Seneca Nation leader calls Trump’s Lake America renaming ‘unpresidential,’ demands reversal
A day after President Donald Trump signed an executive order renaming Lake Ontario “Lake America” amid a trade war with Canada, the leader of Seneca Nation of Indians asked him to reverse it. Calling Trump’s order “unpresidential,” President J. Conrad Seneca on Friday wrote, “The President cannot assert ownership over our culture or erase it through irresponsible political action. His order should be rescinded, and the name Lake Ontario should be left as it is, reflective of the Seneca people, other Haudenosaunee nations and all Indigenous people surrounding the lake.” Seneca explained that the lake derived its name from indigenous roots. TRUMP TAUNTS CANADA ON RENAMING LAKE ONTARIO THE ‘LAKE AMERICA’ AMID RISING BORDER TRADE RIFT “In our traditional Seneca language, its name is sga:nyodai:yoh, meaning ‘beautiful lake,’” he wrote in a message shared in the nation’s newsletter. “Long before the United States existed, and before settlers brought the English language to our lands, our Seneca and Haudenosaunee ancestors traveled Lake Ontario and surrounding waterways for many reasons, including diplomacy among our nations. Now, we are seeing the exact opposite of diplomacy.” He added that to the people of Seneca Nation, Lake America is not a “political pawn” but rather land that indigenous people have lived on for thousands of years. HILLARY CLINTON’S DIG AT TRUMP OVER LAKE ONTARIO NAME CHANGE SPARKS VIRAL BACKLASH: ‘SHOOTING BLANKS’ “The action that President Trump is taking is starkly un-presidential and demeaning to his office and his standing as the leader of the free world,” Seneca argued. “His blatant disrespect toward the Seneca people, other Haudenosaunee nations, and all Indigenous people is unacceptable.” He noted that President George Washington signed a treaty with several nations, including the Seneca, in 1794 “promising to live in peace and friendship with one another.” “The United States also promised our people the free use and enjoyment of our lands forever,” Seneca said. “President Trump’s aggression toward our culture with his Executive Order violates that peace, friendship and commitments of the Canandaigua treaty. “This is the latest in a long history of willful attempts to disregard the United States’ commitments to the Seneca and other Haudenosaunee nations,” he continued. “President Trump needs to be reminded of those commitments.” He added that Article 6 of the U.S. Constitution “clearly states that treaties are the ‘supreme Law of the Land,’ and need to always be honored as such.” HOUSE DEM’S ‘LAKE NATALIE’ JAB AT TRUMP AIDE SETS SOCIAL MEDIA ABLAZE: ‘STAY CLASSY’ Seneca called on all native groups and federal, state and local representatives — “regardless of political party” — to stand against the name change. “We will always call Lake Ontario by the name derived from the language of our ancestors — the name that, like the strength and influence of the Seneca people, will live on forever, long after the intrusive political tirades of individual men,” he said. ‘CAPTAIN CANADA’ FIREBRAND UNLOADS ON TRUMP WITH PROFANE ONE-LINER AS TRADE WAR ESCALATES Trump announced the name change Thursday. “The Lake of America was something I’ve been thinking about for a long time, actually,” he told reporters while signing an executive order in the Oval Office. “As you know, we took something called the Gulf of Mexico — we changed it — and now it’s very routinely the Gulf of America.” TRUMP TRADE CHIEF WARNS CANADA WALKED AWAY FROM ‘THE BEST DEAL’ TO TRIGGER 50% U.S. TARIFFS The president said he had directed Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and his department to update the Geographic Names Information System to reflect the name change. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney condemned the name change on X, writing, “The name is more than 400 years old, predating both the Confederation of Canada and the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America. We know that America is changing. Their trading relationships, their foreign policies, their national monuments, their hydronyms. Canadians also know that naming reality means calling it Lake Ontario — then, now and always.” VANCE SAYS CANADA FRIENDLIER TO CHINA ON TRADE THAN TO US: ‘INSANITY’ The move to rename the lake, which sits on the U.S.-Canada border, came amid a breakdown in trade between both nations, with Trump accusing Ottawa of unfair trade practices. Trump floated renaming the lake hours before Carney’s announcement of reciprocal tariffs on U.S. imports. TRUMP JUST EXPANDED HIS TARIFF PLAYBOOK WITH A POWERFUL TRADE WEAPON NO PRESIDENT HAS EVER USED The U.S. imposed new 50% tariffs on Canadian goods such as wine, furniture and dairy products, while Carney said U.S. trade demands proved Washington wanted to “destroy our major industries,” including autos, steel and aluminum, FOX Business previously reported. “Canada has been ripping us off for a long time on trade,” Trump said Thursday. “Very sadly, even the military, you know, we defend Canada for nothing. We don’t get anything. They don’t pay us to defend Canada.” Trump also jokingly floated renaming the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. “So, if you think about it, we have a gulf and we have a lake,” he said. “Now, all we need is an ocean. So maybe we’ll have to change the name of the Atlantic and or the Pacific. Maybe we’ll change them both.” Trump previously used geographic names to make political statements, ordering the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. Trump’s executive order has been criticized by several governors, including Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, Democratic Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers and Republican Vermont Gov. Phil Scott. “New York won’t be calling it that,” Hochul wrote on X. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., announced she plans to introduce House legislation that would nullify the change. “Donald Trump can sign all the executive orders he wants, but it will always be Lake Ontario,” she wrote in a press release. “Canada is not our enemy. It is our neighbor, our ally and one of Michigan’s most important economic partners. It is a friendship that no stroke of a pen can erase.” Fox News Digital has reached
Dem House hopeful’s delayed disclosure reveals mystery payments from Soros-linked groups
A waitress running for Congress in Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District was on the payroll of two left-leaning organizations with ties to billionaire investor George Soros’ Open Society Foundation. Rebecca Cooke has portrayed herself as a working-class outsider, touting her experience as a waitress, small business owner and nonprofit leader raised on a dairy farm. But a personal financial disclosure released two days after Wisconsin’s Aug. 13 primary shows she received more than $5,000 apiece for work with Third Way and the Pipeline Fund, two left-leaning organizations with financial ties to George Soros’ Open Society network. DEMOCRATIC GROUP LAUNCHES $15M WAR ON DSA AFTER SOCIALIST PRIMARY WINS: ‘MORTAL DANGER’ The Open Society network awarded $1 million to Third Way’s nonprofit research arm between 2023 and 2024, while the Pipeline Fund received $1.4 million directly from the Open Society Action Fund in 2024. Through the Open Society Foundation, which serves as the umbrella organization for Soros’ philanthropy network, Soros has distributed tens of millions of dollars to nonprofits and groups championing left-leaning causes like policing reform, LGBTQ rights and drug decriminalization. Soros has donated more than $32 billion of his personal fortune to the Open Society’s Foundation, which has been overseen by his son Alex Soros since 2022. The financial disclosure forms only report that the amount of money Cooke received from each organization was above $5,000, but they do not specify the exact amount. The personal financial disclosure form covered Jan. 1, 2025, through July 14, 2026. A spokesperson for Third Way confirmed with Fox News Digital reporting by The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that Cooke received $30,000 in payment “for a project focused on elevating the voices and concerns of working-class Americans that have too often been missing from the rooms where decisions are made.” The Foundation to Promote Open Society, a grant-making arm of George Soros’ Open Society Foundations network, donated a $500,000 grant to the Third Way Institute in 2023 and another one in 2024, according to IRS-derived grant records. Third Way Institute serves as the 501(c) research arm of the Third Way. In 2024, Third Way Institute transferred $21.9 million to Third Way, accounting for roughly 98% of the institute’s total spending that year. The institute said the money was used to support charitable and educational work on economic, national security, energy and social policy issues. SOROS NETWORK REBUILDS PROGRESSIVE PROSECUTOR PUSH AFTER STRING OF ELECTION LOSSES Fox News Digital reached out to Third Way for comment. Pipeline Fund is an organization that works to train, recruit and support progressive candidates running in state and local election races. It began operating independently in 2024 after spinning off from the Sixteen Thirty Fund, a liberal nonprofit network that has received tens of millions of dollars from the Soros-founded Open Society network. Tax records also show that the Pipeline Fund received $1.4 million directly from the Open Society Action Fund and approximately $2.26 million from the Sixteen Thirty Fund in 2024. Scattered across the country, Pipeline Fund has a network of campaign consulting groups, including one in Wisconsin known as Wisconsin Progress. “We can confirm Rebecca Cooke worked as a contractor for The Pipeline Fund in 2025 to help advance our mission of building a reflective democracy where working-class people, women, people of color and other underrepresented communities are fully supported to run for office and advance the needs of their communities,” Pipeline Fund said in an emailed statement to The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. HOUSE DEMOCRATS’ CAMPAIGN ARM DRAWS PROGRESSIVE FURY FOR TRYING TO ‘TIP THE SCALES’ IN KEY HOUSE PRIMARY Prior to making a bid for Congress herself, Cooke opened up her own Democratic campaign consulting firm in 2015 and worked with eight state and federal campaigns from 2015 to 2021. “Radical Rebecca Cooke is a paid political operative for far-left liberals and wants to push their socialist agenda. Commie Cooke may fit in at [a] Soros-funded consulting firm, but she is far too extreme to represent western Wisconsin,” National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Zach Bannon said in a statement to Fox News Digital. Cooke’s personal financial disclosure was not released until two days after the Aug. 13 primary after an extension she requested from the clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives in April. All candidates who spend or raise more than $5,000 for a House of Representatives race must submit a personal financial disclosure form 30 days before the election. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., blasted Cooke’s delay in releasing her financial records, saying it tells voters all they need to know about her. “For months, Democrats and Republicans across the 3rd District called on Cooke to release her financial disclosures. She had every opportunity to be transparent with voters. Instead, she chose to keep them hidden until after the primary,” Van Orden said in a news release. DEMOCRAT ESTABLISHMENT STRIKES BACK AS SOCIALIST CANDIDATE DOWNED IN BATTLEGROUND PRIMARY “That tells Wisconsin voters everything they need to know about Rebecca Cooke’s character. She was willing to deceive her own party to protect the political persona she built and gain political power.” But Cooke said her financial forms reveal that she truly is a working-class American. “I’ve always worn multiple hats to make ends meet and, in addition to waitressing, I worked on two projects related to getting more working class people to run for office and conducted research for an organization about how to better connect with working class voters,” Cooke said in an email to the Sentinel. “There are unique challenges to running for office as a working class person with an hourly wage job and a full-time campaign schedule. For example, I’m one of the thousands of people in this district who can’t afford health insurance. I’ve been proud to help make it easier for the next generation of working class leaders to step up and take our fight to Washington D.C.” Fox News Digital reached to Open Society Foundation, Cooke’s campaign and Pipeline Fund for comment.
Trump touts access to 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan oil in deal he says will slash gas prices
President Donald Trump on Friday touted an agreement with Venezuela that he said would lower gas prices by giving the U.S. majority control over 65 billion barrels of oil from the South American country’s proven reserves. The breakthrough comes as disruptions to global energy markets from the Iran war continue to push up prices at the pump, with Americans now paying an average of $4.08 per gallon for regular gasoline, up from $3.20 a year ago, according to AAA. The agreement with Venezuela will give the U.S. a 55% effective interest in the output of a new private company formed to manage the reserves, a U.S. official familiar with the deal told The Associated Press. While the U.S. will not immediately gain access to 35.75 billion barrels of oil, the 55% interest applies to the oil ultimately produced by the 17 Venezuelan fields covered by the agreement. TRUMP PREDICTS GAS PRICES WILL GO DOWN TO $2.50 PER GALLON IF STRAIT OF HORMUZ FULLY OPENS The agreement also allows the U.S. to purchase Venezuelan oil at cost, a provision that could give American buyers access to cheaper crude once production from the fields increases. The deal is unlikely to translate into an immediate drop in U.S. gasoline prices, however, because experts have said bringing significantly more Venezuelan crude to market will require years of infrastructure work and billions of dollars in investment, according to the AP. Rystad Energy, an independent energy research firm, said in July that Venezuelan oil production could jump 17% by 2028, but only if significant advances are made. According to the firm’s report, Venezuela will need “higher drilling activity, extensive workover campaigns, improved infrastructure and significantly greater rig availability.” Since much of Venezuela’s crude is heavy and viscous, the country also needs a steady supply of diluents — lighter hydrocarbons blended with the crude to make it thin enough to flow through pipelines and reach refineries and export terminals. In 2021, S&P Global described Venezuelan oil as having “the viscosity of asphalt.” TRUMP BLASTS BIG OIL FOR ‘MAKING TOO MUCH MONEY’ The U.S. Energy Information Administration has also previously weighed in on Venezuela’s troubled oil industry. In October 2023, after the Biden administration lifted most U.S. sanctions on Venezuela’s oil sector, the agency said “years of underinvestment and mismanagement” would limit growth. The Trump administration, however, is betting that U.S. involvement and a massive influx of private investment can reverse the decline. Trump said Friday the new agreement would greatly increase the U.S. oil supply and “substantially lower Gas Prices for all Americans, long into the future.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio similarly said the deal would bring nearly $100 billion in private investment to Venezuela and lower gas prices in the United States. U.S. oil companies have been cautious about investing in Venezuela, citing the country’s deteriorated infrastructure and uncertain business environment. Days after the Trump administration ousted Nicolás Maduro, Trump met with oil executives to discuss potential investment in Venezuela’s energy sector, but several expressed reservations. ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods said at the time that he viewed Venezuela as “un-investable.” The Associated Press contributed to this report.
House Republican aims to put Democrats on the record over DSA with resolution condemning socialism
Rep. Jeff Crank, R-Colo., introduced a measure Thursday condemning socialism in all its forms, telling Fox News Digital he wants to use the vote to force moderate House Democrats to take a more public stance against the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). “I keep hearing people like Hakeem Jeffries and others in the Congress saying that they oppose the DSA. Let’s see if they’re willing to vote for a resolution that would oppose them,” Crank told Fox News Digital in an interview Friday. Crank’s House resolution cites New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s victory as one of the clearest signposts of the DSA’s growing political momentum. A recent Brookings Institution analysis found that, as of Aug. 12, 123 candidates endorsed or recommended by national, state or local DSA chapters had won primaries this cycle. Most were running for local or state-level office. FAR-LEFT SURGE: MAMDANI-BACKED CANDIDATES OUST DEM ESTABLISHMENT INCUMBENTS Crank described the DSA movement as “anti-American” and “anti-Constitution,” arguing its members are often hostile to free speech, one of the core rights protected by the U.S. Constitution. He also accused DSA members of being antisemitic in their advocacy against Israel, particularly after the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks in Israel. “I would almost say the DSA in some ways is the marriage between socialism, the traditional socialism of Bernie Sanders, and the antisemitism of this sort of radical Arab movement,” Crank said. “If that’s a marriage, their child is violence, right? It’s violence and intimidation. It’s showing up at town hall meetings and trying to shout elected officials down, which, by the way, is completely anti-democratic.” MAMDANI FACES QUESTIONS OVER TIES TO OUTLET ACCUSED OF ANTISEMITIC TROPES One recent example of DSA members disrupting an elected official came in February, when the San Francisco DSA led a protest at a news conference held by Mayor Daniel Lurie, who is Jewish. Lurie was announcing a tax cut proposal when demonstrators repeatedly chanted “Tax the rich.” During the disruption, a woman also shouted, “Tax the Jews,” though DSA and other protesters said she was not affiliated with the group. Crank also took aim at several proposals contained in the DSA’s national program, arguing that they undermine “free and fair elections.” His House resolution calls for passage of the SAVE Act, which would require proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote in federal elections, while also highlighting the DSA’s support for extending voting rights to “noncitizens.” According to the DSA’s program, all permanent U.S. residents should have the right to vote, as should incarcerated people and those with criminal convictions. CLINTON-APPOINTED JUDGE TRIGGERS APPEAL AFTER BLOCKING KEY VOTER CITIZENSHIP LAW The program also calls for abolishing the Senate and replacing the Supreme Court with “a judiciary chosen by and subordinate to Congress.” Crank also criticized the DSA’s explicit opposition to capitalism, arguing that socialism has repeatedly failed both in the United States and abroad. “I find it ironic that many of the people who are pushing socialism or who are involved in the DSA movement, they’re people who came here from a different country, and now they come here and want to impose … the socialism that they left, that didn’t work,” Crank said. He singled out Mamdani as “the first verified failure of socialism,” citing his pied-à-terre tax. DSA CO-CHAIR PUSHES BACK ON SOVIET UNION COMPARISONS, WANTS PRISONS TO BE ‘LESS NECESSARY’ “You’re seeing socialism at its worst in places like New York with Mamdani, who’s saying, ‘Well, I am just going to tax anybody who has a big house here,’” Crank said. “Well, people can choose to not have a house in New York. So they leave. It doesn’t work. “He’s the first one to sort of get elected, and now he’s trying to spread it and get other DSA members around the country elected.” Crank also mentioned Melat Kiros, a 29-year-old DSA member who won her Colorado primary in July after handily defeating Democratic incumbent Diana DeGette. “[Kiros] said America deserved 9/11. So, tell me why that’s different? When you have a bunch of terrorists on Sept. 11 killing Americans because of ideology, how is that different than what Mao did? It isn’t. This is the insidiousness of this movement,” Crank said. Crank’s resolution similarly draws a line between modern democratic socialists and past communist regimes under leaders such as Mao Zedong and Joseph Stalin, asserting that socialism has led to famine, mass killings and more than 100 million deaths worldwide. Kiros’ comments on 9/11 stem from an interview she did June 22 with 9News journalist Kyle Clark, who asked her whether she believed the attacks were an “inevitable consequence” of American intervention. “Inevitable in the sense that we destabilized a lot of the Middle East, which led people to believe that another act of violence was the only response. And, again, just like I said before, our responsibility is to get rid of those conditions that lead to violence in the first place,” Kiros said. Crank’s resolution will be considered by the House Rules Committee on Monday, and there will be a vote likely sometime next week, the congressman told Fox News Digital.
Pennsylvania commissioner accuses Shapiro of ‘deceptive’ measles death framing as RFK Jr blasts Dem governor
A Pennsylvania county commissioner is challenging Gov. Josh Shapiro’s announcement of two measles-associated deaths, fueling a growing clash with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the state’s outbreak swells to 460 confirmed cases across 31 counties. Joshua Parsons, one of three Lancaster County commissioners, accused Shapiro of being intentionally “deceptive” during a news conference earlier this week, when the Democratic governor pointed to two “measles-related deaths” in the county. “Well, the governor, in the press conference, they said they were measles-associated deaths, but it was framed, and very much the underlying assertion to it, was that these were measles deaths,” Parsons told Fox News Digital. FORMER CDC ADVISER SAYS DECLINE IN KINDERGARTEN VACCINATIONS NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT: ‘KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON’ During a news conference Tuesday alongside Dr. Debra Bogen at Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health Hospital, Shapiro announced the deaths of two people who were unvaccinated for measles. “Today, we see the consequences of a lack of immunizations in the first measles-associated deaths that our commonwealth has seen in 35 years,” Shapiro said. Shapiro strongly urged Pennsylvanians to get vaccinated for measles during the news conference. “I want to be clear: This illness and death from measles is completely preventable,” he said. Parsons said Shapiro cast the deaths as being the result of measles. MEASLES DEATHS MAY HAVE BEEN ‘FABRICATED,’ RFK JR CLAIMS AFTER CORONER RAISES QUESTIONS Parsons noted that national media outlets framed the deaths as being from measles. The New York Times, in a story Tuesday still posted to its website, added the headline, “Two Unvaccinated People Died From Measles in Pennsylvania, Officials Say.” MEASLES DEATHS MAY HAVE BEEN ‘FABRICATED,’ RFK JR CLAIMS AFTER CORONER RAISES QUESTIONS However, according to conversations he had with the Lancaster County Coroner, Parsons claimed nobody in the county has died from measles this year. “The coroner reported that they don’t have … they had zero measles deaths or measles-associated deaths reported. And in Pennsylvania, if you have someone who dies of a contagious disease, that does have to be reported to the county coroner,” Parsons told Fox News Digital. MEASLES DEATHS MAY HAVE BEEN ‘FABRICATED,’ RFK JR CLAIMS AFTER CORONER RAISES QUESTIONS The coroner, Dr. Stephen Diamantoni, has also publicly stated in interviews with local media that he had not been contacted by either Shapiro or the Pennsylvania Department of Health and was surprised to learn of the news conference. “The coroner had one case where there was an infant who died in a home birth, and he’s talked about this publicly. And that infant died with measles but not of measles. At the time of the press conference, the state did not indicate who these two cases were or anything about them. Subsequently, they came out and said that this infant is one of the ones they’re counting,” Parsons told Fox News Digital. MEASLES DEATHS MAY HAVE BEEN ‘FABRICATED,’ RFK JR CLAIMS AFTER CORONER RAISES QUESTIONS The Pennsylvania Department of Health, in a statement to Fox News Digital, asserted that it consistently referred to the cases as “measles-associated.” “PA DOH did not describe the cause of death of either individual. As PA DOH has repeatedly made clear since Tuesday, the department consistently used the term ‘measles-associated’ in relation to these two deaths. That term means laboratory or epidemiologic evidence of measles is present — in both cases there was a positive measles test — but the disease may not be assessed by the medical certifier or coroner to be the immediate cause of death,” the statement said. MEASLES DEATHS MAY HAVE BEEN ‘FABRICATED,’ RFK JR CLAIMS AFTER CORONER RAISES QUESTIONS The coroner did acknowledge the presence of measles in the infant who died but said neither he nor the pathologist who examined the infant believed measles to be the cause of death. The coroner, according to Parsons, said the infant died of a lacerated spleen. He also said he has received no information about the second person mentioned by Shapiro and the Pennsylvania Department of Health. MEASLES DEATHS MAY HAVE BEEN ‘FABRICATED,’ RFK JR CLAIMS AFTER CORONER RAISES QUESTIONS Parsons said that suggested the deaths were not from measles. “The Health Department put out a statement in reply to some of these questions. And I think it just raised more questions, but one line they had in there was that not all deaths in Pennsylvania have to be reported to the county coroner, and that’s true. If you have, for example, an elderly person who dies of natural causes, that does not have to be investigated or reported to the coroner,” Parsons said. “But if you have someone who dies of an infectious disease, that does have to be reported. So, if there is a second death in Lancaster County, that should have been reported,” Parsons said. “Now, there’s an unlikely scenario that someone contracted measles here and then died outside the county, and that would be reported to another county coroner. And if that’s the case, which I think is highly unlikely, if it is the case, they should state that.” The Pennsylvania Department of Health, in response to Fox News Digital asking the department why it did not contact the coroner, said, “Pennsylvania Statutes Title 16 (Pennsylvania Statutes Title 16 P.S. Counties § 4236 | FindLaw) outlines when a coroner would be called in to investigate a death. While DOH collaborates with county coroners in various ways, including death reporting, DOH does not regulate or oversee coroner operations, nor are coroners involved in most deaths within their county. “ Kennedy was also critical of Shapiro’s comments. “Governor Shapiro’s unseemly rush to Lancaster County to convene a national press conference and his giddy delight in announcing two measles deaths was a morose commentary on the contemporary political dialogue,” Kennedy wrote in a post on X Wednesday. “The performance was a replay of the Democrats’ COVID playbook: fearmongering, misinformation, finger-pointing, and the weaponization of infectious disease fears for political gain. “The announcement appears to
Trump confirms Pentagon plans for 25th anniversary of 9/11 attacks, disputes report on Ground Zero absence
President Donald Trump said Friday that he’s going to be at the Pentagon to mark the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. A reporter on Friday asked the president why he was not planning to be in New York for the somber occasion. “Because I’m going to the Pentagon,” Trump shouted to the press at Joint Base Andrews. On Thursday, The New York Times reported that Trump was not planning to attend the ceremony at Ground Zero, where the Twin Towers came down, because he wouldn’t be allowed to give a speech. The annual event has banned politicians from speaking since 2012. I LOST MY WIFE ON 9/11. PLEASE LET THIS 25TH ANNIVERSARY BELONG TO THE FAMILIES When asked about the Times report, a White House spokeswoman called Trump a “proud New Yorker.” “President Trump has spoken about his own experiences watching the horrific events of September 11, 2001. On the 25th anniversary of this tragic day, the President will remember those who were killed at the hands of evil terrorists, honor their loved ones, and pay tribute to the brave first responders who put their lives on the line to rescue their fellow Americans,” White House principal deputy press secretary Anna Kelly said in a statement to Fox News. “The vice president is still traveling to NYC and all three sites will be represented with administration officials in attendance,” a White House official said, referring to the three Sept. 11 attack sites in Manhattan, at the Pentagon and near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed. After TMZ posted on X that Trump was “snubbing” the Ground Zero ceremony, White House communications director Steven Cheung fired back. “FAKE NEWS,” Cheung wrote. Trump lambasted the reporter behind in the Times article, writing on Truth Social Friday that she “made up a story that on September 11th, I’m not going to the World Trade Center, in New York City, because they won’t let me make a speech, and I’m going to the Pentagon in D.C., because I’m a featured speaker.” “This is more Corrupt News, I’ve been to New York many times over the years, and no one ever speaks, it’s a ‘solemn ceremony!’” Trump wrote in part. Trump said, “I would love not to speak, because I’m speaking all the time, and this is a day to remember the victims, and their beautiful family members.” Last year, Trump also chose to speak at the Pentagon for the 24th anniversary of 9/11, though he traveled to New York City later in the day to attend a Yankees game. JUDGE THROWS OUT KHALID SHEIKH MOHAMMED’S 9/11 CONFESSION IN ALREADY LONG WAIT FOR TRIAL The last time he attended the Ground Zero ceremony was in 2024, when he was the Republican presidential nominee. He was there alongside then-President Joe Biden and his election rival, then-Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump also did not attend the Ground Zero ceremony during his first term. He spoke at the Pentagon in 2017, then alternated in subsequent years between commemorations there and at the site in Pennsylvania. Nearly 3,000 people were killed in the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, when al-Qaeda hijackers crashed three commercial airliners into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Hijackers also seized United Airlines Flight 93, but passengers fought back before the plane crashed in Pennsylvania. The 9/11 attacks, which remain the deadliest in the nation’s history, prompted the invasion of Afghanistan and helped usher in the broader War on Terror, which later included the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. Fox News’ Patrick Ward contributed to this report.
Pop star-turned-Dem candidate’s defense of graphic murder video resurfaces in key House race
In a 2016 interview, Latin Grammy Award-winning artist and Democratic congressional candidate Bobby Pulido defended a fellow singer against criticism for a graphic music video that depicted acts of sexual violence and murder. In the video production of “Fuiste Mía” or “You were mine” by Gerardo Ortiz, a singer walks in on his girlfriend cheating on him. After shooting her lover, he then handcuffs her to a pole, blindfolds her, and gropes her before putting her in the trunk of his car and setting it on fire. In response to backlash, Pulido defended Ortiz, calling the video a matter of artistic direction. “I’ve made videos with suggestive images; some have stayed, others have been edited, and still others were never used. That’s the decision of the artist and their team,” Pulido said in response to public backlash against the production. Pulido’s resurfaced response to the music video is the latest in a series of controversies he has tried to downplay as he pursues a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in Texas’ 15th Congressional District — one of the country’s most competitive seats. FORMER DISNEY TEEN STAR EXPOSES CHILLING WARNING SIGNS OF PREDATORY BEHAVIOR IN HOLLYWOOD Pulido is best known for Tejano, or Mexican–Spanish folk-style, songs like “Desvelado” and “Se Murió de Amor,” and received five nominations for a Latin Grammy Awards, winning Best Tejano Album in 2025 and 2022. He filed to run for Congress in Texas’ 15th District, challenging Rep. Monica De La Cruz, R-Texas. A two-term incumbent, she last won election to the district in 2024 in a 57.1% to 42.9% victory over Democratic nominee Michelle Vallejo. Along the way, Pulido has drawn scrutiny for a resurfaced history of posting links to explicit websites on his personal X account — as well as for a social media post of what appeared to be him urinating on President Donald Trump’s Hollywood Walk of Fame star. Pulido has shrugged off criticism for both, stating in 2024 that it’s “it’s impossible to have Twitter and not watch porn,” and that he had only poured water on Trump’s star as a joke. More notably, Pulido has also had to fend off criticisms of bringing a registered sex offender to a Texas middle school benefit concert in 2018. DEM TIED TO CARTEL OPERATIVE SAYS ‘WHITE NATIONALISTS’ JOINING IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT TO ‘HUNT DOWN PEOPLE’ In that case, Pulido denied knowledge of his associate’s status at the time and has dismissed coverage of it as a “nothing story,” according to Axios. Similarly, in his defense of Ortiz, Pulido downplayed the music video, arguing that viewers had become accustomed to increasingly graphic images. “What happens when there’s a [car] accident?” Pulido asked, comparing the music video to real-life instances of tragedy. “Traffic doesn’t flow because people slow down or even stop to see what happened; something similar happens with the regional Mexican genre when these kinds of incidents occur. Pulido in the 2016 interview also noted that he didn’t agree always with his fellow artists’ depictions of women but said he believes everyone is entitled to an opinion. When asked about the music video and Pulido’s response to it, his campaign framed it as a distraction from other elements in the race, including controversy on the Republican side of the aisle. “This is emblematic of national Republicans doing anything and everything to distract voters from what are very real — not based on a fictional video — child abuse accusations against Monica De La Cruz and her refusal to release the Epstein files after thousands of girls were trafficked and abused,” a Pulido campaign spokesperson said. De La Cruz’s former husband, Johnny Hernández, accused her of verbally abusing his 14-year-old daughter from a previous relationship in 2021 divorce proceedings. Authorities did not press charges or open an investigation into the allegations. “Monica De La Cruz knows she’s losing, so she’s deploying the RNC to do her dirty work and deliberately mischaracterized a decade-old Spanish-language interview, in which Bobby said he respects artists’ right to make their own music – a right that Republicans used to believe in but apparently don’t when it comes to their opponents,” the campaign added. DEM RIPPED FOR ‘DISGUSTING’ ABSENCE ON BILL TO PUNISH VIOLENT CRIMINALS AFTER GIRL STRANGLED IN GRISLY KILLING At least one Republican onlooker is left unconvinced by the defense of the music video — and defenses of other past behaviors. “Bobby Pulido has spent his entire adult life defending perverts and predators while lashing out at members of law enforcement who keep Texans safe. He is a truly sick individual who is morally rotten,” Zach Kraft, a spokesperson for the Republican National Committee (RNC), said in a statement to Fox News Digital. Having cleared their respective primaries, Pulido and De La Cruz will face off in the state’s general elections on Nov. 3.
One question about the Constitution puts liberals’ appetite for sweeping change to the test
Fox News Digital spoke with attendees and activists at Friday’s March on Washington who voiced support for systemic political change, from sweeping reforms to bringing socialist policies to their hometowns as DSA-backed candidates notch primary victories ahead of the midterms. “I would definitely advocate for that from ground, up, like abolishing [the Constitution], rewriting it, including people’s voices that haven’t been included on there as well,” Sravya, a Washington, D.C. told Fox News Digital. “I would probably also rewrite all the oppressive amendments that are in there targeting marginalized individuals.” “March on Washington 2026: Defend the Vote” was held Friday at the Lincoln Memorial held on the 63rd anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington, organized by Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network. Fox News Digital spoke with a handful of attendees, asking whether they would support abolishing and rewriting the Constitution and whether DSA policies are good for the direction of America — questions that drew support from some of those interviewed. SOCIALISTS LAUNCH RADICAL PLATFORM TO ABOLISH THE US SENATE IN BID TO FUNDAMENTALLY TRANSFORM AMERICA Democratic leaders including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders took the stage to rally attendees around voting-rights and civil-rights protections. “I think so,” Sravya added when asked if the Senate should be abolished. “Or reconstructing it from ground up. I think that would be important because we have a lot of older leaders there currently that have been there for years. I think it needs a whole systemic reform.” SEN DEB FISCHER: THE LEFT’S WAR ON THE SENATE AND SUPREME COURT PUTS OUR REPUBLIC AT RISK “I’m in full support of abolition of the colonial structures that cause terror to all marginalized and oppressed people,” responded Darius from Maryland when asked the same question. Abolishing the Senate in one of the goals for the DSA platform, and several march attendees echoed the broader push for systemic change while also backing policies associated with Democratic Socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. DSA-backed candidates have defeated incumbent or establishment-backed Democrats in primaries from Colorado and New York to Pennsylvania and Michigan. There was also an appetite for more Mamdani-style candidates and eager to bring his agenda to their own hometowns. MAMDANI CLAIMS DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS CAN WIN ‘ANYWHERE’ AS DEMOCRATS FEUD OVER PARTY’S FUTURE “Yeah. I would definitely like that,” Kassandra, of Ann Arbor, Michigan, said when asked whether she would like to see her state move in the direction of Mamdani’s New York. Kassandra, a former volunteer for Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, pointed to universal health care, unions and removing money from politics as priorities. BERNIE SANDERS, DSA REVEAL DEMANDS FOR DEM PARTY AFTER SOCIALISTS SWEEP NEW YORK ELECTIONS “I definitely do think we should probably get on board with some universal health care like I said my biggest thing money out of politics,” said Kassandra. “I feel like [El-Sayed] is very like [pro] union. He wants to get everyone together and like support all different religions all different races and I really value human rights as a therapist.” Kassandra said there have been policies that are aligned with socialism that have come from previous presidents that were beneficial. Asked to identify specific examples, she declined to answer. MAMDANI CLASHES WITH DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS’ PUSH TO ABOLISH POLICE AND PRISONS Esteban, a New Jersey resident who works in New York City, said he has seen a “huge shift” since Mamdani took office. “I feel like someone who’s lived through a lot of mayoral terms in many different cities, this is probably the most change I’ve seen so quickly,” he said. “So far what I’m seeing is good change.”
Viral Dearborn pastor delivers blunt warning on El-Sayed Senate bid: ‘Can you imagine?’
DETROIT — A Black Christian pastor who went viral online for clashing with the city council in the nearby majority-Arab city of Dearborn issued a stark warning about Michigan senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed. “Can you imagine him being in the Senate, being able to recommend federal judges to presidents?” Pastor Lorenzo Sewell of 180 Church said during an interview with Fox News Digital. “That’s his goal. His goal is to be able to recommend federal judge to presidents for appointments, and then we’re going to find ourselves in Sharia law all over this land.” The Democratic nominee for Senate in the Wolverine State said in a 2009 New York Times interview that he was following Sharia law when he took out a special type of loan for an Ann Arbor condo. Sharia Law typically prevents interest on loans, and in some cases, Sharia-compliant Muslims can obtain loans wherein the amount of interest that would be paid over time is instead added to the purchase price of the home. VANCE UNLOADS ON EL-SAYED OVER SHARIA REMARKS: ‘THAT’S NOT MY GRANDPA’S DEMOCRATIC PARTY’ “Ultimately, the question is, when I die and I stand before God and go through everything I did in my life, I don’t want to say I did it the easy way instead of the Shariah-compliant way,” El-Sayed told the Times. El-Sayed’s spokeswoman Roxie Richner told the Washington Free Beacon when the report resurfaced earlier this month that, “While he lives by the rules of his faith, as many Americans of various faiths do, Abdul opposes any effort by any religious community to write their faith laws into the laws of our country.” In a response to Fox News Digital, Richner characterized Sewell’s comments as “cheap attacks and hateful rhetoric” from an ally of El-Sayed’s Republican opponent, Mike Rogers. EL-SAYED’S AGENDA PUTS ‘PERMANENTLY’ CHANGED AMERICA ON THE LINE IN MICHIGAN SENATE RACE, GOP FIREBRAND WARNS As referenced by Sewell, members of the Senate often recommend political appointees to presidents, and ultimately, in the case of federal courts, the Senate confirms them. He called El-Sayed a ‘fake doctor,’ referencing criticism of how El-Sayed has described his medical credentials. El-Sayed earned an M.D. from Columbia University but did not complete a residency and has not held a medical license in Michigan or New York. Sewell also accused prominent Muslim politicians including, El-Sayed, of resisting assimilation into American culture. “This is the type of conquering religion whereby people like Abdul El-Sayed, people like [Rep.] Rashida Tlaib, you have [Rep. Ilhan] Omar over there in Minnesota — you look at these people that have a desire, not to assimilate to our culture, but to take over our culture,” said Sewell. “They will wave flags to say ‘free Palestine.’ They will say ‘to the river, to the sea,’ all on American soil. I mean, these are the type of people that are not looking to assimilate. They’re looking to conquer.” He added that if Christian ministers and “patriots” didn’t step up to combat Sharia law, he would be, “preaching out the Quran” and his “church would become a mosque.” The pastor, who was born and raised on the east side of Detroit and says he was a “student of the streets” and “mentored by murderers,” is no stranger to media attention. TRUMP INAUGURATION PASTOR SAYS DEARBORN CHRISTIANS ‘AFRAID’ TO SPEAK OUT IN MUSLIM-MAJORITY CITY Just last week, he was the subject of a viral video from a Dearborn, Michigan, city council meeting. “We are not a nation of Muslims, we are nation of Christians!” he said in an impassioned speech directed towards the councilors. “America, we have lost this city. This is a city that is no longer up under American laws; we are up under Sharia law. We will not have it anymore.” DEMOCRATS’ CIVIL WAR HEADS TO MICHIGAN WHERE PROGRESSIVES FACE BIGGEST TEST YET IN HIGH-STAKES SENATE SHOWDOWN He also hosted then-candidate Donald Trump at his church during Trump’s 2024 campaign, rallying Black voters. He spoke at the RNC that year, too. Throughout the interview with Fox News Digital, Sewell expressed disdain for Democratic Party politicians, who he says have long oppressed African Americans. Sewell isn’t a fan of the company El-Sayed keeps, either. He slammed El-Sayed for campaigning with socialist streamer Hasan Piker, who said in 2019 that “America deserved 9/11.” Piker has also praised Mao Zedong and Communist China, and said capitalists should be murdered in the streets and spewed a litany of antisemitic comments. “I believe that there’s treason for you to say those type of words, that America deserves 9/11,” said Sewell. He described Piker, who last week mocked the death of Charlie Kirk by singing a viral internet song in front of a crowd of socialists, as the “demonic” version of Kirk. HASAN PIKER CALLS HAMAS ‘FAR MORE MODERATE,’ DISMISSES TERROR GROUP’S BRUTAL RULE IN GAZA El-Sayed further distanced himself from Piker Monday after Piker argued on his Twitch show that rhetoric linking American Jews closely to Israel could ultimately provoke attacks against American Jews — comments critics condemned as antisemitic victim-blaming. EL-SAYED DISTANCES HIMSELF FROM HASAN PIKER AFTER DISTURBING REMARKS ABOUT JEWISH AMERICANS “If Jews in America keep putting this idea out there that they are singularly invested in Israel, eventually someone is going to come around and take action, not against the state of Israel, mind you, but against American Jews,” Piker said on the stream. El-Sayed said all Americans should be able to advocate for their beliefs without fear of violence, affirmed his commitment to Jewish safety and called antisemitism a “scourge” that must be addressed “in all its forms.” He added that nobody speaks for his campaign except him and his campaign spokespeople. Sewell concluded that Biblical values are American values. “This is one nation under the God of the Bible. The reason why America is great — it’s because God is great,” he said. “God gave us victory, [in the] Revolutionary War, Civil War, World War I, World War II, [the] Civil
Trump’s tougher round-two birthright citizenship strategy hinges on key legal distinction, experts say
Conservative legal experts say President Donald Trump’s latest attempts to narrow birthright citizenship and crack down on birth tourism may have stronger legal footing than his first effort. After the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in June that children born in the United States to parents who are unlawfully or temporarily present are citizens at birth under the 14th Amendment, Trump issued two new executive orders taking narrower approaches to citizenship and birth tourism. The first, signed Aug. 6, directs federal agencies to withhold documents recognizing citizenship from certain children born when neither parent is a U.S. citizen, including some whose parents are members of designated foreign terrorist organizations, foreign-government employees or participants in transactions or fraud intended to obtain birthright citizenship. Experts from the Manhattan Institute, America First Legal and the America First Policy Institute, all right-of-center organizations, argued that Trump’s new order is narrower than his first and is built around longstanding exceptions to birthright citizenship that they believe could apply here. TRUMP SIGNS EXECUTIVE ORDERS TARGETING BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP, BIRTH TOURISM AFTER SUPREME COURT SETBACK “The Supreme Court has long recognized that there are exceptions to the 14th Amendment’s birthright citizenship clause for the aliens who are considered children of invading armies or the children of ambassadors,” America First Policy Institute senior fellow Chad Mizelle, who previously served as the Justice Department’s chief of staff, told Fox News Digital. “So in a situation where you have a terrorist here contrary to the laws of the United States … who is looking to do harm … That has long been recognized by the Supreme Court, and basically going back to the history of our country, as recognized exceptions to any sort of claim of birthright citizenship.” United States v. Wong Kim Ark, decided by the Supreme Court in 1898, recognized exceptions to birthright citizenship for children of diplomats and children of alien enemies born during a hostile occupation. Trump’s order argues that members of foreign terrorist organizations can fall within that enemy exception. TRUMP BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP FIGHT COMES ROARING BACK WITH ‘INVADERS’ PLAY AFTER KAVANAUGH ROADMAP “The Supreme Court ruled that you can’t restrict birthright citizenship to kids of people in the country temporarily or illegally,” Manhattan Institute director of constitutional studies Ilya Shapiro told Fox News Digital. “But what the new executive order does is it goes to one of the classic exceptions to birthrights citizenship, two of the classic exceptions, those who owe an allegiance to a foreign government, meaning employed by a foreign governing diplomats otherwise, and those who are invaders of foreign armies and terrorists, members of foreign organizations hostile to America, certainly qualify in that category.” David Bier, the director of immigration studies at the libertarian Cato Institute, however, argued that the president’s attempt to redefine what constitutes an alien enemy without going through Congress puts the administration on legally shaky ground. “Congress ultimately establishes what it means to be subject to U.S. jurisdiction,” Bier told Fox News Digital. “There’s this very limited exception for accredited diplomats and everyone else in the United States is subject to U.S. laws so the idea that the president himself on his own authority can decide who is subject U. S. jurisdiction and U.S. laws is really a radical expansion and assertion of executive power and really would be unprecedented in the history of the United States.” JACKSON ACCUSES THOMAS OF ECHOING INFAMOUSLY RACIST COURT DECISION IN BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP CLASH “I really do think this case is testing a different proposition from the earlier case,” Bier added, explaining that the issue at hand has more to do with executive power than birthright citizenship. “And I think it’s a lot more questionable as well.” Amanda Frost, a professor at the University of Virginia School of Law, pointed out that United States v. Wong Kim Ark specifies that only children of enemies “occupying” some portion of the country are barred from citizenship at birth, meaning that Trump’s order would not apply to terrorists simply residing within the country. She said the Trump administration could potentially expand who is legally defined as a diplomat to preclude more people from birthright citizenship, but explained such a move would make it difficult to prosecute individuals for criminal offenses, a concern shared by Bier. Frost and Bier both believe the new executive order should be ruled unconstitutional. Some have floated the issue of standing as a potential problem for those looking to challenge Trump’s order. Legal standing requires plaintiffs to show they suffered or imminently face a concrete injury caused by the defendant that a court can remedy. “It’s going to be interesting to see who actually does have standing to challenge this order,” America First Legal co-founder and president Gene Hamilton told Fox News Digital. “Is there somebody who thinks that they’re going to swept up in the definition of a foreign terrorist organization? And if so, it would be kind of fun to see them try to sue the government or have someone sue on their behalf.” Trump’s new order is already facing legal resistance. TRUMP TO ASK SUPREME COURT TO REHEAR BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP CASE AFTER ‘INSANE DECISION’ The same groups who challenged his initial order are now arguing that his new one unlawfully creates exceptions to birthright citizenship that conflict with the Supreme Court’s June ruling. The order remains on the books but is not scheduled to take effect until Sept. 6, with a Maryland judge scheduled to hear an injunction request Aug. 28 and a related motion still pending in New Hampshire. Issued on the same day as the first new executive order, the second order directed the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security to deny travel visas to or pursue removal actions against individuals believed to be in the country for the purposes of birth tourism. Birth tourism is a process through which noncitizens enter the United States while pregnant and give birth in order to secure citizenship for their child. Hamilton described this second order as