Missouri attorney general takes new legal aim at mail-order abortion pills over safety concerns
Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway announced Thursday she is expanding the state’s fight against mail-order abortion pills, targeting a recently approved generic version of mifepristone that she argues sends women to hospitals with “life-threatening complications” and is being pushed into the marketplace without “basic medical safeguards.” The filing challenges the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Sept. 30 approval of a generic mifepristone produced by Evita Solutions, arguing that the drug’s risks are “well-documented and worsening with further study.” The lawsuit alleges manufacturers have relied on “weakened safety standards” that were “originally designed to catch dangerous conditions such as ectopic pregnancies,” which can only be identified through an in-person medical exam. “Mifepristone is sending women to the hospital with life-threatening complications, and yet drug companies continue pushing new versions of it into the market without basic medical safeguards,” Hanaway said. “Mail-order abortion drugs are dangerous when taken without in-person care, and Missouri will not stand by while manufacturers gamble with women’s lives.” HAWLEY BLASTS FDA APPROVAL OF NEW ABORTION DRUG, CITES SAFETY AND TRUST CONCERNS The case builds on Missouri’s multi-state challenge to what officials allege is the FDA’s “dismantling of critical safety protections” surrounding mifepristone. Federal law has long banned the mailing of abortion drugs, yet distributors and telehealth networks have built a nationwide system that delivers the pills to women in every state, often without in-person medical screenings or follow-up care. Missouri, joined by Kansas and Idaho, is asking the court to block the new approval, restore pre-2016 safety standards that required in-person medical evaluations and stop drugmakers and distributors from mailing abortion pills nationwide in violation of federal law. FLORIDA CITES MAFIA LAW, HITS PLANNED PARENTHOOD WITH SUIT OVER CLAIM ABORTION PILL ‘SAFER THAN TYLENOL’ Hanaway pointed to the drug’s labeling, which notes that roughly 1 in 25 women who take chemical abortion drugs end up in the emergency room and many suffer hemorrhaging, infection or require surgery. She said complications are even more common when the pills come through the mail without medical oversight. “No caring physician would call mifepristone ‘as safe as Tylenol,’” she said. “That claim was always false. Women are ending up in emergency rooms, and manufacturers know it. If the FDA is reevaluating the brand-name drug’s safety, then it needs to stop rubber-stamping new mail-order generic versions before more women are hurt.” Hanaway’s filing comes as Republican lawmakers in Washington continue pressing the FDA to tighten oversight of abortion pills and restore safety guardrails rolled back in recent years. ARREST WARRANT ISSUED FOR CALIFORNIA DOCTOR IN LOUISIANA ABORTION PILL CASE During a recent press call, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., urged the FDA to “follow the science to put back safety guardrails” and questioned the agency’s partnerships with abortion-pill manufacturers, including Evita Solutions, the company behind the generic drug targeted in Hanaway’s lawsuit. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., said he and other Republican senators have demanded answers from the FDA about its decision to approve the new drug but have yet to receive a response. Evita Solutions did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. Fox News Digital’s Leo Briceno contributed to this report.
US-backed foreign broadcaster selling pricy news gear for pennies on the dollar to ‘spite’ taxpayers
A nonprofit news organization that is funded entirely by the U.S. government began selling off a large amount of its equipment on a public auction site – with many items being sold for pennies on the dollar. Radio Free Asia (RFA) receives about $60 million a year from American taxpayers to produce news in Asia. The organization said it was suspending operations due to a lapse in funding during the government shutdown. But while its website went dark, Fox News discovered that RFA had quietly begun selling off major portions of its expensive broadcast gear, including HD cameras, teleprompters, lenses and even office refrigerators. Listings on a public auction site, Rasmus Auctions, show RFA-branded broadcast gear is being offered at fire sale prices. CPB IRKED WITH NPR AFTER OUTLET TRIES TO BLOCK $58 MILLION IN DISPERSEMENTS TO NEW NONPROFIT Some high-definition cameras are for sale for less than a dollar, teleprompters for ninety cents, professional lenses for under a dollar and a refrigerator listed for just twenty cents. In total, more than a thousand pieces of equipment were offered for sale, which has sparked outrage. California Congressman Darrell Issa, who had been working to restore RFA’s funding, called the online auction a betrayal to American taxpayers. WHITE HOUSE MOVE TO CANCEL $4.9B FOREIGN AID WITH ‘POCKET RESCISSION’ BLASTED AS ILLEGAL “I’ve never seen such belligerence by an organization that gets a hundred percent of its money from the U.S. government,” Issa said. “Lenses you’d pay thousands of dollars for are being sold for pennies. It’s clear they’re liquidating assets out of spite.” When reached for comment, a spokesperson for Radio Free Asia blamed the Trump administration’s earlier budget cuts. EXCLUSIVE: HOUSE GOP REPORT ALLEGES $20B GREEN GRANTS ENRICHED BIDEN ALLIES They also pointed at the shutdown for forcing the organization to make difficult financial choices. “The Administration’s unlawful termination and disruption of RFA’s timely funding, followed by an extended government shutdown, has forced the company to drastically reduce operational costs to set up for long-term success,” the statement read. “Shedding equipment we can no longer use, while retaining key personnel and assets, responsibly positions RFA to continue editorial operations that hold the Chinese Communist Party and other authoritarian governments to account,” RFA said. FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS VOICE OF AMERICA MASS TERMINATIONS IN SCATHING RULING AGAINST LAKE “Our plan going forward is to build back once Congress and the Administration resolve our funding issues,” the statement concluded. However, Kari Lake, Deputy Executive at the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which oversees RFA, quickly disputed those claims. “Everything they said was not true,” Lake shot back. CPB IRKED WITH NPR AFTER OUTLET TRIES TO BLOCK $58 MILLION IN DISPERSEMENTS TO NEW NONPROFIT “We are funding them. We’ve given them every single penny appropriated to them. Eighty cents for an HD camera? That’s a slap in the face to taxpayers,” Lake said. In a letter to RFA sent Thursday, Lake wrote: “The insanity ends now. Be prepared to open your doors next week for our team of auditors to find out what on earth is going on at RFA, as permitted under the grant agreement and applicable regulations.” In further comments to Fox News, RFA said it hopes to restart its news operations if Congress restores its funding, and they have enough equipment to continue to operate if Congress decides to fund them moving forward.
Biden DOJ subpoenaed Jim Jordan’s phone records covering more than two years
FIRST ON FOX: The Department of Justice subpoenaed the personal phone records of House Judiciary Committee chairman Jim Jordan in 2022, seeking the Ohio Republican’s phone data covering a more than two-year period. The subpoena, obtained by Fox News Digital, shows a federal prosecutor who later worked on special counsel Jack Smith’s Jan. 6 investigation ordered Verizon to hand over the phone data, also known as toll records, reaching back to Jan. 1, 2020. The request appears to be the most expansive yet of the publicly known subpoenas targeting senators and current and former House members during Arctic Frost, the investigation that led to Smith bringing election-related charges against President Donald Trump. JACK SMITH TARGETED THEN-HOUSE SPEAKER MCCARTHY’S PRIVATE PHONE RECORDS IN J6 PROBE, FBI DOCS REVEAL Smith did not begin working as special counsel until seven months after the subpoena was issued, meaning the request pre-dated his time at the DOJ. The subpoena for Jordan’s records appears to be one of the first known ones in the Arctic Frost probe and was issued during a time when Jordan was serving as the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, which conducts oversight of the DOJ. His role at the time is illustrative of Republicans’ sharp criticisms of the Arctic Frost subpoenas, as they claim the requests for Congress members’ phone records breached the separation of powers, including under the speech or debate clause. The toll records did not include the contents of Jordan’s phone calls or messages but did include details about when calls and messages were sent and received and with whom Jordan was communicating. The subpoena sought records for three other phone numbers, which were redacted. It included a one-year gag order signed by a D.C. magistrate judge. Read a copy of the subpoena below. App users click here. Jordan, a close Trump ally, is the latest in a string of lawmakers to have recently learned that the DOJ sought their toll records as part of Arctic Frost. Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s were sought in 2023, as were the records of what Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said were at least 10 Republican senators, including Sens. Lindsey Graham, Marsha Blackburn, Ted Cruz and Ron Johnson. Smith has said that his investigation into the Jan. 6 riot and 2020 election was consistent with DOJ policies and that the subpoenas he was involved with sending were “entirely proper” and narrowly tailored. Verizon produced documents for the DOJ in response to the subpoena pertaining to Jordan, a source told Fox News Digital. Verizon said in a statement it has been coordinating with the House and Senate Judiciary committees and “working tirelessly” to gather information on the subpoenas related to lawmakers. “As part of our investigation, we uncovered new information regarding Chairman Jordan and shared it with him as soon as possible,” Verizon spokesman Rich Young said. “We are committed to restoring trust through transparency and will continue to work with Congress and the administration as they examine these issues and consider reforms to expand notification protections.”
AOC sounds off on Trump-Mamdani meeting as NYC’s mayor-elect prepares to take office
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., said New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani is prepared to meet with anybody ahead of his meeting with President Donald Trump. Asked by a reporter on Thursday what her expectations were for the meeting, the congresswoman said, “We’ll see.” “Obviously, the mayor-elect is going to be preparing for his inauguration,” she said. “Of course, he’s indicated that he’s willing to sit down with anybody and everybody. So we’ll see.” TRUMP SAYS HE WILL MEET NYC MAYOR-ELECT ZOHRAN MAMDANI THIS WEEK Ocasio-Cortez was also asked if there were any policy issues the mayor-elect should address in his meeting with Trump. “I think we let Zohran lead. He’s been elected to lead New York City. I trust him as the mayor-elect, he’ll do what he thinks is best for the city of New York,” she said. “We’ll see how it goes,” she added. MAMDANI SAYS HE WILL MEET JAMIE DIMON, OTHER FINANCIAL TITANS IN NYC Trump announced on Wednesday that he will meet with Mamdani at the White House this week. “Communist Mayor of New York City, Zohran ‘Kwame’ Mamdani, has asked for a meeting. We have agreed that this meeting will take place at the Oval Office on Friday, November 21,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Further details to follow,” the president said. The meeting would mark the first encounter between Trump and Mamdani since the Democratic socialist’s victory in New York’s mayoral race earlier this month. Mamdani, a state assemblyman from Queens, is set to take office in January.
Trump admin gives $10k bonuses to air traffic controllers with perfect attendance during government shutdown
Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator Bryan Bedford announced Thursday that hundreds of air traffic controllers and technicians who worked during the government shutdown will receive bonus checks. The Department of Transportation (DOT) said in a statement that 776 air traffic controllers and technicians will be awarded $10,000 for their “patriotic work to ensure the safety of the skies during the Democrats’ 44-day government shutdown.” “These patriotic men and women never missed a beat and kept the flying public safe throughout the shutdown,” Duffy said in a statement. “Democrats may not care about their financial well-being, but President Trump does.” The secretary added, “This award is an acknowledgment of their dedication and a heartfelt appreciation for going above and beyond in service to the nation.” SEAN DUFFY WARNS OF RECORD STRAIN ON AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS AHEAD OF FIRST MISSED PAYCHECK DOT said checks would only be sent to workers who maintained perfect attendance during the recent shutdown and that the payments should arrive by Dec. 9, in time for the holidays. “I am profoundly proud and grateful for the air traffic personnel who worked during extraordinary operational challenges to keep the National Airspace System (NAS) running safely during the longest government shutdown,” Bedford said in a statement. “Their dedication represents the highest levels of public service.” The announcement came after President Donald Trump previously floated the idea of rewarding controllers who remained on the job, writing in a post on Truth Social last week, “For those Air Traffic Controllers who were GREAT PATRIOTS, and didn’t take ANY TIME OFF for the ‘Democrat Shutdown Hoax,’ I will be recommending a BONUS of $10,000 per person for distinguished service to our Country.” DUFFY VOWS ‘WE’RE NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS LYING DOWN’ AFTER COURT BLOCKS CDL RESTRICTIONS FOR ILLEGAL MIGRANTS “For those that did nothing but complain, and took time off, even though everyone knew they would be paid, IN FULL, shortly into the future, I am NOT HAPPY WITH YOU,” Trump added. On Nov. 13, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem handed out $10,000 bonus checks to Transportation Security Administration TSA agents at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport who continued working during the shutdown. Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment.
Curtis Sliwa reportedly stiffed NYC campaign workers after failed mayoral bid
Guardian Angels founder and former New York City mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa is facing new accusations of failing to pay campaign workers after his third-place finish in the city’s chaotic 2025 mayoral race, according to a report from the New York Post. Several canvassers told the outlet they were promised wages that never materialized, leaving them owed thousands of dollars after weeks of door knocking and phone banking during the final stretch of Sliwa’s campaign against Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani. One former worker interviewed by the Post said he is owed about $2,000, calling the situation “disappointing for someone who claimed to run on honesty and reform.” Another canvasser, Alonzo Henderson, said he felt misled. SPARKS FLY AS CUOMO, MAMDANI TEAR INTO EACH OTHER DURING FIERY DEBATE: ‘TOXIC ENERGY’ “When someone is promised something, you need to live up to that end of the promise — especially when you’re running on reform,” Henderson told the outlet. Republican operatives in the city told the paper the issue has become a major point of frustration among lower-level staffers. “The biggest source of complaints is from the hourly paid canvassers. They need the money,” one GOP insider said. Sliwa’s campaign is rejecting the allegation that workers won’t be paid. Spokesman Rob Cole told the Post “everyone is going to get paid,” insisting the process takes time because wages must be verified by the New York City Campaign Finance Board. Sliwa echoed that explanation when pressed by the outlet, saying any worker who can produce time sheets will be paid by Dec. 1. He described the verification process as “standard protocol” and denied that his campaign stiffed anyone. The controversy comes despite the campaign’s sizable budget. According to the Campaign Finance Board, Sliwa raised nearly $7 million, including more than $5 million in public matching funds, leaving roughly $1.7 million in cash remaining at the end of the race, the Post reported. NYC MAYORAL RIVALS UNITE AGAINST BILLIONAIRE ‘ELECTION INTERFERENCE’ AS CAMPAIGN ENTERS FINAL STRETCH Sliwa received just 7% of the vote in the Nov. 4 election, trailing Mamdani and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an independent. The pay dispute has renewed attention to a series of financial controversies that have followed Sliwa in recent years. In 2023, The Daily Beast reported that Sliwa’s ex-wife, Mary Paterson, sued him for more than $530,000 in unpaid child support, alleging he unilaterally cut his court-ordered payments. Her attorney accused Sliwa at the time of “disregard for legal process.” CURTIS SLIWA VOWS TO BE ZOHRAN MAMDANI’S ‘WORST NIGHTMARE’ IF THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST WINS NYC MAYORAL RACE Politico’s Playbook noted in October that a corporation registered under Sliwa’s name owes nearly $4,000 in unpaid state taxes, according to New York State tax warrants. Sliwa’s campaign blamed the issue on an old clerical error involving a dissolved company and said he has paid all personal taxes. The allegations have sparked anger among Republican activists still reeling from Mamdani’s upset victory. Some party officials told the Post the situation has “further eroded trust” in Sliwa’s populist messaging, arguing that stiffed canvassers undercut the image of a candidate who billed himself as a champion of ordinary New Yorkers. His former employer, billionaire WABC owner John Catsimatidis, has also blasted Sliwa for refusing to drop out of the race earlier this year, a move Catsimatidis believes split the conservative vote. Sliwa, who rose to fame in the 1970s as the founder of the red beret-wearing Guardian Angels, ran on a law-and-order platform promising to “take back New York.” Instead, he faces allegations from some of his own workers that his campaign broke its word. “Throughout the campaign, canvassers were paid weekly or biweekly,” Sliwa said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Many last-minute invoices were sent after Nov. 4. “Any time sheets submitted after Election Day must be audited, disclosed, and submitted to CFB by Dec. 1 to validate any post-election payments. This is standard protocol for the campaign. All valid invoices get paid before the final audit is due, with the remaining account funds and the final match payment. The campaign must verify everyone’s invoice to be compliant.”
Socialist mayor-elect reveals why she embraced her parents giving her money as a 43-year-old
Seattle Mayor-elect Katie Wilson, 43, said now that she has been elected mayor and is earning more money as a result, she no longer needs to ask her parents for help to pay the bills. Wilson, who recently told CNN she thought embracing the help she got from her parents made her more “relatable” to Seattle voters, quipped on social media that, “after much deliberation and a grueling interview process,” she was “pleased” to announce that her higher salary as mayor will mean she no longer needs financial support from her parents. During Wilson’s campaign, she credited her parents’ financial support for allowing her to run. “My opponent’s campaign and the corporate PAC that tried to stop my election certainly cast it as a negative thing,” Wilson responded when asked whether she thought people in Seattle saw her parents’ financial support as a negative or a positive. MEET THE SOCIALIST MAMDANI-STYLE MAYOR JUST ELECTED TO RUN WEST COAST’S FIFTH-LARGEST CITY “Campaigning for office is stressful,” Wilson continued. “Seattle is one of the most expensive cities in the country, our childcare is off-the-charts expensive and, honestly, I think that a lot of people of my generation, and younger and older, found it very relatable that during this stressful campaign my parents chipped in to help pay for the cost of their granddaughter’s daycare.” Wilson added that it isn’t unusual for parents to help their children with money but also noted she recognized her “privilege.” “You know, families help each other out, and I certainly acknowledge that I’m lucky to be in a position where my parents were able to do that. Not all families have that privilege,” Wilson said. “And that’s why I’m going to fight for affordable childcare and affordable housing for every family in this city.” Wilson said during her campaign that the cost of childcare was about $2,200 per month for her and her reportedly unemployed husband. Wilson did not share precisely how much her parents contributed during the campaign, pointing out that she does not keep track. However, when pressed for more details, Wilson reportedly said the money comes in every few months. SEATTLE’S SOCIALIST MAYOR MAY BE ‘LESS CONSTRAINED’ THAN MAMDANI, WASHINGTON POST WARNS Prior to moving to Seattle in 2004, Wilson lived in upstate New York. After graduating from high school in Binghamton, Wilson studied physics and philosophy at Oxford University, thanks to financial assistance from her parents living in New York. Wilson left Oxford debt-free, which she credits to her parents. However, she also left without a degree, dropping out just six weeks before her graduation. Prior to earning her new mayoral salary, Wilson was getting paid by the nonprofit she founded in 2011, the Transit Riders Union. She began collecting paychecks from the group in 2019. Before that, Wilson worked a series of odd jobs, including barista, boatyard worker, apartment manager, lab technician, baker, construction worker and legal assistant. Tax records show that Wilson brought in $72,669 in 2022 as the president of the Transit Riders Union. There are no records of Wilson’s salary for 2023 or 2024, reportedly due to the fact the nonprofit changed tax preparers recently, according to PubliCola. The IRS does not require nonprofits to disclose salaries of employees making under $100,000 per year. Wilson reported earning between $60,000 and $99,000 in a financial statement to the city upon declaring her candidacy for mayor. Wilson also reported income “less than $30,000” from PubliCola, The Urbanist and The Stranger, respectively, for work as a “columnist” for the left-wing online news outlets.
War chest: RNC, fueled by Trump, Vance, tops rival DNC in fundraising race
FIRST ON FOX — The Republican National Committee (RNC) hauled in nearly $15 million in fundraising last month and continues to build a massive war chest for next year’s midterm elections, when the party will defend its House and Senate majorities. According to figures shared first with Fox News Digital on Thursday, the RNC brought in $14.7 million in October, bringing its fundraising total so far this cycle to $146 million. And the RNC reported $91 million cash on hand as of the end of October. That’s a massive advantage over the $18.2 million the rival Democratic National Committee (DNC) held in its coffers at the end of last month, according to public filings. And the DNC’s $7.5 million in fundraising last month was roughly half of the RNC’s haul. THE TRUE COST OF THE 2025 ELECTIONS “Thanks to the leadership of President Trump and Vice President Vance as our finance chair, the RNC is building a powerful war chest for the 2026 midterms,” RNC chair Joe Gruters said in a statement. And Gruters emphasized that “Vice President Vance has been a driving force for our fundraising efforts, and we’re entering 2026 with serious momentum and the funding we need to defend our Republican majorities in Congress.” WHAT THE NEWLY ELECTED RNC CHAIR TOLD FOX NEWS With Republicans in control of the White House and both houses of Congress, the party has enjoyed a financial advantage over the Democrats this year as the minority party has faced sluggish fundraising among top-dollar donors and grassroots constituents still frustrated with last year’s election setbacks. The party is still crawling out of debt. It still owes roughly $15 million after former Vice President Kamala Harris‘ expensive 2024 White House campaign. And $15 million of the DNC’s cash on hand came from a loan the party committee took out, which was first reported by The New York Times. The DNC confirmed to Fox News Digital that it opened a $20 million line of credit, tapping $15 million in recent months for investments in the 2025 elections earlier this month, long-term party infrastructure and other priorities. SURVEY SAYS: ISSUE THAT HELPED TRUMP AND GOP IN 2024 HURTS THEM IN 2025 The loan helped boost DNC get-out-the-vote efforts in the two races for governor this year in New Jersey and Virginia. The loan appeared to pay off because Democrats won both of those elections by double digits and also scored big wins in ballot box showdowns in battlegrounds Georgia and Pennsylvania and left-leaning New York City and California. “We can’t win elections or fight back against Trump if the DNC downsizes operations like it often does after a presidential cycle. I made a bet that investing early would build power, rack up wins and rally supporters back to the table. That bet is paying off,” DNC Chair Ken Martin said in a statement. The DNC also highlights that it’s raised more money under Martin, who was elected in February, than any chair in party history nine months into a tenure. And the party also highlighted that its grassroots fundraising pace is far ahead of the 2017 and 2019 cycles, the previous election periods when Democrats didn’t control the White House.
Fate of Abrego Garcia hangs in the balance as judge grills DOJ on removal order
GREENBELT, Md. — Lawyers for Salvadoran migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia urged a federal judge in Maryland on Thursday to prohibit the Trump administration from deporting their client to Liberia, the latest twist in a nine-month legal fight that has garnered international attention and dominated headlines and court dockets for months. That effort appeared stunted Thursday after U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis tried and failed to answer a more fundamental question of whether the government had obtained a final order of removal to deport Abrego Garcia from the U.S. Without that document, she said, Abrego Garcia is “at a minimum” entitled to certain relief under Supreme Court precedent, just as the Justice Department is free to seek relief from higher courts. “You’ve raised all these arguments, and they all depend on me having a withholding of removal order,” Xinis said Thursday. “You can’t ‘fake it ’til you make it.’” US JUDGE VOWS TO RULE ‘SOON’ ON ABREGO GARCIA’S FATE AFTER MARATHON HEARING Though she vowed to issue a ruling “soon,” Thursday’s hearing ended with little in the way of satisfactory answers for the parties or for Xinis, the federal judge who has presided over Abrego Garcia’s civil case and habeas cases since March. “Today was a zero in my view,” she noted at one point. Lawyers for the Trump administration had asked Xinis to dissolve an emergency order she handed down in August ordering Abrego Garcia to remain in U.S. immigration custody. They told her earlier this month that they planned to immediately deport him to Liberia pending the dissolution of her emergency order. They previously tried and failed to remove Abrego Garcia to the African countries of Eswatini, Uganda and briefly Ghana. During Thursday’s hearing, Xinis again upbraided the Justice Department for failing to tell the court why Costa Rica, a country that previously granted assurances to grant Abrego Garcia legal status in the country and not to return him to his home country of El Salvador, is now apparently off the table. She noted that the government is “saying Costa Rica has now rescinded” its original offer to accept Abrego Garcia but had not provided evidence to the court why. “If you are saying that … I’d love to see the evidence so that I can rest assured this is not just an empty ‘word salad’ of an affidavit,” she told lawyers for the Trump administration. ABREGO GARCIA REMAINS IN US FOR NOW AS JUDGE TAKES CASE UNDER ADVISEMENT Xinis used the rest of the hearing to bear down on the foundational question of whether the government had issued a notice of removal. “I want us to be clear,” Xinis said. “I am just interested in finding the notice of removal.” Without it, she is expected to order Abrego Garcia’s release, citing precedent set in Zadvydas v. Davis, a Supreme Court case that bars the government from indefinitely detaining migrants after removal issues have been ordered. This would ostensibly allow Abrego Garcia to remain in the U.S. with his brother pending trial in his criminal case in Nashville. Though the Justice Department would almost certainly seek relief from a higher court as Justice Department lawyer Drew Ensign said in October that the government planned to do. The order of release would also likely allow Abrego Garcia to participate in a two-day evidentiary hearing next month in Tennessee centered on his motion to dismiss the case against him for “vindictive” and selective prosecution despite the stated objections of Ensign. Ensign suggested the immigration judge who ruled in 2019 that Abrego Garcia could not be removed back to his home country of El Salvador had “meant,” or implied a final order of removal. “This doesn’t look anything like” a final order of removal, Xinis said in response. “It’s not even close.” Before adjourning court, Xinis made clear that this would be the final hearing in Abrego Garcia’s habeas case, noting to both sides that she considers the record “closed” and will issue a ruling in the coming days. Xinis also took umbrage at the Justice Department’s failure to produce for the court a witness to testify “with knowledge of the case” and who could speak to the government’s plans to deport Abrego Garcia to Liberia and why it had only provided temporary assurances to accept Abrego Garcia into the country. Still, she told the Justice Department, “I don’t even know if it matters here, frankly, because if I make a finding that a final order doesn’t exist, then we are done.”
DOJ sues Newsom over California giving illegal immigrants college tuition benefits
FIRST ON FOX: The Department of Justice sued Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday over a California measure that gives illegal immigrants access to in-state tuition benefits, marking the third lawsuit in one week that the department has brought against the high-profile Democratic governor. The lawsuit, brought in the Eastern District of California, alleged that California’s education code caused out-of-state U.S. citizens to pay higher tuition rates at California’s schools than people living in the country illegally. The attorneys called it “unequal treatment” that was “squarely” at odds with federal law, which states that people unlawfully living in the United States cannot be given tuition benefits based on their residence that U.S. citizens are not also entitled to. GAVIN NEWSOM DECLARED AS THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY’S 2028 ‘FRONTRUNNER’ BY POLITICO The DOJ has brought similar lawsuits in several other states, including Minnesota. That case there was put on hold for weeks because of the government shutdown. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, an elected Democrat, has moved to have the lawsuit dismissed, arguing the DOJ is not properly reading the federal laws and that U.S. citizens do indeed have access to the same benefits as undocumented students. Newsom has been hit with two other federal lawsuits this week, signaling an escalation in the Trump administration’s scrutiny of the possible 2028 contender and the nation’s most populous state. “The DOJ has now filed three meritless, politically motivated lawsuits against California in a single week. Good luck, Trump. We’ll see you in court,” a spokesperson for Newsom’s office said in a statement. TRUMP ADMIN SUES OVER CALIFORNIA LAW BANNING ICE OFFICIALS FROM WEARING MASKS TO SHIELD IDENTITIES Last week, the DOJ brought a complaint over California’s newly passed ballot measure that clears the way for the state legislature to use a map that shifts five congressional districts in favor of Democrats. This week, it sued over the state’s passage of legislation in September that banned immigration officials from wearing masks that conceal their identities. “From racial gerrymandering, to undermining law enforcement, to discriminating against American students, Newsom has flagrantly disregarded federal law in his quest to ruin California,” a DOJ official told Fox News Digital. “We will see him in court as many times as necessary.”