themselves at arm’s length of something” while sharing “the same circles” as organizers. FEDS OPEN PROBE INTO ANTI-ISRAEL NYC TEACHERS “CTU didn’t sponsor this conference, they weren’t officially a part of it, but that’s on purpose to keep themselves at arm’s length of something that, clearly, they’ve been in the same circles as,” he said. NAVI also noted that CTU Vice President Jackson Potter and CORE, the union’s governing caucus, follow Anti-War Committee Chicago on Instagram. Weiner said children are being taught “that the U.S. is imperialist, that it is the purveyor of violence throughout the world” while “platforming leaders that, frankly, are majorly oppressive.” “Public education is meant to really teach foundational knowledge and formulate our future citizens of our country and to prepare students to be productive, happy, successful citizens within our country and our country is a democratic capitalist system, albeit imperfect, but it still is,” he said. EXILED MUSLIM SCHOLAR WARNS FAR-LEFT–ISLAMIST ALLIANCE BEHIND ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTS ECHOES IRAN’S RISE AWAN says on its website that it aims to “build a country-wide movement of people who will fight against U.S. imperialism in the streets and in the halls of power.” Weiner called the conference “the opposite” of what education should look like, saying teachers are “bringing extremism” into the classroom. “It’s totally anti what education is supposed to be about, and this is an intentional play,” he said. “These teachers believe education is about teaching kids about power, and how to take back power and where to seek power, and to make it a political act in and of itself.” The conference comes after the Chicago Teachers Union previously faced criticism in April for its collaboration with the National Education Association on a “curriculum build” to bring “social justice into the classroom” ahead of May Day. But Weiner said the union’s tactics won’t stop in Chicago, warning that “you’re going to see that playbook essentially happen in other cities,” adding “It’s not as though we think it’s going to happen. They’re saying, it’s going to happen.” “I think every time they push a boundary and break it, you see it pop up somewhere else and you see them pushing the boundaries further,” he said. Fox News Digital reached out to the Chicago Teachers Union and the Anti-War Action Network for comment.
Pratt takes Walz to task in scathing X post over pardoned child rapist: ‘Have your hard drives checked’
Former Los Angeles mayoral candidate and reality TV star Spencer Pratt took aim at Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz in a post that was widely praised by conservatives on social media. “If you find yourself defending a child molester, saying: ‘WE can’t be judged by OUR worst day’, you probably need to have your hard drives checked,” Pratt posted on X on Friday. Pratt was responding to a clip of Walz defending the pardon of a convicted child rapist, contending that his deportation by the State Department did not make the U.S. safer. “Did that make us any safer?” Walz questioned. “Did that make the children that are left behind any more stable? Did it improve the idea that we can’t all be judged by our worst day?” TIM WALZ OFFERS STRANGE DEFENSE FOR PARDONING CONVICTED CHILD RAPIST TRUMP ADMINISTRATION DEPORTED Pratt’s post quickly spread on social media from other conservatives bashing Walz. “I couldn’t agree more, @spencerpratt,” Republican House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, who represents Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, posted on X. “Tim Walz has ZERO morals. He is disgrace to Minnesota!” EXPOSED DOCS REVEAL WHY TIM WALZ BOARD AWARDED REPEAT CHILD RAPIST PARDON: ‘NO FUTURE’ “To think… he was almost the Vice President,” Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., posted on X. “I didn’t used to understand the phrase, ‘bring common sense to DC,’ but it becomes more apparent every day that it’s missing at every level of government,” Florida Republican congressional candidate Tim Wilkins posted on X. “This is insanity.” Fox News Digital reached out to Walz’s office for comment. The Minnesota Board of Pardons, composed of Walz, state Attorney General Keith Ellison and state Chief Justice Natalie Hudson, granted clemency to Laotian national Tou Lue Vang, 42, on June 10. Vang was scheduled to be deported from the United States before the pardon. Vang was convicted for repeatedly raping a 10-year-old girl between 2002 and 2004, and told authorities after he was arrested that “it is a cultural thing… to marry and have sex with girls as young as 12.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio stepped in to terminate Tou Lue Vang’s legal status in the U.S. and ensure that Walz’s actions would not create roadblocks for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) removing him from the country before Vang was ultimately deported. Pratt has been increasingly active in politics on social media since finishing third in the Los Angeles mayoral primary and recently met with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office which increased speculation that another political run could be in his future. “I will never stop fighting for my community,” Pratt captioned the photo of the meeting on X. Fox News Digital’s Peter D’Abrosca contributed to this report.