WATCH: Black bishop calls voter ID argument ‘deeply insulting’ after explosive noncitizen registration report
EXCLUSIVE: Black bishop and author Earl Walker Jackson blasted Democrats and the left over what he called the “deeply insulting” and “deeply offensive” claim that minorities and African Americans cannot get I.D.s to vote. Debate erupted this week over voter I.D. requirements after Reuters reported that an investigation found 30,000 noncitizens were “erroneously” registered to vote in 11 states. Jackson, a nondenominational Christian leader and descendant of enslaved ancestors, said the findings underscored what he described as a growing problem of noncitizen voting that disenfranchises American citizens. In an interview with Fox News Digital, Jackson charged, “Why the Democrats are so committed to this can only be explained one way: they think it empowers people who shouldn’t vote to vote, and they believe those people are going to vote for them.” “This is nothing but a power grab,” he posited, emphasizing that “every vote by a noncitizen does in fact cancel out the vote of an American citizen, or it amplifies it in a way that’s illegal or inappropriate.” BOMBSHELL VOTING SCANDAL ADDS TO PATTERN OF NONCITIZEN VOTERS AS TRUMP WARNS OF THREAT TO ‘HEART’ OF DEMOCRACY Reuters reported on Wednesday that more than 30,000 self-declared noncitizens were added to U.S. voter rolls since 2000. The outlet attributed the erroneous registrations to “software glitches and clerical errors” and said its review suggested “inadvertent bureaucratic failures, rather than organized efforts to register immigrants illegally.” Reuters said it was unable to determine how many noncitizens actually cast ballots. The errors occurred in California, Illinois, Iowa, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and Virginia. Don Palmer, the senior legal fellow for election integrity with the Heritage Foundation, told Fox News Digital that due to legal loopholes and loose reporting requirements, he believes the 30,000 number “is actually quite low.” “I think it’s undercounting it. I think those are the identified non-citizens that have been accidentally or erroneously placed on the voter rolls through the mistake of the driver’s license agency. I think it’s much more because we don’t know in a lot of states, either they have not conducted the audits or they’re not using tools to find noncitizens that may have accidentally been placed on the rolls,” he said. Palmer said “the answer really is that there needs to be more care taken to developing a system of verifying citizenship and you just don’t see that in most states.” BIDEN ADMINISTRATION GRANTED WOMAN GREEN CARD MONTHS BEFORE SHE ILLEGALLY VOTED IN 2024 ELECTION: DHS “If they’re going to do voter registration, they need to make sure that there’s a verification in place for identity and for citizenship, just as if you come into an agency and you’re getting a driver’s license or identification card, you’ve got to show that I.D., you’ve got to make sure that your identity is confirmed, similarly, if you’re going to register someone to vote at the driver’s license agency, there needs to be a verification process or a documentation process to ensure that you are a citizen,” he said. Meanwhile, after hearing the 30,000 figure, Jackson told Fox News Digital that “the sad reality is I’m not shocked.” “I wonder if it’s more,” he said, adding, “We’ve been told, particularly by Democrats, that that’s not happening, that there’s nothing to see here, and yet we hear again and again documentation that it is happening.” With this in mind, he decried efforts to resist more stringent voter eligibility verification and identification. He took particular issue with those equating voter I.D. requirements as anti-Black and a new form of Jim Crow. “Forgive me for being personal about this for a moment, but I just find this deeply insulting and deeply offensive because the implication is that somehow if you are black, no matter how wealthy, educated, well-to-do, somehow getting an ID is a problem for you,” he said. “But on the other hand, if you’re white, no matter how poor, no matter how uneducated, no matter what your circumstances are, somehow you can get an I.D., that’s not a problem, I mean, it’s preposterous.” DESCENDANT OF SLAVES SHAMES SMITHSONIAN’S WOKE ‘INDOCTRINATION’ AGAINST THE ‘GREATEST NATION ON EARTH’ He pointed to the hotel where he was staying as an example. SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER “Look, I’m in a hotel right now … What was the first thing they asked me for when I walked up to the counter? May we see your I.D., please? Should I say, ‘Wait a minute, oh, you’re discriminating against me. You know Black people can’t get I.D.s; how dare you ask?’ he said. “I mean, it’s ridiculous.” “I don’t hate illegal aliens, I don’t want to see them harmed or hurt, but they don’t have a right to vote in our elections, and they shouldn’t be permitted to do so,” he concluded. “Anybody who wants to say, well, ‘You’re a bigot, you are a hater,’ I mean, they’re going to say that. But I think most Americans are people of goodwill and don’t feel that way at all; we’re simply trying to preserve the integrity of our electoral system.”
How a six pack of beer and the Magna Carta could finally fix a problem plaguing Americans for decades
The Supreme Court will soon hear oral arguments in a case out of Alaska that centers around an airplane, a six pack of beer, and an amendment to the Constitution that traces its history back centuries as a legal expert lays out the potential impact of the ruling to Fox News Digital. “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted,” the 8th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution reads. That amendment is at the heart of a case that will be heard by the Supreme Court in December and Cully Stimson, a senior legal fellow at Heritage Foundation, described it as “the case that libertarians and freedom-minded people have been hoping for for years.” Kenneth Jouppi, now 82, was operating a one-man air taxi service using his personally-owned 1969 Cessna plane in 2012 when Alaska state troopers executed a search warrant on his plane and found alcohol on board, including one six-pack that they said was plainly visible. At the time, Jouppi was on a runway in Fairbanks preparing to take a customer and her groceries to the remote village of Beaver near the center of the state. SUPREME COURT REJECTS MICHIGAN FAMILY’S CLAIM THAT COUNTY COMMITTED ‘HOME EQUITY THEFT’ OVER $2,200 TAX DEBT Having beer on board wasn’t illegal on its own and Jouppi says he was not aware the woman had the beer with her. However, since Beaver had banned the possession or sale of alcohol within its limits, Jouppi was convicted of alcohol importation, a misdemeanor. The Alaska Supreme Court held that, under the alcohol importation ban, the state was required to confiscate Jouppi’s Cessna. Jouppi has since argued in court that the state’s seizure of his plane, valued at $95,000, runs afoul of the 8th Amendment’s ban on excessive fines. Now, the Supreme Court will weigh in on whether he’s right. “Taking a guy’s airplane, livelihood because he tried to take a six-pack of beer into a dry village, I mean can there be a more outrageous abuse of the excessive fines clause?” Stimson said. “I don’t think so. So honestly, in a perfect world, it should be 9-0 for Mr. Jouppi.” Stimson says the idea that governments should not be able to devastate citizens with fines dates back centuries to the Magna Carta, the 1215 English charter that limited the king’s power and established the principle that rulers are subject to the law, and explained in a recent Daily Signal article that prohibition on excessive fines is backed by “8 centuries of proportionality.” THE FBI TOOK A WOMAN’S LIFE SAVINGS, BUT A NEW BILL WOULD END THE ‘LAWLESS’ SEIZURE OF AMERICANS’ PROPERTY At the center of the case, Stimson explained, is whether Alaska’s forfeiture of Jouppi’s roughly $95,000 airplane was proportionate to his misdemeanor conviction for bringing a six-pack of beer into a dry village. Alaska argues the plane was worth less than 10 times the maximum possible fine of $10,000, while Jouppi’s attorneys point to the sentence he actually received: the minimum $1,500 fine and three days in jail. The Supreme Court will consider whether proportionality should be measured against the maximum penalty allowed by law or the specific punishment imposed in Jouppi’s case. “Alaska’s Brief spends a lot of ink on the purpose of these local rules that create dry cities,” Stimson said. “They spend a lot of ink on alcoholism in Alaska and all the rest of it. All of that’s irrelevant. If it was that important, they would have made it a felony and they would have made it a really serious felony with a lot of jail time and a huge forfeiture. They made it a misdemeanor. He was convicted of a misdemeanor and he got three days in jail.” Stimson pointed to the trial judge in the case who refused to take Jouppi’s plane in the first place and said that was the correct decision. LIBERAL JUSTICE HAMMERS SUPREME COURT FOR FAST-TRACKING EMERGENCY DOCKET CASES “The state appealed that, it came back to the judge on remand from the Court of Appeals and the judge said, I find that the request by the state is a violation of the Eighth Amendment’s excessive fines clause,” Stimson said. “The state appealed again. It went to the Court of Appeals, and then went to the Alaska Supreme Court,” Stimson explained. “So even the trial judge, when he had two bites of the apple, refused to take the plane and I think you really have to give credit to that trial judge, who was in the courtroom, who understood that this was almost a 90-year-old man, who was an Air Force veteran, whose only job and means of income besides Social Security was flying this plane to villages as a taxi cab driver, essentially. And so, if the government can do that, the state or federal government can take your means of livelihood away from you for a misdemeanor, we’re in deep, deep trouble as a country.” When ruling on Jouppi’s case, the court will have the opportunity to seriously rein in the ability of state and local governments to impose asset forfeiture, a longtime goal of civil libertarians, which has been an issue for decades in the United States as Americans have pushed back on excessive fines and seizures from government agencies. Stimson told Fox News Digital the Supreme Court has only ruled on the excessive fines clause five times and has “never really laid out exactly what constitutes an excessive fine.” He touted the significance this ruling could have and pointed to the amicus brief in the case filed by the Buckeye Institute in Ohio as something that “really stood out to me” “They talk about all the incentives built into the system that can be and are abused by law enforcement when they arrest you for this crime and they take all of this of yours over here, or they arrest you for this little tiny crime and then they take this,”
Kamala Harris uses flower analogy to explain social media algorithms while discussing AI, midterms
Former Vice President Kamala Harris used yellow and pink flowers to explain how social media algorithms can repeatedly feed users similar content, arguing that the technology can influence what people see online. Harris made the remarks during an appearance on “Off Air with Big Boy” after host Big Boy asked about AI, TikTok, Instagram and the role personalized algorithms could play in shaping how Americans consume information, including ahead of the midterm elections. “There is a part of this that is about understanding that, you know, if you keep seeing the same thing over and over again, know that you are being targeted,” Harris said. “Because you looked at it the first time, they’re just going to keep sending it to you, which means they’re trying to dumb people down with the assumption that people don’t have any interest beyond what they’ve already seen,” she continued. CHRIS MURPHY CALLS FOR ‘REGULATING THE INTERNET’ SO PEOPLE WON’T FALL FOR A ‘DEMAGOGUE LIKE DONALD TRUMP’ Harris, who previously played a leading role in the Biden administration’s work on artificial intelligence, continued with a colorful example. “The algorithm’s suggesting I have no more interest — because I’m looking at this yellow flower, I’m only interested in yellow flowers, as though my brain can’t handle the fact that there may be a pink flower that I might be interested in looking at,” Harris said. “Part of it is understanding how the algorithm is manipulating us and figuring out how we’re going to psych it out a bit,” she added. Harris’ explanation drew a mocking response from Fox News hosts, including Sean Hannity. “What was that?” Hannity said while reacting to the soundbite. HARRIS KEEPS 2028 DOOR OPEN AS SHE HITS MIDTERM CAMPAIGN TRAIL, WARNS ‘28 WON’T MATTER’ WITHOUT 2026 Hannity’s guest, Fox News host Jimmy Failla, joked that Harris thinks “AI is Allen Iverson from the Philadelphia 76ers.” Harris, the Democratic Party’s 2024 presidential nominee, has not said whether she will seek the White House again in 2028. She has faced criticism in the past over her explanations of artificial intelligence, including remarks she made while serving as vice president in 2023. “AI is kind of a fancy thing,” Harris said at the time. “First of all, it’s two letters. It means artificial intelligence, but ultimately what it is is it’s about machine learning.” Harris’ latest comments come after she called on President Donald Trump earlier this month to pursue an international agreement – including with China – aimed at limiting dangerous uses of AI and establishing global testing standards. Fox News Digital’s Peter Pinedo contributed to this report.
Fulton Sheen became a TV sensation preaching faith, morality and warnings Michael Knowles says still resonate
Archbishop Fulton Sheen drew tens of millions of Americans to their TV sets with little more than a chalkboard, a cape and a message about Christianity, morality and the threat of communism. More than seven decades later, conservative commentator Michael Knowles said he believes the legendary Catholic broadcaster could deliver essentially the same message and immediately find himself branded a “far-right extremist.” “I think he would be taking his first breath to utter the first syllable of the very first sentence just when someone called him a far-right extremist,” Knowles told Fox News Digital. “He wouldn’t need to change his message.” BISHOP ROBERT BARRON: THE REAL REASON COMMUNISTS FEAR RELIGION AND WANT BELIEVERS SILENCED Sheen was formally beatified, or formally “blessed” by the Roman Catholic Church Thursday in St. Louis, marking a major step toward possible sainthood for one of the most recognizable religious figures of 20th century America. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump joined Catholics celebrating Sheen’s life, the White House called him the first American-born bishop to be beatified by the Catholic Church. Long before podcasts and social media gave religious figures direct access to enormous audiences, Sheen became one of America’s most successful religious broadcasters. His radio program, “The Catholic Hour,” reached more than 4 million people, according to Vatican News. He later made the leap to television, where “Life Is Worth Living” eventually captivated an estimated 30 million viewers. The format was strikingly simple. AMERICA HAS FOUNDING FATHERS A CATHOLIC SAINT WAS A FOUNDING MOTHER Wearing his clerical robes and standing before a chalkboard, Sheen spoke directly to viewers about faith, morality, suffering and the dignity of the human person, weaving theology with stories and humor. “He was the very first televangelist,” said Knowles, who argued Sheen understood something about mass communication that remains true in the digital age. “He went where the people were.” Sheen’s reach extended far beyond a conventional religious audience. The White House also noted that he competed with entertainment giants Milton Berle and Frank Sinatra in weekly ratings, appeared on the cover of Time magazine and won an Emmy for outstanding television personality. CHASTITY BEFORE MARRIAGE? NO COHABITATION? DATA SAYS COUPLES WHO SKIP BOTH MAY HAVE STRONGER UNIONS Among the millions of Americans who encountered Sheen through television was a boy who would eventually become the first American pope. Pope Leo XIV has recalled encountering Sheen’s evangelization while growing up. Decades later, Leo approved Sheen’s beatification in St. Louis. Knowles said Sheen would likely have embraced podcasts, social media and other modern platforms with the same enthusiasm. But the message delivered through those platforms, Knowles argued, could put Sheen at odds with parts of modern American culture. Asked what would get the bishop “canceled” first in 2026, his Catholicism, his anti-communism or his refusal to apologize for either, Knowles said the three were difficult to separate. “His absolutely unapologetic apologetics,” Knowles said. Knowles argued that Sheen’s traditional Catholic teachings about sex, marriage and human nature would draw particularly fierce criticism today. “They would have tried to cancel him,” Knowles said, before adding that Sheen would ultimately have “the last laugh in heaven.” Sheen’s opposition to communism was central to his public ministry and was emphasized by the White House as Americans marked his beatification. The presidential message described Sheen as bringing Christian teaching to a world “threatened by the titanic forces of communism.” The White House also recalled Sheen warning in the 1960s about what he described as a destructive impulse sweeping American society. BISHOP ROBERT BARRON: THE WAR ON CHRISTIANS IS REAL, AND THE WORLD CAN NO LONGER STAY SILENT “Our nation is too full of those that are crying, ‘Down,’” Sheen said in the remarks shared by the White House, before listing schools, churches, teachers, government and police. “Can you build anything down?” Knowles said Sheen’s warnings continue to resonate because the underlying debate about human nature has not disappeared in modern times. He tied the recurring appeal of communist and utopian political movements to the Christian doctrine of original sin, arguing that political systems fail when they begin from a mistaken conception of human nature. “When their policies are implemented, they fail,” Knowles said. Yet Sheen’s journey to Thursday’s beatification ultimately rests not on his television ratings or political commentary, but on the Catholic Church’s assessment of his religious life and a miracle attributed to his intercession. His cause for sainthood opened in Peoria, Illinois, in 2002. The miracle accepted for Sheen’s beatification centered on a child born in 2010 without a heartbeat or respiration, according to an account published by Vatican News. After 61 minutes, the child was revived and ultimately recovered to full health. Pope Francis approved the miracle in 2019, clearing a major hurdle in Sheen’s path toward beatification. The Catholic Church’s recognition of Sheen was not presented merely as a celebration of his TV celebrity. Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, who represented Pope Leo at Thursday’s beatification Mass, emphasized Sheen’s relationship with Christ and missionary work rather than his fame. In an apostolic letter read during the ceremony, Leo described Sheen as an evangelist who used modern communications to proclaim the Gospel. Sheen’s connections to the modern papacy stretch much further back. He participated in the Second Vatican Council, where, according to a biography published by Vatican News, he encountered two clerics who would eventually become popes: Archbishop Karol Wojtyla, the future Pope John Paul II, and Father Joseph Ratzinger, the future Pope Benedict XVI. Shortly before Sheen’s death, his path crossed John Paul II’s again. During the pope’s 1979 visit to New York, a physically weakened Sheen approached John Paul at St. Patrick’s Cathedral and attempted to kneel before him. John Paul lifted him up and embraced him, according to the Vatican account. “You have written and spoken well of the Lord Jesus Christ,” John Paul told him. “You are a loyal son of the Church.” Sheen died just two months later on Dec. 9, 1979. For Knowles, however, Sheen’s
WATCH: Former Dem Lt Gov reveals why he resigned after sexual harassment probe rocked state
FIRST ON FOX: Former New Jersey Lt. Gov. Dale Caldwell insisted on camera Friday that he resigned “to make a difference” rather than impede Gov. Mikie Sherrill, while directly disputing the findings of a sexual harassment and ethics probe that forced him from office. Caldwell’s departure came just one day after Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill publicly called for his resignation following a months-long independent ethics investigation. The 61-page report described repeated ethics violations, including a “substantiated” finding of sexual harassment and repeated improper efforts to secure a state job promotion for a woman with whom he was romantically involved. Speaking on camera for the first time since his resignation to a reporter outside his home, Caldwell slammed the state’s investigative report as “specious,” “ridiculous” and “poorly done,” adding he resigned to keep any “distraction” away from the Sherrill administration. “I’m not resigning because of that ridiculous report,” Caldwell said on camera. “I’m resigning because I don’t want to be a distraction to the Mikie Sherrill administration. HOUSE DEMOCRAT INVESTIGATED OVER ALLEGED ‘INAPPROPRIATE SEXUAL CONTACT’ WITH STAFFER “If I’m going to impede anybody else’s ability to be successful, then I can move on to something else,” Caldwell added, citing his history as a university president and working at the Deloitte consulting firm. When pressed about the allegations in the report, Caldwell encouraged people to go read it for themselves but said he was only providing specifics through his attorney for now. “I just think it was poorly done. It was poorly done. I mean, I just think that there are ways that they could have done better. And I was just disappointed in the legal, the legal work in that,” Caldwell added. GOP LAWMAKER’S GIFTS, ‘EFFUSIVE AFFECTION’ TOWARD YOUNG STAFFERS DETAILED IN EXPLOSIVE ETHICS REPORT Caldwell also mentioned that he spoke with Gov. Sherrill via text message Friday, noting “she’s a wonderful person” and “she really means well” but did not provide any more specifics on that conversation. “This is one of those things that happens. And as I said, I’m going to continue to work as a private citizen,” Caldwell said. “I’m freed up to do a lot more things. So, I’m looking forward to supporting the administration and really supporting folks.” According to the probe into Caldwell’s behavior, conducted by an independent law firm hired by the state, Caldwell violated ethics rules after telling a female staffer that “you young women are looking for young sperm” after she told him her younger friend was not interested in a romantic relationship with him. Investigators concluded the remark constituted sexual harassment and found Caldwell’s denial that he made it was not credible. Other findings from the probe included violations of the code of conduct and ethics around bringing guests to ticketed events without reimbursement and seeking a promotion for a state employee with whom he had a romantic relationship. FORMER TRUMP CABINET OFFICIAL HAD ‘INAPPROPRIATELY CLOSE’ RELATIONSHIP WITH BODYGUARD, IG FINDS Lawyers for Caldwell said Thursday they “strongly disputed the three findings in the investigation” because its conclusions “go further than the evidence supports,” according to NBC News. But Sherrill pushed back on the criticism from Thomas Calcagni, Caldwell’s lawyer, of the investigation, saying she thought it was “very thorough,” adding it “lays out exactly what the investigation looked into, who they contacted and spoke to, and I think lays out a pattern and practice of long-term concerning behavior.” She also called the claims of sexual harassment “substantiated” and said Caldwell continued to violate standards despite “multiple” violations and ethics trainings. Caldwell was also serving as New Jersey’s secretary of state, heading an office that oversees elections. Sherrill said Friday that the state’s acting comptroller, Shirley Emehelu, would become acting secretary of state with just weeks to go until the midterm elections. Under the New Jersey State Constitution, a vacancy in the office of the lieutenant governor must be permanently filled by the governor within 45 days. Addressing the transition, Sherrill confirmed she will appoint a permanent successor within that constitutionally mandated 45-day window but stated she does not plan to name an acting lieutenant governor in the interim. Without an interim lieutenant governor in place, the line of gubernatorial succession falls to Senate President Nicholas Scutari in the event of an emergency or if Sherrill leaves the state before a permanent appointment is made.
St Paul police chief sues mayor, alleging she called herself a ‘MILF,’ sexually harassed him and retaliated
St. Paul, Minnesota, Mayor Kaohly Her made explicit sexual comments — including innuendos about body parts — and engaged in a campaign of harassment and retaliation against the city’s police chief, according to a lawsuit. Police Chief Axel Henry, who has served as St. Paul’s top law enforcement officer since 2022, alleges Her made multiple inappropriate comments, including one incident in which she referred to herself as a “MILF” and made sexually suggestive comments regarding his genitalia, according to the 73-page complaint. The suit also alleges Her made unwanted physical contact with Henry, including placing her hand on his upper thigh beneath a conference table during a budget meeting. NEW JERSEY GOV MIKIE SHERRILL CALLS ON LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR TO RESIGN AFTER SEXUAL HARASSMENT INVESTIGATION In addition, Her reportedly told the chief that her marriage was in trouble, stating that she and Henry “needed to be friends” or “this was not going to work” and emphasizing that they needed a “close relationship,” according to local reporting on the suit. The lawsuit further details allegations that Her frequently visited the police department gym when she knew Henry was present, referred to him and other employees as “beefy” and “simulated an orgasm” while exerting herself near them during workouts. GOP LAWMAKER’S GIFTS, ‘EFFUSIVE AFFECTION’ TOWARD YOUNG STAFFERS DETAILED IN EXPLOSIVE ETHICS REPORT During an awards ceremony where Henry was wearing a Mobile Field Force ribbon abbreviated “MFF,” Her allegedly asked what the letters stood for before replying, “Oh, I thought it said MILF so maybe I could get one.” The filing outlines another incident from December, when Henry met with Her and St. Paul Port Authority President Todd Hurley at a cigar lounge to discuss moving the downtown police station. During the meeting, Her allegedly threatened that she would tell people the chief “grabbed her a–” if she did not get her way. ERIC SWALWELL FACES MANHATTAN SEX ASSAULT PROBE AFTER ENDING CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR CAMPAIGN AMID ALLEGATIONS In February, after Henry and a colleague used personal vacation time to visit a golf simulator in Woodbury, Minnesota, Her unexpectedly showed up, the lawsuit claims. Upon arriving, Her allegedly told them she “had to come like this because you guys wouldn’t invite me” and staying for approximately 20 minutes. TENNESSEE COPS RAIDED MAN’S HOME AFTER HE CRITICIZED OFFICER FOR SPEEDING: LAWSUIT After Henry filed an internal complaint regarding her behavior, Her and her administration “embarked on a campaign to retaliate against and discredit Chief Henry,” the suit alleges. Henry claims city officials excluded him from decisions, withheld requested records and released a “sanitized” two-page summary of an independent investigation to downplay her conduct. “An independent investigation did not substantiate claims of sexual harassment or retaliation against any city employee,” Her’s office said, according to Fox Minneapolis. “The mayor will continue to lead Saint Paul and follow the recommendations of the report. Beyond that, the City of Saint Paul doesn’t comment on active litigation.” Earlier this month, Her officially transferred her personal security detail and driver services from the St. Paul Police Department to the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office. Fox News Digital has reached out to Her’s office.
Supreme Court blocks Missouri from using new congressional map in 2026 election
The Supreme Court on Friday ordered Missouri to use its 2022 congressional map in the 2026 election, blocking the state from using a newer map that could have benefited Republicans in the upcoming midterm elections. The unsigned order drew no noted dissents, with the justices making clear that lower courts should neither prohibit use of Missouri’s 2022 map nor require the state to use the 2025 map. “The District Court and Court of Appeals should not enjoin or otherwise prohibit the use of the 2022 map in the 2026 congressional election in Missouri,” the order states. MISSOURI’S REDISTRICTING MESS CREATED AN ELECTION PROBLEM SUPREME COURT HAS DAYS TO UNTANGLE “And the District Court and Court of Appeals should not order or otherwise require Missouri to use the 2025 map in the 2026 congressional election in Missouri.” The ruling effectively ends the immediate legal wrangling over which congressional map Missouri will use for the 2026 election, leaving the older boundaries in place. The Supreme Court ordered Missouri to use its 2022 congressional map for the 2026 election rather than the state’s newer 2025 map. CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP This is a developing story; check back later for updates.
Florida GOP nominee blasts 20-year Dem incumbent as a ‘socialist’ rubber-stamp with ‘precious little to show’
Calling out federal waste and foreign aid subsidies while pointing to his own record of bucking party leadership in Tallahassee, GOP 14th congressional district nominee Mike Beltran promises to bring a sharp litigator’s cross-examination to Washington’s budget crisis. In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital detailing his bid to unseat 20-year Democratic incumbent Kathy Castor, the former Florida state representative laid out a case rooted in strict fiscal accountability, pledged to challenge even Republican leadership on bloated federal budgets, and warned of the Democrats’ embrace of socialism. HOUSE CONSERVATIVES UNLEASH MULTIMILLION-DOLLAR MIDTERM BLITZ AGAINST DEM ‘SOCIALIST’ INSURGENCY Beltran argues that despite her lengthy tenure on Capitol Hill, the people of Tampa Bay have not been served well by Kathy Castor. “People in Tampa Bay have precious little to show for Kathy Castor’s two decades of incumbency. She’s had no major legislative initiatives. All she’s really done is rename post offices. And all that’s likely to happen if we reelect her is for her to rename every post office from Tampa to Timbuktu. “She votes with her party over 90% of the time, including radical socialists. She voted in lockstep with Nancy Pelosi and she’s poised to elect the Speaker Hakeem Jeffries. And Speaker Hakeem Jeffries would appoint a Chair Raskin, a Chair Omar, a Chair Cortez, and those folks would push radical policies in Congress that are completely out of line with what Tampa families need.” Beltran argues that in the Florida Legislature he served as an independent conservative voice, not automatically beholden to party leadership, and pledges to continue that approach in Washington. “I’ve had the courage to vote against special interests even when my own party had lost its way. I’ve voted against insurance companies, home builders, trial lawyers, I voted against various special interests…whenever somebody was doing something that wasn’t good for Tampa families. “And I had that bipartisan record throughout my time, starting in 2019 and continuing through to 2024, unlike my opponent who discovered bipartisanship merely weeks ago. So I’m always going to do what’s best for the communities that I represent, regardless of party, regardless of special interests, regardless of pressure. And that’s what I’m proud of, having that independent voting record.” Beltran argues that the United States needs to reexamine its military and geopolitical relationships, with an eye to fiscal prudence: “It cannot be a one-sided exchange. You cannot have a wealthy country like Germany spend under 2% of GDP on their military when we’re spending over 5% of our GDP on our military budgets, about a trillion dollars. And a lot of that is spent overseas protecting other wealthy countries. “You see Ukraine and Israel, they’re defending themselves from their adversaries. They’re doing a good job of that. But we are borrowing $2 trillion a year from countries like China. And that’s causing inflation. And what that says is that we don’t have money to be sending, particularly to wealthy allies like Germany and Spain. “These are countries where we have bases, where we’ve had trouble getting basing privileges or overflight rights for the conflicts that we do need to engage in. And we shouldn’t be subsidizing them anymore. “You see Israel spends over 10% of GDP on defense, as does South Korea. Those countries are carrying the weight of their own defense, but we don’t see that from all of our NATO allies. And they’re a lot closer to these rogue states, to these conflict regions than we are. They should be doing more, and they’re doing less, and that’s unacceptable.” As an attorney, Beltran makes the case that he will bring a strong skill-set to Capitol Hill, to do away with business as usual and to fight for the citizens of Hillsborough County: “My legal skills are quite good. I’m a good cross examiner. I’ll be good at scrutinizing witnesses who come before committees that I serve on. I’ve litigated in the federal courts, so I know the federal statutes. I know issues that need to be redressed. I know how to write statutes so that they can be easily applied by judges, so that attorneys can counsel their clients on what the law is and what they need to do to comply with that. “I’m proud to be a practicing attorney. I’ve helped a lot of businesses and individuals throughout Tampa Bay for almost 20 years. FIRST DATA CENTER BILL CLEARS HOUSE AS BOTH PARTIES SCRAMBLE FOR ANSWERS ON AFFORDABILITY “And my opponent is also an attorney, but she hasn’t practiced in a very long time. She was, I think, a land use attorney, she says, before she was a county commissioner. But I don’t think she brings that same skill-set. I’ve never seen her cross-examine a witness to any effect. And I haven’t seen her apply her legal skills to any legislative initiative. In fact, it’s kind of difficult to identify anything that she’s enacted that’s of any particular value to Tampa or otherwise.” Kathy Castor has repeatedly voted against the interests of ordinary Americans in Florida’s 14th district, Beltran argues: “Well, she opposed tax cuts for the middle class and working class and retirees. She opposed removing taxes on tips, removing taxes on Social Security, removing taxes on overtime. “And she wanted to pay, through taxpayer funds, for trans surgeries for children. And that was a very recent vote. That wasn’t something that we have to reach into ancient history to find. And I opposed that. “I see no reason why a single mother here in Hillsborough County should be paying taxes to pay for trans surgeries for minors while she actually is being taxed on her overtime or her tips.” Beltran pledges to confront the leadership of his own party if he disagrees with their policies, but also notes he will work with Democrats: “Obviously, we’ve had Republicans who have also spent too much money. And so I’m going to go to Washington. I’m going to work with my party, and I’ll work across
WATCH: DHS issues stark warning after 300 ‘hostile’ cartel drones detected at southern border
The Department of Homeland Security issued a stark warning after more than 300 cartel drones were detected along the southern border in just over a month. According to the Department of War, 378 cartel drones were detected at the southern border between Aug. 22 and Thursday. Of those, 75 drones were turned back, 15 were engaged and one was captured. Fox News Digital previously reported that the War Department’s Joint Task Force – Southern Border took down “approximately” 100 suspected cartel drones in August alone. In response to the threat, the Department of War and DHS are increasing their use of drone detection and interception tools along the southern border. The agencies are also working with private companies to develop technology to counter the increased presence of cartel drones. In a statement posted on X, DHS wrote that “hostile surveillance of American personnel ends here.” EXCLUSIVE: TRUMP’S CBP AXES BIDEN-ERA POLICY ALLOWING PRIVATE GIFTS FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS IN FEDERAL CUSTODY “To the Cartels,” DHS wrote, “Your drones are failing, your tactics are being exposed, and you have no advantage. @CBP and @DeptofWar will keep taking them down.” In an interview with Fox News, Jeffrey Stalnaker, deputy chief patrol agent for Border Patrol, said cartels primarily use drones for reconnaissance during drug and human smuggling operations rather than for smuggling. Cartels previously sent lookouts to monitor Border Patrol agents and other U.S. personnel but now use drones to watch from overhead. “They’re watching when our soldiers and our agents are coming into the field, where they’re working, and then that allows them to plan how they’re going to send individuals north from Mexico into the United States illegally, trying to circumvent us between the ports of entry,” he explained. Federal officials told Fox News that U.S. anti-drone measures at the southern border have succeeded so far, but cartel drone tactics are rapidly evolving. Some cartel drones are known to be used for lethal purposes, but officials said those have not yet been encountered at the border. For the past three weeks, the U.S. military has been conducting exercises in the desert outside Yuma, Arizona, testing new anti-drone gear ranging from guns and unmanned aerial vehicles to drone-capturing technology. FBI WARNS BATTLEFIELD-STYLE DRONE ATTACKS COULD REACH US: ‘ONLY A MATTER OF TIME’ Brigadier General Jason Rueschhoff, director of operations for U.S. Northern Command, told Fox News, “We are developing capability at a pace that is keeping ahead of our enemy, and that’s really important. And that’s what happens here.” Fox News Digital reported at the start of the month that Joint Task Force – Southern Border was carrying out drone takedowns using specialized counter-drone equipment provided and integrated by other military units, according to a senior War Department official. The official said each operation was planned and closely coordinated with the Mexican military and border authorities to prevent interference or unintended conflicts between forces operating on either side of the border. SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER At the time, senior administration officials praised President Donald Trump‘s use of military force during a press call, saying, “The president directed, (and) the Department of War executed the first-ever plan and strategy to use direct military force to defend the homeland from this threat. “The effects have been spectacular, and we’ve seen the largest and steepest reduction in U.S. casualties inflicted by the cartels in American history.” Fox News Digital’s Michael Sinkewicz and Fox News’ Bill Melugin contributed to this report.
As Singham faces federal probe, wife marches in anti-Israel protest led by groups he funded
NEW YORK — A network funded by Neville Roy Singham, a communist tech tycoon living in Shanghai, mounted a coordinated anti-Israel protest through Midtown Manhattan Thursday after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the United Nations, deploying field marshals, pre-made signs, banners, megaphones, drums, portable sound equipment and a stage for a four-hour demonstration. At 3:40 p.m. Thursday, field marshals and foot soldiers from the People’s Forum Inc. connected to their “comrades” in the Singham network at the steps of the New York Public Library on Fifth Avenue. Fox News Digital watched the operation unfold from setup to breakdown. At the center of the protest was Jodie Evans, Singham’s wife, a longtime leader at the People’s Forum and the co-founder of CodePink — a nonprofit that has operated within the broader pro-communist activist network funded by her husband. As Fox News Digital first reported, the Justice Department’s U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York opened a grand jury investigation into alleged money laundering, bank fraud and wire fraud by Singham and his network. Singham and the organizations he has funded haven’t been charged with any crimes. As the march moved through Manhattan, self-declared “comrades” of the Revolutionary Communists of America chanted, “Long live the intifada,” while Evans and activists from other organizations within the Singham network marched alongside members of the Democratic Socialists of America. “Intifada! Intifada! Long live the intifada!” the crowd shouted, chanting the term used by Palestinian militants to violently oppose the existence of the state of Israel. FROM AUSTIN TO NEW YORK, PRO-CHINA NETWORK FUELS WEEK OF ANTI-US PROTESTS AS XI MEETS TRUMP Earlier, police arrested actress Susan Sarandon, a regular speaker at People’s Forum events and protests, after demonstrators blocked First Avenue in an anti-Israel sit-in. CodePink co-founder Medea Benjamin and actress Cynthia Nixon were also among the protesters. The demonstration included activists from Jewish Voice for Peace, another partner of the Singham network whose leaders have advocated replacing Israel with a state called “Palestine.” By the end of the evening, at 8:08 p.m., Fox News Digital observed the protesters rolling their carts back to the People’s Forum Inc., the network’s Midtown headquarters on W. 37th Street and a key organizing hub for the Singham network’s street demonstrations on issues from Israel to anti-American tech. Congressional lawmakers, the Justice Department and federal, state and local policymakers have criticized the groups as antisemitic, anti-American and “Trojan horses” for the Chinese Communist Party. WATCH: Revolutionary Communists of America march at anti-Netanyahu protest in NYC The day’s events, documented in real time by a Fox News Digital investigative team, provided a rare, on-the-ground view of the infrastructure behind the network’s protests. The operation involved assigned marshals, paid nonprofit staff, pre-made signs, portable sound equipment, rolling wagons, a stage, coordinated slogans and a media team producing content for online distribution. While not every group participating in the demonstration was directly funded by Singham, the personnel and logistics showed how organizations with overlapping leadership, funding and messaging can operate together to turn a political flashpoint into a professionally-managed street campaign. WATCH: Singham-linked Party for Socialism and Liberation activists roll in stacks of protest signs at Bryant Park SOCIALIST, COMMUNIST GROUPS COORDINATE, PROMOTE ‘SPONTANEOUS’ ANTI-ICE PROTESTS IN AUSTIN The appearance of Singham’s wife alongside leaders and activists from the People’s Forum, BreakThrough News, the Party for Socialism and Liberation, the Palestinian Youth Movement and a “Shut It Down for Palestine” campaign provides visible evidence of the Singham network’s central role in organizing and promoting anti-Israel protests, particularly in the aftermath of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel. The coordinated signage and equipment revealed an organizing and logistics infrastructure that moved people, messaging and materials through the city for three hours. Fox News Digital has observed the same materials at a number of separate protests, targeting not only Israel but rallying support for the Islamic Republic of Iran, the communist regimes of Venezuela and Cuba, and fighting data centers and American AI. That infrastructure helps explain how the same network has repeatedly transformed breaking news and political flashpoints into large, highly-coordinated anti-Israel protests across the country. The protest’s visible organization reflected the scale of the financial network behind some of its leading participants. After his wedding to Evans in 2017 and the sale of ThoughtWorks, the technology company he founded, Singham directed $285 million to nonprofits and media organizations, according to a Fox News Digital investigation. The People’s Forum received $22.4 million from Singham, while CodePink received $1.33 million. BreakThrough BT Media Inc., which operates BreakThrough News, received $1.098 million, according to tax filings. POWER COUPLE OF CHAOS: HOW A TYCOON AND ACTIVIST BUILT A ‘REVOLUTIONARY BASE’ AT THE HOUSE OF SINGHAM DOJ LAUNCHES GRAND JURY PROBE INTO MARXIST MOGUL NEVILLE ROY SINGHAM’S FUNDING OF LEFTIST GROUPS In his United Nations address, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the demonstrators “phony human rights protesters” who have been silent in speaking out against atrocities by the Islamic Republic of Iran against its citizens. Evans’ presence also offered an unusually direct view of the people behind the anti-Israel protest machine that has mobilized repeatedly across New York and other American cities against Israel. At about 4 p.m., Manolo De Los Santos, executive director at the People’s Forum, arrived and moved near the anti-Israel signs his foot soldiers had rolled onto the steps of the New York Public Library. A lieutenant handed out signs calling for sanctions against Israel and declaring, “WAR CRIMINALS NOT WELCOME” and “NEW YORK REJECTS ZIONISM.” At the bottom, the signs carried the branding of a communist group that the People’s Forum works with closely: the Party for Socialism and Liberation, which doesn’t publicly disclose its finances. Beside De Los Santos stood Layan Fuleihan, a controversial fixture in anti-Israel protests. Fuleihan, a Palestinian American, spoke at an Oct. 8, 2023, protest that the People’s Forum organized, supporting the Hamas attack on Israel and saying, “Yesterday, the world woke up to incredible news. The media will tell