Vance jokes about rubbing elbows with former president at Ground Zero: ‘Intense intellectual conversations’
Vice President JD Vance said Thursday he is “looking forward” to meeting with former President Joe Biden while in New York City next week for the 25th anniversary of 9/11. “I’m really looking forward to hanging out with Joe Biden. I’m sure that we’ll have many, many intense intellectual conversations and, you know, it’ll be great. We’ll have a great time with Joe Biden and the other presidents,” Vance said while hosting the first White House press briefing after former press secretary Karoline Leavitt exited in August. Vice President JD Vance will travel to Ground Zero on 9/11, joining former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton and former first ladies Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush for a remembrance ceremony. TRUMP CONFIRMS PENTAGON PLANS FOR 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF 9/11 ATTACKS, DISPUTES REPORT ON GROUND ZERO ABSENCE The last known time Vance and Biden were in the same room was at President Donald Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, 2025, in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda. “We just decided as a team that I would go to New York for 9/11 and the president would stay here in D.C., of course, to commemorate what happened at the Pentagon, because that was a critical part of the tragedy of 9/11 as well,” said Vance. FIRST ON FOX: TRUMP’S 9/11 TRIBUTE TO FEATURE MASSIVE PIECE OF GROUND ZERO HISTORY AT WHITE HOUSE Trump is expected to attend a ceremony at the Pentagon, and other administration officials will represent the White House in Shanksville, Pennsylvania — marking all three locations targeted or affected by the attacks. Vance said during the press conference that there was no indication Trump was staying in the nation’s capital due to security concerns in New York City. 9/11 IS BECOMING HISTORY. MY GENERATION MUST MAKE SURE AMERICA NEVER FORGETS “I will say that as much as it’s tragic and it was a terrible day, I am looking forward to it because it’s such an amazing honor to be able to get to go to New York and to share in that moment,” said Vance. Vance said it is especially meaningful for parents to show their children the names of those who were killed, recalling that he did so with his own family during the 2024 campaign. “It’s one of the most amazing experiences of my life, and I encourage every American, particularly the people who are young enough to not really remember that day, just to tune in for a couple of hours and see what it meant,” Vance added. Vance said the tragic day brings a “sense of commonality and common purpose” for Americans to unite.
White House gives classic arcade games a MAGA makeover in new online launch
FIRST ON FOX: The White House is rolling out a new website Thursday that will feature classic arcade-style games with a MAGA twist. A promotional video for the site obtained by Fox News Digital shows MAGA remakes of old favorites, including Snake, Flappy Bird, Duck Hunt and a couple of originals. Each one is uniquely Trumpian. The MAGA version of Snake, for example, features border czar Tom Homan leading a line of illegal aliens in orange jumpsuits while he chases others on the grid. In another game, reminiscent of Duck Hunt, the user employs a net to catch gold bars and money, illustrative of putting money into a Trump Account. The Washington Monument is depicted in the background of that game. SEN DAVE MCCORMICK: TRUMP ACCOUNTS GIVE ALL AMERICANS A STAKE IN PROSPERITY The White House says the new site is a fun way to highlight Trump’s successes in his second term. “This administration is laser focused on ways to innovate and tell the story of the president’s many accomplishments in a way that resonates with every American,” a White House official told Fox News Digital. BIG TECH JOINS FORCES WITH TRUMP ADMIN TO UNLEASH PATRIOTIC BIRTHDAY PUSH INTO HOMES NATIONWIDE Visitors to the new site can also play the administration’s version of Flappy Bird, flying a bald eagle through obstacles on the National Mall. In the fourth game, the user is a boxer, punching unhealthy foods like candy away. The game features a graphic with the words “Seed Oils” with a red line through it in a nod to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his Make America Healthy Again initiative. AOC SAYS MAHA ADVOCATES’ FIGHT ‘ISN’T PARTISAN’ AS SHE BLASTS HEALTHCARE SYSTEM FOR FUELING ‘A TON OF ANXIETY’ Another resembles Tetris, set at the southern border, where the user’s goal is to build a wall to stop the flow of illegal immigration into the U.S. The site is also a jab at Democrat policies and what the White House describes as the political left’s “dark” vision for the future of the country. “The president continues to rack up victory after victory on behalf of the American public, while opponents of his agenda are defending their record of raising taxes and empowering criminal illegal aliens,” the official told Fox News Digital. “This is an effort to further contrast between a culture of fun and winning and the dark socialist vision Democrats have for America.” Millions of foreigners have left the United States, either by voluntary self-deportation or by being arrested and removed, during Trump’s second term. Those numbers are on the rise. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recently broke its own monthly record for illegal alien arrests, topping 50,000 in July. Parents are eligible to open Trump Accounts for their children this year, in which the federal government automatically deposits $1,000. Family members and friends can contribute up to $5,000 per year to a child’s account, which will appreciate in value until the child turns 18. The program will continue next year.
Dem Senate hopeful vows to unleash Alaska oil — but her record tells a different story
A Democrat eyeing a return to Congress in a crucial battleground state has pitched a policy platform geared toward expanded oil production, but she once turned her back on the issue while in Washington, D.C. Former Rep. Mary Peltola is running to unseat Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, in a contest that could define the balance of power in the upper chamber. National Democrats have Alaska in their sights as a viable pickup opportunity in their quest to flip the Senate, but Peltola is running away from some of their greener energy policies to push for expanded oil production. Earlier this month, she unveiled her “Making Energy Affordable for Alaskans” plan that zeros in on oil and gas development in her state, which is one of the top crude oil producers in the country. DAN SULLIVAN ACCUSES SAME-NAME CHALLENGER OF TRYING TO ‘RIG’ ALASKA SENATE RACE “Alaska has always been a leader in energy production, and as an independent voice for Alaskans, I will always stand up to anyone to invest in Alaska energy production so that we can create good-paying jobs and lower energy costs,” Peltola said in a statement introducing the plan. “As D.C. price hikes create an energy catastrophe for Alaskans, we can’t afford more delays, political gridlock, or one-size-fits-all rules from the Lower 48 that leave Alaskans without solutions,” she continued. In 2023, she did have an opportunity to do just that. During her time in the House, Peltola and Rep. Pete Stauber, R-Minn., introduced the Alaska’s Right to Produce Act, legislation that would have reversed several Biden-era rules and regulations that limited or canceled oil and gas leases in Alaska. When it came time to vote on the bill, which would have required the reinstatement of canceled drilling leases in the non-wilderness Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and overturned lease restrictions in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A), she urged her colleagues to vote against it. DEM SENATE NOMINEE CHANGES TUNE ON ICE AFTER VOWING NOT ‘ONE MORE DIME’ FOR AGENCY Peltola, in a letter sent to House Democrats first reported by the Alaska Story, called on her colleagues to vote against her own bill out of fear that it would go too far. “I am the Democratic co-lead for this bill and voted for it in committee. However, this legislation has a significant unintended consequence that could adversely affect Indigenous communities and the Arctic Ocean environment,” Peltola wrote. “The bill’s intent is to allow Alaska to maintain onshore oil and gas, but a provision within it would nullify the Northern Bering Sea Climate Resilience Area, potentially harming these communities and the environment,” she continued. “I support oil and gas development. Alaska needs energy, and we have a wealth of resources that could be developed. However, the unintended consequences of this bill are too significant to allow it to pass.” SENATE REPUBLICAN PUSHES OVERHAUL TO CUT RED TAPE AND SPEED UP AMERICAN ENERGY PROJECTS A key reason that Peltola urged her colleagues to vote against the bill was because of a provision tucked away in the legislation that would have effectively pitted the oil and gas industry against the fishing industry in Alaska — two key economic drivers in the state. Peltola later introduced a clean version of the bill that didn’t include that provision. She also scored wins for energy production in the state during her time in Washington, including getting the Biden administration to reverse course on ConocoPhillips’ Willow Project, an $8 billion oil drilling project in the National Petroleum Reserve. “Mary’s record is clear: She will always put Alaska first, and no one from the Lower 48 will ever tell her how to vote or how to think,” a spokesperson for her campaign told Fox News Digital. “That’s why she took on her own party to secure the Willow project after years of delays and why she introduced legislation to open the ANWR and NPR-A for oil development, with input from Alaska’s fishermen.” “Mary supports creating good-paying oil and gas jobs, securing America’s energy independence, defending the right of Alaskans to develop our own land, and bringing down the cost of energy for Alaska families – and that’s what she will fight for in the Senate,” they continued. The bill did ultimately pass in the Republican-controlled House but died on the vine in the Senate, which was run by then-Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. And Schumer heavily recruited Peltola to mount a bid against Sullivan, giving her the full weight of the Democratic establishment in her race against Sullivan, who is seeking a third term in the upper chamber. Though she’s portrayed herself as someone willing to buck the party, Sullivan’s campaign argued her record and list of endorsements showed the opposite. “As a Congresswoman, Mary Peltola turned her back on Alaska time and time again,” Nate Adams, a spokesperson for Sullivan’s campaign, told Fox News Digital. “Peltola says whatever she needs to say to get elected, then goes to Washington and does whatever Chuck Schumer, AOC, and D.C. Democrats demand of her, even when it directly hurts the Alaskans she’s supposed to represent.” “Peltola’s shameless ability to say one thing to Alaskans and do the exact opposite in Congress might be why she cashed out and became a lobbyist when Alaskans fired her in 2024,” he continued. Their battle isn’t as cut-and-dried as other contests on the Senate map, however. Dan J. Sullivan, a retired schoolteacher also running as a Republican, is on the ticket — a situation that Alaska Republicans tried to thwart through legal action over concerns that his candidacy was meant to confuse Alaska voters in their ranked-choice voting system. Voters will choose among Peltola, both Sullivans and Gerald Heikes, another Republican eying the seat, in November.
Vance refuses to put a clock on Iran conflict as key question keeps US forces engaged
Vice President JD Vance said Thursday he will not put an “artificial timeline” on the war with Iran, warning that the conflict will continue on as long as Iran keeps shooting at ships. “You’re asking me a question like, when will the Iranians stop shooting at ships? I think the reality is, I don’t know the answer to that question. You would have to ask the Iranians, when will the Iranians shooting at ships stop having an effect on world energy markets? And the answer is it has less effect day by day,” Vance said while hosting the first White House press briefing after former press secretary Karoline Leavitt exited in August. Vance said the U.S. will not depend on the Iranians “behaving responsibly” or “negotiating in good faith,” pointing to recent attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. The Trump administration has taken negotiations off the table after June’s failed Memorandum of Understanding agreement and has pivoted back to economic and military pressure. IRAN DEAL CLOCK HITS ZERO AS TRUMP DEMANDS ‘WHITE FLAG’ WITH NEW PRESSURE CAMPAIGN LOOMING “What we’re going to do is use the tools that we have at our disposal to ensure that the American people, one, never have to deal with the threat of an Iranian nuclear program and, two, the world, energy markets are properly supplied,” said Vance. The conflict began on Feb. 28, 2026, when the U.S. and its partners launched Operation Epic Fury, striking targets across Iran at President Trump’s direction. U.S. Central Command said Tuesday that American forces completed a wave of strikes against targets inside Iran, including air defense sites, radar systems, maritime assets, mine-laying capabilities and communications sites. US EMBASSIES IN MIDDLE EAST WARN AMERICANS OF ‘UNFORESEEN ESCALATION’ AS LATEST STRIKES HIT IRAN Vance said the conflict with Iran is not a war, citing that there are no active shootings but “places where this is flared up” and acknowledged major combat operations that lasted under six weeks. “Since then, we destroyed, of course, their nuclear facilities with Midnight Hammer. With Epic Fury, we destroyed their defense industrial base for producing weapons and also a lot of their conventional military and then we made it harder for them to rebuild that nuclear program,” Vance added.
Musk picks his first GOP warriors as a 2026 money surge takes shape
Elon Musk’s super PAC made its first major publicly disclosed burst of midterm spending, dumping significant amounts of cash over a very short period of time into races Republicans virtually must win to retain control of Congress. Between Aug. 19 and Aug. 31, Musk’s America PAC reported just over $800,000 in expenditures supporting Republican candidates and opposing their Democratic rivals — an average of roughly $70,000 per day. By far the largest concentration of Musk’s spending was in the Texas Senate race, where America PAC spent nearly $248,000 supporting Paxton and opposing Talarico. Republicans are heading into the midterms with a massive cash advantage, but are struggling to secure advantageous positions in even traditionally Republican states such as Alaska, Iowa, Texas and Ohio, according to Fox News’ Power Rankings. Musk opening his pocketbook for the GOP, an eventuality that was once in doubt given his prior split with the president, could provide Republicans with a much-needed lifeline as November approaches. JOHNSON DOWNPLAYS GOP’S MIDTERM WOES AS DEMOCRATS EYE HOUSE TAKEOVER: ‘I AM VERY BULLISH’ The bulk of the spending went toward “printing” expenses paid out to Storytellers Group, a political vendor that specializes in direct-mail work. Over his 12-day expenditure period, Musk spent $123,000 opposing Talarico’s candidacy and about $125,000 supporting Paxton, according to a campaign finance filing released Wednesday. RNC CHAIR SAYS TALARICO’S GOP CROSSOVER HOPES ARE A ‘PIPE DREAM’: ‘NOBODY IS GOING TO FOLLOW HIM’ The spending, while helpful to Republicans, gives Democrats a new angle of attack to use in the districts where Musk’s PAC is deploying resources. Musk has suffered from low favorability ratings among Americans, and his efforts with the Department of Government Efficiency, likewise, proved unpopular. Democrats running in the competitive races where Musk is spending can now credibly tie their opponents to the billionaire. Talarico, for instance, has made running against billionaire interests a focal point of his campaign, a plank that increases in relevance now that Musk has waded into his race. AFTER PLATNER IMPLOSION, MAINE DEMOCRATS RUSH TOWARD NEW SENATE NOMINEE DESPITE FRESH WARNING SIGNS Musk’s PAC also spent a considerable amount in Maine’s Senate race, deploying roughly $135,000 against Democratic nominee Troy Jackson and about $35,000 to assist incumbent GOP Sen. Susan Collins. Collins has worked to distance herself from the Trump administration and national Republicans as she seeks re-election in a left-leaning state, an effort Musk’s spending could complicate. Other races Musk’s PAC spent in include the Senate races in Michigan, Ohio and New Hampshire as well as a handful of competitive House races in states like New York, Florida and Wisconsin. GOP donors, fundraisers and lawmakers are worried that their current cash advantage may not be enough to deliver victory in November. They worry that President Donald Trump may not deploy his $400 million political war chest aggressively enough.
33 House Dems break with Jeffries as party fractures over Israel
The House of Representatives passed a bill aimed at blocking federal funds to colleges that boycott Israel, with the vast majority of Democrats voting against it. All but 33 left-wing lawmakers voted to block the measure, which would “prohibit an institution that participates in a non-expressive commercial boycott of Israel” from getting government funding. It would also force universities that do get federal funds to affirm their students “are not unreasonably obstructed” from studying abroad in Israel. The measure passed 237 to 169, with all but two Republicans voting in favor. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and his top deputies were among the 167 Democrats to vote “no” alongside Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Warren Davidson, R-Ohio. It comes as antisemitism continues to be a growing threat in the U.S. amid Israel’s war in Gaza. CHAOS ERUPTS AS HOUSE PASSES $1.15T DEFENSE BILL WITH ISRAEL PROVISION: ‘STOP STOKING JEW HATRED’ Democrats have argued the bill is an infringement on the First Amendment, while Republicans hold it up as a way to ensure Jewish students feel safe at U.S. colleges and universities. Republicans have seized on Democrats’ divisions on the issue, which has coincided with a far-left insurgency plunging the party into civil war ahead of the midterms. HOUSE DEMOCRATS FRACTURE BADLY OVER MASSIE AMENDMENT TO CUT $3.3B IN U.S. AID TO ISRAEL Far-left Democrats, like the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), have attacked members of their own party who they view as not sufficiently critical of Israel. It’s translated into some antisemitic incidents, such as a gay Jewish Democrat running for Congress in California getting run out of a pro-transgender rights march over his support for Israel’s sovereignty. Scott Wiener told CNN that people in the crowd made references to his “Israeli handlers” while berating him, a well-worn antisemitic trope. DEM RUNNING FOR PELOSI’S SEAT MOCKED AFTER ANTI-ISRAEL HECKLERS CHASE HIM FROM SF TRANS MARCH Those divisions were present on Thursday morning as well, with Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., co-leading the legislation that his own senior Democratic leadership opposed. Gottheimer said of the legislation in a statement, “The goal of the BDS movement is the destruction of the democratic State of Israel, America’s critical ally in the global fight against terror. BDS has no place on college campuses or anywhere in our country. At a time when our Jewish students are facing death threats, being physically assaulted, and blocked from going to class simply for who they are, we must do everything possible to ensure they can learn safely, speak freely, and get the education they deserve.” But progressives, including Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., who said he otherwise opposes the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel, called it an attack on the Constitution. “The First Amendment right to free speech does not apply only to agreeable speech. No matter how much I may disagree with BDS, and find it strategically stupid and morally repugnant, I will always fight to protect Americans’ right to speech with which I disagree,” Nadler said in a statement. Meanwhile, House Rules Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., said BDS policies at colleges created hostile environments by “marginalizing Jewish students.” She said it was the government’s duty to protect the equal rights of those students, who she argued were living in a hostile environment at schools with anti-Israel policies. CAMPUS ANTISEMITISM EXTENDS BEYOND STUDENT PROTESTS AND INTO CLASSROOMS, ADL WARNS “They are discriminating against people of the Jewish faith,” Foxx said. “Now is not the time for talk. It is the time for action.” Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., said during debate on the bill that it was Jewish students who were often leading BDS movements on college campuses. “This is an attack on free speech and academic freedom, all in the name of defending a genocidal apartheid state,” Tlaib said. “A vote for this bill is a betrayal of those promising young students…because they want to save lives, no matter their faith or ethnicity.”
Powerful union leader backs Republican in key Senate showdown
FIRST ON FOX: One of the top union leaders in the country has waded into a key Senate contest, backing the Republican incumbent in a race that could determine the balance of power in the upper chamber. Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien is backing Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., in his bid for re-election as Republicans look to solidify their grip in the upper chamber and push back against the headwinds that browbeat the party in power during a midterm election cycle. “Sen. Marshall has proven time and time again that he is a friend of labor,” O’Brien said in a statement first obtained by Fox News Digital. “As a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, Sen. Marshall has been eager to partner with us on legislation that protects workers, even when it requires breaking rank with his own party.” EXCLUSIVE: TRUMP-BACKED CHALLENGER GAINS LABOR UNION SUPPORT IN KEY RACE FOR HOUSE CONTROL “We look forward to continuing to work together with Sen. Marshall to fight for the rights of hardworking Americans,” he continued. O’Brien’s green light to Marshall comes as Teamsters Local 696, the Topeka, Kansas-based chapter of the Teamsters, also threw its support behind the lawmaker, who is seeking a second term in the Senate. “We are proud to endorse the candidate in this race who continues to be a voice for the middle-class workers of our great state, and that candidate is Sen. Marshall,” Local 696 President Mike Scribner said in a statement. “Kansas Teamsters need someone in Washington who is willing to fight on their behalf,” he continued. “Throughout his tenure, Sen. Marshall has shown that he is the person for the job.” O’Brien has morphed into a notable figure in the GOP after his appearance as one of the opening speakers at the Republican National Convention in 2024. ‘LET’S BREW IT IN THE UNITED STATES’: TEAMSTERS TARGET MODELO AND CORONA IN PUSH FOR MEXICAN BEER TARIFFS He also formed a political alliance and friendship with one of President Donald Trump’s top allies, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and even backed Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin’s nomination to the job after nearly coming to blows with the Trump official two years prior. It’s Marshall’s backing of pro-labor bills, like Hawley’s Faster Labor Contracts Act, and Sen. Ed Markey’s, D-Mass., Warehouse Worker Protection Act and his own Railway Safety Act that scored him the backing of the Teamsters. He also led the Overtime Wages Relief Act, which eliminated federal income tax on up to $10,000 of overtime wages for individuals and $20,000 for married filers as part of Trump’s “one big, beautiful bill.” Marshall is running against Kansas Senate Democratic nominee Adam Hamilton, the lead pastor of the state’s largest Methodist megachurch. Kansas is a ruby-red stronghold, meaning national Republicans aren’t rushing to aid the incumbent in warding off Hamilton. FOUR MONTHS TO MIDTERMS: 12 RACES THAT WILL DETERMINE THE SENATE MAJORITY Still, Hamilton has already proven a deft fundraiser, nearly matching Marshall’s war chest in a fraction of the time. Hamilton has so far raised just north of $4.1 million, while Marshall has brought in just over $6.2 million in a race that Cook Political Report has rated as “likely Republican.” But Hamilton will have to battle both a strong incumbent and history to have a chance at the seat. That’s because Kansas has not sent a Democrat to the Senate in nearly a century. The last time was in the 1930s, when Kansans elected former Sen. George McGill. He only served one term before being ousted by a Republican.
Maduro claims immunity, asks judge to dismiss drug-trafficking charges against him and his wife
Former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores asked a federal judge Wednesday to dismiss the drug trafficking charges against them, arguing, among other things, that the pair have sovereign immunity, according to court documents. “No American court has ever presided over the criminal trial of a foreign leader who was recognized by their own country as the sitting head of state at the time the charges were brought. That is not an accident of history. It reflects a rule older than the common law: heads of state are exempt from the criminal process of any national court but their own,” a memorandum Maduro’s lawyers filed in support of their motion to dismiss read. “That immunity flows not from goodwill that can be withdrawn on a whim, but from the perfect equality and absolute independence of sovereigns. Thus, this Court lacks jurisdiction with respect to Mr. Maduro, who is recognized by the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela as its head of state,” the document continued. MADURO ALLY DEPORTED TO US OVER ALLEGED BILLION-DOLLAR CORRUPTION SCHEME TIED TO OIL, FOOD PROGRAM In January 2026, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York unsealed a fourth superseding indictment against Maduro and Flores. The indictment charged Maduro with narco-terrorism conspiracy, and both Flores and Maduro with cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices. The indictment alleged that for decades, Maduro used his position — first as a deputy in Venezuela’s National Assembly and then as the country’s president — to conspire with narco-terrorists from some of the world’s largest cartels to import cocaine into the United States. Maduro’s lawyers, however, claim that sovereign immunity prevents the U.S. from taking action against Maduro. “The official character of these acts — such as issuing diplomatic passports, deploying the military, and announcing Venezuelan foreign policy — is apparent from the face of the Indictment. Because these actions were undertaken in his official capacity on behalf of a foreign sovereign, he may not be required to respond in this Court to the Indictment’s characterizations of his motives and intent in taking these actions,” the document reads. STATE DEPARTMENT ANNOUNCES ‘TOTAL COMPLIANCE’ FROM VENEZUELAN GOVERNMENT IN RELIEF EFFORTS AFTER MADURO ARREST The U.S. government officially declared Maduro to be an illegitimate president in 2019 after Maduro declared victory in the disputed 2018 presidential election. Maduro’s lawyers also argue that the indictment violates his and Flores’ due process, according to court documents. The document asserts that Maduro “vehemently denies that he had anything to do with drug trafficking or intended to benefit anyone engaged in terrorism.” The motion to dismiss then argues that the charges against Maduro fail to establish that his alleged crimes took place in or were aimed at the United States, and therefore do not meet the standards of due process. ARMY SOLDIER INVOLVED IN MADURO CAPTURE ARRESTED FOR ALLEGEDLY USING CLASSIFIED INTEL TO WIN $410K IN BETS “The narcoterrorism statute, which was enacted in 2006 in connection with the reauthorization of the USA PATRIOT ACT, was intended to target foreign conduct. Recognizing that its power to police the rest of the world is not unlimited, Congress included a jurisdictional element that authorizes the use of the statute to prosecute foreign conduct under only five enumerated scenarios in which the foreign conduct is connected to the United States. Ignoring those parameters set by Congress, the Indictment fails — even by tracking the statutory language — to allege any basis for jurisdiction over the solely foreign conduct it alleges,” the motion to dismiss reads. The U.S. apprehended Maduro and Flores during a January military operation, titled Operation Absolute Resolve, in which U.S. forces captured the couple in Venezuela’s capital of Caracas and extradited them back to the United States to be prosecuted in New York federal court. TRUMP PICKS JAMES MCDONALD TO LEAD POWERFUL SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK AFTER JAY CLAYTON’S DEPARTURE Maduro is set to appear in court in November to begin oral arguments in support of his motion to dismiss. Fox News Digital contacted Maduro and Flores’ legal team and the SDNY for further comment.
‘Why would he do this to us?’: Trump’s foreign beef push is hurting his base, Republicans warn
Republicans are warning President Donald Trump that his decision to flood supermarkets with foreign ground beef is hurting a key group in his base as the midterm elections near their climax. Voters in beef-industry-heavy states, like South Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas, supported Trump in his bid for a second term. Now, lawmakers from those states say his decision to lift tariffs on hundreds of thousands of tons of foreign beef is putting the very people who elected him in a bind. Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., who is running for re-election, said his voters in South Dakota “love the president,” and view him like a member of the family, but the beef import order feels like the administration “pulled the rug right out from underneath” them. TRUMP WANTS CHEAPER BEEF. REPUBLICANS IN KEY RACES WARN HIS PLAN GOES TOO FAR “They’re hurt. I mean, they feel like they’ve been let down,” Rounds said. “Like, how could, you know, our friend, this guy that’s as close to us as they’ve ever been to a president, how could he do this to them? I mean, that’s the way they feel,” he continued. “And that’s the expression they’re giving me is, ‘Why would he do this to us? Doesn’t he understand ag?’” Republicans are searching for an economic message to bring to voters as grocery bills, gas prices and other day-to-day necessities grow more expensive. Some argue that kneecapping ranchers and farmers, some of Trump’s most loyal supporters, in the name of affordability runs counter to that. “I think people want an explanation,” a House Republican granted anonymity to speak freely told Fox News Digital. “We want to be able to go to the ranchers, who are big Trump supporters, right, to be able to go to them and say, this administration is fighting for you.” THE UNEXPECTED FORCE KEEPING BEEF PRICES HIGH AND WHY THE PRESSURE COULD LAST FOR YEARS Trump signed the order last week with the intent of flooding the market with 300,000 metric tons of imported ground beef, lowering costs for consumers thanks to a commitment that the product would be sold at 25% below current market prices over a 90-day span. He also contended that it would allow ranchers to regrow the nation’s herds, which, thanks to a combination of drought and the invasive New World screwworm, has dwindled to historic lows not seen since the 1950s, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). “I’m sympathetic to what he’s trying to get done,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told Keloland. “He’s trying to lower beef prices, which I think we’re all supportive of. I just don’t think this is the way to do it. And so, we have a lot of beef producers here in South Dakota; they produce the highest-quality beef in the world, and we’re trying to build our herds back up.” As the blowback mounts, the administration has acknowledged that ranchers are bearing the brunt of the blow. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer huddled privately with House Republicans on Wednesday afternoon, when several lawmakers pressed him on the subject of Trump’s beef imports. NEBRASKA RANCHERS STRUGGLE TO RECOVER FROM HISTORIC WILDFIRES AS DROUGHT WORSENS CRISIS Sources inside the room told Fox News Digital that Greer acknowledged ranchers were frustrated but maintained the import strategy was temporary. He argued it was the administration’s way of easing high prices on the market in the short term, the sources said. But multiple House GOP lawmakers still said they were concerned as they exited the meeting. “This is not just a one-year issue on the affordability of beef. We’ve got to make sure that we’ve got a Made-in-America-first beef program. That means standing with our cattlemen on that,” Rep. Zach Nunn, R-Iowa, told Fox News Digital. “We’ve said the same thing to [Greer] in there.” Nunn, who is a top target for Democrats in November, said he planned to raise the issue again during dinner with Trump at the White House on Wednesday evening. Rep. Troy Downing, R-Mont., pointed out that it was a relatively small amount of beef for just a 90-day period but said he was worried about the timing as it overlaps with the time of year farmers bring their cattle to market. “If a rancher is expecting to get a price at market that suddenly drops out from underneath them, they’re faced with two things — they don’t have a stable market, so do I invest in heifers for next year? Or do I have to sell more calves to make up for that deficit for my operating costs? Which, neither one is helping rebuild the herd,” Downing told Fox News Digital. House Main Street Caucus Chairman Mike Flood, R-Neb., said he was opposed to a “tariff regime that undercuts American ranchers,” but said Trump’s policies were helping in the “big picture.” Compounding people’s anxiety in the meeting was Trump’s trade war with Canada, which that House Republican said made northern-border-state GOP lawmakers “nervous.” Republican Study Committee Chairman August Pfluger, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital there would likely be “quite a few” follow-up meetings. “It was absolutely outstanding, we had a tremendous amount of participation and people that were really excited to ask good questions,” he said of the meeting in general. And Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said at an event in Iowa on Tuesday that the administration understood that “ranchers felt like that was a gut punch.” The White House argued that Trump “has done more for American agriculture than anyone” with trade deals, foreign market access expansion, lowering input costs, bolstering the farm safety net, doubling the death tax exemption, ending taxes on rural property loan interest, and creating rural opportunity zones.” “At the same time, he is delivering on his promise to consumers by reducing beef prices while allowing our American beef herd to grow,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly told Fox News Digital. “The President will continue taking actions to support our great farmers while driving economic
FIRST ON FOX: ‘No Kings’ protest network behind fight against AI data centers and Flock cameras
FIRST ON FOX: The same hard-left network behind “No Kings” and other protests is leading the battle against data centers and Flock surveillance cameras, according to a Fox News Digital investigation and a new report. In growing protests from San Francisco to North Carolina, organizations and activists associated with the same ecosystem that rallied against President Donald Trump, Israel, Elon Musk, Tesla and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) over the last two years are now taking on data-center construction and license-plate readers. The overlap includes organizations funded by pro-China, Shanghai-based tech tycoon Neville Roy Singham, whose sprawling nonprofit and media network has faced Congressional and federal scrutiny over its funding and foreign ties. Singham and the nonprofits he has funded have denied taking orders from any government or political party and haven’t been charged with any crimes. INSIDE THE FAR-LEFT’S ANTI-DATA CENTER PUSH AND WHAT EXPERTS SAY IS DRIVING IT: ‘PLAYBOOK WE’VE SEEN BEFORE’ The findings are detailed in a new report, “The Compute War at Home,” commissioned by Consumer Action for a Strong Economy, an Alexandria, Va., free-markets nonprofit that used social-media analysis by Arken Intelligence, a technology firm based in Washington, D.C., for parts of its study. “The money, media, organizing capacity and campaign objectives converge in the same ecosystem,” the report says. Based on reporting over the past several years from street protests, Fox News Digital has identified the protest movement’s evolution across three phases. The new report chronicles a repeatable political model, in which activists first identify a local grievance, then connect it to a larger ideological narrative and package the argument through national media and activist infrastructure and carry it into new communities. The first phase appeared in early January 2025 with Trump’s inauguration and the launch of “Tesla Takedown” demonstrations to protest Tesla founder Musk as he led efforts to cut waste in federal spending. It became the mobilization infrastructure built around “No Kings” and “Hands Off” anti-Trump protests, anti-Israel activism and related campaigns, supporting the Communist Party of Cuba, the Islamic Republic of Iran and Venezuelan communist strongman Nicholas Maduro. Organizations from the Singham network – including the Party for Socialism and Liberation, CodePink, the People’s Forum, ANSWER Coalition and affiliated groups – appeared repeatedly across those movements, working with nonprofits more aligned with the Democratic Party, including Indivisible, a nonprofit network funded in part by billionaire Democratic megadonor George Soros. The organizations deny any wrongdoing as agents of alleged foreign influence and say they are addressing legitimate community grievances. AGITATORS UNITED BY CHINESE MONEY, HATE FOR AMERICA TARGET DATA CENTERS, EXPERTS WARN The second phase shifted that protest infrastructure toward American technological infrastructure. Over the past year, CodePink developed a national campaign against data centers, while the campaign took root among the approximately 70 chapters of the Party for Socialism and Liberation with near-identical messaging and strategies. Liberation News, which describes itself as the newspaper of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, nationalized local victories and promoted moratoria, bans and project cancellations. Media outlets, like BreathThrough News, from the Singham network provided additional amplification. The third phase involved an ideological crossover in which Flock cameras have now become a bridge between local privacy and policing concerns and the national fight over artificial intelligence, cloud systems, energy and data centers. The report doesn’t claim that every opponent of Flock cameras or data centers is connected to the activist network. It notes that opposition to Flock has become genuinely bipartisan, with legitimate concerns about privacy, data retention, misuse and poorly written government contracts. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis recently ordered license-plate readers removed from state highways, while Texas has also moved to pull back from the technology, and Republican Sen. Josh Hawley has launched an investigation into Flock cameras over surveillance concerns. But the report credits the left-wing organizers with fusing the two issues into a one-two punch that has caught on with a broad coalition. According to the Arken Intelligence analysis, posts mentioning both Flock and data centers increased from 639 posts in the 10 weeks before a spike in organizing on May 19 led to 9,009 posts over the next 10 weeks, a 14.1-fold increase. Among posts for which a political affiliation could be classified, the report said, 81% came from right-wing, conservative or libertarian accounts. “Issue pairings rarely multiply fourteen-fold in a matter of weeks without a catalyst, particularly when the surge begins immediately after organizers start promoting the connection,” the report states. “These influence actions are cognitive warfare. Foreign actors don’t need Americans to become pro-China,” Rob Joyce, former director of cybersecurity at the National Security Agency, told Fox News Digital. “They need Americans to argue for the outcomes Beijing wants. And a free society that can’t build the power and govern the advanced technology is going to wind up renting it from the adversary, read the PRC, that doesn’t share its own values. And that scares me as an American.” DOJ LAUNCHES GRAND JURY PROBE INTO MARXIST MOGUL NEVILLE ROY SINGHAM’S FUNDING OF LEFTIST GROUPS The report identifies at least a year of coordination among far-left activists in the Singham network, deliberately linking the issues through propaganda media outlets and activist networks funded and supported by Singham. Late last September, BreakThrough News laid the groundwork, publishing an article that described Flock as “America’s authoritarian tracking infrastructure.” Soon after, People’s Dispatch, now merged into the BreakThrough News operations, covered a Denver campaign against data centers the next month, using a photograph from the Party for Socialism and Liberation’s Denver chapter and quoting a local Party for Socialism and Liberation organizer. By early May, the Party for Socialism and Liberation’s Denver chapter partnered with Indivisible and the far-left Sunrise Movement and promoted a forum examining the “connections between mass surveillance and data centers and how BOTH only serve the needs of billionaires and not our communities.” PROBE INTO ‘SUBVERSIVE’ ANTI-AI SINGHAM NETWORK IS ‘ENORMOUS,’ FORMER TREASURY ADVISOR SAYS Days later, on May 19, when the convergence of issues went public, the