US bases, ICE facilities targeted in Cuba-linked 24-hour activist mobilization plan
A new State Department report argues that Cuba has cultivated a network of American activist organizations that can be mobilized against U.S. policy, citing a publicly posted plan for protests at U.S. military bases, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities and federal buildings as a recent example. The June “National Rapid Response Plan” was distributed by the National Network on Cuba, a U.S. coalition of more than 60 organizations. The State Department links the coalition to the Cuban government through its relationship with the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples, or ICAP, a government entity sanctioned in June for allegedly supporting Cuban intelligence activities. The plan calls for “coordinated nationwide actions” within 24 hours of a U.S. military attack — or the “imminent threat” of one — and says its goal is to make it “politically and materially costly for the U.S. government to wage war on Cuba.” TRUMP EXPANDS CUBA SANCTIONS BEYOND US COMPANIES IN MAJOR CRACKDOWN ON FOREIGN ENABLERS The plan already has been made publicly available. The State Department report presents it as evidence of what it describes as a broader Cuban effort to cultivate and mobilize sympathetic organizations inside the U.S. The National Network on Cuba’s “materials reveal the continuing reach, coordination and sophistication of Cuba’s subversive capabilities on American territory,” the State Department report claims. The rapid-response plan calls for demonstrations and establishes a timeline for activating supporters nationwide. If U.S. military action against Cuba begins before 3 p.m. Eastern time, demonstrations would start at 6 p.m. local time that day. If it begins later, activists would mobilize at 6 p.m. the following day. Organizers are instructed to gather at federal buildings, courthouses and post offices; military bases and recruiting offices; or ICE detention centers and field offices. The plan also lists sports arenas during high-profile events as optional locations. The State Department’s focus on the plan comes amid escalating U.S. pressure on Havana and discussion of possible military intervention or regime change. Trump has floated a “friendly takeover” of Cuba and, when asked in May about intervening, said “it looks like I’ll be the one that does it.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said the administration prefers diplomacy while leaving military action on the table. FBI ARRESTS PROTESTER WHO THREATENED TO KILL ICE OFFICER’S FAMILY AT NJ DETENTION CENTER PROTEST, BLANCHE SAYS The plan says demonstrations at immigration facilities would “connect Cuba solidarity to anti-ICE/immigrant defense work happening nationwide.” It also directs activists to a Black Alliance for Peace database that the State Department report says maps 1,335 U.S. military and law-enforcement locations across the Western Hemisphere. The group describes the map as a basis for local organizing that can help activists “strategize how and where to organize and agitate.” The National Network on Cuba openly promotes the plan on its website as part of its “No War on Cuba” campaign, alongside calls for rallies, banner drops, caravans, teach-ins and other demonstrations. INSIDE CUBA’S FOREIGN INFLUENCE CAMPAIGN: FROM THE ’60S VENCEREMOS BRIGADE TO A CALIFORNIA UNION HALL The State Department report portrays the plan as a modern example of Cuba’s broader effort to cultivate and mobilize sympathetic organizations inside the United States. The National Network on Cuba represents more than 60 organizations and works closely with the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples. ICAP is led by Fernando González Llort, a former member of Cuba’s Wasp spy network, a Cuban intelligence ring that infiltrated exile organizations and gathered information about U.S. military facilities in South Florida during the 1990s, who served 15 years in a U.S. prison before returning to the island. The report describes ICAP as the central hub of Cuba’s international influence operation, claiming it coordinates more than 2,000 solidarity organizations across more than 150 countries. The Cuban embassy in Washington could not immediately be reached for comment. The report focuses particular attention on six organizations spanning Cuban government outreach and American left-wing activism. ICAP is a Cuban government entity, while the National Network on Cuba is a U.S.-based coalition of more than 60 organizations advocating closer relations with Havana. The other groups are U.S.-based: Code Pink is a left-wing anti-war organization; the People’s Forum is a New York-based activist and political education center; the Democratic Socialists of America is a socialist political organization; and the National Lawyers Guild is a progressive legal association. Code Pink, the Democratic Socialists of America and the National Lawyers Guild’s Cuba Committee are listed as members of the National Network on Cuba, alongside the Communist Party USA and dozens of smaller organizations. The extent of each organization’s involvement in the rapid-response plan is unclear. The report argues that their overlapping relationships, delegations and campaigns give Cuba access to a broad American activist infrastructure. The report says the Democratic Socialists of America has sent multiple delegations to Cuba, including a 2023 trip during which members met privately with Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel and sought to establish formal communication with Cuban ministries. It notes, however, that the Democratic Socialists of America was not created or controlled by Cuban intelligence, describing its support for Havana as primarily ideological. The People’s Forum, meanwhile, is described as a major organizing hub connecting Cuba advocacy with anti-ICE and pro-Palestinian activism. The report says the organization has served as fiscal sponsor for the Venceremos Brigade, which has transported American activists to Cuba for decades, and has helped organize delegations that met with senior Cuban officials. Code Pink and the National Lawyers Guild also have participated in Cuba delegations and campaigns opposing the U.S. embargo, according to the report. The National Lawyers Guild adopted a resolution in 2026 pledging to work with the National Network on Cuba and the broader Cuba solidarity movement. The report does not announce sanctions or legal action against the U.S.-based organizations, and much of its underlying evidence comes from public records, organizational materials and previous reporting. Its central conclusion is that Cuba treats traditional espionage, political advocacy and ideological influence as parts of a single
Firestorm erupts online after Minnesota paper praises Tim Walz’s clemency for child sex offender
Minnesota’s flagship paper came under fire over the weekend after a columnist defended Democrat Gov. Tim Walz reasoning for pardoning an illegal immigrant just before the convicted child rapist was set to be deported. “The Minnesota Star Tribune is cheering on Tim Walz protecting an illegal alien monster who raped a 10 year old girl. No one should read this depraved rag. They are sick,” said House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., on X. Minnesota’s Board of Pardons is composed of Walz, state Attorney General Keith Ellison and state Chief Justice Natalie Hudson. They voted on June 10 to grant clemency to Tou Lue Vang, a Laotian national who between 2002 and 2004 repeatedly raped a child. Lue was set to be deported from the United States before the clemency was issued. WALZ, MINNESOTA BOARD OF PARDONS CLEARS CONVICTED ILLEGAL ALIEN CHILD SEX OFFENDER FACING DEPORTATION In a section of the column called “Cheers to Gov. Tim Walz,” writer Rochelle Olson praised the governor and failed vice presidential candidate for his decision to defend the pardon. “The governor refused to back down from his vote to pardon a Hmong man convicted of felony sexual assault in 2006. It’s significant that Tou Lue Vang needed only two of three votes from the state Board of Pardons, but he received unanimous support,” the column states. Olson did not mention that Vang’s rape victim was a minor, or that Vang raped the child several times over the period of two years. She did reference a letter from the victim addressed to the pardon board supporting Vang’s clemency. A spokesperson for the paper told Fox News Digital, “The Minnesota Star Tribune regularly publishes a wide range of opinions across the political spectrum.” “In this case, our opinion columnist agreed with a unanimous pardon by the Minnesota state board of pardons, including Governor Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison and state Supreme Court Chief Justice Natalie Hudson,” they added. FORMER INDIANA REP STEPHEN BUYER RECEIVES FULL PARDON FROM TRUMP FOR 2023 INSIDER TRADING CONVICTION Olson launched into a tirade about Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol rioters in her column, likening their actions to that of the foreign child rapist. “Vang’s actions 20 years ago were awful, but so were the violent protests at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and those folks received presidential pardons,” the author wrote. Author Dennis Neale slammed that comparison in a post on X, writing: “The Star Tribune likens repeatedly raping a 10-year-old girl to protesting in the Capitol on Jan 6. You fluppin’ idiots.” TIM WALZ OFFERS STRANGE DEFENSE FOR PARDONING CONVICTED CHILD RAPIST TRUMP ADMINISTRATION DEPORTED “Minnesota’s largest paper actually figured out a way to shove January 6th into this as a way to excuse an illegal immigrant who sexually assaulted a child,” said another X personality. “One of the most insane things I’ve ever seen.” “The Minnesota Star Tribune just gave a ‘Cheers’ to Tim Walz for standing by his pardon of a convicted child rapist. Absolutely disgusting,” said online commentator Dustin Grage. “The degeneracy of the modern left would be impossible to exaggerate because it is impossible to exaggerate infinity,” said Claremont Institute senior fellow Jeremy Carl. Nick Freitas, another online personality, wrote, “Every time I think I despise the main stream media enough, they triple their efforts.” Walz’s attempts to protect Vang — and his defense of the pardon — proved moot when on July 10, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the illegal alien had been deported to his native Laos. “Just weeks ago, a foreign child rapist was freed to once again endanger America’s children after receiving a pardon from Minnesota Governor Tim Walz,” Rubio told Fox News Digital at the time. “Tue Lue Vang admitted to committing heinous crimes against a 10-year-old girl in Minnesota. He attempted to pay his victim for her silence and dismissed his acts of child abuse as a ‘minor thing.’” “Just days before he was scheduled to be deported, the Minnesota Governor pardoned him, setting him free to endanger American families once again,” he continued. “That’s why I terminated his legal status in the United States. Vang has now been removed from our country and will never pose a threat to any American ever again.” Days after Vang’s deportation, Walz doubled down on his decision to grant clemency. “Did that make us any safer?” Walz questioned. “Did that make the children that are left behind any more stable? Did it improve the idea that we can’t all be judged by our worst day?”
MTG pounces on Hegseth, claiming US troop casualties ‘fuel’ his ‘bloodlust for a senseless war’
Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., accused War Secretary Pete Hegseth of “bloodlust” after the Pentagon chief posted about fallen U.S. service members amid the ongoing Iran war. “Godspeed, heroes. Their sacrifice only stiffens our resolve,” Hegseth wrote on X when sharing a U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) post about the deaths of American troops in Jordan. Greene shared Hegseth’s post and wrote, “Sacrifice?? What the f— are you talking about?? They did not willingly sacrifice themselves. They were killed because of the war you, Trump, and the admin, are waging on behalf of a FOREIGN COUNTRY, Israel. You mean their deaths fuel your bloodlust for a senseless war.” EX-COUNTERTERRORISM OFFICIAL JOE KENT CONTINUES CALLING FOR US MILITARY WITHDRAWAL FROM MIDDLE EAST In a Monday statement to Fox News Digital, Acting Pentagon Press Secretary Joel Valdez asserted, “These comments are disgusting, especially from a former member of Congress. Ideological disagreements are normal, but using the death of our service members as fuel for her hatred of the Trump administration is out of line. We all serve at the pleasure of the President of the UNITED STATES, not a foreign nation or foreign leaders. No amount of diminishing, disrespectful remarks from washed up politicians will change that.” A White House spokesperson on Monday pointed Fox News Digital to comments President Donald Trump had made on Sunday. “Well, we feel very badly. But you know those great people, those great patriots were out there fighting that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon,” he said. “Iran has been very, very badly damaged,” he said, asserting that the foreign nation has “lost everything, almost, militarily. They’ve got very little left. They’ve got some missiles. They’ve got some drones. They’ve got some manufacturing ability — not much,” he said. “We control the Strait. They don’t control anything. So we’ll see what happens. But we hit ’em very hard again tonight,” he said, adding that “we did that in honor of the probably three — it’s probably three, as opposed to two — great patriots.” US SERVICE MEMBER KILLED IN IRAQ AS TROOPS RECOVER UNIDENTIFIED REMAINS IN JORDAN: CENTCOM CENTCOM declared in part of a Saturday statement, “On July 17, two U.S. service members in Jordan were killed in action as U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) and partner forces defended against Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks.” The post also noted that a service member was missing. “I’m praying for the families and friends of those two fallen soldiers and for the third missing soldier,” Greene wrote in a Saturday post on X when sharing CENTCOM’s announcement. “This should not be happening. President Trump needs to bring our troops home and stop this senseless America LAST war!!!” In an update on Sunday, CENTCOM noted, “Yesterday, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced the passing of two U.S. service members and the missing status of one in Jordan following an Iranian attack on July 17. After a thorough search, U.S. military personnel found unidentified remains at the location earlier today. An examination process to verify the remains is ongoing.” The post stated: “Separately, a U.S. service member in northern Iraq was killed in action July 18 during a controlled detonation of unexploded ordnance from a downed Iranian one-way attack drone. A second service member was wounded and continues to receive medical treatment for a minor injury.” LOW TESTOSTERONE? HEGSETH SPARKS CONVERSATION AS DOCTORS REVEAL WARNING SIGNS EVERY MAN SHOULD KNOW Greene and President Donald Trump had a falling out last year. In early January she departed Congress, resigning in the middle of a two-year term.
Warren defies Schumer as Dem civil war explodes over must-win Senate race
There’s a battle to shape the Democratic Party this fall, and two top Senate Democrats are taking different paths in their bids to put their mark on the process. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., endorsed Abdul El-Sayed in the duel for the Democratic Senate nomination in Michigan. It’s a break from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who is backing Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich. The diverging endorsements are emblematic of the fight going on behind the scenes and publicly in the Democratic Party as the old guard fights to stand its ground, while a progressive surge threatens to completely overtake the party. DEMOCRATS’ CIVIL WAR HEADS TO MICHIGAN WHERE PROGRESSIVES FACE BIGGEST TEST YET IN HIGH-STAKES SENATE SHOWDOWN For example, Warren backed former Maine Senate Democratic nominee Graham Platner, while Schumer had courted and pushed Maine Gov. Janet Mills to get into the race. And hours after Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., stumped for El-Sayed, Warren jumped into the fray. In her endorsement video for El-Sayed on Monday, she noted that he was “the only candidate in this race not taking corporate money, and he’s fighting to get money out of politics altogether.” MICHIGAN DEMOCRAT MALLORY MCMORROW DROPS OUT OF SENATE RACE WEEKS BEFORE PRIMARY “And make no mistake,” Warren said. “Abdul is the only candidate in this race who can build the grassroots movement needed to win in November. More money in your pocket, to get money out of politics and deliver ‘Medicare-for-all.’ Michigan, let’s get this done.” Notably, Warren had previously endorsed Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, who dropped out of the race earlier this month. McMorrow was opposed to “Medicare-for-all,” a key policy push of Warren’s. And El-Sayed has made headlines, like Platner, for his old social media posts — particularly his pitch to “defund the police” as a means to reinvest tax dollars to prevent the purchase of “war materiel to wage war in our streets.” WATCH: SURFACED VIDEOS OF DEM SENATE CANDIDATE BACKING ‘DEFUND THE POLICE’ CONTRADICT RECENT DENIALS Schumer took his time to go public with his endorsement in what was once a messy, three-way primary battle, first privately backing Stevens. “I think she has the best chance to win,” Schumer told Punchbowl News last month. Stevens has clinched the backing of a handful of other Senate Democrats, including Sens. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., Chris Coons, D-Del., and Gary Peters, D-Mich., whose seat she’s eying to make her own. El-Sayed has also amassed a list of heavy hitters, including Warren, Sanders, Ocasio-Cortez, Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif. Neither candidate has committed to backing Schumer to stay as Democratic leader heading into next year’s new session of Congress. And so far, El-Sayed has not spoken with the Senate’s top Democrat. Instead, he views his candidacy as “a threat” to Schumer and the old guard’s system. He told Politico that Schumer and Democrats were worried about his plans to push for an end to corporate money entering politics, given that the top Senate Democrat’s “whole approach is that you get to go talk to the money people and then dole out their corporate money to help elect the people who are going to do the things that corporations want.” “So, of course, they’re freaking out,” El-Sayed said. “They’re not freaking out because they think I’m going to lose. They’re freaking out because they think I’m going to win.”
Socialist-backed Michigan Senate hopeful calls American politics a ‘disease’ after professing love for US
Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed on Sunday described America’s political system as a “disease” moments after professing his love for the country where he was raised. El-Sayed delivered blistering attacks on the American political system during the final stop of “The People v. The Powerful” tour at DeVos Performance Hall in Grand Rapids. He spoke at the event alongside Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., as the trio criticized President Donald Trump, party leaders, corporations and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The Egyptian American physician and former public health official first reflected on the opportunities he said America had afforded him, noting he received an “incredible” public university education and a medical education funded through the National Institutes of Health. DEM SENATE HOPEFUL ABDUL EL-SAYED RECOUNTS SMASHING VODKA BOTTLE AFTER BEARD CRITICISM “No, don’t get it twisted. I love America. I know exactly what America gave to me. I know what my life would have been, but for America,” El-Sayed said. “I know what America can do, and at the same time, it’s impossible not to reflect on the worst moments of those 250 years as well.” He then argued that Trump was merely a symptom of broader problems in American politics. “Donald Trump is not, himself, the disease of our politics. He’s just the worst symptom of the disease of our politics,” El-Sayed said. “The disease? It’s the system that allows corporations and billionaires and special interests like AIPAC to buy and sell politicians to rig the system against us.” Ocasio-Cortez also echoed that message moments prior, telling the crowd, “You deserve a politics that treats the disease and not the symptoms.” BILL MAHER CALLS OUT BERNIE SANDERS, SAYS HE’S TIRED OF HEARING THE RICH DON’T PAY THEIR FAIR SHARE OF TAXES El-Sayed then targeted the nation’s healthcare system, arguing that medical debt should be eliminated and contrasting its cost with federal spending on political campaigns and foreign aid. “Medical debt shouldn’t exist,” he said, claiming the country’s roughly $225 billion in medical debt could be erased for about $2.25 billion because it can be purchased “for a penny on the dollar.” He later turned his attention to ICE, calling it a “rogue agency” that should not exist. “ICE has nothing to do with immigration. ICE has nothing to do with the southern border. ICE is about normalizing paramilitary forces on our streets. ICE is about weaponizing the idea of immigration against the Constitution itself. ICE cannot be reformed. ICE cannot be retrained. ICE has to be abolished.” The Senate hopeful also described himself as “dangerous” to a range of political and corporate interests, including health insurers and Democratic leaders. “If you’re Blue Cross Blue Shield, I’m dangerous,” he said. “If you’re Chuck Schumer, trading politicians like trading cards, I’m dangerous.”
Anti-ICE walkout exposes how school district ‘failed’ parents, risked student safety: ‘Broken my trust’
EXCLUSIVE: Internal emails, messages and memos from Arizona’s Flagstaff Unified School District (FUSD) reveal that staff allegedly breached security protocol and violated several school policies by facilitating a student walkout to protest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) earlier this year, according to America First Legal. Hundreds of Flagstaff high school and middle school students walked out of class to protest ICE on Jan. 28. The protest came amid national controversy over the deaths of anti-ICE activists Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minnesota. Immediately after the walkout, many parents, citing safety concerns, expressed outrage that they were not notified that their children had been allowed to leave school premises without their consent. One parent who said they had children under the age of 12 said the “district failed us as parents.” Documents obtained by America First Legal, a conservative watchdog group, reveal that FUSD officials knew about the walkout days in advance and also coordinated with students. The documents, which were reviewed by Fox News Digital, were obtained by America First Legal through a lawsuit forcing FUSD to comply with its public records request for records related to the walkout. Screenshots from a district staff text group show faculty coordinating during the walkout. One staff member texted, “We have 75 plus students staged outside of fhs [Flagstaff High School] getting ready to walk.” In the same message, the staff member wrote, “Looks like we have some members of the public joining.” CONTROVERSIAL ICE TACTIC ACTUALLY REDUCES UNINTENDED ‘COLLATERAL’ ARRESTS: FEDERAL AGENT Another concerning text from a staff member read, “Be aware of propped open doors that are left for reentry.” In response to America First Legal’s criticism, a spokesperson for the district told Fox News Digital that “We respectfully disagree that the Flagstaff Unified School District encouraged students to attend or intentionally ignored District policies.” The spokesperson said, “The District was placed in the challenging position of balancing students’ First Amendment rights, student safety and school operations in the most appropriate way it could.” District policy dictates that “the Superintendent shall limit access to school buildings and grounds” and that faculty “maintain protocols regarding the distribution of keys or equipment to access District property.” Further, FUSD policy also stipulates that students ages six to 16 are “required to attend school during the school’s hours” and “the school in which the student is enrolled shall make a reasonable effort to promptly telephone and notify the parent/legal guardian or other person who has custody of the student of the student’s absence from school.” An email from a student to then Flagstaff High School Principal Tadd Ragan shows that district staff was aware the protest would take place at least two days in advance. The student informed Ragan that students were planning to walk out of their classes to protest against ICE at 11:45 a.m. The student said the protest would occur “near a main road for more recognition” and asked for advice “in finding a more organized way of going about this.” In response, Ragan told the student that “as a District and School we have a plan to maintain a peaceful protest.” In a subsequent email, Ragan asked the student, “Can you come by my office during first period?” Another faculty member, Flagstaff “instructional coach” Janet Chavez-Vesely, sent an email to several school administrators the day before the protest, revealing that she had discussed the planned walkout with the student Hispanic Culture Club. Chavez-Vesely wrote that she “stayed neutral and answered questions while they planned.” VIRGINIA SCHOOL DISTRICT SUED OVER ALLEGED POLICY OF KEEPING STUDENTS’ GENDER TRANSITIONS HIDDEN FROM PARENTS She noted that one of the students “plans to stop by and see me” to discuss the protest further. Chavez-Vesely told the school administrators, “I am available to support supervision,” adding, “just let me know where.” Some parents who became aware of the walkout before it happened emailed the district, notifying staff that their children would be absent from school while citing safety concerns. On Tuesday, one parent emailed Ragan, telling him, “I am keeping my daughter home from school this Wednesday as it has been brought to my attention that both Flagstaff high school and Coconino high school have planned out an entire protest.” The parent wrote, “This is not something that I want my child involved in nor do I want her around during it nor do I want her suffering any of the consequences that come with not participating and or being pressured into participating in potentially getting in a violent situation.” Another parent emailed faculty late on Tuesday night, writing, “My kids will not be at school tomorrow.” The parent noted, “This is not something that I want my children exposed to or involved in as situations like this in the past have become violent and unsafe.” Meanwhile, at least one faculty member was excited about the protest, writing in a text, “This Walk out thing is going to be FUN!” The morning of the protest, Sinagua Middle School Principal Christopher Koenker sent an email that FUSD “supports our students’ constitutional rights to peaceful assembly and free expression and is aware of student-led events planned.” He wrote that “schools will neither encourage nor discourage student participation.” He added that the district was looking into providing additional staff and law enforcement presence “for protection and supervision, not to suppress student expression.” After the protest, an internal “Walk Out Debrief” memo emphasized that “school isn’t responsible for students’ safety after they leave campus.” Another memo noted that one teacher, identified as “Ms. Donovan,” took her class outside to witness “rights vs. responsibilities” on display at the walkout. An administrator noted that just three students remained inside and that “later conversations with the 3 students indicated that they really weren’t comfortable being outside.” The administrator noted she eventually asked Donovan to bring the class back inside “as it might appear that she was influencing them to be outside.” LAURA INGRAHAM: TEACHING US HISTORY HAS BECOME AN EXERCISE IN
Hawley sends criminal referral of ‘left-wing dark-money’ group over mailed abortion drugs
FIRST ON FOX: A Republican senator says that a left-wing abortion group claiming to be a “public health information campaign” is actually operating as the referral hub for shipping abortion pills into states where they’re banned, in a criminal referral obtained by Fox News Digital. In a letter sent Thursday to acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, Sen. Josh Hawley alleges asked the Justice Department to open a criminal investigation into Plan C, saying the group connects women with abortion-pill manufacturers, foreign clinics and online vendors that ship the drugs into states where they are restricted by law. “At the center of the effort is an entity called Plan C,” Hawley wrote, describing the group as a “left-wing dark-money operation” that serves as the “referral and logistics hub” for distributing abortion drugs into states that prohibit them. He said the group’s activities warrant a federal criminal investigation. BLUE STATE SHIELD LAWS ALLOWED 330K ABORTION PILLS TO BE SENT TO ABORTION BAN STATES, PRO-LIFE GROUP FINDS Hawley says Plan C directs women in states such as Florida, Oklahoma and Texas to foreign clinics willing to mail abortion pills into the United States despite state laws restricting those shipments. He also says the group points users to online vendors selling abortion drugs without prescriptions, identification or medical consultations, even though Plan C acknowledges on its website that the pills sold through some of those sites are “not regulated or inspected by the US government.” Fox News Digital reached out to Plan C for comment. Hawley’s letter also says Plan C advises users on how to limit their “digital footprint” by recommending privacy-focused browsers, virtual private networks and encrypted email. The senator notes that Plan C’s own website warns users they could face legal consequences for obtaining abortion pills through the services it recommends, while saying it is “up to every individual to decide what level of legal risk they are willing to take.” HAWLEY URGES DOJ PROBE INTO ABORTION PILL MAKER OVER SAFETY CONCERNS Hawley also says Plan C directs women to providers willing to prescribe abortion pills through 14 weeks of pregnancy — beyond the Food and Drug Administration’s approved labeling for mifepristone and beyond the limits set by several states. Hawley argues the conduct could violate multiple federal laws, including provisions of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act covering prescription drugs, laws prohibiting the importation of unapproved drugs into interstate commerce, and federal conspiracy and aiding-and-abetting statutes. “I therefore respectfully refer this matter to the Department to open a criminal investigation into Plan C, its relationship with potential co-conspirator manufacturers, and the network of suppliers it promotes,” Hawley wrote, adding that the investigation should include foreign clinics and online vendors shipping abortion drugs into the United States.
FBI boss Kash Patel details how agency and partners secured record-shattering FIFA World Cup
EXCLUSIVE – Seventy-eight Super Bowls in 38 days. This was the scale of the task facing the Federal Bureau of Investigation going into the first World Cup final the United States has hosted in more than 30 years. “That’s what we executed on,” FBI Director Kash Patel told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview detailing the largest commitment of the agency’s resources ever devoted to securing a sporting event – the 2026 FIFA World Cup. “We’re proud to report that, thank God, and thankfully to the men and women of the FBI and our partners, we had no significant criminal attacks during this World Cup,” Patel said. “And just to put that in perspective, we had 6.5 million people attend the 78 matches in the U.S. across 11 venues.” Patel said the planning and execution had to be “mathematically precise.” FIFA WORLD CUP COMES TO THRILLING END WITH WINNING GOAL SCORED IN EXTRA TIME The tournament shattered previous attendance records and brought millions of international visitors to the country. The FBI dedicated nearly 5,000 personnel to the effort, including more than 4,000 from field offices, 800 from FBI headquarters and two legal attaché offices, along with support from 59 Homeland Security task forces. The bureau also conducted approximately 300,000 background checks on players, coaches and other accredited personnel. All told, nearly 7 million fans from all over the world attended World Cup games in the United States, Canada and Mexico, all with no reported major security incidents. In fact, getting into the stadiums often took fans less than 15 minutes for games that averaged more than 65,000 in house. A defining element of the FBI’s security operation was its aggressive response to the rapidly evolving drone threat. Recognizing that even a low-cost unmanned aircraft could be used to surveil players practicing at the dozens of team base camps around the country, track their movements to and from hotels, probe for security tactics at stadiums or fan zones, disrupt an event or deliver an explosive or chemical device, the bureau treated every unauthorized incursion as a potential threat. TRUMP TAKES IN JENNIFER HUDSON’S INCREDIBLE NATIONAL ANTHEM PERFORMANCE BEFORE WORLD CUP FINAL “If you’re in the space, we’re gonna take you down. And that’s why we took down over 700,” Patel said. “Some of these folks were maybe borderline nuisances, while many of them were criminal in terms of violations of FAA airspace and also failing to register their drones… We’re not taking any chances.” The FBI established its first dedicated counter-UAS (unmanned aircraft system) school at Redstone Arsenal in Alabama to train state and local officers in detecting, tracking and intercepting unauthorized drones. Those officers were then deployed on FBI-led ground-intercept teams at World Cup venues, creating a nationwide counter-drone capability built for a threat that barely existed when the U.S. last hosted the tournament in 1994. “We, the FBI, specifically train for the worst of the worst,” Patel said, pointing to the possibility of drones being used to deploy explosives or chemical agents. Former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino was instrumental in developing the bureau’s counter-drone program. That preparation was tested as the World Cup was getting underway, when investigators uncovered an alleged coordinated attack targeting UFC Freedom 250 at the White House. 5 CHILLING DETAILS FROM THE ALLEGED WHITE HOUSE ATTACK PLOT TIED TO UFC EVENT Federal prosecutors allege the suspects planned to use explosive-laden drones to trigger panic and force crowds to evacuate into areas where armed attackers could strike. Patel said the FBI launched a six-state operation, tracked the alleged threat through online communications and began a coordinated takedown “before the first punch was thrown,” allowing the event to proceed without an attack. Eight defendants have since been charged, although the allegations remain unproven and the defendants are presumed innocent. FBI REVEALS WHY TRUMP WHITE HOUSE UFC EVENT WENT AHEAD DESPITE ALLEGED TERROR PLOT International cooperation was another critical component of the World Cup security operation. “They’re working overseas in their home locations and giving us information back in real time on any single threat that’s coming in,” Patel said. The FBI hosted the International Police Cooperation Center in Northern Virginia, deploying more than 70 personnel to work alongside officers from U.S. host cities and security officials representing the nations sending teams to the tournament. The FBI also assembled a Joint Operations Center with foreign police representatives from 46 of the 48 participating countries, allowing investigators to receive real-time threat intelligence from officials who understood their teams, fan bases and domestic security concerns. That information was supported by the FBI’s Intelligence Coordination Center, where more than 400 personnel processed an average of 26 incidents per day and produced nearly 100 intelligence reports for federal, state, local and private-sector partners, according to the FBI. Patel credited the White House Task Force on the FIFA World Cup with bringing federal, state and local agencies together under a unified security strategy. Established by President Donald Trump and led by Andrew Giuliani’s team, the task force served as a central hub for interagency planning, intelligence sharing and the rapid deployment of law enforcement resources across the tournament’s 11 U.S. host cities. FIRST WORLD CUP HALFTIME SHOW DRAWS MIXED REACTIONS FOR SHAKIRA, JUSTIN BIEBER, BTS, MADONNA PERFORMANCES “Like anything in government, to succeed, you need tremendous leadership,” Patel said. “President Trump had the foresight to establish the White House Task Force… and what they were able to do was bring in the interagency, at least at the federal level, and then work with us at the state and local levels through our partnerships and put everybody under one roof.” Patel said the coordinated structure allowed the FBI to quickly send bomb technicians, evidence teams, tactical operators, SWAT personnel and hostage-rescue capabilities wherever additional resources were needed. FOX WORLD CUP ANNOUNCER SAYS TRUMP’S APPEARANCE AT FINAL IS ‘FUN, UNIQUE THING’ DESPITE POTENTIAL BACKLASH “President Trump set the standard: Not only were we going to have the largest and safest sporting event
Platner ally Troy Jackson locks down delegates as top rivals for Democratic Senate nomination drop out
Former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson appears to have locked up enough delegates to win the abbreviated race to replace now ex-candidate Graham Platner as the Democratic Senate nominee in the high-stakes showdown to face off with longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins. Delegates aligned with Jackson won the vast majority of the 500 slots that were up for grabs on Saturday and Sunday as Maine’s 16 counties held two days of delegate selection for next weekend’s nominating convention. And Jackson’s top two rivals for the nomination, Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows and Nirav Shah, a former top public health official, dropped out of the race on Sunday. “In November, Mainers will defeat Susan Collins, and we will take back our Senate seat from the billionaires and corporations who think they own it,” Jackson said in a social media post Sunday evening. While the delegates on Jackson’s slate are not required to support him at next weekend convention, he is in an extremely strong position to secure the nomination and face off in the midterm elections against Collins in what’s expected to be a combative and expensive ballot box battle that’s among a dozen nationwide which will determine if the Democrats can win back the Senate majority. The GOP currently holds the chamber 53-47. DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUB A fifth-generation logger and a one-time conservative Republican who became a Democrat over two decades ago, Jackson came in third place last month in Maine’s Democratic gubernatorial primary. On Saturday, in the race to replace Platner, Jackson-aligned delegates won more than 90% of the slots, including all 149 in Cumberland County, Maine’s most populous county and home to the state’s largest city, Portland. “Yesterday was an unbelievable huge step, but our work is not finished — not even close,” Jackson said Sunday morning. And the winning streak of Jackson-aligned delegates continued throughout the day. Over 470 of the 500 delegates elected this weekend were on Jackson’s slate. The delegates chosen will join another 101 coming automatically from the Democratic State Committee. All 601 will officially vote for the Senate nominee at next Saturday’s convention in Bangor, Maine. Bellows, who unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, exited the Senate sprint on Sunday morning. “Donald Trump’s attacks on our democracy are only accelerating, and the best way that I can serve our state and country at this moment is by focusing exclusively on my role as Secretary of State,” Bellows said in a statement that didn’t mention Jackson. SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER Shah, a former director the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention from 2019 to 2023 who later served as principal deputy director of the federal CDC during then-President Joe Biden’s administration, and who came in second in last month’s Democratic gubernatorial primary, dropped out Sunday evening and backed Jackson. “To Maine Democrats: Susan Collins will not be defeated without a united Democratic Party. And we cannot unite without treating one another with respect,” Shah wrote in a statement. “No matter whom you supported in this race, I urge us all to remember that in the weeks ahead.” Jackson, in a social media post, thanked Shah and urged, “Now it’s time for all of us to come together, build the broadest possible coalition, and defeat Susan Collins. Let’s get to work.” Jordan Wood, a former congressional staffer for then-Rep. Katie Porter of California who unsuccessfully ran for the Senate as well as the Democratic nomination in the state’s 2nd Congressional District this cycle, also dropped out on Sunday. Another Senate candidate, Maine Beer Company co-founder Dan Kleban, announced a campaign suspension on Sunday as well.. MAINE DEMOCRATS RALLY BEHIND PLATNER’S PLATFORM IN SPRINT TO REPLACE HIM Along with Platner, Jackson had the support of progressive champion Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont as he ran for governor, and he is currently backed by ‘Our Revolution,’ the group born in 2016 out of Sanders’ first presidential campaign. Jackson, similar to Platner, is running on a progressive and populist platform aimed at working-class voters. He backs raising taxes on billionaires, the universal healthcare system known as “Medicare-for-all,” abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and he opposes military aid to Israel at a time that Democrats are increasingly divided on support for America’s longtime Middle East ally. Platner, a combat veteran and oyster farmer who was backed by Sanders soon after he launched his bid last August, saw his campaign quickly catch fire. Two-term Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, who was heavily recruited by longtime Democratic Senate leader Sen. Chuck Schumer to run for the Senate, suspended her campaign this spring after trailing Platner in fundraising and in the polls. THE TWELVE RACES THAT WILL DETERMINE THE SENATE MAJORITY But even as Platner steamrolled the Democratic establishment and crushed the competition last month to capture the nomination, he had already been forced on defense in the wake of a slew of scandals. Platner dropped out earlier this month, amid calls from top Democrats in Maine and across the country to immediately exit the race following an explosive report containing an allegation of rape from a woman he previously dated. Platner denied the report but stepped aside. While Jackson was among those who quickly called on Platner to end his bid in the wake of the rape allegation, he had previously campaigned alongside Platner and made the case that he was the best candidate to continue the fight for the progressive and populist agenda. “This movement has always been bigger than one person. It’s about taking on a system rigged against working people, fighting for ‘Medicare-for-all,’ strong unions, higher wages, reproductive freedom, and an economy where billionaires and corporations finally pay their fair share,” Jackson said last week during a Our Revolution virtual town hall, as he pointed to Platner supporters. At last week’s first debate among the replacement candidates, Jackson pointed to Platner and said, “That’s the thing that I think Graham did the
JD Vance and wife Usha welcome fourth child, reveal baby boy’s name
Vice President JD Vance and his wife, second lady Usha Vance, announced the birth of their fourth child on Sunday. In a joint Instagram post, the couple said their baby boy, Alec Neel Vance, was born Sunday morning. “We are excited to announce that our baby boy, Alec Neel Vance, was born this morning,” the couple wrote. “Usha and the baby are happy and healthy, and our kids are overjoyed to meet their little brother.” USHA VANCE MOCKS NEW YORK TIMES FOR DRAWING ‘POLITICAL SIGNIFICANCE’ FROM HER PREGNANCY FASHION The Vances also thanked the military doctors and staff at Walter Reed Medical Center and the White House Medical Unit for caring for their family. “The incredible military doctors and staff members of Walter Reed Medical Center and the White House Medical Unit have been a blessing,” they said. “We are deeply thankful for all they have done for our family.” SWING-STATE DEM CANDIDATE’S ‘DISGUSTING’ COMMENTS ABOUT JD, USHA VANCE’S ‘BROWN CHILDREN’ SPARKS OUTRAGE The couple announced earlier this year that they were expecting their fourth child. “Usha and the baby are doing well, and we are all looking forward to welcoming him in late July,” the Vances wrote in a statement shared on social media in January. SECOND LADY USHA VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT EXPECTING THEIR FOURTH CHILD: ‘OUR FAMILY IS GROWING’ JD and Usha Vance met while attending Yale Law School and married in 2014. They are also parents to sons Ewan and Vivek and daughter Mirabel. Their three older children drew attention last year while attending the Inauguration Day swearing-in ceremony at the U.S. Capitol and the parade at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. Fox News Digital’s Alexandra Koch contributed to this report.