Illinois mayor declares ‘civil emergency’ after out-of-town protesters threaten violence amid anti-ICE unrest
Mayor Katrina Thompson of Broadview, Illinois declared a “civil emergency” Monday, citing “serious and credible bomb and death threats” and warnings of attempts to disrupt village government after out-of-town protesters threatened to storm Village Hall and “shut down” the local board meeting. Village officials told Fox News the meeting, originally scheduled in person, was moved online after law enforcement warned of possible disruptions tied to Friday’s unrest outside the federal immigration processing center in Broadview. Officials said the FBI has been notified and is investigating multiple threats against the mayor and her staff. “I will not allow threats of violence or intimidation to disrupt the essential functions of our government,” Thompson said. “I will not allow our staff or residents to be placed in harm’s way.” CHICAGO-AREA MAYOR INSISTS ‘WE DON’T NEED’ GUARD TROOPS DESPITE REPEATED ANTI-ICE CLASHES In a statement released Monday, the village said the emergency order followed a series of escalating threats — including a September 4 telephone bomb threat targeting Village Hall and an October 13 death threat against Thompson. The situation intensified Friday when a group of non-resident protesters tried to storm Village Hall and vowed to disrupt Monday’s Board of Trustees meeting, according to Broadview Police. TRUMP OFFICIALS SLAM BLUE STATE GOVERNOR FOR IGNORING CHAOTIC ANTI-ICE ‘RIOTERS’ DISRUPTING OPERATION During the same day’s protests near the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility, officials said 21 people were arrested after demonstrators clashed with Broadview Police, Illinois State Police, and Cook County Sheriff’s deputies. Two Broadview officers were injured, along with a state trooper and a sheriff’s deputy. “The order is designed to preserve the continuity of governance in light of imminent threats against the lives of village officials and public property,” Thompson said in the village’s statement. JUDGE WHO ORDERED RELEASE OF 600 CHICAGO ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS SLAMMED BY DHS AS ACTIVIST PUTTING LIVES AT RISK The emergency declaration allows Thompson to move public meetings online and take security measures without board approval. Written public comments for Monday’s meeting were being accepted by Village Clerk Kevin McGrier and read into the record. Tensions have grown since Thompson signed an executive order last month restricting where and when demonstrations can occur near the ICE facility — limiting protests to a designated area between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. Civil-liberties groups, including the ACLU of Illinois, have criticized the order as unconstitutional. “The safety of our officers and residents has to come first,” Broadview Police Chief Thomas Mills said. “We respect the right to demonstrate, but violence and threats cross the line.” The civil emergency will remain in effect until Thompson determines that the threats to officials and property have subsided. Fox News’ Patrick McGovern contributed to this report.
Top Michigan official sparks online firestorm when asked to name number of genders: ‘Beyond embarrassing’
Conservatives on social media erupted over a clip showing a top education official in Michigan struggling to answer a question from a Republican lawmaker on how many genders exist. In the viral clip, resurfaced on X by conservative influencer LibsofTikTok on Sunday and seen over 2 million times, Michigan Chief Deputy Superintendent Dr. Sue Carnell is asked in an Oct. 28 hearing by Republican state Rep. Jay DeBoyer about her opinion on how many genders exist. “How many genders are there,” DeBoyer asked, prompting Carnell to smile and pause without answering. “How many genders are there?” DeBoyer asked again. CLICK HERE FOR MORE CAMPUS RADICALS COAST TO COAST “Different people have different beliefs on that,” Carnell responded. The clip quickly went viral on social media and resulted in conservatives lambasting Carnell for not directly answering and instead explaining the importance of inclusivity. Former Michigan Republican gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon reacted in a statement to Fox News Digital saying, “Democrats want to sexualize every facet of the curriculum and the MBOE is imposing its radical ideology on all Michigan K-12 schools.” “3/4 Michigan kids can’t read at grade level,” GOP Michigan state Sen. Aric Nesbitt posted on X. “When you realize these are the people in charge of education in Michigan, that number starts to make a lot more sense.” TOP MEDICAL SCHOOL MOVED DEI OFFICE TO SECRET LOCATION AS IT TRIES TO ‘EVADE ACCOUNTABILITY’: LEGAL GROUP “Surprised progressives are still not prepared for the ‘what is a woman’ question when they testify at hearings,” Heritage Foundation VP Roger Severino posted on X. “You would think they would have come up with something better than ‘I’m not a biologist’ (as Justice Jackson said) by now.” “This is beyond embarrassing,” conservative influencer Paul A. Szypula posted on X. “If a person can’t answer how many genders there are then they shouldn’t be allowed to vote.” “She is caught in the grips of an institutionalized mania,” political commentator Wesley Yang posted on X. In a statement to Fox News Digital, Carnell explained, “What I want people to know about gender identity is what’s in the update to the Michigan Health Education Standards Guidelines. It’s not about gotcha questions. It’s about providing local school districts with research-based information about health topics and including a few standards about gender identity areas for consideration by local schools.” Carnell went on to say that the guidelines provide students, by completion of 8th grade, to be able to “Define gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation, and explain that they are distinct components of every individual’s identity” and “explain how biological sex, gender identity, and gender expression are distinct concepts and how they interact with each other.” Last week, the Michigan State Board of Education approved new state sex education standards, which include recommendations that students be taught about gender identity and sexual orientation despite pushback from some parents and pastors, who argue they undermine parental rights and religious liberties. The standards, which were being debated in the viral clip of Carnell, were adopted after a 6-2 vote. “Despite serious concerns from parents and legislators, board members passed this controversial far left change while the state already had standards,” Dixon told Fox News Digital. The state Department of Education emphasized that the standards are only guidelines and not mandates, adding that schools are still required to comply with all relevant state law. “The standards provide guidance to local school districts and, as in previous versions, local control remains in place and parents retain the right to decide whether their children should participate in sex education instruction,” the state Department of Education said in a news release after the vote. “Local boards of education determine the health curriculum for their districts which may include sex education curriculum — if the district decides to offer sex ed— that has been reviewed by local sex education advisory boards that must include 50% parent representation,” it added. Fox News Digital’s Landon Mion contributed to this report.
Trump says tariff-funded dividend payments for Americans will begin next year
President Donald Trump said Monday that Americans could see payment checks funded by tariff revenues as soon as next year, promising that “hundreds of millions of dollars in tariff money” would be distributed as dividends by mid-2026. “We’ve taken in hundreds of millions of dollars in tariff money. We’re going to be issuing dividends probably by the middle of next year, maybe a little bit later than that,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. The president first floated the idea last week, saying he would use tariff revenue to send $2,000 payments to low- and middle-income Americans, with any remaining funds directed toward paying down the nation’s soaring debt. TRUMP CALLS TARIFF OPPONENTS ‘FOOLS,’ PROMISES $2K DIVIDEND PAYMENTS FOR AMERICANS With the nation’s debt hovering just north of $38 trillion, revenue from tariffs amount to little more than a rounding error: billions collected against trillions owed. The proposal comes at a pivotal moment, with tariff receipts climbing and the Supreme Court reviewing the legality of Trump’s trade measures. Since Trump announced his “Liberation Day” tariffs in April, tariff revenues have climbed sharply from $23.9 billion in May to $28 billion in June and $29 billion in July. Total duty revenue reached $215.2 billion in fiscal year 2025, which ended Sept. 30, according to the Treasury Department’s Customs and Certain Excise Taxes report. TRUMP DEFENDS TARIFFS, SAYS US HAS BEEN ‘THE KING OF BEING SCREWED’ BY TRADE IMBALANCE So far in fiscal year 2026, which began on Oct. 1, the U.S. has collected $37.5 billion, according to the latest numbers published by the Treasury Department. And while tariff collections have soared under Trump, they remain a modest contributor to federal coffers. By contrast, individual income taxes generated more than $2.6 trillion in fiscal 2025, compared with $195 billion from tariffs and $452 billion from corporate income taxes, Treasury figures show. The nation’s highest court is still in the process of deciding the fate of Trump’s trade agenda and the tariffs in question.
Pro-life pregnancy centers see client increase after Supreme Court decision: study
Facilities designed to discourage abortion have seen tens of thousands of additional clients in the wake of the Supreme Court’s landmark Dobbs ruling, according to a study published Monday. The Charlotte Lozier Institute, the research arm of the pro-life organization SBA Pro-Life America, found in its annual report that the facilities, often known as pregnancy resource centers, surpassed one million clients for the first time in 2024. That total is up from 974,965 in 2022, when the high court scrapped the federal right to abortion and flipped the issue back into the hands of states. The study looked at data from roughly 3,000 facilities nationwide. The centers poured nearly half a billion dollars into supporting their clients, and the dollar value of material goods, such as diapers, strollers and cribs, provided to clients rose 48% from 2022. NEWSOM BAILS OUT PLANNED PARENTHOOD WITH $140M TO KEEP 100 CLINICS OPEN AFTER TRUMP CUTS Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of SBA Pro-Life America, told reporters on Monday the centers were an answer to the prevalence of abortion since Dobbs that the Charlotte Lozier Institute has attributed, at least in part, to easy access to abortion pills, which people can purchase by mail. Pregnancy resource centers have “become even more important, especially with the horrific national policy that we have on the abortion drug which has led to the increase of abortions to around 1.1 million,” Dannenfelser said. “You have a Planned Parenthood organization and a big abortion movement that, to the problem of addiction, says when she enters a clinic, or she goes online, ‘Here’s your pill. Have a nice life,’” Dannenfelser said. MAJOR PRO-LIFE GROUP DEMANDS INVESTIGATION INTO ABORTION PILL BILLBOARDS IN FLORIDA “Pregnancy centers, with the support of care workers, are going to the roots of the problem, to addiction, domestic abuse, homelessness, of the problem of just physically getting to your job so that you can do your job and support your family, the question of finishing school that you find yourself needing more resources and community and help at a moment where you want to say yes to your child and you also want to say yes to your own life and its trajectory,” she said. Pregnancy centers have faced criticism, largely from the left, that they deceive their clients and donors into thinking they are not firmly against abortion and mislead clients about their ability to practice medicine. A lawsuit centered on that fight is pending before the Supreme Court; the high court will hear oral arguments in the case next month. The report showed that clinics offer a range of services, from providing tangible items to adoption agency services, counseling and a variety of medical services, including abortion pill reversal, pregnancy tests, ultrasounds and STD screening. The Charlotte Lozier Institute also said it found that more than 60% of women who have had abortions would rather have given birth if they had had more emotional and financial support. “When we have the courage to ask the questions of real women in the real world, this is what we find over and over and over again,” Dannenfelser said.
Raspy-voiced Trump reveals reason he ‘blew my stack’ in heated discussion
President Donald Trump blamed his hoarse voice on a tense discussion with a foreign nation who attempted to renegotiate the terms of their trade deal. Trump sported a raspy voice during a meeting with the White House’s task force on the FIFA World Cup 2026, prompting a reporter to ask if he felt alright. “I feel great. I was shouting at people because they were stupid about something having to do with trade and a country, and I straightened it out, but I blew my stack at these people,” Trump told reporters Monday. When pressed about which country, Trump did not specify which nation sparked his ire and only said that he wasn’t pleased. TRUMP, XI MEET IN EFFORT TO RESOLVE TRADE TENSIONS SPARKED BY US TARIFFS “A country wanted to try and renegotiate the terms of their trade deal,” Trump said. “And I wasn’t happy about it.” When asked again which country, Trump said: “Why would I say that to you?” The U.S. has engaged in trade talks with a number of countries in recent months, including Japan, Cambodia, Malaysia and Indonesia. Additionally, Trump met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea in October, where the two hammered out some negotiations on trade between the two countries. TRUMP SAYS CHINA WILL WORK WITH HIM TO STOP FENTANYL TRAFFICKING For example, Trump said he agreed to cut tariffs on Chinese imports by 10% — bring down the rate from 57% to 47% — because China said it would work with the U.S. on addressing the fentanyl crisis. Likewise, Trump said that he would not impose an additional 100% tariff on Chinese goods that were expected to kick in Nov. 1. Trump threatened the steep hike after China announced in October it would impose export controls on rare-earth magnets, which he said China had agreed to postpone by a year. Afterward, Trump said that a broader trade deal between the two countries would be signed in the near future. “Zero, to 10, with 10 being the best, I’d say the meeting was a 12,” Trump told reporters after meeting with Xi. “A lot of decisions were made … and we’ve come to a conclusion on very many important points.”
Judge Boasberg to weigh Trump contempt in deportation case this week
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ordered lawyers for the Trump administration and for a class of deported Venezuelan migrants to come to court Wednesday to discuss the case’s status and the long-stalled question of whether the administration willfully defied his earlier court order and acted in contempt. The new updates, codified in a minute order on Monday, are almost certain to spark fresh ire from President Donald Trump and his allies in a major immigration fight that has stretched on for more than nine months. At issue is the Trump administration’s use of the Alien Enemies Act, a 1798 wartime immigration law, to deport 252 Venezuelan migrants from the U.S. to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador in March. Boasberg had issued an emergency order in March blocking the Trump administration’s use of the law to immediately deport migrants to a third country, and ordered officials to return any planes that had already left US soil. WHO IS JAMES BOASBERG, THE US JUDGE AT THE CENTER OF TRUMP’S DEPORTATION EFFORTS? Despite his order, hundreds of migrants arrived in El Salvador hours later — where they remained until July, when they were removed again from CECOT to Venezuela as part of a broader prisoner exchange that involved the return of at least 10 Americans and permanent U.S. residents detained in Venezuela. Trump officials have argued that the individuals removed were alleged members of the Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua. But lawyers for the ACLU and other groups representing the migrants have vehemently disputed that claim, citing several reports from major news outlets that separately concluded that just a handful of individuals deported under the 18th century law had serious criminal records. The Alien Enemies Act has been used three times previously in U.S. history, and most recently during World War II. Boasberg tried for months without success to obtain information about the individuals who were deported to CECOT, and to obtain information about who in the Trump administration had ordered the flights in violation of his temporary restraining order. In April, Boasberg ruled that the court had found “probable cause” to move on criminal contempt proceedings against the Trump administration for failing to return the migrants to U.S. soil, citing what he described as the administration’s “willful disregard” of the court. Boasberg’s finding that the Trump administration likely acted in contempt of his March 15 emergency order had been halted for months, after a three-judge panel for the appeals court issued an emergency stay halting his order. EX-JUDGES BLAST TOP TRUMP DOJ OFFICIAL FOR DECLARING ‘WAR’ ON COURTS In August, the judges ruled 2-1 to toss it completely. Their decision was appealed to all eleven judges for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to review the matter en banc. On Friday, judges on the panel declined by an 8-3 vote to further review Boasberg’s ruling, which in theory would have kept the lower court’s ruling in place. They did not, as some of the judges explained, because the two majority judges for the panel had split in August over the reasons for tossing Boasberg’s opinion. Therefore, the court said, “the writ of mandamus issued by the panel has no ongoing practical or precedential effect.” The update from the en banc panel effectively clears the way for Boasberg to consider the contempt proceedings, giving him jurisdiction over the issue again for the first time in more than 200 days. TRUMP FOE BOASBERG ORDERS DOJ TO DETAIL STATUS OF CECOT MIGRANTS SENT TO VENEZUELA Boasberg, for his part, quickly clarified that he intends to move on the contempt question imminently. In a minute order issued Monday morning, Boasberg ordered lawyers for the Trump administration and the ACLU, who represent the deported class of Venezuelan migrants, to appear in court Wednesday for a previously scheduled motions hearing prepared to discuss case updates and next steps in the contempt inquiry. The Trump administration has not provided, as of this writing, a list of the migrants sent to CECOT in March, or details of their immigration status in the U.S. prior to removal. Boasberg’s emergency order in March touched off a complex legal saga that ultimately spawned dozens of federal court challenges across the country – though the one brought before his court was the very first. His role overseeing the case has also landed him squarely in the crosshairs of the Trump administration and the president himself, who has repeatedly excoriated Boasberg as an “activist judge.”
Iconic DC landmark unveils first Christmas tree as part of push to revive holiday spirit
FIRST ON FOX: The Kennedy Center will unveil its first-ever Christmas tree and lighting ceremony in December as the iconic cultural landmark under the Trump administration continues promoting Christmas-centered events and performances, Fox News Digital learned. The Kennedy Center, which serves as the national cultural center of the U.S. and located along the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., will unveil what officials say is its first ever Christmas tree with a lighting ceremony Dec. 17. “The Kennedy Center’s inaugural Christmas Tree Lighting is a milestone for America’s cultural center, one of Washington’s premier holiday attractions,” Roma Daravi, the Kennedy Center’s vice president of public relations, told Fox News Digital. “We are grateful to partner with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service to showcase a beautiful red spruce from the highest peaks of the Southern Appalachians and create new traditions for families and visitors this holiday season.” FOX NATION PATRIOT AWARDS TROPHIES FORGED FROM AMERICAN HISTORY WITH NAILS FROM GEORGE WASHINGTON’S CHURCH The tree is a towering 18-foot red spruce donated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service and harvested from the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests in southern Virginia’s Appalachian Mountains. The tree lightening ceremony invites families and other visitors to take part in the event, which will include Christmas entertainment and remarks from Kennedy Center leadership and special guests, Fox News Digital learned. “The ceremony will mark a historic moment for America’s cultural center as it establishes a new holiday tradition in the nation’s capital,” the Kennedy Center said of the tree lighting ceremony in a press release provided to Fox News Digital. The Kennedy Center has long held Christmas events, but has come under fire from President Donald Trump and the administration for previously hosting left-wing performances, such as drag shows, at the venue at other times in the calendar year. This year’s schedule boasts a handful of Christmas events, including those focused on the birth of Jesus and other religious events, such as a Christmas concert including a live nativity. WHITE HOUSE OPENS SOUTH LAWN TO TRICK-OR-TREATERS FOR HALLOWEEN CELEBRATION WITH TRUMPS “We are proud to present a meaningful, faith-filled experience for families to immerse themselves in the Christmas story at America’s cultural center,” Daravi told The Christian Post of the upcoming Christmas show. “Tis the season to create cherished memories and celebrate the sacred alongside the festive.” Kennedy Center President and Ambassador Richard Grenell said early in his term as the cultural center’s chief that the center would promote traditional and Christ-focused holiday events. NATIONAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA TO OPEN ALL OF ITS KENNEDY CENTER SHOWS WITH THE NATIONAL ANTHEM Grenell told Fox News Digital in February of this year that he would help usher in the “Golden Age of the Arts” with a stack of performances that attract visitors as the Kennedy Center faces a persistent uphill battle to become profitable amid years of running in the red. “How crazy is it to think that we’re going to celebrate Christ at Christmas with a big traditional production, to celebrate what we are all celebrating in the world during Christmastime, which is the birth of Christ?” Grenell said back in February while speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference.
China’s energy siege of Taiwan could cripple US supply chains, report warns
Instead of waging a bloody battle that could ignite a clash between nuclear-armed states, China may be betting it can conquer Taiwan without firing a shot — by choking off the island’s fuel and electricity until its government capitulates. China’s campaign wouldn’t start with missiles but with paperwork and patrol boats — “routine” inspections, new customs rules and cyber intrusions designed to quietly strangle Taiwan’s imports while giving Beijing plausible deniability, according to a new report by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). The report warns that a successful Chinese squeeze on Taiwan’s fuel would ripple far beyond Asia. With the island producing most of the world’s advanced semiconductors, any prolonged power outage could halt global electronics and defense manufacturing — hitting U.S. supply chains and markets almost immediately. “Beijing’s goal isn’t to invade today, but to make Taiwan believe resistance is futile tomorrow. Its gray-zone campaign is a strategy of slow-motion strangulation — one that risks a sudden shock as Chinese ships and aircraft surge around the island,” report author Craig Singleton said. TAIWAN’S ENERGY DEPENDENCE IS ‘ACHILLES HEEL’ AMID IMMENSE THREAT BY CHINA The findings stem from a tabletop exercise conducted this summer by FDD and Taiwan’s Centre for Innovative Democracy and Sustainability at National Chengchi University. The simulation, called “Energy Siege,” tested how the Chinese Communist Party might escalate from bureaucratic interference to a full-blown energy quarantine. Teams representing China, Taiwan, the United States, Japan and other allies wargamed a monthslong campaign in which Beijing throttled Taiwan’s fuel imports through “gray-zone” tactics — administrative slowdowns, cyberattacks and disinformation — all while maintaining plausible deniability. The exercise found that a prolonged squeeze on Taiwan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) could cripple its electrical grid within weeks and trigger a global chip shock. The report warns that cyber operations and propaganda would be central to Beijing’s playbook. Chinese hackers have already doubled successful intrusions into Taiwan’s energy grid over the past year, and the exercise envisioned them embedding malware in LNG terminals and power-plant control systems to disrupt shipments and distribution. At the same time, Beijing would unleash a barrage of false narratives — rumors of blackouts, fuel hoarding and government incompetence — to erode public trust and fracture morale. “For Beijing, disinformation is not a sideshow but its primary weapon,” the report notes, describing a campaign designed to “control the narrative and sap its adversaries’ will.” HIGH STAKES ON THE HIGH SEAS AS US, CHINA TEST LIMITS OF MILITARY POWER Taiwan imports nearly all of its energy — half from natural gas and about 30% from coal — and holds only “a few weeks’ worth” of reserves. “Taiwan’s three main LNG terminals and the Taichung coal offloading port are clustered along the island’s west coast, within range of the CCP’s missiles as shipments are funneled through narrow Taiwan Strait lanes,” the report adds. That dependency makes Taiwan one of the world’s most energy-insecure economies. A blockade or “energy quarantine” could cut the island’s power generation in half within weeks — forcing leaders to decide whether to keep the lights on for hospitals or for chipmakers like TSMC and UMC, Singleton and co-author Mark Montgomery write. “Coercion, not combat, is Beijing’s preferred weapon,” Singleton said, adding that such a blockade would have “ripple effects that would reshape global markets and stability alike.” The report also calls for the United States to expand its own LNG export capacity — particularly through new projects in Alaska — to ensure it can supply Taiwan directly and make U.S. energy a core element of the island’s resilience. Taiwan produces around 60% of global semiconductor chips and 90% of the world’s most advanced chips, though TSMC is building a facility in Arizona to help offset that imbalance. “The choice to slowly shutter industrial capacity would eventually make Taiwan’s conundrum a global catastrophe when a plurality of the world’s supply of legacy chips and a supermajority of its advanced chips cease flowing,” the report says. The authors argue that Taiwan should build up its LNG reserves through greater U.S. supply and for the U.S. Navy to be ready to escort vessels delivering it. “Beijing believes pressure plus patience equals political collapse,” Montgomery said. “What unnerves China isn’t Taiwan’s defiance, but its people’s ability to withstand coercion.” Beijing’s information strategy, the report adds, would aim to quietly turn Taiwan’s population against its own government and allies — amplifying stories questioning President Lai Ching-te’s competence, spreading rumors of military fuel hoarding and blackouts, and circulating claims that the U.S., Japan and Australia would hesitate to intervene. China’s propaganda campaign could also reach the American public, the authors warn, through efforts to “seed questions across U.S. online ecosystems designed to wear down the American public’s commitment to continued convoy operations.” For now, the contest remains theoretical. But as China builds the tools to choke Taiwan’s energy supply and shape its narrative abroad, the line between peace and pressure is narrowing. The exercise suggests the first shot in the next Taiwan crisis may not be fired at all.
Shutdown chaos reignites debate over privatizing US air traffic control
The longest government shutdown in U.S. history delayed thousands of flights just weeks before the heavily traveled holiday season, reigniting debate over whether to privatize the U.S. air traffic control system, which proponents argue would shield the industry from future shutdown concerns. Calls to privatize air traffic control have lingered on the edges of aviation policy for decades, often flaring during outages or government shutdowns that lead to lengthy delays for travelers. Air traffic controllers in the U.S. are overwhelmingly employees of the government’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which is charged with overseeing civil aviation safety, including airport operations and certifications for personnel and aircraft. Fox News Digital spoke with Diana Furchtgott-Roth, an economist and former assistant secretary for research and technology in the Department of Transportation under the first Trump administration, who has long advocated for the privatization of the FAA’s air traffic control system, telling Fox News Digital there are “no downsides to privatizing.” “Privatization would enable more funds to flow into air traffic control,” Furchtgott-Roth, who serves as director of the Center for Energy, Climate and Environment at the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank, told Fox News Digital. “Right now the (air traffic control system) depends on Congress for funds. The delays started because the air traffic controllers were not getting paid. If it were private, then payments would not be disrupted by shutdowns. Also, more money would flow in as more people used air travel, just as when more people want to eat out, more restaurants open.” AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS ISSUE DESPERATE PLEA AS FAMILIES STRUGGLE WITHOUT PAYCHECKS Nations around the globe have privatized and corporatized versions of their own air traffic control systems — many of which are government-owned corporations or nonprofit entities that don’t rely on taxpayer funds for operations. Proponents of privatization frequently point to Canada as an example to replicate. Unions and U.S. lawmakers, however, have opposed previous moves to privatize while underscoring that the U.S. has the largest and most complex air traffic control network in the world, and that disturbing an already well-established machine would risk airline safety and shift power to airlines and private interests. Canada’s government oversaw its air-traffic services until 1996, when Nav Canada was launched and implemented. Nav Canada is a not-for-profit, self-financed corporation that relies on fees charged to users for funding. Proponents of privatization in the U.S. frequently point to Canada’s success in freeing air travel from its reliance on public funds, and its ability to quickly modernize air traffic control’s dated infrastructure as evidence to carry out a similar overhaul below the northern border. FLIGHT DELAYS WORSEN AS UNPAID AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS FEEL GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN PAIN Nav Canada is governed by a 15-member board that includes leaders from across the spectrum as it relates to aviation, including, “the Government of Canada, commercial air carriers, the general aviation sector and unionized air navigation service employees,” according to its website. Furchtgott-Roth said that if the U.S. were to privatize, it would operate similarly to Canada’s system, including relying on funds from user fees to operate — not federal funds. “Despite America being a bastion of capitalism, we are the only major Western country with a government ATC,” she said. She lamented that the current U.S. system’s main inefficiency is due to it being government-run, arguing the U.S. is dragging behind other Western nations. “There could be multiple ATC providers as long as they met government performance standards,” Furchtgott-Roth added of how a new private system in the U.S. could function. “There is concern about safety, but no one worries about flying to London because of a private ATC.” Debate over privatizing the FAA and air traffic control cropped up earlier in 2025 after a devastating plane crash in January over the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. The collision killed 64 passengers and crew members on American Airlines flight 5342 and three crew on a Black Hawk Army helicopter. The crash unfolded just days after Trump was sworn in as the 47th president, and reignited criticism of the FAA and aviation industry that already had been rocked by air traffic staffing shortages and flight delays under the Biden administration. Trump has signed a series of executive orders and actions since January targeting the aviation industry and FAA, including ordering the agency to remove any diversity, equity and inclusion efforts for its hiring practices while arguing the Biden administration prioritized diversity over merit. FLIGHT REDUCTIONS LIKELY TO CONTINUE — OR WORSEN — IF SHUTDOWN PERSISTS, EXPERTS WARN Under Trump’s first term, he announced plans to privatize the air traffic control system by removing it from the FAA’s purview and designating control to a private corporation. The plan to privatize air traffic controllers failed in Congress, however. Unions and lawmakers under the first Trump administration pushed back against the proposal to privatize, arguing that the U.S.’ air traffic control is deeply complex and massive compared to other countries, and that privatizing would risk efforts to modernize the system and would expose air travel to uncertainties as it related to private funding. Democratic lawmakers uniformly opposed the bill, while some Republicans also backed away from supporting the measure out of concern that a private entity could favor larger airports, affecting rural and small airports. “Establishing a private ATC board outside the purview of Congress with the unilateral power to collect fees and distribute service would threaten safety, accessibility, affordability and pilot generation — which is already in a critical state,” a group of five GOP senators wrote at the time opposing the measure. “Without proper and public oversight, this threat would be most readily felt in rural communities and the general aviation industry, which could experience reduction in ATC service.” AMERICANS COULD FACE AIRPORT CHAOS IF DEMS DON’T END SHUTDOWN, TRUMP OFFICIAL WARNS Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy also has pushed back against privatizing the agency, telling the media in August that such plans were not on the table. “I could spend my time the next three
Majority of Democrats say ‘extremist political rhetoric’ contributed to Charlie Kirk assassination: poll
A majority of Democrats, Independents and Republicans agree that “extremist political rhetoric” contributed to the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, according to a new poll. The survey from NBC News found that 54% of Democrats agree that extreme rhetoric from “some in the media and by political leaders” was a major factor in Kirk’s killing. An overwhelming majority of Republicans, 73%, expressed the same sentiment, while 53% of Independents agreed. Across all respondents, 61% of Americans said they believe rhetoric contributed to Kirk’s death. Meanwhile, 28% said they believed Kirk’s killing was caused more by the lone actions of a disturbed individual than the broader political climate. Another 4% said it was a combination of the two. EXPERTS WARN LEFTIST CELEBRATIONS OF CHARLIE KIRK’S DEATH SIGNAL A DANGEROUS MAINSTREAM SHIFT IN POLITICS The poll marks the first time in 15 years of NBC News polling that majorities of all major American political groups agree that extreme rhetoric was a major factor in causing a violent incident. Polls going back to the 2011 shooting of former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., show a steady rise in Americans blaming political rhetoric for violence, rather than just a lone individual. In Giffords’ case, 71% of respondents blamed the lone attacker, while 24% blamed rhetoric. By the time of President Donald Trump‘s second assassination attempt, however, 37% blamed the attacker and 54% blamed rhetoric. FOLLOWING KIRK’S ASSASSINATION, LAWMAKERS REACT TO LETHAL POLITICAL CLIMATE: ‘VIOLENT WORDS PRECEDE VIOLENT ACTIONS’ Kirk’s alleged killer, Tyler Robinson, faces a capital punishment trial in Utah. Members of his family say he became politically extreme and moved further and further to the left in the year leading up to Kirk’s assassination. Robinson faces a slew of charges, including aggravated murder, which carries the potential the death penalty. He has not yet entered a plea. Judge Tony Graf granted a defense motion to allow Robinson to wear civilian clothes in court, citing his constitutional presumption of innocence, but denied a motion to allow him to appear without shackles. Robinson’s next hearing is scheduled for Jan. 16, 2026, when he is expected to make his first in-person appearance. Fox News’ Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.