Gov. DeSantis’ new DOGE task force gains momentum as universities, localities commit to being audited
Local jurisdictions and public universities in Florida are latching on to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ new state-level DOGE Task Force, including through formal resolutions, independent committees and additional resources supporting the new initiative. DeSantis announced the creation of “Florida DOGE” in February, a program similar to the one led at the federal level by Elon Musk. The audit intends to utilize artificial intelligence and other measures to uncover hidden waste, review state university and college operations and spending, eliminate “redundant” boards or commissions, and examine entities’ spending habits. The initiative intends to ensure financial compliance with all state laws, provide recommendations and submit referrals to the appropriate enforcement agencies when necessary. The governor subsequently sent out official guidance in March to various counties and municipalities, as well as to public colleges and universities, requesting they confirm their willingness to comply with the audit. The guidance also ordered the appointment of a proxy to be the primary point of contact throughout the initiative. DEMOCRATIC SENATOR STATES HE ‘DOES NOT BELIEVE’ DOGE IS TACKLING WASTE IN FEDERAL AGENCIES In response, some of Florida’s largest jurisdictions and public institutions – like Hillsborough County, the City of Jacksonville, and Florida Atlantic University – have signaled their willingness to comply with the audit. Their efforts include passing formal resolutions and creating independent committees to support the governor’s initiative. “Completing this DOGE audit is a no-brainer when you consider the inefficiencies we’ve already stumbled across – like old, forgotten bank accounts sitting there with millions of dollars just gathering dust,” said Hillsborough County Commissioner Joshua Wostal, who helped spearhead the resolution affirming the county’s willingness to open its doors. In Jacksonville, the city created a “Duval DOGE” task force that has already begun conducting meetings and is zeroing in on tens of millions of dollars in capital improvement projects that have sat idle since 2023, according to WJXT Channel 4 in Jacksonville. This week, the “Duval DOGE” task force also launched a website to track the work being done with the ongoing audit. ELON MUSK SAYS DOGE WILL INVESTIGATE ‘STRANGELY WEALTHY’ LAWMAKERS: ‘NOBODY CAN EXPLAIN THAT’ However, while residents in Jacksonville have been supportive of the effort, others have pushed back. “DOGE is a misnomer, catchy misnomer for let’s see what we can take away from the working class, the needy, the elderly. We don’t need it,” Duval County resident Russell Harper said during a city hall meeting about the new “Duval DOGE” committee. Other residents complained that the “Duval DOGE” lacked adequate Democratic representation and was just an effort to gain favor with political elites. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives at public colleges and universities will also be part of the audit. The governor’s DOGE task force aims to ensure that no state funds support these programs, in line with a resolution passed by the state board of education last year prohibiting such spending. Florida DOGE also intends to “abolish” 70 redundant boards and commissions around the state, per a February press release from the governor’s office announcing the new audits. “Florida was DOGE before DOGE was cool,” DeSantis spokesperson Brian Wright said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Over the past five years, Florida, under Governor Ron DeSantis, has eliminated dozens of unnecessary boards, lifted needless regulations, and reduced spending. Florida has paid down 41% of our state’s debt, strengthened our economy, and increased our rainy-day fund by nearly $10 billion – all without raising taxes.” Wostal said the new DOGE audit was a better response than just raising taxes to pay for needed services. “Instead of the knee-jerk response of raising taxes – putting even more strain on already stretched households – it’s time for the government to turn the lens inward,” he said.
House plows ahead on Trump agenda after Johnson strikes deal with GOP rebels who paralyzed House
House Republicans are set to advance two key bills backed by President Donald Trump this week after House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., resolved a weekslong standoff with Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., over the issue of remote voting for new parents in Congress. The House is poised to vote this week on the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act by Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, which requires proof of citizenship in the voter registration process; and the No Rogue Rulings Act (NORRA) by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., which would limit district court judges’ ability to issue orders blocking Trump policies nationwide. Both were expected to get a vote last week, but those plans were derailed amid a standoff over House procedure that ground business-as-usual to a halt. “Speaker Johnson and I have reached an agreement to bring back a procedure called live/dead pairing, which dates back to the 1800s. It will be open for the entire conference to use when unable to vote (e.g., new parents, bereaved, emergencies, etc.),” Luna wrote on X Sunday evening. ANNA PAULINA LUNA FORCES HOUSE LEADERSHIP’S HAND ON PROXY VOTING AS GOP WAR ESCALATES “Thanks to [Trump] and his guidance, as well as all of those who worked to get this change done, this is becoming the most modern, pro-family Congress we’ve ever seen.” Johnson’s office confirmed to Fox News Digital that the speaker announced a deal had been reached with Luna on a Republican lawmaker-only call on Sunday afternoon. The compromise they agreed to invokes an old congressional custom that essentially cancels out an absent new mother’s vote by “pairing” it with a vote by someone on the other side of the issue. Neither vote would count, but their stances on the issue would be noted in the Congressional Record. Johnson’s office said they also reached an agreement on boosting accessibility for young mothers in the Capitol as well. The House floor was left paralyzed last Tuesday afternoon when a small group of GOP lawmakers upended their leaders’ effort to quash a bill by Luna that would have allowed new parents to vote by proxy for 12 weeks surrounding their child’s birth. Luna was readying to force a vote on her legislation via a discharge petition, a mechanism allowing lawmakers to force bills into House consideration provided they can get signatures from a majority of the chamber. Johnson, who believes proxy voting is unconstitutional, attached language to kill discharge petitions to an unrelated measure that was up for a vote on Tuesday afternoon. If passed, it would have allowed for consideration and likely passage of the NORRA Act and SAVE Act last week. ANNA PAULINA LUNA RESIGNS FROM HOUSE FREEDOM CAUCUS, SAYS ‘MUTUAL RESPECT’ WAS ‘SHATTERED’ Instead, it was an embarrassing blow to House GOP leaders on a normally sleepy procedural vote. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The standoff comes as the House is also trying to reckon with the Senate’s reconciliation framework, which will allow Republicans to begin working on policy and monetary changes that will become part of a massive bill advancing Trump’s agenda on defense, energy, the border, and taxes. Republican leaders are poised to move forward with that legislation as planned – despite concerns from fiscal hawks about discrepancies between the Senate and House’s views on the issue.
Poll position: Where Trump stands with Americans 11 weeks into his 2nd White House term
It is 11 weeks into his second administration, and President Donald Trump is not slowing down. The president has signed 111 executive orders since his inauguration on Jan. 20, far outpacing any of his immediate predecessors in the White House. “More than any in American history,” Trump touted a week ago. Trump has been expanding the powers of the presidency, as he has upended long-standing government policy and made major cuts to the federal workforce through an avalanche of executive orders and actions. WHY TRUMP, MUSK, FACE BLAME OVER BALLOT BOX SET BACKS LAST WEEK While Trump regularly showcases his performance steering the nation, some of the latest national public opinion polls suggest Americans may not be so pleased with the job he’s doing as president. The president stands at 43% approval and 53% disapproval in a Reuters/Ipsos survey conducted March 31-April 2, and he is also underwater – at 46%-51% – in a Wall Street Journal poll in the field March 27-April 1. While a survey from the Daily Mail, which was also conducted over the past week, suggested Trump’s approval rating is in positive territory, the majority of the national public opinion surveys in the field since mid-March indicate Trump in negative territory. WHERE TRUMP STANDS IN THE LATEST FOX NEWS NATIONAL POLL Trump has seen his numbers edge down slightly since the start of his second term, when an average of his polls indicated the president’s approval rating in the low 50s and his disapproval in the mid-40s. Contributing to the slide are increasing concerns over the economy and inflation, which was a pressing issue that kept former President Joe Biden’s approval ratings well below water for most of his presidency. Additionally, the latest surveys were conducted nearly entirely before Trump’s blockbuster tariff announcement last week, which sparked a trade war with the nation’s top trading partners, triggered a massive sell-off in the financial markets, and increased concerns about a recession. When asked about the market plunge, the president told reporters on Sunday evening, “Sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something.” Daron Shaw, a politics professor and chair at the University of Texas who serves as a member of the Fox News Decision Team and is the Republican partner on the Fox News poll, calls the economy “the 800-pound gorilla.” According to the Reuters/Ipsos poll, only 37% of Americans approve of the job the president’s doing on the economy, with 52% giving him a thumbs down. Trump’s numbers on the economy are slightly better in the Wall Street Journal poll – 44% approval and 52% disapproval – but still underwater. HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS REPORTING, ANALYSIS, AND OPINION ON PRESIDENT TRUMP Shaw suggested that over the past week the president has been “slowly losing the argument that tariffs are part of a larger program that will bring down prices.” “He’s got his work cut out for him….he’s losing the narrative,” Shaw said of Trump. “He’s got to make the case that tariffs are part of a larger economic plan that’s going to deal with problems that people feel.” The only issue where Trump is in positive territory in the Reuters/Ipsos and Wall Street Journal polls is immigration and border security, which, along with inflation, was another top issue that helped catapult him back into the White House. However, Shaw noted that Trump’s success has blunted the importance of the issue. “The broader narrative is that he’s had success on border security and has essentially tabled that as an issue,” he argued. “One of the problems of succeeding is that it’s something that you no longer really talk about. It’s no longer at the top of people’s issue priorities. So one of his dominant issues has been neutralized by his success on the issue.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP While Trump’s poll numbers are edging down in most surveys, they are still superior to ratings during his first term in office. Trump’s poll numbers were almost entirely in negative territory in most surveys for the entirety of his first term in office. “Keep these numbers in perspective. The numbers he’s averaging right now are still higher than he was at any point during his first presidency,” veteran Republican pollster Neil Newhouse told Fox News. Newhouse emphasized that Trump’s Republican “base is strongly behind him,” which was not the case at the start of his first term in the White House.
Trump’s 12th week in office to be dominated by tariffs fallout, Netanyahu visit
President Donald Trump’s 12th week in office is likely to center around the fallout from last week’s announcement of several new tariffs and a visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “HANG TOUGH,” Trump said on social media Saturday while defending new U.S. tariffs, adding that “it won’t be easy, but the end result will be historic.” The comments come as much of Trump’s 12th week in office promises to center around the president’s decision last week to announce new tariffs on dozens of countries around the world, a policy he argued will eventually “supercharge” the economy as part of his “economic revolution.” STEPHEN MILLER SAYS AMERICANS HAVE TO UNDERSTAND HOW ‘BADLY’ WE’VE BEEN RIPPED OFF AS A COUNTRY But concerns remain about the economic pitfalls of the new tariffs, most notably after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq saw their worst plunge of the decade late last week. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2,231.07 points, or 5.5%, on Friday, adding to the concern over Trump’s trade policies. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called the tariffs a “massive assault on American families” during an appearance on CNN over the weekend, arguing that the policy will only serve to “help the billionaires.” Nevertheless, Trump appeared ready to double down on his tariff push in the week ahead, vowing the trade plan will be a “win” in the long run. TRUMP’S CHINA TARIFFS FACE LEGAL CHALLENGE FROM CONSERVATIVE GROUP CALLING THEM ‘UNLAWFUL’ “We are bringing back jobs and businesses like never before. Already, more than FIVE TRILLION DOLLARS OF INVESTMENT, and rising fast! THIS IS AN ECONOMIC REVOLUTION, AND WE WILL WIN,” Trump wrote Saturday on Truth Social. Meanwhile, Trump is set to host Netanyahu at the White House on Monday, when the two leaders are likely to discuss not only the 17% tariff the president placed on the longtime U.S. ally but also the ongoing expansion of the Israeli invasion of Gaza. Trump is also likely to keep a close eye on Congress in the week ahead as GOP lawmakers push forward to advance the president’s multitrillion-dollar spending agenda. The Senate adopted Trump’s budget blueprint over the weekend, which will now require approval from the House in order to push forward toward the budget reconciliation process. But doubts remain that Trump’s agenda can clear the lower chamber this week, with the GOP holding a slim majority that has strong disagreements among factions of the party. “The Senate is free to put pen to paper to draft its reconciliation bill, but I can’t support House passage of the Senate changes to our budget resolution until I see the actual spending and deficit reduction plans to enact President Trump’s America First agenda,” Rep. Andy Harris, the House Freedom Caucus chair, wrote on X on Saturday.
Federal judge calls deportation of Salvadoran man in Maryland ‘wholly lawless’
A federal judge’s 22-page decision on Sunday called the deportation of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia “wholly lawless.” Abrego Garcia, 29, was deported to an El Salvadoran megaprison last month for being an alleged MS-13 gang member. U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis ordered the Department of Homeland Security and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to return Abrego Garcia to the U.S., where he was living in Maryland. “Although the legal basis for the mass removal of hundreds of individuals to El Salvador remains disturbingly unclear, Abrego Garcia’s case is categorically different—there were no legal grounds whatsoever for his arrest, detention, or removal,” Xinis wrote. “Nor does any evidence suggest that Abrego Garcia is being held in CECOT at the behest of Salvadoran authorities to answer for crimes in that country. Rather, his detention appears wholly lawless,” she continued. TRUMP ADMIN SUSPENDS LAWYER IN CASE OF MARYLAND MAN MISTAKENLY DEPORTED FOR FAILING TO ‘ZEALOUSLY ADVOCATE’ Also on Sunday, Attorney General Pam Bondi doubled down on the Trump administration’s decision to deport Abrego Garcia. “We have to rely on what ICE says,” Bondi said in a “Fox News Sunday” interview. “We have to rely on what Homeland Security says. They’re our clients, and I firmly believe in the work they are doing, and we’re going to make America safe again. That was President Trump’s directive to all of us.” VANCE DOUBLES DOWN AFTER TRUMP ADMIN ADMITS ‘ERROR’ SENDING MAN TO SALVADORAN PRISON The White House has remained firm in its decision to deport Abrego Garcia following a report from The Atlantic that federal attorneys said that there was an “administrative error” in bringing him to CECOT men’s prison in El Salvador. Court filings also show Abrego Garcia came to the U.S. in 2011 at the age of 16 after fleeing gang threats in El Salvador, the outlet reported. Abrego Garcia later married a U.S. citizen and worked in construction to support her, their son and her two children from a previous relationship. The allegations about his affiliation with MS-13 stem from a 2019 arrest outside a Maryland Home Depot store, where he and other young men were looking for work, according to The Associated Press. Abrego Garcia was arrested in Baltimore on March 12 after working a shift as a sheet metal apprentice in Baltimore and picking up his 5-year-old son, who has autism and other disabilities, from his grandmother’s house, his lawyers’ complaint stated. Fox News Digital’s Taylor Penley, Brie Stimson, Bill Mears and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
H2Go: How experts, industry leaders say US hydrogen is fuel for the future of agriculture, energy, security
As the Trump administration pursues an “all of the above” energy strategy, hydrogen experts welcome the new attention and are advancing efforts to make it a top, domestically-produced power source. The Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Association, one of seven “hubs” nationwide, partners with tribal, public and private concerns to build hydrogen production projects throughout their region. “Hydrogen has a lot of dexterity as a molecule, and it can be used for a host of different things,” PNWHA president Chris Green told Fox News Digital. Hydrogen can be a power source, but it more so is utilized as an energy carrier due to its periodic makeup. “It is a carrier of electrons and can store energy in that regard. But as a fuel, it’s just like any other fuel. It can be used to propel machinery, equipment and industrial processes, those kinds of things. And so it’s another sort of energy commodity product that we can make here at home domestically,” Green said. Hydrogen also has a dual role in agriculture, he said. Fertilizer – of which much has been historically imported from now-war-torn Russia and Ukraine – is hydrogenic in makeup. Ammonium nitrate – a key ingredient – is hydrogen sourced. If the U.S. can bolster its hydrogen production, it can rely less on unreliable or adversarial economies, especially amid new tariffs. And its power-sourcing and energy-carrying nature can power equipment, mills and more. NIKOLA CEO: WE’RE THE ONLY ONES SELLING HYDROGEN TRUCKS IN THE COUNTRY With all of these important uses, Green said the U.S. has a chance to “leap ahead of everybody else if we can build out all this infrastructure.” Beginning in the aughts, there had been talk of hydrogen-powered vehicles. But the extremely flammable nature of hydrogen has kept it from being a ubiquitous fuel source like petrol. One company investing big in hydrogen, particularly in the West, is Chevron. The company said hydrogen may appeal to those worried about the energy sector’s environmental footprint. The Texas-based energy giant is “leveraging [its] strengths to safely deliver lower carbon energy in a growing world,” according to a statement. “Hydrogen can play a key role in delivering large-scale lower-carbon solutions especially where electrification of demand is not feasible,” the statement said, adding it is confident hydrogen’s prominence will grow in the near-term. Hydrogen is also used in processed foods, metallurgy and other areas. In Utah, Chevron entered into a venture with Mitsubishi called ACES Delta or “Advanced Clean Energy Storage [of] Delta [UT].” By harnessing the naturally protective state of an enormous subterranean salt cavern, the ACES Delta project currently under construction aims to produce up to 110 tons of hydrogen daily and store it at “utility scale” in the environmentally safe confines of the cavern. AMAZON SIGNS HYDROGEN SUPPLY DEAL Chevron expects the ACES Delta project to provide “delivery-scale” amounts to the Intermountain Power Agency – also based in the Beehive State – in the near term. The company also boasted of the accessibility of the hub – which is located along U.S. 50, a highway that cuts a 3,000-mile swath through the center of the country from Sacramento, California, to Washington, D.C., and on to Ocean City, Maryland. That hub also has the regional potential to power the world’s fifth-largest economy: California, which has otherwise driven out most fossil fuel refiners and producers. In his interview, Green also noted the demand for cleaner-burning jet-fuel alternatives and suggested that rather than replacing oil, it is a greener complement to sweet crude. “Sometimes, don’t think about hydrogen as replacing a bunch of other things as much as we think about it complementing and then nurturing or supporting or boosting some of these existing supply chains,” he said. “[I]f you produce a lot of it, then you’ve got optionality to support a host of different industry verticals that could benefit from it.” Hydrogen has earned rare bipartisan support, bridging a divide where the right typically resists renewables like wind and solar, and the left often opposes “Big Oil.” “Central Washington is leading the way in the all-of-the-above approach needed to achieve American energy dominance,” said Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash. “I am working with the Trump administration to ensure we protect the domestic resources we are building here at home.” Newhouse told Fox News Digital that PNWH2 has made “huge strides” in advancing technology toward safe and clean energy that decreases foreign reliance. “Supporting the hub means new jobs, new investments, and stronger domestic supply chains that fall in line with the administration’s bold energy agenda,” Newhouse said. On the left, Sen. Patty Murray of Washington said in June that PNWH2 “is poised to play a leading role in growing America’s green hydrogen economy.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “Investments in hydrogen have the potential to reduce emissions from the most difficult to decarbonize sectors,” added Sen. Jeffrey Merkley, D-Ore. “[W]hen done right, hydrogen can help us solve hard problems and decarbonize sectors of the economy.” In terms of agriculture’s interest in a hydrogen future, the Washington State Potato Commission told Fox News Digital that as a cornerstone of the Evergreen State and others’ economies, agriculture drives innovation and growth. “The Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Hub will play a crucial role in securing a local hydrogen supply for fertilizer production, helping to mitigate supply chain disruptions and rising costs that challenge the industry,” an official said. “Beyond fertilizer, hydrogen presents an opportunity to potentially fuel agricultural machinery, such as tractors and trucks. Washington’s potato farmers are committed to supporting hydrogen production in the Pacific Northwest, strengthening the future of agriculture in our region.” Fox News Digital reached out to the Energy Department for comment.
New York proposal would ban police from making traffic stops for minor violations to pursue ‘racial equity’
A bill making its way through the New York state legislature would prohibit police from conducting traffic stops for minor violations in an effort to limit unnecessary stops and further “racial equity and public safety.” The proposal would bar officers from pulling people over or searching them for various traffic violations, including having a taillight out, expired vehicle registration tags, too much window tint or if the smell of marijuana is detected. In certain cases, evidence collected in violation of the bill may be excluded in court. The measure aims to limit “the frequency of traffic stops for minor violations in furtherance of racial equity and public safety,” according to the bill, as racial minorities in the state make up the majority of arrests and traffic stops. NY LAWMAKERS CALL FOR TRANSIT CHIEF’S OUSTER, FLOAT REFORMS AFTER DUFFY DECRIES SUBWAY ‘S—HOLE’ In Nassau County alone, black and Latino residents account for 61% of arrests, 50% of traffic stops, 60% of field interviews and 69% of pat-downs, despite making up under 30% of the county’s population combined, police data shows. White drivers are issued an average of 1.3 tickets per stop compared to two tickets for black drivers and 2.1 for Latino drivers, the data shows. A lawsuit against Nassau argues that police in the county have acted with racial bias when conducting traffic stops. Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman told reporters on Friday it is “ridiculous” to argue that there is racial bias in policing during traffic stops, saying that officers are usually unaware of the driver’s race before making a stop. MEAT CLEAVER-WIELDING MAN STABS YOUNG GIRLS IN BLOODY NYC ATTACK AS 110YEAR-OLD CALLS 911: POLICE “It’s just a bizarre argument, it’s pro-criminal,” Blakeman said, according to the New York Post. “It doesn’t matter what race you are. If you’re breaking the law, then you’re breaking the law.” Nassau Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said minor infractions such as broken lights or expired registrations typically lead to warnings but that restricting the ability to enforce the law makes the roads less safe. “They say the roads are so bad in Nassau County. Well, you would just be taking another tool away from us that’s going to get these bad drivers off the road,” he told reporters. “Stop taking the handcuffs off of the criminals and putting them onto our men and women in law enforcement.” The county’s district attorney, Anne Donnelly, said the proposal “is the most ridiculous thing I have seen in my 36 years in law enforcement.” Donnelly also said she believes the bill would disproportionately impact Nassau because of the region’s high number of drivers and car accidents, as she claims it would allow people to essentially get away with breaking the law, according to the NYP. She referenced a traffic stop that resulted in the 1993 capture of serial killer Joel Rifkin, who murdered at least 17 people in the area before he was stopped over the missing license plate on the rear of his pick-up truck that had a body in its trunk, the outlet reported. “When an officer walks up to a driver and asks them for their license and registration — they never know what is going to happen next,” Donnelly said. “It’s important to be able to make these legitimate stops. There is no such thing as a routine traffic stop.”
Trump says US not willing to make deal with China unless trade deficit is solved
President Donald Trump said Sunday that he is not willing to make a deal with China unless the trade deficit of over $1 trillion is resolved first. While speaking to reporters on Air Force One, Trump said with some countries there is a trade deficit of over a billion dollars, but with China, it is over $1 trillion. “We have a $1 trillion trade deficit with China. Hundreds of billions of dollars a year we lose to China, and unless we solve that problem, I’m not going to make a deal,” he said. “I’m willing to make a deal with China, but they have to solve this surplus. We have a tremendous deficit problem with China… I want that solved.” SOME COUNTRIES TARGETED BY TRUMP TARIFFS SEEK NEGOTIATIONS, CHINA SAYS ‘NO WINNERS IN TRADE WARS’ Trump also said because of the tariffs, the U.S. has $7 trillion of committed investments when it comes to building automotive manufacturing plants, chip companies and other types of businesses, “at levels that we’ve never seen before.” But in terms of trade deficits, Trump said he has spoken with a lot of leaders in Europe and Asia, who are “dying” to make a deal, but as long as there are deficits, he is not going to do that. “A deficit is a loss,” he said. “We’re going to have surpluses, or we’re, at worst, going to be breaking even. But China would be the worst in the group because the deficit is so big, and it’s not sustainable. “I was elected on this,” Trump added.
RFK Jr makes Texas stop to visit family of 6-year-old measles victim, push MMR vaccine
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made a stop in Texas on Sunday and visited the family of a 6-year-old girl who died of the measles virus in February. Kennedy confirmed the visit to Texas in a post on X in which he encouraged people to get the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine amid rising measles cases. “I came to Gaines County, Texas, today to comfort the Hildebrand family after the loss of their 8-year-old daughter Daisy,” Kennedy wrote in the post. “I got to know the family of 6-year-old Kayley Fehr after she passed away in February. I also developed bonds with and deep affection for other members of this community during that difficult time.” Kennedy said his intention was to visit Gaines County quietly, console the families and be with the community while they grieve. SECOND CHILD WITH MEASLES HAS DIED IN TEXAS, OFFICIALS SAY But he also said he was there to support Texas health officials and to learn how HHS agencies can be better partners to control the measles outbreak. As of Sunday, there were 642 confirmed cases of measles across 22 states, and 499 of those are in Texas. Kennedy deployed a team from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in March to help bolster the local and state response to the outbreak while also supplying pharmacies and state-run clinics with MMR vaccines and other supplies. MEASLES OUTBREAK CONTINUES: SEE WHICH STATES HAVE REPORTED CASES Kennedy also had the team work with local schools and healthcare facilities to support contact investigations and reach out to communities to answer questions regarding healthcare. “The most effective way to prevent the spread of measles is the MMR vaccine,” Kennedy wrote in the social media post. “I’ve spoken to Governor Abbott, and I’ve offered HHS’ continued support. At his request, we have redeployed CDC teams to Texas. We will continue to follow Texas’ lead and to offer similar resources to other affected jurisdictions.” PARENTS OF GIRL WHO DIED AFTER MEASLES INFECTION SAID THEY WOULDN’T GET MMR VACCINE The grim Texas measles tally includes six infants and toddlers at a daycare center in Lubbock who tested positive within the past two weeks, according to NBC News. Two of those children are among 56 people who have been hospitalized with measles in the area since the disease began spreading in January. About one to three out of every 1,000 children infected with measles die from respiratory and neurological complications, according to data from the CDC. Nearly one out of every 20 children with measles suffers from pneumonia, which is the most common cause of death from measles in young children. The measles outbreak began in Texas in late January but has since spread to a few other states. Fox News Digital’s Landon Mion contributed to this report.
Anti-Trump activist boasts of being ‘undocumented, unafraid, queer’ at rally
An undocumented immigrant attending an anti-Trump “Hands Off!” rally on Saturday said she was “unafraid” to flash her immigration status and sexual orientation publicly. “I am an immigrant, I am undocumented, unafraid, queer and unashamed,” Greisa Martinez Rosas, a longtime left-wing immigration activist, told those in attendance at the Washington, D.C., demonstrations over the weekend, according to a report in the New York Post. The comments come as protests against the Trump administration’s immigration and cost-cutting policies have spread across the country in recent days, with critics slamming the president for his push to hasten deportations and gut federal agencies through the Department of Government Efficiency. US IMMIGRATION WILL ONLY RECOGNIZE 2 GENDERS GOING FORWARD, ENDS BIDEN-ERA PRACTICE Rosas is originally from Hidalgo, Mexico, but came to the U.S. as a child, the report notes, where she eventually grew up in the Dallas area. She has since gone on to serve as the executive director of United We Dream, a network of more than 400,000 young immigrants. Her comments were made in front of tens of thousands of protesters who attended the rally in the nation’s capital, one of more than 1,000 protests held around the country on Saturday. The report notes that Rosas’ comments quickly went viral on social media, where not all users were enthusiastic about her message. SOUTH CAROLINA AG TAKES ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT HIT-AND-RUN, PROMISES CRIMINALS ‘WE’RE COMING FOR YOU’ “Deport her. Now,” one user on X said, according to the Post. “Lock her up,” another said. Others quipped that her public declaration was likely to land her on the radar of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE). CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “The only thing she didn’t tell ICE is her home address,” one X user said. “I’m confident they can look that up.” “I guess we will see her arrested later this week, thanks for coming forward to let ICE know where you are,” added another.