Trump-aligned legal group fights to restore merit-based federal hiring
FIRST ON FOX — A legal group closely aligned with President Donald Trump is joining a federal court battle in Washington, D.C., to overturn a Carter-era consent decree that bars the government from using merit-based hiring, a resolution that, if overturned, would dissolve one of the most influential civil service decisions of the last 40 years. The America First Legal Foundation (AFL), a group aligned with Trump, has filed a federal complaint in Washington, D.C., that aims to dismantle what it calls a dated and illegal effort to promote diversity in federal hiring that sidelines more qualified candidates. “America is missing out on top talent because of an illegal, 44-year-old consent decree,” Nick Barry, senior counsel at AFL, told Fox News Digital. “We must move back to merit-based evaluations. Race and other immutable traits have no place in that process.” JUDGE ON WARPATH PRESSES TRUMP DOJ ON ABREGO GARCIA DEPORTATION, ANSWERS LEAVE COURTROOM IN STUNNED SILENCE The lawsuit targets the Luevano consent decree, an agreement that Black and Hispanic plaintiffs struck with the government under President Jimmy Carter in 1981. The settlement ended merit-based hiring practices for federal government agencies and required written tests to be replaced with alternative assessments. Critics of these alternative assessments, including AFL and the firm Boyden Gray, PLLC, which joined the complaint, argue they are clunky and outdated solutions that illegally promote an unfair system of race-based hiring. “We must move back to merit-based evaluations,” Barry added. “Race, color and other immutable characteristics have no place in that evaluation.” The Office of Personnel Management had previously asked the court to end the Carter-era system, an effort that AFL and Boyden Gray now join, arguing it violates Supreme Court precedent. “Being able to recruit the best and brightest to work in Washington returns dividends for the country by doing more with less,” AFL Vice President Dan Epstein told Fox News Digital. “That is what all Americans deserve from their government.” AFL’s backing could bring new momentum to OPM’s attempt to end these hiring practices in the federal government. But it’s also likely to be met with a fair degree of criticism. Though efforts to end or replace the 40-year-old alternative assessment systems aren’t exactly radical, the filing comes as the Trump administration continues to clash with government employees over agency budget cuts and workforce reductions. The case, if heard in court, could reignite debate across the country over race-conscious hiring practices. 100 DAYS OF INJUNCTIONS, TRIALS AND ‘TEFLON DON’: TRUMP SECOND TERM MEETS ITS BIGGEST TESTS IN COURT America First Legal, though not officially part of the Trump administration, was founded by longtime Trump advisor Stephen Miller, one of Trump’s most vocal advocates for tougher immigration enforcement, dismantling DEI programs and ending affirmative action in public education. Miller stepped down from AFL before rejoining the White House in 2025. The effort also comes at a time when many federal agencies have struggled to cope with a massive loss of personnel and institutional knowledge due to funding cuts and other orders from DOGE, the quasi-government efficiency agency headed up by billionaire Elon Musk. Still, AFL sees its effort as supporting OPM and ending what it argues is a virtually “impossible” standard to create a broadly used merit-based civil service exam. “Public service is a public trust,” Epstein said. “Presidential administrations from both parties have long advocated ending unaccountable bureaucracies that fail to do a good turn for the American people.” Neither OPM nor the White House immediately responded to Fox News’s request for comment on the new court filing or on their views on the existing hiring practices.
Texas AG Ken Paxton sued over new rule to rein in ‘rogue’ DAs by allowing him access to their case records
Five Texas district attorneys are suing state Attorney General Ken Paxton, challenging new rules that would give his office broad authority to access their office’s case records, according to a new report. In the two lawsuits filed on Friday, the district attorneys said the rule, in effect since April, is an unconstitutional overreach that violates the separation of powers and would impose unnecessary burdens on county prosecutors, The Texas Tribune reported. District attorneys in Dallas, Bexar and Harris counties filed one lawsuit while district attorneys in Travis and El Paso counties filed another. Both lawsuits seek to block Paxton from enforcing the rule, arguing that it violates the state constitution and federal law. The rule created by Paxton’s office applies to counties with at least 400,000 residents, impacting only 13 of Texas’ 254 counties, The Texas Tribune reported. It requires district attorneys to provide all documents or communications produced or received by their offices, including confidential information. TEXAS GOV. ABBOTT SIGNS $1 BILLION VOUCHER PROGRAM INTO LAW, CAPPING OFF WIN FOR SCHOOL CHOICE ADVOCATES All documents, correspondence and handwritten notes relevant to a case can be subject to review, according to the outlet. Counties must also submit quarterly reports to the attorney general on twelve different subjects, including specific information on indictments of police officers and the number of times indictments were issued for election code violations. Information on internal policies and how funds obtained through civil forfeiture are spent would also need to be turned over under the new rule. Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot described the rules as a violation of the separation of powers between the executive branch and the judicial branch. “To make matters worse, the rule’s extremely burdensome reporting requirements will cause district attorneys’ offices to divert resources and staff away from core prosecutorial roles and responsibilities, which harms public safety and the administration of justice,” Creuzot said in a statement. “And it will cost Dallas County taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars or more to pay for the technology and resources needed to identify and produce all the responsive information under these unnecessary reporting requirements.” “AG Paxton should be working with all district and county attorneys in pursuit of justice, not picking fights with the Democrats in large cities,” Creuzot added. Paxton’s office has claimed the provision is a way to “rein in rogue district attorneys” allegedly refusing to uphold the law. District attorneys that do not comply with the reporting rule could be charged with official misconduct and removed from office. “District and County Attorneys have a duty to protect the communities they serve by upholding the law and vigorously prosecuting dangerous criminals,” Paxton said in March. “In many major counties, the people responsible for safeguarding millions of Texans have instead endangered lives by refusing to prosecute criminals and allowing violent offenders to terrorize law-abiding Texans. This rule will enable citizens to hold rogue DAs accountable.” JASMINE CROCKETT ACCUSED OF ‘ABUSING HER POWER’ AT AIRPORT BOARDING GATE In response to the lawsuits, Paxton said Friday that it “is no surprise that rogue DAs who would rather turn violent criminals loose on the streets than do their jobs are afraid of transparency and accountability.” “My DA reporting rule is a simple, straightforward, common-sense measure that will shed light on local officials who are abdicating their responsibility to public safety. This lawsuit is meritless and merely a sad, desperate attempt to conceal information from the public they were sworn to protect,” he continued. The two lawsuits claim Paxton’s office does not have the sweeping jurisdiction the rule creates, and that providing the information requested would be expensive and illegal, according to The Texas Tribune. The lawsuits claim the rule seeks to achieve a political objective by burdening officials and creating strict consequences for noncompliance.
‘You saved my life:’ Freed hostage Edan Alexander thanks Trump in emotional phone call
In an emotional and widely shared moment, President Donald J. Trump spoke directly with Edan Alexander, the 21-year-old American-Israeli soldier who was recently freed from Hamas captivity, during a phone call captured on camera and released by the White House. “Mr. President,” Alexander greeted Trump at the start of the call, visibly moved. “You’re the only reason I’m here. You saved my life.” The phone conversation, which took place while Alexander was recovering at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, came just days after his dramatic release from Gaza, where he was held hostage for over 580 days following his abduction by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023. HAMAS CAPTIVITY SURVIVORS APPEAL TO NETANYAHU, TRUMP AFTER EDAN ALEXANDER’S RELEASE President Trump greeted Edan with a bit of humor and humility, saying “I’m very nervous talking to you, Edan, because you’re a much bigger celebrity than I am.” Trump also expressed American solidarity and the administration’s commitment to bringing all hostages home while on the call. “You’re an American, and we love you,” Trump told Alexander. “We’re going to take good care of you. And your parents are incredible. I saw your mother. She was pushing me around a little bit—putting a lot of pressure on me.” “Like a good mom!” exclaimed Edan’s mother in the background. AMERICAN HOSTAGE EDAN ALEXANDER RELEASED BY HAMAS AFTER MORE THAN 580 DAYS IN CAPTIVITY The heartfelt exchange was posted online by the official White House account and has quickly gone viral, drawing praise from across the political spectrum for its display of humanity and international unity. Alexander’s release came amid intensified U.S. diplomatic pressure and quiet negotiations, coordinated in part by senior envoys Steve Witkoff and Adam Boehler. Trump had previously signaled his determination to secure the freedom of American citizens held abroad and made Alexander’s case a top priority. The Alexander family issued a statement thanking President Trump directly, along with the negotiation team and the Israeli Defense Forces, calling the outcome “a miracle rooted in strength, diplomacy, and prayer.” Edan Alexander’s homecoming has reignited calls to bring home the remaining hostages still held in Gaza. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP A coalition of 65 former hostages recently signed a letter urging both President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “build on this breakthrough” and intensify efforts for a comprehensive agreement to ensure every hostage’s safe return. Prime Minister Netanyahu acknowledged the success of this combined effort, stating, “This was achieved thanks to our military pressure and the diplomatic pressure applied by President Trump. This is a winning combination.” The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino: James Comey ‘brought shame to the FBI again’ with ’86 47′ post
FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino issued a sharp and public condemnation of the bureau’s former director, James Comey, Saturday, accusing Comey of disgracing the agency as authorities investigate Comey’s controversial “86 47” Instagram post. In a statement posted to X, Bongino said Comey’s actions are another example of failed leadership that continues to haunt the agency. “Former FBI Director James Comey brought shame to the FBI badge, yet again, this past week,” Bongino wrote. “The Director and I spend an inordinate amount of time cleaning up messes left behind by former Director Comey. And his latest actions are no exception.” TRUMP SAYS COMEY KNEW ‘ASSASSINATION’ MEANING BEHIND DELETED SOCIAL MEDIA POST Comey, dismissed by President Donald Trump in 2017, sparked outrage after posting a photo to social media Thursday showing seashells arranged to say “86 47,” a phrase widely understood to mean to “get rid of” the 47th president. Though Comey later deleted the post and claimed it was misunderstood, many, including Trump, say the meaning was clear. “He knew exactly what that meant. A child knows what that meant,” Trump said Friday on Fox News. “If you’re the FBI director, and you don’t know what that meant, that meant ‘assassination,’ and it says it loud and clear.” Comey offered a follow-up statement online, saying he “didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence” and that it “never occurred to me.” Bongino strongly rejected that explanation, describing it as part of a larger pattern of misconduct. In his post, Bongino wrote: FORMER FBI DIRECTOR JAMES COMEY MEETS WITH SECRET SERVICE AFTER CONTROVERSIAL ’86 47′ POST “As the Deputy Director of the FBI, I am charged, standing with Director Patel, with managing the most powerful law enforcement agency in the world. The Director and I are also responsible for looking at grave mistakes made by people within the FBI in the past, and ensuring they never happen again.” He stressed the FBI’s continuing commitment to supporting federal law enforcement partners investigating any threats involving public officials, past or present. “While the FBI does not have primary investigative responsibility for investigating threats against the POTUS, and we do not make prosecutorial decisions, we do have the ability and authority to support other federal agencies for violations of federal law,” Bongino said. “And we certainly have a responsibility to comment on matters involving former FBI officials, and allegations of law-breaking.” The U.S. Secret Service has already interviewed Comey about the incident. FBI Director Kash Patel said in a separate statement that the bureau is “in communication with the Secret Service and Director Curran.” Bongino noted that this latest controversy is part of a general legacy of dysfunction inherited from Comey’s leadership, which he and Patel are working to fix from the inside out. “As I’ve stated in the past, I cannot post openly about all the things the Director and I are doing to reform the enterprise, but I assure you, they are happening,” Bongino wrote. “Sadly, many of those agenda items are the result of former Director Comey’s poor decision-making and atrocious leadership. “And to those who doubt me, I assure you, when you see what the Director and I see from the inside, it’s even worse.” Bongino said he chose to post his statement now because his scheduled interview with FOX Business anchor Maria Bartiromo, which will air Sunday on “Sunday Morning Futures,” was recorded earlier in the week, before the Comey post was made public. “I’m addressing this now, rather than on our interview with Maria Bartiromo [Sunday], because we recorded that interview earlier in the week prior to the incident with Comey,” he explained. He closed with a message to the country that echoed his support for the law enforcement community and the reforms underway at the FBI. “God bless America, and all those who defend Her,” he said. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Bongino, a former NYPD officer and longtime Secret Service agent, was appointed deputy director of the FBI earlier this year. His leadership under Director Kash Patel reflects a broader effort by the Trump administration to restore accountability and integrity to the FBI after years of what many see as politically motivated misconduct. The FBI did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for further comment.
Young Dems blame Biden and their own party for losing in 2024 as they distance themselves from the old-guard
The Democratic Party is finally saying the quiet part out loud: “Biden should not have run again.” Revelations about President Joe Biden’s cognitive decline and his administration’s alleged cover-up have returned to the national conversation ahead of next week’s release of CNN anchor Jake Tapper and Axios political correspondent Alex Thompson’s book, “Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again.” Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., a 2024 presidential campaign surrogate for President Joe Biden, and considered a potential 2028 presidential candidate, acknowledged on Wednesday that Biden should not have run for a second term. And Beto O’Rourke, one of Biden’s 2020 Democratic primary competitors and the former congressman from Texas, joined the criticism this week, accusing Biden’s re-election campaign of failing future generations of Americans. REP RO KHANNA TEES UP 2028 RIVALRY DURING POINTED SPEECH IN JD VANCE’S HOME STATE When pressed by Martha MacCallum on “The Story” on Wednesday about campaigning for Biden in 2024, Khanna said he hadn’t had the full picture of Biden’s health and mental acuity ahead of his disastrous debate performance, but he admitted, “We should be honest as a party that we made a mistake.” DEM RISING STAR EYES VANCE AS KEY LONG-TERM THREAT: ‘NEEDS TO BE DEFEATED’ “I do think it’s important that, given what has come out, that we take accountability,” Khanna said. “Obviously, he should not have run,” Khanna said. Responding to a series of interview clips from early 2024, when Khanna affirmed Biden’s intention to run for re-election and described the president as “fully coherent,” Khanna said he had been telling the truth. “Of course, I didn’t have the full picture,” Khanna added. O’Rourke took Khanna’s call for Democratic accountability a step further on “Pod Save America” this week, calling Biden’s decision to run for re-election in 2024 a “terrible mistake.” “Just to be clear: Biden should not have run again. And to be even more clear: He failed this country in the most important job that he had,” O’Rourke said. “In fact, the entire rationale for his presidency the first time, and the rationale he tried to sell us on for his attempt to run for re-election, ‘Only I can stop Donald Trump.’ And he failed to do that, and it’s not just you and me, but our kids and grandkids and the generations that follow that might have to pay the price for this. We might very well lose the greatest country that this world has ever known,” O’Rourke said. An excerpt from Tapper and Thompson’s book released by Axios this week revealed that Biden’s declining health was “so severe that there were internal discussions about putting the president in a wheelchair, but they couldn’t do so until after the election.” In hindsight, Khanna and O’Rourke agreed that Democrats should have had an opportunity to launch their own presidential bids. And now that President Donald Trump has returned to the White House, and an already crowded field of potential 2028 Democratic candidates are mulling presidential campaigns, they said it’s important to take accountability for 2024. “Obviously, there should have been an open primary. And, I don’t think that’s very difficult that Democrats should just be straight up that he should not have run, now that we have all the facts. There should have been an open primary. I think to move on and move forward, it’s important to take accountability and be straightforward with the American people,” Khanna said. O’Rourke said America’s future could be in the balance “in part because of the decision that Biden, and those around him, made to run for re-election instead of having an open primary where the greatest talent that the Democratic Party can muster could be on that stage to have a competition of ideas, and track-record and vision and really excite, not just Democrats, but the people of this country who did want change. I mean, if anything was clear coming out of 2024, they wanted change.” The once-2020 Democratic presidential candidate, who is 52 years-old, said the Democrat’s Biden failure creates a credibility problem. “I think that credibility problem is going to persist up until when Democrats say, ‘We f—ed up, and we made a terrible mistake,’” O’Rourke said. Despite O’Rourke’s comments this week, he said in an email to supporters through his voting rights organization, Powered by People, last February that, “Donald Trump is the single greatest threat to our democracy. Our best chance to defeat him is to support Joe Biden in this election.” “Amy and I voted for him in the Texas primary . . . and are looking forward to voting for him again in November,” he added. “This president has done an extraordinary job of improving our economy, confronting the climate crisis, reducing childhood poverty and fending off the very worst of Donald Trump and the Republican Party’s mounting attacks on our most fundamental freedoms.” Another young Democrat and Biden’s former National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, continued to defend his former boss at Politico’s Security Summit on Thursday, dismissing an allegation that Biden had forgotten his name, and defending his leadership as commander-in-chief. “What happened in that debate was a shock to me,” Sullivan admitted. “I think it was a shock to everybody.” A Biden spokesperson did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
Biden interview audio reveals who brought up Beau’s death — and it wasn’t Hur
Former President k lashed out against special counsel Robert Hur over a report in which he described the longtime lawmaker as a “sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.” The part of Hur’s report that most angered Biden was the suggestion that the then-president could not remember when his son, Beau, died. However, new audio obtained by Axios sheds light on Biden’s lapses in memory. In February 2024, Biden and several high-profile Democrats — as well as media personalities — attacked Hur. During a press conference on Hur’s report, Biden said, “There’s some attention paid to some language in the report about my recollection of events. There’s even a reference that I don’t remember when my son died. How in the hell dare he raise that?” CONSERVATIVES REACT TO LEAKED BIDEN AUDIO ON SOCIAL MEDIA: ‘THIS IS PAINFUL’ Then-Vice President Kamala Harris slammed Hur in February 2024, saying his report was “gratuitous, inaccurate and inappropriate.” She also suggested that it was “clearly politically motivated.” Harris recalled Biden’s alleged sharpness at the time, noting that Hur’s interview took place on Oct. 8, 2023 — just one day after Hamas’ attack on Israel. Harris said she was “in almost every meeting” with Biden and that he was “in front of and on top of it all.” Reps. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., and Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., grilled Hur when he testified on Capitol Hill in March 2024. Both lawmakers attempted to get Hur to say that his report “exonerated” Biden — which he did not do. Then–Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., also criticized the special counsel, suggesting that Hur knew his description of Biden would “ignite a political firestorm,” something Hur denied. JONATHAN TURLEY: BIDEN NOT THE ONLY LOSER REVEALED BY SHOCKING HUR AUDIO Former Obama advisor David Axelrod also criticized the report, calling it a “shiv the special counsel stuck into the Biden reelection campaign,” according to CNN. On Friday, Axios published a bombshell report that included audio recordings from Biden’s interview with Hur, something the previous administration refused to release. The audio includes long pauses in which Biden struggled to recall the dates of several major events, including when President Donald Trump was elected to office for his first term, his son’s death or his exit from office as vice president. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Since his report was released, Hur has seen two key moments of vindication aside from Friday’s report. The first came when the transcript of his interview was released in March 2024. At the time, the White House refused to release the audio, citing fears of AI deepfakes. Hur appeared to receive further vindication when Biden had his disastrous debate against then-candidate Trump in June 2024. Less than a month after the debate, Biden withdrew from the 2024 presidential race and endorsed Harris.
‘Failure’s not an option’: Trump budget bill will be ‘big’ help for seniors, top House tax-writer says
EXCLUSIVE: The top tax-writer in the House of Representatives is arguing that President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” will be “big” for American taxpayers as well – including seniors. House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., and other Republicans on the panel spent months negotiating behind closed doors on how to enact Trump’s tax policies. Among those is an added $4,000 deduction for Americans aged 65 or older. Seniors with income of less than $75,000 as single filers, and less than $150,000 as joint filers, would be eligible for the full deduction, which then would begin to phase out. “So, that’s on top of their guaranteed deduction, and that’s per person . . . anyone who has total earnings of $75,000 a year or less is going to be made completely whole, so all the low-income and middle-income seniors on Social Security will be paying zero on Social Security in the long run,” Smith told Fox News Digital, while adding of others, “most of them will be paying much less.” ANTI-ABORTION PROVIDER MEASURE IN TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ COULD SPARK HOUSE GOP REBELLION Republicans are using the budget reconciliation process, which lowers the Senate’s threshold for passage from 60 votes to 51 for certain pieces of fiscal legislation, to advance a vast bill full of Trump’s priorities on taxes, immigration, energy, defense and the national debt. Because the House already operates under a simple majority, reconciliation allows the party in power to pass sweeping legislation while sidelining the other side, in this case, Democrats. Trump has directed congressional Republicans to permanently extend his 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), as well as implement new policies eliminating taxes on tips, overtime pay and retirees’ Social Security. But the law that established the reconciliation process, the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, also specifically forbade direct changes to Social Security via the process. Smith said Republicans’ had added $4,000 tax deduction as a way to make them “completely whole.” BROWN UNIVERSITY IN GOP CROSSHAIRS AFTER STUDENT’S DOGE-LIKE EMAIL KICKS OFF FRENZY Rather than seeing that tax relief month-to-month, however, Smith said it would come in people’s yearly tax returns. He argued that it was more beneficial for lower-income seniors as well, giving added relief to those whose incomes were too low to pay Social Security taxes in the first place. “Under the rules of reconciliation, you cannot touch Social Security directly. What we did is to make sure that they get . . . tax relief for any senior who makes less than $75,000 per year,” Smith said. “It’s not that we didn’t want to do it, it’s that it cannot be done under the rules of reconciliation, or you wouldn’t qualify for the 51-vote threshold over in the United States Senate.” “But the tax relief they will receive is an added tax cut, and that will make up for what they have paid in Social Security tax.” The White House also endorsed Smith’s plan despite its departure from Trump’s initial campaign pitch. “The one, big, beautiful bill not only delivers permanent tax cuts and bigger paychecks, but it secures a historic tax break for seniors on Social Security,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said. “This is another promise made, promise kept to our seniors who deserve much-needed tax relief after four years of suffering under Bidenflation.” The $4,000 tax deduction, which would be in effect from the 2025 through 2028 tax years, would be on top of the higher standard deduction that people above age 65 already receive. It would not be a tax credit, reducing tax liability directly regardless of tax brackets. A deduction reduces taxable income and is dependent on the taxpayer’s rate. But for single seniors making up to $75,000, and married seniors making less than $150,000, qualifying for the $4,000 deduction, it would likely provide some relief for millions of taxpayers across the country. “It’ll be a wash of what their Social Security tax would’ve been,” Smith said, adding later in the interview: “Failure’s not an option. We’re going to get this done.”
Middle East trip highlights President Donald Trump’s 17th week in office
President Donald Trump spent his 17th week as commander-in-chief visiting the Middle East, marking his first major overseas trip of his second term. The president left Washington, D.C., Monday for Saudi Arabia, followed by a visit in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. The president’s trip comes amid the continuing war between Israel and Hamas, ongoing U.S.-Iran negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program, and his plans to broaden his first administration’s Abraham Accords, which normalized diplomatic relations between Israel and Arab League nations such as the United Arab Emirates. TRUMP CONDEMNS ‘INTERVENTIONALISTS,’ PITCHES ‘MORE HOPEFUL FUTURE’ IN MIDDLE EAST SPEECH Trump arrived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, early Tuesday morning, with the nation sending fighter jet escorts to welcome Air Force One to the ground and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman greeting Trump on the tarmac that was adorned with a lavender-colored carpet. Upon his arrival to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Trump was also met with a mobile and operational McDonald’s truck. The president, during a speech in Riyadh shortly after meeting with Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, vowed to continue America’s partnership with the Saudi Arabian government, but also called for peace in the Middle East, urging the region to pursue economic development rather than Iran’s “self-destructive” path. “If the responsible nations of this region seize this moment, put aside your differences and focus on the interests that unite you, then all humanity will soon be amazed at what we will see here in the geographic center of the world, and the spiritual heart of its greatest faiths,” Trump said. “Before our eyes, a new generation of leaders is transcending the ancient conflicts and tired divisions of the past, and forging a future where the Middle East is defined by commerce, not chaos; where it exports technology, not terrorism; and where people of different nations, religions, and creeds are building cities together, not bombing each other,” he added. Trump’s speech came after he and Salman signed several economic agreements totaling $600 billion in trade deals. The agreements could help create up to two million U.S. jobs, Trump said. Several of the agreements tracked with previously stated ambitions by both Washington, D.C., and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, particularly when it comes to defensive deals. SAUDIS DEPLOY MOBILE MCDONALD’S FOR TRUMP’S TRIP TO THE KINGDOM But as for Iran, Trump, during his Saudi Arabia speech also warned the Islamic Republic of a “massive maximum pressure” campaign if it did not come to a nuclear agreement with the U.S. “As I have shown repeatedly, I am willing to end past conflicts and forge new partnerships for a better and more stable world, even if our differences may be profound,” Trump said. “If Iran’s leadership rejects this olive branch… we will have no choice but to inflict massive maximum pressure, drive Iranian oil exports to zero.” “Iran can have a much brighter future, but we will never allow them to threaten America and our allies with terrorism or a nuclear attack,” Trump said. Trump had announced a 60-day time frame to reach an agreement with Iran over its illegal atomic weapons program. The first U.S. negotiating session with Iran commenced April 12. Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff met with Iranian officials for a fourth round of nuclear talks over the weekend. TRUMP HITS IRAN’S POCKETBOOK AS HE DANGLES A CARROT IN MIDDLE EAST SPEECH The nuclear talks were “difficult but useful,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said. A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door negotiations, offered more, describing the talks as being both indirect and direct, The Associated Press reported. An “agreement was reached to move forward with the talks to continue working through technical elements,” the U.S. official said. “We are encouraged by today’s outcome and look forward to our next meeting, which will happen in the near future.” The Trump administration has said the flawed 2015 Obama-era Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iran nuclear deal, did not prevent Iran from building an atomic bomb. Trump, throughout his visit, made stark warnings to Iran — verbally, and through sanctions. Just shortly after dangling a carrot of a “brighter future” for Iran, the Treasury Department gave a taste of Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign and sanctioned more than two dozen firms operating in Iran’s illicit international oil trade. TRUMP HITS IRAN’S POCKETBOOK AS HE DANGLES A CARROT IN MIDDLE EAST SPEECH Trump said Iran has the nuclear “proposal.” “But more importantly, they know they have to move quickly or something bad — something bad is going to happen,” the president said. Next, the president traveled to Qatar, where he signed a series of agreements with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in Doha. The agreements involved a purchasing agreement by Qatar for Boeing aircraft, as well as letters of intent and “joint cooperation” between Qatar and the U.S. The emir also signed an intent agreement to purchase MQ-9 drone aircraft. Al Thani said he had a “great” conversation with Trump prior to the signing ceremony on Wednesday, adding that the agreements have elevated the U.S.-Qatar relationship to “another level.” The president then met with U.S. service members at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, and cited “substantial pay raises” for U.S. troops in his 2026 budget. “You are without a doubt the greatest fighting force in the history of the world,” Trump said. “And as your commander-in-chief, I’m here to say that America’s military will soon be bigger, better, stronger and more powerful than ever.” Next, the president traveled to the United Arab Emirates for his final stop — a visit that marked the first time a U.S. president has traveled to the nation in nearly 20 years, following President George W. Bush’s trip in 2008. The Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the tallest building in the world, was illuminated in red, white, and blue in honor of President’s historic UAE visit. Trump visited the Grand Mosque, a rare visit for a U.S. president, and was gifted the UAE’s
House Democrat pushes to impeach ‘authoritarian’ Trump
Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, is once again calling on his colleagues in the House to impeach President Donald Trump, saying the president has “devolved American democracy into authoritarianism.” “I pen this communique with a heavy heart, driven by a conscience that will not allow me to ignore my well-founded, strong pre-election condemnation of Donald John Trump as a threat to American democracy that has now become our reality,” Green wrote in a letter urging his colleagues to impeach the president. Green argues that, contrary to what many believe, there does not need to be a constitutional crisis in order to impeach a president. HOUSE DEMOCRAT ANNOUNCES ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT AGAINST TRUMP On Thursday, he filed H. Res. 415, “Impeaching Donald John Trump, President of the United States, of high crimes and misdemeanors.” In the articles of impeachment, Green claims that Trump has engaged in authoritarian rule, violated due process, denigrated federal judges and ignored court orders, including ones from the Supreme Court. He also claims that Trump condoned “untruthful statements” against the Court’s opinion regarding the deportation of accused MS-13 member Kilmar Abrego Garcia. TOP HOUSE DEMS SAY THEY’LL JOIN GOP TO QUASH TRUMP IMPEACHMENT EFFORT “An authoritarian does not have to commit a codified statutory offense to be impeached. The constitutional law that authoritarian President Trump would have Congress use to impeach a federal judge for ruling against him (Article II, Section 4 of the United States Constitution) is the same law that has been used, and can be used, to impeach him again for making his threats to democracy a reality,” Green wrote in the articles of impeachment, He then vowed to “use that law again.” Green is the second member of Congress to issue articles of impeachment against Trump in the president’s second term. Rep. Shri Thanedar, D-Mich., also called for Trump’s impeachment, but he later withdrew the bill after getting backlash from party leadership. Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., reportedly called the bill “idiotic,” according to Axios. However, Nadler was previously a sponsor of the measure. In his letter, Green made it clear that he was not afraid to “stand alone” against Trump. “I encourage all members to vote with their conscience. As for me, I stand where I have stood on impeachment, which is a question of conscience, even when the odds are against me — it is better for me to stand alone than not stand at all — it won’t be the first time,” Green wrote. Green has never been silent about his opposition to Trump, even making multiple attempts to impeach the president during his first term. In March 2025, he was removed from Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress after he heckled the president. He was eventually censured for the protest.
Minor’s lawsuits against adult sites show new state law is working as intended to protect kids: state AG
Four first-of-a-kind lawsuits in Kansas were filed Monday aiming to hold porn websites accountable for violating state law, which mandates they use adequate age-verification systems. There are no federal laws requiring porn sites to verify a user’s age. The suits, filed by the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) and a Kansas law firm on behalf of a minor child and the child’s mother, are groundbreaking. It is apparently the first time a minor is seeking a legal remedy through the provisions of state age-verification laws for pornographic sites, according to NCOSE’s general counsel. Kansas is among roughly 20 other states that have enacted age-verification laws for porn sites. Louisiana became the first in 2023. SOCIAL MEDIA GIANT HIT WITH SCATHING AD CAMPAIGN AMID ANGER OVER AI CHATBOTS SEXUALLY EXPLOITING KIDS “The Kansas law also allows for a private right of action, meaning that private individuals and organizations can bring cases against offending companies or websites,” Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach told Fox News Digital. Kobach filed Kansas’s first lawsuit in January against a porn site over a lack of age-verification mechanisms, a case that is ongoing. “I think the combination of my office’s first action followed by this private action shows that the law is operating as the legislature intended,” Kobach said. NCOSE sued on behalf of a minor child, whose mother took numerous measures to ensure her 14-year-old child would not be exposed to pornographic websites but later learned her child was using an old laptop to access the sites. Online algorithms and content-curation processes from these sites’ parent companies, or from contractors working for the sites, drove the teenager to at least two of the sites, according to the initial complaints filed with NCOSE. According to NCOSE, pornography is harmful to children because it disrupts the natural formation of children’s sexual functions and maturation. Studies have also shown links between pornography and sexual violence and a litany of other health and well-being issues. GOP LAWMAKERS TARGET ONLINE PORNOGRAPHY, PROPOSE INTERSTATE BAN ON OBSCENE CONTENT “The parents in this instance thought they did everything right,” NCOSE General Counsel Benjamin Bull said. “It’s not enough just to try to prevent children from gaining access. It’s just a question of when children will gain access. “They’ll find a way. It’ll either be the kid next door with a kid in school, or an old, you know, thrown-away computer up in the closet some place. And, so, unless these online platforms actually install age verification, this boy’s … what’s happened to him and what’s happened to hundreds of thousands of others is just going to continue and get worse.” According to the lawsuits filed Monday on behalf of the 14-year-old, at least one of the four pornographic sites being sued, Chaturbate, ostensibly has an age-verification mechanism, but it can be easily manipulated, and that does not satisfy Kansas’ law. Multi Media LLC, Chaturbate’s parent company, insisted to Fox News Digital the site “is fully compliant” with Kansas law, calling the lawsuit against it “completely baseless.” PORN CASE IN THE SUPREME COURT THIS WEEK IS ABOUT PROTECTING CHILDREN, SAYS REPUBLICAN AG “As we explained in great detail to the plaintiff’s counsel back in November, the company thoroughly investigated the claim and found the individual was never able to view any explicit content on the company’s platform. The platform’s ID verification age gate functioned exactly as expected, and the individual’s attempts to view adult content without first proving he was an adult were entirely thwarted,” a company spokesperson for Multi Media LLC told Fox News Digital. “The company takes very seriously its responsibility to ensure that the platform only publishes material created and viewed by consenting adults,” the spokesperson added. “Since the law went into effect, the company has displayed an ‘age gate’ page to any visitor who arrives on the site from an IP address that is geolocated in Kansas and who has not previously been verified as an adult, by requiring the individual to provide a government issued photo ID.” The spokesperson added that Multi Media LLC intends “to seek sanctions” against the plaintiff over its “frivolous complaint,” noting that when the company was first contacted about the allegations by the plaintiff in November, Multi Media LLC explained why suing it was baseless. But AG Kobach said the lawsuit brought by the mother and son, along with another unidentified “friend” of the family, shows state law is doing its job. “I think the really important point, at least from my perspective, is that laws are working, and companies are being taken to task for marketing this material in a way that minors can get it when there are now technologies out there to prevent that from happening,” Kobach told Fox News Digital. The 14-year-old and his mother, with the help of NCOSE and others, are seeking statutory damages of no less than $50,000 per violation in each of their four lawsuits. They are also seeking actual damages, attorney fees and any “further relief” that the court considers fair.