Khanna urges King Charles to meet Epstein victims during Capitol visit
Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., tells Fox News he wants King Charles to meet with Jeffrey Epstein’s victims and others when he comes to Capitol Hill next month to deliver a speech before a joint meeting of Congress. British authorities arrested Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly Prince Andrew and the brother of King Charles, in connection with an inquiry into the Epstein matter. Khanna says King Charles could shed light on what the royal family knew about Andrew or Epstein. KING CHARLES EXPRESSES ‘DEEPEST CONCERN’ AFTER BROTHER ANDREW MOUNTBATTEN-WINDSOR’S ARREST Khanna tells Fox he wants the King to meet with victims, then with him and Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and the House Oversight Committee. Khanna stressed that he would request Charles to appear. Fox pressed Khanna on whether he would ask that the King be subpoenaed, but Khanna was not ready to go there yet. One Oversight Committee source tells Fox that this request is “very delicate” and they risk “an international incident” by asking King Charles to meet with the committee.
SEE IT: Travelers sound off as ICE agents deployed to airports as shutdown nears 40 days
Travelers weighed in on President Donald Trump’s decision to deploy Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to airports across the country on Monday as the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) workforce struggles to continue operations amid a government shutdown that’s nearing the 40-day mark. Some travelers blasted the idea, fearing that the training received by ICE agents wouldn’t translate to airport security. “I think it’s ludicrous,” one observer told Fox News Digital. “First of all, they’re not trained for screening. Secondly, the last thing we need in airports is armed people.” Others believe the solution is better than nothing. SCHUMER GAMBIT FAILS AS DHS SHUTDOWN HITS 36 DAYS AND AIRPORT LINES GROW “I’m a traveler — anything that helps people get through the airports and have a good experience and keeps us safe is great,” a second person said. Like the rest of the agencies that operate under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), funding for TSA ran dry on Feb. 14 over Democrat-led demands to reform ICE — the agency at the heart of Trump’s immigration crackdown. In the wake of two deadly encounters with protesters, Democrats have conditioned their support for DHS funding on a slew of procedural guardrails. Those include a ban on masks for ICE agents, stiffer warrant requirements for apprehending suspects in public and a ban on roaming patrols, among other demands. TRUMP DEMANDS ‘SAVE AMERICA ACT’ BE TIED TO DHS FUNDING AMID AIRPORT CHAOS Republicans have rebuffed the demands, arguing they would handcuff Trump’s immigration enforcement goals. Republicans need at least seven Democrats to reach the 60-vote threshold to break a filibuster in the Senate, where they hold just 53 seats. As the standoff reaches the 40-day mark, TSA agents have struggled to continue working while covering costs. According to DHS, more than 366 TSA officials have left the force. “Transportation Security Officers and other Transportation Security Administration roles critical to national safety at our nation’s airports are going without pay for the third time in nearly six months,” DHS said in a statement. “Because of this DHS shutdown, Americans are facing hours-long waits at airports across the country. Democrats must reopen DHS now.” TSA agents missed their first full paychecks on March 13. Some travelers warned that the public might not receive ICE well in airports due to their role in Trump’s immigration crackdown. MASK-FREE ICE AGENTS BEGIN PATROLLING US AIRPORTS; TRUMP FLOATS NATIONAL GUARD “I don’t think it’s a good idea just because of the optics,” another traveler said. “I think that ICE agents — what’s happened has kind of wrecked their reputation in communities all over the United States, and so I don’t think it is a good idea. I think it will make people nervous. They could be coming here to do really good things, but they’ve already set that reputation, and I think that’s going to stick with them and people aren’t going to trust them.”
American Dennis Coyle lands in Texas after over a year in Taliban captivity
Dennis Coyle, an American man held by the Taliban for more than a year without charges, landed Wednesday on American soil following his release Tuesday from Taliban captivity in Afghanistan. Video and images showed the 64-year-old walking off a plane at a base in San Antonio, Texas, before embracing family members. Coyle, an academic who spent nearly two decades working in Afghanistan, was taken from his home in Kabul in January 2025 by Taliban intelligence and held in near-solitary confinement, Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs Adam Boehler told Fox News on Tuesday, adding that Coyle committed no crime and was used as leverage. “The United States welcomes the release of American citizen Dennis Coyle, who was wrongfully detained in Afghanistan for more than a year,” Boehler said in a statement to Fox News. AFGHANISTAN FREES US CITIZEN DENNIS COYLE OVER A YEAR AFTER TALIBAN ARREST “President Trump made clear: the United States will not tolerate the unjust detention of its citizens — anywhere. His personal determination — executed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and a fully aligned interagency team — has driven a shift to accountability, pressure and results.” IRAN CONFLICT WON’T TRIGGER BIDEN-STYLE REFUGEE REPLAY, EXPERT PREDICTS Coyle’s family said he had been legally working in Afghanistan to support language communities as an academic researcher. Rubio welcomed Coyle’s release, saying it was a “positive step by the Taliban,” but added that the United States is still seeking the immediate return of Mahmood Habibi, Paul Overby and all other unjustly detained Americans. “The Taliban must end their practice of hostage diplomacy,” Rubio said. “President Trump is committed to ending unjust detentions overseas – Dennis joins over 100 Americans who have been freed in the past 15 months under his second term in office.” Fox News’ Trey Yingst contributed to this report.
Shanghai sabotage: Inside Singham’s secret strategy to demonize America
Part 3 of a five-part Fox News Digital series investigating the House of Singham documents the “Propaganda Work” that Mao Zedong taught as critical to winning the People’s War. This reporting includes analysis using cutting-edge technology, including large-language modeling. Early Tuesday, CodePink professional activist Olivia DiNucci raised her fist as she stood on the deck of a boat renamed “Granma 2.0,” in a tribute to the yacht Fidel Castro’s guerrillas used to launch the Cuban Revolution in 1956. Standing behind a banner reading “LET CUBA LIVE” as the boat arrived at the port of Havana, DiNucci, who normally organizes protests in Washington, D.C., mugged for the cameras with her fellow revolutionaries, chanting and pumping their fists in the air, as camera crews rolled. Luis De Jesús, who writes for a site called BreakThrough News, recorded the arrival, part of days of coverage promoting the cause of pro-communism activists, including the Irish hip-hop trio Kneecap, and packaging the week’s activities not just as activism, but as revolutionary political “resistance” against the U.S. “empire.” By afternoon, BreakThrough News posted a video of De Jesús’ report on the boat’s arrival, with a beaming DiNucci on board. Other pro-communist media platforms turned the staged event into a media moment, from the Cuban News Agency to Brazil de Fato. The scene offered a real-time glimpse of how a network built by an American-born, China-based tech tycoon, Neville Roy Singham, turns activism into propaganda and then propaganda into political and psychological weapons. In this case, the story of the Granma 2.0 framed Cuba as a victim of the imperialist U.S., and Cuba’s communist benefactor and trading partner – China – as a liberator, providing rice to a hungry citizenry. As he fought the People’s War in the late 1930s in China, infamous communist leader Mao Zedong emphasized the importance of “Propaganda Work” and “the practice of changing reality.” Decades later, Chinese Premier Xi Jinping announced a strategy of “telling China’s story well.” POWER COUPLE OF CHAOS: HOW A TYCOON AND ACTIVIST BUILT A ‘REVOLUTIONARY BASE’ AT THE HOUSE OF SINGHAM Last fall, pro-China academics, like Vijay Prashad, a trusted communist in Singham’s inner circle, spoke at a conference of the Global South Academic Forum about creating a “New World Information and Communication Order,” an idea popularized in the 1980s by Third World countries now called the “Global South.” The conference was co-sponsored by Singham, Prashad’s Tricontinental Ltd. think tank and the Shanghai-based East China Normal University, and administered by the Chinese Communist Party. The university features a School of Marxism and teaches “Marxist journalism.” Singham, Prashad and conference attendees closed the conference, standing at attention as “The Internationale,” a communist anthem played, attendees pumping their fists in the air in solidarity. A Fox News Digital investigation found that the “new information” strategy operates through a network of organizations that produce, fund and amplify messaging across borders. Fox News Digital has identified at least 200 organizations in Singham’s network of about 2,000 organizations that directly work on propaganda that parrots the anti-American messaging of the Chinese Communist Party but is dramatically homegrown in digital shops from New York City to Los Angeles. The investigation found that three Singham-linked U.S. nonprofits sent a total of $9.1 million in seven payments to a pro-China propaganda firm, Shanghai Maku Cultural Communications Co. Ltd. The payments haven’t been reported before. Using large-language models, Fox News Digital analyzed 223 transactions that moved $591 million in total across five continents from 2017 through 2025, the latest year for which figures are available, in the Singham network and found the money flows through five concentric rings of an ideological pipeline that spreads pro-China propaganda. Eleven U.S. nonprofit organizations form a core hub of the work that pumps pro-China, anti-America propaganda into the world, with a total of about $401 million flowing from Singham and his network into these organizations. The organizations didn’t respond to requests for comment. Fox News Digital previously documented $278 million that flowed directly from Singham into organizations that “sow discord” in the U.S., as House Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith put it recently at a hearing on foreign malign influence in the nonprofit industry. The rest went through layers of funding. The 11 nonprofits and their total revenue from within the Singham network, including direct contributions from Singham himself, make most of these organizations well-funded: Mao’s strategy relied on embedding revolutionary actors within social, cultural, labor and educational organizations to shape public consciousness, normalize radical narratives and gradually erode the legitimacy of the state from within. Similarly, experts say, Singham’s network cultivates activist ecosystems, using nonprofits and advocacy groups as force multipliers and framing local political and social conflicts as part of a broader systemic struggle. That same dynamic is visible in real time, as protests, trips and political events are filmed, packaged and circulated as part of a broader narrative. DiNucci is a key figure, for example, regularly getting filmed and then broadcast on Singham network social media channels, interrupting the dinners, hearings and events of Trump administration officials. In this model, disruption and polarization aren’t incidental but strategic, designed to weaken societal cohesion and authority over time, precisely the conditions Mao argued are necessary for victory against a stronger adversary. “There is a war waging for the brains of Americans. It’s critical that America shore up its defenses before the nation is hijacked by confusion, manipulation and malign narratives,” psychologist Orli Peter told Fox News Digital. RED WEALTH, DARK MONEY: HOW AN AMERICAN TYCOON DEPLOYS MAO’S PLAYBOOK AGAINST THE WEST A Fox News Digital investigation, scouring scores of financial filings, writings and social media posts, shows not only money moving from Singham-funded entities into U.S. nonprofits, but these nonprofits in turn funding media production, political education and organizing campaigns that promote the narrative of the Chinese Communist Party. The U.S. nonprofits pushing the anti-America agenda benefit from tax-exempt status and tax-deductible donations. What begins as content — videos, livestreams and commentary — often feeds directly into organizing and
Trump 2.0’s Education Department unleashes top 5 most striking ‘wins’ against gender, DEI extremism
A little over a year after Donald Trump took office for the second time and began going after what he described as “discriminatory” diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices, including gender extremism and racial preferences in education, his administration is touting several “wins” it says are shifting the culture war on college campuses and beyond. More than 300 colleges and universities have rooted out DEI, according to numbers in a Department of Education press release laying out various “wins” against DEI during President Trump’s second term. Other numbers the administration shared showed 45 colleges and universities have also removed DEI statements and messaging from university programs or websites, at least 15 have eliminated the use of diversity statements in hiring faculty or staff, at least 95 have either eliminated, renamed or shifted staff or faculty positions related to DEI, at least 175 have removed or restructured their current DEI offices, and over a half-dozen recently abandoned racially segregated graduation ceremonies. Furthermore, College Board, best known for administering standardized tests like the SAT, revised criteria for their National Recognition Program, which the Department of Education says favored racial groups and awarded scholarships disproportionately to students from underrepresented ethnic groups. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION CELEBRATES PROGRESS AFTER A YEAR OF TRUMP ADMIN’S FIGHT TO SAVE WOMEN’S SPORTS Here are five more striking DEI “wins” the Trump administration has had since the beginning of the president’s second term: After finding UPenn violated Title IX, the department announced in early July that it had got the school to sign a resolution agreement requiring UPenn to restore individual women’s swimming records and titles, issue a public compliance statement, adopt biology-based definitions of “male” and “female” and send personalized apology letters to affected female swimmers. The move stripped transgender swimmer Leah Thomas of her 2022 national title, according to UPenn’s records. “From day one, President Trump and Secretary McMahon vowed to protect women and girls, and today’s agreement with UPenn is a historic display of that promise being fulfilled. This administration does not just pay lip service to women’s equality: it vigorously insists on that equality being upheld,” said Riley Gaines, the former University of Kentucky swimmer who competed against Thomas. “It is my hope that today demonstrates to educational institutions that they will no longer be allowed to trample upon women’s civil rights, and renews hope in every female athlete that their country’s highest leadership will not relent until they have the dignity, safety, and fairness they deserve.” Earlier this year, the Education Department Student Privacy Policy Office found the California Department of Education to be in “continued violation” of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), a federal law granting parents access to their child’s school records. The announcement was followed by the U.S. Supreme Court intervening in a case this month, when they sided with parents who were challenging California law that allowed staff to hide students’ gender transitions from their parents. “Gender dysphoria is a condition that has an important bearing on a child’s mental health, but when a child exhibits symptoms of gender dysphoria at school, California’s policies conceal that information from parents and facilitate a degree of gender transitioning during school hours,” the court’s decision read. “These policies likely violate parents’ rights to direct the upbringing and education of their children.” Meanwhile, at least 20 university-affiliated hospitals have ended or suspended puberty blockers, hormone therapies, gender transition surgeries or other transgender care for minors, according to the Education Department. IVY LEAGUE WATCHDOG WARNS TRUMP’S ANTI-DEI WINS ARE TEMPORARY AS COLLEGES ‘WAIT HIM OUT’ Trump’s Education Department entered into another resolution agreement with the Jefferson County Public Schools District in Colorado after it found that the district was allowing transgender students access to female bathrooms, locker rooms, overnight accommodations and to compete in female sports. According to the department, the district committed to rescinding or revising any policies that allowed male students to use female intimate facilities, share overnight accommodations with them or compete in female sports. The district must also issue and prominently post a public statement committing to Title IX compliance using biology-based definitions of “male” and “female,” stating Title IX applies regardless of state law or sports governing-body rules, and explaining how students can report or file sex-discrimination complaints. Trump’s Department of Education secured 31 resolution agreements with universities and colleges who were partnering with The Ph.D. Project, an organization that helps hopeful doctoral students get into programs. The department’s Office of Civil Rights found the program “unlawfully limits eligibility based on the race of participants.” “After initiating investigations several months ago into forty-five institutions of higher education for collaborating with the Ph.D. Project, OCR later determined that these institutions violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI) by partnering with an organization that discriminates on the basis of race,” a February press release from the department states. TRUMP ADMIN DETERMINES SJSU VIOLATED TITLE IX WITH HANDLING OF TRANS VOLLEYBALL PLAYER BLAIRE FLEMING In Feb. 2025, the NCAA revised its transgender participation rules to restrict the women’s category to student-athletes assigned female at birth, barring athletes assigned male at birth from competing on women’s teams, though they are still allowed to practice with women’s teams and receive related benefits. The men’s category remains open to all eligible athletes, and the change took effect immediately on Feb. 6, 2025. “Just over a year ago, we saw men claiming victories in women’s athletics. Colleges and universities were focused more on diversity, equity, and inclusion than ensuring graduates were prepared for success in life after graduation,” a Trump administration fact sheet on “wins” during the president’s second term stated. “Institutions required DEI statements from faculty and held segregated affinity graduation ceremonies for students. Academic standards fell, admissions were skewed to favor race over merit, and students graduated with a massive pile of debt and degrees that led to no job prospects,” the sheet continues. “Today, institutions of higher education are changing the game because President Trump is
Florida GOP gubernatorial candidate calls for sweeping federal limits on Muslim immigration
A Florida GOP gubernatorial candidate is pushing a “permanent” federal ban on Muslim immigration, arguing Islam is incompatible with American law and values. Former Florida House Speaker Paul Renner, who launched his gubernatorial bid in the Sunshine State last summer, said Tuesday he would propose and promote a federal ban on Muslim immigration that is “permanent and comprehensive.” “We have to be realistic and be honest that the long-term compatibility of Islam in this country does not exist,” he said. “We cannot have long-term compatibility with the American Constitution and with the American way of life.” Renner added that anyone with terrorist ties, who has defrauded taxpayers or who has been convicted of a serious crime should be denaturalized and deported. MAGA HARDLINER PUSHES BAN ON IMMIGRATION FROM ISLAMIC COUNTRIES, US ADVERSARIES IN WAKE OF TEXAS SHOOTING Renner made the comments during a news conference while speaking in front of a “No Sharia Law” sign. Sharia law is a religious legal framework derived from Islamic texts that governs aspects of life for some Muslims. The gubernatorial candidate pointed to the passage of a bill in the Florida Legislature prohibiting the use of certain foreign laws, including Sharia law, in state courts. Renner asserted that “only American law can be used in American courts and that should go without saying.” GOP GOVERNOR LAYS OUT PLAN TO ‘PURGE’ TERRORISTS AND TERROR SUPPORTERS FROM STATE He added that he would also end all funding for schools that promote what he described as Sharia law concepts. Renner said he would pursue legislation designating the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs). Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis previously issued an executive order last December designating the groups as FTOs, but a federal judge issued a temporary injunction citing First Amendment concerns, according to The Floridian. In his announcement, Renner cited a “recurring pattern of conflict and violence” in the years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, including a recent shooting at Old Dominion University in Virginia that left one person dead and two others injured. The suspected shooter, Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, was a former Army National Guard soldier convicted of supporting ISIS, according to the DOJ. “The simple fact is while there may be people in this country that will live peaceably with us, as a system there will continue to be increased division, increased conflict, and increased violence, which we have seen over the decades since 9/11, and we have to be realistic about that and put a stop to it so that we protect Americans,” Renner said. “That is the first order of business for any governor or any elected official and that is what I will do as governor.” DeSantis, who is serving his second consecutive term, is not permitted to run again in 2026. President Donald Trump has previously backed U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds for the job.
NJ Gov. Sherrill attends mosque led by Imam once accused of Hamas ties in deportation case
New Jersey Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill attended a Ramadan event at a Paterson mosque led by an Imam who fought deportation for years over alleged ties to Hamas. Sherrill posted photos of her visit to the Islamic Center of Passaic County on social media, wearing a hijab and taking selfies. In one image, she is seen speaking with the mosque’s longtime leader, Imam Mohammad Qatanani. “Thank you to the Islamic Center of Passaic County for welcoming me to join their celebration as the holy month of Ramadan comes to a close,” she wrote. “I wish our Muslim neighbors a safe, joyous, and peaceful Eid al-Fitr.” Qatanani, a Palestinian-born cleric, has been at the center of a decades-long immigration battle after federal authorities sought to deport him, citing alleged ties to Hamas and claims he failed to disclose a prior detention in Israel. He has denied those allegations, saying he was detained but never convicted. MAMDANI TELLS TRUMP ADMIN ANTI-ISRAEL ACTIVIST SHOULD ‘REMAIN IN NEW YORK CITY’ AMID DEPORTATION CASE As Fox News previously reported, the federal government moved to remove Qatanani from the U.S. beginning in the mid-2000s, arguing he made misrepresentations on his green card application and raising national security concerns tied to Israeli records. An immigration judge ruled in Qatanani’s favor in 2008, finding the government’s evidence unreliable and giving little weight to Israeli court documents used to support the allegations, according to court records . The judge also found the government had not proven Qatanani engaged in terrorist activity. TOP DEMS BRUSH OFF TIES TO IMAM WHO HELD MEMORIAL FOR IRANIAN LEADER WHO VOWED ‘DEATH TO AMERICA’ Court records further raised concerns about the reliability of statements attributed to Qatanani, including whether they may have been obtained under coercive conditions. Subsequent rulings over the years continued to favor him. A federal appeals court ultimately blocked his deportation in 2025, ruling immigration officials acted improperly in attempting to reverse his legal status. MUSLIM CLERIC IS IN US COURT FIGHTING AGAINST DEPORTATION The [Board of Immigration Appeals] exceeded its authority when it attempted to undo Qatanani’s adjustment to LPR status by using an agency regulation in a manner inconsistent with the procedures set out by Congress,” the court wrote. The decision focused on legal process rather than resolving the underlying allegations, finding federal authorities failed to follow required procedures after missing deadlines to challenge a key ruling granting him permanent residency. It is unclear whether Sherrill was aware of Qatanani’s legal history at the time of her visit. Fox News Digital has reached out to the governor’s office for comment.
Ballot box upset: Democrats flip Florida legislative seat in Trump’s stomping ground
Florida Democrats on Tuesday flipped control of a long-vacant Republican-held state House seat in a Palm Beach-anchored district that includes Mar-a-Lago, President Donald Trump’s home turf. The Associated Press reports that Democrat Emily Gregory defeated Republican Jon Maples in a special election in Florida’s House District 87, in the race to fill the seat left vacant last August, when GOP state Rep. Mike Caruso resigned to become Palm Beach County clerk and comptroller. The ballot box battle was one of three special legislative elections being held in GOP-dominated Florida on Tuesday. And while the contests won’t change the balance of power in the state legislature, where for more than a quarter-century Republicans have held majorities in both the House and Senate chambers, bragging rights were up for grabs in the president’s home district. HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS REPORTING FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL Maples was backed by Trump, who moved his primary permanent residence in 2019 from Trump Tower in New York City to Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida. He is also backed by a number of top Sunshine State Republicans. “There is a very important Special Election tomorrow, Tuesday, March 24th, for Florida State House District 87 in beautiful Palm Beach County — JON MAPLES HAS MY COMPLETE AND TOTAL ENDORSEMENT!” the president wrote in a social media post on Monday evening. The 43-year-old Maples, a financial planner and former Lake Clarke Shores Council member who, during his years at Palm Beach Atlantic University was an all-American athlete, made cutting taxes and government spending, reducing regulations, promoting private sector job creation and advancing school choice. Gregory, a 40-year-old Army spouse, owns and runs a Jupiter-based fitness center for pregnant and postpartum women. The first-time candidate made affordability, increasing public education, tackling rising property insurance and housing costs, and access to healthcare key parts of her campaign. Maples was the favorite heading into the special election, thanks to his fundraising advantage in a district that leads to the right. Trump carried the district by roughly 10 points in his 2024 re-election victory. And Caruso won re-election in the district by 19 points. Palm Beach County was once firmly blue until Republicans made electoral gains in recent cycles. The Democrats’ victory is their latest win or over performance in a slew of special elections and off-year contests since Trump returned to power in the White House 14 months ago. REPUBLICAN ‘WAKE-UP CALL’—SPECIAL ELECTION SHOCKER HIGHLIGHTS GOP MIDTERM RISKS Partially fueling the Democrats’ ballot box performances is their laser focus on affordability amid persistent inflation. And the victories are further energizing Democrats as they work to win back control of the U.S. House and possibly the Senate in this autumn’s midterm elections. The Democratic National Committee (DNC), in a statement Tuesday night, called Gregory’s win “an earthshattering victory for Florida Democrats and humiliating defeat for Donald Trump.” “Donald Trump’s own neighbors just sent a crystal clear message: They are furious and ready for change,” DNC chair Ken Martin emphasized in a statement. “If Democrats can win in Trump’s own backyard, we can win anywhere. From now until November, Democrats are all gas and no brakes as we compete across every corner of Florida and the nation.” The Republican National Committee (RNC), in commenting on the results, noted that special elections are not always the best barometer of things to come. “A low-turnout state House special election is a snapshot of local quirks, candidate dynamics, and turnout math — not some grand verdict.” RNC Senior Adviser Danielle Alvarez said in a statement. In Florida’s other state House special election, the AP reports that Republican Hilary Holley defeated Democrat Edwin Perez, in the race to replace GOP state Rep. Josie Tomkow. The district covers parts of Polk County, in the central part of the state. At the time this story posted, the state Senate special election between Tomkow and Democrat Brian Nathan was too close to call. Tomkow and Nathan were running to succeed Republican Jay Collins, who resigned from the seat in August to become the state’s lieutenant governor. The district includes much of Democrat-leaning Tampa as well as the more GOP-leaning Northwest Hillsborough suburbs.
Pritzker’s glowing review of lakefront resurfaces after college student killed by illegal alien nearby
Illinois’ Democratic Governor JB Pritzker recently highlighted the calm of Chicago’s shore with Lake Michigan in a video he posted across his social media platforms — a nearby area where an illegal alien shot and killed a college student last week. “Lots of runners coming by,” Pritzker said in a video he posted to Facebook last September. “Lakefront path, Lakefront Trail — absolutely gorgeous. Just gorgeous. Look at that overpass. A great lakefront.” The tone of the resurfaced clip clashes with the death of Sheridan Gorman, an 18-year-old Loyola University student who was shot to death near Tobey Prinz Beach Park, an area included in Chicago’s Police District 24. CHICAGO LAWMAKER RIPPED OVER ‘DISGUSTING’ RESPONSE TO COLLEGE STUDENT KILLED BY ALLEGED ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT Pritzker’s walk went viral on social media when several viewers online criticized the governor for his characterization of the shoreside area. “Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker & Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson haven’t posted anything about the murder of Sheridan Gorman, allegedly at the hands of a Venezuelan illegal alien,” Fox News Congressional Correspondent Bill Melugin posted on X. “Last year, Pritzker made a video from the lakefront she was killed at, mocking claims that it wasn’t safe.” “Governor JB Pritzker posted this video of the Chicago lakeside to brag about how safe it is. Sheridan Gorman was just killed there by a Venezuelan immigrant his state law PROTECTED,” End Wokeness, a popular conservative account, wrote in a X post. “> crosses the border illegally > released into the country by Biden > arrested for shoplifting > released back onto the street > murders an innocent girl,” former Trump White House staffer Greg Price wrote. “Pritzker posted this video bragging about how safe Chicago’s lakeside is — right where Sheridan Gorman was just killed by a Venezuelan illegal his state law protected. Unreal,” another account wrote. MY DAUGHTER WAS KILLED, AND I WARNED SANCTUARY CITY POLICIES WOULD COST LIVES AGAIN The area has improved in the categories of thefts, burglary and motor vehicle theft in recent years, according to recent police reports. However, reporting for murder, sexual assaults and aggravated battery have gone up, according to crime stats from March. District 24 has reported three murder cases, 19 sexual assaults and 32 aggravated battery incidents so far in 2026. The district has the second-most murders of any district of the six districts included in Chicago’s Area 3, which covers a significant chunk of the city’s northern side. In Gorman’s case, authorities charged Jose Medina, a Venezuelan national, with her murder. According to the Department of Homeland Security, Medina had already been apprehended for shoplifting in Chicago but had been released in June 2023. Even before that, Medina had been apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol in May 2023. He was also allowed to walk free then. “Sheridan Gorman had her whole life ahead of her before this cold-blooded killer decided to end her life. She was failed by open border policies and sanctuary politicians who RELEASED this illegal alien TWICE before he went on to commit this heinous murder,” Acting Assistant DHS Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement. “We are calling on Governor J.B. Pritzker and Chicago’s sanctuary politicians to commit to not releasing this criminal illegal alien from jail back into American neighborhoods.” The office of Governor Pritzker did not respond to a request for comment on the Chicago shoreside area and its crime rates.
Dems vow to force weekly Iran war votes after GOP blocks latest move to curb Trump
Senate Republicans again didn’t budge against Senate Democrats’ bid to handcuff President Donald Trump’s war powers in Iran. Senate Democrats again forced a vote on a war powers resolution to rein in Trump’s military authority in Iran, which Senate Republicans again blocked. It’s also been less than a week since Democrats triggered a war powers resolution in their bid to force the Trump administration to publicly explain the ongoing conflict. The resolution, this time from Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., was blocked on a largely party-line vote, save for Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who joined all Senate Democrats to advance the measure. It’s part of a flood-the-zone strategy Senate Democrats are taking to force Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to testify publicly before the Senate. Earlier this month, Murphy and a cohort of Senate Democrats unveiled their plan to force votes on five war powers resolutions. DHS SHUTDOWN TIED FOR SECOND-LONGEST EVER AS DEMS AGAIN BLOCK FUNDING AMID AIRPORT CHAOS, TERRORISM CONCERNS “We’re not going to let the Senate be silent until they make at the very least that commitment,” Murphy said at the time. “I don’t think they can defend this war.” Whether either Hegseth or Rubio is forced to testify before the Senate Armed Services and Senate Foreign Relations panels, respectively, remains in the air, given that neither committee chair has made the move to request the administration officials appear. TOM COTTON PUTS BIDEN ON NOTICE WHILE DEMANDING ANSWERS ON DRAINING OF NATION’S OIL STOCKPILE The latest attempt to cuff Trump’s war powers comes as his strategy in Iran dramatically shifted in a moment of whiplash from the weekend to Monday. Over the weekend, Trump warned that unless Iran fully reopened the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. would “hit and obliterate” the nation’s power plants. But then Trump shifted gears Monday and announced that the U.S. and Iran had been engaged in “very good and productive conversations regarding a complete and total resolution of our hostilities in the Middle East,” which the Iranian government denied. MULLIN CONFIRMED AS DHS CHIEF AS LAWMAKERS NEAR SOLUTION ON SHUTDOWN STANDOFF Meanwhile, Congress is still awaiting a supplemental funding package from the administration that could be to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars. Some Republicans want to cram that funding, which could be as high as $200 billion, into another reconciliation package. That vehicle could get busy fast, given that they are also eyeing reconciliation as a means to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and to pass portions of the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., who has led the charge on several war powers resolutions in the last several months, said that “the numbers that they’re talking about are pretty staggering in the sense of what they say about how this is going to go on.” And as far as letting up on war powers, Kaine said Democrats were ready to keep going round for round. “But we’re going to keep forcing war powers resolution votes,” Kaine said. “Have you seen enough? Have you seen enough? Have you seen enough? … We’ll probably have at least one a week, and continue to ask our colleagues, ‘okay, have you seen enough yet?’”