‘Seen, heard, counted’: New group aims to serve the ‘hidden casualties’ of war
Soldiers who return home from combat zones have veterans’ support groups, a plethora of charities and an entire government agency intended to see to their needs for illness and injuries. But contractors who take jobs in those same areas have had no such institutional support – until now. These workers face the same mental traumas associated with combat deployment, and thousands who have been exposed to burn pits face the same cancers that have claimed the lives of American service members. But before the Association of War Zone Contractors (AOWC) formed this week, they did not have any of the same support groups that take care of veterans, according to the group’s organizers. “We’re looking to make sure contractors are seen, heard and counted, because those things haven’t been happening for a long time,” Scott Dillard, co-founder of the new nonprofit, told Fox News Digital. The American public often forgets that contractors make up much of the workforce on overseas bases. An estimated half of those employed in U.S. positions during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars were civilian contractors, not military members. FORMER DEFENSE SECRETARIES CONDEMN TRUMP’S FIRING OF SENIOR MILITARY OFFICIALS IN SCATHING LETTER “Some contractors go outside the wire, but many of them are just changing light bulbs, slinging mashed potatoes, cleaning toilets, whatever the case may be. But they’re on these bases, they’re in a hostile environment that gets attacked,” Dillard said. Known as “hidden casualties” during the Iraq War, many were convoy drivers who carted supplies across dangerous terrain. More than 8,000 contractors died over two decades in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, as did an additional 7,000 U.S. service members, according to a Brown University count. The U.S. government does not thoroughly report contractor deaths, and their families often struggle to receive any compensation. “A contractor’s function is kind of an invisible army, and we don’t want that,” said Cory Archibald, another co-founder and former contractor. “The public deserves to know, policymakers need to know in order to make the right decisions, how integrated contractors are in everything that the military does, fully integrated in military operations, and that needs to be understood and acted on.” Like the veterans’ groups that for decades have advocated for better post-mission care for U.S. troops, AOWC hopes to educate contractors who return home with mental and physical injuries and illnesses associated with their work on the resources currently available to them, and to advocate for U.S. policymakers to streamline the arduous process that comes with filing a claim. Thanks to the PACT Act, the VA recognizes an automatic link between 23 different conditions and burn pits. But civilians, whose claims are managed by the U.S. Department of Labor, have to prove a connection between the same medical conditions and deployment. Through the Defense Base Act, contracting companies’ insurers are required to cover care for work-related injuries, like the cancers arising in many of those who served on bases in Iraq and Afghanistan in close proximity to burn pits. “It’s an adversarial process for contractors,” said Dillard. “The insurer is almost certainly going to deny the claim.” For claims that are successful, contractors wait years to see any form of payment. For unsuccessful claims, contractors have to retain a lawyer and wait for the litigation process to play out in court. HOUSE UNANIMOUSLY PASSES BILL TO QUADRUPLE THE PENSIONS OF MEDAL OF HONOR RECIPIENTS The research behind the PACT Act, which found a direct link to certain medical conditions and the pits used to burn medical waste, arms materials and other things near military bases, focused on service members whose deployments last between a few months and a year and a half. Little research has been done on the effects those pits had on contractors, who in many cases took work on overseas bases for years at a time. AOWC’s first order of business is to get names on its burn pits registry to garner data and establish a direct connection between certain illnesses among contractors and exposure to burn pits. Then the group will take that data to policymakers and implore them to make it easier for contractors to get help with care. As the military’s size has diminished over the years, U.S. forces have increasingly outsourced work to civilian contractors. And contractors are conveniently left out of the count when the nation’s leaders boast about reducing the footprint of the U.S. military on foreign bases. “They say, ‘We’re drawing down the troops.’ Okay, great. But they don’t say that on the backside there’s contractors coming back in,” said Dillard. “The fact that all these jobs have been outsourced to private contractors means that the public has less of an understanding of what is the cost of war, because they’re not seeing that reflected in the casualty figures, not just deaths, but also injuries as well,” said Archibald. He said he first recognized the “invisibility” of contractors after serving in the Army and then working as a contractor himself for six years, largely in Afghanistan. “I did not know what my rights were,” he said. “I had no clue that there was that help available. And a vast majority of contractors have a similar lack of knowledge.”
Trump isn’t the first US commander in chief to lose patience with Zelenskyy: resurfaced 2022 report
Months after war broke out between Russia and Ukraine, then-President Joe Biden had a fiery private phone call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, which included Biden allegedly losing “his temper” and calling on Ukraine to “show a little more gratitude” towards the U.S. for its support, a resurfaced 2022 NBC News report shows. “Biden had barely finished telling Zelenskyy that he had just greenlighted another $1 billion in U.S. military assistance for Ukraine when Zelenskyy started listing all the additional help he needed and wasn’t getting,” according to an NBC report published in November 2022, recounting a prior June 2022 call that Biden and Zelenskyy shared. “Biden lost his temper, the people familiar with the call said. The American people were being quite generous, and his administration and the U.S. military were working hard to help Ukraine, he said, raising his voice, and Zelenskyy could show a little more gratitude,” the report continued. The reported tense exchange on the phone came just months after Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. The pair’s relationship “only improved” following the phone call, Biden administration officials told NBC at the time. TRUMP, VANCE AND ZELENSKYY SPAR OVER RUSSIAN WAR IN TENSE EXCHANGE: ‘VERY DISRESPECTFUL’ Fox News Digital reached out to Biden’s office on Sunday morning for additional comment on the 2022 phone call but did not immediately receive a reply. The report resurfaced over the weekend, following President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance’s fiery meeting with Zelenskyy, which included the VP pressing the Ukraine leader on his gratitude for the U.S.’s assistance across the years, and Trump asking Zelenskyy to leave the White House – stipulating that he can return “when he is ready for Peace.” The White House meeting grew tense in approximately its final 10 minutes, after Vance said that peace would be reached between Russia and Ukraine through U.S. diplomacy efforts. “Mr. President, with respect, I think it’s disrespectful for you to come into the Oval Office to try to litigate this in front of the American media,” Vance told Zelenskyy. “Right now, you guys are going around and forcing conscripts to the front lines, because you have manpower problems. You should be thanking the president for bringing it, to bring it into this country.” “Have you’ve ever been to Ukraine that you say what problems we have?” Zelenskyy shot back. TRUMP SAYS ZELENSKYY CAN ‘COME BACK WHEN HE IS READY FOR PEACE’ AFTER FIERY WHITE HOUSE EXCHANGE “I’ve actually watched and seen the stories and I know that what happens is you bring people, you bring them on a propaganda tour,” Vance continued. “Mr. President, do you disagree that you’ve had problems bringing people into your military? And do you think that it’s respectful to come to the Oval Office of the United States of America and attack the administration that is trying to, trying to prevent the destruction of your country?” Zelenskyy continued that under war, “everybody has problems, even you,” and that the U.S. would feel the war “in the future.” TRUMP SAYS UKRAINE RARE EARTH MINERALS DEAL WILL LEAD TO ‘SUSTAINABLE’ FUTURE BETWEEN US, UKRAINE “Don’t tell us what we’re going to feel,” Trump shot back at Zelenskyy. “You’re gambling with the lives of millions of people,” Trump added at another point during the exchange. “You’re gambling with World War III. You’re gambling with World War III. And what you’re doing is very disrespectful to the country, this country.” Vance interjected, asking Zelenskyy whether he had “said thank you once this entire meeting.” He also added that Zelenskyy “went to Pennsylvania and campaigned for the opposition in October” and that he should “offer some words of appreciation for the United States of America and the president who’s trying to save your country.” Congress has appropriated $175 billion since 2022 for aid to Ukraine, according to the Council on Foreign Relations, though exact monetary figures on how much the U.S. has provided to Ukraine vary based on what is considered aid. Total European assistance to Ukraine between January 2022 and December 2024 totals roughly $138.7 billion, according to German think tank the Kiel Institute. The U.S. contributed $119.7 billion during that same timeframe, Fox Digital previously reported. Trump continued in his remarks to Zelenskyy that “the problem is, I’ve empowered you to be a tough guy, and I don’t think you’d be a tough guy without the United States.” ZELENSKYY SPEAKS OUT AFTER PUBLIC SPAT WITH TRUMP, VANCE, SAYS DUST-UP ‘BAD FOR BOTH SIDES’ “And your people are very brave. But you’re either going to make a deal or we’re out. And if we’re out, you’ll fight it out. I don’t think it’s going to be pretty, but you’ll fight it out. But you don’t have the cards. But once we sign that deal, you’re in a much better position. But you’re not acting at all thankful. And that’s not a nice thing. I’ll be honest. That’s not a nice thing,” Trump said. Zelenskyy left the White House shortly after. The Trump administration canceled a planned press conference with Zelenskyy later that day, while a planned speaking event featuring the Ukraine leader at a Washington, D.C.-based think tank was canceled. Zelenskyy did join Fox News’ Bret Baier for an exclusive interview on Friday evening, where he was pressed on whether he would apologize to Trump. U.S. leaders, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, called on Zelenskyy to apologize for the Oval Office meeting, but the Ukraine president bucked the calls during the Baier interview, while adding that he respects Trump and the U.S. TRUMP TO MAKE ENGLISH OFFICIAL LANGUAGE OF US IN NEW EXECUTIVE ORDER “I’m very thankful to Americans for all your support. You did a lot. I’m thankful to President Trump and to Congress for bipartisan support,” he responded when asked about an apology. “You helped us a lot from the very beginning, during three years of full-scale invasion, you helped us to survive.” “No, I respect the president and I
Blue state GOP chair unleashes on governor for ‘grandstanding’ with special demand of Trump admin
Gov. JB Pritzker and 16 Illinois Democrats sent a letter to the White House Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought on Tuesday demanding the Trump administration release $1.88 billion in federal funding to Illinois. Chair of the Illinois Republican Party Kathy Salvi dismissed it as Pritzker playing politics. Pritzker, Sen. Dick Durbin, Sen. Tammy Duckworth and congressional Democrats said in the letter that Illinois is “in danger of needing to pause operations, cancel projects, or lay off staff” if their funding is not restored, leaving a “detrimental impact on vulnerable people, local economies, and the state as a whole.” The Illinois Republican Party is pushing back on the Democrats’ claims, saying the letter “has no basis.” “Governor Pritzker is grandstanding for his 2028 run for president instead of focusing on the mess that he’s left with us in Illinois. Since he’s been the governor, now in his seventh budget address, he has raised our budget by $16 billion from a $39 billion budget initially to $55 billion,” Salvi told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview. ILLINOIS GOVERNOR SAYS TRUMP ADMIN WITHHOLDING $1.88B IN APPROVED TAXPAYER MONEY, AMID RIFT WITH PRESIDENT Fox News Digital reached out to OMB about the letter, but they did not provide a comment by the deadline of this article. “On behalf of our constituents, we are seeking full transparency and accountability on any and all funding that has been paused or interrupted. If the Trump Administration is unable to follow the law and uphold their end of the deal, the people of our state deserve to know,” the Democrats said. ‘DULY OWED TO US’: BLUE STATE GOVERNOR SAYS $2.1B IN FEDERAL FUNDING RESTORED AFTER SUING TRUMP ADMIN “He has defied law since day one,” Salvi countered. “This is a sanctuary state. He has caused the higher crime rates we have. He has caused the educational mess that we have here in the City of Chicago. He is not helping with solutions here. He’s distracting and using his weight in Washington to posture against this president and his administration’s agenda in order to catapult his own campaign for president in 2028. And this must be exposed.” Pritzker also met with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries in Washington, D.C., this week to push for the release of Illinois’ federal funds. “His travel to Washington is a distraction of the mess that he’s led here in Illinois,” Salvi said. Salvi said Pritzker is asking for a “blank check” without “any examination of where the money goes.” “Pritzker’s budget plan faces a $3 billion budget deficit. He has been given a blank check for the last four years. Now, he is being held to account. So, instead of dealing with the problems that he and his administration have caused here in Illinois, which are causing people to flee our state to neighboring states, he decides instead to distract and sue the federal government. Well, I think we need to have an accounting here in Illinois. We, Illinois taxpayers and citizens and families, we require results,” Salvi said. A federal judge granted a preliminary injunction on Tuesday extending the block on the White House Office of Management and Budget’s federal funding freeze. Federal judges had previously issued a temporary restraining order to block the funding freeze. Illinois was one of the initial 22 states and Washington, D.C., that sued President Donald Trump’s administration on Jan. 28 to unfreeze federal funds. OMB directed agencies to halt federal funding on Jan. 27 in compliance with Trump’s executive orders. Gov. Josh Shapiro, D-Penn., in a separate lawsuit, sued the Trump administration to unfreeze federal funds on Feb. 13. Shapiro said that $2.1 billion in federal funds had been released and restored to Pennsylvania on Monday. While Shapiro said legal action was necessary to unfreeze his state’s federal funds, he added that his “direct engagement” with the Trump administration had led to the restoration of those funds. Pritzker’s letter urged the Trump administration to “follow the law and make good on the government’s promise to deliver hard-earned taxpayer dollars back into Illinois’ economy, workforce and communities.” The letter claims that many Illinois agencies have been forced to “pause operations, cancel projects, or cut staff” and have reported “their inability to access funds” since the OMB’s funding freeze memo. The letter says there have been “widespread reports of system outages and lockouts that prevented grantees from accessing entitled funding” since Jan 27. “Attempted communications with government liaisons were often ignored and public statements from the White House were inconsistent with the experiences of our grantees,” the letter says. Illinois Democrats allege that “14 state agencies, boards, and commissions have a total of $1.88 billion in impacted federal funds” that provide “technical assistance for small businesses, provide affordable solar energy for low-income residents, improve roads and bridges, and more.” “These funds have been contractually agreed to, allocated, and planned around by their recipients–which include childcare providers, educational institutions, small businesses, community and economic development organizations, and more. Needless to say, the restriction of these funds will have a detrimental impact on vulnerable people, local economies, and the state as a whole,” the letter added. The letter concludes by asking the Trump administration to answer five questions by March 4, 2025, about the disbursement of federal funds.
Marco Rubio blasts critics for demonizing ‘peacemaker’ Trump: ‘It’s only a bad thing when it’s Donald Trump’
Secretary of State Marco Rubio pushed back on critics of President Donald Trump’s approach to ending the war in Ukraine on Sunday, saying the president is a “peacemaker.” Rubio made the comments during an appearance on ABC News’ “This Week,” telling host George Stephenopoulos that Trump is facing attacks simply because he is Trump. “Shouldn’t we at least try to see if there is a way to end this war in a way that’s acceptable to both sides and is enduring and sustainable? How is that a bad thing?” Rubio said. “I really am puzzled why anyone thinks that trying to be a peacemaker is a bad thing. It’s only a bad thing when it’s Donald Trump trying to do it. When it’s President Trump. It’s absurd to me,” he added. ZELENSKYY SPEAKS OUT AFTER PUBLIC SPAT WITH TRUMP, VANCE, SAYS DUSTUP ‘BAD FOR BOTH SIDES’ Rubio went on to reject claims that Trump is working to placate Russia and Vladimir Putin, saying all the administration has done is reach out and say, “are you guys willing to talk about peace?” Rubio’s appearance comes days after an explosive meeting between Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House last week. The meeting ended in a shouting match, with Trump arguing Ukraine doesn’t “have the cards” to continue fighting Russia on its own and that a negotiated peace is the best way forward. Trump later accused Zelenskyy of “disrespecting” the U.S. during their meeting Friday and said the Ukrainian leader was not ready to secure peace for his country. TRUMP SAYS UKRAINE RARE EARTH MINERALS DEAL WILL LEAD TO ‘SUSTAINABLE’ FUTURE BETWEEN US, UKRAINE “I have determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations,” Trump said in a Truth Social post Friday. “I don’t want advantage, I want PEACE. He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for Peace.” Zelenskyy visited Washington amid negotiations to end the war in Ukraine and was expected to sign a minerals agreement that will allow the U.S. access to Ukraine’s minerals in exchange for support the U.S. has provided the country since Russia’s invasion in 2022. Trump instead kicked Zelenskyy out of the White House after their contentious public meeting.
Hiding kids’ ‘gender identity’ from parents is common in blue state fighting Trump on trans issues: watchdog
More than 50 school districts in Maine have policies that allow minors to hide their gender identity from their parents, according to a new watchdog report. Parents Defending Education (PDE), a grassroots organization tracking gender ideologies in schools across the country, filed public records requests to confirm that at least 57 of the state’s 192 school districts have policies excluding parents from knowing whether their children identify as another gender. The report comes after President Donald Trump chastised Democrat Maine Gov. Janet Millis last week over her refusal to enforce Trump’s “No Men in Women’s Sports” executive order. TRUMP VOWS TO CUT OFF FEDERAL FUNDING TO MAINE OVER REFUSAL TO COMPLY WITH ‘NO MEN IN WOMEN’S SPORTS’ ORDER “It was totally unsurprising to see the governor of Maine go to the mat to keep males in women’s sports when over 50 school districts in Maine have written policies to deceive parents about their own child,” PDE spokesperson Erika Sanzi told Fox News Digital Friday. “We have seen a groundswell of parents in Maine speaking out about this now that they are aware of it, and it is our hope that districts begin to roll back these policies, not only because of the executive orders from the Trump administration but because nearly 80% of their constituents oppose them,” she said. In one example from the state’s largest district, Portland Public Schools, district policy on “transgender and gender expansive students” requires that if “a student and their parent or legal guardian do not agree with regard to the student’s gender identity or gender expression, the school shall abide by the wishes of the student with regard to their gender identity and gender expression while at school. “School staff shall comply with the student’s wishes regarding disclosure of their transgender status to others, including but not limited to parents or guardians, students, volunteers or other school staff, unless the student has explicitly authorized the disclosure or unless legally required to do so.” MAINE FEMALE ATHLETE ‘GRATEFUL’ FOR TRUMP’S FOCUS ON TRANS COMPETITORS AFTER LOCAL LEADERS ‘FAILED’ GIRLS Policies like Portland’s are also still in place after Trump signed an executive order at the end of January, “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling,” which states that “steering students toward surgical and chemical mutilation without parental consent or involvement or allowing males access to private spaces designated for females may contravene Federal laws that protect parental rights.” Trump has already threatened to cut off Maine’s federal funding if it continues to defy his orders. “I heard men are still playing in Maine,” Trump told to a gathering of Republican governors in Washington last week. “I hate to tell you this, but we’re not going to give them any federal money. They are still saying, ‘We want men to play in women’s sports,’ and I cannot believe that they’re doing that. … So, we’re not going to give them any federal funding, none whatsoever, until they clean that up.” MAINE STATE REP TALKS ‘EXTREME’ TRANSGENDER ATHLETE POLICY Trump signed the executive order barring men from women’s sports earlier this month, which directs federal agencies to review grants, programs and policies that fail to align with efforts to block male participation in women’s sports “as a matter of safety, fairness, dignity, and truth.” The order mandates strict enforcement of Title IX and threatens to revoke federal funding from noncompliant educational institutions and athletic organizations. After the order, several other blue states indicated they would not be complying with it, including California and Minnesota. Fox News Digital has reached out to the Maine Department of Education for comment.
Newsom declares state of emergency to ‘fast-track’ wildfire measures after Trump attacks over previous blazes
California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency on Saturday in a bid to fast-track wildfire prevention projects. Newsom announced the move after President Donald Trump blasted the governor’s handling of previous wildfire disasters. The order suspends certain environmental regulations that would have delayed forest management projects and other wildfire prevention measures. “This year has already seen some of the most destructive wildfires in California history, and we’re only in March. Building on unprecedented work cutting red tape and making historic investments – we’re taking action with a state of emergency to fast-track critical wildfire projects even more,” Newsom said in a statement. “These are the forest management projects we need to protect our communities most vulnerable to wildfire, and we’re going to get them done,” he added. NEWSOM CALLS TRUMP’S CLAIMS ‘PURE FICTION’ AFTER HE POINTED FINGER OVER CALIFORNIA FIRE TRAGEDY California’s wider efforts will cost roughly $2.5 billion, funding controlled burns, reducing fuel in burn areas, as well as implementing public tracking of wildfire prevention efforts. TRUMP MEETS WITH CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS, FIRE AND LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS TO SEE LA WILDFIRE DAMAGE FIRST HAND The state of emergency announcement comes weeks after Trump blasted Newsom for “gross incompetence” in handling the recent wildfires. “Gavin Newscum should resign. This is all his fault!!!” Trump charged in a social media post on Jan. 8, repeating a derogatory name he often uses for the governor. Newsom traveled to Washington, D.C., in early February in a bid to secure federal backing for the disaster relief efforts. He said he had a “very productive” meeting at the White House at the time. The governor held two meetings on Capitol Hill before traveling to the White House and petitioning Trump for “unconditional disaster aid,” his office said. “As we approach one month since the devastating wildfires across Southern California, we continue to cut red tape to speed up recovery and clean up efforts as well as ensure rebuilding efforts are swift,” Newsom said in a statement. “We’re working across the aisle, as we always have, to ensure survivors have the resources and support they need.” Fox News’ Stepheny Price contributed to this report.
How to watch and what to know about Trump’s Tuesday address to a Joint Session of Congress
President Donald Trump will address a Joint Session of Congress on Tuesday, March 4 at 9 p.m. ET. The forum is not officially a State of the Union address, which traditionally comes during the second, third and fourth year of a presidency. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., invited Trump earlier this month to address Congress on Tuesday. “Thanks to your strong leadership and bold action in the first days of your presidency, the United States is already experiencing a resurgence of patriotism, unity, and hope for the future,” Johnson wrote in a letter to Trump first obtained by Fox News Digital. HONORING TRUMP: SPEAKER JOHNSON SAYS FLAGS TO FLY FULL-STAFF AT US CAPITOL DURING PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURATION “Your administration and the 119th Congress working together have the chance to make these next four years some of the most consequential in our nation’s history,” the speaker wrote. “To that end, it is my distinct honor and great privilege to invite you to address a Joint Session of Congress on Tuesday, March 4, 2025, in the Chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives, to share your America First vision for our legislative future. I eagerly await your response.” Fox News Channel, Fox News Digital and Fox News Go will have live coverage of the event Tuesday evening. Fox News Channel will also preview the speech during its primetime and afternoon programming. Will Cain will have the latest on the “Will Cain Show” at 4 p.m. ET. Following him, join Dana Perino, Greg Gutfeld, Judge Jeanine Pirro and the hosts of “The Five” for more coverage leading up to the event. VA DEM SLAMS DOGE FANS; COMPARES JOB CUTS TO HOLOCAUST: ‘FIRST THEY CAME FOR THE JEWS…’ Chief political anchor Bret Baier continues the coverage at 6 p.m. ET on “Special Report,” followed by “The Ingraham Angle” with Laura Ingraham at 7 p.m. ET; before Jesse Watters offers a curtain-raiser just before the address at 8 p.m. ET on “Jesse Watters Primetime.” While it is officially an address to a joint session, historically, these speeches tend to follow the same customs as the official State of the Union forums. The latter are required by the Constitution under Article II Sec. 3 – which stipulates that a president must provide Congress with information about the state of the Union and offer legislative recommendations. Before the audiovisual and digital ages, the addresses tended to come in print form. Former President Woodrow Wilson delivered the first address in-person since former President John Adams. The title itself, “State of the Union,” was standardized by former President Harry S. Truman in the 1940s. Truman also offered the first televised State of the Union, as radio gave way to TV. Former President Lyndon Baines Johnson began the tradition of a primetime address. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP During such addresses, when all three branches of government are typically present, one member of the president’s cabinet is named “designated survivor” – and stays home from the address in case terrorism or another catastrophe leads to the deaths of all assembled in the chamber. The U.S. Senate keeps records of each designated survivor going back to 1984, when former HUD Secretary Samuel Pierce Jr. was designated the potential leader of the nation if former President Ronald Reagan and everyone else in attendance perished. Notable designated survivors have included then-future New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo during former President Bill Clinton’s 1999 address, former Commerce Secretary Bill Daley – son of the famed Chicago Democratic Party boss – in 1998, and then-Attorney General Eric Holder in 2009. Most recently, former President Joe Biden’s education chief, Miguel Cardona, was 2024’s designated survivor. Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.
Debate over whether to ban handgun sales to teens could soon head to the Supreme Court
The Supreme Court may soon weigh in on whether people younger than 21 have the right to buy handguns, a decision that could upend decades-old federal restrictions and reshape the nation’s gun laws. In January, the right-leaning Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, based in New Orleans, struck down the federal government’s decades-old ban on handgun purchases for 18- to 20-year-olds. That decision came after the 10th Circuit upheld the same prohibition in November. Meanwhile, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit is currently considering whether to uphold a Virginia district court judge’s decision ending the age-limit ban. “Whenever there’s decisions that cross each other, you have a much better chance of getting a writ of certiorari at the U.S. Supreme Court,” Alan Gottlieb, founder of the Second Amendment Foundation, told Fox News Digital. FEDERAL COURT RULES AGE LIMITS ON HANDGUN SALES VIOLATE SECOND AMENDMENT “This issue is definitely making its way to the Supreme Court—and fast,” said Pepperdine’s Jacob Charles, a constitutional law professor with an expertise in Second Amendment issues. “This is a key federal law, and you just can’t have that apply differently across the nation (at least for long).” The federal ban on handgun sales to people under the age of 21 began in 1968 as part of the Gun Control Act passed that year. Fast-forward to the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen, and a tranche of lawsuits aiming to upend laws restricting gun sales to people over 21 are making their way through the courts. The gun-violence nonprofit news outlet The Trace compiled data showing that between June 2022 and August 2024, there have been more than 1,600 Bruen-based challenges to gun laws. The Bruen decision rejected the strict scrutiny frameworks being used by lower courts to evaluate gun laws and instead established a “historical tradition” that required laws to adhere more directly to the text of the Second Amendment. “The levels of scrutiny – rational basis, intermediate scrutiny, strict scrutiny – don’t matter. What the Supreme Court’s Bruen ruling said was, you have to look at the text and the history. That’s what counts,” said Gottlieb. “When the Bill of Rights was put together, there was nothing that prohibited 18-to 20-year-old young adults from being able to own or carry a firearm.” Gottlieb and the Second Amendment Foundation have sued in several states to reverse their bans on hand gun sales to young adults under 21. Several cases challenging age limit bans, including cases filed in Massachusetts and Connecticut this month, are ongoing. KYLE RITTENHOUSE RETURNS TO SPEAK AT UNIVERSITY WHERE ANGRY MOB LED TO CANCELED SPEECH “Our track record, at least, is mostly wins, and part of the logic on that is that there’s nothing in under the Bruen decision at the Supreme Court, which makes them look at the text and history of the Second Amendment.” The Fifth Circuit decision cited the Supreme Court’s Bruen ruling in its decision not to uphold the federal ban, as did two other circuit courts over the last year. One case in the Eighth Circuit invalidated a ban in Minnesota. Since then, the Commissioner of Public Safety in Minnesota filed a petition for the Supreme Court to rule on the case. That petition is currently pending.
Federal judge rules Trump’s firing of head of special counsel was unlawful, will maintain his job
A D.C.-based federal district judge ruled late Saturday evening that President Donald Trump’s firing of the head of the Office of Special Counsel was unlawful, keeping him in his post. The Trump administration filed their notice of appeal shortly thereafter. Hampton Dellinger, appointed by former President Joe Biden to head the Office of Special Counsel, sued the Trump administration in Washington, D.C., federal court after his Feb. 7 firing. SUPREME COURT PAUSES TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S EFFORT TO FIRE HEAD OF WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION AGENCY D.C. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson wrote in the Saturday filing that the court’s ruling that Dellinger’s firing was “unlawful” is consistent with Supreme Court precedent. The Trump administration filed its notice of appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit shortly after Jackson’s ruling. Jackson wrote that the court “finds that the elimination of the restrictions on plaintiff’s removal would be fatal to the defining and essential feature of the Office of Special Counsel as it was conceived by Congress and signed into law by the President: its independence. The Court concludes that they must stand.” FEDERAL JUDGE HINTS SHE WILL CONTINUE BLOCKING TRUMP FROM FIRING HEAD OF WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION AGENCY Jackson enjoined the defendants in the suit, including Director of the United States Office of Management and Budget Russ Vought and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, ordering them to recognize Dellinger’s post. Jackson did not enjoin Trump. “It would be ironic, to say the least, and inimical to the ends furthered by the statute if the Special Counsel himself could be chilled in his work by fear of arbitrary or partisan removal,” Jackson wrote. Jackson’s decision comes after the U.S. Supreme Court paused the Trump administration’s efforts to dismiss Dellinger. The Trump administration had asked the high court to overturn a lower court’s temporary reinstatement of Dellinger. This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Trump signs executive order making English official language of US
President Donald Trump on Saturday signed an executive order making English the official language of the U.S. The order revokes an executive order issued by former President Bill Clinton in 2000, “Improving Access Services for Persons with Limited English Proficiency,” that required federal agencies and recipients of federal funding to provide language assistance to non-English speakers. However, Trump’s order notes it does not “require or direct” any change in services provided by any agency. It will be up to agency heads to decide if any changes should be made. TRUMP TO MAKE ENGLISH OFFICIAL LANGUAGE OF US IN NEW EXECUTIVE ORDER While English has been used as the country’s national language — seen in every historic governing document — the U.S. has never had an official language. “A nationally designated language is at the core of a unified and cohesive society, and the United States is strengthened by a citizenry that can freely exhange ideas in one shared language,” Trump wrote in the order. The U.S. is one of just a few countries without an official language. About 180 of the 195 countries across the globe have made the distinction. GOOGLE MAPS, FAA OFFICIALLY ACKNOWLEDGES GULF OF AMERICA AFTER TRUMP DECLARATION: ‘ISN’T IT BEAUTIFUL?’ Trump has been outspoken about designating English as the nation’s language, specifically in 2024, as he criticized former President Joe Biden‘s immigration policies. “We have languages coming into our country. We don’t have one instructor in our entire nation that can speak that language,” Trump said while speaking before the Conservative Political Action Conference in 2024. “These are languages—it’s the craziest thing—they have languages that nobody in this country has ever heard of. It’s a very horrible thing.” The order states it is intended to “promote unity” and “cultivate a shared American culture for all citizens,” while ensuring consistency in government operations and creating a pathway to civic engagement. First lady Melania Trump speaks at least five languages, including English, French, Italian, German and Slovene, Fox News Digital previously reported. Trump has signed at least 76 executive orders since reclaiming the Oval Office in January, Fox News Digital previously reported. Executive orders and actions included renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, and signing an executive order to restore the Obama-named Mount Denali to its original Mount McKinley. Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton contributed to this report.