Senate Republican moves to give US an edge on China in harvesting minerals for weapons systems
FIRST ON FOX: A Senate Republican wants to give the U.S. a leg up in its race against China and to ween the nation off of its reliance on imports of key raw materials needed for weapons systems. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., would like to fast-track the harvesting of raw materials in the U.S. needed for the nation’s defensive capabilities, and plans to blow through federal and judicial red tape to do it. Cotton plans to introduce legislation that would allow critical mineral mining projects deemed necessary to bolster the nation’s military and defensive readiness by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to skirt environmental laws and possible blockages by the courts. ‘WHO WOULDN’T WANT IT?’: NETANYAHU OPEN TO RECEIVING STEALTH BOMBERS, BUNKER-BUSTERS FROM US His bill is designed to give the U.S. an edge against China, the world’s largest producer of critical minerals like cobalt, lithium, graphite and other rare earth minerals used in weapons systems, electric vehicles and consumer electronics. Currently, China produces roughly 60% of the world’s critical mineral supply, and processes up to 90%. SEN. STEVE DAINES SAYS REGIME CHANGE IS THE BEST LONG-TERM PLAN IN IRAN “Current environmental laws put our readiness to counter Communist China at risk and waste taxpayer dollars on projects that stall out and die on the vine,” Cotton said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “This bill will create jobs, better arm and prepare our soldiers, and spend taxpayer dollars more efficiently.” Cotton’s bill, dubbed the Necessary Environmental Exemptions for Defense Act, would create a waiver for mining activities and projects related to countering China and to allow the Pentagon to “operate with maximum agility and efficiency to ensure it is prepared to deter and, if necessary, fight and win a conflict with the Chinese Communist Party,” according to bill text first obtained by Fox News Digital. Among the regulations and environmental review standards that could be skirted with the waiver are the National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered Species Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act and Federal Water Pollution Control Act. SENATE SHUTS DOWN KAINE’S ATTEMPT TO CHECK TRUMP’S WAR POWERS Cotton argued in his legislation that the aforementioned regulations “frequently and unnecessarily delay” the preparedness of the military without “substantial benefit to the environment or protected species,” and that time is of the essence when it comes to national defense. The projects that would fall under the umbrella of the regulation exemption include testing and production and deployment of technologies, systems or equipment and the construction, maintenance, expansion, or repair of facilities or Defense Department infrastructure, among others. It would also prevent projects from being snarled in the courts, as long as the initiative is deemed necessary for military preparedness by the Secretary of Defense. The bill fits into the White House’s broader plan to jump-start critical mineral mining in the country, be it through executive action, a bid to buy Greenland, a minerals agreement with Ukraine, or opening up more offshore mining in the Gulf of America. It also comes after President Donald Trump reached a deal with Chinese President Xi Jinping to resume trade of critical minerals after shipments were stopped earlier this year following the White House’s slew of tariffs against China and other countries.
Zohran Mamdani secures victory with ‘most total votes’ in NYC mayoral primary history
Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani clinched a historic, and deeply polarizing, victory by officially receiving the most votes ever recorded in a New York City mayoral primary. After three rounds, Mamdani received 565,639 votes, surpassing the previous record of 547,901 votes held by David N. Dinkins in 1989, according to updated ranked-choice voting totals released Tuesday by the NYC Board of Elections. Mamdani celebrated the milestone on X, posting: “With the updated RCV totals just released by the Board of Elections, our campaign has officially earned the most total votes in a primary in New York City history.” NYC MAYORAL CANDIDATE ZOHRAN MAMDANI IDENTIFIED AS BLACK, ASIAN ON COLUMBIA APPLICATION: REPORT The far-left Assemblymember from Queens secured 565,639 votes after just three rounds of ranked-choice voting, defeating former Gov. Andrew Cuomo by nearly 13 points, official BOE data confirms. Cuomo finished with 440,655 votes. Mamdani’s campaign immediately seized on the numbers, touting the result as a “mandate” for progressive policies like a citywide rent freeze, taxpayer-funded childcare, and even “fast and free” public buses. “This movement made history on election night,” Mamdani said in a statement Tuesday, promising to “fulfill our promises to lower costs and build a city working people can afford.” MAMDANI OFFICIALLY WINS NYC DEM PRIMARY BY 12 POINTS OVER CUOMO, WHO’S STAYING IN THE RACE FOR NOW Mamdani, who openly identifies as a Democratic socialist, currently represents Astoria and Long Island City in the New York State Assembly. His two-term record includes pushing for tenant protections, opposing utility rate hikes, and advocating for mass transit subsidies. Ranked-choice voting was used for only the second time in a NYC mayoral primary. Mamdani secured 56.2% of the vote after three rounds, compared to Cuomo’s 43.8%. Mayor Eric Adams needed eight rounds in 2021 to reach a narrow 50.4%. The leftward political shift in New York City has drawn attention from state and national leaders. “I had the first of what I consider to be many conversations with the nominee yesterday,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul told reporters Tuesday, adding that they discussed shared affordability goals as well as concerns from Jewish communities that “feel under siege.” Hochul said Mamdani “understands the need” to engage those constituencies. When asked about a Truth Social post by President Donald Trump calling Mamdani a “Communist Luncatic” and implying New York could lose funding under a Mamdani administration, Hochul pushed back firmly. “We’re New Yorkers, we’re not going to be intimidated by threats from Washington, not now, not ever,” she said. With the general election looming, eyes are now on whether Cuomo or other centrist Democrats will mount independent challenges. “President Trump supports Eric Adams, and we do not believe socialism is the answer,” Cuomo campaign spokesman Rich Azzopardi told Fox News Digital. “Most New Yorkers are not Trumpers, and most New Yorkers are not socialists — the majority lies in the middle. We will continue to assess the current situation in the best interest of the people of the City of New York.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The Mamdani campaign did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Tariff case pits Cato Institute against Trump over ‘unlimited’ executive power under emergency law
The Cato Institute is warning that the federal government is testing the outer limits of executive power with President Donald Trump’s use of emergency tariffs, and it wants the courts to put a stop to it. In a new amicus brief filed in V.O.S. Selections, Inc. v. Trump, Cato argues that the president overstepped his legal authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) by imposing steep tariffs on imports from countries including China, Mexico and Canada. The libertarian thinktank argues the move undermines the Constitution’s separation of powers and expands executive authority over trade in ways Congress never intended. “This is an important case about whether the president can impose tariffs essentially whenever he wants,” Cato Institute legal fellow Brent Skorup said in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital. “There has to be a limit — and this administration hasn’t offered one.” TRUMP ADMINISTRATION PREVAILS AS APPEALS COURT PAUSES LOWER COURT DECISION BLOCKING CONTESTED TARIFFS “Tariff rates went up to 145% on some products from China,” he said. “And the president’s lawyers couldn’t offer a limiting principle. That tells you the administration believes there’s no real cap, and that’s a problem.” Cato’s brief urges the appeals court to uphold a lower court ruling that found the tariffs exceeded the president’s statutory authority. The U.S. Court of International Trade ruled earlier this year that the president’s use of IEEPA in this case was not legally authorized. The court said the law does not permit the use of tariffs as a general tool to fight drug trafficking or trade imbalances. Skorup said in court the administration was unable to define a clear limit on its authority under IEEPA. “They couldn’t articulate a cap,” he said. “There’s nothing in the law that mentions duties or tariffs. That’s a job for Congress.” The administration has defended its actions, arguing that IEEPA provides the necessary tools for the president to act swiftly in times of national emergency. Trump officials maintain that both the fentanyl crisis and America’s trade vulnerabilities qualify. TARIFF FIGHT ESCALATES AS TRUMP APPEALS SECOND COURT LOSS “There are real emergencies, no one disputes that,” Skorup said. “But declaring an emergency to justify global tariffs or solve domestic trade issues goes far beyond what most Americans would recognize as a legitimate use of emergency powers.” Skorup acknowledged that the real issue may be how much discretion Congress gave the president in the first place. “It’s a bipartisan problem. Presidents from both parties have taken vague laws and stretched them. Congress bears some of the blame for writing them that way,” he said, adding that’s why courts should “step in and draw the line.” For small businesses like V.O.S. Selections, the costs go beyond legal fees. Skorup said businesses who rely on imports, like V.O.S., have struggled to plan ahead as tariffs have been paused and reinstated repeatedly. Skorup said there are several small businesses that rely on global imports and it becomes a “matter of survival” when tariff rates change unexpectedly. “V.O.S. Selections imports wine and spirits and when the tariff rates go up unexpectedly, they can’t get products to their distributors as planned,” he said. “And that’s true for others too, like pipe importers and specialized manufacturers. These companies don’t have the flexibility to absorb those costs or adjust overnight.” If the appeals court sides with the administration, it could mark a major expansion of presidential power over trade policy. Skorup warned that such a ruling would allow future presidents to take similar actions with little oversight. “It would bless Congress’ ability to hand over immense economic power to the president,” he said. “That would blur the separation of powers that the Constitution is supposed to protect.” A decision from the appeals court is expected later this year. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Biden’s strange use of teleprompter in donor’s home infuriated supporters, dashed expectations
Former President Joe Biden’s persistent use of a teleprompter during public events, including during a fundraiser with just a couple dozen supporters, left donors complaining for months and dashed their expectations of hearing from the 46th president, a new book claims. “For most of the campaign, Biden only ever spoke with the assistance of a teleprompter, even for small private audiences,” a new book, “2024: How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America,” reported. “The presence of the machine made for extremely awkward interactions in intimate settings, and irked donors who had paid thousands of dollars for a personal view of the president, not expecting a canned speech they could see on TV.” “He once read from a teleprompter in front of thirty people in the open kitchen of a Palo Alto mansion,” the book continued. “Donors complained for months about the president’s reliance on the machine. Aides defended the teleprompter as a tool to keep the famously garrulous president on schedule.” “2024: How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America” was released Tuesday and authored by Josh Dawsey of the Wall Street Journal, Tyler Pager of the New York Times and Isaac Arnsdorf of the Washington Post. It details the 2024 presidential campaign cycle, including Biden’s cratering health issues. BIDEN AIDES PUSHED FOR EARLY DEBATE TO SHOW OFF BIDEN’S ‘STRENGTH,’ EXPOSE TRUMP’S ‘WEAKNESS,’ BOOK SAYS The book detailed that just days after Biden’s disastrous June 2024 debate against President Donald Trump that opened the floodgates to typical Democrat supporters turning their backs on Biden ahead of the election, the president attended a campaign event at Virginia Democrat Rep. Dan Beyers’ house without a teleprompter. The book claims Biden only spoke for about six minutes. “At Beyer’s house, the campaign was eager to prove Biden could speak off the cuff. There was no teleprompter to be found. The president blamed his poor debate performance on a heavy travel schedule and said he ‘almost fell asleep onstage.’ He spoke for about six minutes,” the book detailed. The word “teleprompter” appears in the new book a dozen times, mostly referencing the president’s reliance on the machine, as well as concern among some staffers that using a teleprompter was crucial to the president avoiding the unexpected as his health deteriorated. BIDEN STRUGGLED TO FILM 2024 CAMPAIGN VIDEOS AMID DECLINING HEALTH, NEW BOOK CLAIMS: ‘THE MAN COULD NOT SPEAK’ “The officials who planned events at the White House tried to avoid any surprises or unpredictable situations. If the president was going to speak, he would go to the podium, deliver remarks from a teleprompter, and leave. There was no room for creativity or spontaneity,” the book states in a section on how Biden had fallen during a commencement in 2023 and staff devised plans to prevent another public fall in the future. “Everyone could see the president was aging. He sometimes failed to recognize former staff at functions. Still, current aides insisted his decline was strictly physical, and even then they acknowledged it only by trying to Bubble Wrap the president and avoid any more catastrophes. Staff limited direct access to the president, keeping meetings with him small,” the book continued. NEW BOOK REVEALS BIDEN’S INNER CIRCLE WORRIED ABOUT HIS AGE YEARS BEFORE BOTCHED DEBATE PERFORMANCE Biden entered his 2024 reelection cycle already racked by claims and concerns that his mental acuity had slipped and he was not mentally fit to continue serving as president, which was underscored by special counsel Robert Hur’s report in February 2024 that rejected criminal charges against Biden for possessing classified materials, citing he was “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.” Fox News has been reporting on Biden’s apparent health decline since at least 2020. Biden brushed off the claims throughout 2024, until his debate against Trump in June of that year, when he was seen tripping over his words, speaking in a far more subdued tenor than during his vice presidency, and losing his train of thought at times. The debate opened the floodgates to criticism among Democrats that Biden should step aside and pass the mantle to a younger generation of Democrats. After weeks of the White House and campaign staffers vowing Biden would stay in the race and to “keep the faith,” Biden announced in a social media post on a Sunday afternoon in July 2024 that he dropped out of the race. He endorsed then-Vice President Kamala Harris to run for the Oval Office, giving her just over 100 days to launch her own campaign that failed to rally enough support when up against Trump. Fox News Digital reached out to Biden’s office regarding the claims in the new book, but did not immediately receive a reply.
Trump cautions that NY will ‘never be the same’ if ‘communist’ Mamdani is elected
President Donald Trump warned that New York won’t ever be the same if New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani is elected. Mamdani is a Ugandan-born Muslim who won the Democratic Party’s primary for New York City mayor in June and identifies as a Democratic socialist. But Trump said that New Yorkers should not cast their ballot for the New York State assemblyman from Queens, who he described as “a man who’s not very capable in my opinion, other than he’s got a good line of bulls–-.” SANDERS ENDORSES SOCIALIST MAMDANI IN MOVE TO BLOCK CUOMO IN NYC MAYORAL RACE “No. 1, you have a communist running, and you shouldn’t vote for him,” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting Tuesday. “He’s a disaster. He’s leading. He’s got the Democrat nomination because that shows you where the Democrats have gone.” “I’m not getting involved, but I can tell you this: I used to say we will not ever be a socialist country. Right. Well, I’ll say it again. We’re not going to have — if a communist gets elected to run New York, it can never be the same.” Mamdani did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. Trump previously has blasted Mamdani, and threatened to arrest him if he refused to comply with federal immigration officials. Trump’s remarks came after Mamdani said in June that he would halt “masked” U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials from “deporting our neighbors.” WASHINGTON POST BASHES SOCIALIST ZOHRAN MAMDANI AS POTENTIAL DISASTER FOR NEW YORK CITY “Well, then we’ll have to arrest him,” Trump told reporters at the White House July 1. “Look, we don’t need a communist in this country, but if we have one, I’m going to be watching over them very carefully on behalf of the nation. We send him money. We send him all the things that he needs to run a government.” In response, Mamdani issued a statement claiming that Trump’s comments amounted to an assault on democracy. “The President of the United States just threatened to have me arrested, stripped of my citizenship, put in a detention camp and deported,” Mamdani said. “Not because I have broken any law but because I will refuse to let ICE terrorize our city.” “His statements don’t just represent an attack on our democracy but an attempt to send a message to every New Yorker who refuses to hide in the shadows: if you speak up, they will come for you,” Mamdani said. Trump has also slammed Mamdani after the 33-year-old refused to condemn the term “globalize the intifada.” ‘GLOBALIZE THE INTIFADA’ PHRASE STIRS TENSIONS ON NYC CAMPAIGN TRAIL AS MIDDLE EAST CONFLICT RAGES “Frankly, I’ve heard he’s a total nut job,” Trump told reporters July 1. “I think the people in New York are crazy because they go this route. I think they’re crazy. We will have a communist in the for the first time, really a pure, true communist. He wants to operate the grocery stores. The department stores. What about the people that are there? I think it’s crazy.” Mamdani said in a June interview with NBC News he didn’t want to condemn the term “globalize the intifada,” a phrase used to back Palestinian resistance against Israel, because he didn’t want to “police language.” Mamdami has received criticism from Democrats for refusing to come out with a stance on the phrase, including from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York. Jeffries told ABC News Sunday in June that the term was not “acceptable phrasing.”
White House waives executive privilege for Biden doctor Kevin O’Connor in cover-up probe
FIRST ON FOX: President Donald Trump’s White House is waiving executive privilege for a key member of former President Joe Biden’s inner circle, Fox News Digital has learned. Former White House physician Kevin O’Connor was set to testify this week in House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer’s probe into allegations that Biden’s senior aides covered up his mental and physical decline while president. “In light of the unique and extraordinary nature of the matters under investigation, President Trump has determined that an assertion of executive privilege is not in the national interest, and therefore is not justified, with respect to particular subjects within the purview of the House Oversight Committee,” a letter to O’Connor sent by the White House, obtained by Fox News Digital by a source familiar, said. “These subjects include your assessment of former President Biden’s fitness for the office of the president and your financial relationship with the Biden family.” BIDEN AIDES PUSHED FOR EARLY DEBATE TO SHOW OFF BIDEN’S ‘STRENGTH,’ EXPOSE TRUMP’S ‘WEAKNESS,’ BOOK SAYS When reached for comment, an attorney for O’Connor confirmed receipt of the letter from the White House Counsel’s Office. Comer subpoenaed O’Connor last week after the physician refused to appear voluntarily for a transcribed interview with House investigators. O’Connor’s lawyers petitioned for a delay over the weekend, however, calling the scope of the probe “unprecedented.” “We are unaware of any prior occasion on which a Congressional Committee has subpoenaed a physician to testify about the treatment of an individual patient,” O’Connor’s legal team wrote. “And the notion that a Congressional Committee would do so without any regard whatsoever for the confidentiality of the physician-patient relationship is alarming.” A House Oversight Committee spokeswoman called their letter a “delay tactic to stonewall the Oversight Committee’s investigation.” The deposition date has not been changed, and O’Connor could risk defying a congressional subpoena if he does not appear. The Tuesday letter from the White House counsel’s office read, “The extraordinary events in this matter constitute exceptional circumstances warranting an accommodation to Congress. Evidence that aides to former President Biden concealed information regarding his fitness to exercise the powers of the President — and may have unconstitutionally exercised those powers themselves to aid in their concealment — implicates both Congress’ constitutional and legislative powers.” EX-DNC INSIDER REVEALS ‘PUPPET MASTERS’ WHO RAN THE BIDEN WHITE HOUSE “After balancing the Legislative and Executive Branch interests, as required under the accommodation process, it is the President’s view that this presents and exceptional situation in which the congressional need for information outweighs the Executive Branch’s interest in maintaining confidentiality, especially given the Executive Branch’s own interest in determining the validity of prior executive actions,” the letter said. Former top Biden aides and the ex-president’s current allies have insisted there was no cover-up in the Democratic White House. But Biden’s disastrous June 2024 debate performance followed by his stunning exit from the presidential race raised questions about the octogenarian’s fitness for office. Comer has summoned a number of former top Biden aides for closed-door interviews, including O’Connor, former Chief of Staff Ronald Klain, and former White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. Former staff secretary Neera Tanden appeared for a transcribed interview last month.
FBI launches criminal investigations of John Brennan, James Comey: DOJ sources
EXCLUSIVE: Former CIA Director John Brennan and former FBI Director James Comey are under criminal investigation for potential wrongdoing related to the Trump–Russia probe, including allegedly making false statements to Congress, Justice Department sources told Fox News Digital. CIA Director John Ratcliffe referred evidence of wrongdoing by Brennan to FBI Director Kash Patel for potential prosecution, DOJ sources told Fox News Digital. The sources said that the referral was received and told Fox News Digital that a criminal investigation into Brennan was opened and is underway. DOJ sources declined to provide further details. It is unclear, at this point, if the investigation spans beyond his alleged false statements to Congress. As for Comey, DOJ sources told Fox News Digital that an investigation into the former director is underway, but could not share details of what specifically is being probed. EX-OBAMA INTEL BOSS WANTED ANTI-TRUMP DOSSIER INCLUDED IN ‘ATYPICAL’ 2016 ASSESSMENT DESPITE PUSHBACK The full scope of the criminal investigations into Brennan and Comey is unclear, but two sources described the FBI’s view of the duo’s interactions as a “conspiracy,” which could open up a wide range of potential prosecutorial options. The FBI and CIA declined to comment. Neither Brennan nor Comey immediately responded to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. The Brennan investigation comes after Ratcliffe last week declassified a “lessons learned” review of the creation of the 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA). The 2017 ICA alleged Russia sought to influence the 2016 presidential election to help then-candidate Donald Trump. But the review found that the process of the ICA’s creation was rushed with “procedural anomalies,” and that officials diverted from intelligence standards. WHITE HOUSE WANTS OBAMA INTEL OFFICIALS ‘HELD ACCOUNTABLE’ FOR ROLE PEDDLING 2016 RUSSIA HOAX It also determined that the “decision by agency heads to include the Steele Dossier in the ICA ran counter to fundamental tradecraft principles and ultimately undermined the credibility of a key judgment.” The dossier — an anti-Trump document filled with unverified and wholly inaccurate claims that was commissioned by Fusion GPS and paid for by Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s campaign and the DNC — has been widely discredited. Last week’s review marks the first time career CIA officials have acknowledged politicization of the process by which the ICA was written, particularly by Obama-era political appointees. Records declassified as part of that review further revealed that Brennan did, in fact, push for the dossier to be included in the 2017 ICA. Brennan testified to the House Judiciary Committee in May 2023, however, that he did not believe the dossier should be included in that intelligence product. COMEY SAYS MCCABE LIED, CONFIRMS HE KICK-STARTED PROBE THAT LED TO HIS FIRING Ratcliffe was not surprised by the review’s findings, a source familiar told Fox News Digital, given the director’s long history of criticizing Brennan’s politicization of intelligence. But Ratcliffe was compelled to refer aspects of Brennan’s involvement to the FBI for review of possible criminality, the source said. The source was unable to share the sensitive details of Ratcliffe’s criminal referral to the FBI with Fox News Digital, but said that Brennan “violated the public’s trust and should be held accountable for it.” The false statements portion of the probe stems from a newly declassified email sent to Brennan by the former deputy CIA director in December 2016. That message said that including the dossier in the ICA in any capacity jeopardized “the credibility of the entire paper.” FISA REPORT DROPS: 7 TAKEAWAYS FROM DOJ WATCHDOG’S REVIEW OF RUSSIA PROBE “Despite these objections, Brennan showed a preference for narrative consistency over analytical soundness,” the new CIA review states. “When confronted with specific flaws in the Dossier by the two mission center leaders – one with extensive operational experience and the other with a strong analytic background – he appeared more swayed by the Dossier’s general conformity with existing theories than by legitimate tradecraft concerns.” The review added: “Brennan ultimately formalized his position in writing, stating that ‘my bottomline is that I believe that the information warrants inclusion in the report.’” But Brennan testified the opposite in front of Congress in May 2023. “The CIA was very much opposed to having any reference or inclusion of the Steele dossier in the Intelligence Community Assessment,” Brennan testified before the House committee, according to the transcript of his deposition reviewed by Fox News Digital. “And so they sent over a copy of the dossier to say that this was going to be separate from the rest of that assessment.” FLASHBACK: NEWLY DECLASSIFIED INTEL DOCUMENT NOTED STEELE DOSSIER CLAIMS HAD ‘LIMITED CORROBORATION’ CIA officials at the time of its creation pushed back against the FBI, which sought to include the dossier, arguing that the dossier should not be included in the assessment, and casting it as simply “internet rumor.” Ultimately, Steele’s reporting was not included in the body of the final ICA prepared for then-President Barack Obama, but instead detailed in this footnote, “largely at the insistence of FBI’s senior leadership,” according to a review by the Justice Department inspector general, and later, the Senate Intelligence Committee. But back in June 2020, Ratcliffe, while serving as director of national intelligence, declassified a footnote of the 2017 ICA, which revealed that the reporting of Trump dossier author Christopher Steele had only “limited corroboration” regarding whether then-President-elect Trump “knowingly worked with Russian officials to bolster his chances of beating” Hillary Clinton and other claims. FLASHBACK: DNI DECLASSIFIES BRENNAN NOTES, CIA MEMO ON HILLARY CLINTON ‘STIRRING UP’ SCANDAL BETWEEN TRUMP, RUSSIA The footnote, also known as “Annex A” of the 2017 ICA, exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital in June 2020, spanned less than two pages and detailed reporting by Steele, the former British spy who authored the unverified anti-Trump dossier — a document that helped serve as the basis for controversial Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrants obtained against former Trump campaign aide Carter Page. Steele’s reporting, at the time, was commissioned by opposition research firm Fusion GPS and funded by the Clinton campaign and
Hawley touts provision in Big, Beautiful Bill that has even hard-left Democrats celebrating
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., stood shoulder-to-shoulder with staunch Democrats to celebrate the inclusion of key compensation for survivors of nuclear testing inside President Donald Trump’s Big, Beautiful Bill on Tuesday. Hawley has fought for the passage of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) since the program was canceled in 2023. It has now been re-upped and greatly expanded thanks to persistent bipartisan advocacy. Among the cross-aisle attendees was former Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., who was among the most aggressive critics of Republicans while in Congress. Hawley embraced Bush at the event, however. “Cori, thank you. We would not be here without you and your work,” he said, recounting their multiple prior efforts to pass the legislation. POLITICAL FIGHT OVER ‘BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL’ SHIFTS TO CAMPAIGN TRAIL Also at the event was Rep. Wesley Bell, D-Mo., who voted against the OBBB, but said he supports the RECA legislation. Navajo Nation president Buu Nygren also attended the event and recounted the impact of nuclear testing on his community. The bill applies to sites across the country where Americans, civilian, military and members of the Navajo Nation, were exposed to radiation due to nuclear weapons testing and the storing of nuclear waste. The event took place at one such site: St. Cin Park in St. Louis. The surrounding area has been determined to be a cancer hotzone thanks to the storing of nuclear waste nearby. The legislation applies to similar sites across Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky and Alaska, but advocates of the bill and Hawley himself say there remains more work to be done. “This is a great first step, but there is definitely more to do,” NAACP St. Louis president John Bowman told Fox at the event. “This is a good day, but there are better days to come.” WHAT’S ACTUALLY IN TRUMP’S ‘BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL’ Bowman and others highlighted some zip codes that aren’t eligible for the compensation, and they say work needs to be done to expand the documentation Americans can use to prove they qualify for compensation. Dawn Chapman, founder of Just Moms STL, an advocacy group devoted to the radiation exposure issue, told Fox that the process – while difficult – reinforced her belief in the legislative process. She recounted seeing staffers from opposite sides of the aisle celebrating and sharing high-fives after the bill was passed. The bill passed through the Senate three times in recent years before finally making it to the president’s desk. “The system still works. It does,” she said. “The media just often doesn’t share it.”
Supreme Court lets Trump’s ‘wrecking ball’ federal job cuts proceed while legal fight continues
The Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed the Trump administration to move forward, at least for now, with plans to implement large-scale cuts to the federal workforce, issuing a stay that lifts a lower court’s injunction against the administration’s executive order. In a 6–3 decision, the justices granted the emergency request filed by the White House last week, clearing the way for Executive Order No. 14210 to take effect while legal challenges play out in the Ninth Circuit and potentially the high court. The order directs federal agencies to carry out sweeping reductions in force (RIFs) and agency reorganizations. It has been described by administration officials as a lawful effort to “streamline government and eliminate waste.” Critics, including labor unions, local governments and nonprofit organizations, argue the president is unlawfully bypassing Congress to dismantle major parts of the federal government. FEDERAL APPEALS COURT THROWS ROADBLOCK AT TRUMP’S EDUCATION REFORM AGENDA A majority on the Court stressed that it was not ruling on the legality of specific agency cuts, only the executive order itself. “Because the Government is likely to succeed on its argument that the Executive Order and Memorandum are lawful—and because the other factors bearing on whether to grant a stay are satisfied—we grant the application,” the Court wrote. “We express no view on the legality of any Agency RIF and Reorganization Plan produced or approved pursuant to the Executive Order and Memorandum. The District Court enjoined further implementation or approval of the plans based on its view about the illegality of the Executive Order and Memorandum, not on any assessment of the plans themselves. Those plans are not before this Court.” The district court in California had blocked the order in May, calling it an overreach. But the Supreme Court’s unsigned decision on Tuesday set aside that injunction, pending appeal. The majority said the government is “likely to succeed” in defending the legality of the order. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented forcefully, writing that “this Court sees fit to step in now and release the President’s wrecking ball at the outset of this litigation.” She warned that the executive action represents a “structural overhaul that usurps Congress’s policymaking prerogatives” and accused the majority of acting prematurely in an emergency posture without fully understanding the facts. TRUMP ADMIN ASKS SCOTUS TO ALLOW IT TO MOVE FORWARD WITH PLANS TO SLASH FEDERAL WORKFORCE “This unilateral decision to ‘transform’ the Federal Government was quickly challenged in federal court,” she wrote. “The District Judge thoroughly examined the evidence, considered applicable law, and made a reasoned determination that Executive Branch officials should be enjoined from implementing the mandated restructuring… But that temporary, practical, harm-reducing preservation of the status quo was no match for this Court’s demonstrated enthusiasm for greenlighting this President’s legally dubious actions in an emergency posture.” The executive order, issued in February, instructed agencies to prepare immediate plans for reorganizations and workforce reductions, including eliminating roles deemed “non-critical” or “not statutorily mandated.” The administration says it is a necessary response to bloated government and outdated structures, claiming the injunction was forcing agencies to retain “thousands of employees whose continuance in federal service… is not in the government and public interest.” Labor unions and state officials opposing the plan say it goes beyond normal workforce management and could gut services across multiple agencies. They point to proposed cuts of over 50% at the Department of Energy, and nearly 90% at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. The court’s ruling is not a final judgment on the legality of the executive order. It only determines that implementation may proceed temporarily while appeals continue. If the Ninth Circuit upholds the injunction or the Supreme Court declines to take up the case later, the order could again be paused. The American Federal Government Employees Union had a forceful response: “Today’s decision has dealt a serious blow to our democracy and puts services that the American people rely on in grave jeopardy. This decision does not change the simple and clear fact that reorganizing government functions and laying off federal workers en masse haphazardly without any congressional approval is not allowed by our Constitution. While we are disappointed in this decision, we will continue to fight on behalf of the communities we represent and argue this case to protect critical public services that we rely on to stay safe and healthy.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The case is Trump v. American Federation of Government Employees. “Today’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling is another definitive victory for the President and his administration,” wrote White House principal deputy press secretary Harrison Fields in an email to Fox News Digital. “It clearly rebukes the continued assaults on the President’s constitutionally authorized executive powers by leftist judges who are trying to prevent the President from achieving government efficiency across the federal government.”
Mamdani camp silent when confronted with calls to ‘radicalize’ high schoolers, ‘dismantle’ US
Socialist New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s campaign did not respond when confronted with a handful of radical platforms and messages that were promoted during an annual gathering of socialist activists and leaders in Chicago over the Fourth of July weekend, Fox News Digital found. “Socialism 2025” was held in Chicago Thursday through Sunday, where activists promoted “radicalizing” high school students, overthrowing the U.S. government and how to perform a “DIY” abortion and required all attendees to wear N95 or K95 while indoors, in addition to common rhetoric slamming capitalism. Fox News Digital reached out to Mamdani’s campaign Tuesday morning inquiring if the NYC Socialist Democrat agreed or disagreed with the platforms and ideas promoted at the conference, and if they were ones he would implement if elected the next mayor of the Big Apple, but did not immediately receive a response. Mamdani did not attend the conference in Chicago, but describes himself as a Democratic socialist and has previously embraced radical left-wing policies, such as ending private homeownership in favor of communal living, Fox Digital has previously reported. The socialism conference included panels dominated by college professors, as well as community organizers, activists and others. SOCIALIST MAYORAL CANDIDATE ZOHRAN MAMDANI’S SAT SCORE REVEALED: REPORT “Socialism 2025 is a four-day conference bringing together thousands of socialists and radical activists from around the country to take part in discussions about social movements, abolition, Marxism, decolonization, working-class history, and the debates and strategies for organizing today,” the conference touts on its website. Fox News Digital provided Mamdani’s office with a bullet-point list of six quotes and platforms promoted at the event, including one woman who identified herself as a Wisconsin high school teacher calling for youths to be “radicalized” before they enter college. “All of you who got radicalized in college, imagine if you got radicalized four years earlier,” the woman, who was a member of the audience, was heard saying during the conference. NYC’S SHOCKING SOCIALIST VICTORY IS A DIRE WARNING FOR THE RIGHT Another Chicago-based activist who spoke during a panel called for the U.S. government to be overthrown. “I think it’s important to say the state isn’t democratic. We don’t live in a democracy. We should start saying that more so. I mean, there are so many different ways — I’m not going to go into it — but people are clapping, so there’s general agreement. I’m glad we agree on that,” the activist said during a panel Saturday called, “Their End is Our Beginning: Cops, Capitalism, and Abolition,” which receive applause from the crowd. “So, do we capture the state or do we try to replace it with something different?” he continued. “And I think it’s the latter. We have to replace it with something different.” While during another panel on “Gender, Sexuality, Reproduction and the State: Fighting Back Against the So-Called Law,” a woman from the audience announced that the conference would hold a do-it-yourself abortion panel to discuss how to use and where to buy legal abortion pills. While a panel speaker for the same forum appeared to call for the abolition of the family. VIDEO SURFACES OF MAMDANI USING SLOGAN ROOTED IN COMMUNIST REVOLUTIONARY LANGUAGE “But… the bigger part of abolition as everybody’s reminding us in that tradition is the building of infrastructures of real safety, real accountability, real justice,” the activist said during the panel. “You know it’s the same with the family. Capitalist care has to be abolished in the sense that we are all pretty clear that care is a real need. What does the family offer us? What is the promise? It’s like a promise that you will be deeply, profoundly, unconditionally, selflessly and uncalculatedly known and held.” “Is the family really doing that?” she added, before adding that the idea of family has shortcomings and can be replaced with “mutual aid.” While yet another activist declared during a video clip circulating social media that she seeks to “dismantle the United States” and said “everyone” should join her in her activism — “no questions asked.” “I seek to dismantle the United States,” the activist said, according to video footage circulating on X. “I hope you seek to dismantle the United States. And if that isn’t your politics, OK. I speak as if everybody has this commitment. And the thing is, you should. You should listen to indigenous people when they are telling you this is the goal. Not only is this the goal, but this is the starting point.” “Decolonization is the only thing that is going to save us as a species. It’s the only thing that’s going to save us as a planet. And everyone should be on board with it, no questions asked.” SANDERS ENDORSES SOCIALIST MAMDANI IN MOVE TO BLOCK CUOMO IN NYC MAYORAL RACE Mamdani trounced top NYC mayoral competitor and former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo at the polls in June. Mamdani’s victory is viewed as the Democrat Party moving farther to the left in New York City after national voters sounded off in the 2024 election that the party’s embrace of some left-wing policies alienated Americans. President Donald Trump has slammed Mamdani as a “Communist Lunatic” and vowed he would “save New York City.” “As President of the United States, I’m not going to let this Communist Lunatic destroy New York,” Trump wrote on Truth Social earlier in July. “Rest assured, I hold all the levers, and have all the cards. I’ll save New York City, and make it ‘Hot’ and ‘Great’ again, just like I did with the Good Ol’ USA!”