OpenAI didn’t contact police despite employees flagging mass shooter’s concerning chatbot interactions: REPORT
A new report from the Wall Street Journal revealed that employees at Open AI, the artificial intelligence company known for creating ChatGPT, raised alarm about transgender Canadian mass shooter Jesse Van Rootselaar’s interactions with its chatbot but did not alert authorities. Around a dozen employees reportedly were aware of the concerning interactions months before Van Rootselaar killed multiple family members and school-aged kids in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia. The interactions, first flagged by an automated review system, included violent scenarios involving gun violence over the course of multiple days, people familiar with the matter indicated to the Wall Street Journal. OpenAI’s policy is only to alert law enforcement if there is an imminent threat of real-world harm or violence, and some of the employees reportedly wanted to go to the police. But, in the end, the company opted not to contact authorities. AI COMPANIONS ARE RESHAPING TEEN EMOTIONAL BONDS On Feb. 10, Van Rootselaar, 18, gunned down his mother and step-brother at their home in British Columbia, before heading to Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, where the deranged teen shot and killed five students and a teacher before turning the gun on himself. Twenty-five others were reportedly injured. Authorities later revealed Van Rootselaar, who had dropped out of the school he attacked, was biological male who had been identifying as female since he was 6. Police were aware of Van Rootselaar’s mental health struggles, as they had reportedly made visits to his house on multiple occasions in the past due to various incidents. FAMILY SPEAKS OF ‘PROFOUND PAIN’ AFTER TRANS DAD GUNS DOWN EX-WIFE, SON AT HIGH SCHOOL HOCKEY GAME The teen killer was found to have had an obsession with death, being an avid poster on a website that hosts videos of people being murdered, according to the New York Post. Van Rootselaar’s social media footprint included images of him with firearms and content about hallucinogenic drugs. Van Rootselaar’s mother expressed alarm at his actions in a Facebook parent’s group in 2015, the New York Post also reported. A spokesperson for the company told Fox News Digital that the company banned Van Rootselaar’s account in June 2025 for violating its usage policies, but determined the activity did not rise to the level where it needed to be alerted to law enforcement. They noted that the company is compelled to weigh privacy concerns, adding that being too trigger-happy with police referrals can create unintended harm. OpenAI’s chatbot model is made to discourage real-world harm when it senses dangerous situations, Fox News Digital was told. The company reached out to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) after the incident, and is supporting their investigation with information on Van Rootselaar’s chatbot activity, the spokesperson indicated. “Our thoughts are with everyone affected by the Tumbler Ridge tragedy,” the company said in a statement following the incident. “We proactively reached out to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police with information on the individual and their use of ChatGPT, and we’ll continue to support their investigation.”
Sheriffs plot ICE cooperation ‘workarounds’ after new Maryland law bans cooperation with immigration officers
Maryland’s plan to end local law enforcement cooperation with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement has hit a snag as many local sheriffs plan to continue workaround efforts that still keep them in compliance with state law. After Gov. Wes Moore signed legislation this week to end long-standing programs known as 287(g) cooperation agreements between local law enforcement and ICE, sheriffs from nine counties declared they will continue working with federal immigration officials. “We can continue to work with ICE without necessarily being in the program,” Fredrick County Maryland Sheriff Charles Jenkins told Fox News Digital. “We can still do the 48-hour holds on individuals with detainers, we can still contact ICE to let them know if an individual is about to be released with a detainer, we can also provide arestee lists to ICE so they can review and check it.” FORMER MAINE COUNCILOR GIVES IMPASSIONED SPEECH OPPOSING CITY BLOCKING COOPERATION WITH ICE Jenkins pointed out that his county has the longest standing 287(g) program in the country, adding that throughout the 18-year program, law enforcement in Fredrick County has helped turn over about 1,890 illegal immigrants to ICE. The other counties with 287(g) programs prior to the state legislation banning them include Wicomico County, Harford County, Carroll County, Allegany County, Cecil County, Garrett County, St. Mary’s County and Washington County. Jenkins told Fox News Digital that he fears what is happening in his state – with state lawmakers banning local law enforcement cooperation with ICE – could exacerbate the tensions between federal officials and American citizens upset with the way ICE is handling its deportation efforts. DEM GOVERNOR’S ‘DANGEROUS’ ANTI-ICE LAW IGNITES BACKLASH AFTER ALLEGED BOX CUTTER ATTACK BY ILLEGAL ALIEN “This was all passed because of the current administration, and the perception of what everybody is watching on television, is also what is happening here. It’s just the opposite,” the Maryland county sheriff continued. “What we’re now going to see as we release these criminals over time, and we don’t turn them over to ICE in our jails, ICE is going to come out on the street to make their apprehensions.” Fox News Digital reached out to Moore for comment on the sheriffs’ plan to continue working with federal immigration officials, but no response was provided. A representative for Moore deferred to a press release from the Garrett County Sheriff’s Office indicating the law signed by Moore “does not eliminate or hinder our ability to communicate with ICE regarding the impending release of individuals of interest.” Lawmakers in Maryland are set to restrict local law enforcement cooperation with ICE even further next week, potentially making the ‘workarounds’ described by Jenkins illegal as well.
Bureaucrats hide true price of Obama Presidential Center as taxpayers hit with infrastructure bill
FIRST ON FOX: Former President Barack Obama once declared that his presidential center would be a “gift” to Chicago, but taxpayers are on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars in hidden costs related to the beleaguered project. A Fox News Digital investigation shows taxpayers are now stuck footing the bill for surging public infrastructure costs required to support the project — and no government agency can provide an accounting of the total public cost, despite months of queries and FOIA requests. “Illinois Republicans saw this coming a mile away. Now, right on cue, Illinois Democrats are leaving taxpayers high and dry and putting them on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars to support the ugliest building in Chicago,” Illinois GOP Chair Kathy Salvi told Fox News Digital. “Illinois’ culture of corruption is humming along with pay-to-play deals to their allies and friends while lying to Illinois voters.” When the project was approved in 2018, Obama pledged to privately fund construction of the expansive 19.3-acre campus in historic Jackson Park through donations to the Obama Foundation – a commitment that remains in place as the center’s construction continues to be privately financed. But the extensive infrastructure required to make the campus operationally viable — including redesigned roads, stormwater systems, and relocated utilities — is publicly financed, and without those changes, the center could not function. At the time, projections placed public infrastructure costs at roughly $350 million, split between the state of Illinois and the city of Chicago. OBAMA PRESIDENTIAL CENTER DEPOSITS JUST $1M INTO $470M RESERVE FUND AIMED TO PROTECT TAXPAYERS Eight years later, the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) told Fox News Digital that approximately $229 million in infrastructure spending was tied to the site, up from its earlier estimate of roughly $174 million. The $229 million figure reflects state-managed spending, which may include federal transportation funds routed through IDOT. Meanwhile, Chicago officials have failed to produce a reconciled total showing how much city taxpayers have committed or how current spending compares to the roughly $175 million discussed when the project was approved. Fox News Digital submitted records requests and press inquiries to every agency involved in the infrastructure work, including the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), Chicago’s Department of Transportation (CDOT), the Office of Budget and Management (OBM), the Mayor’s Office and Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration. Not a single office provided a unified, up-to-date accounting of total public infrastructure spending tied to the project. The investigation involved months of FOIA requests, partial disclosures and repeated follow-ups. No single agency appears to oversee the full scope of the infrastructure work, and neither the state nor the city has assembled a reconciled accounting — a fragmentation that has made the overall public cost difficult to determine. Instead, agencies provided partial figures, declined to clarify whether city and state totals overlap or insisted that no consolidated total exists. The Illinois Attorney General’s Public Access Counselor (PAC) is reviewing whether multiple agencies complied with state transparency laws following Fox News Digital FOIA requests. The center sits on 19 acres of historic public parkland carved out in a controversial transfer for just $10 under a 99-year agreement, making the question of public infrastructure spending particularly sensitive. Legal challenges to the land transfer, including lawsuits arguing the arrangement was not in the public interest, were ultimately dismissed, although the merits of the arguments were not adjudicated on. The center — though commonly referred to as a presidential “library” — will not function as a traditional facility operated by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), and former President Obama’s official records will be maintained by NARA at a federal site in Maryland. While the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago is expected to provide digital access to archival materials, it will not serve as a federally operated records repository. Instead, the Chicago complex will be operated privately, without rent payments, by the Obama Foundation, the former president’s nonprofit organization, which oversees leadership programs and civic initiatives aligned with his values and policy priorities. Construction costs for the facility itself have ballooned from early estimates of roughly $330 million to at least $850 million, according to the foundation’s 2024 tax filings, although these expenses are being borne by private donors. Meanwhile, a $470 million reserve fund — known as an endowment — that the foundation promised to fill to protect taxpayers should the project go belly-up, has received only $1 million in deposits, Fox News Digital previously reported. OBAMA LIBRARY, BEGUN WITH LOFTY DEI GOALS, NOW PLAGUED BY $40M RACIALLY CHARGED SUIT, BALLOONING COSTS Taxpayers often fund routine improvements near major civic projects — such as turn lanes, utility hookups or upgraded traffic signals — but the scale of the work surrounding the Obama Presidential Center is far more extensive. By comparison, other modern presidential libraries required only limited public infrastructure upgrades and did not involve the removal of a major roadway or the wholesale redesign of a historic park’s traffic pattern. Much of the publicly financed work reshaped the roads and utilities that once ran through Jackson Park. Cornell Drive — a four-lane roadway that bordered the center’s east side by the park’s lagoon — was permanently removed under the center’s site plan and enveloped by the campus. Traffic that once ran alongside the lagoon has been rerouted farther west, reducing the number of public roads directly adjacent to the complex and creating a more unified campus footprint around the center. Crews also tore down trees, relocated water mains, sewer lines, and electrical infrastructure and installed new drainage systems tied to the facility’s structural needs as part of the public infrastructure project. City and state officials say the changes were necessary to manage traffic and visitor demand. Critics argued the redesign altered long-standing park infrastructure to accommodate the foundation’s preferred layout. What’s clear is that without those road closures, reroutes and utility relocations, the project would not function as designed. The Obama Foundation, which is funding the center’s construction, defended
Judge forces CA hospital to keep trans treatments for minors despite Trump funding threat
A California judge is requiring a San Diego children’s hospital to continue providing transgender treatments to minors for now, extending a temporary restraining order as hospitals in California and New York take sharply different approaches to President Donald Trump’s executive order threatening to pull federal funding. San Diego Superior Court Judge Matthew Braner agreed last week to extend a temporary restraining order by 15 days, allowing Rady Children’s Health to continue providing hormone therapy and puberty blockers to minors despite the Trump administration’s efforts to ban such treatments and fears of losing federal funds. The judge’s order comes as a New York City hospital announced this week it is ending its Transgender Youth Health Program in part due to the “current regulatory environment” — a result of Trump’s executive order aimed at banning transgender medical procedures for minors. FLORIDA EXECS SENTENCED IN $233M OBAMACARE FRAUD THAT TARGETED HOMELESS, HURRICANE VICTIMS At issue is Trump’s executive order, signed shortly after he took office, that seeks to end transgender treatment for minors. In December, the Health and Human Services Department proposed a new rule that would strip federal Medicare and Medicaid funding for hospitals that provide “sex‑rejecting procedures” for children under the age of 18. NYU Langone Health, one of New York City’s largest hospital networks, said the change was due to what hospital officials cited as the “current regulatory environment.” Meanwhile, lawyers for the San Diego hospital argued in court that continuing the treatments for minors, even temporarily, could expose it to immediate risk and threaten its Medicaid and Medicare funding — a critical revenue source given Rady’s status as Southern California’s largest children’s health care provider. Braner acknowledged after hearing from both parties that Rady and other hospitals likely feel caught “between a rock and a hard place” amid heightened scrutiny from the Trump administration. Still, he said concerns about losing funding could be quickly addressed if that scenario unfolds. “We’ll clear our calendar, and we’ll have a hearing within 24 hours of any notice” from HHS, he said, according to local news outlets. 100 DAYS OF INJUNCTIONS, TRIALS AND ‘TEFLON DON’: TRUMP SECOND TERM MEETS ITS BIGGEST TESTS IN COURT The reassurances from the judge, whose extension is slated to last through March 15, did little to assuage Rady’s lawyers, who cited the risks of noncompliance and told the judge that even in a short window, continuing the treatments could pose a “catastrophic risk.” The legal back-and-forth comes as more than 40 hospitals in the U.S. have so far restricted such treatments for minors, in compliance with the administration’s guidance, according to data compiled by STAT News earlier this month. “Given the recent departure of our medical director, coupled with the current regulatory environment, we made the difficult decision to discontinue our Transgender Youth Health Program,” NYU Langone officials said in a statement this week announcing the hospital was ending transgender treatment for minors. “We are committed to helping patients in our care manage this change. This does not impact our pediatric mental health care programs, which will continue,” the hospital said. Officials at Rady in San Diego previously announced the hospital would also stop treatments for minors in accordance with the Trump administration’s guidance. The announcement prompted California Attorney General Rob Bonta to file a lawsuit earlier this year.
Liberals lose their minds over Justice Department banner featuring Trump
A newly installed banner at the Department of Justice headquarters displaying President Donald Trump‘s face sparked criticism from detractors, who likened it to authoritarianism and questioned the department’s impartiality. Prominent Democrats, including Gov. Gavin Newsom of California, and a slew of anti-Trump legal experts weighed in on social media Thursday, saying the banner symbolized a biased DOJ. The department said the banner, which read “Make America Safe Again,” honored the White House’s efforts to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary. “We are proud at this Department of Justice to celebrate 250 years of our great country and our historic work to make America safe again at President Trump’s direction,” a DOJ spokesperson told Fox News Digital. TRUMP INSISTS GOPERS ‘LOVE’ DOJ TARGETING JEROME POWELL, SAYS HE ‘CAN’T HELP’ IT IF IT LOOKS LIKE RETRIBUTION Meanwhile, Newsom called the banner “beyond parody,” while Democratic senators accused the DOJ of weaponizing its authority to appease the president, who has openly called for the prosecution of his political rivals. “President Trump is weaponizing the DOJ as his own personal law firm,” Sen. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., said. Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., also chimed in. Federal prosecutors recently failed to secure an indictment against him after he instructed military members to refuse to follow illegal orders. “The grift, groveling, and weaponization of our government is chilling,” Crow said. “The Justice Department works for the American people. They shouldn’t be political henchmen for Donald Trump–or any other President.” Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., said: “The Department of Justice is supposed to work for and represent you, not him.” David Frum, a writer for The Atlantic, said the DOJ was a “a pure creature of presidential whim, retribution, and cover-up,” adding the banner had “the virtue of candor at least.” Prominent never-Trumper Bill Kristol said the banner was “shameful.” “But in a way useful,” Kristol added. “No one should any longer pretend we have a “Department of Justice.” We have a Department of Trump.” Attorney Barbara Comstock, a former Virginia U.S. congresswoman and high-profile Never Trump voice, asked if the banner was artificial intelligence. “Nothing says Justice is Blind like hanging a Dear Leader Banner at DOJ…,” Comstock said. Others called it a sign of “fascism” and compared it to North Korea, Nazi Germany and the Chinese Community Party. Larry Pfeiffer, a former longtime intelligence community official, said the “Pyongyangification of Washington DC continues.” EX-JUDGES BLAST TOP TRUMP DOJ OFFICIAL FOR DECLARING ‘WAR’ ON COURTS The banner is not the first to unfurl on a federal building in Washington, D.C., as part of the White House initiative to honor 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Indendence. The Department of Labor has for months prominently featured a similar sign reading “American Workers First.” Republicans had a largely muted response to the move to install Trump’s face on the DOJ. Jason Miller, Trump’s former senior adviser, gave it thumbs-up emojis, while U.S. Pardon Attorney Ed Martin simply said, “True.”
CIA retracts, revises 19 past intelligence assessments deemed politically biased
The CIA on Friday said that director John Ratcliffe had ordered the retraction or “substantive revision” of 19 intelligence assessments over the past decade that were deemed to be politically biased. In a release, the CIA included three redacted assessments from between 2015 and 2021 that related to White women’s extremist radicalization, attacks on LGBT activists in the Middle East and Africa, and the COVID-19 pandemic limiting access to birth control in developing countries. “The intelligence products we released to the American people today — produced before my tenure as DCIA — fall short of the high standards of impartiality that CIA must uphold and do not reflect the expertise for which our analysts are renowned,” Ratcliffe said in a statement. He added, “There is absolutely no room for bias in our work and when we identify instances where analytic rigor has been compromised, we have a responsibility to correct the record. These actions underscore our commitment to transparency, accountability, and objective intelligence analysis. Our recent successes in Operation ABSOLUTE RESOLVE and Operation MIDNIGHT HAMMER exemplify our dedication to analytic excellence.” BRENNAN DIRECTED PUBLICATION OF ‘IMPLAUSIBLE’ REPORTS CLAIMING PUTIN PREFERRED TRUMP IN 2016, HOUSE FOUND The CIA release said the assessments were identified by the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board, which did an independent review on hundreds of reports from the last decade, adding that the assessments “did not meet CIA and IC analytic tradecraft standards and failed to be independent of political consideration.” The agency said an internal review led by Deputy Director Michael Ellis “agreed that they did not meet the high standards the American people expect from CIA’s elite analytic workforce.” CIA DIRECTOR WAS IN VENEZUELA TO MEET WITH ACTING PRESIDENT DELCY RODRIGUEZ, OFFICIAL SAYS The first of the three reports included in the release was titled “Women Advancing White Racially and Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremist Radicalization and Recruitment,” and was published in October 2021, in the first year of the Biden administration. It focused on women in groups overseas “that incite, facilitate or conduct violence because they believe that their perception of an idealized, white European ethnic identity is under attack from people who embody and support multiculturalism and globalization.” The second report was titled “Middle East-North Africa: LGBT Activists Under Pressure,“ and was released near the end of the Obama administration. That assessment claimed that “The tough stance taken against the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community by governments in the Middle East probably is driven by conservative public opinion and domestic political competition from Islamists, and is hindering US initiatives in support of LGBT rights.” The last declassified report included in the CIA release was titled “Worldwide: Pandemic-Related Contraceptive Shortfalls Threaten Economic Development,“ and was published in July 2020, nearly the end of President Donald Trump’s first term. “The COVID-19 pandemic is limiting contraceptive access in the developing world and will probably undermine efforts to address population pressures there that are hindering economic development,” it stated. A senior administration official who spoke to The New York Times on condition of anonymity said that most of the rest of the flagged assessments dealt with diversity, equity and inclusion. The Times added that former officials it spoke to both questioned the decision to declassify the three documents and the claims that the assessments were flawed, believing they just showed the policy priorities of past administrations.
Campus Radicals Newsletter: Teacher who lost job over 2-word post breaks silence, Chicago ‘racial segregation’
DEI EXPOSED: Illinois district where faculty celebrated Charlie Kirk’s death exposed over racial ‘segregation’ plan ART AXED: University of North Texas cancels exhibit featuring anti-ICE art CAMPUS CAUTION: Illinois university moves classes online after learning ICE is operating in the same building SIGN UP TO GET THE CAMPUS RADICALS NEWSLETTER ALLEGATIONS DISMISSED: White teens cleared of hate crime allegations levied by Black Virginia Tech professor BOOK BATTLE: Nashville teacher allegedly threatened with termination for refusing to read LGBTQ book to first graders DEPORTATION DENIED: Palestinian activist accused of expressing desire to ‘kill Jews’ wins deportation case FACULTY REVOLT: Columbia pulls promotion for DHS career expo after faculty claims university is aiding ‘authoritarianism’ HARVARD ACTIVISM: Harvard students earn course credit helping asylum seekers as critics calls school ‘bastion of woke activism’ CAREER DERAILED: Chicago-area teacher breaks silence after losing job over 2-word Facebook post supporting ICE: ‘Devastating’ TPUSA CONTROVERSY: Maryland woman says TPUSA high school event raised ‘serious concerns,’ says Child Protective Services notified
EXCLUSIVE: ‘Targeted attack’ vandalizes Trump-Kennedy Center outdoor ice rink, forces performance cancellation
FIRST ON FOX: The Trump-Kennedy Center was the target of what officials described as a “calculated, malicious attack” early Friday after a “toxic chemical” was poured onto its outdoor ice rink, forcing a performance cancellation. Trump-Kennedy Center leadership said a dark substance was poured onto the ice surface, severely damaging the outdoor arena. Leadership said the incident was not a protest but an act of outright vandalism targeting the Trump-Kennedy Center. “Today, a targeted attack on the Trump Kennedy Center vandalized and destroyed our outdoor arena, causing severe damage that we unfortunately must cancel tonight’s performance, but we are working feverishly to complete repairs so programming can resume tomorrow,” Roma Daravi, vice president of public relations for the Trump-Kennedy Center, said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “We have turned over video footage to the authorities who are investigating this calculated, malicious attack and hold those responsible accountable.” KENNEDY CENTER PRESIDENT DEMANDS $1M FROM JAZZ MUSICIAN WHO CANCELED CHRISTMAS EVE SHOW Leadership added that violence “will not be tolerated” at the Trump-Kennedy Center and said those responsible would be held accountable. Trump-Kennedy Center officials said a brown-black substance was poured across the ice early Friday morning. Images from the scene show the material spread widely across the rink, with what appears to be a gallon-sized milk container visible on the ice. Leadership at the venue said the substance was “toxic.” The exact chemical has not yet been publicly identified. TRUMP’S NAME ADDED TO KENNEDY CENTER FOLLOWING UNANIMOUS BOARD VOTE TO RENAME HISTORIC BUILDING The vandalism forced the cancellation of a scheduled performance at the Trump-Kennedy Center by Montreal-based skating company Le Patin Libre. The incident comes amid a broader transformation of the Trump-Kennedy Center following a leadership overhaul and significant funding secured for long-deferred infrastructure improvements. The board of trustees voted unanimously in December 2025 to rename the facility “The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.” President Donald Trump was later elected chairman of the board. BOARD VOTES KENNEDY CENTER TO BE RENAMED ‘TRUMP-KENNEDY CENTER,’ LEAVITT SAYS Fox News Digital previously reported that the Center plans a temporary closure beginning July 4 for an extensive restoration and modernization project. Leadership has cited roughly $250 million in deferred maintenance and aging infrastructure accumulated over decades. Congress appropriated $257 million for renovation work in Trump’s “One, Big, Beautiful Bill” and officials have described the project as critical to stabilizing and preserving the nation’s premier performing arts institution for future generations. The complex, which opened in 1971, has faced years of financial strain and structural deterioration before new funding was secured. Daravi said the institution intends to pursue accountability for the damage and restore the outdoor arena as quickly as possible, so programming can continue as scheduled. Neither a suspect nor a motive have been publicly identified by either the Trump-Kennedy Center or authorities. Authorities are continuing to investigate the incident as the Trump-Kennedy Center works to restore the damaged outdoor arena and resume scheduled programming. The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Crockett blasts ‘left’ for alleged skin darkening in ads as Texas Senate clash heats up
A progressive House Democrat claims that attacks from her left were racially motivated in what’s become an explosive Texas Senate race. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, told supporters that she’s used to attacks from Republicans and the right, but racially tinged shots from her left flank weren’t something she expected. “The thing that is not normal is for me to be attacked from the left,” Crockett said. “That is the new wild card in this scenario. But it’s just interesting.” DEMOCRATIC SENATE CANDIDATE CALLS NATIONAL PARTY ‘CONDESCENDING,’ HOSTILE TOWARD FAITH IN RED STATES “And you know, I’ve been asked a couple of times about it,” she continued. “And you know, I look at this specifically as a civil rights lawyer, and I see when they’re sending out ads and they’re darkening my skin. And I’m just like, I know what this is, right?” Crockett did not get into specifics about which ads she was referencing or who was behind them. Fox News Digital reached out to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and Crockett’s Senate campaign for comment but did not immediately hear back. It’s another instance in the Democratic primary for Texas’ Senate seat between Crockett and Texas state Rep. James Talarico in which race has again been jolted into the conversation. JASMINE CROCKETT HITS BACK AT LIBERAL CRITICS OF HER SENATE BID, SUGGESTS THEY MIGHT BE GETTING PAID Before the latest drama over Talarico’s appearance on Stephen Colbert’s “The Late Show,” which Crockett said she has not received an invitation to since launching her Senate campaign, the state lawmaker was embroiled in another back-and-forth with his former opponent. Before Crockett entered the contest, Talarico was running against former Rep. Collin Allred, D-Texas, who was again vying for the Senate after losing to Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, in 2024. Allred exited the race in December 2025 but earlier in February alleged that Talarico had referred to him as a “mediocre Black man” in reference to his campaign against the former lawmaker. CORNYN WARNS PAXTON WOULD BE ‘KISS OF DEATH’ FOR GOP AS BLOODY PRIMARY RACE RAMPS UP Talarico pushed back against the allegation in a statement to the Texas Tribune at the time and said that he would “never attack him on the basis of race.” “As a Black man in America, Congressman Allred has had to work twice as hard to get where he is,” Talarico said. “I understand how my critique of the congressman’s campaign could be interpreted given this country’s painful legacy of racism, and I care deeply about the impact my words have on others. Despite our disagreements, I deeply respect Congressman Allred. We’re all on the same team.” Early voting already is underway in Texas, with primary election day right around the corner on March 3. Who either Crockett or Talarico will face in November remains in the air, given the three-way Republican primary battle among Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas.
EPA scraps Biden coal restrictions, and advocates say move will restore American dominance
A leading domestic energy advocacy group praised EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin’s announcement that his agency would undo recent additions to the federal “mercury and air-toxics standards” (MATS) for coal-fired power plants. Zeldin said removing the restrictions allows the already “robust” MATS standards to remain in effect, ensuring both public health and the health of America’s coal industry amid a push for U.S. energy dominance. “The Biden-Harris Administration’s anti-coal regulations sought to regulate out of existence this vital sector of our energy economy. If implemented, these actions would have destroyed reliable American energy,” Zeldin said, adding that protecting the environment and supporting industry and baseload power is not a “binary choice.” In response, Power the Future founder Daniel Turner told Fox News Digital the move is a significant step toward revitalizing the American coal industry and, in turn, fueling economies in economically depressed industrial communities throughout Appalachia and beyond. TRUMP DIRECTS MILITARY TO STRIKE NEW DEALS WITH COAL-FIRED POWER PLANTS: ‘GOING TO BE BUYING A LOT OF COAL’ “Since the war on coal, we have weakened our grid, driven electricity prices through the roof, outsourced major industries to Mexico and China, but most of all driven tens of thousands of Americans into ruin because of a globalist agenda,” Turner said Friday, adding that the costs of a crippled coal industry went far beyond shuttered infrastructure. “The cruel Obama-led war on coal ruined numerous towns across rural America, drove families into poverty, caused alcoholism, opioid addiction, domestic violence, and suicide to skyrocket. “Power The Future started because of coal miners, the acceptable casualties in the globalist climate change agenda,” added Turner, whose group is based in coal-heavy Virginia. EPA CHIEF WRAPS NATIONAL TOUR AS CRITICS SLAM DEREGULATION AGENDA “Restoring America’s coal dominance is good for our national security and economy, and it restores the dignity of small-town coal workers whose labor is vital to America’s survival.” Many of America’s poorest counties are in what were once very wealthy coal communities, including McDowell and Mingo counties in West Virginia and Bell, Letcher, McCreary and Breathitt counties in Kentucky, where Vice President JD Vance’s family is from. During much of the 20th century, McDowell County — and its seat, Welch — was the No. 1 coal-producing county in the U.S. and home to 100,000 people — a population boom some credit with spurring construction of what became the nation’s first parking deck, which is still standing today in Welch. TRUMP ADMIN RELAUNCHES KEY COUNCIL AFTER BIDEN ADMIN SHUTTERED IT: ‘IGNORANCE AND ARROGANCE’ Now, about one-quarter of McDowell residents live in poverty while the median income is around $30,000. Turner alluded to those conditions in comments to Fox News Digital, saying people must “never forget or forgive the drivers of the war on coal for their cruel attacks on a vital industry found only in rural America. “[Anti-coal politicians] fly private jets to attend global climate summits while they orchestrated an evil attack on the coal miner making America weaker and China richer.” Turner quipped that any “anti-coal activist” is invited to join him in visiting coal-producing communities but may be unhappy to get dirt on their clothing and find lodging not up to “Four Seasons” standards. “We need coal. There is not one product around you right now that was not touched by coal, and to lower prices, bring market stability and ensure economic growth, we need to dominate the coal industry,” Turner said. “Sadly, the liberal elite who launched the war on coal are too ignorant or too indifferent to know this. The ignorant can be educated, and that’s what I try to do at Power The Future. But the indifferent must be defeated, as they are a threat to our liberty, property and prosperity. I will never stop until I defeat them all,” he said, calling President Donald Trump the “greatest coal president in history.” Former EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy fired back at the policy change, telling the AP that “by weakening pollution limits and monitoring for brain-damaging mercury and other pollutants, they are actively undermining any attempt to make America — and our children — healthy.”