Trump revives his decades-old Iran warning as US ramps up military pressure: ‘remarkably consistent’
President Donald Trump’s decades-old comments on Iran resurfaced Tuesday in a 1980 interview clip in which he argued America needed to project strength during the hostage crisis. “When you get the respect of the other countries, then the other countries tend to do a little bit as you do … and then you create the right attitudes,” Trump said in the resurfaced clip during an interview with reporter Rona Barrett about the Iranian hostage crisis. When asked during the interview whether the U.S. should send troops into Iran during the hostage crisis, the real estate mogul didn’t hesitate. Trump shared the clip on Truth Social on Tuesday. “I absolutely feel that, yes,” Trump responded. “I don’t think there’s any question.” TRUMP SAYS HE LEFT INSTRUCTIONS TO ‘BOMB’ IRAN ‘AT LEVELS’ NEVER SEEN IF HE IS ASSASSINATED The clip has been circulating on social media amid escalating tensions with Iran after the U.S. resumed strikes after the collapse of a ceasefire agreement. Trump was discussing the Iran hostage crisis, during which Iranian militants seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979 and held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days. “The Iranian situation is case in point that they hold our hostages is just absolutely and totally ridiculous that this country sits back and allows a country such as Iran to hold our hostages, to my way of thinking is a horror,” he added. TRUMP SAYS IRAN CEASEFIRE IS ‘OVER’ AFTER IRANIAN ATTACKS TRIGGER MASSIVE US RESPONSE After lengthy negotiations over a memorandum of understanding with Iran collapsed, the U.S. resumed military operations against Iranian targets. CENTCOM said U.S. forces would resume blocking maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports Tuesday afternoon. “Long before he was elected, President Trump has been remarkably consistent in his belief that Iran — a nation that chants ‘Death to America’ — can never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon,” White House spokesperson Olivia Wales told Fox News Digital. “The United States and our allies are already safer for President Trump’s bold actions to obliterate Iran’s nuclear facilities in Operation Midnight Hammer and decimate their military in Operation Epic Fury. The successful Trump policy is defined by American strength, and President Trump will always unapologetically advance America’s interests.” Trump said Monday that Tehran’s military capabilities have been badly weakened and warned of continued “major attacks.” “If we didn’t do it, they would have had a nuclear weapon. If they had a nuclear weapon, Israel would no longer be with us. The Middle East probably would no longer be with us,” Trump said. TRUMP HAS IRAN ON THE ROPES — AND CRITICS STILL DON’T GET HIS EDGE While answering questions from reporters Monday, Trump said his administration has taken a tougher stance with Iran than previous administrations. “This is what they’ve done for 47 years,” Trump said. “The difference is nobody negotiated like I do. And this should have been done by Bush and Obama and Biden and people before them.” He also accused Iran of dragging out negotiations for decades.
‘This is not normal’: AOC unloads on McConnell’s prolonged absence
Sen. Mitch McConnell’s disclosure of new details about the medical issues that have kept him away from the Senate has sparked fresh scrutiny on Capitol Hill, with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., questioning whether his prolonged absence is “legal at this point” even as Republicans insist he’ll return when the Senate needs him. “How is everyone pretending this is normal?” Ocasio-Cortez said to Fox News Digital. “This is not normal. At all.” “How is it that we have sitting elected members of Congress going missing for months at a time?” MITCH MCCONNELL BREAKS SILENCE ON MYSTERY HOSPITALIZATION AFTER GRAHAM’S DEATH The Kentucky senator broke his silence on his previously undisclosed medical conditions that have kept him absent from the Senate since he was first hospitalized on June 14. He posted to social media claiming that his childhood fight with polio contributed to the fall that left him “briefly unconscious” and hospitalized last month, and then was hit with a “mild case of pneumonia” in the midst of his recovery. “Leader McConnell is tough as nails,” Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., said. “This guy survived polio. For days on end, he went through therapy. People have no idea how tough he is. “ McConnell’s silence fueled online speculation about his condition, with unsubstantiated rumors ranging from cardiac arrest to claims that he had died. “When you’re not very forthcoming with a lot of information, whether it’s personal or professional information, you do leave the conclusion up to conspiracy theorists,” Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., said. “And people’s imagination is far greater than reality almost every time.” Even after McConnell released his statement on his medical absence, including a photo of him with his wife in the hospital, rumors circulated about the senator, claiming he could be in a vegetative state. MCCONNELL FACES FRESH CALLS TO COME CLEAN ABOUT HEALTH ISSUES The statement also did not address specifically when McConnell would return to the Senate, only stating that he would not “be able to return to the Senate floor to vote quite yet.” But Republican senators seemed confident that McConnell would return to the Senate floor for key votes, with Cramer even claiming GOP leaders have been in “regular” contact with him throughout his absence. “Enough of our leadership have regular conversations with him for me to be comfortable,” Cramer said. “I don’t have any doubt if there was a vote for a Supreme Court justice tomorrow that he’d find a way to be here for that,” Marshall said. “I think he’ll be here when we need him, and I just would never count him out. He’ll be back.” McConnell, 84, is set to retire next year at the end of his term, but has promised he will be “finishing the job” he was elected to do until then. “I think that Mitch McConnell has always been exactly who he is right now,” Cramer said. HOUSE DEM URGES TRANSPARENCY BY PUBLIC OFFICIALS AFTER GOP COLLEAGUE REVEALS REASON FOR EXTENDED ABSENCE “He’s not the most transparent person in the world. He thinks strategically, tactically. He thinks about what serves the institution best — what serves his political ambitions and his political priorities.” Ocasio-Cortez told Fox News Digital that while medical emergencies can often be inevitable, she believes there needs to be some regulations pertaining to the length of absences, as well as potentially some legislation passed to prevent lawmakers from being able to be absent for long periods. “Listen, things do happen,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “People get into medical incidents. If you’re in the hospital, you’re in the hospital. But I do think that there should be some sort of… there’s a line here. And I think almost everyone can agree that it’s been crossed.”
Amy Coney Barrett recalls heartbreaking question from 12-year-old son over bulletproof vest
Justice Amy Coney Barrett told the House Appropriations Committee the uptick in threats waged against her and fellow Supreme Court justices have taken a toll on her children. “They have required my children to think about and see things that children should not have to see or think about,” Barrett testified Tuesday. Barrett shared how her security detail gave her a bulletproof vest to wear, and one day when she brought it into her bedroom, her 12-year-old son asked what it was. “And I didn’t know how to respond because maybe I lack imagination, but I didn’t expect that performing this service was going to put me in the position of explaining to my children what a bulletproof vest was and why I had to wear one,” Barrett told the committee. SUPREME COURT JUSTICES HEAD TO CAPITOL HILL FOR FIRST CONGRESSIONAL APPEARANCE SINCE 2019 Barrett and Justice Elena Kagan’s testimony before Congress came as the Supreme Court seeks a 10% budget increase for fiscal year 2027, with roughly $16.6 million of the $20.7 million increase dedicated to expanding security for the justices. Barrett, who was the target of a swatting incident in May, recounted how her and her family’s lives drastically changed following the leaked Dobbs decision in 2022, which ruled that abortion was not a constitutional right, causing threats on her life to intensify. In that incident, someone falsely reported gunshots at her home, Barrett testified, saying her teenage son and his friends were the first to discover the street filled with police. AMY CONEY BARRETT DRAWS BACKLASH FROM CONSERVATIVE CRITICS WHO WANT HER TO BE A TRUMP PARTISAN “I was very, very grateful that I had Supreme Court police outside my home because they were able to stop and meet with and explain to the county police that it had been a false alarm, and so the police did not actually attempt to enter our home,” Barrett said. She also shared that her and other justices are receiving anonymous packages being sent in the name of Daniel Anderl, the 20-year-old son of U.S. District Court Judge Esther Salas, who was killed in 2020. The gunman was an attorney posing as a delivery driver. Judge Salas was his target. Salas’ husband was seriously injured as well. MORNING GLORY: THE SUPREME COURT OFFICIALLY CLOSES THE BOOKS ON ANOTHER TERM “I think the message on these deliveries being sent in his name is clear,” Barrett said. “As Justice Kagan said, federal judges across the country, throughout the judiciary, including the Supreme Court, continue to do their jobs without fear or favor, but the threat level is really high.” The testimony underscored the urgency behind the Supreme Court’s push for more security funding during its first appearance before Congress since 2019. In total, the Supreme Court is requesting roughly $89 million to cover personal security costs, which Kagan said is necessary given that the justices have experienced a 35% increase in threats just in 2026, compared to a 25% increase in threats the year prior. Kagan noted how recent growth in the budget can be entirely attributed to security expenses. “For some of us, those threats have come very close, and all of us live with the knowledge that they may again materialize,” Kagan testified. She recalled that when she arrived at the Supreme Court in 2010, justices did not receive around-the-clock personal protection. Instead, the court’s police primarily guarded the building, and she only had security accompanying her during work-related public events. But Kagan said the heightened focus on justices’ security began after Justice Antonin Scalia’s death in 2016. Scalia died while on a hunting trip in Texas, where he was hours away from security personnel after declining a private security detail for the trip. Kagan recalled that Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and the late Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, D-Md., went to Chief Justice John Roberts to push them to step up security. “This was how the chief described it to us — they said, kind of like, ‘We think you’re crazy, you know, that you have less security than the director of the Office of Personnel Management does. And we think that you have to do better.’ “Then, of course, the Dobbs leak happened, and that really increased the urgency of the entire thing,” Kagan said. “But we’ve been working on this now for about a decade and actually, I think, are grateful to Congress for coming to us and saying, ‘You have to up your game in this area.’”
Senate Dems draw rare line against must-pass Pentagon bill
Senate Democrats drew a rare line in the sand against a yearly, must-pass defense package in an act of rebellion against President Donald Trump. Democrats blocked a procedural hurdle for the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), a perennial bill that opens up funding for the Pentagon and military. Many were already frustrated by the overall funding target of the package and pushed over the edge by the renewal of the Iran war. “It’s very disappointing,” Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told Fox News Digital. REPUBLICANS BREAK WITH TRUMP TO REBUKE IRAN WAR — BUT IT WON’T CHANGE POLICY “It’s about supporting our troops, supporting our military, and it’s disappointing when Democrats play games with that,” he continued. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., charged on the Senate floor that Republicans wanted the upper chamber to take up the bill “as though none of this is happening.” “The president is waging an unauthorized war, defying bipartisan majorities in Congress, refusing to level with the American people at the cost of the mission or the endgame,” Schumer said. “The NDAA cannot become a permission slip for that recklessness that we see occurring in Iran.” CLOSED-DOOR OUTBURST TURNS INTO VICTORY FOR TRUMP’S IRAN NEGOTIATIONS Early signs of trouble for this year’s NDAA first appeared during the Senate Armed Services Committee’s vote to advance the legislation. The majority of Democrats, nine out of 13 on the panel, voted against it. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., was one of the “no” votes, something he acknowledged was a rare move. He said guardrails needed to be added to Trump’s war authorities in Iran and a deeper explanation provided of where exactly the staggering $1.15 trillion authorized by the bill would come from. IRAN WAR’S PRICE TAG HITS $80B — MORE THAN DOUBLE WHAT CONGRESS WAS TOLD “The Iran war issue is, I think, one of the major issues about the NDAA, but it’s not the only issue,” Kaine said. “The absence of knowing where this money is coming from to do this dramatic top-line increase? That still has to get resolved.” Republicans, however, contended that taking the first step on the bill would allow for an amendment process to modify it. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., who also sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, told Fox News Digital, “It’s pretty frustrating, people need to come together and act in the best interest of the country.” “We have to, you know, we have to have a strong military,” Scott said. “Whether we like it or not, people decide to be our enemies. They want to destroy us. So I think we ought to, you know, get on the bill and if we need to do amendments, let’s start amending it.”
DOJ charges 3 Russians in alleged $63M cybercrime scheme targeting Americans
Three Russian nationals allegedly scammed Americans in 21 states out of more than $63 million, according to a December 2024 indictment that the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio unsealed Tuesday. The trio — Alexander Alexandrovich Volosovik, 43, Kirill Andreevich Zatolokin, 34, and Yulia Vladimirovna Pankova, 29 — conducted “malicious cyber activities against U.S. critical infrastructure” through their St. Petersburg, Russia-based companies Media Land, LLC and ML.Cloud, LLC, according to federal prosecutors. “From their overseas safe haven, these defendants ran the criminal infrastructure that powered attacks on critical institutions across our nation,” Department of Justice Criminal Division Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva said in a statement. GLOBAL SCAM CRACKDOWN LEADS TO 276 ARRESTS “Their actions put the American public at risk. We will continue to dismantle these networks and protect our critical infrastructure from cybercriminals at home and abroad.” A grand jury indicted the trio on charges of conspiracy to commit and aid and abet computer fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering in December 2024. The U.S. Department of State’s Rewards for Justice (RFJ) program is offering up to $10 million for information on foreign government-linked associates of the trio or for affiliates of their companies. FBI ADDS 2 FUGITIVES TO ‘MOST WANTED FRAUDSTERS’ LIST AMID HISTORIC $6.5B HEALTHCARE TAKEDOWN: PATEL The U.S. and allied countries levied sanctions on the companies in 2025. Media Land and MLCloud, according to the indictment, provided hosting services and information technology infrastructure for business both in the U.S. and abroad. Specifically, the groups offered “bulletproof hosting” services meant to be used by those trying to evade detection by law enforcement. The companies “provided infrastructure and tech support to criminal client co-conspirators with the means to infect victim computers with malware and ransomware and then extorted those victims for money and cryptocurrency,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office Tuesday announcement read. STOLEN IDS SOLD FOR ‘HAPPY MEAL’ PRICES FUEL BILLIONS IN US BENEFIT FRAUD “Other computer-based crimes facilitated by Media Land and ML.Cloud included supporting criminal marketplaces, fraudulent domain registrations, and providing the platform from which to launch phishing and brute force attacks,” the announcement added. While many U.S. residents were alleged victims of the group’s products, their organizations targeted victims across the globe, prompting U.S. authorities to collaborate with international partners, a fact the U.S. attorney and the FBI both stressed. “The victims in this case are not only in Ohio, but also in 20 other states across the country, touching every aspect of Americans’ lives. They include banks, schools, government entities, hospitals and media companies,” United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio David M. Toepfer said in a statement. “Together with our international partners, we will aggressively combat the efforts of individuals who hide behind computers anywhere in the world who seek to profit and wreak havoc by targeting the infrastructures that support our communities.” Other international organizations that Toepfer thanked included the National Police of the Netherlands and the Netherlands’ Public Prosecutor’s Office, the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency, the United Kingdom Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Australian Federal Police. “Today’s announcement underscores the importance of global partnerships and international collaboration, especially in a borderless world riddled with cyber criminals,” FBI Cleveland Special Agent in Charge Josh DelManzo also said. “The methods used by these bad actors, including ransomware, malware, phishing and other cyber activity, serves as a reminder that whether for business or personal use, when you are online, criminal networks will stop at nothing to hack, attack, share, or sell your information for their own greed, gain, and profit. The FBI and its partners will continue to identify and cripple criminal networks and freeze their infrastructures to reduce or remove the threats to the public and further protect trusting individuals and companies.” Fox News Digital contacted the DOJ for further comment. The U.S. Attorney’s office for the Northern District of Ohio declined to comment, citing an ongoing investigation.
Johnson scores win as conservative rebels end House floor blockade over voter ID bill
House conservatives ended their weeks-long blockade of the House floor Tuesday, handing Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., a key victory after the rebellion brought legislative business to a standstill for nearly a month. The House successfully passed a procedural vote 215-211, teeing up votes on an appropriations bill funding the State Department, legislation making daylight saving time permanent and a measure seeking to improve veterans’ benefits. Johnson also agreed to pair the State Department funding bill with the SAVE America Act, prompting several conservative holdouts to flip their votes after demanding the House increase pressure on the Senate to pass the stalled measure. Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla., was the lone Republican to oppose the rule, while all Democrats voted “no” during a party-line procedural vote. The conservatives had blocked all major House legislation since late June in an effort to force GOP leaders to hold floor votes on the Trump-backed SAVE America Act and a sweeping border security bill. Given House Republicans’ slim majority, Johnson could afford to spare just a handful of GOP defections. The speaker has been under mounting pressure to get the House moving again and advance a backlog of legislation ahead of the November midterm elections. GOP leaders are racing to draft the blueprint for a third “big, beautiful bill” in addition to clearing government funding bills before the Sept. 30 deadline and a potential supplemental package covering the price tag of the Iran war. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., who was among the GOP rebels who effectively shut down the chamber to pressure the Senate to pass the SAVE America Act, agreed to unlock the floor after Johnson proposed pairing the election measure with the State Department appropriations bill. Johnson sought to attach the SAVE America Act to the House’s version of an annual defense policy bill before the July 4 recess, but Luna continued the blockade anyway. “If John Thune strips it out in the Senate, that will be on him and the entire country should be watching what he does,” Luna wrote on social media Monday. TRUMP TAKES UNUSUAL STEP, LETS BIPARTISAN HOUSING BILL BECOME LAW UNSIGNED AMID SAVE PRESSURE CAMPAIGN Thune, who is supportive of the SAVE America Act, has repeatedly insisted that the votes do not exist in the upper chamber to pass the Trump-backed legislation amid unified opposition from Democrats. That leaves House Republicans with little leverage to force Senate action on the SAVE America Act. Some of the GOP holdouts had also threatened to oppose the rule unless House Republican leadership agreed to schedule a vote on a border security package. Members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus are advocating for a vote on the Permanent Trump Secure Border Act, which would codify several Trump executive orders targeting illegal immigration, including and end to catch-and-release policies. “We need to deliver on codifying border security, deal with the birthright citizenship issue,” Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, said. “These are all issues people that I represent care about intently and that we’ve talked about doing, and we need to deliver.” In a potential sign of trouble for GOP leadership, some holdouts criticized Johnson’s planned legislative goals for the week. “Making Daylight Saving Time permanent won’t matter at all if we don’t have election integrity,” Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, wrote on social media Monday, referring to the SAVE America Act. “Priorities.” Self voted “yes” during the procedural vote. The GOP rebels’ hardball tactics frustrated many House Republicans, who argued the strategy risked backfiring and paralyzing the conference’s legislative agenda. “There’s a small group of Republicans who are upset at the Senate, as I think all of us are,” Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., told Fox News Monday. “But I don’t know how … if you’re upset at the Senate, why do you take it out on the conservative Republican agenda in the House?” But some conservatives argued the House should do whatever it takes to get the SAVE America Act to President Donald Trump’s desk. Trump has repeatedly said the election integrity measure is his top legislative priority. He even refused to sign a bipartisan housing bill last week aiming to boost supply and lower costs in protest of the SAVE America Act. “We shouldn’t vote on anything else unless it has the SAVE [America] Act, period,” Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., said Monday. “Ideally, the Senate ought to take it up every day and make them vote on it and do a talking filibuster and keep them up all night,” he continued. “That’s the best course of action. I don’t think they’ll do that.”
Hegseth announces joint task force with DOJ to prosecute leaks to journalists ‘with the full force of the law’
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth on Monday announced the creation of a joint task force with the Department of Justice to identify and prosecute officials who leak “sensitive information” to the media. Hegseth said the Pentagon’s Office of General Counsel (OGC) may request and receive all information, support and records across the department regarding news media leak investigations. “To combat the dangers that leaks pose, effectively immediately, I have delegated tasking authority to the war department’s office of general counsel, empowering OGC to request and receive all information, records and support across the department concerning media leak investigations,” he said in a video shared on X. “Leaked information risks lives, these new tools and processes will greatly assist us in protecting our joint force,” Hegseth continued. “The security of our nation cannot be a bargaining chip for those who seek momentary headlines, access to confidential and secret information is a sacred trust, and those who betray that trust will be met with the full force of the law.” TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SUBPOENAS NY TIMES JOURNALISTS IN GRAND JURY LEAK PROBE TIED TO AIR FORCE ONE REPORT The secretary also thanked Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche for his support, adding that he was “proud that our departments are working together closer than we have ever before.” Hegseth’s announcement comes just days after the DOJ issued subpoenas to four reporters at The New York Times, attempting to force them to testify before a federal grand jury after the newspaper reported on the security concerns involving the plane gifted to President Donald Trump by Qatar that he flew on to Turkey for a recent NATO summit. The subpoenas were widely criticized by The New York Times, journalists at various news outlets and press freedom groups, arguing that the Trump administration is attempting to intimidate reporters conducting legitimate news-gathering about the government. NEW YORKER SUING ICE AFTER OFFICERS WENT TO HIS HOME TO WARN HIM OVER CRITICISM OF AGENCY “The appearance of federal law enforcement agents on the doorstep of news reporters should shock the conscience of any American who believes in the Constitution and the press freedom it protects,” an attorney for the newspaper, David McCraw, said in a statement. “Our journalists report the facts and advance the American public’s right to know how their government is operating and their taxpayer dollars are being used,” McCraw added. “This brazen act should be seen as nothing more than an attempt to prevent the public from knowing what is happening in their country by intimidating journalists from doing their jobs.” Since taking over as head of the Pentagon last year, Hegseth has sought to crack down on leaks to the media. Last year, the department opened investigations into those accused of leaking classified information to the press and threatened to conduct polygraphs to identify leakers. Hegseth has also attempted to impose restrictions on reporters covering the Pentagon. He had forced them to sign a pledge stating that they would not solicit any unauthorized material, even if the information was unclassified. Most Pentagon reporters turned in their press badges rather than accept the department’s restrictions on news-gathering. That policy is facing lawsuits, and a judge last month granted a preliminary injunction, ruling that the department’s requirement that journalists be accompanied by an official chaperone at all times violated the First Amendment in response to a case brought by The New York Times.
Mamdani offers few answers as massive homeless encampment sprouts in west Manhattan
Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Monday offered few specifics about a sprawling homeless encampment that has grown near the Intrepid Museum despite repeated complaints from New York City residents. The encampment stretches roughly 12 blocks along Manhattan’s West Side, from 34th Street to 46th Street on 11th Avenue, according to the New York Post. The area is reportedly lined with tents, furniture, used needles and suspected stolen goods, while residents have also complained of open drug use and prostitution. Asked about the encampment, which sits near a major tourist destination as the city welcomes visitors for the FIFA World Cup, Mamdani said the city was “going to look into the details of that.” DAVID MARCUS: COMMIE DEMS WOULD DESTROY EVERYTHING WORLD CUP FANS LOVE ABOUT AMERICA He said that under city rules, homeless encampments can be cleared only after the city’s Department of Homeless Services (DHS) conducts daily outreach for seven days following an initial notice. “The goal of that outreach is to ensure that we’re building trust that we’re actually able to connect those New Yorkers with services and that we can connect them with any other things that they need, whether it be medical care or whether it be housing support. And then by the 7th day, following the notice, the encampment will be cleared,” Mamdani said. “We are focused on connecting New Yorkers to shelters and on establishing a pipeline to stable housing, not just moving New Yorkers from one place to another place,” he added. MAMDANI RIPPED OVER RECORD-HIGH NYC RENTS WITH CRITICS POINTING TO POLICY THEY SAY IS FUELING CRISIS According to The Post, the encampment has been growing for weeks, with nearby workers saying the population has steadily increased. “These people have been here forever,” one employee at the Intrepid Museum told the outlet. A maintenance supervisor at the nearby Jacob K. Javits Convention Center told the outlet that despite repeated efforts to clear sections of the encampment, the camp continues to spread. NEW YORK SHERIFFS ‘MAD AS HELL’ AS HOCHUL PUSHES TO BAN KEY LAW ENFORCEMENT PARTNERSHIP “This is crazy,” the worker said. “The cops and the sanitation guys and the outreach guys, they clean up one spot and after that day, the next day they’re over here. Then they’re over there. They’re kind of just spreading around.” “We kicked them out, now they’re over here,” the worker added. “One thing is for sure though, there are more today than there were last month, that’s for sure.” City records show there were 48 complaints related to homelessness along the affected stretch of the West Side through the city’s 311 system this year, including 30 filed last month alone, the Post reported.
Democrats running to replace Platner in key Senate race call for ICE to be ‘abolished’
PORTLAND, Maine – Some of the leading contenders in the race to replace former candidate Graham Platner as the Democratic Senate nominee in Maine are amplifying calls to abolish ICE after a fatal shooting by federal immigration officers in the northern New England state. Hours after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on Monday shot and killed a man in Biddeford, which is located about 15 miles south-west of Portland, four of the candidates joined hundreds of protesters who marched by the shooting site. The shooting comes as the battle to replace Platner is heating up, and will likely boost immigration as an issue in a crucial Senate race that may determine the Senate majority. “I think we are at the point where ICE needs to be abolished,” Nirav Shah, the former director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, told Fox News Digital. “ICE in its current form has shown itself incapable of doing its job.” PLATNER EXITS SENATE RACE AMID SCANDALS AND CHORUS OF CALLS TO DROP OUT Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, speaking with reporters, said, “This is not acceptable in America. A young man, a dad, has been killed by ICE…This must stop. We need to get ICE out of the streets.” Troy Jackson, a former state Senate president, took to social media immediately after the shooting to write, “Abolish ICE.” Jackson held a sign at the protest that called for abolishing ICE, and reiterated that he’s been calling for the dismantling of the agency for months. Paige Loud, a social worker and former congressional candidate who has also launched a Senate bid, also attended the protest. “We must abolish ICE and prosecute the leaders of these operations that are destroying communities,” she said in a social media post. The incident in Maine is the second in a week when ICE agents have used deadly force, following the fatal shooting during a traffic stop in Houston, Texas. DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUB The latest incidents are reigniting protests and scrutiny of federal agents months after the shooting deaths in Minneapolis, Minnesota at the beginning of the year of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. Those shootings drew weeks of national coverage and sharp debate over President Donald Trump’s ramped-up deportation efforts amid his administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration. The Maine attorney general’s office, which is investigating Monday’s shooting along with the FBI, said initial statements suggest the motorist who was the target of the enforcement operation was attempting to flee in the direction of an ICE agent. SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER Two immigration advocacy groups said the man who was killed was authorized to work in the U.S. and had a Social Security number. The shooting in Maine came three days after Platner ended his campaign amid mounting controversies and allegations of sexual misconduct that he had repeatedly denied, and a chorus of calls from top Democrats in Maine, the nation’s capital, and across the country to drop out of the race immediately. A populist Democrat who was backed last September by progressive champion Sen. Bernie Sanders, Platner was challenging longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins in a high-profile, combustible and expensive race in Maine, which is one of a handful that will determine if the GOP holds onto its slim Senate majority in November’s midterm elections. Seven Democrats have filed to run for the nomination, which will be determined by roughly 600 voting delegates at a July 25 convention held by the Maine Democratic Party. Collins said in a statement following the shooting that “a full and impartial investigation of what happened” was needed. Hours later, Collins said in another statement that Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin “informed me that the Boston office of the DHS Inspector General has taken over the investigation of the Biddeford shooting in cooperation with the FBI.” One of Collins’ Senate offices is located in Biddeford, and protesters marched to the office to chant, “Vote her out.”
Trump-backed Daylight Saving Time bill clears key House hurdle
A bipartisan push to make Daylight Saving Time permanent is heading for a chamber-wide vote after clearing a key House hurdle. The House Rules Committee on Monday teed up a floor vote on the Sunshine Protection Act, which would allow states to enact Daylight Saving Time year-round — with an option to opt out. The committee approved the rule in a 6-4 vote. The measure has the support of many coastal lawmakers and President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly urged Congress to make Daylight Saving Time permanent and end the twice-a-year ritual of changing clocks — a practice currently observed by every state except Hawaii and most of Arizona. Proponents argue that resetting clocks has negative health impacts, while permanent Daylight Saving Time would boost outdoor recreation, tourism and economic activity, among other benefits. CONGRESS EYES RARE BIPARTISAN HOUSING WIN WITH OR WITHOUT TRUMP’S HELP Most Americans already set their clocks forward one hour each spring to preserve more evening daylight before “falling back” one hour in November. “Americans are overwhelmingly supportive of this policy and want to end the practice of ‘springing forward’ and ‘falling back.’ Locking the clock all year long would have positive impacts on sleep schedules, energy conservation, motor vehicle safety, and our economy,” Chairman Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., said in an opening statement Monday. “In practice, this change would mean more time for people to exercise outside, visit family, attend concerts and sporting events, attract customers to their retail businesses, and more.” “Floridians and Americans across the country are tired of the biannual time change, and the evidence is clear that permanent daylight saving time can improve public health, reduce traffic accidents, lower crime and encourage more outdoor activity,” Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., who authored the measure, previously said in a May news release. “Ending the clock change is a commonsense reform that will improve everyday life for millions of Americans,” he added. The legislation’s momentum comes after the House Energy and Commerce Committee overwhelmingly passed the measure 48-1 in May. “It’s time that people can stop worrying about the ‘Clock,’ not to mention all of the work and money that is spent on this ridiculous, twice-yearly production,” Trump wrote following the Sunshine Protection Act’s advancement out of committee. “It will also be a very nice WIN for the Republican Party. Take it! We are going with the far more popular alternative, Saving Daylight, which gives you a longer, brighter Day — And who can be against that — This is an easy one!” SLEEP DOCTOR REVEALS THE BRUTAL HEALTH DOWNSIDE OF DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME Roughly 20 states have already passed legislation that would make Daylight Saving Time permanent if Congress were to authorize the practice. Alabama, South Carolina, Oregon, Maine and Florida are among those places. But opponents, including several medical organizations, argue that permanent standard time — which provides more sunlight in the morning — would be the healthier option because it would more closely align with the body’s natural circadian rhythms. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-Pa., proposed amending the bill with language from her co-sponsored Sunshine for Our Kids Act, which would make standard time permanent nationwide. The amendment was quickly rejected. Scanlon argued that permanent daylight saving time would pose significant health and safety risks by leaving more Americans — particularly children — in darkness during morning hours. She also pointed to the nation’s brief experiment with year-round daylight saving time in 1974, which Congress abandoned after widespread public backlash. Rep. Nanette Barragán, D-Calif., was also the lone lawmaker to oppose the legislation during the Energy and Commerce Committee markup in May, citing concerns that year-round daylight saving time could negatively affect children’s health and sleep schedules. Some conservative lawmakers have also argued that GOP leadership should be focused on what they describe as more pressing legislative issues, including legislation codifying Trump’s border security executive orders and the stalled SAVE America Act. “Republicans are majoring in the minors — fiddling with the clocks while the country burns,” Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, wrote Monday. The House has already passed versions of the SAVE America Act multiple times, but the measure has struggled to overcome the Senate’s legislative filibuster. The Senate unanimously passed a version of the Sunshine Protection Act in 2022, but it died in the House amid opposition, including from lawmakers who voiced concerns about darker morning hours in parts of the country during the winter.