First lady Melania Trump puts Hunter Biden on $1B notice over ‘false, defamatory’ Epstein comments
EXCLUSIVE: First lady Melania Trump is putting Hunter Biden on $1 billion notice over what she claims are “false, defamatory, disparaging, and inflammatory statements” made about her, demanding he immediately remove and retract the content and issue an apology or face legal action, Fox News Digital has learned. Fox News Digital exclusively obtained the letter that Alejandro Brito, attorney serving as litigation counsel for the first lady, sent to Hunter Biden and his attorney, Abbe Lowell, Aug. 6. DAILY BEAST PULLS STORY ALLEGING MELANIA-EPSTEIN CONNECTION AFTER LAWYERS DISPUTE FRAMING Brito demanded that Biden “immediately retract the false, defamatory, disparaging and inflammatory statements made about Mrs. Trump,” which were contained in a video interview with Channel 5 with Andrew Callaghan and posted to Youtube in early August. Fox News Digital reached out to Channel 5 with Andrew Callaghan for comment and did not receive a response. “Failure to comply will leave Mrs. Trump with no choice but to pursue any and all legal rights and remedies available to her to recover the overwhelming financial and reputational harm that you have caused her to suffer,” Brito wrote. In the video interview, titled “Hunter Biden Returns” video earlier in August, the former first son claimed “Epstein introduced Melania to Trump. The connections are, like, so wide and deep.” Biden also claimed that “Jeffrey Epstein introduced Melania, and that’s how Melania and the first lady and the President met.” “These false, disparaging, defamatory, and inflammatory statements are extremely salacious and have been widely disseminated throughout various digital mediums,” Brito wrote. “Indeed, the video has since been re-published by various media outlets, journalists, and political commentators with millions of social media followers that have disseminated the false and defamatory statements therein to tens of millions of people worldwide.” Brito added: “Consequently, you have caused Mrs. Trump to suffer overwhelming financial and reputational harm.” Brito said that Biden’s “source” for the false statements is “serial fabulist Michael Wolff, whose lies were published by The Daily Beast in the article titled ‘Melania Trump ‘very involved’ in Epstein Scandal: Author.’” JEFFREY EPSTEIN THROWN OUT OF MAR-A-LAGO FOR HIRING THE HELP: TRUMP “Following receipt of our cease-and-desist demand letter just a week ago, The Daily Beast issued an apology to Mrs. Trump and retracted the false and defamatory statements contained in the article by deleting it in its entirety,” Brito wrote. “Despite this, you have unjustifiably relied upon Mr. Wolff’s false, defamatory, disparaging, and inflammatory statements about Mrs. Trump and maliciously elected to republish them.” Brito warned Biden that he lacks “any viable defense to the overwhelming reputational and financial harm” he has caused the first lady to suffer. “The timing of this video is evident and underscores the actual malice behind the decision to publish it given the plain falsity of the statements,” Brito wrote. “Given your vast history of trading on the names of others—including your surname—for your personal benefit, it is obvious that you published these false and defamatory statements about Mrs. Trump to draw attention to yourself.” Brito demanded, on behalf of the first lady, that Biden “immediately issue a full and fair retraction of the video and any and all other false, defamatory, disparaging, misleading, and inflammatory statements about Mrs. Trump in as conspicuous a manner as they were originally published.” Brito also demanded, on behalf of the first lady, that Biden “immediately issue an apology for the false, defamatory, disparaging, misleading and inflammatory statements about Mrs. Trump.” Brito also directed Biden not to “destroy, conceal, or alter any paper or electronic files, physical evidence” or other records relating to the false claims; including communications regarding Melania Trump; records of his sources; and any documents or data regarding Mrs. Trump. MELANIA TRUMP POSTS VICTORY X POST AFTER JAMES CARVILLE REMOVES PODCAST ALLEGING ‘EPSTEIN CONNECTION’ “If you do not comply with the above by August 7, 2025 at 5:00 p.m. EST, Mrs. Trump will be left with no alternative but to enforce her legal and equitable rights, all of which are expressly reserved and are not waived, including by filing legal action for over $1 Billion Dollars in damages,” Brito wrote. “You are on notice.” A source close to the matter told Fox News Digital that Biden did not comply with the requests by the set deadline. The source said Biden and his team “leaked the letter” from the first lady’s attorney to “a friendly reporter,” which “shows how deeply concerned they are about Hunter’s serious liability for spreading defamatory lies.” It is unclear which reporter and for which outlet the letter was shared with. Biden and Lowell did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. The letter comes after the Daily Beast pulled the article detailing allegations by journalist Wolff that Melania Trump was introduced to her husband Donald Trump via a modeling agent connected to Epstein, after a challenge from the first lady’s lawyers. “Editor’s Note. After this story was published, The Beast received a letter from First Lady Melania Trump’s attorney challenging the headline and framing of the article. After reviewing the matter, the Beast has taken down the article and apologizes for any confusion or misunderstanding,” The Daily Beast posted in place of the article. The url for the article appears to have been amended to remove the original headline and now reads: thedailybeast.com/epstein-this-story-has-been-removed. It also comes after James Carville apologized to the first lady after repeating the same claim. Carville opened his latest episode of the Politics War Room podcast with a legal note. “In last week’s podcast episode, we spoke with Judd Legum,” he said. “After the episode, we received a letter from Melania Trump’s lawyer. He took issue with our title of one of those YouTube videos from that episode and a couple of comments I made about the first lady. We took a look at what they complained about, and we took down the video and edited out those comments from the episode. I also take back these statements and apologize.” An
Fox News Politics Newsletter: Attempts to end war
Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump administration, Capitol Hill and more Fox News politics content. Here’s what’s happening… -US appeals court says Trump can slash billions in owed USAID funds -Three states sign new agreements with ICE for expanded immigration enforcement operations –Zohran Mamdani takes aim at Trump’s immigration policies in fiery Staten Island speech: ‘We are fighting to keep NYC a sanctuary city’ President Donald Trump threatened “very severe consequences” for Russia if President Vladimir Putin doesn’t agree to end the war in Ukraine after their meeting in Alaska on Friday. Trump issued the warning Wednesday as he was preparing for a sit-down with Putin in Anchorage. “Yes, they will. There will be consequences,” Trump said in response to a reporter’s question on the topic. The president then refused to elaborate on what the punishment would be…Read more ‘FIGHTING FORCE’: Adversaries are ‘afraid’ of U.S. military, and that makes tough talks like Putin possible FISCAL FIGHT: Trump predicts little progress in potential shutdown talks with ‘crazy’ Schumer, Jeffries ‘IF I HAVE TO’: Trump warns he may bypass Congress with national emergency to keep D.C. police control beyond 30 days ‘STEP UP’: Vance to visit U.S. troops during high-stakes UK trip ahead of Trump’s Putin meeting ‘ENOUGH DAMAGE’: Former Navy SEAL Rep. Eli Crane fires off message for ex-President Obama: ‘Probably best to sit this one out’ PHILADELPHIA FREEDOM: Soros-linked DA warns Trump after D.C. crime crackdown: ‘Better not try it in Philly’ LEGAL SHOWDOWN: Venezuelan migrants, progressive group sue Trump admin after Noem nixes Biden-era ‘protected status’ ‘NO SIGN’: Zelenskyy, ahead of Trump-Putin meeting, says there is ‘no sign’ Russia wants to end the war ‘REMAKE AMERICA’: Vulnerable Democrats hammered with scathing ad handcuffing them to Mamdani, Jeffries CHECKING OUT: Last migrant hotel in New York City set to close as ’emergency shelter’ program sunsets QUORUM CRISIS: O’Rourke, Soros-linked groups face call for DOJ probe over alleged funding of Texas Dem walkout CLASSROOM CRISIS: Democratic governor hopeful unveils education overhaul plan as election nears ‘SAFER’ STREETS: Trump’s new D.C. crime crackdown yields more than 100 arrests CONTROVERSIAL DEAL: Rural town to turn closed prison into ICE detention facility, despite resident pushback JUDICIAL SHOWDOWN: DOJ faces off with entire Maryland federal bench over automatic pauses in deportation cases Get the latest updates on the Trump administration and Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.
DC violence has grown far more deadly, despite Dems claiming 30-year low
The chances of a person facing a violent crime in Washington, D.C., have dropped in recent years, but the possibility of dying during such a crime has skyrocketed, data shows. “You have less chance of being victimized, but if you are victimized, you have more of a chance of dying,” John Jay adjunct lecturer Jillian Snider, a retired New York Police Department officer, told Fox News Digital Tuesday of violent crime trends in the nation’s capital. Snider was referring to a report published by the Council on Criminal Justice in July, which studied violent crime data of 17 large U.S. cities between 2018 and 2024, specifically diving into the lethality of violent crimes in those cities. It found Washington, D.C., had the highest lethality level out of the group – which included cities such as Baltimore and Chicago – at a 38% increase in lethality in 2024 compared with 2018. Lethality in D.C. jumped by a whopping 341% when compared to 2012 data, the study found, reporting that there were 13 homicides per 1,000 serious violent crimes in 2012 to 57 homicides per 1,000 serious violent crimes in 2024. The study defined lethality as “the number of homicides per aggravated assaults and robberies.” TOP DEMOCRATS RIPPED ON SOCIAL MEDIA OVER ‘BONKERS’ REACTIONS TO TRUMP’S DC CRIME PLAN: ‘MASSIVE LIAR’ D.C.’s crime rates are under the national spotlight this week after President Donald Trump announced Monday morning during a packed press conference that he was federalizing the Metropolitan Police Department under section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, which allows the president to assume emergency control of the capital’s police force for 30 days. WASHINGTON POST SOURCE SAYS DC IS SAFE BUT STAYS ANONYMOUS OVER ‘PERSONAL SAFETY’ CONCERNS “Our capital city has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs of wild youth, drugged-out maniacs and homeless people,” Trump said during the press conference. “And we’re not going to let it happen anymore. We’re not going to take it.” Upon Trump’s announcement, Democratic lawmakers slammed the president for allegedly overstepping and sending in the National Guard despite crime trends falling in recent years. Top Democrats, such as House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, promoted the narrative that crime is at a 30-year low. “Violent crime in Washington, D.C. is at a thirty-year low,” Jeffries said Monday. “Donald Trump has no basis to take over the local police department. And zero credibility on the issue of law and order. Get lost.” “As you listen to an unhinged Trump try to justify deploying the National Guard in DC, here’s reality: Violent crime in DC is at a 30-year low,” former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton posted to X. When asked about some Democrats touting that crime has fallen to a 30-year-low, Snider argued that it’s not “fair” to compare any city in 2025 to one in the 1990s. TRUMP CLAIMS DC CRIMES TROUNCE STATS FROM NOTORIOUSLY VIOLENT CITIES WORLDWIDE “The ‘90s were a shaky time in most urban and metropolitan areas,” she said. “We were coming out of the crack epidemic. We were coming out of economic instability from the late ’80s. And then the ’90s, we saw like this revolutionary policing, this broken windows policing, this now hot-spot policing, this CompStat-driven era.” “I don’t think that any agency today in 2025 should be saying, like, ‘Oh, we’re doing so much better than we were in 1995,’” she continued. “It’s a completely different world than it was in 1995. You have different demographics in different areas. You have different population counts in different areas.” The U.S. was rocked by violent crime waves from coast-to-coast in 2020 and the subsequent years, when the pandemic upended day-to-day life with lockdown orders and social justice protests and riots broke out in major cities nationwide. The FBI logged a nearly 30% increase in murders compared to the year prior, marking the largest single-year increase in killings since the agency began tracking the crimes. TRUMP ADMIN CUTTING $20M IN DC SECURITY FUNDING AFTER FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT ORDERED TO INCREASE PRESENCE Washington, D.C., was among the cities caught up in the national crime trend, recording 198 homicides that year, which marked a 16-year high for the city. Homicides jumped to 226 in 2021, another 203 in 2022 and 274 in 2023 – which was a 20-year high for the city. D.C., saw homicides drop by roughly 31% from 2023 to 2024, according to year-end Metropolitan Police Department data reporting 274 homicides in 2023 compared to 187 in 2024. The data shows violent crime across the board fell by roughly 35% from 2023, when the department reported 5,345 violent crime incidents, to 2024, when it reported 3,469 violent crimes. “Everyone should be celebrating that crime is falling,” Snider said. “But at the same time, we don’t have the full picture: Why is crime more deadly than it once was?” The Council on Criminal Justice study found, specifically, that Washington’s lethality increased each year from 2012–2021, except for 2016. “The largest single-year increase was a 57% jump from 2014 to 2015,” the study reported. “From 2019 to 2020, lethality increased by 22%, followed by another 14% increase in 2021. It then declined slightly in 2022 (-3%) and 2023 (-8%), before a 5% uptick in 2024. Lethality in 2020 was significantly higher than in all earlier years, except for 2019. However, lethality levels observed in 2021 through 2024 were not significantly different from those in 2020.” The author behind the study, Council on Criminal Justice senior researcher Ernesto Lopez, explained to local media in July that “lethality has climbed significantly” in the nation’s capital despite crime trends falling. “We look back to 2012 lethality – again, that share of violence that ended a homicide – that increased by over 300% from 2012 to 2024, even though the homicide rate drops,” Lopez told WTOP in July. “So, the violent situations can be getting less frequent, but when those violent situations occur, they more likely end in a fatality
Abigail Spanberger, Democratic governor hopeful, unveils education overhaul plan as election nears
Democratic Virginia gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger has vowed to overhaul the state’s education system. The plan aims to strengthen Virginia’s K-12 schools as the state faces a teacher shortage and low rankings on its post-COVID educational recovery. In addition to addressing the teacher shortage through recruitment and support plans, Spanberger aims to ensure academic rigor while “modernizing crumbling schools.” Additionally, she’s looking to reject efforts to take funding from public schools and diverting it to voucher programs. “Virginia’s kids deserve strong schools that prepare them for success – regardless of their ZIP code,” Spanberger is quoted as saying at the top of her plan. POTENTIAL YOUNGKIN SUCCESSOR FOCUSED ON MESSAGE IN TOUGH RACE TO KEEP SWING-STATE ‘RED’ The Education Recovery Scorecard found Virginia ranked 41st in reading recovery between 2019 and 2024, while it ranked 51st – behind all states and D.C. – in math recovery. Additionally, the state ranked 46th in math improvement over the same period. “The federal pandemic relief dollars may be gone, but the pandemic’s impact lingers in many Virginia schools. Even without federal relief dollars, states could be targeting continuing federal Title I dollars and state dollars to implement interventions which have been shown effective, such as tutoring and summer learning,” the organization wrote in a press release announcing Virginia’s rankings. Spanberger isn’t just aiming to bring more teachers into the classroom, she’s also advocating for higher salaries for Virginia educators, which she believes will help “keep our best and brightest in the classroom.” Education was a hallmark issue of Virginia’s last gubernatorial race with now-Gov. Glenn Youngkin and former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe debating parents’ involvement in the classroom. This came as controversy erupted over heated school board meetings in Virgina’s Loudoun County. Many cited McAuliffe’s remark that parents should not tell schools what to teach as their reason for voting for Youngkin, who championed parents’ rights. OPINION: AMERICANS NEED TO WORK TOGETHER TO FIX EDUCATION. WE’VE BOTH DONE IT BEFORE ON OPPOSITE SIDES In March, Spanberger slammed Youngkin and Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, who is running for Virginia governor as a Republican, when they proposed public school funding cuts. She called the proposal “misguided” and expressed hope that “Democrats in our General Assembly will take the necessary steps to protect these important investments.” Spanberger also appeared to take a swipe at Youngkin in a June interview with Dogwood, seeming to accuse the governor of playing politics with education. “We have to stop trying to pit parents against teachers or parents against educators for political reasons,” Spanberger told Dogwood. On her website and in her education plan, Spanberger emphasizes her personal interest in Virgina public education as her three daughters are all students in the system. “As a mom, I’m so grateful for the hardworking, dedicated Virginians who make sure our children have a safe, positive, and productive school day. As Governor, I’ll make sure our educators get the support they need to continue providing a world-class education for our Commonwealth’s kids,” Spanberger wrote in a social media post on Wednesday. The Democratic gubernatorial hopeful’s plan also includes efforts to strengthen child care and higher education in Virginia. For higher education, Spanberger is looking to both make it more affordable for students while also investing in Virginia’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). The state is home to several higher education institutions, including Virginia Tech, University of Virginia and George Mason University, among others. Its HBCUs include Hampton University, Virginia State University and several others. In her plan, Spanberger also says she’s looking to ensure that Virginia parents have access to “high-quality child care in their area.” However, this push is about more than ensuring good child care, it’s also about improving the state’s worker retention by helping ease the burden on working parents. Fox News Digital reached out to Sears’ campaign but did not receive a response in time for publication.
US appeals court says Trump can slash billions in owed USAID funds
A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that the Trump administration can slash up to roughly $2 billion in foreign aid payments that it halted earlier this year, delivering a victory to the Trump administration months after President Donald Trump sought to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled 2-1 to reverse a lower court’s decision that ordered the Trump administration to resume paying out the nearly $2 billion in USAID funding that had previously been approved by Congress. Writing for the majority, Judge Karen L. Henderson, a President George H.W. Bush appointee, said that the plaintiffs lacked legal standing to sue the Trump administration over its decision to withhold the funds. TRUMP TEMPORARILY THWARTED IN DOGE MISSION TO END USAID The plaintiffs, she said, “may not bring a freestanding constitutional claim if the underlying alleged violation and claimed authority are statutory.” She was joined in the majority opinion by Judge Greg Katsas, a Trump appointee. “Nor do the grantees have a cause of action under the APA because APA review is precluded by the Impoundment Control Act (ICA),” she added. “And the grantees may not reframe this fundamentally statutory dispute as an ultra vires claim either. Instead, the Comptroller General may bring suit as authorized by the ICA.” The decision is a victory for Trump, who moved to dismantle USAID and other foreign spending almost immediately after he was sworn in to his second White House term. That decision sparked the ire of foreign aid groups and other recipients of the assistance, who quickly sued over the frozen payments, and argued that the quick dismantling of them risked “immediate and irreparable harm.” This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.
Three states sign new agreements with ICE for expanded immigration enforcement operations
EXCLUSIVE: Three new states have signed agreements of varying intensity and substance, with one governor 1,700 miles away from Mexico saying his is effectively a “border state” due to its major fentanyl crisis. On Wednesday, West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey will announce one of the most wide-ranging agreements a state has forged with ICE yet, enlisting the West Virginia State Police, Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation and National Guard to aid immigration enforcement through the “287(g)” authority heralded by President Donald Trump. West Virginia has long ranked among the states with the highest rates of drug-related deaths, a crisis that Morrisey says underscores the need to work with ICE to combat fentanyl trafficking. “Under the Biden administration, millions of people poured into our country unlawfully and we had no knowledge about who they were, or whether they were a threat to our nation,” Morrisey told Fox News Digital ahead of his expected Wednesday mid-morning announcement in Parkersburg. WY GOVERNOR GREENLIGHTS STATE TROOPERS TO JOIN ICE IN IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN “West Virginia became an effective ‘border state’ due to the massive fentanyl problem caused by illegal immigration,” he said. The National Guard and state police will have “task force” authority to interrogate any person believed to be an illegal immigrant as to his right to remain in the U.S. – under the supervision or direction of the feds. Officers will be able to process immigration-related violations for those arrested for state or federal offenses, and can also make warrantless arrests of any illegal immigrant in the officer’s “presence or view” if that person is believed to be a flight risk in the interim of obtaining a warrant. Morrisey also authorized state law enforcement to serve immigration warrants, administer oaths and collect evidence for “required alien processing,” including fingerprints and suspect interviews. Unlike some other states, West Virginia law enforcement will also be able to issue immigration detainers, prepare documents for approval from federal ICE officers and arrest felonious aliens who have the penchant to escape. West Virginia Division of Corrections will be permitted to hold immigrants on detainer, so long as the actions fall under federal auspices. Corrections officers will be able to follow the federal “warrant officer model,” which includes serving warrants for immigration violations in jails and transferring custody to the feds. Farther west, South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden recently announced cooperation with ICE to a lesser extent with his “Operation Prairie Thunder” public safety crackdown. Rhoden, who rose to the governorship upon the departure of now-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, announced earlier this month that Operation Prairie Thunder would be a “comprehensive, targeted public safety initiative” in the state – with a focus on the Sioux Falls metro area. The anti-crime effort seeks to interdict drugs, probe gang activity and “deter lawlessness.” TEXAS BILL REQUIRING SHERIFFS TO COLLABORATE WITH ICE GIVEN INITIAL APPROVAL BY STATE HOUSE It includes a “comprehensive effort to support the work of [ICE], secure our borders and deport illegal alien criminals,” according to a statement. The South Dakota Highway Patrol will be able to assist ICE, and six South Dakota National Guard soldiers will be tasked with helping the agency with administrative functions. “Our work alongside ICE boils down to this: Highway Patrol will support ICE with arrests,” Rhoden said. “The National Guard will support ICE with processing and administrative functions. And DOC will support ICE with transportation, identifying illegal immigrants in our prisons, and getting them paroled to ICE custody.” In Arkansas, a state law took effect this week that increases penalties for illegal immigrants committing “serious felonies involving violence,” among other stipulations. The “Defense Against Criminal Illegals Act,” signed by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, also allowed Arkansas sheriffs to engage with ICE. It allows law enforcement to apply via 287(g) to be authorized to serve immigration warrants on illegal immigrants already in custody for other offenses. Arkansas State Police will go beyond the minimum cooperation required by the law, according to the Arkansas Times. Cops will be able to stop people in public and ask them their immigration status – and potentially arrest suspected violators. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP A spokeswoman for the state police told the outlet that troopers must undergo training before any can work in an immigration-related capacity. The regimen includes a 40-hour online course laying out officers’ “scope of authority, immigration law, civil rights law, cross-cultural issues, liability issues, complaint procedures and obligations under federal law,” the spokeswoman said. Sanders credited Trump with making border security a top priority and obtaining results. “The Defense Against Criminal Illegals Act makes it clear: Arkansas will not tolerate violent, criminal illegals and will do our part to help the Trump administration keep our citizens safe,” the former Trump press secretary said in a statement. Those states join Florida and Wyoming, the first two to sign substantive 287(g) agreements with ICE.
Dems face scrutiny over congressional representation gaps in blue states: ‘Don’t have clean hands’
Several Democratic states are facing scrutiny over their own congressional maps amid the push back to Texas redistricting efforts. Specifically, numerous states had a significant percentage vote for President Donald Trump in 2024 but have little or no congressional representation for Republicans. For example, Trump won nearly 46% of the vote in New Mexico, but none of the state’s three seats are held by Republicans. Currently, the Cook Partisan Voting Index is even for the Second Congressional District, which is considered highly competitive. The current maps were kept after a ruling from the New Mexico Supreme Court despite gerrymandering concerns. DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST SAYS PARTY LACKS ‘MORAL AUTHORITY’ ON TEXAS REDISTRICTING FIGHT Connecticut voted nearly 42% for the president but has no seats that Republicans won in 2024. Illinois is considered one of the most gerrymandered states, with Republicans currently only holding three of 17 seats, which is considered a 26% advantage to Democrats. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who has stood in support of the efforts of Texas Democrats to leave the state to thwart redistricting votes, faced questioning from late-night talk show host Stephen Colbert about the current map. “If you are considering doing a little more redrawing in Illinois, you already have some crazy districts in Illinois. Take a look at this. Look at [district] 17 here. It does that, then it comes up here, and it sneaks around there and goes all the way up here and then goes right over there like that,” Colbert said on the Illinois map last week. “Is this common for all states to do?” Pritzker said it was up to the independent redistricting commission, but said the way Texas seeks to redraw its maps mid-decade is problematic. “That is extraordinarily rare,” Pritzker said. “And the way they are doing it is taking voting rights away from Black and Brown people. They are literally obliterating districts that were written according to the Voting Rights Act. So this is going to end up in court if they are actually able to do it.” NETWORKS POUNCE ON REPUBLICAN REDISTRICTING. THEY DIDN’T CARE WHEN DEMOCRATS DID IT California saw Trump win 38% of the vote but just nine out of 52 congressional seats, or 17%. This is considered a 21% Democratic advantage in seats as the state considers adding five Democratic seats to counteract Texas, with a special election for voter approval being scheduled for November. “We are talking about emergency measures to respond to what’s happening in Texas, and we will nullify what happens in Texas,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom said at a press conference last week. New York has a 13% Democratic lead in seats, with seven out of 26 currently having Republican representation, and Trump won 43% of the vote in the state. Oregon has a 24% Democratic lead while the Trump wing has 41% of the vote there. New Jersey saw Trump at 46% of the vote, but the state only has three Republicans out of the 12 congressional seats, and Maryland has only one Republican representative despite 34% of the vote going toward the president, placing the state at a 22% Democratic advantage with eight districts in total. GOV. GREG ABBOTT THREATENS TO REDISTRICT 8 SEATS FOR GOP IF DEM LAWMAKERS DON’T RETURN TO TEXAS Republican states have also faced their fair share of gerrymandering lawsuits in the past, but Democratic strategist Julian Epstein pointed out on “Fox News Live” over the weekend that Democrats are not immune from criticism on the issue. “No, I think they don’t have the moral authority, and there’s a lot of pearl-clutching going on,” he said. “The Democrats don’t have clean hands here. You look at states like Massachusetts, New Jersey[…] Illinois, California, and Democrats have effectively gerrymandered Republicans out of existence,” Epstein added. Many Texas House Democrats remain out of the state to prevent a quorum that would permit the redistricting plan to move forward in the Lone Star State, and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says those members will likely be subject to arrest upon their return. “We have a situation where lawmakers are violating the law in Article 3 of the Texas Constitution, where they are required to act on bills. Because they’re violating that constitutional mandate, that means they are not fulfilling their oath of office, and they can be removed from office in this legal action that I’m taking,” he told “Fox News Sunday.”
Treasury sanctions ‘brutally violent’ cartel for timeshare fraud in tourist destination, warns Americans
FIRST ON FOX: The Treasury Department sanctioned a network of individuals linked to a “brutally violent” cartel for hundreds of millions of dollars of timeshare fraud targeting Americans in popular tourist destination Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, Fox News Digital has learned. The Treasury Department is now warning current U.S.-based owners of timeshares and those considering the purchase of a Mexico-based timeshare, to conduct “appropriate due diligence.” Officials warn that the scams often target older Americans who can lose their life savings. BRUTALLY VIOLENT MEXICAN CARTEL DRAINING AMERICANS’ LIFE SAVINGS IN COMPLEX SCAM The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control imposed sanctions on four Mexican individuals and 13 Mexican companies linked to timeshare fraud led by the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG). The individuals linked to the fraud are based in or near Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. “We are coming for terrorist drug cartels like Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion that are flooding our country with fentanyl,” Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said in a statement. “These cartels continue to create new ways to generate revenue to fuel their terrorist operations. At President Trump’s direction, we will continue our effort to completely eradicate the cartels’ ability to generate revenue, including their efforts to prey on elderly Americans through timeshare fraud.” The three senior CJNG members most involved in timeshare fraud sanctioned Wednesday are Julio Cesar Montero Pinzon (Montero), Carlos Andres Rivera Varela (Rivera) and Francisco Javier Gudino Haro (Gudino). Additionally, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, native Michael Ibarra Diaz Jr. (Ibarra) was sanctioned. Treasury says Ibarra is “engaged in timeshare fraud on behalf of CJNG.” The companies sanctioned are Akali Realtors, Centro Mediador De La Costa, S.A. de C.V., Corporativo Integral De La Costa, S.A. de C.V., Corporativo Costa Norte, S.A. de C.V., and Sunmex Travel, S. de R.L. De C.V. They “explicitly acknowledge their involvement in the timeshare industry.” Another company involved in timeshare-related transactions that was sanctioned is TTR Go, S.A. de C.V. They claim only to be a travel agency. Three additional companies were sanctioned for their alleged real estate activities: Inmobiliaria Integral Del Puerto, S.A. de C.V., KVY Bucerias, S.A. de C.V., and Servicios Inmobiliarios Ibadi, S.A. de C.V. “This diverse corporate network also includes tour operators (Fishing Are Us, S. De R.L. de C.V.; Santamaria Cruise, S. de R.L. de C.V.), an automotive service company (Laminado Profesional Automotriz Elte, S.A. de C.V.), and an accounting firm (Consultorias Profesionales Almida, S.A. de C.V.). Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion is a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization. Officials said the cartel is increasingly supplementing its drug trafficking proceeds with alternative revenue streams like timeshare fraud and fuel theft. “Treasury has taken a series of actions targeting the diverse revenue streams benefitting the cartels, including fuel theft, human smuggling, extortion, and fraud,” the Treasury Department said. “As Treasury and its partners seek to disrupt the cartels’ revenue streams, it is important to remind current owners of timeshares in Mexico: If an unsolicited purchase or rental offer seems too good to be true, it probably is.” Treasury added: “Those considering the purchase of a timeshare in Mexico should conduct appropriate due diligence.” FBI WARNS OF MEXICAN CARTELS TARGETING AMERICANS IN TIMESHARE FRAUD SCHEMES Officials said Mexico-based cartels have been targeting U.S. owners of timeshares through call centers in Mexico staffed by telemarketers in fluent English. Officials said that beginning in 2012, CJNG took control of timeshare fraud schemes in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico, and the surrounding area. The scams often target older Americans “who can lose” their life savings, officials warned, adding that the lifecycle of the scams can “last years, resulting in financial and emotional devastation of the victims while enriching cartels like CJNG.” TROPICAL RESORTS POPULAR WITH AMERICANS NO LONG ‘OFF LIMITS’ FOR CARTEL KILLERS: ‘THE RULES HAVE CHANGED’ Officials said the cartels typically obtain information about U.S. owners of timeshares in Mexico from “complicit insiders at timeshare resorts.” “After obtaining information on timeshare owners, the cartels, through their call centers, contact victims by phone or email and claim to be U.S.-based third-party timeshare brokers, attorneys, or sales representatives in the timeshare, travel, real estate, or financial services industries,” the Treasury Department said. Officials explained that the fraud may include timeshare exit scams, or resale scams, timeshare re-rent scams, and timeshare investment scams. “The common theme is that victims are asked to pay advance ‘fees’ and ‘taxes’ before receiving money supposedly owed to them,” officials warned. “This money never comes, and the victims are continuously told to send these ‘fees’ and ‘taxes’ via international wire transfers to accounts held at Mexican banks and brokerage houses.” TIMESHARE TERROR LEAVES RETIRED COUPLE $50K IN THE HOLE AFTER BEING SCAMMED After initial scams, officials warn that “re-victimization scams can occur.” In July 2024, Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and the FBI issued a joint-notice on the timeshare fraud associated with Mexico-based cartels and criminal organizations. In the six-month period following that notice, FinCEN received more than 250 suspicious activity reports, and filers reported approximately 1,300 transactions totaling $23.1 million, sent primarily from U.S. based individuals to counterparties in Mexico. Based on FinCEN’s analysis, U.S. fraud victims sent an average of $28,912 and a median amount of $10,000 per transaction to the suspected scammers since July 2024. The FBI says approximately 6,000 U.S. victims reported losing nearly $300 million between 2019 and 2023 to timeshare fraud schemes in Mexico. But officials said that figure “likely underestimates total losses, as the FBI believes the vast majority of victims not report the scam due to embarrassment, among other reasons.”
Last migrant hotel in New York City set to close as ’emergency shelter’ program sunsets
New York City’s last remaining “migrant hotel” will soon cease to be an emergency shelter, following the Trump administration’s border crackdown that eased pressure on Texas – which had previously bused waves of migrants to the Big Apple under former President Joe Biden. The Row, a prominent hotel in the Times Square district, will wind down its operations over the next eight months, as about 3,400 people remain within its 1,300-room confines, according to NY1. New York City Mayor Eric Adams told the network in a statement that his administration “successfully helped more than 200,000 migrants leave our shelter system and take the next step toward self-sufficiency.” “The migrant population in our care continues to decline, and we have closed 64 emergency migrant sites, including all of our tent-based facilities,” he said, as hotels around the city, like the Row and the Roosevelt, and large areas like Floyd Bennett Field in Marine Park, Brooklyn were crammed with migrants during the heat of the crisis. ‘I WARNED YOU’: LEFT-WING GOVERNOR SCRAPS MIGRANT SHELTER PLAN AFTER $1B BLOWUP Adams said the operations were necessary in order to ensure “no family slept on the street.” He said that the city’s Asylum Application Help Center has processed 111,000 such applications for federal protected status and authorization to work in the U.S. The outlet reported that New York City has expended resources for a total of 65,000 travel tickets to other cities in an effort to save city taxpayers in the long run. There was no immediate indication of where the immigrants currently at the Row will go if they are still there when the program runs its course by April 2026. TRUMP RIPS ‘LUXURY HOTELS’ FOR MIGRANTS WHILE AMERICAN CITIZENS ARE ‘LIVING FROM HAND TO MOUTH’ The once-posh Roosevelt Hotel, which shuttered during the COVID-19 pandemic, was another popular spot for housing migrants after it was repurposed by the city in 2023. That lodging, on the East Side, began winding down migrant housing operations in February, the city said in a separate announcement, ushering in the closure of the Asylum Seeker Arrival Center as well. NEW YORK CITY MIGRANT CRISIS COSTS EXPECTED TO EXCEED $5B IN TWO-YEAR PERIOD – DOUBLE TO $10B BY 2025 The city has not said much about what will happen to migrants after the last one exits the Row, but in the past the Adams administration told Gothamist that many found their own housing, moved into the city’s regular homeless shelter operations or left town. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “While we’re not done caring for those who come into our care, today marks another milestone in demonstrating the immense progress we have achieved in turning the corner on an unprecedented international humanitarian effort,” Adams said at the time, adding New York was faced with “unprecedented challenges” in recent years. The mayor, who remains a candidate for re-election, has been overshadowed in the November race by far-left state Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, D-Queens, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the more gregarious Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa.
SCOOP: Trump’s newest DC crime crackdown yields more than 100 arrests
FIRST ON FOX: Law enforcement officials in Washington, D.C., have arrested more than 100 people since Aug. 7, Fox Digital has learned, as President Donald Trump cracks down on crime in the city. Law enforcement officials have arrested a total of 103 individuals as of Wednesday morning since Aug. 7, which includes 43 who were arrested Tuesday, a White House official told Fox Digital Wednesday morning. The arrests are part of Trump’s March executive order, which established the Making DC Safe and Beautiful Task Force, ahead of Trump’s Monday announcement federalizing the D.C. police department. “President Trump’s bold leadership is quickly making our nation’s capital safer,” White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told Fox Digital. “In less than one week, over 100 violent criminals have already been arrested and taken off of the streets in Washington, D.C. President Trump is delivering on his campaign promise to clean up this city and restore American Greatness to our cherished capital.” Trump announced Monday that he was federalizing the local police department under section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, which allows the president to assume emergency control of the capital’s police force for 30 days. The White House reported there were roughly 30 National Guard troops on the ground Tuesday evening, which is expected to dramatically increase on Wednesday evening, Fox Digital learned. The crime crackdown operation is expected to transition to a 24/7 operating status, breaking from its previous focus of patrolling the nation’s capital on night, the White House said. FBI DIRECTOR KASH PATEL BACKS TRUMP’S DC POLICE TAKEOVER: ‘WHEN YOU LET GOOD COPS BE COPS, THEY DELIVER’ Hundreds of National Guard members have since converged on the nation’s capital, as well as federal law enforcement departments such as the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Capitol Police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives assisting with Trump’s law and order crackdown and sweeps of the city. Tuesday’s sweep of the city included 1,450 law enforcement participants, according to the White House, including roughly 30 National Guard troops and 750 uniformed D.C. police officers. Tuesday’s arrests included: one arrested on suspected homicide, seven related to narcotics charges, 33 for alleged firearm offenses, 10 related to warrants, as well as the arrests of 23 illegal immigrants. Law enforcement recovered a total of 24 firearms on Tuesday, according to the White House. The first phase of the crime crackdown Monday resulted in 23 arrests, FBI Director Kash Patel revealed on X Tuesday. “On the first big push of FBI supporting @POTUS @realDonaldTrump initiative to make DC safe again, FBI reported 10 arrests with partners,” the director wrote on X. “These are just a few examples — we are just getting started,” Patel continued. “Federal partners joined local police and arrested 23 in total.” “When you let good cops be cops they can clean up our streets and do it fast,” he said. “More to come. Your nation’s Capital WILL be safe again.” The nation’s capital in the following years has been rocked by shootings that have left innocent children shot and dead, a trend of juveniles committing carjackings that have turned deadly in some cases, shoplifting crimes and attacks on government employees, summer interns and others, including the fatal shooting of 21-year-old congressional intern, Eric Tarpinian-Jachym, in June. TRUMP ACTIVATES NATIONAL GUARD TROOPS TO ADDRESS ‘TOTALLY OUT OF CONTROL’ CRIME IN WASHINGTON Trump had threatened to federalize the D.C. police department in recent weeks, citing a spate of high-profile crimes that have left locals and visitors to the city dead or seriously injured, such as Tarpinian-Jachym’s killing, the fatal shooting of a pair of Israeli embassy staffers in May, and a brutal attack on a former Department of Government Efficiency staffer earlier in August. “Our capital city has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs of wild youth, drugged-out maniacs and homeless people,” Trump said Monday. “And we’re not going to let it happen anymore. We’re not going to take it.” Democrat lawmakers and local leaders have slammed Trump over the move, arguing crime has fallen in recent years following the wildly violent crime trends of 2020 that rocked cities nationwide. WHITE HOUSE LAUNCHES FEDERAL SECURITY BLITZ AS PRESIDENT VOWS TO END DC ‘CRIME PLAGUE’ Trump described the federalization of the police as “Liberation Day in D.C.,” declaring, “We’re going to take our capital back.” “We’re taking it back under the authority vested in me as the president of the United States, I’m officially invoking section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act,” he said Monday. “You know what that is. And placing the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department under direct federal control. … In addition, I’m deploying the National Guard to help reestablish law, order and public safety in Washington, D.C. And they’re going to be allowed to do their job properly.”