Zohran Mamdani will be first mayor to be sworn in on Quran during New York City inauguration
New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani‘s campaign confirmed on Wednesday he will make a historical move on New Year’s Day, using the Quran during his swearing-in ceremony. Mamdani, a 34-year-old Ugandan-born socialist, will be the first Muslim mayor of New York City and the first mayor to be sworn in using the Quran, the central religious text of Islam. New York Attorney General Letitia James will host a private midnight ceremony at Old City Hall Station, a historical decommissioned subway station, before he is sworn in during a public inauguration on the steps of City Hall by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Thursday afternoon. He will use two family Qurans, as well as one that belonged to writer and Puerto Rican activist Arturo Schomburg, who built the foundation for Harlem’s Schomburg Center for research in Black culture. MAMDANI PICKS EDUCATOR WHO WORKED TO DISMANTLE GIFTED & TALENTED PROGRAM AS NYC SCHOOLS CHANCELLOR Progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., is expected to deliver opening remarks at the latter event, which will be free and open to the public. Mamdani defeated former Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican gubernatorial candidate Curtis Sliwa in November, after campaigning on affordability and socialist policies including rent freezes, city-run grocery stores, and free buses and childcare. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., refused to endorse Mamdani during his campaign, though it is unclear if the choice was tied to Mamdani’s 2023 arrest while protesting the war in Gaza outside Schumer’s Brooklyn home. NYC MAYOR-ELECT TELLS RESIDENTS HOW TO RESIST ICE AGENTS KNOCKING AT THEIR DOOR IN NEW VIDEO Mamdani has openly voiced his belief that Israel’s military campaign in Gaza is “genocide,” denying Israel is a Jewish state and failing to condemn the violent slogan “globalize the intifada.” During his time at Bowdoin College, he founded the Students for Justice in Palestine chapter. Though he promised to protect Jewish New Yorkers, he announced on Tuesday the city’s next top attorney would be Ramzi Kassem, who defended convicted al Qaeda terrorist Ahmed al-Darbi and Columbia student Mahmoud Khalil, who is accused of leading antisemitic demonstrations on campus. Al-Darbi was convicted of conspiracy in connection with the fatal 2017 al Qaeda terrorist bombing of a French oil tanker off the coast of Yemen, and was transferred in 2018 by the Trump administration into Saudi Arabian custody. Khalil was released, but his case remains ongoing. During a news conference announcing Kassem’s appointment, Mamdani said, “I will turn to Ramzi for his remarkable experience and his commitment to defending those too often abandoned by our legal system.” Fox News Digital’s Andrew Mark Miller, Deirdre Heavey and Peter Pinedo contributed to this report.
Blue cities U-turn on distributing drug supplies to addicts after progressive policies fail to stem epidemic
At least two major West Coast cities are rethinking their so-called harm reduction policies that have sought to address addiction, signaling that these areas are overhauling their strategy to combat the drug crisis as addiction challenges persist. While cities including San Francisco and Seattle have previously adopted policies to distribute “safer” drug supplies like clean foil and pipes that could be used to smoke fentanyl or other substances, these cities are now implementing a new approach that imposes new limitations on the distribution of these supplies. Seattle’s City Council passed its 2026 budget in November and included a provision that will “preclude any City support for the purchase or distribution of supplies for the consumption of illegal drugs, with the exception of needles.” The provision was championed by City Council Member Sara Nelson, who said that while she supports needle exchange programs because they reduce the spread of diseases like HIV and Hepatitis C, she said she doesn’t see the benefit in using public resources to “help people get high” by distributing certain drug supplies. BLUE CITY DA SAYS REPEAT DRUG OFFENDERS ‘WILL NOT RESPECT THE LAW’ UNDER CURRENT SYSTEM “I fail to see, however, the harm that’s being reduced by distributing supplies such as pipes and foil that are used to consume deadly drugs like meth and fentanyl,” Nelson said during a Nov. 16 budget committee meeting. “To me, it feels like it’s giving a loaded gun to somebody who is suicidal.” Seattle isn’t the only city taking such steps to scale back how it distributes “safe” drug supplies to its community. Earlier in 2025, San Francisco unveiled a new policy that would require individuals to receive treatment counseling — or be connected with such services to receive treatment options — before receiving any drug use supplies from the city or city-funded programs. Additionally, the new policy barred providing these supplies in public spaces. TRUMP UNLEASHES ‘TOUGHEST FENTANYL CRACKDOWN IN HISTORY’ AS GOP VOWS ‘CONSEQUENCES’ FOR CHINESE PRODUCERS The policy went into effect April 30, and applied to any city-funded public health program that provided drug use supplies like sterile syringes and smoking kits. “We can no longer accept the reality of two people dying a day from overdose. The status quo has failed to ensure the health and safety of our entire community, as well as those in the throes of addiction. Fentanyl has changed the game, and we’ve been relying on strategies that preceded this new drug epidemic, which ends today,” San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie said in a statement in April. “Our new policy will connect individuals to treatment quickly, and that is a big step toward reclaiming our public spaces.” Seattle’s City Council elections and San Francisco’s mayoral races are officially nonpartisan. However, both cities have strongly backed Democrats in state and local elections. TRUMP POSTPONES FEDERAL TROOP DEPLOYMENT TO SAN FRANCISCO Meanwhile, these drug policy changes aren’t popular with proponents of “harm reduction” policies. For example, Laura Guzman, executive director of the National Harm Reduction Coalition, said there may not be enough resources to comply with San Francisco’s new rule. “It’s mandating or putting as a condition for people to receive life-saving supplies, to actually have long conversations about treatment that may not be available,” Guzman said in April, according to CBS News. “People who know in the field — researchers, doctors — are saying this is not good policy. We’re actually going against the grain because what we’re trying to do is have the perception that there is no drug use on the streets. But it’s not public health, it’s not science-based. It’s exactly the opposite of what we know works.” Although both Washington’s King County, which includes Seattle, and San Francisco had fewer drug overdose deaths in 2024 than in 2023, the numbers for both cities are higher in comparison to 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, 635 people died due to accidental drug overdoses in 2024 in San Francisco — down from the 810 that died in 2023, but up from the 441 that died in 2019, according to the San Francisco Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. Drug overdose deaths are also down nationwide. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in February a nearly 24% decline in drug overdose deaths in fiscal year 2024, in comparison to the previous fiscal year. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has taken an aggressive approach to combat the influx of drugs into the U.S. For example, President Donald Trump signed an executive order in December designating illicit fentanyl a “weapon of mass destruction.”
Treasury targets oil traders, tankers accused of helping Maduro evade U.S. sanctions
The U.S. Department of the Treasury on Wednesday sanctioned four companies operating in Venezuela’s oil sector and identified four oil tankers as blocked property, saying the move targets oil traders involved in alleged sanctions-evasion that helps finance Nicolás Maduro’s regime. Treasury said the vessels, some described as part of a “shadow fleet” serving Venezuela, “continue to provide financial resources that fuel Maduro’s illegitimate narco-terrorist regime” in Tuesday’s press release. “President Trump has been clear: We will not allow the illegitimate Maduro regime to profit from exporting oil while it floods the United States with deadly drugs,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said. “The Treasury Department will continue to implement President Trump’s campaign of pressure on Maduro’s regime,” he added. Treasury said the sanctions block property and interests in property of the designated entities within U.S. jurisdiction and generally prohibits Americans from transactions involving them. VENEZUELA ACCUSES US OF ‘PIRACY’ AFTER SEIZING MASSIVE OIL TANKER The action follows U.S. measures against Venezuela’s state-run oil company Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA). OFAC designated PDVSA in January 2019 under Executive Order 13850, and President Trump later took additional steps to block PDVSA in August 2019 under Executive Order 13884, Treasury said. Treasury said Wednesday’s move also complements actions announced Dec. 11 and Dec. 19 targeting PDVSA-linked officials, associates and vessels. SECOND TANKER SEIZED NEAR VENEZUELA AS US ENFORCES OIL BLOCKADE OFAC designated Corniola Limited and Krape Myrtle Co LTD and identified the tanker NORD STAR as blocked property. OFAC also designated Winky International Limited and identified ROSALIND, also known as LUNAR TIDE, as blocked property. OFAC designated Aries Global Investment LTD and identified the tankers DELLA and VALIANT as blocked property, Treasury said. Treasury said blocked property within U.S. jurisdiction must be reported to OFAC, and warned that violations of U.S. sanctions may result in civil or criminal penalties. Treasury said the goal of sanctions is to bring about a positive change in behavior, noting there is a formal process for seeking removal from an OFAC list consistent with U.S. law.
DEI and woke ideology are on life support under Trump’s return to DC, but could come roaring back with rebrand
President Donald Trump’s early second-term blitz against “woke” ideology, including diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, have rippled far beyond Washington, D.C., as companies roll back such policies. But the left-wing credos could come roaring back to public view under a rebranding, the president of American Principles Project (APP) told Fox News Digital. “DEI is still alive. It’s not dead yet. It’s bleeding, right? We’ve got blood here, but we know it’s vulnerable,” Terry Schilling, the president of conservative nonprofit and advocacy group the American Principles Project, told Fox News Digital in a December Zoom interview. “But they’re still in charge of the admissions offices and colleges. They’re still in charge of HR departments, and they’re still largely a part of Silicon Valley.” American Principles Project has documented the cultural shifts in recent years to embrace DEI initiatives, which conservatives argue replace merit with race and identity preferences that effectively penalize some Americans at work and at school through the expansion of bureaucracy and ideological pressure. Schilling said that while the “woke” push seen under the Biden era is retreating under the Trump administration, it is still alive and could make a return. FEDERAL WATCHDOG URGES WHITE MEN TO REPORT POSSIBLE WORKPLACE DISCRIMINATION; VANCE BOOSTS MESSAGE “DEI is retreating,” Schilling said in the interview. “But I think that it’s important that we recognize that DEA is not disbanding, it’s rebranding.” Trump swiftly moved to drop the hammer on DEI and woke initiatives upon his return to office in January, including signing an executive order on day one, titled “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing,” which directed federal agencies to stamp out DEI-style programs across the federal government. The following day, Trump signed a second order aimed at “restoring merit-based opportunity,” including changes for federal contracting and related compliance. “We’ve ended the tyranny of so-called Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policies all across the entire federal government and indeed the private sector and our military. And our country will be woke no longer,” Trump said from the dais in Congress in March, celebrating his administration’s achievement just a few months into the job. Schilling said Trump turned DEI on its head upon his return to the Oval Office, pointing to his executive orders as death knells heard at the highest echelons of corporate America down to public school classrooms. “Trump winning the election had a lot to do with this,” Schilling said. “You’re seeing all these CEOs of major tech companies and companies abroad coming to the White House, kissing the ring. They know who’s in power and they’re willing to make deals to get their projects over the finish line. And that’s all great. We should use that. We should us that momentum to further cement opposition to DEI.” WASHINGTON POST PRAISES BONDI FOR ROLLING BACK WOKE RACIAL ELEMENT AT DOJ, SLAMS ‘BOGUS’ CRITICISM OF MOVE Silicon Valley has long been viewed and criticized as a powerful weapon used to silence conservatives — such as when social media platforms suppressed news reports on former first son Hunter Biden’s laptop ahead of the 2020 election — with top tech CEOs signaling a Trump-era pivot this year as they work to ink deals to expand their businesses amid the artificial intelligence boom. “President Trump’s executive orders did so much to cut back against DEI, banning DEI throughout the entire federal workforce, banning schools from using and tying federal funds to whether or not schools are implementing racist policies like DEI has done a lot to curb it,” Schilling said. “However, these guys are lying in wait,” he added. US CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ACCUSED OF LEADING ‘WOKE CORPORATE AMERICA’ AS TRUMP DISMANTLES DEI AGENDA Massive American staple company Target announced the conclusion of DEI goals after a three-year initiative, while Disney also made changes such as removing DEI-related terms from its annual business reports. Cracker Barrel, after a bruising backlash to its branding overhaul earlier in 2025, scrapped remodel plans and reverted to its old logo, with Fox Digital previously reporting the chain eliminated DEI programs as part of its latest changes. “DEI is an employment issue,” Schilling said. “It’s keeping a large amount of Americans who deserve to have good lives and good incomes out of the workforce simply because they have the wrong color of skin.” Democrats generally support DEI policies as they see them as a way to expand opportunity and reduce discrimination in hiring, promotion and education, especially for groups they argue have faced historic barriers. Left-wing lawmakers stretching from members of the Congressional Black Caucus to Democrat 2025 political candidates, such as New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, have slammed or campaigned against Trump’s roll-back of DEI policies. Schilling warned that upcoming elections could undo the progress Trump has made in eliminating DEI policies at the federal level, pointing to the 2028 presidential election. MELINDA GATES SAYS BUSINESSES ENDING DEI PROGRAMS ARE ‘AFFECTING FAMILIES’ “They are lying in wait for the next Democrat president like Gavin Newsom, like JB Pritzker. There’s really no doubt that if another Democrat gets into office, they’re not just going to undo everything President Trump did to curb all the racism through DEI programs. They going to ramp it up. They gonna do it even more so than Barack Obama did and Joe Biden did. So we’ve got to continue to fight this,” Schilling said. The American Principles Project president continued that ending DEI and woke ideology for good requires conservative Republicans winning elections and conservative voters to talk with their feet with boycotts if a corporation leans into promoting left-wing policies, underscoring DEI is an economic issue, in addition to a cultural one. “If we really want to save the future, DEI must be killed, because it’s not just about the culture, it’s just not about racism,” he said. “It’s so much more. It’s the economy, it’s the future of America, it’s our families, it is our children, and so we really need to remain eternally vigilant until it’s
Jack Smith says key Jan 6 witness relied on hearsay, lacked firsthand evidence
Former special counsel Jack Smith undercut claims made by Cassidy Hutchinson, a former White House aide and Jan. 6 Committee witness, while testifying in a recent deposition to Congress. Smith told the House Judiciary Committee this month that he evaluated Hutchinson’s explosive claims as part of his investigation and prosecution of President Donald Trump related to the 2020 election, according to a transcript published Wednesday. Smith said they had deficiencies because Hutchinson did not offer firsthand information. Asked during the deposition how he would have approached cross-examining Hutchinson, Smith said he would have moved to prohibit a portion of her testimony from being used. JACK SMITH DENIES POLITICS PLAYED ANY ROLE IN TRUMP PROSECUTIONS AT HOUSE HEARING “If I were a defense attorney and Ms. Hutchinson were a witness, the first thing I would do was seek to preclude some of her testimony because it was hearsay, and I don’t have the full range of her testimony in front of me right now, but I do remember that that was a decent part of it,” Smith said. Smith was also asked about specific claims Hutchinson had made, including that Trump was aware that some of his supporters would be armed at his rally and that Trump attempted to grab the steering wheel of his driver out of anger. Hutchinson “was a second or even thirdhand witness,” Smith said, adding that other witnesses gave “different perspectives” than her. “We interviewed, I think, the people she talked to, and we also interviewed, if my recollection is correct, officers who were there, including the officer who was in the car,” Smith said. “And that officer, if my recollection is correct, and I want to make sure I’m right about this, said that President Trump was very angry and wanted to go to the Capitol, but the version of events that he explained was not the same as what Cassidy Hutchinson said she heard from somebody secondhand.” Smith noted that “a number of the things that she gave evidence on were secondhand hearsay, were things that she had heard from other people and, as a result, that testimony may or may not be admissible, and it certainly wouldn’t be as powerful as firsthand testimony.” Hutchinson became a key witness in the Democrat-led Jan. 6 Committee’s investigation into the U.S. Capitol attack, testifying privately several times and publicly. Her testimony dominated headlines, but her claims became a point of scrutiny for Republicans, who found the committee’s work lacked credibility because its only Republican members were two vocal anti-Trump lawmakers. Hutchinson served as a top aide to White House chief of staff Mark Meadows in the final months of Trump’s first presidency, giving her an inside look at internal discussions among White House officials in the aftermath of the 2020 election. JACK SMITH SUBPOENAED FOR DEPOSITION WITH HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE In a highly publicized hearing in June 2022, Hutchinson testified under oath about what she said were warnings inside the White House about the possibility of violence on Jan. 6 and Trump’s alleged awareness that some supporters attending his rally would be armed. In another claim that was later disputed by other witnesses, Hutchinson also recalled conversations about how Trump attempted to grab the steering wheel from a U.S. Secret Service agent because he wanted to go to the Capitol and not the West Wing. Hutchinson testified that she was told that the president “said something to the effect of, ‘I’m the effing president, take me up to the Capitol now,’ to which [the agent] responded, ‘Sir, we have to go back to the West Wing.’ The president reached up towards the front of the vehicle to grab at the steering wheel.” Hutchinson had not mentioned that particular story in any of her prior interviews with the committee. She later said she withheld it at the direction of her former lawyer, Stefan Passantino. Smith was asked about Hutchinson as part of a more than eight-hour closed-door deposition this month that centered on his investigations and prosecutions of Trump related to the 2020 election and Trump’s alleged retention of classified material. Smith defended his investigative practices, including subpoenaing Senate and House lawmakers’ phone data. He also defended some of his prosecutorial decisions, including seeking gag orders against Trump and bringing an unusually slimmed-down superseding indictment against Trump after the Supreme Court ruled that Trump had some presidential immunity protections.
DOJ says lawyers working ‘around the clock’ to prep Epstein files for release after missed deadline
Officials with the Attorney General’s Office said Wednesday they are working relentlessly over the holidays to review and redact troves of documents in the Epstein files, prior to their mandated public release. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche released a statement on X noting Department of Justice (DOJ) lawyers from Main Justice, FBI, SDFL and SDNY are “working around the clock” through Christmas and New Years to review documents, ensuring sensitive victim information is redacted from the impending release. “It truly is an all-hands-on-deck approach and we’re asking as many lawyers as possible to commit their time to review the documents that remain,” Blanche wrote in the post. “Required redactions to protect victims take time but they will not stop these materials from being released.” Blanche’s update comes amid recent threats of legal action after the department missed the Epstein Files Transparency Act’s Dec. 19 deadline to publish all of its documents related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. CLINTON TEAM DEMANDS TRUMP DOJ RELEASE ‘ANY REMAINING’ DOCS RELATED TO FORMER PRESIDENT, EPSTEIN He previously argued there was “well-settled law” supporting the missed deadline, as other legal requirements in the bill must be met prior to release, including redacting victim-identifying information. “The Attorney General’s and this Administration’s goal is simple: transparency and protecting victims,” Blanche wrote Wednesday. The Epstein Files Transparency Act, signed Nov. 19 by President Donald Trump, required the DOJ to withhold information that could identify potential victims or compromise ongoing investigations or litigation. DOJ RESTORES TRUMP PHOTO TO EPSTEIN FILES AFTER DETERMINING NO VICTIMS DEPICTED It also allowed officials to exclude material deemed sensitive to national defense or foreign policy. While it remains unclear how many files still need to be reviewed, the DOJ last week confirmed the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York recently submitted more than 1 million additional pages of potentially responsive documents related to Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex trafficking cases. Officials said the “mass volume” of material could take weeks to examine, further delaying their release, which was promised by Blanche on a “rolling basis,” Fox News Digital previously reported. Fox News Digital’s Ashley Oliver contributed to this report.
Trump says ‘Triumphal Arch’ monument construction to begin within 2 months in DC: report
President Donald Trump revealed Wednesday how soon an Arc de Triomphe-style monument will be constructed in the nation’s capital to commemorate America’s 250th anniversary in 2026. Trump on Wednesday said the construction of the monument, nicknamed the “Arc de Trump,” will begin “sometime in the next two months,” according to a report from Politico. “It hasn’t started yet. It starts sometime in the next two months. It’ll be great. Everyone loves it,” Trump reportedly told the outlet during a phone call from Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla. “They love the ballroom too. But they love the Triumphal Arch.” The newest monument, which resembles Paris’ historic Arc de Triomphe, will be bankrolled privately, with funds left over from the new White House ballroom project, Fox News Digital previously reported. TRUMP ADMIN FIGHTS IN COURT TO KEEP WHITE HOUSE EAST WING DEMOLITION, $300M BALLROOM BUILD ON TRACK The exact location of the new landmark has not yet been confirmed, though the report notes it may be situated near the Lincoln Monument. Details about the amount of time it will take to build, the cost of construction, the funding amount and who is heading the project have not yet been released by the White House. Trump signed Public Law 116-217 in December 2020 authorizing the Women’s Suffrage National Monument to be built on federal land in Washington, D.C., leading to the subsequent signing of the Women’s Suffrage National Monument Location Act during former President Joe Biden’s final week in office. TRUMP PUSHES BACK AFTER MICHELLE OBAMA KNOCKS EAST WING RENOVATION, CALLING OLD ARRANGEMENT ‘A DISASTER’ The Women’s Suffrage National Monument Foundation (WSNMF) announced Dec. 4 it received final and unanimous approval from the National Capital Planning Commission for a permanent two and a half acre site on the National Mall in Constitution Gardens, according to the foundation’s website. Foundation leaders noted the women’s suffrage monument went through a “multi-step, rigorous review process,” including gaining approval from the National Capital Memorial Advisory Commission and the Commission of Fine Arts. The foundation also completed a public comment period with the National Park Service as part of the public scoping process, according to its website. TRUMP TAPS NEW ARCHITECT TO RESHAPE WHITE HOUSE AS $300M BALLROOM BUILD ACCELERATES It is unclear if Trump’s newest proposed monument received similar approval. The Women’s Suffrage National Monument will be located at the intersection of 19th St. and Constitution Avenue NW, and the next project phase will focus on creative development and design. “The enthusiasm behind this project has been inspiring,” WSNMF President and CEO Anna Laymon wrote in a Dec. 4 statement announcing final approval. “We are so grateful for the dedicated support from so many who made this possible, including President Trump; President Biden; our honorary chairs Mrs. Melania Trump, Dr. Jill Biden, Mrs. Michelle Obama, Mrs. Laura Bush, and Secretary Hillary Clinton; our bipartisan and bicameral Congressional sponsors, Senator Blackburn, Senator Baldwin, Congresswoman Lesko, Congressman Neguse and their dedicated staffs; our incredible Board of Directors; and all our partners and supporters.” TRUMP BREAKS GROUND ON MASSIVE WHITE HOUSE BALLROOM PROJECT WITH PRIVATE FUNDING FROM ‘PATRIOTS’ The most recent major monument built on the National Mall was the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, which was completed in 2011. The granite memorial was inspired by a line from King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, delivered nearby on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the “March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom” in 1963. The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. Fox News Digital’s Amanda Macias contributed to this report.
Appeals court sides with Trump on budget provision cutting Planned Parenthood funds
An appeals court on Tuesday cleared the way for the Trump administration to enforce in 22 Democrat-led states a provision of a budget bill that cuts off Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood clinics that provide abortions. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit’s decision came in response to Judge Indira Talwani, a federal judge in Massachusetts, blocking the provision of the bill. A three-judge panel on the circuit court, comprising all Democratic appointees, paused Talwani’s decision, marking at least the second time that the judge has been overruled after siding with Planned Parenthood. The states, led by California, had argued in a complaint that the funding cuts amounted to “retribution” for Planned Parenthood’s “constitutionally protected advocacy” of abortion access. DOJ WALKS BACK BIDEN-ERA ABORTION POLICY, BARS VA FROM FUNDING PROCEDURES The states’ lawsuit turned on the argument that Congress did not provide enough specifics about the Medicaid cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, in violation of the Constitution’s spending clause. Talwani, an Obama appointee, was persuaded enough to grant an injunction, but the appeals court paused it, saying the argument was likely to fail. The lawsuit was one of several that stemmed from Congress passing the One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s funding cuts to certain Medicaid recipients who provide abortions. Trump signed the bill into law on July 4, and the cuts were set to last for one year. Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider, said in a separate lawsuit in the summer that the provision unconstitutionally aimed to punish the nonprofit for its views, pointing to celebrations from Republican lawmakers about defunding Planned Parenthood specifically. PRO-LIFE GROUP CELEBRATES PLANNED PARENTHOOD’S CLOSING OF REMAINING LOUISIANA FACILITIES: ‘HUGE SUCCESS’ Lawyers for Planned Parenthood said that stripping their client’s Medicaid funding would force it to close a portion of its roughly 600 facilities and deprive more than 1 million people, about half of its customers, of services that do not include abortion. Talwani sided with Planned Parenthood and was overruled by the appeals court in that case as well. Medicaid does not typically cover Planned Parenthood’s abortion services, and the abortion giant has repeatedly emphasized that its clinics also provide other services, including screening for certain cancers and sexually transmitted infections and offering contraception. In the case brought by the states, the Trump administration argued that the bill’s budget restrictions were standard and approved by the legislative and executive branches. “Congress enacted a routine restriction on the use of federal funds—something it does in every budget cycle,” Trump Department of Justice lawyers wrote. “The Medicaid statute contains dozens of limits on how States may use federal funds. … When the States agreed to participate in Medicaid, they knew that they would have to abide by such conditions.” Fox News Digital reached out to the California attorney general’s office for comment.
Fraud engulfs Minnesota as another blue state kicks off New Year with ID for trains — not votes
While Minnesota grapples with a burgeoning fraud crisis, one blue state that still does not require photo ID to vote will require residents seeking to pay a reduced fare on state-owned transit present one in order to qualify. Reduced-fare on NJTransit, and mass transit in other states, is often offered to senior citizens, military personnel or the infirm. Meanwhile, officials in Minnesota are grappling with a multifaceted fraud scandal involving subsidies paid to largely Somali-led outfits and interests that are allegedly illegitimate and often appear unverified as well. However, New Jersey is one of 14 states that does not require the same stringent photo identification to be shown at the polls on election day. The discrepancy spurred an uproar online as the local outlet Shore News Network drew attention to it in its reporting of the new reduced-fare ID requirement. RED STATE GOVERNOR TOUTS MEDICAID SAVINGS AS MINNESOTA GRAPPLES WITH WIDESPREAD FRAUD ALLEGATIONS “Starting January 1, photo ID required for NJ Transit reduced fares but not for voting,” a headline from the Rutherford-based outlet read. “This change is only for customers who have been using an NJ Transit issued non-photo ID as proof of reduced fare eligibility,” NJ Transit spokesman John Chartier told NJAdvanceMedia. Current non-photo reduced-fare ID cards will no longer be accepted as of Thursday, according to the agency, which announced that Jerseyans must apply for a new photo ID either in-person or by mail – while providing NJTransit proof of age and/or disability and a recent photo. COMER WARNS ‘WALLS ARE CAVING IN’ ON TIM WALZ AS MINNESOTA FRAUD PROBE WIDENS NJ Transit said all non-photo Reduced Fare IDs will become invalid after the new year. Riders must apply for the new, free photo ID card online, by mail, or in person, providing proof of age or disability along with a recent photo, according to Shore News Network. By contrast, on election day, voters must include their state driver’s license number on their registration form. Failing to include that number on a registration form would then require identification be presented onsite for first-time voters; which could include a license or a utility bill, bank statement, paycheck or government document – not all of which have a photographic component. MINNESOTA DEM SENATE CANDIDATE FACES CALL FROM OPPONENT TO APOLOGIZE OVER VIRAL ‘PANDERING’ HIJAB VIDEO “This is how ridiculous Democrat-run states are,” one X user said. “Beginning January 1st, a photo ID will be required for the Reduced Fair Program, but it is still not required to vote. This is how they keep states blue by cheating.” The volunteer good-governance organization New Jersey Project also slammed state policies: “Photo ID needed for NJ Transit discounts but not for voting. Starting January,” the group said. WALZ SLAMMED IN WAKE OF VIRAL VIDEO THAT RAISES DAYCARE FUNDING QUESTIONS: ‘NEEDS TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE’ “Priorities, Trenton?” The blog New Jersey News wrote that state officials often claim voter ID “disenfranchises minorities” who cannot get such identification. “Guess they won’t be riding the train either,” the outlet said. MINNESOTA’S NEW MEDICAID FRAUD PREVENTION FIX WON’T MAKE ‘ANY DIFFERENCE,’ FORMER FBI AGENT SAYS The group “Wake Up NJ” also fired back at the new policy, citing the same disparity between arguments against voter-ID and the state’s actions toward reduced-fare straphangers. “New Jersey expects you to get that reduced fare for New Jersey Transit, but it’s OK [if you don’t] for voting,” they said. The photo ID rule in-practice will allow a rider who goes a short distance on a state bus – considered a “Zone 1” fare – to pay 85 cents instead of the full $1.85. Commuters going to “Zone 3” – immediate suburbs of New York City – pay $5.30, but would be able to pay $2.40 under the reduced-fare ID policy. Longer trips see larger savings as NJTransit’s special limited-stop service on the Garden State Parkway from New York to Toms River and Atlantic City currently costs $57.40 to hit the casinos. Showing a reduced-fare ID card would allow the rider to pay $25.80. Fox News Digital reached out to the New Jersey Secretary of State’s office, which oversees elections, for comment.
Comer, House Oversight demand answers in Minnesota fraud hearing, call on Walz to testify
Republicans on the House Oversight Committee are escalating their investigation into Minnesota’s sweeping fraud schemes, setting a hearing next week and demanding answers from Gov. Tim Walz’s administration over what they say were glaring failures of oversight. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., announced lawmakers would hold a hearing on Wednesday, Jan. 7, evaluating the fraud scandal, its scale and whether the state’s leadership could have done something to prevent exploitation from happening in the first place. “Congress has a duty to conduct rigorous oversight of this heist and enact stronger safeguards to prevent fraud in taxpayer-funded programs, as well as strong sanctions to hold offenders accountable,” Comer said in a statement on Wednesday morning. MINNESOTA’S NEW MEDICAID FRAUD PREVENTION FIX WON’T MAKE ‘ANY DIFFERENCE,’ FORMER FBI AGENT SAYS While the committee will also hear testimony from lawmakers in Minnesota, Republican lawmakers believe it is the Walz administration that holds the answers on how the problem got so large. “Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison have either been asleep at the wheel or complicit in a massive fraud involving taxpayer dollars in Minnesota’s social services programs. American taxpayers demand and deserve accountability for the theft of their hard-earned money,” Comer said. The Committee will hear from Reps. Kristin Robbins, Walter Hudson and Marion Rarick — all Republican members of the Minnesota House of Representatives. It’s unclear if Walz or Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison will accept the invitation. When asked about whether he would cooperate with congressional investigations, Walz told Fox News Digital he believed the hearing would have little to do with the problem of fraud. “We’re always happy to work with Congress, though this committee has a track record of holding circus hearings that have nothing to do with the issue at hand. While the Governor has been working to ensure fraudsters go to prison, the president has been selling pardons to let them out,” Walz’s office said. SHIRLEY ASSOCIATE IN VIRAL VIDEO SAYS HE FILED CRIMINAL COMPLAINT AGAINST WALZ OVER DAYCARE FRAUD ALLEGATIONS The hearing is a part of the committee’s own investigation into the Minnesota fraud, a separate effort from ongoing FBI probes. The Oversight Committee’s announcement comes as new revelations about fraud in Minnesota reveal that the state could have lost as much as $9 billion through abuse of its government assistance programs. In recent months, investigators have unearthed sweeping fraud schemes masquerading as daycare centers, medical providers, food assistance programs and more. By fabricating services or inflating the number of people they claimed to serve, the schemes allegedly siphoned billions in government funds. “In addition to conducting transcribed interviews with Minnesota state officials, the House Oversight Committee will hold hearings on fraud in Minnesota’s social services programs to expose failures, identify solutions, and deliver accountability,” Comer said. Given their size and frequency, lawmakers have raised questions about how a state’s lack of awareness of its own programs could have been so easily abused. MINNESOTA FRAUD COMMITTEE CHAIR CLAIMS WALZ ‘TURNED A BLIND EYE’ TO FRAUD WARNINGS FOR YEARS Comer believes the lawmakers who have agreed to testify before the committee will provide insight into the visibility of the fraud rings and whether Walz was made aware of their scale ahead of shocking reporting that made Minnesota’s shortcomings a matter of national attention. “Next week, we will hear from Minnesota state lawmakers who sounded the alarm on this fraud — and whose warnings were ignored by the Walz administration. This misconduct cannot be swept aside, and Congress will not stop until taxpayers get the answers and accountability they deserve,” Comer said.