Schumer, Clinton lead Democrats praising Trump for Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. and Bill and Hillary Clinton are leading a chorus of prominent Democrats praising President Donald Trump for the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal and the release of the remaining living hostages. The support from across the aisle comes as the Gaza-based terrorist group Hamas freed all 20 remaining living hostages held in the Gaza Strip on Monday. “Today is a wonderful day. Finally, finally, finally, the last living hostages brutally held by Hamas are home, an immense and overwhelming sigh of relief,” Schumer said in a statement. “I commend the enormous advocacy of the tireless hostage families, President Trump, his administration, and all who helped make this moment happen.” “President Trump and his administration, Qatar, and other regional actors deserve great credit for keeping everyone engaged until the agreement was reached,” added former President Bill Clinton. TRUMP DECLINES TO COMMIT TO TWO-STATE SOLUTION AFTER HISTORIC GAZA PEACE DEAL: ‘WE’LL HAVE TO SEE’ Trump visited Israel on Monday to address Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, and met with some of the families of the released hostages. While returning home on Air Force One, the president was asked by a reporter for his reaction to Clinton’s remark. “I’ve always liked Bill Clinton. I’ve always gotten along with him,” Trump said. “I thought it was very nice, actually. And what is he doing? He’s telling the truth.” WITH HOSTAGES FREED, TRUMP THANKS OTHERS IN ISRAEL SPEECH BUT IS TOO QUICK TO DECLARE WAR IS OVER Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also praised Trump, telling CBS News’ Norah O’Donnell on Friday, “I really commend President Trump and his administration, as well as Arab leaders in the region for making the commitment to the 20-point plan and seeing a path forward for what’s often called the day after.” The Trump administration had published a 20-point plan in late September on how it would end the war in Gaza. “I commend the people who have been a part of this process. I commend the Qataris, the Egyptians and the president,” former Vice President Kamala Harris, who ran against Trump in 2024, said in an interview on MSNBC that aired on Sunday. Fox News Digital’s Hanna Penreck and Andrea Margolis contributed to this report.
Maine Gov Mills joins crowded Dem primary in race to challenge longtime GOP senator
Democrats in Washington landed another high-profile recruit in the 2026 battle for the Senate majority, as two-term Maine Gov. Janet Mills on Tuesday announced her candidacy in the race to take on longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins. The long-anticipated campaign launch by the battle-tested 77-year-old Democratic governor is seen as a victory for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. The top Democrat in the Senate urged Mills to run and sees her as the best candidate to defeat Collins, the only Republican senator up for re-election next year in a state the Democrats carried in the presidential election. A Collins defeat would be essential for the Democrats to have any chance of winning back the Senate majority. But before she reaches the general election, Mills first has to navigate a likely competitive and potentially divisive primary among a crowded field of contenders that includes a much younger rising star on the left who’s backed by longtime progressive champion Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. TRUMP NOT ON BALLOT BUT FRONT-AND-CENTER IN 2025 ELECTIONS “I’ve never backed down from a bully and I never will,” the governor said in a statement as she launched her campaign. “Donald Trump is ripping away health care from millions, driving up costs, and giving corporate CEOs massive tax cuts. And Susan Collins is helping him.” Mills’ campaign launch video highlighted the February White House meeting of governors where President Donald Trump confronted her for defying his executive order preventing trans athletes from competing in girls’ and women’s sports. Trump told Mills, “you’re not going to get any federal funding,” if she did not comply, to which she replied, “we’ll see you in court.” WATCH THE FEBRUARY TRUMP-MILLS CLASH: Mills, a former elected county district attorney and former state lawmaker, made history serving as Maine’s first female attorney general. She later won election in 2018 as Maine’s first female governor, and in 2022 comfortably defeated former Republican Gov. Paul LePage by double digits to win re-election. Tuesday’s launch comes after the Mills campaign appeared to jump the gun last week with a quickly deleted social media post and video on Friday announcing her candidacy. FOUR KEY SENATE SEATS THE GOP AIMS TO FLIP IN NEXT YEAR’S MIDTERM ELECTIONS While she’ll be considered the frontrunner for the Democratic Senate nomination, thanks in part to her vast name recognition in blue-leaning Maine, she could face a serious challenge from 41-year-old Graham Platner, a U.S. Marine and Army veteran and oyster farmer who launched his campaign in August. Platner, who hauled in over $3 million in fundraising during the first six weeks after declaring his candidacy, is backed by Sanders, the two-time Democratic presidential nomination runner-up, who recently stopped in Maine to headline a campaign rally. In a warning to Mills, Sanders said on social media last week that “Graham Platner is a great working class candidate for Senate in Maine who will defeat Susan Collins.” “It’s disappointing that some Democratic leaders are urging Governor Mills to run. We need to focus on winning that seat & not waste millions on an unnecessary & divisive primary,” Sanders added. HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS REPORTING ON THE 2025 ELECTIONS Other candidates vying for the Democratic Senate nomination include Dan Kleban, a co-founder of the Maine Beer Co., and former congressional staffer Jordan Wood, who raked in roughly $3 million during the July-September third quarter of fundraising. Phil Rench, a former senior engineer for Elon Musk’s SpaceX, is running as an independent candidate. “Maine Democrats are locked in a bruising fight between Chuck Schumer’s out-of-touch establishment and Bernie Sanders’ far-left radicals,“ National Republican Senatorial Committee Communications Director Joanna Rodriguez charged in a statement as Mills entered the race. And Rodriguez argued that “Janet Mills wants to be the oldest freshman Senator in American history after a record of failure that turned Maine into one of the weakest economies in New England. No matter which Democrat emerges, we’re confident Mainers will continue to trust independent problem solver Susan Collins to keep delivering for them.” The 72-year-old Collins, a moderate Republican, first won election to the Senate in 1996. She currently chairs the influential Senate Appropriations Committee. Collins won comfortable double-digit re-elections in 2002, 2008, and 2014. In her 2020 re-election, Collins faced off against Democratic State House Speaker Sara Gideon, in a hotly contested race that became the most expensive in Maine history. While polls indicated Collins trailing her Democratic challenger, she ended up winning the election by more than eight points. Mills becomes the third major high-profile Senate recruit for the Democrats this year, following former Gov. Roy Cooper in North Carolina and former Sen. Sherrod Brown in Ohio. Republicans currently control the Senate 53-47.
Jeffries tells Lawler to ‘keep your mouth shut’ as shutdown sparks Capitol Hill confrontations
The National Hockey League played seven games in its young 2025-2026 season by the end of the day last Wednesday. The contests featured a grand total of two fights. The government shutdown had run for eight days by the end of the day on that Wednesday. And the now lengthy shutdown sparked two extraordinary verbal brawls in the halls of Congress between lawmakers. NHL referees Gord Dwyer and Mitch Dunning worked the Washington Capitals/Boston Bruins tilt Wednesday night in DC. Perhaps the House and Senate Sergeants at Arms could have summoned Dwyer and Dunning up to Capitol Hill to dole out a few ten-minute misconducts beforehand. “You’re embarrassing yourself right now!” hollered House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., at Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y. JOHNSON RAISES STAKES ON SCHUMER AS GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN BARRELS INTO WEEK 3 “The only embarrassment here is you!” thundered Lawler at Jeffries. Tempers exploded as Lawler lay in wait outside the House Radio/TV Gallery Studio for a shutdown smackdown after Jeffries concluded his now-daily press conference. “You’re not going to talk to me and talk over me when you don’t want to hear what I’m going to say!” yelled an animated Jeffries at Lawler, jabbing his index finger toward his colleague’s chest but never poking him. “Oh, I’m listening,” said Lawler. “So just keep your mouth shut!” shouted the usually cool Jeffries. There were multiple rounds of vocal fisticuffs between Members and Congressional leaders. Sens. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., and Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., summoned the press to the hallway outside the office of House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to complain about the shutdown and criticize the Speaker for not swearing-in Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva, D-Ariz., more than two weeks after her election. Johnson then confronted the Arizona senators. And Lawler was nearby, serving as “fourth man in.” “This is absurd,” seethed an exasperated Johnson. SCREAMING MATCH ERUPTS BETWEEN HAKEEM JEFFRIES, MIKE LAWLER AS GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN CHAOS CONTINUES “This is the longest the House has gone…” interrupted Gallego. “Do you want me to answer the question?” shot back Johnson. “You’re not actually answering the question,” countered Gallego. The multiple rounds of brawls in the halls between lawmakers were nearly unprecedented in Congress. The shutdown smackdowns featured arguments about health care. Lawler waved around legislation focused on the Democrats’ push during the shutdown: a package to extend Obamacare subsidies. “If you believe in it so much!” chided Lawler, with a rhetorical uppercut. “Bro, do you understand math?” counterpunched Jeffries. Tensions are spiking at the Capitol. Yours truly asked Johnson about Lawler confronting Jeffries and his decision to step out of the Speaker’s Office to engage Kelly and Gallego. I noted to the Speaker that if the House was in session, there may be fistfights in the hallways. “Are you concerned and is it incumbent upon you as the Speaker to try to lower this temperature?” I asked. Johnson added that the contretemps “concerns me.” He added that he wanted to “restore civility to the institution.” “Let’s have policy disputes. But not make it personal. This gets personal. Emotions are high. People are upset. I’m upset. I’m a very patient man. But I am very angry right now because this is dangerous stuff. And so is it better for them to be physically separated right now? It probably is.” said Johnson. Lawmakers aren’t the only ones raging. Thousands of federal workers are fuming at the shutdown. The administration is now firing federal workers. “Right now, many families are paying the price for political gridlock that they didn’t cause,” said American Federation of Government Employees President Everett Kelley. TENSE CONFRONTATION BETWEEN HOUSE SPEAKER, SENATE DEMS CAUGHT ON CAMERA OVER SHUTDOWN Rep. Sarah Elfreth, D-Md., represents 44,000 federal employees in her district near Washington, DC. She notes that Maryland has lost 15,000 federal jobs since President Trump took office in January. “I believe that (the firings) are not only unethical and immoral, but illegal for him to be RIF-ing people during a shutdown. There’s no new authority granted to the President or OMB during a shutdown,” said Elfreth. “I don’t believe in negotiating by threat. It also shows that I think they have the weaker hand and that they’re losing the PR battle nationally to resort to threats.” While the shutdown is the main event, the undercard is a fight between Democrats and Johnson over Grijalva to succeed her late father, Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz. The elder Grijalva died in March after a battle with cancer. “I can’t hire staff. We don’t have an office,” said Grijalva “So it’s very much second-class citizen feeling for me.” Democrats have tried on multiple occasions to compel the House to swear-in Grijalva during brief, pro forma sessions where the body gavels in and gavels out after just a few seconds. Once in office, Grijalva would provide the crucial 218th signature to go over the head of the Speaker and force the House to vote on a measure to release the Epstein files. “Get your people in and stop covering up for the pedophiles,” shouted Gallego at Johnson during their confrontation in the corridor. “That’s ridiculous,” responded Johnson. “There’s nobody covering up for pedophiles,” chirped Lawler from the back of the scrum. “So knock it the hell off.” Johnson denies the Grijalva holdup is about the Epstein files. “We’ll schedule it, I guess, as soon as she wants. It has nothing to do with it,” said Johnson. But Grijalva wrote to the Speaker last week demanding the House swear her in immediately. And the House still hasn’t sworn her in. Circumstances were different this spring when the House GOP majority dwindled to a net seat of one. Republicans needed as many votes as they could muster to pass parliamentary frameworks for the Big, Beautiful Bill. Johnson swore-in Reps. Randy Fine, R-Fla., and Jimmy Patronis, R-Fla., a day after they won special elections. “These guys worked hard and they earned the position,” said Johnson when he met with them back in April. “These gentlemen are going to come
Pakistan announces intention for second Nobel Peace Prize nomination for Trump over Gaza ceasefire role
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday announced that he intends to nominate President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in securing a ceasefire and hostage agreement between Hamas and Israel. It will be Pakistan’s second time putting up Trump for the prize. In June, Pakistan nominated Trump for his role in securing a ceasefire agreement between Islamabad and neighboring India. “Pakistan had nominated President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize for his outstanding, extraordinary contributions to first stop the war between India and Pakistan and then achieve a ceasefire, along with his very wonderful team,” Sharif said in Egypt, speaking next to Trump. TRUMP CELEBRATES PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST AFTER SIGNING GAZA DEAL: ‘ACHIEVED THE IMPOSSIBLE’ “And today, again, I would like to nominate this great president for the Nobel Peace Prize because I genuinely feel that he is the most genuine and most wonderful candidate for the Peace Prize because he has brought not only peace in South Asia, saving millions of people and their lives,” he added. “And today, here in Sharm el-Sheikh, achieving peace in Gaza is saving millions of lives in the Middle East.” Trump and Sharif were part of a delegation of world leaders gathered in Egypt’s coastal resort area of Sharm el-Sheikh to sign documents related to the peace deal in Gaza. COULD TRUMP WIN THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE AFTER ISRAEL-HAMAS DEAL? After announcing his intention to nominate Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, Sharif turned to the president and made a brief saluting gesture toward him. “Mr. President, I would like to salute you for your exemplary, visionary leadership. I think you are the man this world needs most at this point in time. The world will always remember you as a man who did everything — who went out of his way to stop seven and, today, eight wars,” Sharif added. Last week, the Nobel Committee in Norway awarded the Nobel Peace Prize to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado. While introducing the other world leaders, Trump appeared to chide Norway over last week’s choice. “Oh, Norway — aye, yay, yay,” Trump said. “Norway. What happened, Norway? What happened?”
Mamdani breaks silence on freed Israeli hostages in statement that doesn’t mention Trump
After facing backlash for staying silent as Israeli hostages were freed from Gaza, New York City socialist mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani finally broke his silence Monday afternoon. “Today’s scenes of Israelis and Palestinians are profoundly moving: Israeli hostages being freed and families reunited after years of fear, uncertainty, and torture; the first days in Gaza without relentless Israeli bombardment of Palestinians as families return to rubble and loved ones freed from detention,” Mamdani posted on X on Monday shortly after 4 p.m. EST in a message that did not mention President Donald Trump or acknowledge his role in the negotiations. Mamdani went on to mark the development as a “glimmer of hope” that the ceasefire will “hold” and the “long and difficult work of reconstruction can begin.” “I also know this news brings solace to millions of New Yorkers, who’ve felt the pain of the past few years,” Mamdani said. “We have watched as our tax dollars have funded a genocide. The moral and human cost will be a lasting stain and requires accountability and real examination of our collective conscience and our government’s policies.” MAMDANI CAUGHT ON CAMERA GETTING CHASED OUT OF MANHATTAN SQUARE; PROTESTER BLASTS HIM AS ‘ANTISEMITE’ Mamdani’s lengthy post concluded by saying that the “responsibility now lies” with those who “believe in peace.” “Once aid is delivered, the wounded are cared for, and a lasting agreement secured, we cannot look away,” Mamdani said. “We must work towards a future built upon justice, one without occupation and apartheid, and for a world where every person can live with safety and dignity.” Mamdani’s post came roughly three hours after one of his opponents, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, called him out on social media for not commenting that morning as the hostages were released. MEET MAMDANI’S RADICAL ADVISORY CIRCLE THAT INCLUDES COMMUNIST ACTIVIST, ANTI-ISRAEL ADVOCATES “It shouldn’t go unnoticed that @ZohrankMamdani — who still refuses to condemn the phrase ‘globalize the intifada’ (widely understood to mean death to Jews) — has yet to comment on the release of the hostages,” Cuomo posted on X. “His silence speaks volumes.” Both Cuomo and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa released statements on social media earlier in the morning praising the release of the hostages, with Sliwa being the only one to offer praise to Trump by name. MAMDANI SAYS COLBERT SHOW SHOCKED HIM WHEN PRODUCER PITCHED ‘GAME’ TO DISCUSS ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR In a CNN interview on Friday, Mamdani hinted that he was open to giving Trump credit. “If the genocide ends, then I think that’s something worthy to be praised, and if the hostages are returned,” Mamdani said. “Those things together have to be done in tandem.” Mamdani’s post quickly brought critical reactions, including from New York City GOP Councilwoman Inna Vernikov. “GLARINGLY MISSING FROM THIS WORD SALAD: Any single mention of HAMAS or the TERRORISTS who brought this upon themselves by murdering & raping their way across Israel on 10/7,” Vernikov posted on X. “You know, the same terrorists that your wife was glorifying on her Instagram story? Those terrorists?” Mamdani, who has been widely criticized for his comments and positions on Israel, spent Sunday night raising money for a United Nations organization that employed Oct. 7 terrorists, just hours before the final living Israeli hostages were released from Hamas captivity. Trump celebrated “peace in the Middle East” after he signed the historic peace agreement that ended two years of fighting in Gaza. “At long last, we have peace in the Middle East, and it’s a very simple expression, peace in the Middle East,” Trump said during remarks at Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, flanked by dozens of world leaders. “We’ve heard it for many years, but nobody thought it could ever get there. And now we’re there.” Trump went on: “This is the day that people across this region and around the world have been working, striving, hoping, and praying for. With the historic agreement we have just signed, those prayers of millions have finally been answered. Together, we have achieved the impossible.” His remarks came after Hamas released the final remaining 20 living hostages on Monday as Israel backed off its frontline positioning in Gaza over the weekend. Fox News Digital reached out to the Mamdani campaign but did not immediately receive a response. Fox News Digital’s Anders Hagstrom and Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.
Ciattarelli team blasts opponent over ‘slanderous’ claim he profited from opioid deaths
With the final days closing in on an especially messy New Jersey gubernatorial election, Republican candidate Jack Ciattarelli’s campaign slammed his Democratic opponent, Rep. Mikie Sherrill, for pushing a narrative that he “killed tens of thousands of people.” Sherrill accused Ciattarelli of being responsible for printing “propaganda” via the medical publishing company he founded that downplayed the dangers of opioids and of designing an app to help people access dangerous drugs. She made the claims during a gubernatorial debate on Oct. 8 and doubled down during a press conference on opioid addiction on Monday. “Jack made millions, the opioid companies made billions, and thousands of New Jerseyans were dying,” Sherrill said at the press conference. ‘GETTING DESPERATE’: GOVERNOR DEBATE GETS PERSONAL AFTER DEMOCRAT IS MOCKED FOR CHEATING SCANDAL Chris Russell, a Ciattarelli campaign strategist, told Fox News that if Sherrill “had any decency, she would retract her slanderous comments and apologize.” “Whether it’s tripling her net worth in Congress and hiding details of her stock trades or concealing the true extent of her role in the Naval Academy cheating scandal, Mikie Sherrill is a proven liar and lawbreaker whose desperation is showing,” said Russell. “Her reckless and defamatory claim that Jack ‘killed tens of thousands of people, including children,’ has been roundly criticized by members of the press, legal scholars and people in both parties,” he added. “The truth is that Jack Ciattarelli’s medical publishing company helped to create an online tool which allowed a small group of chronic pain sufferers to educate themselves on treatment options and better advocate for their own healthcare choices when meeting with their medical professionals,” explained Russell. NJ REPUBLICAN CIATTARELLI THREATENS TO SUE SHERRILL OVER OPIOID CLAIM In response, Sean Higgins, a campaign spokesperson for Sherrill, told Fox News Digital that “after years of hiding his role fueling the opioid epidemic, Jack Ciattarelli is finally admitting to being paid by an opioid company to create an app to coach patients to get a Hydrocodone prescription, all at a time when the opioid crisis was raging and killing New Jerseyans.” “He made millions off of New Jerseyans’ pain and suffering and clearly cannot be trusted as governor,” said Higgins. Ciattarelli has threatened to sue Sherrill for defamation if she does not stop raising these accusations. Despite this, Sherrill was adamant about the accusations on Monday. She pushed back on the threat of lawsuits over the accusations, saying, “I’m dumbfounded that this perennial candidate, who has run now for three elections, saying that he’s a small businessman, the minute we start to talk about that small business, he wants to shut it. He wants his lawyers to shut it down. I mean, that’s ridiculous to me.” “I think we’ve laid out the case that Jack is … in league with these opioid companies,” said Sherrill. NJ DEM MIKIE SHERRILL DOUBLES DOWN ON CLAIM THAT CIATTARELLI ‘COMPLICIT’ IN OPIOID DEATHS OF THOUSANDS Pressed to clarify whether she was asserting that Ciattarelli killed tens of thousands of New Jerseyans, Sherrill answered, “Yes. Look, I think he is right there with the people that, again, paid billions of dollars. So, I think that the line is pretty clear.” For his part, Ciattarelli shot back against Sherrill at a campaign rally on Monday, saying, “her entire campaign is based on a stack of lies about me [and] her disdain for the president.” He said that for the remainder of the campaign he will be pivoting to discussing his day one plan as governor, saying he will immediately issue an executive order banning sanctuary jurisdictions for illegal immigrants, bringing state workers back to work in-person, appointing a state attorney general “who supports both police and parents,” fixing the public education system and eliminating green energy initiatives in New Jersey.
Pressure mounts on Virginia Dems to clearly state view on trans bathrooms after bombshell emails
The northern Virginia transgender bathroom saga notched another controversy Friday with the release of emails from Arlington County, Virginia, schools regarding correspondence board members received from serial sex offender Richard Kenneth Cox. Cox, 58, was thrust into the national spotlight after Virginia’s Fairfax County Democratic prosecutor Steve Descano declined to prosecute Cox for charges of perversion in women’s locker rooms while neighboring Arlington County, Virginia, arrested him in 2024 on similar offenses which he has faced in court in October. Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, the Republican gubernatorial nominee, lambasted news that Cox — who identified himself as a transgender woman named “Riki” in emails to Arlington, Virginia, schools regarding concerns about using facilities at its semi-public aquatic center — was allegedly able to prey on young girls in the Washington suburb. “This ‘woman’ — child predator Richard ‘Riki’ Cox — repeatedly used a girls’ locker room and exposed himself to young girls,” Earle-Sears said in a Friday statement. “Abigail Spanberger thinks he has the right to be there.” SEX OFFENDER CALLED ‘POSTER BOY’ FOR GOP’S TRANSGENDER IDEOLOGY CONCERNS FACES COURT HEARING Fox News Digital reached out to Democratic gubernatorial candidate Spanberger to confirm whether she opposes or supports Virginia policies that allow transgender females born as males to use women’s facilities and did not receive a reply. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests filed by ABC News’ Washington affiliate returned emails between school officials after Cox sent a lengthy message to one member. Arlington schools (APS) allow people to use the facilities matching their desired gender identity. “I realize this is very short notice but the issue just occurred on Friday October 25 (2024) and I need your help before I know who to vote for. I am a member of the LGBT and specifically transgender community,” Cox wrote to board member Kathleen Clark. ‘NONSENSE’: EARLE-SEARS BLASTS FAIRFAX TRANSGENDER BATHROOM RULES IN FIERY CAMPAIGN STOP The report noted that Clark may not have known the sender — “Riki Cox” — was a registered sex offender, Richard K. Cox. A school board official told the ABC affiliate Clark also was responding in her private capacity and that as soon as Duran recognized a sex offender had been present on school property he took corrective action. “At no time did we knowingly admit a sex offender into our aquatics facilities,” the official said. Cox, who previously was reported to be living out of his van at one point, said transgender people are “disproportionately homeless” and must rely on county facilities like pool locker rooms to shower. ‘NUDE MEN IN LOCKER ROOMS’: EARLE-SEARS BLASTS SPANBERGER OVER TRANSGENDER LOCKER ROOM STANCE IN HEATED DEBATE “But let me be clear that this is not only an opportunity to be clean but to be and feel part of the community. However, solely because of complaints of a transgender person in the locker room, Washington-Liberty Swimming Pool made a rule that people using the shower but not the pool must use the single, isolated locker room away from everyone else, like they are some kind of freak or something,” Cox wrote. Cox said he once considered voluntarily using the unisex room but that he “wanted to feel like part of the community” and that complainants should be the ones forced to be apparently ostracized to the one-person shower. Cox said multiple people running for school board positions claimed to be pro-LGBT but that Cox wanted to see who may reverse the school district’s locker room decision to apparently keep their promises. VIRGINIA SCHOOL DISTRICTS SUPPORT FOR TRANSGENDER STUDENTS’ RIGHTS IN GOVERNOR’S RACE SPOTLIGHT “RSVP please and thank you,” Cox said. A second email reported by the ABC News affiliate from Cox to the board attested that Cox felt that apparent pressure for Cox to finish showering in the main locker room again sent “the message that a transgender person is a freak and I guess not normal and beautiful like everyone else.” Clark later responded, according to the affiliate, telling Cox she hoped he didn’t receive “transphobic statements” from staff during the incident and should be able to use the showers and changing rooms Cox is most comfortable using. Cox, who has a sex-offender rap sheet going back to the George H.W. Bush era in northern Virginia faces at least 21 charges, according to public court information viewed by Fox News Digital earlier in October. The charges related to visits to school facilities as well as a private gym in Barcroft, Virginia. As of January, the Arlington County, Virginia, government board was working with the county school board on formulating responses to Cox’s incidents at the pool, the activist group Defending Education told Fox News Digital. Cox, however, was individually banned from the premises following his arrest, according to reports. Arlington, Virginia, Superintendent Francisco Duran told a Washington Post reporter that the district follows state law and federal Fourth Circuit legal precedent requiring anti-discrimination protections based on gender identity and sex in places of “public accommodation.” Defending Education Vice President Sarah Parshall-Perry said in a statement that as an Arlington, Virginia, resident and attorney, she was “aggrieved and incensed” by the incident.
Bill Clinton says Trump and others ‘deserve great credit’ for Israel-Hamas ceasefire
Former President Bill Clinton praised President Donald Trump for his administration’s efforts in brokering the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, saying the president and regional partners “deserve great credit” for keeping negotiations on track. “The horrors of the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel and the conflict they reignited have resulted in unbearable human loss,” Clinton wrote. “It has been hard to watch and nearly impossible to rationalize.” “I’m grateful that a ceasefire has taken hold, that the last 20 hostages have been freed, and that desperately needed aid has begun to flow into Gaza,” he continued. “President Trump and his administration, Qatar, and other regional actors deserve great credit for keeping everyone engaged until the agreement was reached.” Clinton added that, with support from the U.S., the region, and the world, Israel and Hamas must try to turn this “fragile moment into lasting peace that provides the dignity and security of both Palestinians and Israelis.” WORLD LEADERS PRAISE ‘LANDMARK’ ISRAEL-HAMAS PEACE DEAL MEDIATED BY US: ‘NEW HORIZON OF HOPE’ “I believe that they can get there, but only if they do it together,” Clinton said. The praise for Trump comes after a years-long feud between him and the Clintons. The feud stemmed from Trump’s relentless attacks on Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential campaign, when he branded the former secretary of state “Crooked Hillary.” COULD TRUMP WIN THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE AFTER ISRAEL-HAMAS DEAL? The Clintons have also argued that Trump’s presidency undermined democratic norms. While Trump periodically revives the feud, Bill Clinton has also criticized him — particularly over his handling of Israel-Iran tensions in June. At the time, Bill Clinton expressed skepticism about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump’s intentions for peace in the Middle East. He urged Trump to calm the situation and end the “outright constant killing of civilians.” TRUMP ANNOUNCES ISRAEL AGREES TO GAZA ‘INITIAL WITHDRAWAL LINE’ AS ‘3,000 YEAR CATASTROPHE’ NEARS END “First of all — they’re not talking about negotiating peace in the Middle East because the Israelis have no intention of… under Prime Minister Netanyahu, of giving the Palestinians a state. And now, they’re too divided and crushed to organize themselves to achieve it,” Bill Clinton said during a guest appearance on “The Daily Show.” He continued, maintaining that Trump agrees with Netanyahu in believing that the Palestinians “shouldn’t have a state.” However, he added that neither leader wants to trigger a full-scale regional disaster. “Mr. Netanyahu has long wanted to fight Iran because that way he can stay in office forever and ever. I mean, he’s been there most of the last 20 years,” the former president said. “But I think we should be trying to defuse it, and I hope President Trump will do that.” TRUMP SAYS ‘WHOLE WORLD CAME TOGETHER’ TO SECURE ISRAEL-HAMAS PEACE DEAL AFTER MONTHS OF DEADLOCK Bill Clinton emphasized the need for the U.S. to protect its allies in the region while also urging restraint. “We have to convince our friends in the Middle East that we’ll stand with them and try to protect them,” he stated. “But choosing undeclared wars in which the primary victims are civilians, who are not politically involved, one way or the other, who just want to live decent lives, is not a very good solution.” Bill Clinton conceded that the U.S. must try to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon but again stressed the need to protect innocent lives in the region. TRUMP LAUDED BY MSNBC, LIBERAL MEDIA FIGURES FOR SECURING ISRAEL PEACE DEAL “Do I think that we have to try to stop Iran from having a nuclear weapon? I do,” he declared. “But we don’t have to have all this outright constant killing of civilians who can’t defend themselves, and they just want a chance to live.” Days later, President Trump launched Operation Midnight Hammer, using B-2 bombers and other jets to strike multiple uranium sites in Iran. Hillary Clinton also praised Trump for his Israel-Hamas peace breakthrough. “I really commend President Trump and his administration, as well as Arab leaders in the region, for making the commitment to the 20-point plan, and seeing a path forward for what is often called the day after,” she told CBS News after Hamas agreed to Trump’s peace plan. Hillary Clinton also appeared to pull back her digs at Trump in August, just before the president met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Appearing on the “Raging Moderates” podcast, Clinton said she would nominate Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize if he succeeded in getting Putin to end his war and return all the territory Russia seized in Ukraine. “You know, look, if we could pull that off — if President Trump were the architect of that — I’d nominate him for a Nobel Peace Prize,” she said during the interview. Fox News Digital’s Marc Tamasco and Gabriel Hays contributed to this report.
Dem gubernatorial nominee facing heat for taking donations from CCP-linked tycoon: ‘Disqualifying’
New Jersey Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mikie Sherrill is facing criticism after a businessman linked to the Chinese Communist Party made multiple donations totaling tens of thousands of dollars to her campaign. Pin Ni, the founder of Wanxiang America Corporation, donated $60,000 to the One Giant Leap super PAC backing Sherrill’s campaign in the form of two checks, in addition to giving the $5,800 individual max donation directly to Sherrill’s campaign this summer, according to records reviewed by Fox News Digital and first reported on by New York Post. Political campaigns in the United States are only permitted to accept money from American citizens or permanent legal residents and, in addition to Pin’s status being unclear, questions have been raised about the ethics of accepting money from individuals linked to the Chinese Communist Party. “The donor, Pin Ni, has an extensive history of assisting the CCP’s political warfare and influence operations upon the U.S., and of generally aligning with and carrying out party commands,” Michael Lucci, Founder and CEO of State Armor, told New York Post, adding that taking money from Ni is “disqualifying.” NEW STUDY EXPOSES GREEN ENERGY ORG’S TIES TO CCP INTERESTS WHILE UNDERMINING US Wanxiang Group posthumously awarded the company’s founder, Lu Guanqiu, the title of “National Outstanding Communist Party Member” in a 2021 press release and praised Guanqiu for his “pursuit of communism as a lifelong ideal and practice.” The press release also said Guanqiu, the late father-in-law of Pin Ni, “has always listened to the [Chinese Communist] Party and followed the Party,” a Fox News Digital review found earlier this year. The press release continued by quoting Chinese President Xi Jinping’s praise of Guanqiu, saying he was “in line with the Party Central Committee. He always actively does what our Party committees and governments at all levels advocate.” ‘COMING FOR US’: EXPERT SOUNDS ALARM ON CCP’S MISSION TO ‘KILL AMERICANS’ AFTER FBI MAKES SHOCKING ARRESTS The founder’s bio on the Wanxiang website says he was elected as the 13th and 14th Representatives of the CPPCC, and a delegate to the 9th, 10th, and 11th Chinese National People’s Congress, top levels of the CCP’s hierarchy. Fox News Digital reached out to the Sherrill campaign inquiring whether the money would be returned. Fox News Digital also reached out to Pin Ni but did not immediately receive a response. Sherrill isn’t the only Democrat running for governor in November to be faced with questions about donations from Pin Ni. Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger took $50,000 from the CCP-tied businessman in two $25,000 installments in April and May, Fox News Digital previously reported. The donations sparked criticism from Spanberger’s Republican opponent, Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears. “Taking $50,000 from someone with clear Chinese Communist Party ties tells us all we need to know,” her campaign spokesperson said at the time. “You can’t claim to stand up to foreign threats while pocketing money from someone celebrated by the CCP.” A Spanberger campaign spokesperson said, “Virginians know that Abigail Spanberger has a demonstrated record of standing up for America’s national security, delivering results for Virginia families across party lines, and never backing down from keeping the American people safe.” “Her campaign will remain focused on what Virginians care about most, keeping our communities safe, driving down costs, protecting Virginia jobs, and making sure Virginia’s public schools are the very best in America,” the spokesperson added. Fox News Digital’s Amanda Macias contributed to this report
Biden, Blinken take credit for groundwork behind Trump’s Gaza ceasefire deal
Former President Joe Biden and former Secretary of State Antony Blinken both claimed some credit for President Donald Trump’s Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement on Monday. On X, Biden – who is undergoing treatment for cancer – said that he was “deeply grateful and relieved” that the Gaza war is approaching its end. “The road to this deal was not easy,” the Democrat wrote. “My Administration worked relentlessly to bring hostages home, get relief to Palestinian civilians, and end the war.” But Biden also gave Trump credit for getting “a renewed ceasefire deal over the finish line.” BEFORE AND AFTER IMAGES SHOW DEVASTATING DESTRUCTION IN GAZA “Now, with the backing of the United States and the world, the Middle East is on a path to peace that I hope endures and a future for Israelis and Palestinians alike with equal measures of peace, dignity, and safety,” he concluded. On Monday, Blinken said Trump’s 20-point peace plan for the Gaza Strip was based on one developed by the Biden administration. In a lengthy post on X, Blinken, who served in the Biden administration, outlined how Trump was able to secure the peace agreement. He noted that Arab states and Turkey have said “enough” to Hamas, and said the response also showed that other Iran-backed groups — Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthi rebels — were not coming to Hamas’ aid. “It starts with a clear and comprehensive post-conflict plan for Gaza,” Blinken wrote. “It’s good that President Trump adopted and built on the plan the Biden administration developed after months of discussion with Arab partners, Israel and the Palestinian Authority.” NETANYAHU ADVISOR EXPRESSES ‘DEEP FAITH’ IN TRUMP’S GAZA CEASEFIRE PLAN FRAMEWORK APPROACH Blinken said the Biden administration briefly secured a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in January, resulting in the release of 135 hostages before the deal fell apart. He also questioned how Trump could secure a permanent peace plan. Fox News senior White House correspondent Peter Doocy asked Trump about Blinken’s remarks aboard Air Force One. “Everybody knows it’s a joke,” Trump said. “Look, they did such a bad job. This should have never happened.” “If just a decent president — not a great president like me — if a decent president were in, you wouldn’t have had the Russia-Ukraine (war),” Trump said. “This was bad policy by Biden and Obama.” Trump was in Egypt on Monday to work on the second phase of the cease-fire while meeting with more than 20 world leaders. TRUMP’S WEEK IN REVIEW: PRESIDENT SECURES HISTORIC PEACE DEAL TO BRING HOSTAGES HOME AS SHUTDOWN CONTINUES “We’ve heard it for many years, but nobody thought it could ever get there. And now we’re there,” Trump said. “This is the day that people across this region and around the world have been working, striving, hoping and praying for,” he added. “With the historic agreement we have just signed, those prayers of millions have finally been answered. Together, we have achieved the impossible.” In his post, Blinken said the postwar plan for Gaza should be implemented immediately, “with eyes wide open about its challenges: pulling together the international stabilization force, fully demilitarizing and disarming Hamas, dealing with insurgents, and expeditiously securing a phased but full Israeli withdrawal.” He also credited Trump for reaffirming “the key principles we established for Gaza at the outset of the war — no platform for terrorism, no annexation, no occupation, no forced population transfers — and for making clear the overall goal is to create the conditions for a credible pathway to a Palestinian state.”