Trump claims AOC may run for president as far-left Dems back away from extreme policy
President Donald Trump said Friday that far-left Democrats like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., are now trying to distance themselves from some of the radical positions they once championed, noting he believes she may be after a 2028 bid for the White House. In an interview with Fox News correspondent Alexis McAdams, Trump was asked about Ocasio-Cortez’s perceived shift away from her earlier calls to defund police departments and other soft-on-crime policies. “If you really look at it, they’re all saying the same thing,” Trump said of progressive Democrats. “They’re all trying to disavow themselves from what they said about crime and, well, they’re saying, ‘We love sanctuary cities.’” When asked directly whether he thinks AOC is positioning herself for a presidential bid, Trump said he thinks AOC will run. The congresswoman has refused to rule out a run for president, but she hasn’t looked past November’s midterm elections. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ SHRUGS OFF PAST ‘DEFUND THE POLICE’ COMMENTS, JOKING ‘WOKE 1 WAS CRAZY’ During an interview with ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday, the congresswoman attempted to dismiss the extreme rhetoric of the so-called “Woke 1” era. The term is used by some progressive politicians to describe the pandemic-era social justice activism and far-left political rhetoric in 2019 and 2020, when some called for the defunding of law enforcement agencies, the abolition of police and prisons, the elimination of cash bail, open borders and unchecked migration. Trump said some Democrats are now trying to distance themselves from sanctuary cities, which generally don’t cooperate with federal immigration authorities. “I think you’re going to see sanctuary cities start to end, because sanctuary cities are a disaster. And somebody like her, she was big for sanctuary cities,” Trump said of Ocasio-Cortez. “They cause crime. EXCLUSIVE: LEGAL GROUP TELLS NYPD COPS THEY CAN CONTACT ICE DIRECTLY DESPITE BLUE CITY’S SANCTUARY RULES “That’s when it all started. No cash bail,” he added. “Somebody kills somebody, and they just say, ‘All right, go ahead and come back in two weeks.’” During AOC’s ABC interview, Jonathan Karl briefly pressed the congresswoman, a member of the New York chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), on radical comments made by fellow socialist and Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate Francesca Hong in 2020 and 2021. “I have a local city councilman that has this saying, ‘Woke 1 was crazy,’” Ocasio-Cortez said while grinning. “And I think that what’s important is that we have to assess what a candidate is saying now.” Ocasio-Cortez’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
EXCLUSIVE: Kennedy Center board moves to name grounds ‘President Donald J Trump Plaza’
FIRST ON FOX — The Kennedy Center Board of Trustees wants to name the famed arts institution’s grounds the “President Donald J. Trump Plaza,” one of several new ways the board is seeking to honor the president as the center moves ahead with a sweeping renovation, Fox News Digital has learned. The board also wants the words “Endowed by the Trump Kennedy Center Fund” inscribed on the building once the fund reaches a $100 million endowment, according to information obtained by Fox News Digital. The previously unreported moves come after the board voted Thursday to add an inscription crediting Trump with restoring and renovating America’s cultural center, and approved a partial closure of the complex for renovations. KENNEDY CENTER BOARD MEMBER KNOCKS SEN WHITEHOUSE FOR IGNORING INVITES AS DEM FEUDS WITH TRUMP-RUN LANDMARK The resolution recognizing Trump’s contributions passed by a 20-3 supermajority vote, while the partial-closure resolution passed 23-3, according to a source familiar with the matter. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., and Democratic Reps. Joyce Beatty of Ohio and Rick Larsen of Washington voted “no” on both resolutions, the source said. The board’s resolution calls for an inscription below the name of the center reading, “The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump.” The board said it wants to recognize Trump’s contributions to the Kennedy Center after the president secured $257 million from Congress to address decades of deferred maintenance. VIDEO EXPOSES DISREPAIR LURKING BENEATH TRUMP KENNEDY CENTER AS $257M RENOVATION LOOMS The board also approved a partial closure following an independent analysis conducted in accordance with Judge Cooper’s orders. The Kennedy Center said the plan would leave a $3.4 million surplus, compared with a projected $78 million deficit under an alternative involving four years of revolving closures. The massive renovation will address water infiltration, damaged electrical rooms, hundreds of structural failure points in the parking garage and 2,000-plus-pound soffit panels that have reached “end-of-life” status and present a public safety risk. “The Kennedy Center Board of Trustees has reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to the responsible stewardship of America’s Cultural Center. With the confidence of the Board and Chairman President Trump’s unprecedented support, this historic revitalization project can commence, ensuring the Kennedy Center emerges from this next chapter as a stronger, more resilient home for the arts — one that will serve audiences and artists for generations to come,” a Kennedy Center spokesperson told Fox News Digital. CONFLICT OF INTEREST’: JUDGE WHO AXED TRUMP NAME FROM DC LANDMARK TIED TO ANTI-TRUMP CONSPIRACY THEORY Free Millennium Stage programs, film events, educational programming and the JFK memorial exhibit will remain available at the REACH during the partial closure. The National Symphony Orchestra will perform its 2026-2027 Classical Season at venues around the Washington, D.C., area and across the country. The latest moves come after a federal judge blocked an earlier effort to rename the center after Trump, along with an earlier closure plan. “Under President Trump’s bold leadership, the Kennedy Center is on its way to becoming the finest cultural institution anywhere in the world,” White House spokeswoman Liz Huston said in a statement to Fox News Digital. The JFK Library and Jack Schlossberg — Kennedy’s grandson, who has been outspoken about the center — did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.
Judge’s Harvard antisemitism ruling sends Trump Justice Department back to drawing board
The Justice Department is planning its next move after a federal judge in Boston dismissed its case accusing Harvard University of repeatedly turning a “blind eye” to antisemitism on campus. “We disagree with the ruling and are assessing next steps,” Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Harmeet Dhillon said in a statement. “The Civil Rights Division has an extensive and active portfolio of antisemitism enforcement, including indictments, prosecutions, settlements and investigations across the country.” Judge Richard Stearns, who was appointed by President Bill Clinton, dismissed the Trump administration’s lawsuit against the Ivy League school Thursday, determining the incidents of antisemitism were too isolated to establish a pattern showing that the school remained in violation of federal civil rights law after the federal government issued its complaint. DOJ SUES UCLA OVER ALLEGED ‘JUDENREIN’ CONDITIONS DURING ANTI-ISRAEL ENCAMPMENT “Without diminishing any concern arising from these occurrences, the court finds them, singly and collectively, to be too isolated and episodic to support a plausible inference that any institutionalized noncompliance with Title VI persists at Harvard to this day,” Stearns wrote. The Justice Department filed its lawsuit against Harvard March 20, 2026, after a wave of anti-Israel protests that erupted on college campuses nationwide after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and the ensuing war in Gaza. At Harvard, protests during the 2023-24 school year included repeated occupations of libraries and other campus buildings and a weekslong encampment in Harvard Yard. Jewish students reported being harassed, intimidated and excluded from campus spaces. The Justice Department alleged that Harvard violated Title VI by failing to protect Jewish and Israeli students from harassment despite complaints to university leaders about the conduct. But Stearns said the Justice Department referred to only three antisemitic incidents on Harvard’s campus during the following school year that the school had allegedly failed to address. UCLA STUDENT COUNCIL CONDEMNS CAMPUS EVENT WITH FORMER ISRAELI HOSTAGE Those incidents included protesters allegedly breaching barricades outside an event featuring former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, a Harvard employee allegedly removing posters of Israeli hostages and more than 60 masked protesters staging a “die-in” outside Widener Library, where they chanted, “We will honor all our martyrs.” Stearns did not rule on whether Harvard had violated Title VI during the height of the campus unrest. Instead, his decision focused on whether the Justice Department had sufficiently alleged that violations continued after the government formally put Harvard on notice. The Trump administration sent Harvard a warning letter June 30, 2025, saying the school had violated Title VI over its response to antisemitism on campus. Under the statute, the government is required to notify a recipient of a violation and try to resolve it voluntarily before taking enforcement action. DOJ SPRINGS ANTISEMITISM REVIEW ON BLUE STATE COLLEGE AFTER ‘LEBANESE RESISTANCE’ FUNDRAISER In his dismissal, Stearns said the Trump administration’s amended June 2026 complaint did not identify any incidents in which Harvard failed to address antisemitism after the government sent its warning letter. “The Government provided the requisite notice underlying this action on June 30, 2025,” Stearns wrote. “As noted above, the Amended Complaint is devoid of any factual allegations plausibly establishing that any events that might be construed as evidence of noncompliance occurred after June 30, 2025.” Stearns also rejected the Trump administration’s allegation that Harvard University’s failure to cooperate with every demand in the federal government’s proposed voluntary agreement showed that the school was not in compliance with Title VI. “Harvard’s refusal to follow every specific demand from the administration wasn’t enough, because the legal question was whether Harvard was complying with Title VI — not whether Harvard was doing exactly what the administration told it to do,” Stearns wrote. SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER The dismissal comes as the Trump administration pursues two lawsuits against the University of California over alleged discrimination against Jewish and Israeli students, faculty and staff at UCLA. Fox News Digital reached out to Harvard University for comment.
Paul Pelosi absent from first court appearance on hit-and-run charge in Napa County crash case
Paul Pelosi did not appear in a Napa County courtroom Friday for his first scheduled court appearance on a misdemeanor hit-and-run charge, and an attorney entered a not guilty plea on his behalf. Pelosi, 86, the husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., was represented by attorney Amanda Bevins in Napa County Superior Court, according to the California Post. Bevins declined to comment when reached by Fox News Digital Friday. PAUL PELOSI, 86, FACES A HIT-AND-RUN CHARGE AFTER STRIKING A PARKED CAR IN NAPA COUNTY: SHERIFF’S OFFICE The court date came nearly a month after the Napa County District Attorney’s Office formally charged Pelosi with misdemeanor hit-and-run and an infraction for an unsafe turning movement stemming from a July 3 crash. According to a criminal complaint previously obtained by Fox News Digital, Pelosi allegedly struck and damaged a parked Tesla while driving a burgundy Maserati convertible before leaving without attempting to identify the Tesla’s owner or provide the information required under California law. Deputies later located Pelosi roughly a half-mile away, where he allegedly told officers he had intended to return to the crash site, according to the complaint. Prosecutors contend those actions formed the basis for the misdemeanor charge and accompanying traffic infraction. FLORIDA MAN ARRESTED FOR DUI AFTER TROOPERS ALLEGEDLY FIND 34 OPEN ALCOHOL CONTAINERS IN VEHICLE The district attorney’s office said last month that it does not typically issue news releases announcing misdemeanor hit-and-run cases involving only property damage but made an exception because of the “significant public and media interest” surrounding Pelosi. Pelosi, a venture capitalist who has long maintained a residence in Napa County, was allegedly driving the Maserati at the time of the collision. The complaint did not indicate whether anyone else was in the car. The case marks Pelosi’s second high-profile traffic-related legal matter in Napa County in recent years. In 2022, Pelosi pleaded guilty to misdemeanor DUI after a separate crash in the county. He was sentenced to probation, ordered to pay restitution and fines, required to complete a DUI education program and ordered to install an ignition interlock device. The July case also brought renewed attention to Pelosi’s driving history. The New York Times reported last month that Pelosi has received driving infractions in four Bay Area counties in recent years, including San Francisco, Marin, San Mateo and Napa. According to the Times, the infractions included speeding, driving the wrong way on a one-way street, using a cellphone without a hands-free device and failing to stop at a red light. The Times also reported that Pelosi was driving during a 1957 crash in San Mateo County that killed his 19-year-old brother. A jury later cleared Pelosi of wrongdoing in that crash. Fox News Digital’s Jasmine Baehr contributed to this report.
Who controls the Strait of Hormuz right now? Here’s what the ship traffic actually shows
As tensions between the U.S. and Iran remain unsettled more than five months since the start of the war, the number of ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz appears to be far below pre-conflict levels. “Despite a brief recovery in late June, vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains significantly reduced, AIS [Automatic Identification System] transit information suggests operators increasingly favouring the Northern route following projectile attacks, ongoing security concerns, and heightened enforcement activity,” a United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) voluntary reporting area overview noted. “Traffic remains well below normal levels, with AIS-detected transits approximately 90% below pre-conflict baselines and declining since the 24-26 (June) peak.” The trade intelligence company Kpler reported in part of a post Friday on X that “Maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz picked up on 13 August, with 13 confirmed crossings, a 44% day on day increase from nine. Of these, nine vessels used the Iranian Unilateral Scheme, none were confirmed on the Hormuz TSS and four routes remained undetermined.” TANKERS ATTACKED AS TEHRAN, TRUMP BATTLE OVER CONTROL OF STRAIT OF HORMUZ International Chamber of Shipping Marine Director John Stawpert told Fox News Digital Friday that while “traffic is significantly lower” compared to before the war started, “it’s not completely stopped.” “Essentially, what we see is a cyclical process,” Stawpert said. He explained that when a ceasefire is announced, there is an “uptick” in vessels entering and exiting the Persian Gulf, but “as those ceasefires break down … you’ll see that drop off again.” He also noted there is still a mine threat in the waters, which affects how much traffic can enter and exit the Persian Gulf. Stawpert indicated that, to resolve the issue, there would need to be “a meaningful ceasefire that everybody has faith in,” an end to the Iranian threat, an end of the U.S. blockade against Iran and a grasp on which waters are “safely navigable” in the face of the threat posed by mines. President Donald Trump has claimed the U.S. has full control over the waterway. “The U.S.A. has total control over the Strait of Hormuz. I THINK WE WILL KEEP IT! Our Naval Blockade is being called, by everyone, ‘A WALL OF STEEL,’ and there is nothing Iran can do about it,” Trump wrote in a Wednesday Truth Social post. “They have no Navy, they have no Air Force, their remaining soldiers are unpaid, the IRGC is decimated and fleeing, and their ‘Leadership’ is uncertain, at best! They have No Money — Their country is “shot.” All they have is FAKE NEWS and 300% INFLATION, and getting worse! Iran is all talk and no action, the Bully of the Middle East No Longer. Praise be to Allah!” he added. But the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority said in a post Wednesday on X, “Claims and repeated posts by U.S. officials that the Strait of Hormuz is no longer blocked do not change the reality: the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked and will not be reopened until Iran’s conditions are accepted.” Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi posted on X Thursday claiming “the U.S. has long miscalculated due to intelligence failures. Case in point: The war on Iran. Now, an even bigger miscalculation on the Strait of Hormuz. Worse than fake news is fake intelligence. Be careful. Allah is Great, Greater than ANY power on Earth. In Allah we trust.” IRAN SAYS US MISCALCULATED OVER STRAIT OF HORMUZ DESPITE TRUMP’S CLAIM OF ‘TOTAL CONTROL’ The recently appointed leader of the Iranian Basij paramilitary unit said Thursday that the passage is “under Iran’s control and management,” Reuters reported. “There’s a northern route which is essentially Iranian controlled. There’s a southern route through Omani waters which is overseen by the U.S. Navy,” Stawpert explained to Fox News Digital, noting that control over the passage is “divided.” A White House official told Fox News Digital on Friday that “as the President has stated, the Strait is completely controlled by the United States Navy and our blockade.” “Nothing gets through to Iran, and nothing will get through, unless Iran agrees to a deal. But the Strait is open for everyone else,” the official said. “Millions of barrels of oil are transiting the Strait on a daily basis.” U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright has touted the flow of oil out of the strait. “Thanks to the coordinated efforts of the U.S. military and our gulf allies, the seven-day average for oil leaving the Strait of Hormuz is currently up to almost 9 million barrels per day,” Wright wrote in a post on X Tuesday. “When combined with the additional 5-7 million barrels per day leaving the region via newly upgraded pipelines and export facilities, total oil flows are currently averaging approximately 15 million barrels per day. On Sunday alone, over 20 million barrels left the Arabian gulf region, which is above the pre-conflict average.” “In coordination with the U.S. military, the U.S. Department of Energy maintains the best available data related to oil and oil products leaving the Arabian gulf. Many private businesses undercount the number of ships leaving the Strait of Hormuz due to ships moving covertly through the waterway,” Wright added in another post. “We need to bear in mind that there’s human beings on board these ships,” Stawpert told Fox News Digital, asserting that the “risk” they face is “unacceptable.” IRAN DEFIES TRUMP, DECLARES STRAIT OF HORMUZ BLOCKED AFTER PRESIDENT CLAIMS US HAS ‘TOTAL CONTROL’ “And that’s why this needs to end,” he continued, “for those humanitarian reasons, more than anything.”
New York City’s lone Republican in Congress accuses Mamdani, Schumer of ‘hypocrisy’ in voter ID fight
Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., slammed what she deemed “hypocrisy” shown by Democratic socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., arguing that the two officials are betraying their constituents by refusing to support voter identification measures. “I think the Democrats are showing the two sides that they have,” she told Fox News Digital in an interview. “They go to their district, they tell their constituents that they support voter ID, and then they turn around to go to Washington and vote against it,” she continued. SEN MARK WARNER CALLED OUT IN ABC INTERVIEW FOR INACCURATE VOTER ID CLAIMS Malliotakis called on the Senate to pass President Donald Trump’s Safeguard America’s Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act, a piece of legislation that would require voters to prove American citizenship before casting a ballot. “If you want people to be confident in the outcome of the election, then we need to pass the Save America Act. We need to require voter ID,” Malliotakis told Fox News Digital. “Over 80% of America wants it,” Malliotakis continued, adding “the only people that don’t seem to want it are the Democrats who are in Congress right now and they’re not representing the people of their districts who are overwhelmingly saying they want it. Regardless of political affiliation, regardless of race, they are saying that they want a voter ID and the Senate Democrats should vote for it,” she continued. “Let’s make sure that we show America that we’re taking the integrity of our elections seriously. And voter ID is really the most common-sense step that we should be taking as a body,” she added. SCHUMER SAID ‘DEMOCRATS SUPPORT VOTER ID’ — THEN EVERY SENATE DEMOCRAT VOTED AGAINST GOP BILL Malliotakis pinned the blame in particular on Schumer for blocking the SAVE Act. “We’ve passed it out of the House now four times and is up to the Senate to get the job done. These Senators keep going to their district saying that they support the SAVE America act, or at least they’re telling their constituents that they support voter ID, and then they go to Washington and they vote against it, and so citizens need to hold those senators accountable,” she told Fox News Digital. “Unfortunately that dissent is being led by my own senator, Senator Chuck Schumer. Who always seems to be at odds with his constituents and America these days,” she said. Malliotakis, New York City’s lone Republican in Congress, also laid into Mamdani, highlighting what she called his hypocrisy in requiring identification for city programs. FLASHBACK: MAMDANI’S HISTORY OF DODGING QUESTIONS ABOUT WHERE HE STANDS ON KEY ISSUES “Sadly, you see the hypocrisy when you see programs like Mayor Mamdani wanting to require photo ID to utilize a government-run supermarket or when he wanted you to use a photo ID, not just one, but multiple IDs for a snow shoveling program,” she told Fox News Digital. “This is the hypocrisy we’re seeing where things like that for everyday activities, they want ID, but when it comes to voting, the most important thing you do as a United States citizen is vote in your elections and elect your representatives, they don’t want any type of accountability, any type a transparency or any type of requirement for voter identification to prove who you are, that you’re eligible to vote, that you actually reside in the district in which you’re voting and that you are an American citizen,” she said. Malliotakis also pointed to a recent event in her Staten Island district where Mamdani was booed off the stage. “This was an event for National Night Out Against Crime. It was in support of our law enforcement and the NYPD. Mamdani, in his career as a state assembly member, led the fight for the defund the police movement. And my constituents have not forgotten that. So number one, they were calling him out on his hypocrisy. But number two, they are making very clear they do not support his communist agenda and my borough of Staten Island is the only borough in the five boroughs of New York City that did not vote for Zohran Mamdani,” she concluded. Fox News Digital contacted the offices of Mamdani and Schumer for further comment.
Cuban ties put powerful US union under microscope over alleged communist influence push
FIRST ON FOX: The chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions is investigating reports that a union representing roughly 600,000 members is working to advance the interests of the Cuban regime. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., sent a letter to the International Association of Machinists (IAM) on Thursday night demanding information about its possible links to the Cuban government. His letter follows reports that IAM has traveled to Cuba, taken policy positions aligned with the regime, put out public messaging aligned with the regime’s interests and participated in a meeting at a local IAM union hall where a Cuban diplomat addressed union members. IAM did not respond to a request for comment when reached by Fox News Digital. “I am concerned that IAM Union member dues are financing efforts to change U.S. policy related to the Cuban regime, a State Sponsor of Terror, instead of supporting American workers’ priorities,” Cassidy wrote. “These examples raise serious concerns that IAM Union officials have used their positions within the union to advocate for policy objectives promoted by the Cuban regime as part of a foreign influence scheme.” INSIDE CUBA’S FOREIGN INFLUENCE CAMPAIGN: FROM THE ’60S VENCEREMOS BRIGADE TO A CALIFORNIA UNION HALL “American workers should not be compelled to finance advocacy that advances the foreign policy aims of a hostile foreign power, particularly one responsible for the deaths of at least three U.S. citizens and one U.S. resident in international waters,” the senator added. Cassidy was referencing a 1996 incident where Cuban MiG fighters destroyed two unarmed civilian aircraft operated by the humanitarian group Brothers to the Rescue, resulting in the deaths of three American citizens and one permanent resident. David Ramírez Álvarez, second secretary at the Embassy of Cuba, spoke at a U.S. Hands Off Cuba campaign meeting held at Machinists Hall, a local IAM union hall, Fox News Digital reported in May. Cassidy’s letter says Ramírez Álvarez instructed union members on ways to support Cuba’s policy priorities and oppose U.S. policy toward the island. Sources told Fox News Digital that Ramírez Álvarez has drawn the attention of American officials for allegedly coordinating an influence network within the United States. Ramírez Álvarez spoke to union members and leaders on how they could help Cuba by lobbying, following certain pieces of legislation and engaging in national activism. CUBA BUILT COVERT NETWORK INSIDE AMERICA THROUGH SPIES, ACTIVISTS AND UNIVERSITIES, STATE DEPT ALLEGES “The job now is defending Cuba in whatever way we can,” an IAM representative told attendees, encouraging them to visit the island if possible, according to previous reporting. He was also involved in an effort that resulted in the California AFL-CIO adopting a resolution calling for Cuba to be removed from the United States’ list of state terror sponsors. Before Cassidy sent his letter, the State Department released a report in July laying out the ties between organized labor and the communist regime in Cuba. The report alleges that Havana leverages a sizable network of labor union contacts in the United States to push for policies advantageous to its regime, such as lifting embargoes or removing Cuba from the State Sponsor of Terrorism list. Cassidy said that the Cuban government has used IAM members for “propagandistic purposes.” To support this claim, he pointed to a video posted by the Cuban Embassy where an IAM leader said, “We must and will continue to defend the sovereignty of Cuba and Cuban self-determination.” “We must continue to protest, we must continue to make our voices heard in the streets, through social media and beyond,” he continued. In a separate video, the same leader gave a welcome message to two Cuban officials on behalf of his union. RUBIO WARNS CUBA HAS INFILTRATED US WITH SPIES, CALLS COMMUNIST REGIME AN ‘ESPIONAGE SUPERPOWER’ Cassidy is hitting the IAM with a bevy of questions, notably whether union employees are working with Cuban officials while on the clock, if the union has ever taken payments from Cuba, if the union has ever made payments to individuals linked to the Cuban regime, if the union had lobbied on Cuba policy and whether the union has any concerns that its members could be wrapped up in Cuban influence operations. The senator has also requested a full accounting of members and union leadership who have engaged in advocacy related to America’s policy toward Cuba and whether they consulted with Cuban government officials in connection with that activism.
WWII Memorial vandalism suspect now in custody, to be charged with two felonies, Pirro announces
The suspect accused of vandalizing the World War II Memorial in Washington D.C., has been taken into custody, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro announced Friday. The Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Columbia are charging Melissa L. Farris with two felony charges for her alleged role in the vandalism. “Vandalizing our World War II Memorial is a despicable attack on a sacred monument honoring the Americans who fought and died for our freedom. Those Americans include my father and grandfather. This morning, we are filing two felony charges, Depredation Against Property of the United States and Destruction of Veterans’ Memorials, in Federal District Court against Melissa L. Farris, offenses that carry penalties of up to ten years in prison. She is now in custody,” Pirro added. The DOJ is accusing Farris of an act of vandalism which occurred Thursday. The words “Clean hands, dirty money,” were spray-painted on the memorial in bright pink paint. PROSECUTORS MOVE TO DISMISS FELONY VANDALISM CASE AGAINST OLYMPIAN DAVID HEARN OVER REFLECTING POOL Bubble soap was also dumped into the fountain at the center of the memorial, according to authorities. President Donald Trump reacted strongly to the memorial’s defacement. “Our beautiful World War II Memorial was just hit by Spray Painting Vandals. THERE CAN BE NO GREATER INSULT TO THOSE AMERICAN HEROES WHO DIED IN WORLD WAR II. First the Reflecting Pool, now this. We are on their trail! Where do these animals come from???” he wrote in a Friday post on Truth Social. The memorial is the latest D.C. monument targeted this year. Trump continues to seek the prosecution of a former Olympian accused of ripping the Lincoln Monument Memorial Reflecting Pool’s coating. TRUMP DOUBLES DOWN ON REFLECTING POOL VANDALISM ALLEGATIONS, CITES NEW WITNESS ACCOUNT In June, U.S. Park Police also launched an investigation after the numbers “8647” were burned into the grass near the Washington Monument. This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
El-Sayed in the hot seat after ‘sickening’ animal control record goes viral on social media
Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed is facing renewed scrutiny over his tenure as Detroit health director, during which Detroit’s animal control department was beset by allegations of animal mistreatment and reportedly branded a “dog slaughterhouse” by a former employee. Detroit Animal Care and Control’s (DACC) live-release rate was roughly 20% to 26% when El-Sayed inherited the operation in late 2015 but climbed to about 61% to 62% by late 2016 — an improvement his campaign points to in arguing that the raw number of animals euthanized during his tenure obscures a turnaround from the dire conditions and euthanasia rates he inherited. The Daily Mail reported that records covering the period surrounding El-Sayed’s tenure showed 4,680 dogs and cats were euthanized, with 1,056 dogs and 29 cats getting euthanized in the first full calendar year DACC was under El-Sayed’s Health Department. After winning a bruising primary against Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., El-Sayed is asking Michigan voters to send him to the U.S. Senate, but his record running Detroit’s Health Department and the troubled animal-control operation under its authority has generated renewed scrutiny. BIDEN-WORLD VETERAN ISSUES STARK WARNING ABOUT ABDUL EL-SAYED AS HE CROSSES PARTY LINES “I actually really really don’t want to believe this. Can someone verify?” questioned Michael LaRosa, former first lady Jill Biden’s one-time press secretary. “This is sickening. Abdul El-Sayed wants Michiganders to trust him with their families,” El-Sayed’s Republican opponent, Mike Rogers, wrote on X. “Meanwhile, Detroiters couldn’t even trust him with their pets.” The scrutiny stems in part from an October 2015 whistleblower lawsuit filed by former Detroit Animal Control officer Brittany Roberts, who alleged animals died from inadequate food and medical care, were kept in filthy conditions and were subjected to other mistreatment, according to The Daily Mail. Roberts also reportedly alleged she was demeaned, harassed and ultimately fired after reporting the problems. The lawsuit landed the same month — and shortly before — the city moved Animal Control from the Detroit Police Department to the Health Department led by El-Sayed. “I was almost embarrassed with myself to be part of a team that played a role of the death of so many dogs in their cages,” Roberts said in 2015 as she accused the agency of neglect and mistreatment, according to The Daily Mail. “Every morning, we’d just walk around and see who was alive before we could even feed.” Roberts, who began working at the shelter in March 2015, reportedly alleged in her whistleblower lawsuit filed that October that she witnessed animals die from a lack of food and medical care, unsanitary conditions and other violations of state law and department policy. FOX 2 Detroit reported at the time that Roberts called the shelter a “slaughterhouse” and alleged dogs were rarely euthanized properly, but instead were neglected and mistreated until they died. HOUSE DEM’S GRAPHIC CHICKEN DECAPITATION ‘HORRIFIED’ HER COLLEGE ROOMMATES: ‘BLOOD WENT EVERYWHERE’ Best Friends Animal Society put Detroit Animal Care and Control’s 2015 save rate at just 20%, while numbers from the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development’s Animal Shelter Annual Report placed its live-release rate at 26%, according to The Daily Mail. The 2015 numbers showed 1,988 dogs and 272 cats, and a total of 2,260 animals were euthanized, the outlet highlighted. Before the city moved it back under El-Sayed’s health department in October 2015 as part of a broader overhaul, Animal Control had been under the Detroit Police Department since 2012. Changes followed, as the city scrapped the shelter’s no-adoption policy and began working with rescue and foster organizations, while Melissa Miller was brought in as a new animal-control director in December 2015, according to local reporting. The operation later reportedly moved into a larger facility donated by the Michigan Humane Society and expanded partnerships with outside animal-welfare groups. The numbers improved and by September 2016, local reporting put Detroit Animal Care and Control’s live-release rate at 61%, up from 26% the previous year, and Miller said the following month that the figure had reached 62% — nearly triple the prior year’s rate. According to The Daily Mail, the DACC failed to publicly report its 2016 euthanasia figures, but numbers they obtained showed the animal control unit euthanized 1,056 dogs and 29 cats that year. Then-Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said at the time that the previous euthanasia rate had been “unacceptable,” but that the improved rate was “more in line with national standards.” WATCH: SURFACED VIDEOS OF DEM SENATE CANDIDATE BACKING ‘DEFUND THE POLICE’ CONTRADICT RECENT DENIALS Meanwhile, the Detroit mayor’s office acknowledged that DACC had a very high euthanasia rate while it was still under the police department and was transferred to the Health Department in part to change the operation’s culture. The office cited inadequate shelters and Detroit’s emergence from bankruptcy as major challenges that were not entirely within Animal Control’s control because of city budget constraints. “When I was the new director of the Detroit Health Department, I inherited a part of the job that I never trained for and never thought I would do, which is Detroit Animal Control,” El-Sayed said during a 2024 podcast interview. “And it was a mess at the time, and I needed somebody who I could trust, who could come in and do right by the animals and right by the people of the city of Detroit. And Mel Miller was that person.” El-Sayed’s campaign pushed back strongly against any suggestion that the animal deaths define his record, telling Fox News Digital that he inherited an operation with outdated procedures, severe staffing and facility problems and an extraordinarily high euthanasia rate. The campaign said El-Sayed raised frontline animal-care officer pay by 15%, worked to fully staff the operation, moved it into a more modern facility, overhauled care protocols and expanded partnerships aimed at getting animals out of the shelter alive. “During Abdul El-Sayed’s tenure as Detroit Health Director, he dramatically reduced animal euthanizations and reversed the Detroit Animal Control’s abysmal save rate,” the campaign said, arguing that
Mark Lynch endorses Ralph Norman as congressman heads into runoff against Darline Graham
Mark Lynch has endorsed Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., the runner-up in South Carolina‘s special Republican U.S. Senate primary, who will face first-place finisher Sen. Darline Graham, R-S.C., in a head-to-head runoff. Graham finished first in the Aug. 11 primary, with Norman advancing in second place. The runoff is scheduled for Aug. 25. Lynch — who finished second in the South Carolina Republican U.S. Senate primary that Sen. Lindsey Graham won in June — placed fifth in the special Republican U.S. Senate primary contest. “I’m honored to receive Mark Lynch’s support and endorsement in my race for U.S. Senate!” Norman declared in a Wednesday post on X. SOUTH CAROLINA GOP SENATE SHOWDOWN HEADS TO RUNOFF IN RACE TO SUCCEED LINDSEY GRAHAM The post also included a statement, apparently from Lynch, stating, “I am proud to endorse Ralph Norman for the United States Senate. Our country needs someone who will put America First, and the people of South Carolina have shown they are ready for a businessman and someone with a proven conservative record who will be their voice in Washington, D.C.” Last month, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster appointed Darline Graham, the sister of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, to serve the remainder of her brother’s Senate term — and President Donald Trump is backing her for election. DARLINE GRAHAM DETAILS HOW SHE’D FORGE OWN PATH IN SENATE WHILE CARRYING ON BROTHER LINDSEY’S LEGACY National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Chairman Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., backed Graham after she placed first in the special GOP U.S. Senate primary this week. “If I were going to endorse in the South Carolina GOP Senate primary, I wanted to do so with confidence. After watching Darline Graham in the Senate and on the campaign trail, I’m confident she’s the real deal. Her first-place finish last night was remarkable, but not surprising. She is a conservative stalwart, a hard worker, and represents our beloved state with class, humility, and dignity,” Scott wrote in a Wednesday post on X. REP RALPH NORMAN ENTERS SOUTH CAROLINA SENATE RACE DESPITE TRUMP’S ENDORSEMENT OF DARLINE GRAHAM “I know she is making her brother proud, but Darline has already proven to be her own person: focused on pocketbook issues, defending our South Carolina values, and delivering for the people she represents. Her priorities are our priorities. I voted for Darline in yesterday’s primary, and I’ll vote for her again in the runoff. I’m proud to endorse Darline Graham for the U.S. Senate, and I encourage South Carolina Republicans across our state to join me in voting for her in the runoff,” Scott added.