Dems fight bill to stop illegal immigrant voting despite polls showing voter support
The House passed the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act on Thursday, with 208 Democrats voting against the President Donald Trump-backed measure that would crack down on noncitizen voting. The SAVE Act, which passed 220-208, now heads to the Senate, where it will need the support of some Democrats to meet the 60-vote threshold for advancement. Democrats have rejected the bill, despite polling indicating bipartisan support for voter ID requirements. A Gallup Poll released ahead of the 2024 election found that 84% of respondents favor requiring a photo ID to vote, and 83% support requiring proof of citizenship when registering to vote for the first time. If passed in the Senate and signed into law by Trump, the SAVE Act by Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, would require voters to obtain proof of citizenship in person before they register for a federal election, and it would remove noncitizens from voter rolls. TRUMP-BACKED BILLS ON ACTIVIST JUDGES, NONCITIZEN VOTING HEADING FOR HOUSE-WIDE VOTES “After four years of mass illegal immigration facilitated by the Biden administration, it is more important now than ever to ensure only American citizens are voting in American elections. By passing the SAVE Act, House Republicans are once again proving our commitment to defending the will of the American people,” House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., told Fox News Digital. VAST MAJORITY OF AMERICANS SUPPORT PHOTO ID REQUIREMENT TO VOTE, NEW POLL SAYS Meanwhile, Democrats have rejected the implication that illegal immigrants are voting in U.S. elections. Nineteen Democratic-led states and Democratic leaders sued the Trump administration’s election integrity executive order requiring proof of citizenship to vote in American elections. “Noncitizens attempting to register to vote is exceedingly rare, and if they do, they face severe consequences, including fines up to five years in prison, and deportation,” Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Ore., said on the House floor, urging her colleagues to reject the SAVE Act. “Coupled with President Trump’s recent anti-voter election executive order, the SAVE Act would end the voter registration process for all Americans as they know it. Republicans have repeatedly failed to present any evidence that noncitizen voting at a federal level has ever affected the outcome of any election,” Rep. Joe Morelle, D-N.Y., added in opposition to what he called the “extremist anti-voter SAVE Act.” The SAVE Act passed a procedural hurdle known as a “rule vote” on Wednesday. A simple majority of House lawmakers was needed to pass the “rule” to allow for debate and eventual House-wide votes on the legislation. It was first introduced in July 2024 under former President Joe Biden’s administration and failed to pass through the Democratic majority in the Senate. Roy reintroduced the bill in January as it was more likely to pass under a Republican-controlled House, Senate and White House. “The American people have spoken very clearly that they believe only American citizens should vote in American elections. There’s nothing controversial about that,” Roy said on the House floor ahead of the votes. “This legislation is designed to restore that faith, to save our elections, to save election integrity. I’m proud to have worked on this bill with my friend, the chairman, with my colleagues on this side of the aisle, and I would note that five of my Democrat colleagues joined us last summer to vote for this bill. Hardly a partisan exercise to say that we should protect the elections of the American people,” he added. The bill made headway during the 2024 presidential election as the Republican National Committee (RNC) led voter integrity efforts in battleground states across the country. Trump has long supported the legislation and held a Mar-a-Lago press conference last summer with House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., affirming Republican support for the bill. Voter registration is handled on the state level, so rules requiring proof of citizenship or photo ID differ by state. Thirty-six states request or require identification to vote. The SAVE Act would federalize the issue, requiring proof of citizenship to vote and removing noncitizens from voter rolls. When Virginia, led by Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, attempted to remove noncitizens from the state’s voter rolls, Biden’s Justice Department rejected the program and tried to restore the canceled voter registrations. The Supreme Court’s conservative majority upheld Virginia’s removal of about 1,600 people from the voter rolls.
Trump’s ‘big, beautiful’ tax agenda scores major victory in House despite GOP rebellion threats
In a massive victory for President Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., the House of Representatives passed a bill Thursday that will set the stage for a massive conservative policy overhaul. The legislation passed mostly along party lines on Thursday morning after a long night of negotiations between House GOP leaders and fiscal hawks who were critical of its spending cut levels. Just two Republicans voted against the legislation – Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Victoria Spartz, R-Ind. – which passed 216 to 214. No Democrats supported it, as expected. Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., held a press conference on Thursday morning in a bid to allay conservatives’ concerns. HOUSE FREEDOM CAUCUS CHAIR URGES JOHNSON TO CHANGE COURSE ON SENATE VERSION OF TRUMP BUDGET BILL “I’m happy to tell you that this morning, I believe we have the votes to finally adopt the budget resolution so we can move forward on President Trump’s very important agenda for the American people,” Johnson said. “Our first big, beautiful reconciliation package here, involves a number of commitments. And one of those is that we are committed to finding at least $1.5 trillion in savings for the American people, while also preserving our essential programs.” Thune added, “We are aligned with the House in terms of what their budget resolution outlined in terms of savings. The speaker has talked about $1.5 trillion. We have a lot of United States senators who believe in that as a minimum.” It comes after the House’s initial plan to vote on the legislation on Wednesday was quickly scuttled at the last minute in the face of more than a dozen Republican holdouts. Congressional Republicans are working on a massive conservative policy overhaul via the budget reconciliation process. By lowering the Senate’s threshold for passage from 60 votes to 51, it allows the party in power to pass significant fiscal and budgetary policy changes. In this case, Republicans are looking for some added funds for border security, defense, and to raise the debt ceiling – while paring back spending on the former Biden administration’s green energy policies and in other sections of the federal government, likely including entitlement programs. GOP lawmakers are also looking to extend Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the provisions of which expire at the end of this year. They will also need new funding for Trump’s efforts to eliminate taxes on tipped and overtime wages. The House passed its own version of the plan earlier this year, calling for at least $1.5 trillion in spending cuts to offset the new spending and attempt to bring down the national debt – which is over $36 trillion. The Senate’s plan closely aligns with the House version, but mandates a minimum of $4 billion in cuts, a significant gap to bridge. An unrelated vote was held open for over an hour on Wednesday night, with lawmakers growing impatient on the House floor, while Johnson huddled in a back room with holdouts. One House Republican told Fox News Digital there was some frustration with how Johnson handled the matter. “He kept the entire conference out on the floor for 80 minutes while you play graba– with these people,” the GOP lawmaker fumed. “And all day it was like, ‘Oh, we’re going to get this done.’” MEET THE TRUMP-PICKED LAWMAKERS GIVING SPEAKER JOHNSON A FULL HOUSE GOP CONFERENCE That House Republican said, “All the chatter we were hearing was [holdouts were] down to single digits. But 17 … 20 people were in that room. So clearly there was a much bigger problem than they were letting on all day.” Traditionally, the House and Senate must pass identical reconciliation frameworks to begin the work of crafting policy to fit into that framework. Republicans are also working up against the clock – the debt ceiling is expected to be reached sometime this summer, after which the U.S. government risks a national default if it does not raise that limit to pay its debts. Trump’s 2017 tax cuts are also projected to expire at the end of this year if they are not extended.
Bill Barr torches veracity of red state’s billions in lawsuits against Big Oil, warns of economic impacts
FIRST ON FOX: Former Attorney General William Barr fired off a letter Thursday to Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, warning her against backing dozens of multimillion-dollar lawsuits targeting oil companies like Chevron – which was recently ordered to pay a coastal parish $745 million for decades-old actions by a now-defunct subsidiary. In his letter to Murrill, Barr referenced Republican Gov. Jeff Landry’s reported support for several lawsuits in which parishes – Louisiana’s version of counties – and powerful attorneys are seeking tens of billions in culpability tied to land loss. “As you know, the Trump administration is committed to unleashing America’s domestic energy production,” Barr wrote, citing President Donald Trump’s executive order “Protecting American Energy from State Overreach.” The recent case in Plaquemines Parish against Chevron, Barr argued, is the first example of Louisiana “subjecting energy producers to arbitrary or excessive fines through retroactive penalties cast as damages for alleged environmental harm.” $3B LA LAWSUIT COULD ‘DESTROY’ GULF ENERGY INDUSTRY, CRITICS WARN, AS STATE’S POSITION QUESTIONED That case focused on allegations that Texaco – which was dissolved into Chevron around the turn of the century – was culpable for the effects of coastal erosion due to its pre-1980s energy development projects. “We are concerned Louisiana is in the process of doing just this by its acquiescence to the wave of 43 lawsuits devised by prominent plaintiff’s lawyers against American oil and gas companies on behalf of Louisiana’s coastal parishes,” Barr said. After the ruling, Chevron lead trial attorney Mike Phillips told Fox News Digital the company plans to appeal the verdict to address “numerous legal errors that led to this unjust result.” “This verdict is just one step in the process to establish that the 1980 law does not apply to conduct that occurred decades before the law was enacted. Chevron is not the cause of the land loss occurring in Breton Sound,” Phillips said. GOV LANDRY: TRUMP AND MUSK ARE DOING WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE “[T]he state seems to have largely ceded control of the litigation to the private plaintiff’s lawyers and deferred to their legal positions,” the letter reads, adding that plaintiffs’ claims run “clearly contrary” to the 1978 law, and are “devoid of legal merit.” In his letter to Murrill, Barr said he was deeply concerned by agreements made with Landry in relation to the lawsuits. Landry had been criticized by the state-based Pelican Institute and other sources for his apparent closeness to plaintiffs’ attorney John Carmouche – a donor who he recently named to the Louisiana State University board. Barr went on to argue that pre-1980 damages do not qualify for grandfathering under a relevant 1978 natural resources law and that “serious constitutional issues of retroactivity due process and takings” exist in Louisiana’s arguments. Instead, he said, Louisiana should consider whether the federal government is responsible for the “vast majority” of the land-loss phenomenon that attorneys are trying to blame on energy companies. Barr wrote the letter on behalf of the American Free Enterprise Chamber of Commerce, the American Energy Institute, the United States Energy Association and First Principles. “We are concerned these suits, if they continue, will impact critical current LNG plants and operations in the coastal zone, curtail new energy investments in Louisiana, constrain funding available for new production in the Gulf of America, and undermine President Trump’s efforts to re-establish American energy dominance,” Barr said. Neither Carmouche nor Landry responded to requests for comment on the original lawsuit. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Attorney Jimmy Faircloth, representing state agencies in the suit, told the Times-Picayune that the Landry administration supports the energy industry and its positive impact on jobs. Faircloth reportedly said the case is more about Texaco’s alleged “sins of the past” and failure to enforce regulations in past decades.
SCOOP: This Texas Republican congressman endorses Paxton over Cornyn in Senate primary brawl
FIRST ON FOX – Republican Rep. Lance Gooden of Texas is taking sides in the Lone Star State’s burgeoning GOP Senate primary battle between longtime Sen. John Cornyn and state Attorney General Ken Paxton. Gooden, a four-term lawmaker who represents a congressional district which includes parts of eastern Dallas as well as large swaths of suburban, exurban, and rural areas east of the city, endorsed Paxton on Thursday. He is known as a MAGA firebrand and ally of President Donald Trump. “Attorney General Paxton is the conservative champion we need in the U.S. Senate,” Gooden wrote in a statement shared first with Fox News. He predicted that Paxton “will take a sledgehammer to the establishment, secure the border, and fight hard for President Trump’s agenda. Ken Paxton has my complete and total endorsement.” GET READY FOR A NASTY AND EXPENSIVE GOP SENATE PRIMARY IN TEXAS Gooden, who is a member of the House Armed Services and Judiciary committees, is the second member of the Texas congressional delegation to back Paxton, following Republican Rep. Troy Nehls, who endorsed the attorney general on Wednesday. As he gears up for what will most certainly be his roughest re-election of his decades-long career, Cornyn has the backing of the top Republican in the Senate, Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota, as well as the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC). And Republican sources confirmed to Fox News that Thune, as well as Sen. Tim Scott, R–S.C., the NRSC chair, have personally asked Trump to back Cornyn. CORNYN’S RE-ELECTION CAMPAIGN SPARKS QUESTIONS ON BOTH PARTY FLANKS AS DEMS CHASE ‘THE GHOST OF A BLUE TEXAS’ The president’s grip on the GOP is stronger than ever and any endorsement Trump may make in the emerging Republican Senate primary in Texas would be extremely influential. Paxton announced his candidacy Tuesday night in an appearance on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle.” “It’s time for a change in Texas,” Paxton, who first won election as state attorney general in 2014, said as he launched his campaign. And pointing to conservative Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, Paxton argued that “it’s time that we have another great senator that will actually stand up and fight for Republican values, fight for the values of the people of Texas and also support Donald Trump in the areas that he’s focused on in a very significant way.” Paxton has flirted for a couple of years with launching a 2026 primary challenge against Cornyn, a former state senator, former Texas Supreme Court justice, and former state attorney general, who first won election to the U.S. Senate in 2002. ONLY ON FOX NEWS: SENATE REPUBLICAN CAMPAIGN CHAIR REVEALS HOW MANY SEATS HE’S AIMING FOR IN 2026 Paxton has long claimed Cornyn does not represent the conservative values of Texans, and has accused the senator of not being an ally of Trump. He has also regularly labeled Cornyn a “RINO,” a “Republican in name only” – an insult MAGA and “America First” Republicans have regularly used to criticize more mainstream or establishment members of the GOP. Cornyn, during the early stages of the 2024 Republican presidential nomination race, had said he would prefer that the GOP take a new direction, which angered Trump. But the senator endorsed Trump in late January of last year, after the then-former president won both the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary, the first two contests in the Republican presidential nomination calendar. Since Trump returned to the White House three months ago, Cornyn has been supportive of the president’s Cabinet nominees and agenda. ONLY ON FOX NEWS: SENATE REPUBLICAN CAMPAIGN CHAIR REVEALS HOW MANY SEATS HE’S AIMING FOR IN 2026 In the senator’s campaign launch video last month, the announcer highlighted that during Trump’s first term in office, “Texas Sen. John Cornyn had his back.” And Cornyn told reporters on Capitol Hill on Wednesday that he had “a 92% voting record with President Trump.” “It’s unclear to me exactly what is motivating Mr. Paxton, other than vanity and personal ambition, certainly it’s not going to make a lot of difference in terms of the voting record, because I’ve been a supporter of President Trump and his agenda,” the senator argued. Paxton grabbed national attention in 2020 for filing the unsuccessful Texas vs. Pennsylvania case in the Supreme Court that tried to overturn former President Joe Biden’s razor-thin win over Trump in the Keystone State, and for speaking at the Trump rally near the White House that immediately preceded the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by right-wing extremists aiming to disrupt congressional certification of Biden’s Electoral College victory. During Biden’s four years in the White House, Paxton took the administration to court numerous times. While Paxton, who’s in his third four-year term as Texas attorney general, has long been a legal warrior in the MAGA movement, he also has plenty of personal political baggage. Paxton was indicted on securities fraud charges soon after taking office in 2015, and also came under investigation by the FBI over bribery and corruption allegations from former top staffers. In 2022, he survived a bruising primary amid his many legal difficulties. In 2023, Paxton was impeached by the Texas House of Representatives, but he was later acquitted of all charges by the state Senate. The charges in the long-running federal corruption probe were dropped during the final weeks of the Biden administration. While Paxton for years has denied any wrongdoing and has survived his legal fights, he would likely continue to face tough optics and plenty of incoming fire over his past predicaments during a Senate showdown. “Paxton has a checkered background. He is a con man and a fraud and I think the people of Texas know that,” Cornyn charged on Wednesday. And the senator added: “This is what will be litigated during the course of this campaign.” Matt Mackowiak, a veteran Republican strategist and communications consultant based in Texas and Washington, D.C., pointed to the bruising intra-party battle ahead as he
Reporter’s Notebook: House scrambles to align with Senate on framework for Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’
The House tries again this morning to align with the Senate on a framework for the President Donald Trump’s tax cut bill. A vote could come as early as the 10 a.m. ET hour. No alignment? No bill. THE SPEAKER’S LOBBY: ‘WHOSE THROAT DO I GET TO CHOKE?’ More than a dozen House conservatives balked last night, blocking Republicans from even voting on the blueprint. They spoke with House GOP leaders for more than an hour. House Speaker Mike Johnson,R-La., also spoke with President Trump. Some conservatives met with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and Senate committee chairs. The holdouts want more assurances that the Senate will cut more spending than they greenlighted in their revamped budget early last Saturday morning. What would unlock the votes today? Either an informal promise from the Senate to cut more. Or, the House could alter the Senate package and Senate to sync with the House. MIKE JOHNSON PUNTS HOUSE VOTE ON TRUMP TAX AGENDA AFTER GOP REBELLION THREATENED DEFEAT An alternative is for the House to vote to add two steps to process – sending the House and Senate plans to a conference committee to finally blend the resolutions into one. Changing the bill and going to a conference committee are cumbersome, time-consuming steps. Rather than 8 steps to finish the bill, that would create 10. The House is stuck on step 4. Thune has said the Senate can’t tackle another update and overnight vote series. It’s already done two versions. This underscores the wide divide between what the House wants to tackle – and what the Senate is capable of tackling. The House and Senate must approve the same measure at this stage in order to get to the bill itself. And these steps were supposed to be easier. This also jeopardizes Johnson’s goal of finishing the bill by Memorial Day. It’s about the math: Johnson can only lose 3 votes. And he has north of a dozen nays now. Moreover, the House and Senate are out of alignment. Whatever can advance in the Senate can’t pass the House and vice versa. That could imperil the ultimate passage of the bill itself.
GOP voters pick a favorite to challenge Dem governor in early battleground straw poll
The 2024 presidential election is just five months in the rearview, but the country is already trudging toward the 2026 midterms — at least at the annual Pennsylvania Leadership Conference. In a straw poll of 267 conference participants from eight states, including Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania state Treasurer Stacy Garrity was the clear favorite to win the Republican primary for its 2026 gubernatorial election. She received 41% of the vote, as Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Penn., came in a distant second at 9%. While 2026 is still long down the road, and neither Pennsylvania politician has formally announced a run, both Republicans embraced the opportunity to tease their potential bids. “Appreciate the support from conservatives across Pennsylvania. No decisions made yet—but I’m listening and focused on doing whatever it takes to help Republicans win in 2025 and beyond,” Garrity said following her straw poll win at the leadership conference. DEM TAKES AIM AT TRUMP, TILLIS IN 2026 SENATE LAUNCH VIDEO FOR ‘TANKING OUR ECONOMY’ Garrity made history in 2024 by receiving the most votes in a Pennsylvania state election – crushing Democrat Gov. Josh Shapiro’s 2022 record by half a million votes. Garrity campaigned for re-election alongside Sen. Dave McCormick, who unseated longtime Democrat Sen. Bob Casey. DEM GOVERNORS REVOLT AGAINST TRUMP’S ‘LIBERATION DAY’ TARIFFS Shapiro wasn’t up for re-election in 2024, though his name was floated as a potential running mate for Vice President Kamala Harris. But 2026 presents an opportunity for Republicans to gain control of the state’s highest office. Speeches at the leadership conference prove that big Republican wins in 2024 have invigorated the party’s base in the traditionally competitive battleground state. “We as a party are here as winners. The Keystone State sent President Trump back to the White House, sent Bob Casey back to Scranton, elected a Republican Attorney General for the first time in over a decade. And next November, the Keystone State will send a Republican to the Governor’s Mansion,” Garrity said during her remarks. Garrity emerged as the frontrunner in a hypothetical matchup against Meuser, 2022 GOP nominee Doug Mastriano, and state Sens. Kristin Phillips-Hill and Scott Martin. If Garrity, a President Donald Trump ally, and Meuser decide to throw their names into the gubernatorial race, it could tee up a competitive primary. Both Pennsylvanian politicians have indicated announcements could come as early as this summer. Garrity told the Pennsylvania Capital-Star on Saturday a decision on her gubernatorial bid is coming “probably in the summer.” Meuser, who also spoke at the conference, confirmed to Fox News Digital that his own decision will come by mid-summer or sooner. “I’ve been encouraged by the strong support I’ve received from people all across Pennsylvania urging me to consider a run for governor. Right now, I’m doing my due diligence, meeting with stakeholders, and seriously evaluating how I can best serve the Commonwealth. “I expect to make a decision by mid-summer, or sooner if appropriate. In the meantime, I’m staying focused on advancing President Trump’s America-First Agenda in Congress — growing our economy, securing the border, and unleashing American energy dominance,” Meuser told Fox News Digital. As Garrity and Meuser continue representing Pennsylvania as they mull 2026 gubernatorial campaigns, the Republican Party of Pennsylvania told Fox News Digital they are “excited to have strong potential candidates” for governor. “There is no question that Pennsylvanians are NOT better off with Josh Shapiro as our Governor, and they will be ready to make a change in November 2026. Shapiro’s scandal-ridden administration, combined with his recent use of $5 million of taxpayer money to promote antisemitism, have set the stage for a GOP victory. Republicans are excited to have strong potential candidates to be our next Governor,” the Republican Party of Pennsylvania said in a statement. JOSH SHAPIRO TELLS MAHER HE’S ‘DAMN PROUD’ OF BEING JEWISH, DODGES WHETHER IT FACTORED INTO VP SNUB IN 2024 The Republican Party of Pennsylvania’s accusations relate to Shapiro’s $5 million donation to a Philadelphia Muslim community center. Front Page Magazine reported that an imam at the Al-Aqsa Islamic Society once said, “Jews are the vilest people.” Shapiro himself is Jewish. Speaking on a Philadelphia stage after Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., was announced as Harris’ running mate in 2024, Shapiro assured the crowd, “I am proud of my faith,” following accusations Shapiro was snubbed for the job because of his support for Israel amid Democrat discontent over the war in Gaza. The Republican Governor’s Association, Garrity and Shapiro did not immediately provide comment to Fox News Digital.
DOGE reveals bizarre findings of unemployment insurance claims survey: ‘This is so crazy’
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) account on X shared eyebrow-raising findings from a survey of unemployment insurance claims. The “initial survey of Unemployment Insurance claims since 2020” found that thousands of people with future birthdates claimed benefits. The survey also indicated that thousands of supposedly very young and very old people had claimed benefits. ELON MUSK SCRAPS WITH CHUCK SCHUMER, SUGGESTING THE SENATOR PROFITS FROM GOVERNMENT FRAUD The DOGE post states that the survey found, “24.5k people over 115 years old claimed $59M in benefits,” “28k people between 1 and 5 years old claimed $254M in benefits,” and “9.7k people with birth dates over 15 years in the future claimed $69M in benefits.” “In one case, someone with a birthday in 2154 claimed $41k,” the post also notes. Fox News Digital reached out to the Department of Labor for comment early on Thursday morning, but did not receive a response by the time of publication. DOGE ENDS 108 ‘WASTEFUL’ CONTRACTS, INCLUDING FOR AN ‘EXECUTIVE TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP TRAINING PROGRAM’ “Your tax dollars were going to pay fraudulent unemployment claims for fake people born in the future! This is so crazy that I had to read it several times before it sank in,” Elon Musk tweeted. Musk is spearheading the DOGE effort to uncover waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal government. “The oldest living American is 114 years old, so it is safe to say that anyone 115 or older is collecting ‘unemployment’ due to being dead. There was no sanity check for impossibly young or impossibly old people for unemployment insurance,” he noted in another post. AMERICANS GRADE DOGE AND ELON MUSK’S EFFORTS WITHIN THE FIRST 100 DAYS OF THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah replied to Musk, writing, “Reckless incompetence.”
Russian-American ballerina released after being wrongfully detained in Moscow for over a year
Russian-American ballerina Ksenia Karelina, who has been wrongfully detained in Russia for more than a year, is on her way back to the United States, Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed early Thursday. “American Ksenia Karelina is on a plane back home to the United States. She was wrongfully detained by Russia for over a year and President Trump secured her release. @POTUS will continue to work for the release of ALL Americans,” Rubio wrote on X. Karelina was sentenced to 12 years in a Russian prison after donating about $50 to a Ukrainian charity in early 2024. The Wall Journal reported that Karelina was released in exchange for the U.S. releasing Arthur Petrov, a dual German-Russian citizen who was arrested in 2023 in Cyprus at the request of the U.S. on charges of exporting sensitive microelectronics. This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.
Free condoms, lube and sex ed materials in stock for all ages at CA libraries, thanks to Planned Parenthood
A major public library system in California has teamed up with Planned Parenthood to promote “sexual health resource cabinets” in its libraries. These cabinets, which are accessible to library visitors — including children without restrictions — contain condoms, pregnancy tests, contraceptives, dental dams, lubricants and graphic sex education materials, all available for free. The Sacramento Public Library system, in partnership with Planned Parenthood Mar Monte, began placing the cabinets in 12 of its 28 libraries six weeks ago, CBS News first reported. The library system is under city-county jurisdiction. The cabinets, which include Planned Parenthood pamphlets titled, “How to Talk to Your Child About Sex,” are also stocked with QR codes directing people to the clinic’s sexual health materials. SCOOP: NEWSOM ASKS WORLD LEADERS TO EXEMPT CALIFORNIA EXPORTS FROM RETALIATORY TARIFFS Fox News Digital did not hear back from Sacramento Public Library before publication. The move has alarmed parents’ rights activist groups who say the cabinets provide a way for the local government to reach minors with explicit content without parental consent or knowledge. NEWSOM FOE PICKED BY TRUMP FOR KEY PROSECUTOR JOB VOWS TO ‘DISMANTLE’ SANCTUARY STATE SHIELDS “I don’t understand why they think kids should be having sex. Nobody on either side of the aisle believes that, and yet they want to provide sex stuff for people … in the library, which is beyond the pale,” Greg Burt, vice president of the nonprofit advocacy group California Family Council, told Fox News Digital in an interview. “I think when parents realize this is happening in their libraries, they’re not gonna take their kids to the library anymore. They aren’t safe spaces.” The cabinets are placed sporadically around the libraries, according to CBS, with some placed out in the open in the library’s main space, while others are placed closer to adult sections. “We want to remove the stigma around these resources,” Todd Deck, community engagement services manager for the Sacramento Public Library, told the outlet. The cabinets can be found in libraries located in Central, Belle Cooledge, Robbie Waters Pocket-Greenhaven, Southgate, Carmichael, Rancho Cordova, Valley Hi-North Laguna, Walnut Grove, South Natomas, Rio Linda, Fair Oaks and Sylvan Oaks. CALIFORNIA DEM COMPARES ‘SAVE GIRLS SPORTS’ LAW TO NAZI GERMANY, AS TWO TRANS ATHLETE BAN BILLS FAIL TO PASS “One thing to keep in mind is we are approaching this like we do a book on our shelves,” Deck said. “Although this resource may not be applicable for everyone, we do want to make it available for the people who do need it.” The library plans to expand the cabinets to other locations.
Tim Walz says Dems ‘should demonize’ people like Elon Musk during Ohio town hall
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said Elon Musk, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO and leader of the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) should be demonized, in an apparent escalation of their feud. Walz was speaking at a town hall in Youngstown, Ohio, when he laid into Musk, whom he has sharply criticized before. He was talking about social media and the Democratic Party’s view on success when he brought up the billionaire tech mogul. “We’re creating a false narrative for them that everybody is super rich and has Lamborghinis and life is easy,” Walz told the crowd. “But that’s what we’re going to have to figure out in our society about social media and all those things.” SUSPECTED TESLA ARSONISTS HIT WITH FEDERAL CHARGES IN ACTS OF ‘DOMESTIC TERRORISM’: AG “But I don’t think we should be the party that demonizes someone because they’re able to afford something,” he added. “What we should demonize is someone like Elon Musk and those people that do that. That’s different.” Earlier, Walz said Democrats should be conveying a message that it’s “OK to be successful” and that success should be celebrated. “What my beef is, once you get successful, don’t be a greedy bastard and not pay your taxes,” he said. Walz, the former 2024 Democratic vice presidential candidate, and Musk have traded bards in recent weeks. The feud began last month when Walz joked that he regularly checks Tesla stock, which was down amid a string of vandalism incidents targeting the electric vehicle company. ELON MUSK IN ‘SHOCK’ OVER DEMS’ ALLEGED ‘HATRED AND VIOLENCE,’ LAMENTS ‘DERANGED’ ATTACKS ON TESLA PLANTS “On the iPhone, they’ve got that little stock app. I added Tesla to it to give me a little boost during the day,” Walz said, referencing Tesla’s stock slump as he held up his iPhone during a Wisconsin town hall titled, “The People vs Musk.” Musk responded by turning the tables on the Democratic governor with a diss about his 2024 election loss. “Sometimes when I need a little boost, I look at the @JDVance portrait in the White House and thank the Lord,” Musk wrote in response to Walz’s remark. The White House joined in on hitting back at Walz’s comment regarding the billionaire’s company. “When we need a little boost during the day at the White House, we walk around the corner from our office and admire these beautiful portraits,” Trump’s Rapid Response team wrote in a social media post. Fox News Digital’s Aubrie Spady contributed to this report.