Inside the House GOP’s 4-week battle plan to save its majority
FIRST ON FOX: House GOP leaders are quietly laying their battle plans for the final month ahead of the November midterm elections. A new memo being sent to Republicans across the country, first obtained by Fox News Digital, reveals four key topics that the House GOP is focusing on in the final four weeks before the election: the border, fraudulent use of taxpayer dollars, the economy, and public safety. “I think these are the points that the voters actually care most about,” House GOP Chairwoman Lisa McClain, R-Mich., who leads Republicans’ messaging strategy, told Fox News Digital. “[Democrats] want open borders. They want to defund the police, they want to take more money out of your pocket and give it to somebody else. They believe in bigger government. We believe in people… So those are the things that we’re really hammering home during this election.” It comes as Republicans fight an uphill battle to keep control of Congress for the latter half of President Donald Trump’s final term. REPUBLICANS FACE BRUTAL MIDTERM HEADWINDS. SIX FORCES COULD HELP THEM DEFY HISTORY. A recent Fox News poll found Democrats have a wider path to victory than Republicans in the House. Democrats are projected to win 215 seats compared to 201 for the GOP, meaning the left only needs three more victories out of the 19 possible toss-up races to clinch a majority. Republicans would need to win at least 17 of those races. 10 DEMOCRAT-HELD HOUSE SEATS REPUBLICANS COULD FLIP TO SAVE THEIR MAJORITY Republicans are also seeing political opportunity in the far-left insurgency that’s gripped the Democratic Party during its primary cycle, warning that socialists are pushing the party further left than the majority of Americans. On the economy, which is a focus of week two in the GOP memo, Republican incumbents and candidates are encouraged to talk about “putting more money back in Americans’ pockets and creating more opportunities to get ahead through hard work, ownership, and economic freedom.” HOUSE CONSERVATIVES UNLEASH MULTIMILLION-DOLLAR MIDTERM BLITZ AGAINST DEM ‘SOCIALIST’ INSURGENCY The economy, including high grocery and gas prices, has become a central issue in the 2026 election cycle. Democrats have seized on Americans’ struggle with cost-of-living as a political cudgel against Republicans, particularly using Trump’s tariffs on allies like Canada and his war in Iran as arguments against the GOP. McClain acknowledged Americans’ concerns, urging Republicans to be forthright with their voters but warning that Democrats’ high-tax policies would worsen the situation. She also pointed to the low poverty rate and Trump’s new trade deals as positives the GOP could highlight. “What we’re not going to do is gaslight the American people, right? That’s what the Democrats did, and it didn’t work well for them,” she said, referencing former President Joe Biden’s handling of high inflation during his term. “But you have to take a look at the alternative. The alternative is absolutely terrifying.” “We had a massive hole that we were digging out of under Biden. We have more work to do, of course we do, but do you want our trajectory, or do you want to go back to 9% inflation, open borders, and, and higher taxes? Because I tell everybody, every single Democrat voted to raise your taxes. They want more of your money.” She echoed Trump’s assurances that gas prices would drop when the conflict with Iran ended, adding, “We also don’t want the number one state sponsor of terror to have a nuclear weapon, and we have to protect Americans from that.” Meanwhile, Trump’s polling is underwater, with the most recent Fox News survey from mid-September finding his disapproval rating at 61%. Trump’s favorability remains a high 79% with Republican voters, however, meaning the GOP could still prevail by turning out the base on Nov. 3. One of the most decisive issues of his 2024 victory proved to be illegal immigration and the border, a fervor Republicans are hoping they can harness again come November. The memo encouraged Republicans to discuss “protecting America by stopping illegal immigration, enforcing our laws, and knowing who is entering the country.” McClain pointed to policies promoted by far-left Democrats like abolishing police — and some mainstream Democrats’ backing of sanctuary jurisdictions — as a contrast point for the election, while arguing Republicans were still supportive of legal immigration. “They tell you they want to defund the police. They tell you they want sanctuary cities. These are their words, not mine. These are the policies… they want,” McClain said. “The Republicans, we want immigration, we believe in immigration, but we want people to come in the right way, and we darn sure want to make sure we know who’s coming across.”
Trump’s first-year government overhaul delivers change Washington hasn’t seen since the 1960s
The Trump administration has reduced the federal workforce to the lowest point in roughly 60 years, according to newly released data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. As of August, just 2.67 million people were employed by the federal government, down from just over 3 million when President Donald Trump took office, marking the lowest headcount since 1966, per the BLS. The administration has estimated those cuts will produce significant savings, with OPM projecting that its Deferred Resignation Program alone will save more than $20 billion a year. But the reductions have also come with costs. Revenue collected from IRS examinations fell 35%, from about $10 billion in fiscal 2024 to $6.5 billion in fiscal 2025, as the agency was undergoing steep workforce reductions that ultimately cut examination and collection staffing by nearly 10,000 employees, according to a Treasury watchdog. APPEALS COURT UPHOLDS ORDER BLOCKING IRS FROM SHARING TAXPAYER DATA WITH ICE Former President Joe Biden secured nearly $80 billion in 2022 for the IRS over 10 years to upgrade its systems, improve taxpayer service and hire more staff, including enforcement personnel. The Trump administration has proposed further IRS cuts for 2027. Not all agencies have been hit the same by the Trump administration’s cuts. The Departments of Education, Agriculture and Housing and Urban Development have been cut particularly hard, whereas headcount at the Department of Homeland Security, which has been responsible for carrying out much of the president’s immigration agenda, has remained largely unchanged. TRUMP’S $5K CHECKS COULD JOIN STACK OF PAST UNFULFILLED PROMISES, FORMER CONGRESS BUDGET CHIEF WARNS Not included in the BLS’ count of government employees are the roughly 1.35 million members of the armed services or the approximately 100,000 people employed by intelligence agencies. Cutting the size of the federal workforce, a project that was eventually spearheaded by the Department of Government Efficiency and the Office of Personnel Management, was a major campaign promise during Trump’s 2024 run as he vowed to slim down what he said was a bloated government. OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT UNCOVERS $500M IN FRAUD AND WASTE IN FEDERAL HEALTH BENEFITS PROGRAMS GAO found that agencies spent about $6.7 billion paying employees who took part in the Deferred Resignation Program, which allowed many of them to stop working while still collecting a paycheck until they officially left government. The Partnership for Public Service also estimated the government spent $12.1 million rehiring workers who had previously been fired during the administration’s workforce reductions. Despite the cuts, most of which happened during the president’s first year in office, the Trump administration spent 3% more on federal salaries during its first year in power than the Biden administration did during its initial year. If Republicans win the midterm elections, the president has promised to cut $5,000 checks to all adult American citizens, a long-shot promise that, if followed through on, would cost the nation between $1.2 trillion and $1.35 trillion. The White House did not respond to a request for comment when reached by Fox News Digital.
Iraq sounds alarm on terror threat from Syria one day after US troops leave
Iraq is preparing for the possibility that Islamic State fighters could spill across the border from Syria, the country’s foreign minister said Thursday. It comes just one day after the U.S. military formally ended its counter-ISIS mission in Iraq. Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein told reporters in Washington, D.C., on Thursday that Baghdad is closely watching recent ISIS activity in neighboring Syria, and warned that fighters crossing into Iraq could once again pose a threat to the country’s security. “We are worried about ISIS activities inside Syria,” Hussein said, adding that Iraqi forces were preparing to confront any movement toward the border. Still, he stressed that Baghdad believes its military can now handle the terrorist group without the large U.S.-led coalition presence that helped defeat ISIS’s self-declared caliphate. ISIS POISED TO EXPLOIT HISTORIC US IRAQ EXIT, TERROR GROUP ‘ACTIVELY WAITING IN THE GAPS,’ EXPERT WARNS “If they would be capable to cross the border, that would be once again a threat to our security,” Hussein said. “We are preparing ourselves – if there will be any movement from inside Iraq — to fight them and to defeat them.” The warning came just after the departure of the final U.S. forces under Operation Inherent Resolve on Wednesday. US FACES ANOTHER MAJOR MIDDLE EAST TROOP WITHDRAWAL, BUT THREAT REMAINS Trump hailed the withdrawal as a victory over ISIS, saying the terrorist group had been “completely decimated.” “We came to fight a caliphate, and there is no longer a caliphate, so we are going home,” Trump said. “This day is a victory for the United States, a victory for Iraq, and a decisive victory over ISIS.” But Hussein’s warning came four days after Syrian authorities said they dismantled an ISIS cell operating across four provinces, arresting four of its leaders and seizing explosives that had been prepared for attacks. The cell had carried out kidnappings and was involved in assassinations and planting explosive devices, according to Syrian security forces. U.S. officials assess that ISIS has been severely degraded and no longer poses a systemic threat to Iraq, but the terrorist group maintains scattered cells across Iraq and Syria. The Pentagon has said Iraqi forces are capable of suppressing the remaining threat themselves, while U.S. forces continue counter-ISIS operations in Syria aimed at preventing the group from reconstituting. The withdrawal marked the end of a U.S. military mission in Iraq that, in different forms, stretched across more than two decades and reshaped American foreign policy. The 2003 invasion toppled Saddam Hussein but gave way to years of insurgency and sectarian violence. Nearly 4,500 U.S. service members were killed before American forces withdrew in 2011. Three years later, U.S. troops returned as ISIS swept across large parts of Iraq and Syria, seizing Mosul and declaring a self-styled caliphate. The U.S. launched Operation Inherent Resolve in 2014, leading an international coalition that helped Iraqi forces reclaim the territory ISIS had captured. After the withdrawal, Iraq intends to pursue a bilateral security relationship with the U.S., though discussions on what that will look like have not yet begun. He said Baghdad and Washington had discussed the principle of a future security relationship while negotiating the coalition’s departure, but still need to work out the details, including what kind of training, intelligence sharing or other military cooperation could continue. At the same time, Baghdad is moving to bring Iran-backed militia groups operating outside the regular security forces under government control, another longstanding source of friction between Iraq and the U.S. Iraq had originally set a Sept. 30 deadline — coinciding with the U.S.-led coalition’s withdrawal — for armed groups to lay down their weapons or come under state authority. That deadline has since slipped to June 2027 as some powerful factions resist disarmament. Hussein said one group had issued a statement Thursday backing the government’s plan and another was expected to follow within a day, while negotiations continued with others. “A single group will not be allowed to take the decision in their hands and attack other countries,” Hussein said. That question has taken on new urgency as Iraq tries to contain the fallout from the war between the U.S. and neighboring Iran. Hussein confirmed that a recent attack on Saudi Arabia originated from Iraqi territory near the Iranian border, prompting an investigation by Baghdad and consultations with both Riyadh and Tehran. Hussein said he had been in contact with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan over the attack and planned to visit Riyadh to discuss the matter further. The investigation remains ongoing, he said. More broadly, Hussein described Iraq as caught in the middle of the U.S.-Iran conflict, saying Iraqi territory had been struck by both sides. “We became a victim of this war,” Hussein said. Baghdad has pressed both Washington and Tehran to resolve the conflict through negotiations, Hussein said, while seeking to keep Iraq from being drawn further into the fighting.
EXCLUSIVE: 128 GOP lawmakers call for federal probe into Planned Parenthood’s taxpayer funding
FIRST ON FOX: A coalition of 128 Republican lawmakers is pressing the federal government to scrutinize Planned Parenthood’s taxpayer funding and potentially launch an investigation into the organization and its affiliates. Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., and Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., led the bicameral effort, asking Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Inspector General T. March Bell to review Planned Parenthood‘s federal funding and determine whether the organization and its affiliates have complied with federal laws and funding requirements. “We write to request that the Office of Inspector General (OIG) review and, if appropriate, initiate an investigation into the activities of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. and the organization’s affiliates,” the lawmakers wrote. READ: DR. OZ PUTS ALL 50 GOVERNORS ON NOTICE OVER BILLIONS LOST TO MEDICAID FRAUD Their request casts a rather wide net. The lawmakers want the OIG to scrutinize funding flowing through HHS programs, grants, contracts and sub-awards and determine whether evidence exists of fraud, waste, abuse, misrepresentation or other violations affecting federal health programs. If misconduct is uncovered, they want the watchdog to consider consequences ranging from administrative remedies and suspension to exclusion from federal healthcare programs or referrals to other authorities. “Planned Parenthood and its affiliates have faced serious allegations involving the use of federal funds and compliance with federal law. Those allegations deserve a thorough review,” Lankford said. WHITE HOUSE LAUNCHES INTERACTIVE MAP TRACKING BILLIONS IN SUSPECTED FRAUD “The HHS Inspector General should follow the facts, determine whether federal laws and funding requirements have been violated, and hold accountable anyone who has misused taxpayer dollars,” he added. The push comes as the Small Business Administration (SBA) separately reviews more than $88 million in COVID-era Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans received by 38 Planned Parenthood affiliates. The lawmakers cited the SBA action in their letter, characterizing it as an investigation into whether Planned Parenthood affiliates “illegally received $88 million” in pandemic loans. SBA has described its action as a review of whether the affiliates were eligible for the loans. The review itself is not a finding that the affiliates violated the law. But the lawmakers want federal scrutiny to go well beyond the pandemic loans. PLANNED PARENTHOOD OFFERED HORMONES BUT HAD NO ANSWERS WHEN DETRANSITIONER SOUGHT HELP, UNDERCOVER PROBE FINDS They are asking the OIG to examine Planned Parenthood’s broader HHS funding and coordinate with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on what they described as a “comprehensive review” of the organization’s activities. HHS-OIG told Fox News Digital Wednesday evening that it had not yet received the letter. “We have not received the letter and will review it for appropriate action once received,” HHS-OIG said. Smith, co-chairman of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus, said the scrutiny was “long overdue,” citing allegations involving federal funding, reporting requirements, sexual exploitation and fetal tissue. FIRST ON FOX: TRUMP ADMIN OPENS NEW FRONT IN FRAUD CRACKDOWN TARGETING HEALTH INSURERS, DRUG MIDDLEMEN “It is long overdue for a comprehensive investigation and review, and I urge the HHS OIG to look closely to determine whether it has violated federal standards for federal funding recipients,” Smith said. The congressional letter also points to reports alleging failures to comply with mandatory reporting requirements involving suspected child abuse or neglect. The lawmakers are asking federal officials to examine those allegations. They have not been established as findings by HHS-OIG. “Given the significant taxpayer resources that flow through federal health and human services programs, it is critical that recipient organizations operate with transparency, integrity, and full compliance with federal standards,” the lawmakers wrote. The lawmakers closed by asking OIG to coordinate across the federal government to conduct a “comprehensive review” of Planned Parenthood’s activities. “Thank you for your continued commitment to protecting the integrity of federal health programs and safeguarding taxpayer dollars,” they wrote. Planned Parenthood did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
A must-win midterm state is the real loser of Trump’s Canada trade war
President Donald Trump’s escalating trade fight with Canada could deliver an economic blow to one of the country’s most closely watched battleground states, potentially raising costs for automakers and prices for consumers. Michigan, home to a fiercely contested U.S. Senate race this November, is particularly vulnerable because its auto industry depends heavily on a cross-border supply chain with Canada. America’s northern neighbor received roughly $21.2 billion worth of Michigan exports in 2025, about 36% of the state’s total, mainly vehicles and parts, according to the Michigan Department of Transportation. David Clement, policy director of the free market nonprofit Consumer Choice Center, warned the costs of tariffs could ultimately reach Michigan drivers. “How you see this as a Michigan consumer is higher prices on the dealership lot,” Clement told Fox News Digital, describing tariffs alongside already-elevated living costs as a “double whammy.” 5 STATES COULD BE THE BIGGEST LOSERS IN TRUMP’S TRADE WAR WITH CANADA, EXPERT WARNS Those concerns come as Trump has intensified his trade dispute with Canada. He imposed an additional 50% tariff on certain Canadian products earlier this year, and the administration has since barred certain Canadian products from entering the U.S. beginning Sept. 29. Clement said Michigan ranks among the states most exposed to the dispute. “Michigan, in terms of ranking all of the states in their export vulnerability in the trade war, sits at around seventh,” he said, pointing to equipment, machinery and the auto industry as areas of concern. REPUBLICANS JUST GOT A POWERFUL NEW PLAYBOOK FOR THE BATTLE FOR CONGRESS. HERE’S WHAT’S INSIDE That vulnerability is compounded by how frequently auto parts cross the border before a vehicle is completed. “Most Americans don’t know that a single component on a U.S.-assembled vehicle can cross the border upwards of eight times before it’s actually completed,” Clement said. “When you are tariffing automotive parts going across the border each way, that is where the exposure numbers start to tick up,” he added, warning that tariffs and retaliation can “really gum up the very intertwined supply chain for cars between Michigan and Ontario.” The economic stakes come as Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers compete for the Senate seat being vacated by retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters. Even as the trade fight creates potential political risks in Michigan, the Trump administration has defended its actions as necessary to protect American businesses and workers and level the playing field with Canada. THE FED JUST THREW A WRENCH IN TRUMP’S MIDTERM ECONOMIC MESSAGE Clement, however, argued the dispute could put pressure on American businesses at a politically sensitive time. “It would appear that Donald Trump’s original escalation against Canada has somewhat backfired in terms of the midterms,” Clement said. He warned that businesses dependent on Canadian goods could feel the effects just as voters head to the polls. “American manufacturers or American businesses who rely on Canadian inputs are going to start to feel the pain right in the lead-up to going to the ballot box,” Clement said. “Cost of living, cost of goods, cost of doing business is such an important factor for Americans who are going to be casting a ballot.”
AOC’s dramatic retelling of Cornell rape allegations collides with complaint details
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., painted a far more sweeping picture of a Cornell University sexual assault case than what’s alleged in the underlying civil complaint, while also making claims the university disputes. Speaking during a town hall hosted by More Perfect University on Sunday in Ithaca, New York, Ocasio-Cortez addressed allegations outlined in a civil complaint filed last month by a former Cornell student identified as Jane Doe, who alleges she was drugged and sexually assaulted by multiple fraternity members in October 2024. “Seven men drugged and gang raped a 20-year-old woman,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “They lured her in to a fraternity house,” she continued. “They drugged her with ketamine. They then posted to a group chat that she was incapacitated, and seven men took turns gang raping her for seven hours.” CONVICTED RAPIST WHO PREYED ON WOMEN AT AMERICA’S TOP PARTY SCHOOL FACES RECKONING AFTER COURTHOUSE DASH “Their fraternity knew. This was reported to Cornell University. And after looking into this matter, they expelled two of them and made the rest write essays as their form of punishment,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “I want to be clear that the culture of rape, sexual assault, and pedophilia is protected in elite institutions across the United States and including Cornell University in this instance. It has got to stop.” Cornell has disputed Ocasio-Cortez’s characterization of the disciplinary action, saying expulsions and suspensions were issued and that no respondent was required to write an essay as the sole consequence. The civil complaint alleges that several students who received temporary suspensions were given an opportunity to mitigate their conduct by submitting essays to the university. Ocasio-Cortez’s comments come as a civil lawsuit filed by Doe contains graphic allegations about what happened inside the Chi Phi fraternity house nearly two years ago. YALE STUDENT CHARGED AFTER ALLEGED SEX ASSAULT ON PACKED MANHATTAN SUBWAY TRAIN, ATTORNEY PUSHES BACK The 101-page civil complaint names Cornell, fraternity-related entities, seven individual defendants and other defendants. It alleges that Doe was sexually assaulted by multiple fraternity members after being plied with alcohol and drugs. According to the complaint, Doe arrived at the fraternity house intoxicated, was pressured into taking ketamine and was subjected to sexual acts without her consent. It further alleges that one fraternity member posted a sexually explicit message about her in a fraternity Snapchat group. The incident ended at around 5:45 a.m., according to the complaint. EX-MAYOR FOUND LIABLE FOR ALLEGED SEXUAL ASSAULTS OF 7 WOMEN, ORDERED TO PAY $13M Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten said his office reviewed Doe’s sworn statement in November 2024 and initially determined that the facts contained in that statement did not support criminal charges under New York law. Van Houten said Doe’s November 2024 sworn statement “did not allege that she was drugged against her will or gang raped.” He also said the statement described her participation in drug use and sexual conduct as “voluntary, conscious, and consensual.” Van Houten said his office has reopened an investigation into the allegations and will revisit the decision about whether to pursue criminal charges against the seven fraternity members. He said a senior prosecutor experienced in sex-crime cases is preparing the matter for presentation to a Tompkins County grand jury, which could consider Doe’s testimony and new evidence raised by the civil complaint. LSU FRAT PLEDGES ALLEGEDLY WATERBOARDED, FORCED TO CHUG MILK IN HAZING RITUALS: REPORT Scott Kretzschmar, an attorney for one of the accused students, said his client welcomes the renewed investigation. He strongly denied the allegations against his client, who he said had no sexual contact with Doe. Attorneys representing several other accused fraternity members have also denied wrongdoing. No criminal charges have been announced in connection with the allegations. Cornell said it supports the reopened investigation and said its own months-long investigation resulted in a range of sanctions, including expulsions and suspensions. The Chi Phi chapter was also closed and barred from campus. “Any suggestion that the university did not impose consequential punishments for those involved is false,” the university said. “A continuation of the false narrative that there were minimal consequences in this case is irresponsible, will make survivors feel less safe and supported, and will perpetuate the underreporting of sexual assault.” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Thursday that she has appointed Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor in the case. Fox News Digital has reached out to Ocasio-Cortez’s office and Cornell University for additional comment.
EXCLUSIVE: Supreme Court prayer grotto case could impact ‘every single zoning law’ in America, attorney says
FIRST ON FOX — The Supreme Court agreed Thursday to hear a Kentucky church’s fight to build a prayer grotto on its property, taking up a dispute over what constitutes a “substantial burden” on religious exercise under federal land-use law. Ryan Gardner, senior counsel at First Liberty Institute, which represents the Missionaries of St. John the Baptist, told Fox News Digital the implications stretch far beyond the proposed Catholic shrine in Park Hills, Kentucky. “This is a massive case for religious liberty because it has the potential to impact every single zoning law in this country,” Gardner told Fox News Digital. ORTHODOX JEW FIGHTS BACK, SAYS CALIFORNIA CITY FINED HIM FOR HOME PRAYER MEETINGS At the center of the case is a proposed 16-by-39-foot grotto that court records say would include a shrine to the Virgin Mary, a plaza, walking path and retaining wall. Gardner compared its roughly 600-square-foot footprint to the size of a swimming pool. The church applied in March 2021 for a conditional-use permit and variance to build the grotto behind its building in honor of the Virgin Mary’s apparition to Saint Bernadette in Lourdes, France. The church building itself has stood on the property for nearly a century, predating Park Hills’ zoning ordinance adopted in 1974. The property history is a bit more complicated than the case’s shorthand description may suggest. The proposed grotto involved an adjacent parcel that was initially subject to a perpetual lease that would be transferred to the religious organization as a condition of the project’s approval. But unlike many religious land-use disputes, Gardner said, the church’s initial fight in this case was not with the local government. The Park Hills Board of Adjustment approved the church’s permit in April 2021. Two neighboring property owners, however, Joel and Elizabeth Frederic, objected and challenged the board’s decision in Kentucky state court. AMISH FACE NEW YORK VACCINE MANDATE IN SUPREME COURT FIGHT, MIGHT HAVE TO ‘PACK THEIR WAGONS’ A trial court ruled in the church’s favor, but the Kentucky Court of Appeals reversed, concluding the board exceeded its authority in approving the project and finding no violation of federal religious land-use law. The Kentucky Supreme Court affirmed the RLUIPA ruling in December 2025, prompting the church to seek Supreme Court review. The case centers on the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, known as RLUIPA, a federal law enacted to protect religious institutions from certain burdens on the use of their property. “RLUIPA is at the intersection of two very critical rights in this country: the rights of religious liberty and property rights,” Gardner told Fox News Digital. The church asked the justices to review two questions under RLUIPA, but the Supreme Court agreed to hear only one about whether prohibiting a religious institution from building a religious structure on its own property constitutes a “substantial burden” on religious exercise under the law. SUPREME COURT SHOWDOWN LOOMS OVER ST MICHAEL STATUE BLOCKED FROM PUBLIC SAFETY BUILDING Gardner said lower courts have developed different approaches to the law since Congress enacted it in 2000, leaving religious organizations with different levels of protection depending on where a dispute arises. He argues the Supreme Court now has an opportunity to establish a clearer standard nationwide. The missionaries similarly argued in their Supreme Court petition that federal and state courts are divided over how to determine whether a land-use restriction creates a “substantial burden” under RLUIPA. The Frederics disputed that characterization in their opposition brief, arguing appellate courts generally consider similar factors and that differing outcomes can reflect differing facts. The Frederics also argued that the Missionaries failed to show that alternative locations for the grotto were unavailable. An attorney for the Frederics did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. The case also puts two constitutionally significant areas of law alongside one another — religious exercise and the authority of local governments to regulate property use. While Gardner acknowledged that zoning serves a legitimate role in how local governments organize, he argued those same regulations remain subject to federal-level protections for religious exercise. That question, he said, reaches well beyond one prayer grotto in Kentucky. The SCOTUS ruling could affect disputes involving churches, synagogues, ministries and other religious organizations seeking to use their properties for worship or religious activities, according to Gardner. He warned that an overly narrow interpretation of the federal law could have “dire consequences” for religious land use around the country. For the Missionaries of St. John the Baptist, however, the case that could shape religious land-use law across the country began with something much smaller, a roughly 600-square-foot place of prayer.
Mamdani pledges millions to combat antisemitism while leaving key question unresolved
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced plans to combat antisemitism Tuesday afternoon despite leaving out a definition for what separates it from other forms of racial or religious prejudice. He also did not formally recognize the existence of Israel as he unveiled plans to create the Interagency Task Force to Combat Antisemitism. The plan’s announcement puts renewed scrutiny on Mamdani, the city’s first Muslim mayor, as he looks to undercut allegations that he lacks support for the Jewish community amid a rising number of hate crimes against the Jewish community. ANTISEMITIC VIOLENCE REACHES DEADLIEST LEVEL SINCE 1994, NEW GLOBAL REPORT FINDS “My administration has a responsibility to ensure New York City remains a place where Jewish New Yorkers can live their lives peacefully and safely, where they can walk down the street, enter their houses of worship and build their lives knowing that this city will stand with them,” Mamdani said in a strategy document. “But too many Jewish New Yorkers have told me that they are no longer certain that promise can be taken for granted.” Antisemitic acts make up the greatest slice of the city’s tracking for hate crimes in 2026, accounting for roughly 9% of the picture, according to NYPD reporting. In the first eight months of 2026, the city has recorded a hate crime uptick of 16% over last year’s levels. Recorded hate crimes in the “homosexual” category, for instance, make up 29 incidents, and those against Muslims make up another 21. Hate crimes against Jews have reached 181. One hundred and thirty-one of those are felony offenses. DOMINICAN REPUBLIC JOINS GLOBAL FIGHT AGAINST ANTISEMITISM WITH LANDMARK MOVE The strategy document, which lays out a number of policy proposals, notes the numerous “useful” definitions for antisemitism that already exist but also stipulates that the Mamdani administration would not adopt any of them. “New York City can and will leverage all of the tools at its disposal to combat antisemitism effectively without needing to adopt a definition for this specific form of hate,” the framework states. “Federal hate crimes statutes — which criminalize conduct motivated by bias against protected characteristics, such as race, national origin and religion — do not adopt a standalone definition of discrimination.” In practical terms, the proposal outlines a substantial increase in its funding to combat hate crimes, a jump from $3 million to $29 million annually. It further creates cooperation pathways between the NYPD, the Office for Prevention of Hate Crimes and the Commission on Human Rights, among other agencies. It also designates $2 million for the Queens Holocaust memorial and $2.5 million for the Center for New Jewish Culture in Brooklyn. Mamdani framed the proposal as the beginning of larger efforts to ensure the safety of the Jewish community. “We will fight antisemitism with urgency and resolve. And we will do so in relentless solidarity with the many communities who also know what it means to be targeted, marginalized or made to question their safety,” he said. “This Strategy is neither the beginning nor the end of this work. But it is an important milestone: a clear commitment from New York City government and a roadmap for the meaningful work ahead.” However, the plan ignited backlash from Jewish New Yorkers. “I sat with the Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism in July and told them what Jewish teachers and families need: a definition of the hate, an honest reckoning with anti-Zionism, and real security for synagogues and schools. What the mayor announced today does none of that,” Moshe Spern, president of United Jewish Teachers, told the New York Post. “Quoting the Talmud while refusing to name Zionism and putting $1 million in security across every house of worship in New York City is not a strategy. It is a disappointment.” ISRAELI MEDICS TRAIN US SYNAGOGUES HOW TO RESPOND TO ATTACKS, AS HIGH HOLIDAYS APPROACH Moshe Davis, the executive director of the Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism, gave Mamdani some credit for using some of his proposals but said, “It seems to make a conscious effort to erase the connection between the violence against Jews we are seeing in our city and the anti-Israel propaganda clearly fueling it,” according to the New York Post. “A report on antisemitism that ignores what is driving much of the hate and violence against Jews is tone-deaf and dangerous.” Mamdani’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
Sleeper Senate race emerges as unexpected headache for Republicans ahead of midterms
Republicans fully acknowledge they are facing political headwinds going into the midterm elections in November, and those winds are swirling in a race that has become quietly competitive as Election Day nears. Kansas has, for nearly a century, consistently elected Republicans to the Senate. But in a midterm election year when voters are unhappy with the Trump administration’s actions and its impact on the economy, the race between Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., and megachurch Pastor Adam Hamilton has tightened more than some in the GOP would have liked. Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., the Senate GOP’s campaign chief, acknowledged that the race is close but remained confident Marshall would hold on. WOKE MEGACHURCH PASTOR, DEM NOMINEE CALLED ON CONGREGATION TO REPENT FOR DRIVING, EATING BEEF “Listen, I think if you look at Kansas, it’s a very competitive state, more competitive than I’d like to see it. But the fact of the matter is that we’re gonna win in Kansas,” Scott said. Republicans are trying to maintain and expand their 53-seat majority but face many toss-up contests across the map and voters that are frustrated with high fuel prices, tariffs and the war in Iran, which could threaten that grip on power. Kansas isn’t in that toss-up category, but it was recently downgraded by “Likely Republican” to “Lean Republican” by the Cook Political Report and in Fox News’ election power rankings. “No one should be surprised that Adam’s message of leading from the middle and working together is resonating across Kansas,” Tyson Brody, a spokesperson for Hamilton told Fox News Digital. KANSAS DEMOCRAT BEGS KAMALA HARRIS NOT TO CAMPAIGN WITH HIM, ‘PLEASE DO NOT COME TO MY STATE’ “Roger Marshall has spent the past 18 months hiding from his constituents, voting to slash health care and supporting and endless war that’s led to skyrocketing gas and grocery prices,” he continued. “Kansans are ready for something different, and that’s why we’ll vote to elect Adam in November.” Still, Scott gave Marshall and others some advice that could be the recipe for success, even in close contests. “I told Roger Marshall the same thing I told all the candidates nearly two years ago: “You do one of two things. You either run afraid or you run unopposed,’” Scott said. “And, frankly, it’s not unopposed. “And, therefore, you can’t run to the tape. You have to run through the tape. I believe that Kansas is a competitive state,” he continued. “I will, however, say that, as I look at all the data, it tells me that Roger Marshall will be successful.” GOP SENATOR ALLEGES SCHUMER BEHIND ‘HIT JOB’ REPORT ON FORMER PATIENTS He has already gotten reinforcements in the form of Vice President JD Vance, who earlier this month rallied for the lawmaker and pitched to voters that Marshall, a former obstetrician, was a man who devoted his life to delivering babies and making sure that moms and children from every walk of life were safe and had the healthcare that they need.” “Let’s stand for Doc Marshall and send the crazy people packing, ladies and gentlemen,” Vance said. He will get more backup soon, too. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told Fox News Digital as he exited the Senate late Wednesday night he planned to travel to Kansas. When asked if Republicans would keep the majority, Thune said, “Of course we are.” Marshall is eying a second term in the Senate against Hamilton, a political newcomer who was previously registered as a Republican now running a centrist-aligned campaign. Marshall was first elected to the upper chamber in 2020, cruising to an 11-point victory while Republicans across the country took hits as Trump’s first term came to an end. Since then, he has aligned himself with Trump as many Republicans did during their time in total control of Washington. But in recent weeks and months, Marshall has started to distance himself from the administration, like pushing for ICE to coordinate with local law enforcement as agents descended upon southern Kansas or vowing to fight for jobs at Bombardier, a Canadian aircraft maintenance center that employs nearly 1,500 Kansans as Trump’s trade wars ensues. Hamilton has his own headaches, too. Marshall has consistently painted Hamilton as a “woke” pastor who has delivered sermons to Kansas’ largest United Methodist congregation on Black Lives Matter and climate change, among others. “As voters continue to learn more about Democrat Adam Hamilton, they are realizing his views are just a carbon copy of every other woke liberal in Washington,” Brent Robertson, a longtime senior advisor to Marshall, told Fox News Digital. “Voters are turning on this guy quicker than cider.” During one sermon six years ago, Hamilton called on his congregation to repent for eating and producing beef. Notably, Kansas is the third-largest cattle producer in the country. “Some of the things that we grow, because we like to eat them, like cattle, end up producing more carbon dioxide than other crops that we could grow, other forms of food that we could have,” Hamilton said. “And, so, in all of these ways, we are creating or adding to the amount of greenhouse gases in our world.”
Fox News Poll: Turek, Hinson in close Iowa Senate race
Economic concerns and party loyalty are key factors shaping Iowa’s U.S. Senate matchup. A Fox News statewide survey of Iowa likely voters finds Democrat Josh Turek with a two-point edge over Republican Ashley Hinson, 49% to 47%, well within the margin of error. Among registered voters, Turek is ahead by 4 points, 50% to 46%. That also falls within the range of sampling error and has been unchanged since June. The analysis below is based on likely voter results. Democrats are more unified behind state representative Turek (96%) than Republicans are of current Congresswoman Hinson (87%). Independents favor Turek by two-to-one, and 10% of Republicans back him. It’s Iowa’s partisan structure that keeps the race tight, as more voters identify as Republicans than Democrats. FOX NEWS POLL: MICHIGAN VOTERS SPLIT BETWEEN EL-SAYED AND ROGERS Iowa voters are split on control of the Senate: 49% prefer Democratic control and 48% favor Republican. With those numbers nearly matching the Senate matchup, both candidates are performing close to their party’s ceiling. Turek is preferred by 11 points among women, 16 points in the suburbs, 17 points among voters with a college degree, and 32 points among independents. Hinson is up by 7 points among men, 6 points among those without a college degree, 14 points among rural voters, and 41 points among White evangelical Christians. Economic pressure influences the contest. In the 2024 Fox News Voter Analysis, 3 in 10 Iowans described their families as falling behind financially. That share has risen to 4 in 10 today, and they back Turek by a 38-point margin. Meanwhile, those holding steady (45%) and getting ahead (13%) favor Hinson (by 14 and 53 points respectively). FOX NEWS POLL: VOTERS QUESTION WHETHER AI’S PROMISE OUTWEIGHS ITS RISKS In addition, 6 in 10 say the cost of living will be extremely important to their Senate vote decision. That outpaces other top issues, like President Donald Trump (43% extremely), immigration (39% extremely), and AI technology (27% extremely). Turek has the advantage among voters who say the cost of living, Trump, and AI technology are each extremely important to their vote, while voters prioritizing immigration favor Hinson. Trump won Iowa with nearly 56% of the vote in 2024. Today, that’s how many Iowa voters disapprove of his job performance as president (57%), while far fewer, 42%, approve. CLICK HERE FOR CROSSTABS AND TOPLINE The president’s ratings are only part of Hinson’s challenge. While 42% view her positively, 50% have an unfavorable view, including nearly 4 in 10 who are “strongly” unfavorable. In contrast, Turek’s ratings are net positive: 48% favorable to 40% unfavorable (24% “strongly” unfavorable). By a 9-point margin, more voters are concerned Hinson is too close to Trump than are worried Turek’s views are too liberal (52% vs. 43%). Among those “extremely” concerned, that gap widens to 14 points: 36% say Hinson is too tied to Trump, while 22% say Turek is too liberal. More of Turek’s backers are certain of their choice: 88% are committed to him compared to 77% for Hinson. Twice as many Hinson supporters say they might change their mind (20% vs. 10%). “Recent history and the state’s partisan makeup suggest Hinson can pull this out,” says GOP pollster Daron Shaw, who works on the Fox News Poll with Democrat Chris Anderson. “But the warning signs are clear: Iowa Republicans seem ambivalent, independents prefer Turek, and even her supporters say they aren’t sure.” Iowa hasn’t elected a Democrat to the Senate in 18 years (when Sen. Tom Harkin won his final term), and it’s been 20 years since they elected a Democrat as governor. In the Iowa governor’s contest, Democrat Rob Sand outperforms Republican Zach Lahn among likely voters by 53-44%. The race has been steady since June. Sand’s lead comes not only from getting the support of nearly all Democrats (97%), but also 14% of Republicans and 66% of independents (vs. 16% of independents for Lahn). Plus, 11% of voters backing Hinson for Senate switched parties to support Sand for governor. Conducted September 24-28, 2026, under the joint direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), this Fox News Poll includes interviews with a sample of 1,204 Iowa registered voters randomly selected from a statewide voter file. Respondents spoke with live interviewers on landlines (183) and cellphones (733) or completed the survey online after receiving a text message (288). Results based on the registered voter sample have a margin of sampling error of ±2.5 percentage points and for the subsample of 1,008 likely voters it is ±3 percentage points. Sampling error for results among subgroups is higher. In addition to sampling error, question wording and order can influence results. Sources for developing weight targets include the most recent American Community Survey, Fox News Voter Analysis, and voter file data. Weights are generally applied to age, race, education, and area variables to ensure the demographics of respondents are representative of the registered voter population. Likely voters are based on a probabilistic statistical model that relies on past vote history, interest in the current election, intention to vote, age, education, race, ethnicity, and marital status. Results among subgroups are only shown when the sample size is at least N=100. Fox News’ Victoria Balara contributed to this report.