Virginia Dem admits redistricting push aims to ‘stop Trump’, not about ‘fairness’
A top Virginia Democrat appeared to admit that state Democratic lawmakers’ effort to redraw the commonwealth’s congressional map is more about stopping President Donald Trump and his agenda than about ensuring fairness for voters in the Old Dominion. A referendum drafted by Richmond’s Democratic majority and set to go before voters in April would allow the assembly to redraw Virginia’s congressional map in a way that Richmond Democrats signaled would draw out four of five Republican congressmen and draw the populations of most new districts from dense, left-wing Fairfax County. In comments to NBC News, Rep. Donald Beyer, an Alexandria-Fairfax Democrat, appeared to admit redistricting’s true purpose while commenting on early voting figures that appeared to lean in the GOP’s favor. Beyer said the redistricting effort is “not a done deal by any means” and that Democrats need to “effectively make the case that even though this seems unfair in Virginia, it’s totally fair for America, for those of us who believe that taking back the House is the most significant thing we can do to stop Donald Trump.” NEW DEM STAR’S QUICK HARD-LEFT TURN AFTER ‘MODERATE’ CAMPAIGN WON HER COVETED RESPONSE TO TRUMP: LAWMAKER “Don said the quiet part out loud,” Virginia House Minority Leader Terry Kilgore, R-Gate City, told Fox News Digital on Monday. “This is manifestly unfair for the Commonwealth of Virginia. We’re a 51-49 state, not a 90-10 state. If they’re willing to silence nearly half the Commonwealth’s voters in the name of ‘fairness,’ what else are they willing to do?” Kilgore said. His legislative seat in the far southwest would sit in the sole Republican-favored congressional district under the new map. “Last November, Democrats sold Virginians a fake ‘affordability’ agenda that is false, a total hoax, and a con job,” Senate Minority Leader Ryan McDougle, R-Hanover, said. “Now they are back at it, trying to shove another partisan power grab down our throats, this time wrapped in the phony label of ‘fairness,’” he told Fox News Digital. Fox News Digital reached out to Beyer for further comment and to Gov. Abigail Spanberger for her take on his admission. 5 VIRGINIA CONGRESSMEN: DEMOCRATS ARE REJECTING VOTERS TO GERRYMANDER OUR STATE The text of the amendment facing voters next month asks whether the Constitution of Virginia should be amended to allow the General Assembly to temporarily adopt new congressional districts to restore fairness in the upcoming elections. The tagline “restore fairness” has become a clarion call for critics who claim exactly what Beyer appeared to admit: that the definition of “fairness” used is questionable at best. “Representative Beyer said the quiet part out loud. This isn’t about fairness, transparency, or representing Virginians,” Rep. Ben Cline, R-Va., said. His Shenandoah Valley district stands to be chopped into several Fairfax-connected pieces under the new map. “It’s about political power and Democrats’ determination to rig the map to ‘take back the House.’ When Democrats admit they’re willing to defend an unfair process in Virginia for the sake of national political power, it exposes exactly what’s driving this effort, and it has nothing to do with the people they’re supposed to represent,” Cline told Fox News Digital. Five of Virginia’s 11 congressional districts would originate in Arlington or Fairfax counties and encompass meticulously drawn swaths of the state’s conservative interior, including one district ridiculed for resembling a lobster or scorpion, as it begins at the Potomac River and winds southwest through Democratic suburbs before splitting into two halves. One half includes rural Greene, Rockingham, and Augusta counties closer to West Virginia, while the other stretches down the Zachary Taylor Highway into Goochland and Powhatan counties west of Richmond. In turn, a likely Democrat-majority district would form, narrowly connecting the independent cities of Harrisonburg, Staunton, and Waynesboro within Rockingham and Augusta counties and linking them via conservative areas like Nelson County with Lynchburg and Roanoke far to the south. Beyer’s current district would likely become the new 8th and stretch down the west bank of the Potomac River through current Rep. Rob Wittman’s, R-Va., rural 1st District in the Northern Neck, collecting nearly a dozen small red counties in the state’s oyster country anchored by the deep-blue city. The only Republican deemed safe under the map would be Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Va., in the far southwest, which would become an overwhelmingly Republican seat. Rep. Jennifer Kiggans’ evenly split Eastern Shore and Hampton Roads district would draw in just enough urban and suburban population to potentially turn blue. Since early voting began this month, yard signs emblazoned with “VOTE NO” have begun popping up in several red counties threatened by the new map, including Culpeper, Shenandoah, Highland, Orange, and Page, home to Luray Caverns. “VOTE YES” signs were, in turn, observed in rural Clarke and suburban Prince William counties over the weekend.
Top Dems assert there’s risk ICE agents could ‘kill’ travelers under Trump airport plan
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said that the Trump administration’s decision to deploy ICE agents to airports will create “chaos,” implying that airline passengers could be killed by ICE agents. Jeffries shared his reservations about ICE agents patrolling airports with CNN host Dana Bash on “State of the Union” on Sunday. “The last thing that the American people need is for untrained ICE agents to be deployed at airports all across the country, potentially to brutalize or in some instances kill them,” Jeffries said. “We have already seen how ICE conducts itself,” Jeffries continued. “These are untrained individuals when it comes to doing the current job they have, for the most part, let alone deploying them in close proximity in highly sensitive situations at airports across the country.” MASK-FREE ICE AGENTS BEGIN PATROLLING US AIRPORTS; TRUMP FLOATS NATIONAL GUARD His comments come shortly after Trump’s “border czar, Tom Homan, told Bash the Trump administration will deploy federal immigration agents to airports. The move follows TSA worker shortages causing long security lines. TSA agents have either quit or called out of work in response to missed paychecks due to the partial government shutdown affecting the Department of Homeland Security. On Monday, ICE agents were deployed to 14 airports, including New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia Jeffries said Republican lawmakers “would rather force TSA agents to work without pay, inconvenience millions of Americans all across the country and now potentially expose them to untrained ICE agents and create chaos at airports throughout the land, rather than get ICE agents under control.” SCHUMER GAMBIT FAILS AS DHS SHUTDOWN HITS 36 DAYS AND AIRPORT LINES GROW Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., expressed a similar sentiment in an X post, alleging that people will die because of ICE’s presence at airports. “ICE agents at airports will only aggravate delays & lines — disrupting checks, interrogating travelers, dragging parents from children, detaining citizens, brutalizing families, shooting & even killing,” Blumenthal wrote. “Brutal, lawless tactics common in communities across the country by masked, unidentified agents, violating basic rights—no way to help TSA or travelers,” Blumenthal continued. Those comments came after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said on the Senate floor that Trump’s plan to deploy ICE agents was “asking for trouble.”
DNC’s suggestive post about Mamdani’s pothole blitz leaves social media speechless: ‘Wtf is this???’
A graphic published by the Democratic National Committee’s official Instagram account on Sunday shocked social media users for suggestive phrasing and sexual innuendos it used to describe New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s work on fixing the city’s roads. “HOLES FILLED,” the post read in bold blue-and-white lettering, framed over the picture of Mamdani. The post included additional text, explaining that the graphic had to do with the city’s infrastructure. “As of March 20, 66,000 holes filled in Mayor Mamdani’s pothole blitz,” the full phrase read. MAMDANI MOVES TO SIDELINE NYC POLICE WITH NEW SAFETY OFFICE UNDER SWEEPING OVERHAUL That didn’t stop viewers online from marveling over the word choice. “How did this make it through approvals!?!?!?” one Republican strategist said, reacting to the image. “Hahahah wtf is this???” Tim Pool, a podcast host, said in his own post. The image left some users wondering if the post had been made in earnest. “Are you f—— kidding me?” another user wrote As of Monday, the post remained in place. The image comes as Mamdani tries to make good on promises to improve New York City infrastructure. In addition to telling voters he would focus on the city’s roads, Mamdani made national news for commitments to enhance free public transportation, create as many as 200,000 new affordable housing units and renovate over 500 schools. NYC MAYOR MAMDANI’S WIFE LIKED SOCIAL MEDIA POST CALLING OCT 7 SEXUAL VIOLENCE INVESTIGATION A ‘HOAX’: REPORT The post on Sunday isn’t the first time the DNC has posted images of Mamdani accompanied by sexual double-entendres. In at least two other instances, the account has followed the same format: a picture of Mamdani overlaid with bold white lettering set against a blue background. “Every street across all five boroughs PLOWED in New York City as of Feb. 24,” another one of their posts read from earlier this year. One more about snowfall also followed a similar tone. “16 INCHES of snowfall in New York City as of Feb. 23,” the DNC wrote. That instance drew one Instagram commenter to quip that “they know what they did there.” In the post about the potholes, some onlookers praised Mamdani for his work while ignoring the phrasing of the post. MAMDANI’S ETSTATE TAX PLAN COULD DRIVE WEALTH OUT OF STATE, CRITICS WARN “Mayor Mamdani, you are relentless,” a Dem strategist wrote. “Greatness,” Democratic influencer Jack Cocchiarella wrote on X. But those praises drew criticisms of their own. “I don’t think the sexual puns about Mamdani is going to win over many voters,” a popular far-left activist account posted on X. “You’re celebrating potholes getting filled? Isn’t that one of the basic functions of a city’s government?” another observer wrote. The office of Mamdani did not respond to a request for comment on the image and whether they believed its language was appropriate. Fox News Digital also reached out to the DNC.
Alito gives lawyers plain-English lesson on meaning of ‘day’ as Supreme Court weighs late-ballot fight
Justice Samuel Alito emphasized the literal meaning of the word “day” as the Supreme Court heard arguments Monday about whether states can legally accept late-arriving ballots that are postmarked by Election Day. “We have lots of phrases that involve two words, the last of which, the second of which is ‘day,’ Labor Day, Memorial Day, George Washington’s birthday, Independence Day, birthday and Election Day, and they’re all particular days,” Alito, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, said. Alito added, “If we start with that, if I have nothing more to look at than the phrase ‘Election Day,’ I think this is the day in which everything is going to take place, or almost everything.” The justice’s remarks came after the Republican National Committee sued over a Mississippi law that allows mail ballots postmarked by Election Day to be counted if they are received five days after that day. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit sided with the RNC in the case in 2024, leading Mississippi to ask the Supreme Court to weigh in. ELECTION INTEGRITY GROUPS PRESS SUPREME COURT TO REQUIRE BALLOTS BY ELECTION DAY Alito was among multiple conservative justices on Monday who appeared skeptical of Mississippi’s law and intent on striking it down. A decision is expected by the summer and would likely affect more than a dozen states that accept postmarked ballots after Election Day. While some of the justices seemed persuaded that Election Day should be viewed as a single and final day in an election cycle, Chief Justice John Roberts, a George W. Bush appointee, and Justice Elena Kagan, an Obama appointee, raised concerns that if the interpretation of Election Day was strictly upheld by the court, then early voting might also be affected. “If ‘day’ includes a period after a particular day of the election, does it include a particular day before the day of the election?” Roberts asked Mississippi Solicitor General Scott Stewart. “Or does your logic require a different consideration?” Former U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement, a prominent conservative lawyer, argued in support of the RNC, saying the original meaning of an election involved the “combined action” of offering up a vote and an election official receiving the vote. RNC GETS DAY AT SUPREME COURT TO CHALLENGE LATE-ARRIVING MAIL BALLOTS “All agree that elections for federal office have to end on the day of the election specified by Congress, and all agree that you can’t have an election unless you receive ballots, and there must be some deadline for ballot receipt,” Clement said. “Nonetheless, Mississippi insists that ballots can trickle in days or even weeks after Election Day. That position is wrong as a matter of text, precedent, history and common sense.” The case comes as President Donald Trump has made election security a top focus. The RNC and several election integrity groups that weighed in on the case argued that the Supreme Court should ban late-arriving ballots, except for military ballots, because they sow distrust in elections. “Today’s oral arguments in Watson v. RNC clearly show where the Supreme Court should come down: state laws that count ballots received after Election Day violate federal law, expose elections to delays, invite fraud, and fuel public doubt in the democratic process,” Jason Snead, executive director of the Honest Elections Project, said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital. At least 14 states and Washington, D.C., currently count ballots received after Election Day if postmarked on time. A ruling upholding the 5th Circuit could invalidate those policies and require ballots to be in election officials’ hands by the close of polls, a decision that is expected to affect the 2026 midterms. Critics say election officials could still be counting mail ballots in some states even if the ballots are all received by Election Day because of states’ individual tabulating processes. Military and overseas ballots, which are governed by the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, would likely remain unaffected. Since the 2024 midterm elections, four Republican-controlled states, Kansas, Ohio, Utah and North Dakota, have moved to require receipt by Election Day. Fox News’ Bill Mears contributed to this report.
Chicago lawmaker ripped over ‘disgusting’ response to college student allegedly killed by illegal immigrant
A progressive Chicago alderwoman is being widely panned on social media over her response to a local college student being allegedly shot and killed by an alleged illegal immigrant over the weekend. Shortly after Sheridan Gorman, 18, of Westchester County, New York, was gunned down while taking a walk with friends around 1:30 a.m. Thursday along Chicago’s lakefront, Alderwoman Maria Hadden suggested in an interview wiwth Fox 32 Chicago that Gorman was in the “wrong place at the wrong time” and that she may have “startled” the individual who shot and killed her. The comments quickly sparked outrage on social media from commenters making the case that Hadden’s video was not only insensitive, but shows the lack of concern from local Democrats when it comes to crime. “Unbelievable,” Manhattan Institute’s Rafael Mangual posted on X. “Perhaps these politicians can put out a comprehensive list of the places we should avoid and the times we should avoid them so as not to get shot to death by strangers.” GIANNO CALDWELL: MY BROTHER WOULD HAVE BEEN 22 TODAY. WE MUST DEFEAT THE VIOLENT CRIME EPIDEMIC “Imagine being an alderman, having a college freshman murdered in your ward, and, before the suspect is even identified, posting a video in which you brainstorm an excuse that maybe the victim ‘startled’ the guy who killed her,” reader-funded public safety news outlet CWB Chicago posted on X. “God Almighty.” “This is disgusting,” comedian Tim Young posted on X. “This is how most Democrats think about crime, she’s just saying it out loud,” New York City Republican Councilwoman Vickie Paladino posted on X. “They have no interest in taking any kind of action, because they don’t think any of it is a big deal. Criminals have a right to be criminals, don’t get in their way, and who are we to judge.” “That’s what we’re up against here,” Paladino added. DHS TOUTS 10 STRAIGHT MONTHS OF ZERO ILLEGAL ALIENS RELEASED AT BORDER AS CROSSINGS PLUNGE “The only person who was in the ‘wrong place at the wrong time’ was the illegal immigrant who should have never been allowed into our country,” former Trump campaign deputy communications director Caroline Sunshine posted on X. “‘Wrong place’ = anywhere in Chicago, ‘Wrong time” = 24 hours, 7 days a week,” conservative influencer account End Wokeness posted on X. “This is who’s running your city,” conservative influencer account LibsofTikTok posted on X. Hadden’s comment also drew pushback from Gorman’s family, who released a statement referencing Hadden’s remarks and said the slain college student “deserved the future that was stolen from her.” “What happened to Sheridan cannot be reduced to the idea of someone being in the wrong place at the wrong time. This is not an abstraction. This is the loss of a daughter. The loss of a sister. The loss of a future filled with milestones that will now never come. Our family is forever changed.” The family added: “We cannot accept a world where moments like this become something people grow used to. We cannot allow ourselves to become desensitized to violence. When we begin to accept these tragedies as inevitable, we all become vulnerable to them. Apathy is not harmless—it allows these moments to repeat.” Fox News Digital reached out to Hadden’s office for comment. The illegal immigrant charged with the murder of the Loyola University Chicago student entered the U.S. during the Biden administration before being apprehended and released into the country, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Sunday. DHS also confirmed that Jose Medina-Medina, a 25-year-old Venezuelan national, had been previously arrested for shoplifting in Chicago, marking a prior criminal incident before the alleged murder.
Supreme Court reverses lower court on qualified immunity for Vermont police sergeant who arrested protester
The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that a Vermont state police sergeant is entitled to qualified immunity in a lawsuit brought by a protester who said she was injured when an officer used a wristlock to remove her from a sit-in at the state capitol. In an unsigned per curiam opinion, the court reversed the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Zorn v. Linton, holding that existing precedent did not clearly establish that Sgt. Jacob Zorn’s specific conduct violated the Constitution. “The Second Circuit held that Zorn was not entitled to qualified immunity,” read the majority ruling – with the three liberal justices dissenting – rejecting excess use of force arguments. “We reverse.” The justices said officers are generally shielded from civil liability unless prior case law put the unlawfulness of their actions “beyond debate.” JUDGE RULES FEDERAL AGENTS MUST LIMIT TEAR GAS AT PROTESTS NEAR PORTLAND ICE BUILDING “Because the Second Circuit failed to identify a case where an officer taking similar actions in similar circumstances ‘was held to have violated’ the Constitution, Zorn was entitled to qualified immunity,” the ruling concluded. “We grant his petition for writ of certiorari and reverse the judgment of the Second Circuit.” The case arose from a 2015 sit-in by healthcare protesters at the Vermont capitol on Gov. Peter Shumlin’s inauguration day. After the building closed, police moved to arrest demonstrators who refused to leave. According to the opinion, protester Shela Linton remained seated and linked arms with others. Zorn warned her he would have to use force, then took her arm, placed it behind her back, applied pressure to her wrist and lifted her to her feet. Linton later sued, alleging physical and psychological injuries. POSTAL SERVICE CAN’T BE SUED FOR INTENTIONALLY NOT DELIVERING MAIL, SUPREME COURT RULES IN 5-4 SPLIT The Supreme Court said the 2nd Circuit relied too heavily on its earlier decision in Amnesty America v. West Hartford, finding that case did not clearly establish that “using a routine wristlock to move a resistant protester after warning her, without more, violates the Constitution.” On that basis, the justices concluded Zorn was entitled to qualified immunity and reversed the lower court. Justice Sonia Sotomayor dissented, joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson. She argued the court had improperly stepped in with the “extraordinary remedy of a summary reversal” and said a jury could find the officer used excessive force against a nonviolent protester engaged in passive resistance. “A jury could find that Zorn violated Linton’s clearly established Fourth Amendment rights,” Sotomayor wrote in the signed dissent. “The majority today gives officers license to inflict gratuitous pain on a nonviolent protestor even where there is no threat to officer safety or any other reason to do so,” she concluded. READ THE ORDER – APP USERS, CLICK HERE: “That is plainly inconsistent with the Fourth Amendment’s fundamental guarantee that officers may only use ‘the amount of force that is necessary’ under the circumstances,” Sotomayor wrote. “Therefore, I respectfully dissent.”
Trump orders War Dept to postpone strikes on Iranian energy sites, citing ‘productive’ talks to end war
President Donald Trump, in an all-caps post early Monday morning, declared progress toward “resolution” of the war with Iran. “I AM PLEASED TO REPORT THAT THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND THE COUNTRY OF IRAN, HAVE HAD, OVER THE LAST TWO DAYS, VERY GOOD AND PRODUCTIVE CONVERSATIONS REGARDING A COMPLETE AND TOTAL RESOLUTION OF OUR HOSTILITIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “BASED ON THE TENOR AND TONE OF THESE IN DEPTH, DETAILED, AND CONSTRUCTIVE CONVERSATIONS, WHICH WILL CONTINUE THROUGHOUT THE WEEK, I HAVE INSTRUCTED THE DEPARTMENT OF WAR TO POSTPONE ANY AND ALL MILITARY STRIKES AGAINST IRANIAN POWER PLANTS AND ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE FOR A FIVE DAY PERIOD, SUBJECT TO THE SUCCESS OF THE ONGOING MEETINGS AND DISCUSSIONS.” FOX Business’ Maria Bartiromo spoke with Trump shortly after the post, and Trump stressed, “Iran wants to make a deal badly.” Trump’s move followed a threat by Iran to attack Israel’s power plants and those supplying U.S. bases across the Gulf region if the U.S. targets Iran’s power network. IRAN CONTINUES FIRING MISSILES, DRONES AT NEIGHBORING STATES, WITH MULTIPLE INTERCEPTIONS REPORTED The post led to an immediate reaction in the oil futures market globally. Iranian state television is denying that any negotiations are underway, but Trump rejected that reporting to Bartiromo, saying peace envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner had spoken with their counterparts Sunday night. The United Arab Emirates reported its air defenses were attempting to intercept new incoming Iranian fire Monday afternoon. Prior to Trump’s announcement, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi acknowledged talking by phone with his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan. Turkey has been an intermediary before in negotiations between Tehran and Washington. SCHUMER KNOCKS TRUMP ON IRAN, PLAN TO SEND ICE TO AIRPORTS: ‘ASKING FOR TROUBLE’ Speaking in Parliament, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday compared the challenges caused by the war to those faced during the COVID-19 pandemic and said India needs to be equally prepared this time. Modi said the country’s power plants have adequate coal reserves and that all power supply systems are being closely monitored as summer approaches and demand rises. He said India’s fertilizer stocks remain sufficient. “This war is not in the interest of humanity,” Modi said. “India is encouraging all sides to end war peacefully.” Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Dem Senate candidate in the hot seat after anti-meat comment resurfaces: ‘This will haunt him’
Senate candidate James Talarico, D-Texas, has been facing an intense online firestorm after a resurfaced video showed him calling on Texans to ditch meat to fight climate change. Republicans and conservative influencers have widely panned the remark as a potentially fatal blow to his Senate bid and suggested his anti-meat stance could dog him on the campaign trail. “Democrats are trying to fool Texans into believing James Talarico isn’t some whacked out lib, but the clips keep coming,” Andrew Kolvet, Turning Point USA spokesman, wrote on X. “In 2022, Talarico, wearing a mask, scolded Texans about going meat-free (!!) to stop climate change. This is TEXAS. This will haunt him in the general.” “That just isn’t poor taste, it’s political poison,” Lawrence Jones said on “The Will Cain Show” on Thursday. Talarico, a three-term state legislator and self-described Presbyterian seminarian, is seeking to unseat Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who is facing an insurgent primary challenge from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Talarico defeated Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, in a primary battle earlier this month. TALARICO REPORTEDLY KNEW COLBERT INTERVIEW WOULDN’T AIR ON TV BEFORE HE LEFT TO FILM IT Talarico’s anti-meat remarks stem from a speech he delivered in April 2022 to the Texas Humane Legislation Network, during which he said his re-election bid was a “non-meat” campaign. “We have, I think, heard more and more issues of animal welfare,” Talarico said while wearing a mask. “I think, not just because it’s the right thing to do and the moral thing to do, but also, it’s, as all of you know, necessary to fight climate change. It is now existential that we try to reduce our meat consumption and that we try to respect animals in all aspects of society.” “So, I am proud to say that our campaign has officially become a non-meat campaign,” Talarico continued. “So, we are only buying vegan products from our local vegan businesses.” Amid the backlash, the Talarico campaign blasted out a photo of the candidate wearing a Texas flag shirt and taking a large bite out of a turkey leg. “Official Statement from James Talarico on Vegan Accusations,” the campaign wrote. ‘OPEN BORDERS TRUMP-HATING RADICAL’: GOP UNLEASHES EARLY BLITZ ON TEXAS DEMOCRAT TALARICO Still, the hits against Talarico from Republicans over his anti-meat stance keep coming. “Who wants to tell him that cattle is the #1 commodity in Texas?” the National Republican Senatorial Committee, Senate Republicans’ campaign arm, wrote on X. “Vote Republican this November. The steaks couldn’t be higher,” Cornyn wrote in response to the viral clip. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, also labeled Talarico a “freak” who wants to “ban BBQ.” Fox News Digital reached out to Talarico’s campaign for comment. Republicans have also spotlighted Talarico’s past remarks when discussing religion and transgender issues. In 2021, he claimed “God is non-binary” when debating a bill to ban men from women’s sports on the Texas House floor. Talarico doubled down on that statement during an interview with The Bulwark on Thursday, arguing it was “provocative” but theologically correct. In an interview with an Austin-based Fox affiliate in 2021, Talarico called concern over biological males in women’s sports a part of “far-right conspiracy theories.” In 2023, when Talarico was asked on the “A Superbloom Podcast” about “something that you love, other than family and friends,” the candidate discussed “trans children.” Though Democrats have not won a Senate seat in Texas since the 1980s, Talarico is arguing that he is well-positioned to end that trend. His campaign published an internal poll on Friday showing him leading Cornyn and Paxton in head-to-head match-ups.
As cattle herds shrink and beef prices rise, investors back AI cow collars
A startup putting high-tech collars on cows could soon be worth more than $2 billion, as investors bet the technology could help farmers cut costs and cope with labor shortages. Halter, a New Zealand-based company, is in talks to raise new funding in a deal expected to be led by billionaire Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, according to a Bloomberg report. The round is attracting heavy investor interest and is close to being filled, though final details are still being negotiated. THE SINGLE CRUSHING PROBLEM AMERICAN CATTLE RANCHERS WISH TRUMP WOULD FIX INSTEAD Farmers are increasingly looking for ways to lower expenses and boost efficiency — changes that could eventually affect food prices for consumers. Beef prices are already soaring, and economists warn Americans shouldn’t expect relief anytime soon as the U.S. cattle herd has shrunk to its smallest size in 75 years. The decline has been driven by years of drought, rising costs and an aging ranching workforce. Experts say rebuilding herds will take years, meaning beef prices are likely to remain elevated. According to U.S. Department of Agriculture data, the average price of beef in grocery stores climbed from about $8.60 per pound in February 2025 to $10.12 per pound a year later — a roughly 18% increase. THE COST OF THIS GROCERY STAPLE IS NEARING RECORD HIGHS — AND AMERICANS CAN’T GET ENOUGH Against that backdrop, Halter is pitching technology aimed at helping farmers do more with less. The company’s solar-powered, artificial intelligence-driven collars let ranchers herd cattle without fences, using GPS, sound and vibration signals controlled through a smartphone app. The system also tracks livestock health and movement in real time, giving farmers a way to manage herds remotely. The goal is straightforward — fewer workers, lower costs and more efficient land use. THE SURPRISING REASON WHY AMERICANS COULD FACE HIGH BEEF PRICES FOR YEARS Halter is part of a broader push toward “precision agriculture,” where technology is used to modernize farming. But that sector has struggled in recent years, with a wave of startups collapsing and investors pulling back amid high costs and slow adoption. The company has also expanded into the U.S., opening an office in Colorado and targeting American ranchers as a key growth market. If the latest round closes as expected, it would signal renewed confidence that AI can succeed in farming — an industry where many tech bets have fallen short. Halter did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Schumer knocks Trump on Iran, plan to send ICE to airports: ‘Asking for trouble’
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., condemned President Donald Trump’s plan to deploy U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to U.S. airports on Sunday. Schumer made the comments while speaking on the Senate floor Sunday, saying Trump’s decision is “impulsive” and could make the situation at airports worse. “Today, Donald Trump and [Tom] Homan are saying they will deploy ICE agents to airports starting on Monday. This is really disturbing. ICE agents who are untrained and have caused problems everywhere they’ve gone lurking at our airports. That’s asking for trouble, and it will certainly make the chaos at the airports even worse,” Schumer said. “No one has any faith in ICE agents. They haven’t received training. They don’t know what it is to be a TSA person and do what you need to do,” he continued. “And the real problem here is they have no plan for using these ICE agents. Trump says, send them there. They send them there. And Homan says they’re still drawing up plans with less than a day’s notice. What is this? We know what it is. It’s another impulsive action by Donald Trump.” SCHUMER GAMBIT FAILS AS DHS SHUTDOWN HITS 36 DAYS AND AIRPORT LINES GROW “Some idea pops into his head and he announces it. And then the people working for him, a few of whom do have some degree of talent and ability. Not many underlings. They have to rush to try and implement what they know is an idiotic plan,” he said. The ICE deployment is Trump’s latest move in the battle with Democrats over funding for the Department of Homeland Security. Schumer also used his time on the Senate floor Sunday to criticize Trump’s actions in Iran. “Donald Trump said, ‘you know, I may have a plan or I may not for a war,’” Schumer said. “There’s people’s lives are at stake. Billions are being spent on an almost daily basis. And he says, you know, ‘I may have a plan or I may not.’ These are the words of the commander in chief in the middle of a war involving one of the most dangerous regimes on Earth. ‘I have a plan, or I may not.’” “That’s unhinged and dangerous. Lives are on the line. The president says he may not even have a plan. Tens of billions are being wasted. No plan. Troops being killed and injured, no plan. Civilians being killed and injured. No plan. Gasoline costs $3.94 a gallon on average. And Trump, ‘I have no plan’,” Schumer said. Meanwhile, Schumer and his allies have refused to approve DHS funding without reforms to immigration enforcement. TSA agents across the country have gone more than a month without a paycheck, with no clear end in sight. Trump first threatened to deploy ICE to airports on Saturday, demanding that Democrats “immediately sign an agreement” to fund DHS. DHS SHUTDOWN TRIGGERS TSA ‘EMERGENCY MEASURES’ AS LAWMAKER WARNS AIRPORTS COULD FEEL ECONOMIC PAIN Airports across the country have reported huge numbers of employees calling out sick or not showing up for work. More than 400 TSA employees have quit their jobs. “On Monday, ICE will be going to airports to help our wonderful TSA Agents who have stayed on the job despite the fact that the Radical Left Democrats, who are only focused on protecting hard-line criminals who have entered our Country illegally, are endangering the USA by holding back the money that was long ago agreed to with signed and sealed contracts, and all,” Trump wrote Sunday on Truth Social. Trump also predicted blowback from Democrats, saying they would complain “no matter how great a job ICE does.”