Fundraiser for Texas ex-official seeks $20K in donations after ‘Whites-only’ comment about young flood victims
A Democratic former mayoral appointee in Houston, Texas, is being slammed on a fundraising platform after a campaign was set up to help with “legal support” following her comments on social media about the race of the 27 girls from Camp Mystic who died in Hill Country floods last week. In the video, Sade Perkins said the camp “is a Whites-only girls Christian camp” that “doesn’t even have a token Asian” or “token Black person.” She neglected to mention the races of more than 200 others missing or dead as a result of the floods across multiple Texas counties. “It is a all White, White-only conservative Christian camp,” Perkins said in the video. “It’s not to say that we don’t want the girls to be found, whatever girls that are missing … but you best believe, especially in today’s political climate, if this were a group of Hispanic girls … this would not be getting this type of coverage that they’re getting. No one would give a f—.” PARENTS DESPERATELY SEEKING ANSWERS ON MISSING CAMPERS AFTER TEXAS FLOOD The fundraiser, “Support for Sade Perkins,” was posted on crowdfunding platform GiveSendGo and features photos of some young girls who died in the flood. Created by Marian Hills, it supposedly will benefit Perkins, a former member of the Houston Food Insecurity Board. “Sade Perkins is being publicly targeted for telling the truth,” organizers wrote on the site. “After the devastating flood at Camp Mystic, Sade, like many of us, was heartbroken. But she also had the courage to say what others wouldn’t: Would this response have looked different if the victims were Hispanic or Black girls?” Hill claimed Perkins is being stalked, harassed and flooded with hate messages, noting Houston Mayor John Whitmire said Perkins was fired “to make it look like they’ve taken some kind of action in response to public outrage.” However, Hill said Perkins resigned “on her own terms” in January, which is when her term expired, according to the city. FORMER HOUSTON MAYORAL APPOINTEE’S BOYFRIEND SLAMS HER ‘WHITES-ONLY’ CAMP MYSTIC COMMENTS Despite Perkins inserting race into the conversation, organizers are now calling the backlash she is facing “racialized violence.” “Sade simply spoke up about racial disparity in emergency response, something many have quietly thought but were too afraid to say. And the hate she’s getting? It’s not just disagreement, it’s racialized violence in plain sight,” according to the fundraiser. Hill alleged that if a white public figure had made the same comment, “it would have sparked debate, not a takedown.” She added that since Perkins is a Black woman, she is being told, “You shouldn’t be talking at all.” FORMER HOUSTON APPOINTEE CLAIMS FLOOD-RAVAGED CAMP MYSTIC IS ‘WHITES-ONLY’ IN VIRAL VIDEO With the money raised, organizers said, Perkins will be afforded “protection, legal support, and recovery from the reputational and emotional harm she’s enduring.” As of Thursday afternoon, the campaign had raised just over $400, with a goal of $20,000. Many of the donations are in small amounts, sent in by usernames acting as comments. A donation by “Disgrace to Houston” garnered 23 likes, while donations made by other usernames with racial slurs, obscene language or death threats aimed toward Perkins have hundreds of likes. While Perkins has yet to address the fundraiser, her boyfriend, Rev. Colin Bossen, released a statement on his website noting he “disavows” her comments. “My partner Sadé Perkins has made comments on social media regarding the horrific flooding that devastated Camp Mystic. I want to be clear that I disavow her comments,” Bossen wrote. “While she was not speaking on my behalf or on behalf of my congregation, I recognize that her comments have caused harm to many who are experiencing terrible loss and anxiety.”
‘It will happen quickly’: State Dept poised to act after Supreme Court green-lights agency layoffs
State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said the agency is poised to move “quickly” after the Supreme Court shot down a lower court’s ruling blocking the Trump administration from implementing widescale reductions in force across the federal government. “I think it’s fair to say that with everything else that happens [at the State Department], it will happen quickly,” Bruce said when asked how soon the agency would begin issuing notices to department employees. “This is not going to be an extended wait for people who are listening and watching in this building, or fellow Americans at home and around the world, this will happen quickly.” Bruce pointed out that, up to this point, the only reason there has been a delay in implementing force reductions at the Department of State, is because of the courts that have stepped in to try to halt the reforms. SOTOMAYOR BREAKS WITH JACKSON IN SUPREME COURT DECISION OVER TRUMP CUTS TO FEDERAL WORKFORCE “There has been a delay – not to our interests, but because of the courts,” Bruce added. “It’s been difficult when you know you need to get something done for the benefit of everyone. So it will be – it will be quickly.” However, while Bruce indicated the agency would be moving “quickly,” she declined to provide any specific timeline. She also declined to provide specifics around whether a court order that followed the Supreme Court’s decision authorizing the Trump administration’s reductions in force, which seeks to resolve a dispute over whether the administration must publicly share the reasoning for their reorganization efforts, might slow down the process. SUPREME COURT LETS TRUMP’S ‘WRECKING BALL’ FEDERAL JOB CUTS PROCEED WHILE LEGAL FIGHT CONTINUES The court order seeking to determine whether the Trump administration must publicly share the details of their planned reforms and reductions in force across the government was signed by U.S. District Court Judge Susan Illston. It was Illston’s previous ruling in May that temporarily blocked the Trump administration from implementing its executive agency reforms, which the Supreme Court overturned this week. Illston’s May ruling stemmed from lawsuits initiated by labor unions and advocacy groups, which argued the president’s February work reduction executive order was an overreach of power and undermined certain civil service protections.
Obama officials admitted they had no ’empirical evidence’ of Trump-Russia collusion: House Intel transcripts
Obama-era intelligence officials acknowledged that they had no “empirical evidence” of a conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia in the 2016 election, but continued to publicly push the “narrative” of collusion. The House Intelligence Committee, in 2017, conducted depositions of top Obama intelligence officials, including Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, national security advisor Susan Rice and Attorney General Loretta Lynch, among others. FLASHBACK: HOUSE INTEL TRANSCRIPTS SHOW TOP OBAMA OFFICIALS HAD NO ‘EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE’ OF TRUMP-RUSSIA COLLUSION The officials’ responses in the transcripts of those interviews align with the results of former Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation – which found no evidence of criminal coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia in 2016, while not reaching a determination on obstruction of justice. Their testimony has come back into the spotlight amid revelations that former CIA Director John Brennan and former FBI Director James Comey are under criminal investigation for potential wrongdoing related to the Trump–Russia probe, including allegedly making false statements to Congress, Justice Department sources exclusively told Fox News Digital. The transcripts, from 2017 and 2018, revealed top Obama officials were questioned by House Intelligence Committee lawmakers and investigators about whether they had or had seen evidence of such collusion, coordination or conspiracy – the issue that drove the FBI’s initial case and later the special counsel probe. “I never saw any direct empirical evidence that the Trump campaign or someone in it was plotting/conspiring with the Russians to meddle with the election,” Clapper testified in 2017. “That’s not to say that there weren’t concerns about the evidence we were seeing, anecdotal evidence…. But I do not recall any instance where I had direct evidence.” Lynch also said she did “not recall that being briefed up to me.” “I can’t say that it existed or not,” Lynch said, referring to evidence of collusion, conspiracy or coordination. But Clapper and Lynch, and Vice President Joe Biden, were present in the Oval Office on July 28, 2016, when Brennan briefed Obama and Comey on intelligence he’d received from one of Hillary Clinton’s campaign foreign policy advisors “to vilify Donald Trump by stirring up a scandal claiming interference by the Russian security service.” KEY PLAYERS IN ORIGINS OF TRUMP-RUSSIA PROBE “We’re getting additional insight into Russian activities from (REDACTED),” Brennan’s handwritten notes, exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital in October 2020, read. “CITE (summarizing) alleged approved by Hillary Clinton a proposal from one of her foreign policy advisers to vilify Donald Trump by stirring up a scandal claiming interference by the Russian security service.” After that briefing, the CIA properly forwarded that information through a Counterintelligence Operational Lead (CIOL) to Comey and then-Deputy Assistant Director of Counterintelligence Peter Strzok, with the subject line: “Crossfire Hurricane.” Fox News Digital exclusively obtained and reported on the CIOL in October 2020, which stated: “The following information is provided for the exclusive use of your bureau for background investigative action or lead purposes as appropriate.” “Per FBI verbal request, CIA provides the below examples of information the CROSSFIRE HURRICANE fusion cell has gleaned to date,” the memo continued. “An exchange (REDACTED) discussing US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s approval of a plan concerning US presidential candidate Donald Trump and Russian hackers hampering US elections as a means of distracting the public from her use of a private email server.” The FBI did not open an investigation into the matter, and instead, continued with its counterintelligence investigation into whether candidate Trump and members of his campaign were colluding or coordinating with Russia to influence the 2016 campaign. Days after the Brennan meeting to brief Obama, Biden, Comey, Clapper and Lynch on July 31, 2016, the FBI opened the original Trump–Russia investigation, which was referred to inside the bureau as “Crossfire Hurricane.” Meanwhile, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power, according to the transcript of her interview to the House Intelligence Committee, was asked whether she had or saw any evidence of collusion or conspiracy. Power replied: “I am not in possession of anything – I am not in possession and didn’t read or absorb information that came from out of the intelligence community.” When asked again, she said: “I am not.” Obama national security advisor Susan Rice was asked the same question. “To the best of my recollection, there wasn’t anything smoking, but there were some things that gave me pause,” she said, according to her transcribed interview, in response to whether she had any evidence of conspiracy. “I don’t recall intelligence that I would consider evidence to that effect that I saw… conspiracy prior to my departure.” When asked whether she had any evidence of “coordination,” Rice replied: “I don’t recall any intelligence or evidence to that effect.” When asked about collusion, Rice replied: “Same answer.” Former deputy national security advisor Ben Rhodes was asked the same question during his House Intelligence interview. OBAMA OFFICIALS USED DOSSIER TO PROBE, BRIEF TRUMP DESPITE KNOWING IT WAS UNVERIFIED ‘INTERNET RUMOR’ “I wouldn’t have received any information on any criminal or counterintelligence investigations into what the Trump campaign was doing, so I would not have seen that information,” Rhodes said. When pressed again, he said: “I saw indications of potential coordination, but I did not see, you know, the specific evidence of the actions of the Trump campaign.” Meanwhile, former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe was not asked that specific question but rather questions about the accuracy and legitimacy of the unverified anti-Trump dossier compiled by ex-British intelligence officer Christopher Steele. McCabe was asked during his interview in 2017 what was the most “damning or important piece of evidence in the dossier that” he “now knows is true.” McCabe replied: “We have not been able to prove the accuracy of all the information.” “You don’t know if it’s true or not?” a House investigator asked, to which McCabe replied: “That’s correct.” After Trump’s 2016 victory and during the presidential transition period, Comey briefed Trump on the now-infamous anti-Trump dossier, containing salacious allegations of purported coordination between Trump and the Russian
Federal judge weighs severe limits on Trump’s immigration enforcement in California
A judge in Los Angeles presided over a hearing Thursday where she considered granting a request that could have major implications for immigration enforcement in California, a state that has become a focal point in President Donald Trump’s aggressive deportation plans. Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong, a Biden appointee, heard arguments about whether to grant an emergency restraining order against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) over allegations the agency is violating constitutional rights during its immigration arrests. Frimpong said during the hearing that she was leaning toward granting a temporary restraining by Friday that could change how arrests are made, but she cautioned that she wanted to be careful not to overstep. “I think it’s important for the court not to burden otherwise lawful law enforcement activities,” the judge said. The case was initially brought in June as a routine petition from three detainees, but it has ballooned into a weighty lawsuit challenging the way ICE operates. TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SUES LOS ANGELES OVER SANCTUARY POLICIES THAT ‘IMPEDE’ ICE OPERATIONS Immigration rights groups and local governments, including the cities of Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Culver, and West Hollywood, have all intervened in the case and Democrat-led states have filed an amicus brief in support of them. The plaintiffs alleged in court papers that ICE is “indiscriminately” arresting people with “brown skin” at Home Depots, car washes, farms and more. Authorities made the arrests with no “reasonable suspicion” and sometimes mistakenly apprehended U.S. citizens in the process, all in violation of the Fourth Amendment, attorneys wrote. The plaintiffs argued the Trump administration gave ICE an unrealistic quota of 3,000 arrests per day, causing officers to feel pressured to blow past legal requirements to achieve those numbers. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is disputing the allegations and denies wrongdoing. Department of Justice attorneys wrote that immigration arrests, of which there have been nearly 3,000 across California since early June, have been carried out legally. “Their request that immigration authorities be enjoined from relying on certain factors like occupation and location flies in the face of established law requiring immigration officials to consider the totality of the circumstances, including things like occupation and location,” the attorneys wrote. The plaintiffs have also asked the judge to expand visitor access to a short-term detention facility in downtown Los Angeles. The facility became the site of protests and unrest in early June, leading to authorities temporarily abandoning the building. The plaintiffs allege that detainees’ access to lawyers has been hindered while in the facility, in violation of the Fifth Amendment.
Pro-Trump ‘troll’ who spread Hillary text-to-vote memes in 2016 has conviction tossed by appeals court
An appeals court has reversed the conviction of a pro-Trump influencer charged with spreading false information on social media to suppress Democratic voter turnout during the 2016 election, voiding conspiracy charges and a monthslong federal prison sentence handed down by a jury in Brooklyn, New York. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit on Wednesday unanimously voided the conviction of Douglass Mackey on federal conspiracy charges and remanded the case back to the U.S. Court in the Eastern District of New York to enter a new judgment of acquittal. The unanimous three-judge panel said in their ruling that “no rational jury” could have found that Mackey, 36, “knowingly” joined others in an illegal conspiracy aimed at influencing the outcome of the 2016 election or depriving people of their right to vote. “The jury’s verdict and the resulting judgment of conviction must be set aside,” Chief Judge Debra Ann Livingston wrote. TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SWARMS SCOTUS WITH EMERGENCY REQUESTS AND SEES SURPRISING SUCCESS The verdict is a win for Mackey, a self-styled right-wing influencer and self-described “troll,” who amassed roughly 58,000 followers on Twitter in the run-up to the 2016 election. Mackey, who used the handle “Ricky Vaughn,” used his account to post false information designed to support then-presidential candidate Donald Trump, including memes designed to look like Hillary Clinton ads that told voters they could submit their ballots via text message. Mackey was convicted in 2023 on conspiracy charges and sentenced to seven months in federal prison. The three-judge panel ruled Wednesday that Mackey’s posts, including the false memes he posted, were not sufficient evidence to prove that he had violated U.S. conspiracy laws, “even assuming that he did so with the intent to injure other citizens in the exercise of their right to vote,” they said. SCOTUS DENIES FLORIDA AG REQUEST TO ENFORCE CONTROVERSIAL IMMIGRATION LAW “The government was obligated to show that Mackey knowingly entered into an agreement with other people to pursue that objective,” Chief Judge Debra Ann Livingston and Judges Reena Raggi and Beth Robinson wrote. “This the government failed to do.” The decision was praised by Mackey, who immediately posted on social media about the verdict. “HALLELUJAH!” Mackey said on X after the appellate court ruling on Wednesday. Mackey proceeded to thank God, his family, wife, lawyers and others who supported him during the trial in subsequent posts. He then threatened to pursue legal action over his conviction. “Now we sue,” he said.
Federal judge blocks Trump’s birthright citizenship ban for all infants, testing lower court powers
A federal judge in New Hampshire blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order banning birthright citizenship and granted nationwide class certification status to all infants impacted by the order on Thursday. U.S. District Judge Joseph LaPlante said that he will issue a written ruling by the end of the day further explaining his decision. The injunction also narrows down the scope of the class to infants, removing parents from the case. In his order, LaPlante ruled that deprivation of citizenship, as held by the 14th Amendment, and changes in longstanding policy would create “irreparable harm.” TRUMP TO BEGIN ENFORCING BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP ORDER AS EARLY AS THIS MONTH, DOJ SAYS Still, it is almost sure to be quickly appealed by the Trump administration. It comes after the Supreme Court reviewed the case earlier this year, and ruled 6-3 in late June that plaintiffs seeking nationwide relief must file their cases as a class action lawsuit — narrowing the instances in which lower district courts can issue so-called universal injunctions. That high court ruling narrowly focused on the authority of lower courts, and justices did not wade into the legality of Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship, which served as the legal pretext for the case. Still, Justice Department officials told a federal judge last week they plan to begin enforcing Trump’s birthright citizenship order as early as July 27, in recognition of a 30-day stay included in the Supreme Court’s ruling, showing they plan to act quickly. Trump’s order, signed on the first day of his second White House term, directs all U.S. government agencies to refuse to issue citizenship documents to children born to illegal immigrants, or who do not have at least one parent who is an American citizen of lawful permanent resident. NINTH CIRCUIT REJECTS TRUMP’S BID TO REINSTATE BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP ORDER The order, signed by Trump on his first day in office, was immediately challenged in January by more than 22 U.S. states and immigrants’ rights groups, which argued the effort to end birthright citizenship was both unconstitutional and “unprecedented,” and threatened more than 100 years of legal precedent. It was almost immediately blocked by lower courts, before eventually making its way to the Supreme Court for review in May. The high court’s decision also touched off a flurry of new lawsuits from the ACLU and other immigration advocacy groups, who re-filed class action lawsuits in federal courts in Maryland and in New Hampshire, where LaPlante reviewed the request Thursday. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Lawyers for the Trump administration stressed last week that the Supreme Court’s ruling did not preclude it from taking other actions before that date, and told U.S. it plans to “immediately” begin developing and issuing public guidance on the order. Advocates have warned possible fallout from the order could prove “catastrophic.”
Mamdani lands endorsement of a top Cuomo backer in NYC mayoral primary
Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani, the frontrunner in the race for mayor of America’s most populous city, on Thursday landed the endorsement of one of New York City’s most influential politicians. Democratic Rep. Adriano Espaillat, arguably the city’s most powerful Latino leader, is backing Mamdani, who, if elected in November, would become New York City’s first Muslim mayor. “Thank you @EspaillatNY for joining this campaign for an affordable NYC and for fighting Trump’s authoritarianism in DC,” Mamdani wrote in a social media post. “Adriano and I know that the only way we can protect this city is by standing firm in our values and standing up for working class and immigrant New Yorkers.” MAMDANI’S FAR-LEFT ALLIES MULL PRIMARY CHALLENGES AGAINST TOP NYC HOUSE DEMOCRATS Mamdani and Espaillat are scheduled to team up at a campaign event on Thursday afternoon to formally announce the five-term congressman’s endorsement of the 33-year-old Ugandan-born state assemblyman from Queens. MAMDANI POLITICAL TSUNAMI SWAMPS DEMOCRATS AS PARTY SEARCHES FOR PATH FORWARD Espaillat’s endorsement of Mamdani, who two weeks ago convincingly defeated former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and nine other candidates to win the Democratic Party mayoral nomination, is seen as a setback for Cuomo. Cuomo, who resigned from office in 2021 during his third term as governor amid multiple scandals and who was aiming for a political comeback, was endorsed in the Democratic primary by Espaillat. And the two politicians teamed up at a rally on the eve of the kickoff of early voting in the primary election. While Cuomo lost the Democratic mayoral nomination to Mamdani, he’s running, as of now, on the November ballot as an independent, which state rules allow. Democratic Mayor Eric Adams, who dropped his primary bid earlier this year amid sinking poll numbers in the wake of numerous controversies, is seeking re-election as an independent. THE PLOT TO STOP MAMDANI: DEMOCRATS SCRAMBLE TO PREVENT FAR-LEFT TAKEOVER IN NYC Also on the ballot in the general election are Jim Walden, a former federal prosecutor running as an independent, and Guardian Angels co-founder Curtis Sliwa, who, for a second straight election, is the Republican mayoral nominee. Espaillat, the chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, has been a vocal critic of President Donald Trump’s sweeping and controversial second-term immigration crackdown. And Espaillat, who backed Adams in the mayor’s 2021 election, was thought to have grown frustrated with the mayor’s working relationship with Trump on immigration enforcement. Adams’ poll numbers were sinking even before he was indicted last year on five counts, which accused the mayor of bribery and fraud as part of an alleged “long-running” scheme to personally profit from contacts with foreign officials. The mayor made repeated overtures to Trump and the Justice Department earlier this year dismissed the corruption charges, so Adams could potentially work with the Trump administration on its illegal immigration crackdown. RESURFACED MAMDANI PHOTO SPARKS SOCIAL MEDIA FIRESTORM News of Espaillat’s endorsement of Mamdani was first reported by The New York Times. Mamdani surged to a primary victory thanks to an energetic campaign that put a major focus on affordability and New York City’s high cost of living. Mamdani made smart use of social media platforms, including TikTok, as he engaged low-propensity voters. He proposed eliminating fares to ride New York City’s vast bus system, making CUNY (City University of New York) “tuition-free,” freezing rents on municipal housing, offering “free childcare” for children up to age 5, and setting up government-run grocery stores. And thanks in part to the efforts of a massive grassroots army of volunteers, he rode a wave of support from younger and progressive voters to catapult into first place. Since his primary victory, Republicans have relentlessly painted Mamdani as an extremist and anchored him to Democrats across the country ahead of next year’s midterm elections. The attacks stretched from down ballot on the campaign trail all the way up to the White House, with Trump claiming that Mamdani was “a 100% Communist Lunatic.”
Sweeping bipartisan bill would nationalize standards for student athlete pay
FIRST ON FOX: The House of Representatives is rolling out bipartisan legislation later on Thursday that will mark a major shift in the world of college sports, particularly the compensation of student athletes, Fox News Digital has learned. The bill would codify the right for student athletes to get paid for the use of their name, image and likeness (NIL), while mandating that colleges and universities also provide them with “comprehensive” academic, career counseling, and medical support, according to text obtained by Fox News Digital. NIL regulations would be standardized across the country, overriding the current patchwork of state laws. More than 30 states allow colleges to pay student athletes for NIL, while no such regulations exist in others. Student athletes would be able to hire agents and would have to disclose their NIL deals to their schools and to nonprofit Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Associations (IIAA), like the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and similar groups. TAX CUTS, WORK REQUIREMENTS AND ASYLUM FEES: HERE’S WHAT’S INSIDE TRUMP’S BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL For non-athlete students at colleges and universities that bring in high revenue from sports media, it would shield them from footing the bill for their college’s athletics programs by prohibiting student fees at those schools from being used for them. The bill also expressly prohibits student athletes from being considered employees of a college over their sporting participation. It’s a bipartisan bill that’s the product of the House Energy & Commerce Committee, House Education & Workforce Committee, and the House Judiciary Committee. Its lead co-sponsors are Reps. Janelle Bynum, D-Ore., and Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla. Rep. Shomari Figures, D-Ala., is also a co-sponsor. Committee Chairmen Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., Tim Walberg, R-Mich., and Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, told Fox News Digital in a joint statement, “NIL offers an endless array of opportunities for student-athletes to make the most of their college experience, but the lack of clear guardrails has left athletes and universities on unstable ground.” “The SCORE Act creates a national framework that supports student-athletes and recenters the educational mission of college athletics,” they said. Jordan, notably, was a two-time NCAA Division I college wrestling champion. He later became a coach with Ohio State University’s wrestling program before being elected to Congress. SIMONE BILES SPARS WITH RILEY GAINES OVER TRANS ATHLETE DEBATE, LAUNCHES PERSONAL ATTACK: ‘TRULY SICK’ Whether student athletes should receive a portion of their school’s sports media revenue and how much has been a years-long debate. There have been several attempts in Congress to push for legislation giving student athletes the ability to profit off of their college sporting careers. The NCAA, college sports’ main governing body, changed its rules in 2021 to allow student athletes to profit from NIL. It comes after reports that such legislation could be introduced this week after a June antitrust settlement in House v. NCAA between the NCAA and lawyers for Division I college athletes. A judge approved over $2.7 billion in back pay for college athletes shut out of NIL deals between 2016 and 2024, paving the way for colleges to pay players directly. Under the bill’s parameters, IIAAs would ensure NIL deals aligned with fair market value, while being able to limit student athletes’ eligibility based on the length of their college sports career and create new requirements for agents not registered with the IIAA. The text also includes a liability shield for universities and IIAA that “the adoption of, agreement to, compliance with, or enforcement of any rule, regulation, requirement, standard, or other provision established pursuant to, or in compliance with, this Act shall be treated as lawful under the antitrust laws” and any state or local laws. 148 DEMOCRATS BACK NONCITIZEN VOTING IN DC AS GOP RAISES ALARM ABOUT FOREIGN AGENTS The bill was lauded by Reps. Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., Scott Fitzgerald, R-Wis., and House GOP Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain, R-Mich., all who played key roles in putting the legislation together. It was also praised by the NCAA’s Autonomy Conferences – the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, and SEC. “This legislation comes at a time of historic transition for college athletics. In the absence of federal standards, student-athletes and schools have been forced to navigate a fractured regulatory framework for too long,” a statement to Fox News Digital said. “Following the historic House settlement, this bill represents a very encouraging step toward delivering the national clarity and accountability that college athletics desperately needs. We urge lawmakers to build on this momentum and deliver the national solution that athletes, coaches, and schools deserve.”
Hawley moves to block China’s buy-up of US farmland as Trump admin sounds alarm
FOX NEWS FIRST: Sen. Josh Hawely, R-Mo., is reigniting a congressional push to ban the Chinese Communist Party from buying up farmland and residential land in the U.S. on Thursday. Hawley is introducing the Protecting Our Farms and Homes from China Act, which bans Chinese corporations and individuals associated with the Chinese Communist Party from making such purchases. President Donald Trump’s administration has sounded the alarm about Chinese ownership of U.S. land in recent days, particularly around American military bases. “China’s ownership of U.S. farmland poses a direct threat to American interests,” Hawley told Fox News Digital in a statement. “We should never let our nation’s greatest adversary have access to our vital resources, including our housing supply. That’s why I’m introducing legislation to protect American assets from the CCP once and for all.” While the bill would impose a flat ban on relevant purchases of farmland, the ban on residential purchases would only apply for two years, leaving an option for the president to re-up the prohibition every two years beyond that. TEXAS THE LATEST STATE WITH A LAW BANNING FOREIGN ADVERSARIES FROM BUYING REAL ESTATE The legislation also requires Chinese corporations and CCP-affiliated individuals who own affected land to divest that ownership within one year. It also establishes penalties for failing to comply with the law, ranging from fines to outright forfeiture. Hawley’s move comes in tandem with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announcing its National Farm Security Action Plan earlier this week. CHINESE NATIONALS WHO INFILTRATED US UNIVERSITIES The plan is specifically meant to address threats from foreign governments, like China, and how those threats impact American farmers. The plan laid out executive reforms and called for Congress to pursue legislation like Hawley’s. “The farm’s produce is not just a commodity, it is a way of life that underpins America itself. And that’s exactly why it is under threat from criminals, from political adversaries, and from hostile regimes that understand our way of life as a profound and existential threat to themselves,” USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins said at a press event in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. HARVARD UNIVERSITY’S ALLEGED TIES TO CHINESE PARAMILITARY GROUP, IRAN-BACKED RESEARCH SPARK GOP PROBE “For them, agricultural lands and our farms, because they are a previous inheritance, are weapons to be turned against us,” she continued. “We see it again and again, from Chinese communist acquisition of American farmland to criminal exploits of our system of agriculture, to the theft of operational information required to work the land and beyond. All of this takes what is profoundly good and turns it toward evil purposes.” Joining Rollins at the event were Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Attorney General Pam Bondi and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Numerous states have laws on the books restricting land purchases by those with ties to China and other foreign adversaries. Nevertheless, in 2021, over 383,000 acres had ties to China. While the number has dipped in recent years, it remains a significant issue, according to Agriculture Dive. Fox News’ Cameron Arcand contributed to this report
10 reasons the DOJ and FBI face backlash over Epstein files flop
Department of Justice leaders are facing sharp criticism and resignation calls from a faction of their supporters after they ended their inquiry into Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking case without releasing new files. The outrage, emanating largely from the right, can be tied to several past instances when those same leaders and other Republicans with large platforms once promoted the existence of incriminating, nonpublic Epstein case files, including a supposed list of sexual predators who were his clients. Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel and FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino now say they have nothing further to share with the public about Epstein’s case. In a joint, unsigned memo, the DOJ and FBI said Monday that after an exhaustive inquiry uncovering 300 gigabytes’ worth of material related to Epstein’s case, they found no signs of illegal activity by any new third parties. BONDI UNDER SIEGE AFTER DOJ REVEALS NO EPSTEIN CLIENT LIST “We did not uncover evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties,” the memo read. The memo stated that “much of the material” related to the Epstein case was subject to court-ordered seals, prohibiting the DOJ from releasing it. The client list, a point of significant discourse, does not exist, the memo said. Some of President Donald Trump‘s supporters and Patel’s and Bongino’s massive fan bases are now making it clear that they expected more. Below are 10 possible reasons for that. Right-wing commentator Benny Johnson asked Patel why the government had not released information about Epstein’s purported clients, according to a clip Johnson shared in December 2023, before Patel became FBI director. “Simple, because of who’s on that list,” Patel replied. “You don’t think that Bill Gates is lobbying Congress night and day to prevent the disclosure of that list?” Patel criticized the Republican-led House for failing to obtain “Epstein’s list.” “What the hell are the House Republicans doing? They have the majority. You can’t get the list?” Patel asked, later adding, “We can’t even get basic documents out. This is why America hates Congress.” “Put on your big boy pants, and let us know who the pedophiles are,” Patel said. In an interview in December 2023, Patel addressed questions from BlazeTV host Glenn Beck about Epstein’s “black book.” Patel said the FBI had the book. “That’s under direct control of the director of the FBI,” the now-FBI director said. Patel added, “That’s a thing I think President Trump should run on. On day one, roll out the black book.” Epstein’s address books have long been a point of scrutiny. His house manager tried to sell one, according to a 2009 FBI affidavit. Gawker published one of the address books in 2015 with phone numbers redacted. That version contains hundreds of both well-known and obscure names. A judge allowed one of the address books to be entered under seal into the court record during his associate Ghislain Maxwell’s sex trafficking trial in 2021. When asked on “Fox & Friends Weekend” last year if Trump would “declassify the Epstein files” if he were elected president, Trump replied that he would. “Yeah, yeah I would. I guess I would,” Trump said. “I think less so because you don’t know, you don’t want to affect people’s lives if it’s phony stuff in there, because there’s a lot of phony stuff with that whole world, but I think I would.” On Tuesday during a Cabinet meeting, Trump brushed off the topic of Epstein when asked by a reporter about him. “Are people still talking about this guy, this creep?” Trump said. “That is unbelievable.” “What about her little black book? The 97-page book, contains the names and contact details of almost 2,000 people including world leaders, celebrities and businessmen,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene wrote this week on X. “No one believes there is not a client list.” The Miami Herald’s Julie Brown, who followed and reported on Epstein’s case for years, has said claims about the list are dubious. “There is no client list that I am aware of. My theory is it was something conspiracy theorists cooked up to monetize their podcasts online,” Brown wrote in response to social media users in 2024. Sen. Marsha Blackburn has made the release of the Epstein files one of her top priorities over the past couple of years. From promoting anticipated disclosures on the Senate floor to posting dozens of times about the matter on social media, Blackburn has vowed that “accountability for these predators is coming.” “Epstein’s client list and the information I requested to reveal his associates & business dealings are key to helping us crack this trafficking ring wide open,” Blackburn wrote on social media in February. Ahead of the DOJ releasing a small tranche of files in February, Blackburn said “this will be a ‘phase 1’ release. There will be more to come.” TRUMP SLAMS REPORTER FOR ASKING ABOUT ‘CREEP’ JEFFREY EPSTEIN DURING CABINET MEETING The Trump administration first released that batch of information, which contained no new revelations, in February to right-wing social media influencers. They appeared in photos at the White House with binders the Trump administration gave them that were labeled “classified” and “Epstein files: Phase 1.” Blackburn also secured a promise from Patel during his confirmation hearing this year that he would publish Epstein files. Bondi was asked by host John Roberts during a Fox News interview in February if she planned to release a “list of Epstein’s clients.” “It’s sitting on my desk right now to review,” Bondi said. “That’s been a directive by President Trump. I’m reviewing that.” Bondi clarified her remarks during the Cabinet meeting with Trump on Tuesday, saying she was referencing Epstein’s entire case file. “In February, I did an interview on Fox, and it’s been getting a lot of attention because I said, I was asked a question about the client list, and my response was, ‘It’s sitting on my desk to be reviewed,’ meaning the [Epstein] file along with the JFK and MLK files,