NationalWatch

Secretary of State Marco Rubio used Team USA’s World Cup opener Friday night in California to meet with Paraguayan President Santiago Peña, according to a State Department official, as the Trump administration highlighted the secretary’s diplomatic work during the quadrennial international soccer tournament.

“Secretary Rubio was honored to attend the first World Cup game in the U.S. [Friday] night and witness an incredible win for our country. Secretary Rubio never stops working to advance U.S. priorities and used the opportunity to meet with Paraguayan President Santiago Peña during the game to discuss our strategic partnerships,” an administration official told Fox News Digital.

The U.S. men defeated Paraguay, 4-1, at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles in the opening match of its World Cup campaign.

Rubio’s attendance also generated political interest after reports indicated he would be seated in the same suite as California Gov. Gavin Newsom during the match.

USMNT WORLD CUP OPENER GETS OFF TO A FLYING START WITH OWN GOAL PUTTING AMERICANS AHEAD OF PARAGUAY

The appearance placed two of the country’s most prominent political figures from opposite parties at the same event as speculation continues about the 2028 presidential race.

Newsom has repeatedly faced questions about a potential White House bid and has acknowledged he has considered a presidential run, though he has not announced any plans to seek the office.

Rubio, a former Republican presidential candidate and one of President Donald Trump‘s most visible Cabinet members, has likewise been discussed by some political observers as a potential future contender for the White House.

The State Department did not provide additional details about Rubio’s discussion with Peña, including whether the meeting had been arranged before the match or what specific issues were discussed.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TO OFFER ‘PREMIUM’ EXPEDITED VISA INTERVIEWS FOR $750

Paraguay has long maintained close ties with the U.S., and is one of Taiwan’s few remaining diplomatic allies in South America, a relationship that has made the country strategically important in the region as the U.S. and China compete for influence across Latin America.

The World Cup is expected to draw government officials, world leaders and political figures from around the globe as matches are held across the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The State Department and Newsom’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.

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The administration’s description of Rubio’s meeting with Peña underscored that the secretary of state continued conducting diplomatic business while attending the tournament opener, which marked the beginning of Team USA’s World Cup campaign on home soil.

Concern is mounting that taxpayers could be left holding the bag if the Obama Presidential Center runs into financial trouble, as the foundation behind it has yet to establish a promised $470 million safety net to guard against a public bailout.

The scrutiny comes as a Fox News Digital investigation found multiple contractors and subcontractors claiming losses ranging from hundreds of thousands of dollars to millions on the project, with some alleging they remain locked in payment disputes and face financial ruin just days before the center’s grand opening.

Under its agreement with the city, the Obama Foundation pledged to create the fund, known as an endowment, as part of its 99-year deal to take control of the publicly owned 19.3-acre section of Jackson Park for a one-time payment of just $10.

Fox News Digital previously reported that the foundation had deposited just $1 million into the reserve fund in 2021 and that the balance remained largely unchanged in its most recent publicly available filings.

VALERIE JARRETT EARNED $740K AS OBAMA INSIDERS FILLED TOP ROLES DURING $850M PRESIDENTIAL CENTER BUILD

Concerns about the center’s financial state have raged for years, especially since construction delays and costs have ballooned from an original estimate of roughly $330 million to at least $850 million based on 2021 figures. An updated final projected cost has not been made public.

Endowment concerns

“One of their core promises was they were supposed to create an endowment as basically an insurance policy so the taxpayers wouldn’t get stuck with the bill,” Illinois GOP Chair Robert Grogan told Fox News Digital outside the center last week as worker vehicles entered and exited the center.

“They promised hundreds of millions of dollars for it. It’s still sitting at the $1 million mark [where it stood] when they opened it up. So I don’t believe that they’ve kept that promise.”

The contractor disputes have renewed concern of the endowment because critics argue the fund was intended to serve as a backstop if the project ever encountered financial distress. The Obama Foundation disputes suggestions that taxpayers face exposure and said the project is funded through private contributions.

Grogan said reports that contractors and subcontractors remain locked in payment disputes make the largely unfunded reserve even more problematic.

“The fact that they have created this probably unsustainable edifice to an ego and then, eventually, if it goes under, who’s going to be caught with the bill time and time again? It’s the taxpayers of the city, citizens of Chicago and the state of Illinois.”

BUREAUCRATS HIDE TRUE PRICE OF OBAMA PRESIDENTIAL CENTER AS TAXPAYERS HIT WITH INFRASTRUCTURE BILL

Richard Epstein, a New York University law professor who has spent years challenging the project in court, said the reserve fund was intended to protect against exactly this type of uncertainty.

“The whole point of an endowment is to fund future expenses,” Epstein told Fox News Digital, adding that the endowment acts as a financial backup if future fundraising falls short.

“If the endowment hasn’t been filled, the building [could] fall into neglect, it then becomes a safety risk, and it turns out that nobody’s going to pay the bill,” Epstein said. “The city therefore, is going to have to assume additional obligations to make sure that thing is kept in place.”

Grogan said reports that contractors remain unpaid only reinforce the need for closer scrutiny and called for an investigation if allegations that subcontractors were left holding the bag prove accurate.

Subcontractor disputes raise new questions

A Fox News Digital investigation identified multiple construction firms claiming losses ranging from hundreds of thousands of dollars to tens of millions.

Outside the center last week, Adamson Plumbing President Mike Owen provided company spreadsheets to Fox News Digital, which he said showed that his firm is nearly $4 million in the red. He said that unnecessary rework, delays and more than 100 change-order requests left his company absorbing millions of dollars in additional costs.

In addition, Omar Shareef, the president of the African American Contractors Association, told Fox News Digital outside the center last Saturday that several Black-owned contractors are also in financial difficulty due to the project.

The claims raise fresh worries about the center’s long-term financial sustainability because an endowment is intended to provide a permanent source of income that can help fund future operations and cushion against financial stress. Endowments are typically invested, with a portion of the earnings used to support an institution over time.

The Obama Foundation told Fox News Digital that it is in compliance with its agreement with the city, noting that the pact required the creation of an endowment but did not specify a dollar target.

OBAMA PRESIDENTIAL CENTER DEPOSITS JUST $1M INTO $470M RESERVE FUND AIMED TO PROTECT TAXPAYERS

The foundation said the Obama Presidential Center is “fully funded” and that it plans to make “significant investments” in the endowment in the coming years.

“On the eve of our Grand Opening celebrations, we are pleased to reiterate that the Obama Presidential Center is fully funded with generous private contributions,” the Obama Foundation said in a statement.

The $470 million figure emerged during public discussions surrounding the project and was later cited in the Obama Foundation’s 2020 annual report, which featured a fundraising chart stating:

“$470M of our fundraising goal will go toward seeding an endowment that will sustain Obama Foundation activities and the operations of the OPC for generations to come.”

The foundation previously estimated annual operating costs could reach approximately $40 million.

Nonprofit endowments are typically structured so that only a small percentage of the fund — often around 4% to 5% annually — is spent each year while the principal remains invested. The goal is to generate investment income that can help support operations over the long term without relying entirely on future fundraising. The Obama Presidential Center consists of a museum tower, digital library, athletic facilities, conference space and offices for the Obama Foundation on Chicago’s South Side. The Obama Foundation is overseeing its construction and will run its day-to-day future operations.

Epstein disputed the foundation’s interpretation, arguing that an endowment is intended to provide meaningful financial protection and that a promise to raise money in the future is not the same as having a funded endowment in place.

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“On their view, putting a penny in an endowment fund covers all the risks,” Epstein said.

“There has to be a pile of cash to fund any particular process and then ensure some kind of robustness against radical changes in the market.”

President Donald Trump on Saturday announced his intent to appoint James M. McDonald as the next U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York (SDNY).

The high-profile position is opening up following Trump’s recent nomination of the district’s current U.S. attorney, Jay Clayton, to serve in his cabinet as the nation’s new director of national intelligence.

“I am confident that Jamie will deliver strong results for our Country as the next United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, as he has the respect of, and will work fantastically with, our Law Enforcement Patriots, the Legal Community, and the Judicial Bench,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post announcing the pick.

TRUMP GREEN LIGHTS NEW DNI PULTE TO ‘START THE PROCESS’ ON MASS INTELLIGENCE FIRINGS

McDonald, an Oklahoma native, previously served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the SDNY and worked during Trump’s first term as the director of enforcement at the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Like his predecessor Clayton, McDonald has strong ties to the prominent law firm Sullivan & Cromwell, where he currently serves as a senior partner.

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His legal background also includes clerking for Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts Jr., and graduating from Harvard College and the University of Virginia School of Law.

Workers began tearing President Donald Trump’s name off the Kennedy Center facade Friday after an appeals court denied a request from the Kennedy Center’s board to block a judge’s ruling that Trump’s name be removed.

Workers erected scaffolding around the Washington, D.C., landmark Friday and began removing the Trump name from the signage that had previously read “The Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Memorial Center For The Performing Arts.”

The Kennedy Center board had approved the addition of Trump’s name in December, claiming that the move was in recognition of Trump’s accomplishments in saving “the institution from financial ruin and physical destruction.”

Workers affixed Trump’s name to the facade the next day.

TRUMP’S NAME ADDED TO KENNEDY CENTER FOLLOWING UNANIMOUS BOARD VOTE TO RENAME HISTORIC BUILDING

Now, however, the Trump name is coming down, despite numerous attempts at stays from the Kennedy Center board.

The board filed both a stay pending appeal and an immediate administrative stay, arguing the name should not be removed before the matter gets an appellate review.

But an appeals court denied the request for an immediate administrative stay.

OBAMA-APPOINTED JUDGE WITH TIES TO ANTI-TRUMP CONSPIRACY THEORY HIT WITH MISCONDUCT COMPLAINT

The board then filed an emergency motion with the U.S. Court of Appeals, but a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit denied it.

The board had requested a pause in the enforcement of Judge Christopher Cooper’s ruling that Trump’s name be removed, but Cooper, a U.S. District judge, denied the request Friday.

Cooper maintained in an opinion on his ruling that the Kennedy Center’s name can only be changed or modified through an act of Congress.

Trump slammed Cooper’s decision in an excoriating late May Truth Social barrage, writing “Trump Hating Judge wants to keep it open because his wife probably told him to do so,” while pointing out the fact that Cooper’s wife, Amy Jeffress, is a former Obama-era Department of Justice (DOJ) attorney who represented a number of high-profile Trump critics.

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Fox News Digital contacted the White House and the Kennedy Center for additional comment.

Fox News’ Jasmine Baehr and Bill Mears contributed to this report.

EXCLUSIVE: Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, learned hard work in the dirt. 

When she was 10 years old, like several other children in Caribou, Maine, she left school to pick potato fields to aid farmers with the harvest deep in potato country in Aroostook County, dubbed “The County” by locals. 

“I remember my mother saying to me when I was going to pick for the first time at age 10, saying, ‘Now, Susan, this is really hard, back-breaking work, but you cannot quit.
The farmers are depending on you, and you can’t let them down,’” Collins told Fox News Digital. “And those words have always stayed with me.” 

SCHUMER’S ‘NUMBER ONE TARGET’ SAYS VOTERS WILL SEE HER DEMOCRAT SENATE CHALLENGER AS TOO EXTREME

It’s that work ethic born in her hometown of Caribou, molded by her parents’ separate stints as mayor of the small town in the county that helped shape her into the political titan she is today, propelling her to a record 10,000th straight vote in the Senate and a gavel atop the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee.

It’s also caused her to have the biggest target on her back in a highly contentious election cycle where Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is once again trying to flip her seat. 

Collins’ race has also become the most-watched and controversial of the cycle because of her unlikely opponent, Democratic nominee Graham Platner, who over the last several months has been rocked by scandal after scandal.  

Speaking to Fox News Digital on the drive between Bangor, Maine and Portland, one she’s made several times since joining the Senate in 1997, Collins acknowledged Platner’s rocky past and present but that she still was taking him seriously as an opponent.

MAINE DEMOCRATS DECIDE FATE OF SENATE CANDIDATE DOGGED BY EXPLOSIVE ALLEGATIONS

“I am surprised that [Gov. Janet Mills] is not my opponent,” Collins said. “That’s what I would have predicted, particularly given the very serious allegations against Graham Platner. Plus, his own words over many years, including recently. So, I think that he has a lot of questions to answer, but I do take him very seriously as a candidate.” 

Platner has been no stranger when it comes to attacking Collins in his insurgent campaign, skewering her for her vote to authorize the Iraq War two decades ago or her backing of parts of President Donald Trump’s agenda. 

During his acceptance speech earlier this week, he accused her of being “just as spineless and corrupt as the establishment she now serves.”

Collins, who is no stranger to heated campaigns, argued that her ability to produce results was a better metric for Mainers.

“I think when people look at the accomplishments and results that I’ve delivered for the people of Maine, that the contrast is enormous,” Collins said. “And angry rhetoric does not produce results.” 

She knows how to bring the bacon home to Maine. In her climb to the top of the Senate Appropriations Committee, she’s sent back $1.5 billion over five years, dozens of new or renovated fire stations, billions in rural healthcare funding and a fire boat that saved key businesses along Portland’s waterfront when a blaze broke out.

Still, she’s in a tight race with Platner, despite the scandals and baggage. 

And Schumer, who has spent years trying to beat her, hopes to seize the opportunity in this cycle, even with a candidate who was not his first choice. 

WATCH: CHUCK SCHUMER SIDESTEPS PLATNER SCANDALS, CONFIRMS SUPPORT FOR CONTROVERSIAL DEM

Schumer told Semafor that Collins is “weaker than in 2020,” when they last squared off, arguing that her defense of Trump, her vote to confirm Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and the role that vote played in overturning Roe v. Wade have weighed her down.

“To me, this is déjà vu all over again,” Collins said, noting that six years ago, Schumer and Democrats spent over $160 million to defeat her. 

Collins contended, “Democratic leaders always distort my record,” and added that when she voted to advance Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” last year, it was so she and others could modify the bill. She ultimately voted against the final product but scored a $50 billion rural hospital fund nonetheless. 

“If we can’t get on the bill, I can’t help fix that,” Collins said.

And on Kavanaugh, Collins noted that she disagreed with how he voted on Roe v. Wade, but that she also voted “for people who voted on the other side of that decision.” 


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“I voted for Sonia Sotomayor. I voted for Elena Kagan. I voted for Justice Jackson,” Collins said. “And that always seems to get left out.”

She doesn’t vote in lockstep with Trump, either, who recently said that Collins was “not my best friend at all,” but was a “sane woman.” That prompted a laugh from the longtime lawmaker, who noted, “I’ve worked with five different presidents, and I have never agreed with a single one of them on every issue.” 

“I know that there’s some people who want me to oppose President Trump, just because he’s President Trump, and that’s not how I operate,” Collins said. “I look at each individual issue and then make my decision. And based on whether it’s helpful to the state of Maine, and improves the lives of families in the state of Maine.”

Donors from outside of Texas accounted for roughly 50% of the funds Texas Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico received during the final stretch of the first quarter of 2026, compared to his Republican opponent, who received just about 25% of his cash from out of state.

Of the $8.5 million Talarico raised between February 12 and March 31, a period where he saw a significant uptick in donations owing to his growing national profile, approximately $4 million came from states other than Texas, according to campaign finance records reviewed by Fox News Digital. The Republican nominee, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, meanwhile, raised $640,000 out of the roughly $850,000 he brought in during that period from within Texas.

The fundraising disparity underscores the nationalization of Texas’ Senate race, with Talarico drawing major financial support from Democratic donors and executives far beyond the state he seeks to represent, even as he campaigns on Texas roots and opposition to outside special interests. The haul gives Democrats a cash advantage in what is shaping up to be one of the most competitive Senate races this cycle, while giving Republicans an opening to cast Talarico’s campaign as powered by coastal liberal donors rather than Texas voters.

Donors from New York and California, for instance, showered Talarico with more than $1.3 million in the final six weeks of quarter one, according to Federal Election Commission records.

VULNERABLE DEM SENATOR’S ‘GRASSROOTS’ CAMPAIGN POWERED BY OUT-OF-STATE CASH, MOSTLY BY COASTAL ELITES

Talarico has made an effort to highlight his ties to Texas during his Senate campaign, touting the fact that his family has lived in the state for eight generations and criticizing the influence of out-of-state interests on Texans. 

“I’ve led the fight against the billionaire mega-donors that have rigged the system against working Texas families,” Talarico’s campaign website reads. “Now, as those same billionaire mega-donors take over the federal government, we need more fighters in Washington who will take power back for working people.”

ACTBLUE SUES TEXAS AG KEN PAXTON, ALLEGING POLITICAL RETALIATION OVER DEMOCRATS’ FUNDRAISING

“James is proud to be the only candidate in this race not taking a dime of corporate PAC money, shattering grassroots fundraising records with donations from 246 Texas counties and the help of over 540,000 small dollar contributors — unlike John Cornyn and Ken Paxton, who have raked in millions of dollars from special interests and enriched their billionaire donors while working Texans struggle,” campaign spokesman JT Ennis told Fox News Digital when asked about out-of-state donations. 

“Our campaign is bringing Democrats, Republicans and Independents together to fix this broken, corrupt political system and bring down costs for families across our state.”

Talarico accepted donations from out-of-state executives at Google, Warner Brothers, Apple, Meta, Victoria’s Secret, and other major companies between February 12 and March 31, per FEC records. The Democratic Senate hopeful has also accepted donations from lobbyists representing major corporations such as Google, AirBnB, Boeing, Novo Nordisk, Comcast, CVS and JP Morgan.

While Talarico has attracted considerable support from outside of Texas, his fundraising operation within the state has also eclipsed that of Paxton, who raised less than one-fifth as much from Texans as his Democratic opponent. Paxton, however, fought a brutal primary against Sen. John Cornyn, splitting the GOP donor base.

JAMES TALARICO ADMITS PAST COMMENTS ‘MISSED THE MARK’ WHEN CONFRONTED ON CLAIMS LIKE GOD IS ‘NON-BINARY’

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Beyond his campaign committee, Talarico has also benefited from Lone Star Rising PAC, a super PAC spending millions to help him win. In contrast to his campaign rhetoric, much of the cash behind the super PAC boosting Talarico’s campaign came from wealthy out-of-state donors.

Just 12% of the millions of dollars in donations collected by Lone Star Rising PAC, which the Washington Free Beacon reports is run by Talarico’s longtime friend, came from entities within Texas, according to campaign finance records.

One of the government’s most powerful surveillance tools will go dark this weekend, and lawmakers aren’t sure what that means for the nation’s intelligence-gathering authorities. 

Democrats rejected attempts in the House and Senate to extend Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) in an act of defiance against President Donald Trump, who tapped Housing chief Bill Pulte to temporarily oversee the nation’s intelligence services. 

But there are differing trains of thought on the ramifications of failing to renew the program. Some lawmakers argued that an extension was not necessary given that FISA courts had authorized continued intelligence gathering until March 2027. 

SPY PROGRAM CREDITED WITH STOPPING TAYLOR SWIFT TERROR PLOT BARRELS TOWARD EXPIRATION

Others say that it opens up the possibility for telecommunications and major tech companies like Google to decline handing over information without explicit direction from Congress.

“We don’t know the answer to that,” Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said. “But it is, obviously, a high-risk proposition.” 

Boiled down, the Section 702 program allows the U.S. government to collect intelligence on foreigners abroad who are using U.S. communication systems, and it serves as a major part of Trump’s daily intelligence briefing. 

But it also sweeps up communications from Americans who are talking to foreign suspects — a key issue that threatened reauthorization among privacy hawks in both parties well before Pulte’s appointment.

CONSERVATIVE FISA REVOLT POSES FRESH TEST FOR SPEAKER JOHNSON

“That is a gray area, and it’s one of the things that we’re going to have to work through,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., told Fox News when asked whether providers would still continue to share information with the government if the program was not authorized.

“What is clear is that we are going to have to address the issue of extending surveillance authority legislatively. And the problem is that the Trump administration has decided to toss this hand grenade into the middle of sensitive negotiations,” he added, referring to Pulte.

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., contended that there were already thousands of FISA certifications approved, it’s just that new certifications wouldn’t be allowed until the program was reauthorized.

“It’s not like that will be the end of our ability to surveil foreign terrorists,” Kennedy said. 

The standoff is not expected to end soon. Trump’s decision to nominate former Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton to serve as the permanent director of national intelligence also failed to soften Democrats’ opposition.

Many lawmakers remain unwilling to back a renewal of the program while Pulte continues serving in the acting role.

THE TOP 3 FACTORS HEIGHTENING THE RISK OF TERROR ATTACKS ON THE HOMELAND

“Nobody disputes that FISA has been used to stop terrorist attacks on our homeland here,” House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., told Fox News Thursday. “And why would anybody vote to end that tool is beside me.”

Meanwhile, the House is scheduled to begin a week-long recess next week, meaning that even if there is a resolution in the Senate in the coming week, the program will likely remain dark until they return. 

The program’s expiration marks the first extended lapse since it was enacted in 2008. The Trump administration has argued that the surveillance authority is a critical national security tool, crediting it with helping foil a mass-casualty terror plot targeting a 2024 Taylor Swift concert in Austria and combat North Korean hackers, among other successes.

The uncharted territory comes amid a heightened threat environment as the war with Iran continues and large-scale events, such as the World Cup and America 250 celebrations, are beginning to ramp up.

Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Tom Cotton, R-Ark., argued on the Senate floor in his bid to extend the program that there was a bipartisan bill waiting to be passed, but in the meantime, lawmakers should pause the partisan animosity and support an extension. 

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“If we don’t extend it for at least a few weeks while we continue to try to work on our differences, the consequences could be severe,” Cotton said. “The consequences, to be frank, could be fatal.”

Still, Democrats counter that had Trump not appointed Pulte, or at least waited until the reauthorization was completed, Congress would not be in the current logjam. 

“I cannot stress enough to you that none of this, none of this needed to happen,” Warner said. 

FIRST ON FOX — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent highlighted the stark difference he sees emerging between Texas and California as well as the “tale of two states” cropping up between red and blue jurisdictions.

“In California, I saw firsthand what years of failed governance looks like: a tax system that is hostile to ambition. A regulatory state that smothers enterprise. An economic climate indifferent to consequence,” he said during a meeting at the Petroleum Club of Houston on Friday in remarks shared exclusively with Fox News Digital.

California has seen a number of high-profile defections in recent years, with many businesses and wealthy individuals citing the state’s regulations and taxation regime as the reasons for their exit. 

CORPORATE AMERICA IS ON THE MOVE, AND THESE RED STATES ARE CASHING IN

Chevron, Tesla, Charles Schwab and Hewlett Packard Enterprise, to name a few, have all abandoned their California headquarters and shifted operations to Texas. IRS migration data also shows that the Golden State is hemorrhaging high-earning taxpayers, imperiling its finances.

“Here in Texas, meanwhile, the contrast is so striking that it begins to feel like a tale of two states,” Bessent said.

And it’s true that the Lone Star State’s business-friendly policies and lower taxes have attracted more American families and businesses to move from other states to Texas. 

THE RED-STATE WINNERS IN THE CLIMB TO BECOME AMERICA’S NEXT ECONOMIC POWERHOUSE

During the meeting on Friday, Bessent also highlighted the importance of energy policy as a cornerstone of President Donald Trump’s economic policies.

“The AI race may be accelerated by the elegance of our code, but it will be won by the abundance of our energy,” he said. “More than strengthening an economy, energy abundance also secures a nation. Economic security is national security.”

RED STATES ARE THE ONES GOING GREEN AND WINNING THE CLEAN ENERGY RACE

He said that Texas is spearheading that growth.

Texas has rapidly expanded its energy production to meet booming demand, partially spurred by the construction of new data centers, recently surpassing California as the state with the most utility-scale solar capacity and hitting record-breaking levels for both crude oil production and low-carbon electricity generation.

“Texas has become America’s center of gravity because it is fostering the conditions for families and businesses to flourish,” Bessent went on.

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Data indicates that Texas has seen considerable success in attracting businesses and taxpayers to the state. 

Of the 725 companies that relocated headquarters between 2018 and 2025, per a CBRE report, 230 of them moved to Houston, Dallas and Austin alone. IRS migration data also shows that the Lone Star state saw a net increase of 56,000 tax filers between 2022 and 2023.

The Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Texas torched former President Joe Biden’s open borders policies as he races to clean-up past comments amid criticism he is too radical to be elected in Texas.

James Talarico hardened his stance on border security and pitted himself against the former president during a podcast interview on “Cogdell Law Uncensored” earlier this week.

The Democrat member of the Texas legislature has a far-left track record that includes calls to “tear down” Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE), an agency which he has called “secret police,” and claiming the border should act as a “welcome mat” for illegal immigrants.

He is now the Democratic nominee taking on Trump-backed Republican Ken Paxton in the race for a Senate seat in Texas in November.

JAMES TALARICO SAYS BIDEN ADMINISTRATION WAS CONVINCED BORDER SECURITY WAS ‘RACIST’

“I called out Joe Biden for failing to secure our southern border and I got a lot of heat from my own party for doing that,” he told podcaster and attorney Dan Cogdell. “But I remember talking with my colleagues in the legislature who represent border communities and they told me about the utter chaos caused by President Biden’s policies.”

Those calls and his more moderate immigration stance emerged only after Talarico launched his Senate bid in the most populated U.S. red state where the most illegal immigration happens.

When asked repeatedly by Fox News Digital, Talarico’s campaign officials could not produce evidence to support the progressive candidate’s claims he was ever at odds with Biden on the issue of border security before his Senate campaign began and while Biden was still in office.

Millions of illegal aliens poured undetected into the United States during the previous presidency, while Talarico occupied his seat in the Texas House legislature.

Talarico said in the podcast: “The Democratic Party, we’re the ones that should be about making government work for people and our immigration system is a prime example of government not working for people. So I’m a border security Democrat. I believe we’ve gotta have a sane, orderly process to ensure that we know who’s coming into our country.”

While he has accused ICE of “terrorizing our country,” called for Americans to “stand up and fight back” and in 2019 slammed Texas Republicans for passing an “anti-immigrant bill” that funded President Donald Trump’s border wall project, Talarico said on the podcast this week that public safety should be a priority.

TEXAS DEM TALARICO’S ‘CULTURE OF VIOLENCE’ REMARKS RESURFACE AS HE DENIES DEFUND POLICE TIES

“But I also think we need to keep out folks who want to do us harm, and public safety is the most important thing the government does,” he said.

Under Trump, ICE has been tasked with zeroing in on the “worst of the worst” illegal aliens for arrest and deportation, especially those with violent criminal records.

“James has never supported abolishing ICE and supports more border security — which is why he’s authored legislation to modernize our ports of entry and called for more Border Patrol agents,” Talarico’s press secretary JT Ennis told Fox News Digital.

“Both parties have failed us on the issue of immigration, so James is running for Senate to keep our country safe by deporting criminals instead of hunting down moms, babies, and small business owners who have been contributing to our economy for decades.”

Speaking to Cogdell, Talarico also pitched himself as a defender of the Second Amendment while simultaneously calling for strict gun control methods.

TEXAS DEMOCRATIC SENATE CANDIDATES SIDESTEP ISLAMIC TERRORISM CONCERNS FOLLOWING DEADLY AUSTIN ATTACK

“I am a believer in the Second Amendment. I don’t pick and choose between the Bill of Rights. I believe in the Second Amendment just as much as I believe in the First,” he said. “We have a right to bear arms, to protect ourselves, our families. We have a right to own weapons for sport or for hunting, but like any freedom in the Bill of Rights, it’s not absolute.”

“We’ve gotta keep guns out of the hands of dangerous criminals. We’ve gotta make sure that we’ve got safe storage laws and background checks so that we’re keeping everybody safe,” the candidate qualified.

He positioned himself during the conversation as a moderate Democrat, chastising people on the political left who are “trying to take away people’s guns” and people on the political right who “don’t want to see any regulations.”

MS NOW ANALYST ADMITS TALARICO ‘NOT A MODERATE,’ HAS PROGRESSIVE VIEWS LIKE CROCKETT

But only a few months ago, Talarico said he favored “red flag laws,” which allow judges to order Americans to be stripped of their firearms if they think a person is a danger to themselves or others. Talarico also once accused Republicans of loving guns more than children.

“You can’t be the party of freedom and control women’s bodies,” he said at a 2024 event with the Travis County Democratic Party. “You can’t be the party of family and love your guns more than our kids. You can’t be the party of faith and worship at the feet of Donald Trump.”

Ennis said that the candidate has “always believed, like the vast majority of Texans, that we must protect the Second Amendment while also enacting popular, common sense measures like universal background checks that keep guns out of the hands of dangerous criminals.”

MARK HALPERIN: IS DEMOCRAT JAMES TALARICO THE REAL DEAL — OR BETO 2.0 HEADED FOR A TEXAS FLOP?

Talarico also distanced himself from child sex change surgeries, sometimes called “gender affirming care,” and said he does not support them despite often earning criticism for his comments regarding children who identify as the opposite of their biological sex.

“I oppose gender reassignment surgeries for minors,” he told Cogdell, claiming “the people that are in power” are trying to distract from “corruption in our government.”

“So they’re gonna use a tried and true playbook to get out of this,” he said. “Distraction and division. That is how corrupt public officials stay in power.”

‘GOD IS NON-BINARY’: TEXAS DEM NOMINEE TALARICO’S PAST REMARKS ON ABORTION, RACE AND GENDER DRAW SCRUTINY

Talarico’s emphatic support for transgender children has raised eyebrows since he’s entered the national spotlight.

He has said he loves them on multiple occasions, including on a podcast in 2023 when he was asked to name something that he loved other than his friends and family.

“I love, I’m just saying this because it’s all on my mind, the trans children who showed up yesterday at the state capitol to advocate for their humanity,” he said on the Superbloom Podcast.

At the time, he had voted against a state bill to ban cross-sex hormones for minors.

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“I just want to say, I love you and so do a lot of people in this room, and so do a lot of people around this big state. I know it may not seem like it tonight, but you are loved beyond measure,” Talarico also said in 2023 on the Texas House floor, according to the Houston Chronicle.

“James opposes gender reassignment surgery for minors,” said Ennis. “While billionaire-bought politicians like Ken Paxton spread lies to divide Texans, James will continue to stand up against both political parties to fix this broken, corrupt political system and support Texas families.”

Paxton’s campaign did not return Fox News Digital’s request for comment on Talarico’s apparent flip-flop on the border, Second Amendment or transgender youth

The Small Business Administration (SBA), in collaboration with the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), is removing nearly two dozen foreign products from its official catalog that supplies government agencies, citing fears that some of them may be misrepresenting their sourcing.

Kelly Loeffler, SBA administrator, raised concerns that China-based companies were falsely marketing their products as “made in America” on the Advantage! platform — a listing service the government uses to connect vendors with agencies.

“As part of our commitment to rebuilding American industry and supply chains, the Trump SBA believes that every taxpayer dollar spent by the federal government should go to support American businesses, workers and products,” Loeffler said.

SBA’s crackdown furthers efforts by the Trump administration to double down on American manufacturing and aims to reduce the risk associated with purchasing or implementing compromised China-sourced goods.

REPUBLICANS LOOK TO STOP CHINA’S ‘BACKDOOR’ TARIFF DODGING SCHEME

The concerns first arose at the White House Small Business Summit where a New York-based small business, Sherrill Manufacturing, communicated suspicions to SBA that China-based companies were only partially assembling or finishing their products in the U.S.

Sherrill, according to the SBA, is the only manufacturer of stainless steel flatware that is 100% made in America.

“When foreign companies were caught falsely claiming ‘Made in America’ status in the federal procurement system, President Trump directed the SBA and GSA to take aggressive action,” Loeffler said.

Even in his first term, Trump used executive orders to maximize the use of domestically sourced raw materials such as iron, aluminum and cement. He issued a similar executive order earlier this year.

INTEL RIVAL SKYWATER PITCHES ITSELF AS ALL-AMERICAN FIRM AS TRUMP MULLS MORE EQUITY DEALS

But sourcing protections for federal materials didn’t start with him.

For security reasons, the Berry Amendment, implemented in 1941, requires the Department of War to purchase only American-sourced steel.

Similarly, the Buy American Act (BAA), a Great Depression-era law that passed in 1933, requires federal agencies to prioritize American-made goods over certain value thresholds.

Loeffler explained that companies like Sherrill Manufacturing can be put unknowingly at risk of violating those requirements if vendors aren’t honest about their sourcing.

“The Trump Administration is sending a clear message that we will not tolerate foreign impostors that hijack Made in America labels, or those that undercut honest, generational, American small businesses like Sherrill Manufacturing,” Loeffler said.

The company’s CEO, Matthew Roberts, praised the SBA’s work and thanked the Trump administration.

“The factory where Sherrill Manufacturing and Liberty Tabletop produce their flatware has a manufacturing history dating back to supplying America’s armed forces during World War I,” Roberts said.

18 BRANDS STILL MAKING COOKWARE AND KITCHEN TOOLS IN THE U.S. — FROM SKILLETS TO SPATULAS

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“We deeply appreciate President Trump, SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler, and GSA Administrator Ed Forst, along with their offices, for their continued efforts to keep American manufacturing alive and restore pride in products made in the USA,” he added.

SBA did not list which specific vendors have been removed from the Advantage! platform.

A federal judge on Friday cleared the way for UFC Freedom 250 to proceed at the White House and Lincoln Memorial this weekend, rejecting a last-minute court challenge just days before the high-profile event.

U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta, an Obama appointee, denied an emergency request by two Washington-area residents to halt the mixed martial arts showdown, ruling that the plaintiffs lacked legal standing to sue in the first place and had not demonstrated a sufficient injury.

The lawsuit challenged plans for “UFC Freedom 250,” a mixed martial arts event tied to celebrations surrounding the nation’s 250th anniversary. The event includes a June 12 news conference and fighter face-offs at the Lincoln Memorial and a June 14 fight card on the White House South Lawn. It is expected to bring thousands of viewers.

The plaintiffs argued that the events violate National Park Service regulations governing special events, that the UFC staging ring, known as “The Claw,” erected on the South Lawn lacked congressional authorization, that federal officials failed to conduct environmental review required under the National Environmental Policy Act, and that the government’s actions exceeded its legal authority.

TRUMP ADMIN OFFERS BLUNT ADVICE TO WHITE HOUSE UFC CRITICS AS 11TH-HOUR LAWSUIT LOOMS

Mehta did not decide whether any of those claims were legally valid. Instead, he determined that the plaintiffs’ alleged injuries were largely aesthetic and emotional in nature and did not demonstrate the kind of concrete, personal harm required under Article III of the Constitution. The plaintiffs had described the massive UFC staging structure known as “The Claw” as visually offensive and argued that the “unauthorized, commercial exploitation of the national monuments caused harm.”

Mehta rejected this notion, writing that “general emotional harm, no matter how deeply felt, cannot suffice for injury-in-fact for standing purposes.”

Citing precedent from the U.S. Supreme Court, Mehta wrote that a threatened injury must be “certainly impending” to qualify as an injury in fact. He found that one plaintiff’s assertions that he might encounter the event while driving for work were too speculative, while the other plaintiff’s plans to attend protests near the sites did not fit within traditional aesthetic-injury cases.

UFC ANNOUNCES CARD FOR WHITE HOUSE EVENT

“[W]e can find nothing in the existing case law to suggest that a person who incidentally views something unpleasant has suffered an injury-in-fact for purposes of standing,” Mehta ruled.

The ruling noted that President Donald Trump publicly proposed hosting a UFC event at the White House in 2025 and that preparations had been visible for weeks before the lawsuit was filed. According to the opinion, the plaintiffs waited until days before the event to seek emergency relief despite longstanding public knowledge that the event was planned.

Mehta also emphasized the temporary nature of the disputed structures and activities. Construction associated with the event is scheduled to be dismantled shortly after the fight card concludes.

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The opinion cited nearly a year of planning, extensive coordination among federal agencies, the involvement of hundreds of workers and contractors, and an estimated $60 million investment by UFC and affiliated organizations.

The ruling also referenced the expected attendance of thousands of spectators and the anticipated remote audience of millions.

President Donald Trump on Friday night announced the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) “delivered a swift and lethal kinetic strike” to successfully execute Niño Guerrero, the “infamous” leader of Tren de Aragua, a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization by the U.S. Department of State.

“Before I returned to office, Joe Biden opened our Southern Border to millions of Illegal Criminals, and allowed this foreign army to rape, maim, and murder American Citizens with total impunity,” Trump wrote in a statement on Truth Social. “During my Campaign, I pledged to expel these monsters from our Country, and bring Justice to the families of those they slaughtered, including the precious 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray, 22-year-old Laken Reilly, and countless other beautiful souls.”

The president said with Friday’s action, the U.S. military “has brought retribution for them, their families, and their loved ones.”

“Early in my Administration, I delivered on my promise to designate Tren de Aragua as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, deport thousands of evil criminals, and wage war against the Cartels, who have long been waging war against our Citizens, while weak leaders left America helpless and defensive,” Trump wrote. 

“This action was coordinated closely with our friends in Venezuela, with whom we are working very well,” he continued. “As a result, Tren de Aragua terrorists no longer have safe haven in Venezuela or anywhere else and, under my leadership, we will find these vicious murderers and drugs lords anytime, anyplace, and send them to the depths of hell where they belong.”

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Former Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt posted a fiery video on social media teasing his plans for “Phase III” of his effort to clean up the city and teasing information he has that could force one of the candidates still in the race to resign if elected.

“I’m moving on to the next more interesting phase. Listen, I spent a lot of time slaying everybody. I’ve ridiculed everyone on the roster,” Pratt posted on Instagram after finishing third in the mayoral race earlier this month, following a strong election night performance that suggested he’d finish in the top two and move on was eventually erased by a surge in mail-in votes over the next week. 

“You think you can get rid of me that easily? I know a lot of dimwit jerks thought I was in this for a grift, that I was gonna roll up and leave town if I didn’t get into City Hall. Hey morons, I didn’t get in this for political power. I got in to expose this corrupt machine, and nothing has changed.”

Now that he is not a candidate, Pratt says that he doesn’t have to “worry about offending CNN viewers” and doesn’t have a “campaign hamstringing me now.”

SPENCER PRATT’S UNEXPECTED POLITICAL RISE FROM MTV VILLAIN TO KAREN BASS’ CHALLENGER

“It’s war,” Pratt said. “It’s zero hour for Los Angeles. Angelenos are now stuck with two morons responsible for all their problems and they have to choose between dumb and dumber. That’s not a choice. That’s the machine protecting the machine. And now every problem that plagues Los Angeles because of these two corrupt communists is going to accelerate.”

Pratt then floated a claim that a video recording in his possession could rock the political landscape in the city, but that he is waiting until the city makes its final choice in November between current Mayor Karen Bass and progressive councilwoman Nithya Raman.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION YANKS FUNDING FROM LA HOMELESS AGENCY AMID EXPLOSIVE FRAUD PROBE: ‘NECESSARY STEP’

“My goal hasn’t changed, I’ve been laser-focused on stopping these commie animals, and I will stop them if you think we uncovered a lot of fraud and evil in the campaign, just wait,” Pratt explained, “We have some recordings of one of your exalted candidates doing insane something that would make her resign in shame I was saving it for the general election go ahead and pick your demon certify your choice and then you get to see it.”

Pratt asked Raman and Bass to “ask yourself” is it “possible one of your employees may have a recording of you doing or saying something they would force you to resign in disgrace?”

Pratt then sarcastically told both candidates he hopes they “sleep well at night” over the next five months, unlike his mother and all the others who lost their homes in the devastating wildfires under Bass’ watch last year as well as the moms who are subjected to the homelessness and crime issues facing the city.

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Pratt painted a grim picture of what the city will look like in four years, regardless of which of the “corrupt communists” left in the race wins in the November election.

“You have no idea how many major developers, hoteliers, business owners, entrepreneurs have been texting me saying they’re packing up and leaving town,” Pratt said. “More of your favorite restaurants will be shuttering. That means less tax revenue. That means the city has to cut services. More potholes, less firefighters, less police patrols, more criminals, more drug addicts terrorizing your communities. You have no idea how bad things are about to get for this city.”

The video ends with a clip from the TV show Ozark, suggesting that if the political establishment wants to “stop him,” they are “gonna have to f—— kill me!”

Fox News Digital reached out to the Bass and Raman campaigns for comment on the video, which racked up over 20,000 likes within 45 minutes of being posted.

A federal judge on Friday indefinitely blocked the Trump administration’s $1.776 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund, even as another federal judge earlier this week declined to intervene after the Justice Department said the fund was no longer moving forward.

The court disputes have heightened pressure on the administration to formally dismantle the fund. While Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told Congress the fund would not move forward, the settlement agreement and departmental directives that created the fund have not been formally rescinded. Critics argue this leaves open the possibility that the fund could still proceed in the future.

U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema, a Clinton-appointed judge, extended a court order Friday preventing implementation of the fund, concluding that public assurances from administration officials were insufficient to eliminate concerns that it could later be revived.

Brinkema noted how Trump, “says he’s disappointed that something is not going forward,” suggesting this was evidence that the fund may “rear its head” at some point in the future.

JUDGE TEMPORARILY BLOCKS TRUMP DOJ’S NEARLY $2B ‘ANTI-WEAPONIZATION’ FUND

Over the weekend Trump shared on “Meet the Press” that he’d like to continue with the fund.

“If it was up to me, I’d pay them the kind of money that they deserve. People have been destroyed. Lives have been destroyed,” Trump said.

Brinkema gave the Justice Department a week to put in writing that the Anti-Weaponization Fund is being terminated and will not be reinstated.

The ruling comes days after U.S. District Judge Richard Leon rejected a separate request from Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) seeking emergency intervention, saying he was willing to rely on Justice Department representations that the fund had effectively been abandoned.

ACTING AG BLANCHE REVEALS FATE OF TRUMP’S ‘ANTI-WEAPONIZATION FUND’ UNDER PRESSURE FROM HOUSE LAWMAKERS

But Leon, a George W. Bush-appointed judge, simultaneously warned administration officials not to treat his decision as permission to revive the program.

“I give the Justice Department this warning: Don’t play possum with me,” Leon said from the bench.

Blanche announced during a hearing earlier this month that the Anti-Weaponization Fund, which was born out of President Donald Trump’s lawsuit settlement with the IRS, would not be proceeding. The fund was intended to compensate alleged victims of government “lawfare,” but its creation sparked immediate backlash from Democrats, who characterized it as a “slush fund” that could ultimately benefit Trump’s political allies and individuals charged in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

TRUMP ADMIN PUSHES BACK ON ‘SLUSH FUND’ ATTACKS AGAINST ANTI-WEAPONIZATION FUND AND LAYS OUT WHO QUALIFIES

Justice Department attorney Andrew Block argued before Leon that Blanche’s congressional testimony effectively mooted CREW’s challenge because the government had publicly committed not to move forward.

Leon repeatedly questioned why Blanche has not formally rescinded a May 18 order that established procedures for the fund in the first place, a question Block could not answer.

CREW attorney Nikhel Sus argued the settlement agreement that established the fund remains legally operative and contains upcoming deadlines requiring action.

WAY HARDER THAN IT SHOULD BE: WHY CONGRESS MAY BALK ON $1.7B COMPENSATION FUND

According to Sus, a five-member board overseeing the fund must be established by June 17, while funding transfers are scheduled by July 17.

“On paper, the fund is still a legally operating entity,” Sus argued.

However, Leon ultimately accepted the government’s assurances for now that the fund is moot, but he noted that he can sanction attorneys who make false representations to the court.

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He also indicated he will continue considering CREW’s request for a preliminary injunction and suggested he could intervene if evidence emerges that the administration is attempting to revive the fund.

California Democrats are facing accusations that the state’s sanctuary policies are leaving vulnerable migrant children unchecked after California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office warned that local police welfare visits on unaccompanied minors using information from federal authorities could violate state law.

The warning from Bonta has become a flashpoint in a broader lawsuit brought by the City of El Cajon against California’s sanctuary state policies. City officials, like Mayor Bill Wells and City Councilman Steve Goble, argue that the state is putting law enforcement in an impossible position, such as forcing them to make a determination on whether to check on potentially vulnerable children flagged by federal immigration authorities and risk violating state law, or leave the vulnerable unaccompanied minors unchecked.

Goble told Fox News Digital he was informed during a February 2025 meeting with San Diego-area Homeland Security officials that federal authorities had a list of unaccompanied migrant children, including 52 with addresses in El Cajon. He said federal officials asked whether local police could help “ensure these kids are safe” through welfare checks, prompting Goble to seek guidance from Bonta’s office before dispatching officers.

I’M A MAYOR TRYING TO FOLLOW LAW BUT CALIFORNIA IS MAKING IT IMPOSSIBLE FOR COPS

“It’s kind of hard to imagine why they’re choosing this hill to die on,” Wells told Fox News Digital. “What they basically want to say is, ‘Because our narrative is so important, and protecting illegal aliens is so important, that, yeah, if a few kids get sex trafficked along the way — you know, you’re just making this up. You’re just using this as a way.’ I mean, these are real people. These are real children. I think it’s an incredibly insensitive argument.“

Goble had asked Bonta’s office in a March 2025 letter whether local police could conduct the checks using contact information provided by federal authorities, writing that the city wanted to ensure all children were safe “regardless of citizenship or resident status.” 

In the letter, Goble cited the inspector general’s concerns that unaccompanied minors are at heightened risk of trafficking, exploitation and forced labor, and wrote that “time is of the essence” in determining whether the children were safe.

Meanwhile, Bonta’s office responded in a June 2025 letter, warning that local law enforcement pursuing wellness checks “alongside or based on information provided by federal immigration authorities” could implicate conduct prohibited by SB 54, known as the California Values Act. 

Bonta’s letter said these violations could include if officers confirmed location information provided by ICE, or reported the results of the check back to federal immigration authorities.

But Goble told Fox News Digital that the city was not asking police to act as immigration agents, but primarily wanted to confirm whether the children are safe.

CALIFORNIA TOWN WITH LARGE MIGRANT POPULATION MIGHT REVOKE SANCTUARY STATUS

“All I care about is, is the kid safe?” Goble told Fox News Digital. “I don’t care the immigration status or citizen status of anybody else in the room.”

The welfare-check dispute is one piece of a broader legal challenge El Cajon filed against Bonta on April 28, 2026, seeking relief from California’s sanctuary policies impacting how local law enforcement do their jobs, including SB 54, the TRUST Act and the TRUTH Act. In a May 20 motion for a preliminary injunction, the city asked the court to temporarily block Bonta from enforcing those laws against El Cajon while the case proceeds, arguing the policies are preempted by federal immigration law and put local police in the position of choosing between state restrictions and federal obligations.

The May 20 injunction motion specifically cites the Goble-Bonta exchange as an example of how the city says California’s sanctuary laws prevent El Cajon officers from engaging in “basic public safety work.” The filing argues that the state’s legal framework forces officers to spend time navigating “legal hairsplitting” instead of responding quickly to public-safety concerns, including checks on children in the community.

“Every time an El Cajon police officer steps out onto the street, they’re going to be breaking one of two laws,” Wells said to Fox News Digital. “They’re either going to be breaking federal law or they’re going to be breaking state law. And you cannot put police officers in that situation.”

BLUE STATE COUNTY FACES BACKLASH AFTER FAILED VOTE TO SCRAP ‘SUPER SANCTUARY’ POLICY: ‘FRINGE DEMOCRATS’

El Cajon’s lawsuit is not limited to the welfare checks. The April 28 complaint broadly asks a San Diego County court to declare California’s sanctuary restrictions invalid and to stop Bonta from enforcing them against El Cajon police.

Bonta’s office’s June 2025 response said it “share[s]” El Cajon’s concern for children who may be at risk of harm, but suggested county social service agencies may have a role when there is no evidence of criminal activity requiring law enforcement.

Wells and Goble pushed back on that argument; however, arguing Bonta’s suggestion ignored San Diego County’s December 2024 vote restricting county resources from being used to assist federal immigration enforcement.

“That means we’re not going to let our social service workers go do welfare checks on unaccompanied minors for the Department of Homeland Security,” Goble told Fox News Digital. “It’s another rock and a hard place.”

EX-BIDEN OFFICIAL’S CAMPAIGN FACES HEAT AS MISSING CHILDREN SCANDAL RESURFACES: ‘VOTERS DESERVE BETTER’

Wells added that it was difficult to accept Bonta’s suggestion that county agencies could serve as a neutral fallback for welfare checks tied to information from federal authorities. “This is the same county we would be deferring to, to check on these kids,” Wells added. “They’re not neutral. They’ve been very, very clear.”

Immigrant-rights advocates nationally have warned that ICE “welfare checks” on unaccompanied migrant children can function as immigration enforcement under the banner of child safety. The Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights has called the Trump administration’s ICE “wellness checks” harmful enforcement “in disguise,” while other advocates have warned that DHS visits can discourage sponsors from coming forward or expose families to deportation fears.

But Wells and Goble rejected that framing, arguing local police could check on children without reporting immigration violations discovered during the visit.

“That doesn’t make us federal immigration officers,” Wells said. “It just means that our officers could do their job like they’ve always done in the past before this unconstitutional law of SB 54 was passed.”

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“All a welfare check on anybody in our city, regardless of immigration status, is: Are they okay?” Goble added. “If they are, thank you very much. Have a good day. See you later.”

Wells noted the lawsuit is not about deputizing local police as immigration agents, but about ensuring officers can do basic public-safety work without running afoul of state law.

Fox News Digital reached out to Bonta’s office, as well as the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, but did not hear back in time for publication.

The Kennedy Center board on Friday asked a federal appeals court to temporarily block a judge’s order requiring references to President Donald Trump’s name to be removed from the institution’s signage and official materials, as signage bearing Trump’s name remained visible on the building’s facade late Friday afternoon.

In an emergency motion filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the board requested both a stay pending appeal and an immediate administrative stay, arguing that physical changes to the building should not occur before appellate judges review the dispute. 

The filing asks the court to issue an administrative stay by 7 p.m. Friday.

Fox News Digital observed Friday afternoon that Trump’s name remained mounted on the Kennedy Center facade as of 5:30 p.m. ET, with scaffolding erected around portions of the signage.

Earlier Friday, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper denied the board’s request to pause enforcement of his ruling while the appeal proceeds, finding that the defendants had not demonstrated either a likelihood of success on appeal or irreparable harm.

OBAMA-APPOINTED JUDGE WITH TIES TO ANTI-TRUMP CONSPIRACY THEORY HIT WITH MISCONDUCT COMPLAINT

The Kennedy Center board argued in its emergency filing that removing and potentially reinstalling signage would force it to incur costs that could not be recovered if it ultimately prevails on appeal.

The board also argued that removing Trump’s name could impair fundraising efforts and create public confusion if the Center’s name changes again following a successful appeal. The motion further contends that the case raises significant questions regarding the board’s authority and whether Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, had standing to bring the lawsuit.

The latest filing stems from Cooper’s May 29 ruling that Congress, not the Kennedy Center board, has authority over the institution’s name. The judge ordered the removal of Trump’s name from physical signage, digital materials and official branding and directed the Center to comply within 14 days.

BOARD VOTES KENNEDY CENTER TO BE RENAMED ‘TRUMP-KENNEDY CENTER,’ LEAVITT SAYS

In a lengthy opinion, Cooper wrote that the Kennedy Center‘s governing statute “makes crystal clear” that the institution is to be named for President John F. Kennedy and cannot be formally renamed through unilateral board action. 

The judge concluded that Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name and that only Congress can change it.

The ruling came in a lawsuit brought by Beatty, who serves as an ex officio member of the Kennedy Center board.

Following the May 29 decision, Kennedy Center Vice President of Public Relations Roma Daravi said the board intended to appeal.

EXCLUSIVE: TRUMP-LED KENNEDY CENTER NEARLY DOUBLES FUNDRAISING FROM BIDEN ERA, SMASHING RECORD WITH $23M HAUL

“We will review the decision carefully though the reality remains — the Center requires an urgent and significant restoration — a truth that even the plaintiff acknowledges,” Daravi told Fox News Digital at the time.

“With $257 million secured by President Trump and approved by Congress, the resources are in place, and we remain committed to pursuing every lawful avenue to ensure the Trump Kennedy Center is restored as a national cultural landmark for all Americans to enjoy.”

Beatty praised the ruling, saying in a statement that the Kennedy Center “belongs to the American people, not to Donald Trump.”

Trump’s name was added to the venue in December after a unanimous vote of the board. Signage bearing the president’s name was installed above the existing Kennedy Center lettering shortly afterward.

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As of Friday afternoon, the appeals court had not publicly ruled on the emergency request, leaving unresolved whether Trump’s name would remain in place beyond the court-ordered compliance deadline.

The emergency appeal asks the D.C. Circuit to preserve the status quo while it considers the board’s broader appeal of Cooper’s ruling.

The White House and a representative for the Kennedy Center did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano contributed to this reporting.

A federal judge on Friday indefinitely blocked the Trump administration’s $1.776 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund, even as another federal judge earlier this week declined to intervene after the Justice Department said the fund was no longer moving forward.

The court disputes have heightened pressure on the administration to formally dismantle the fund. While Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told Congress the fund would not move forward, the settlement agreement and departmental directives that created the fund have not been formally rescinded. Critics argue this leaves open the possibility that the fund could still proceed in the future.

U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema, a Clinton-appointed judge, extended a court order Friday preventing implementation of the fund, concluding that public assurances from administration officials were insufficient to eliminate concerns that it could later be revived.

Brinkema noted how Trump, “says he’s disappointed that something is not going forward,” suggesting this was evidence that the fund may “rear its head” at some point in the future.

JUDGE TEMPORARILY BLOCKS TRUMP DOJ’S NEARLY $2B ‘ANTI-WEAPONIZATION’ FUND

Over the weekend Trump shared on “Meet the Press” that he’d like to continue with the fund.

“If it was up to me, I’d pay them the kind of money that they deserve. People have been destroyed. Lives have been destroyed,” Trump said.

Brinkema gave the Justice Department a week to put in writing that the Anti-Weaponization Fund is being terminated and will not be reinstated.

The ruling comes days after U.S. District Judge Richard Leon rejected a separate request from Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) seeking emergency intervention, saying he was willing to rely on Justice Department representations that the fund had effectively been abandoned.

ACTING AG BLANCHE REVEALS FATE OF TRUMP’S ‘ANTI-WEAPONIZATION FUND’ UNDER PRESSURE FROM HOUSE LAWMAKERS

But Leon, a George W. Bush-appointed judge, simultaneously warned administration officials not to treat his decision as permission to revive the program.

“I give the Justice Department this warning: Don’t play possum with me,” Leon said from the bench.

Blanche announced during a hearing earlier this month that the Anti-Weaponization Fund, which was born out of President Donald Trump’s lawsuit settlement with the IRS, would not be proceeding. The fund was intended to compensate alleged victims of government “lawfare,” but its creation sparked immediate backlash from Democrats, who characterized it as a “slush fund” that could ultimately benefit Trump’s political allies and individuals charged in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

TRUMP ADMIN PUSHES BACK ON ‘SLUSH FUND’ ATTACKS AGAINST ANTI-WEAPONIZATION FUND AND LAYS OUT WHO QUALIFIES

Justice Department attorney Andrew Block argued before Leon that Blanche’s congressional testimony effectively mooted CREW’s challenge because the government had publicly committed not to move forward.

Leon repeatedly questioned why Blanche has not formally rescinded a May 18 order that established procedures for the fund in the first place, a question Block could not answer.

CREW attorney Nikhel Sus argued the settlement agreement that established the fund remains legally operative and contains upcoming deadlines requiring action.

WAY HARDER THAN IT SHOULD BE: WHY CONGRESS MAY BALK ON $1.7B COMPENSATION FUND

According to Sus, a five-member board overseeing the fund must be established by June 17, while funding transfers are scheduled by July 17.

“On paper, the fund is still a legally operating entity,” Sus argued.

However, Leon ultimately accepted the government’s assurances for now that the fund is moot, but he noted that he can sanction attorneys who make false representations to the court.

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He also indicated he will continue considering CREW’s request for a preliminary injunction and suggested he could intervene if evidence emerges that the administration is attempting to revive the fund.

FIRST ON FOX: Federal immigration agents arrested several convicted killers, a rapist and multiple drug traffickers in a single day Thursday, underscoring the Trump administration’s push to target what Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials call the “worst of the worst” criminal illegal immigrants living in the U.S.

“Yesterday, [Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)] arrested multiple murderers, rapists, and drug traffickers from our communities,” Homeland Security Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis told Fox News Digital.

“Nearly 70% of ICE arrests are of illegal aliens charged or convicted of a crime in the U.S.,” she said. “Every day, our officers are putting their lives on the line to remove criminals from our communities.”

According to DHS, Thursday’s arrests include:

DHS ARRESTS 5 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS CONVICTED OF VIOLENT CRIMES INCLUDING MANSLAUGHTER, CHILD ASSAULT

Roque Cinto-Mejia

Roque Cinto-Mejia, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, is convicted of manslaughter in Brooklyn, New York.

Alejandro De Jesus-De La Cruz

Alejandro De Jesus-De La Cruz, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, is convicted of voluntary manslaughter in San Bernardino, California.

Francisco Antonio Morales-Acencio

Francisco Antonio Morales-Acencio, an illegal immigrant from Guatemala, is convicted of rape, assault and battery of a family member in Fairfax, Virginia.

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Heriberto Mendoza-Pineda

Heriberto Mendoza-Pineda, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, is convicted of trafficking methamphetamine in Gwinnett County, Georgia.

Manuel Soto

Manuel Soto, an illegal immigrant from the Dominican Republic, was twice convicted of drug possession and possession of cocaine with intent to distribute in Boston, Massachusetts.

Law enforcement officials responded to Washington, D.C.’s National Mall on Thursday after a giant “8647” message appeared to be etched into the grass, prompting an investigation as federal authorities remain on heightened alert over political threats and violence. 

“The deranged vandalism on our National Mall will not be tolerated,” an Interior Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “Any threat against the President is taken very seriously by the Department, and our U.S. Park Police will investigate this incident and hold those responsible accountable.”

The marking was etched into the grass between the Washington Monument and the World War II memorial. The administration has previously interpreted the number “86” as a political threat, pointing to its common use in the restaurant industry to mean removing or refusing service, while 47 appears to refer to Trump as the 47th president.

The administration has previously treated “86 47” messages as threatening, arguing that “86” can mean to get rid of or remove, per restaurant industry slang, while “47” refers to Trump as the 47th president.

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U.S. Park Police responded to the incident around noon, FOX 5 reported. Grass samples were also collected for testing and examination in the area by investigators.

“Anyone who engages in or endorses political violence or assassination culture must be condemned in the harshest terms possible,” White House spokesperson Davis Ingle told Fox News Digital. “They should also immediately seek psychiatric help to treat their severe and debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome that has warped their brains and made them sick in the head.”

The incident took place days before Trump’s birthday on Sunday, which coincides with the UFC Freedom Fight taking place on the South Law, which is expected to attract 4,000 spectators to the White House.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship was set up near the Lincoln Memorial for a weigh-in event on Friday.

America’s 250th birthday brings major events to the nation’s capital as D.C. braces for massive crowds, tight security, road closures and heightened law enforcement presence.

FROM RALLY GUNFIRE TO WHITE HOUSE SHOOTING, THREATS AGAINST PRESIDENT TRUMP CONTINUE TO MOUNT

Trump has repeatedly been targeted by violence, including just in April at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner.

There were two assassination attempts on Trump’s life in 2024, beginning in Butler, Pennsylvania, where a bullet grazed his ear after a gunman climbed onto a roof during a rally on July 13, 2024.

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The incident comes amid heightened administration scrutiny of “86 47” messages after the Department of Justice charged former FBI Director James Comey over a similar message. 

Comey was charged with two federal counts over an Instagram post last year showing seashells arranged to read “86 47,” and faces a maximum 10 years in prison if convicted. Comey has denied wrongdoing, saying he did not intend the post as a call for violence and removed it once critics interpreted it as a threat.

A controversial memo issued by then-Attorney General Merrick Garland in 2021 aimed at addressing the alleged threat posed to school boards by dissatisfied parents caused an internal revolt at the Justice Department, according to documents obtained by Fox News. 

As parents across the nation took to school board meetings to vent their dissatisfaction with COVID-era learning restrictions as well as how race and gender were being taught in classrooms, the National Association for School Boards appealed to the Justice Department for assistance, claiming that some actions taken by angry parents could be classified as “domestic terrorism.” 

The Justice Department in October 2021 issued a memo to coordinate a response to what the department described as an “increase in harassment, intimidation and threats of violence against school board members, teachers and workers in our nation’s public schools” by parents. 

Newly released emails, however, indicate that high-ranking officials at the DOJ were skeptical of this move, predicting that it could transform into a political headache for the Biden administration.

MAJOR PUBLIC SCHOOL BOARD SIMULATES PARENT ‘TERRORIST’ ATTACK AFTER FATAL ACCIDENT KILLS STUDENT

“I don’t think it’s possible to state how strongly I object to this. It will completely and totally nuke our election threats efforts, and will damage the reputation of the Public Integrity Section into the bargain,” one deputy assistant attorney general wrote on an internal email chain. “It’s like they’ve affirmatively trying to make this thing not work and look political.”

“If they do this, they might as well rename the damn thing the Anti-MAGA Task Force,” they continued. 

“Exactly!” the DOJ’s Public Integrity Section chief responded. “Stupid, stupid, stupid.”

Some at the DOJ also questioned whether or not the agency had the authority to address purported threats to school board members in the way that was being proposed.

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“We will not do this,” one principal deputy assistant attorney general wrote. “There is no conceivable connection to [public integrity] (indeed, I’m not seeing a federal interest of any kind.). And if they’re going to make the AG’s memo to the field about this and election threats, I’m going to strongly recommend that they not send it.”

The Public Integrity section chief chimed in that the memo could turn the Justice Department and the FBI into the “threat police” and that it contained “no limiting principle at all.”

After sparking a firestorm of criticism from GOP lawmakers, state officials, pundits and parents’ groups, the NSAB formally apologized for its letter to the Biden administration calling for legal scrutiny to apply to disgruntled parents.

 CNN HOST RECALLS HOW COVID CAUSED THE ‘RADICALIZATION’ OF PARENTS

“On behalf of NSBA, we regret and apologize for the letter,” the organization wrote in a memo to its members. “There was no justification for some of the language included in the letter. We should have had a better process in place to allow for consultation on a communication of this significance. We apologize also for the strain and stress this situation has caused you and your organizations.”

Though Garland was pressed to retract his memo or apologize, he instead opted to defend his decision.

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“The obligation of the Justice Department is to protect the American people against violence and threats of violence and that particularly includes public officials,” he said of the memo.

The DOJ and Garland did not respond to requests for comment when reached by Fox News Digital on Friday.

Fox News’ David Spunt and Jake Gibson contributed to this report.