NationalWatch

U.S. Postmaster General David Steiner indicated to Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Ranking Member Gary Peters, D-Mich., during a Wednesday hearing that under a proposed rule, if a state declined to furnish the federal government with its absentee voter list, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) would not mail election ballots in that state.

Peters asked Steiner whether, under the proposal, the USPS would mail ballots from a state that “refuses” to provide the federal government with the state’s absentee voter list.

“Under our proposed regulation, no,” Steiner said.

DHS APPROVES PLAN TO VERIFY VOTER CITIZENSHIP, MONITOR MAIL BALLOTS AS TRUMP PUSH INTENSIFIES

“All that does, senator, is make sure that we match the ballots that a state believes they’re sending out to what actually gets sent out,” he said.

Part of the proposed rule, which pertains to federal election balloting, would create a process in which states “will notify the Postal Service of the individuals to whom they are mailing a mail-in or absentee ballot, along with the unique barcode applied to the outbound and return ballot mail envelope for such individuals such that the name and barcode of the voter will be included on a Mail-In and Absentee Participation List,” according to the text of the proposal.

The states “may thereafter add to or modify the list of enrollees until the last day that ballots may be mailed out to individuals under state law,” the proposal notes, adding that “the Postal Service will provide to each state’s chief election official a final State-Specific Mail-In and Absentee Participation List for each state compiling the names of all enrolled individuals in such state, along with the barcodes associated with such individuals’ mail-in or absentee ballots.”

USPS REVEALS SHOCKING NUMBER OF DOG ATTACKS ON MAIL CARRIERS, ISSUES URGENT WARNING TO PET OWNERS

Peters said the “effort by this administration to nationalize elections and have the federal government having this information is incredibly dangerous precedent.”

“We need to protect the integrity of the voting rolls. We need to protect the separation of elections from federal government and ensure that our state and local governments are the one administering their own elections,” he declared.

POSTAL SERVICE CAN’T BE SUED FOR INTENTIONALLY NOT DELIVERING MAIL, SUPREME COURT RULES IN 5-4 SPLIT

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Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.

Most Americans, including majorities of Republicans and self-identified MAGA Republicans, say keeping the United States in NATO is important to the nation’s security and prosperity, according to a new poll. 

The Reagan Institute Summer Survey found that 73% of Americans say remaining in NATO matters to U.S. security and prosperity, including 64% of Republicans and 61% of MAGA Republicans. Fox News Digital obtained a preview of the survey, which will be made public Sunday.

The poll also found bipartisan support for NATO’s collective defense principle. After respondents were told that NATO members are obligated to come to one another’s defense if attacked, 76% of Democrats, 71% of Republicans and 69% of MAGA Republicans said they would support the U.S. responding with military force if a NATO ally were attacked. 

The findings come as President Donald Trump continues to press NATO allies to shoulder more of the burden for the alliance’s collective defense. During a White House meeting Wednesday with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, Trump criticized several European allies for what he described as insufficient support during the recent U.S. operation against Iran, even as Rutte praised Trump’s leadership and credited him with pushing NATO members to boost defense spending.

NEW POLL REVEALS AMERICANS SEE TWO PATHS ON IRAN — AND SUPPORT BOTH ALMOST EQUALLY

The Reagan Institute Summer Survey was conducted May 26 through June 3 among 1,555 respondents nationwide and carries a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points. The survey used a mixed-mode methodology that included live telephone interviews, an online panel and text-to-web responses.

To better reflect the U.S. population, the results were weighted using demographic benchmarks from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2023 American Community Survey, including age, gender, race, region and education levels. The poll also included an oversample of 331 MAGA Republicans under age 30, a group with a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.

The Reagan Institute is a Washington-based policy organization that advocates the Reagan foreign-policy tradition of “peace through strength” and sustained American leadership abroad.

Trump met with Rutte Wednesday, who once again offered effusive praise for the American president during their White House meeting.

TRUMP PUSHED NATO TO SPEND BIG — NOW COMES THE HARDER QUESTION: CAN EUROPE ACTUALLY FIGHT?

“I really want to make clear how important it is what you are doing on Iran,” Rutte told Trump. “This is first of all about the nuclear capability Iran was very near to getting its hands on,”

Trump, meanwhile, criticized several European allies for what he described as insufficient support during the U.S. operation against Iran.

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“I was disappointed with Italy. I was disappointed with the UK,” he said. “We were disappointed with Germany and France. We’re disappointed with most of them. Spain is a horror show.”

“We don’t need their money, we don’t need anything. We have the most powerful military in the world by far, but I just want loyalty,” Trump said.

NATO’s collective defense principle, known as Article 5 of the Washington Treaty, has been invoked only once in the alliance’s 77-year history. NATO allies unanimously invoked the provision after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, declaring the attacks on the United States an attack on all members of the alliance. 

Trump has long criticized NATO members for failing to meet alliance defense spending commitments — at times even threatening to pull out of the alliance — arguing the U.S. has carried a disproportionate share of its security burden. 

During both his first and second terms, he has pushed allies to significantly increase military spending while warning that the U.S. should not bear the costs of Europe’s defense alone.

The White House and NATO could not immediately be reached for comment. 

The socialist backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani who won Tuesday night’s primary election in New York’s 13th Congressional District founded a group in college that called for the total destruction of the West. 

Darializa Avila Chevalier, 32, a Democratic nominee for U.S. Congress who made career out of “community organizing,” wrote in her biography for an opinion piece in independent news outlet The Electronic Intifada that she “helped launch the boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign Columbia University Apartheid Divest.”

“We are Westerners fighting for the total eradication of Western civilization,” the group said in a now-deleted 2024 Instagram post.

In May 2024, eight years after she graduated from Columbia, Chevalier was back on campus advocating alongside the group she founded, known as CUAD, wearing a keffiyeh and a t-shirt emblazoned with the group’s name.

Avila Chevalier was interviewed by the Associated Press at the school’s infamous encampment against Israel that year, which was later broken up by police.

MAMDANI-BACKED SOCIALIST WITH HISTORY OF ANTI-AMERICAN RHETORIC WINS VICIOUS DEM PRIMARY RACE

Only months after that, CUAD, caused a firestorm when it reportedly posted its goal of eradicating Western Civilization.

“We stand in full solidarity with every movement for liberation in the Global South,” the post continued. “Our Intifada is an internationalist one — we are fighting for nothing less than the liberation of all people.”

“We reject every genocidal, eugenicist regime that seeks to undermine the personhood of the colonized,” the group added.

HASAN PIKER CELEBRATES AMERICA BEING ‘CLOSER THAN EVER’ TO SOCIALISM AS HE BACKS NYC CANDIDATES

Columbia University has roundly denounced CUAD, and says it is not affiliated in any way with the school.

Avila Chevalier was born in Florida to Dominican immigrants. She converted to Islam in recent years.

‘PARTY OF ZOHRAN’: MAMDANI EMERGES AS DEMOCRATIC KINGMAKER AFTER SOCIALIST ALLIES SWEEP NYC PRIMARIES

The surfacing of her affiliation with the group has sparked intense online backlash, including from elected Democrats.

“Anti-Israel. Anti-America. Anti-Western Civilization. Why am I the only Democrat in the U.S. Senate that refuses to excuse this or defend any of those self-identified communists?” Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., said on X Wednesday evening.

Avila Chevalier also infamously expressed anti-white women and anti-American sentiments in deleted social media posts, one time calling her home country “a f—ing disgrace.”

LETITIA JAMES FUMES AS MAMDANI-BACKED SOCIALISTS SWEEP NEW YORK PRIMARIES

“I forgot to get napkins so I just wiped my hand on the American flag behind me,” she said in another deleted post.

“This lady founded an organization with a stated goal of Eradicating Western civilization, & a bunch of rich white progressives who know she means them, said ‘please do,'” X personality Sean Fitzgerald said.

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“The real ‘country over party’ test isn’t going to be about Trump,” said RealClearInvestigations writer Mark Hemingway. “It’s going to be over communist Congress members who literally say they want to eradicate Western civilization.”

In a deeply blue district, Avila Chevalier is likely to waltz her way into Congress in November.

Fox News Digital reached out to Avila Chevalier’s campaign.

FIRST ON FOX: Following a string of high-profile victories by socialist candidates, New York Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman warned the Democratic Party has veered too far left and predicted establishment Democrats will increasingly back Republicans.

Speaking exclusively to Fox News Digital in the wake of Tuesday’s wins, Blakeman said the results underscored the growing influence of the party’s progressive wing and exposed a widening divide within the Democratic coalition.

“The lunatic left has taken over the Democratic Party,” he said just hours after three socialists backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani won their primaries in New York districts. “They’ve lost control of their party.”

The rise of socialist victories against traditional Democrats have intensified debate over the Party’s future and the growing influence of its far-left flank. Republicans have seized on those wins as evidence the party is moving away from moderate voters on issues such as taxes and public safety.

MAMDANI-BACKED SOCIALIST CANDIDATE STORMS OUT OF LIVE INTERVIEW WHEN CONFRONTED WITH OLD SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS

Blakeman, who is running to unseat New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, argued that socialists have effectively taken control of the Democratic Party, creating an opening for Republicans among moderate and working-class voters in the state.

“They’ve offered everybody free stuff,” Blakeman told Fox News Digital, adding that progressive candidates are making unrealistic promises to voters. “They’re never going to do what they say they’re going to,” he continued, warning that such proposals would ultimately prove impossible to deliver.

He argued voters are being sold an unrealistic vision in which “everything in New York could be free,” while longtime Democrats increasingly feel disconnected from the party’s recent direction.

“The traditional Democrats are going to vote for Republicans this year,” Blakeman predicted. “They know their party has gone off the deep end.”

The Republican hopeful pointed to Mamdani’s meteoric rise as evidence of what he described as the growing influence of socialists within the party. Blakeman acknowledges that proposals such as government-run grocery stores and other publicly funded programs may be politically popular but claims they would ultimately fail to deliver on their promises.

“Free grocery stores, I mean, that’s complete nonsense,” Blakeman said. “Government should not be competing with the private sector.”

FROM FREE BUSES TO CITY-OWNED GROCERY STORES, HERE ARE MAMDANI’S KEY ECONOMIC PROMISES

Blakeman said many of the policies being championed by progressive candidates could harm small businesses and accelerate the outflow of residents and employers from New York. Instead, he argued, the state should focus on lowering taxes, reducing utility costs and creating a more business-friendly environment.

During his interview with Fox News Digital the night after sweeping socialist victories in New York, Blakeman accused Hochul of being just as radical and failing to stand up to the Democratic Party’s left flank as progressive figures like Mamdani gain prominence.

“They’re in league together,” Blakeman said of Hochul and Mamdani. “I now call her Comrade Kathy.”

Though he ran uncontested, Blakeman’s campaign received a boost earlier this year when he secured President Donald Trump‘s endorsement as he seeks to unseat Hochul in deep blue New York, the president’s longtime home state.

Asked about Trump’s support, Blakeman said it’s valuable but urged voters to focus on shared concerns such as affordability, public safety and lowering taxes.

Blakeman argued that the Democratic Party’s growing embrace of socialist candidates could ultimately benefit Republicans, particularly among suburban and working-class voters who he believes feel increasingly disconnected from the party’s priorities.

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“Traditional Democrats see their party going off the deep end. They don’t like it,” Blakeman said. “They’re going to come on board with us because it’s the only way to stop their party from becoming an extinct party.”

Mamdani’s office and Hochul’s office did not respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.

FIRST ON FOX: The Senate’s newest member is reviving an issue that has echoed through the halls of Congress for years, and one that, if successful, could turbocharge energy production in the U.S.

Sen. Alan Armstrong, R-Okla., who was appointed to replace Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin earlier this year, has one priority in the few months that he has been the Sooner State’s junior Senator: permitting reform. 

It’s not one of the sexy, bombastic issues on the Hill, but it’s one that has percolated among lawmakers on both sides of the aisle for years. And one that has never quite made it to the finish line. 

IN 2026, ENERGY WAR’S NEW FRONT IS AI, AND US MUST WIN THAT BATTLE, API CHIEF SAYS

But for Armstrong, who stepped down as CEO of the Oklahoma-based natural gas processor and transporter Williams Companies before joining the Senate until the end of the year, the only issue that matters is gutting red tape and legal hurdles for new energy infrastructure projects that proponents argue, in the long run, could provide a boom in America’s economic competitiveness, particularly against China.

“There’s no magic, overnight fix to lower prices, but comprehensive, meaningful permitting reform will ensure that the U.S. remains the global leader in energy,” Williams said in a statement. “When we can build our own infrastructure and produce our own supply, our allies will be far less reliant on adversarial sources for their energy.” 

“The U.S. cannot afford to remain idle while our global competitors move ahead, and the cost of inaction will be paid directly by American consumers through higher utility bills,” he continued. 

RAPID RISE OF AI PUTS NEW URGENCY ON CONGRESS TO UNLEASH AMERICAN ENERGY

Williams has produced a package of bills geared toward permitting reform that combines ideas from the House and Senate, dubbed the American Energy and Mineral Infrastructure Act of 2026.

The package would ultimately alleviate time and money spent on the permitting process for pipeline developers, liquid natural gas (LNG) export companies and natural gas producers, among others, as they navigate the dense and slow-moving permitting process. 

Armstrong’s legislation, which so far has the backing of Republican Sens. Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, Rick Scott of Florida, and Katie Britt of Alabama, along with nearly two dozen oil and gas companies, would make the Federal Energy Regulatory Agency (FERC) the lead agency in approving interstate pipelines and LNG terminals, a change in current law that would prevent a single state from blocking a federally approved interstate project. 

GAS PRICES THREATEN MEMORIAL DAY ROAD TRIPS AS PUMP COSTS HIT HISTORIC HIGHS

It would also require “evidence-based” review when it comes to environmental-based decisions in the permitting process, and would expand the usage of Nationwide Permits under the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to create a broader standardized approval process for certain projects. 

The package also creates standardized requirements for projects that affect wetlands and waterways and would make it easier for mining, particularly of critical minerals, to take place on federal lands.

And it would broadly reform the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) that requires federal agencies to study environmental impacts before approving many projects to narrow what agencies analyze, clarify that NEPA is largely a procedural law, limit expansive environmental analyses and establish clearer rules for review in court. 

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“America has got to be able to build again, or else we are leaving our kids a worse country than the one we inherited from previous generations,” Armstrong said. “I’m glad that my presence in the Senate these last few months has reinvigorated this conversation, and rest assured, I won’t be stepping off the gas.”

A public university in the American heartland spent more than two decades educating executives tied to China’s military-industrial complex through a business program that allegedly received taxpayer support, a new watchdog report claims. 

The report, titled Heartland for Hire, compiled by the geopolitical research firm Strategy Risks, alleges that Missouri State University (MSU) operated an MBA and Executive MBA pipeline that trained more than 1,500 Chinese executives, government officials and state-owned enterprise managers beginning in 2001, including personnel connected to China’s defense sector. 

Graduates of the program, according to the report, included executives linked to Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), China’s largest state-owned aerospace and defense conglomerate. AVIC has been designated by the U.S. Defense Department as a Chinese military company and has faced U.S. sanctions and investment restrictions over its ties to Beijing’s military establishment.

MAJOR COLLEGES FACE HEAT OVER CHINESE SCHOLARSHIP TIES AS ESPIONAGE CONCERNS MOUNT

The report’s authors argue the program occupied a blind spot in Washington’s scrutiny of U.S.-China academic ties, which Fox News Digital has extensively reported on.

“Congressional and executive branch attention to American universities’ ties to the CCP has been focused almost entirely on three areas: STEM research theft, issues involving free speech and harassment of Chinese students, and Chinese military-affiliated graduate students in defense-relevant doctoral programs,” the report states. “This cadre training problem falls into a gap between existing oversight frameworks.”

In a statement to Fox News Digital, a spokesperson for Missouri State University said the school was aware of the report and denied that any taxpayer dollars were used to fund the program. 

“As the report further acknowledges, the students studied a ‘conventional business curriculum’ with no evidence of espionage, intellectual property theft, misconduct, false affiliations or complaints of harassment,” the spokesperson said. “Students admitted to the program were required to comply with all student visa regulations administered by the U.S. State Department.”

The report also alleges that participants were largely recruited and selected through Chinese government agencies, state-owned enterprises and CCP-linked organizations rather than through the university’s standard admissions process.

“One of the most significant features of this program is that the CCP – and not MSU – selected the students,” the report said.

According to the report, Chinese government documents described the partnership as a “China-U.S. state-to-state cooperation project.” The report also identified graduates who later held positions at U.S.-restricted organizations, including AI company iFLYTEK. It alleges the partnership continued after some participating entities were added to U.S. restriction lists.

The report cited Chinese recruiting materials that described portions of the program’s costs as being covered by U.S. government or Missouri state-supported subsidies, potentially amounting to tens of millions of dollars. However, the report acknowledges that no public U.S. records confirm those taxpayer-funded payments and that the total amount cannot be independently verified.

‘SERIOUS CONCERNS’: GOP SOUNDS ALARM ON TAXPAYER FUNDS GOING TO ‘HIGH RISK’ UNIVERSITIES VULNERABLE TO CCP

“What we uncover instead is evidence of China’s state apparatus using a public American university, American accreditation, and American taxpayer dollars to enhance the management and technical capabilities of the individuals who run the CCP’s defense industrial base,” according to the report.

The report concludes that the Missouri State program reflects a gap in oversight.

“No comparable attention has reached degree-granting pipelines, defense industry participants, or the regional public universities under which the system actually took place,” the report said.

Amid growing alarm over Chinese influence in higher education, the report raises fresh questions about national security risks and foreign interference on college campuses.

TRUMP DOUBLES DOWN ON PLAN FOR 600,000 CHINESE STUDENT VISAS DESPITE MAGA BACKLASH

A December report from Strategy Risks and the Human Rights Foundation warned that top U.S. universities, including MIT, Stanford, Harvard and Princeton, have partnered with Chinese AI labs tied to Beijing’s surveillance state and, in some cases, co-authored thousands of papers with entities linked to efforts targeting Uyghur Muslims.

Last year, the House Select Committee on China launched an investigation into universities partnering with PRC’s China Scholarship Council (CSC), citing concerns that the program serves as a covert pipeline for Beijing to gain access to sensitive American research and technology and contributes to “systemic CCP infiltration” in U.S. academia. In a September report, American universities were found to be educating thousands of Chinese nationals with ties to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

Two months later, multiple Chinese nationals were charged in November with conspiring to smuggle biological materials into the United States while working at a University of Michigan laboratory, prompting renewed calls for stronger safeguards at U.S. research institutions.

Committee Chairman John Moolenaar, R-Mich., urged the National Science Foundation in March to review a $67 million research security initiative over universities’ ties to Chinese military-linked institutions.

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Lawmakers have also introduced legislation aimed at limiting Chinese influence. In June, Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Texas, introduced the Espionage Protection Act, which would prohibit federal funding for university intelligence-related programs if schools maintain relationships with organizations alleged to have ties to the CCP.

Following his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, President Donald Trump said he is not in favor of banning Chinese students from studying in the United States, telling Fox News’ Sean Hannity that the move would strain relations with China.

More than 260,000 Chinese students were enrolled at U.S. colleges and universities during the 2024–25 academic year, according to the Institute of International Education’s Open Doors Report.

EXCLUSIVE: It is “only a matter of time” before the type of drone attacks seen on battlefields overseas reach the United States, FBI Deputy Director Chris Raia warned in an interview with Fox News Digital — as investigators race to prepare for rapidly evolving technology that could eventually allow operators thousands of miles away to pilot aircraft targeting Americans.

“I think the biggest threat right now, kind of the five-yard target, if you will, is going to be that threat from a drone,” Raia said.

Federal officials increasingly have become concerned that advances in commercially available drone technology are giving individuals and small groups capabilities once associated with larger organizations, lowering the barriers to carrying out potentially devastating attacks.

“I’m less concerned about a mass 9/11-style attack than I am a lone single person, a single attacker,” Raia said.

Raia’s warning comes as federal authorities grapple with the rapid proliferation of inexpensive drone technology, lessons learned from conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, and an alleged domestic plot targeting the White House UFC event that prosecutors say involved plans to use explosive-laden drones. The FBI is also in the midst of securing the FIFA World Cup, one of the largest domestic security operations in recent U.S. history.

REPUBLICANS RAISE ALARM OVER US VULNERABILITY TO MASS DRONE STRIKES AFTER ISRAEL-IRAN CONFLICT

In Ukraine, relatively inexpensive drones have transformed warfare, carrying out surveillance, targeting and attack missions once reserved for sophisticated military systems. Similar tactics also have appeared in conflicts across the Middle East, where armed groups have used drones to strike military and civilian targets.

Investigators are particularly focused on the next generation of drones, which could operate via 5G and LTE cellular networks rather than relying solely on short-range radio-frequency links that generally require operators to remain nearby.

“We have seen that overseas, and it’s only a matter of time before somebody brings that type of attack, that threat vector here to the United States,” Raia said.

Most commercially available drones today rely on direct radio-frequency links, Wi-Fi-style connections or other short-range communications that generally require operators to remain relatively close to the aircraft. But Raia said the FBI is increasingly preparing for systems that could be controlled from much greater distances.

“That means somebody in China can control a drone over New Orleans,” he said.

Such a shift, he warned, could make it more difficult for investigators to identify operators and disrupt attacks before they occur.

He encouraged the public to keep calling in tips of suspicious drone activity. 

“Especially all these drone hobbyists out there that are flying drones for non-nefarious purposes,
 Raia said. “They know better what somebody out of the ordinary looks like than we do.”

‘A NEW KIND OF WAR’: INSIDE UKRAINE’S HIDDEN FACTORIES MASS-PRODUCING COMBAT DRONES

The FBI’s focus on drones has intensified during the FIFA World Cup, which federal authorities have described as one of the largest security operations in recent U.S. history.  Agents have already seized more than 300 drones and made eight arrests tied to unauthorized drone activity during the tournament, according to Raia. 

Federal prosecutors say concerns about drone misuse are not merely theoretical. Court records allege members of the alleged UFC conspiracy discussed using explosive-laden drones to trigger a mass evacuation, while a newly charged defendant allegedly exchanged messages about acquiring drones, payloads and specialized equipment for the operation.

Newly unsealed court records suggest investigators also were examining whether members of the alleged UFC conspiracy discussed targeting a FIFA World Cup match scheduled for July 3 in Kansas City, Missouri. In one affidavit, an FBI agent wrote that he believed messages exchanged among alleged conspirators referenced the event and preparations for travel to Missouri.

Federal officials worry both about what bad actors can do with increasingly capable drone technology, and also how they organize, recruit and plan attacks out of public view.

FBI DISRUPTS ALLEGED EXPLOSIVE-DRONE PLOT TARGETING WHITE HOUSE UFC EVENT, OFFICIALS SAY

The alleged UFC conspiracy highlighted another challenge for investigators: encrypted communications platforms that are largely hidden from law enforcement scrutiny.

“That is a gap for us in encrypted communications platforms,” Raia said.

Raia said the bureau attempts to overcome that challenge through confidential human sources, undercover operatives and public tips. But he acknowledged investigators do not have visibility into every encrypted conversation where criminal activity may be occurring.

“I think I would be foolish to think that we’re in every single one of those rooms,” he said.

In the alleged UFC conspiracy, investigators got a rare break.

According to Raia, the case began with a concerned parent.

FBI REVEALS WHY TRUMP WHITE HOUSE UFC EVENT WENT AHEAD DESPITE ALLEGED TERROR PLOT

“We had a concerned parent that really launched this entire UFC 250 case off,” Raia said.

The tip from Tycen Proper’s mother reportedly prompted investigators to take a closer look at her son’s online activity. After obtaining a warrant for Proper’s phone, investigators uncovered what prosecutors describe as an alleged network of encrypted chats discussing drone operations, sniper positions, rendezvous points and attack planning tied to the White House event.

Court records show Proper’s phone allegedly contained a primary Signal chat with approximately 19 participants, along with smaller operational chats organized by role and location.

For investigators, the case underscored how emerging technology and encrypted communications can allow small groups of individuals to coordinate sophisticated attack plans while remaining largely hidden from public view — a threat landscape the FBI believes will only continue to evolve.

Former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino recently issued a similar warning, arguing that the rapid evolution of commercially available drone technology is outpacing traditional security assumptions.

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“This technology is evolving on probably weekly, if not monthly cycles now,” he told Fox News June 16. “And don’t think that people looking to commit malicious acts, terrorists and others, haven’t picked up on this. It’s cheap. It’s very difficult to defeat.” 

President Donald Trump announced a last-minute cancellation of the signing of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act Wednesday, issuing an ultimatum to get the SAVE Act passed.  

“Today’s Housing News Conference and Signing is hereby cancelled until such time as we pass the desperately needed SAVE AMERICA ACT, which I consider to be a National Emergency. Thank you for your attention to this matter,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

House lawmakers passed the Housing Act by a 358–32 vote Tuesday, reflecting widespread agreement on the need to help Americans facing housing affordability challenges. The bill seeks to expand the supply of homes and will lower costs while also giving individual buyers a leg up by banning large institutional investors from purchasing single-family homes.

Earlier Wednesday morning, Trump called the act an “Elizabeth ‘Pocahontas’ Warren centric housing bill,” writing that it is “of minor importance compared to lower interest rates, and even FISA, pales in comparison to passing THE SAVE AMERICA ACT.” 

TRUMP’S SAVE AMERICA ACT SHOWS SIGNS OF LIFE IN THE SENATE DESPITE REPUBLICAN REVOLT

Trump still attended a previously planned GOP Senate lunch at the Capitol where he was set to sign the bill.

While walking into the lunch, Trump was asked by a member of the press if the “election legislation” was more important than housing. 

“Every election is important. We’re doing very well. They want a lot of communists to come in. I’m saying it a little bit differently, but the people that they’re pushing are communists,” the president responded. 

“This country is not going to have communists,” he continued, referencing the trio of socialist candidates backed by New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani winning their primary races Tuesday.

The Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act includes Trump’s long-sought voter ID and citizenship verification as midterms loom ahead.

House Speaker Mike Johnson held a press conference following the cancellation announcement, sharing he agreed with Trump’s decision and hopes to advance a similar election-integrity proposal through the budget reconciliation process.

“I spoke to the president for 20 minutes before I went in and gave that rousing speech to the House Republicans this morning. He and I’ve talked about this a lot. He has expressed his priority and preference for the Save America Act,” Johnson said at the news conference. “We share that. We passed it three times in the House. The latest version was passed a few months ago, and it has proof of citizenship to register to vote and proof of showing a photo ID when you show up to vote.”

“Basic issues that 90% of Americans agree: 70% of Democrats think you ought to have a photo ID to vote and citizenship to vote in an American election is already in the law,” Johnson added. “But we have to enforce it because you’ve got a few blue states that don’t do that.” 

BIPARTISAN HOUSING PUSH ADVANCES, BUT TRUMP-BACKED INVESTOR BAN FACES RESISTANCE

The scrapped bill signing sparked backlash from Democratic senators, openly criticizing the move.

“Huge bipartisan majorities in Congress passed a bill to lower housing costs. But at the 11th hour, Donald Trump is refusing to sign it into law. His policies have made your costs go up — and he doesn’t care,” Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren wrote on X.

“The bipartisan 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act would lower costs for millions and open the door for families across the country to afford their first home. And the President is refusing to sign it. It couldn’t be more clear how little he cares about everyday Americans,” said New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen. 

“‘Cancelled.’ Donald Trump just cancelled signing a bill that’s strongly supported by Republicans and Democrats to help Americans afford a home. Rent, home ownership, affording a place to live, all of it is a big challenge for millions of Americans. But again, Donald Trump doesn’t care,” Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly wrote on X. 

Trump and administration officials have sounded the alarm on the importance of passing the SAVE America Act, which has faced obstacles and pushback.

“That is what Americans, both Dumocrats, Republicans, and everyone else, care about. Get the bad Republicans to approve it or, better yet, Terminate the Filibuster and approve it, AND EVERYTHING ELSE REPUBLICANS HAVE EVER DREAMED OF,” Trump added on Truth Social. “The Dumocrats will do it in hour one, 100%. Republicans will feel very stupid if they don’t do it first. I’ll be watching with tears in my eyes!!!”

The housing package comes after months of House-Senate negotiations over restrictions on private equity investors and a temporary ban on central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), an unrelated proposal championed by GOP privacy advocates. 

The bill would loosen regulations surrounding factory-built homes and ease federal environmental reviews for housing. It also encourages local governments to update zoning policies to support more home construction and address housing shortages.

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Many Americans have struggled when it comes to buying a home, with the median nationwide price tag topping $400,000, according to Realtor.com.

Fox News Digital’s Adam Pack contributed to this report.

Eight years after bursting onto the national stage by ousting then-House Democratic Caucus Chairman Joe Crowley in a shocking primary upset, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s political options look brighter than ever.

The four-term progressive firebrand from New York City, who on Tuesday easily crushed two primary challengers in her own race for renomination, is eyeing a potential 2028 bid for the White House or to challenge longtime Democratic Senate Leader Chuck Schumer.

And the sweeping victories by three far-left congressional candidates backed by socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani over the party establishment appear to be giving the 36-year-old Ocasio-Cortez, better known by her nickname AOC, even more political clout.

LEFTWARD LURCH: MAMDANI-BACKED CANDIDATES TOPPLE DEMOCRATIC ESTABLISHMENT

“AOC has built a political brand that certainly has staying power,” Democratic strategist Joe Caiazzo, a veteran of progressive champion Sen. Bernie Sanders‘ 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns, told Fox News Digital. “Her influence has grown exponentially since defeating Crowley.”

Ocasio-Cortez, who teamed up with Sanders last year on the senator’s ongoing coast-to-coast “Fighting Oligarchy” tour, appears to be in position to inherit the 84-year-old senator’s political mantle.

Sanders joined Mamdani in backing socialist candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier, who narrowly topped incumbent Democrat Adriano Espaillat, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus chair and the first Dominican American elected to the U.S. House.

They also supported state Assembly Member Claire Valdez, another socialist who defeated Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso by more than 20 points in the race to succeed retiring Democratic Rep. Nydia Velazquez.

And they backed progressive Brad Lander, who crushed incumbent Democratic Rep. Dan Goldman. Lander, the former New York City comptroller, ran against Mamdani last year in the crowded Democratic primary field but became one of his biggest backers in the general election.

DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUB

Unlike Mamdani and Sanders, Ocasio-Cortez, who has endorsed sparingly this election cycle, stayed out of the New York City congressional primaries.

But the victories by the left over the party establishment should further boost Ocasio-Cortez as she looks to the future.

“New York’s clean sweep was a political earthquake that shows voters want shake-up-the-system fighters who are not owned by corporate interests, billionaires, or corrupt Trump allies like AIPAC. This is obviously good news for AOC in whatever race she runs next,” Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, told Fox News Digital.

Tuesday’s results will give Schumer and House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the top two Democrats in Congress, major headaches in their own backyard of New York.

The embattled Schumer faces re-election in two years, and Ocasio-Cortez has not ruled out a primary challenge or a possible White House bid.

AOC PRIMARY LANDSLIDE VICTORY SPARKS FURTHER 2028 SPECULATION

“Could I be president? Could I not be president? Maybe, maybe not,” Ocasio-Cortez, who represents the Bronx and Queens-anchored 14th Congressional District, replied when recently asked by Fox News Digital if she might seek the presidency in 2028.

The Democratic Socialists of America, as first reported by Politico, is asking its membership across the country who they have their eyes on in the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination race, with a vote coming next year at the group’s national convention.

When it comes to the possibility of a presidential run by Ocasio-Cortez, or Rep. Ro Khanna of California, another progressive leader in Congress, some pundits caution about reading too much from Tuesday’s ballot box results and note that the far-left portions of deep blue New York City are far from a representation of the rest of the country.

Outside of what’s been labeled New York City’s “Commie corridor,” which includes parts of Brooklyn and Queens where voters in recent years have consistently backed far-left and socialist candidates, more mainstream Democrats prevailed in Tuesday’s primaries.

In the high-profile showdown to succeed retiring longtime Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler in Manhattan, former Nadler staffer Micah Lasher came out on top.

North of New York City, in the state’s swing 17th Congressional District, Army veteran Cait Conley won the primary and will challenge GOP Rep. Mike Lawler in a key midterm contest that is one of a handful that will determine if Republicans hold the slim House majority.

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And in Utah, former Democratic Rep. Ben McAdams defeated progressive rivals to win the primary in the newly redrawn and blue-leaning 1st Congressional District.

Caiazzo noted that Tuesday’s contests show “there is certainly an appetite among New York City Democratic primary voters for progressive policies. Considering other primary results, it remains unclear if that same enthusiasm is shared across the country.”

The Senate was left in a state of confusion and anger in the wake of President Donald Trump’s last-minute declaration that he would not sign into law a colossal housing package filled with his own priorities. 

It comes as Trump is expected to have a closed-door lunch with Senate Republicans who are already frustrated with a laundry list of his recent decisions that have either derailed or blown up their attempts to move forward with his agenda. 

Trump said he wouldn’t sign the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Package into law, which passed both chambers with overwhelming bipartisan support, unless Republicans ram through the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act, a voter-ID and citizenship verification package that doesn’t have the votes to succeed in the Senate. 

TRUMP HEADS TO CAPITOL HILL FOR PIVOTAL MEETING AS SENATE GOP DIVISIONS DEEPEN

“Today’s Housing News Conference and Signing is hereby cancelled until such time as we pass the desperately needed SAVE AMERICA ACT, which I consider to be a National Emergency,” Trump said on Truth Social.

The sudden decision had some Republicans accusing Trump of handing Democrats a victory. 

“There is a huge group of people who really appreciate what the president’s doing right now, and it’s the Democratic Party,” Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said. “And we’ve got to get our act together and stop surprising people and start having … working messages. 

“This housing bill was a very clear, bipartisan effort to address some of the basics of affordability, and we are here,” he continued. “It makes no sense.”

TRUMP-BACKED HOUSING OVERHAUL TARGETING WALL STREET INVESTORS CLEARS SENATE

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., one of the chief architects of the housing package, was furious that Trump refused to sign the bill into law. 

“Can I underline crisis three times? We have a bill that Republicans and Democrats have built. It is good for urban America, rural America, first-time homebuyers, renters, seniors, families that are expanding,” Warren said. “It’s a bill about doing good things. And Donald Trump says he just doesn’t care.” 

Before torpedoing the housing package, Trump had already earned the frustration of Republicans with his decision to derail the process of reauthorizing the nation’s key counter-terrorism tool, the memorandum of understanding with Iran, and his push for an “anti-weaponization” fund that nearly blew up a $70 billion immigration enforcement package.

The GOP is hungry for a stream of wins to push on the campaign trail as they inch closer to midterm elections where several incumbent Republicans are running in tight races. 

TRUMP SCORES MAJOR WIN AS CONGRESS PASSES HOUSING CRACKDOWN ON WALL STREET INVESTORS

But for now, they are mired in debate over whether they can pass the SAVE America Act, which Trump is expected to push for during the lunch. 

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, described the situation as “inexplicable.”

“I mean, this, this is not — I don’t know if there is precedent for it,” Cornyn said. 

When asked if Trump would be any more successful in generating the votes to pass the legislation, Cornyn acknowledged that the president had a lot of sway, but that if the solution was to eliminate the filibuster, the votes similarly weren’t there.

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“At some point, we got to deal with reality,” he said. 

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., who worked on the housing package, agreed with Trump that Republicans should try to pass the SAVE America Act and explore all options to do so, like attaching it to a third budget reconciliation package or forcing debate on the floor.

But he acknowledged that the votes currently weren’t there to pass it. 

“I will stand on one leg and bark like a dog if that’s what it takes to help this pass,” Kennedy said. “But you can’t make people vote in a way that they don’t want to do. I mean, that’s what we’re up against.”

NEW YORK CITY – New York City’s primary night produced clear political winners and losers as Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s slate of socialist candidates swept establishment-backed Democrats.

WINNER: MAMDANI

Mamdani, sworn into office in January of this year, flexed his political might in the city after three congressional candidates that he endorsed in the primary, Brad Lander, Claire Valdez and Darializa Avila Chevalier, were all victorious on Tuesday night, and are expected to cruise to victory against their Republican opponents in November.

All three candidates ran on platforms broadly aligned with Mamdani’s socialist economic agenda, anti-Israel posture and opposition to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, while facing candidates backed by the establishment wing of the party.

FAR-LEFT SURGE: MAMDANI-BACKED CANDIDATES OUST DEM ESTABLISHMENT INCUMBENTS

“I think it was an incredible night,” Mamdani said about the results before pointing to his own primary victory that shook the political landscape last June. “It is an incredible night and I think New Yorkers have shown that last June was not the end, it was the beginning.”

LOSER: INCUMBENT DEMOCRATS

Democratic Rep. Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y., the chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus who has served in the House of Representatives since 2017, was defeated by Mamdani-backed socialist Darializa Avila Chevalier on Tuesday night in the Democratic primary for New York’s 13th Congressional District. 

Avila Chevalier, who has called America a “f—— disgrace,” supported the abolition of prisons and borders and said Israel “doesn’t exist,” was victorious despite a variety of controversies, most recently after claiming that criminal illegal immigrants should not be deported regardless of their crime.

Another established Democrat in Congress, Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., was handily defeated by Mamdani-backed Lander after having served in Congress since 2022.

Goldman, one of the most recognizable anti-Trump Democrats in Congress, and who was once viewed as a rising star in the party, lost his race to Lander. It was a race that became increasingly focused on Israel as Lander attacked Goldman for voting for U.S. military aid to Israel and slammed him for refusing to call the war in Gaza a genocide.

MAMDANI-BACKED ‘LIBERAL ZIONIST’ OUSTS DEM WHO LED TRUMP IMPEACHMENT IN BID TO TAKE NYC HOUSE SEAT

Meanwhile, Goldman defended his support for Israel’s existence as a Jewish state and argued that voters in the district were more focused on domestic issues.

“As history has taught us: Antisemitic tropes and stereotypes, some of which I heard personally on this campaign, will ultimately be the undoing of our democracy if we all don’t lean in and speak out, even if it’s not politically expedient,” Goldman said in his concession speech, a day after a Brooklyn coffee shop banned him over his pro-Israel views.

WINNER: NEW YORK CITY DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS OF AMERICA

At least a dozen candidates endorsed by NYC-DSA across the state of New York were victorious on Tuesday night, signaling the embrace of Mamdani’s socialist policies and the reach of his influence in the party.

Avila Chevalier and Valdez were both endorsed by DSA, a group that promotes defunding the police, abolishing ICE, abolishing prisons, government-controlled housing and healthcare, and accusing Israel of genocide. 

In October, Fox News Digital reported that DSA was primed to play a significant role in the Mamdani administration and last summer DSA members discussed in a panel how they were closely collaborating with Mamdani and positioning the organization to “seize state power.”

LOSER: DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP

Perhaps the most common response on social media to Tuesday night’s results was that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer are in trouble going forward if they want to keep power.

“The Democrat party has officially become the party of Zohran, AOC, & Bernie,” Republican Rep. Mike Lawler, who represents New York’s 17th Congressional District, posted on X on Tuesday night.

“No, I think the future of the Democratic Party is going to fall, as far as we’re concerned, relative to the House Democratic Caucus and members who are doing great work all across the country,” Jeffries said in November as Mamdani was set to become the next mayor of New York City. 

Fox News contributor Lisa Boothe posted on X, “Hardest hit in tonight’s NY primaries: Chuck Schumer. I’d be shocked if he seeks re-election in 2028.”

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Fox News Digital reached out to Jeffries’s and Schumer’s offices for comment. 

“You’re next,” socialist supporters at Valdez’s election night party were seen shouting at the television to Jeffries on Tuesday night. 

Jeremy Carl, a senior fellow at the Claremont Institute, argued that the outcomes reflected broader ideological and demographic shifts within New York City, warning that the city had become a “post-American city” and predicting similar changes nationwide.

“The radicalism of these soon-to-be Congressmen is going to be a headache for Democrat leadership in the House and a gift to the GOP,” Carl wrote.  

“The future of the Democrat party is radical and post-American in it’s (sic) orientation. Since all of these candidates are in the world’s media capital, they are going to get tons of attention,” Carl continued. “That isn’t going to play well for the Dems in 2026 and 2028.”

Fox News Digital’s Elaine Mallon and Alec Schemmel contributed to this report.

FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., on Wednesday introduced new legislation aimed at combating America’s rural healthcare crisis, telling Fox News Digital that Congress must intervene to keep rural emergency rooms open.

“Americans in rural communities across the country are confronted with a concerning shortage of access to emergency medical care,” Hawley said. “In Missouri alone, 12 rural hospitals with emergency rooms have closed in as many years, and those that remain open are struggling to keep the lights on.

“Congress must act swiftly to protect the necessary emergency care hardworking rural families deserve.”

Hawley’s comments come as he pushes the Rural Hospital Emergency Room Guarantee Act, legislation aimed at saving rural hospitals from closing at a “breakneck pace.”

‘IT JUST BAFFLES ME’: SENATE REPUBLICANS SOUND ALARM OVER MEDICAID CHANGES, SPENDING IN TRUMP MEGABILL

Since 2005, nearly 200 rural hospitals have shut down nationwide, a trend that is creating “widespread emergency-room deserts” and forcing some residents to drive an hour or more just to reach lifesaving emergency care, according to the senator’s office.

The situation is particularly dire in Hawley’s home state of Missouri, where 12 rural hospitals with emergency rooms have closed since 2014. 

Records show that nearly half of all rural hospitals in Missouri currently operate at a loss, with 10 hospitals, or roughly 20%, at “immediate risk of closure.”

SENATE REPUBLICANS LOOK TO SWEETEN MEDICAID POT TO SILENCE DISSENT ON TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’

To keep the lights on and emergency room doors open, the proposed legislation would establish a mandatory, 10-year dedicated funding stream administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration, according to the senator’s office.

If the bill were to pass, eligible rural hospitals would receive a guaranteed baseline distribution of $1 million per year to cover normal emergency room operating expenses, which would be distributed on a quarterly basis and indexed for inflation, along with additional funding depending on a hospital’s specific geographical, financial and patient-injury characteristics.

Participating rural hospitals facing an immediate risk of closure would also receive a one-time emergency payment of up to $250,000.

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The senator’s office noted affected hospitals receiving the new guaranteed funding will not face negative impacts on their eligibility for any other federal healthcare programs, designations or grants.

Hawley is expected to announce the Rural Hospital Emergency Room Guarantee Act at a news conference scheduled for 3 p.m. ET Wednesday.

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

President Donald Trump kicked off the Great American State Fair Wednesday evening by touting America’s success under his leadership and likening his political movement to the American Revolution during remarks on the National Mall.

“Just like those patriots of 1776, over the past 17 months, we have taken power back from the far off political class,” Trump told a crowd gathered in the nation’s capital for the opening ceremony. “They’re trying to gain it back, but it’s not going to happen. We have reclaimed our sovereignty, regained our liberty, restored our prosperity, and we have saved our country in all things. We are once again putting a thing called America first.”

Trump walked out to Lee Greenwood performing “God Bless the U.S.A.” as part of the opening ceremony for celebrations surrounding the nation’s 250th anniversary. The president’s remarks were preceded by military flyovers, including B-2 bombers and F-35 stealth fighter jets, as well as comments from Trump Cabinet members and music from the U.S. Marine Band.

TRUMP ADMIN UNVEILS 11-FOOT-TALL, AI-DESIGNED NUCLEAR TEST FLIGHT VEHICLE AT THE GREAT AMERICAN STATE FAIR

“America is back,” Trump declared to a roaring crowd. “We’re the hottest country anywhere in the world. We’re respected by everybody. Nobody’s laughing at us anymore.”

Trump used his remarks to tout improvements to the nation’s capital, saying homeless encampments and graffiti had been removed, more than 50 monuments and memorials had been repaired and beautified, and dozens of statues had been cleaned since he returned to office. Trump also pointed to repairs at Union Station, Meridian Hill Park, Lafayette Square and the Reflecting Pool, which he said had been “gruesomely vandalized by thugs.”

“The vandals got to it,” Trump said of the Reflecting Pool. “They’ve largely been caught and are being prosecuted. We can’t let that happen to our country.”

Trump previewed several anniversary-related projects as well, including what he described as a new White House ballroom, a “triumphal arc” near Arlington Cemetery, the National Garden of American Heroes in West Potomac Park and a “Spirit of ’76” exhibition at Freedom Plaza honoring figures from the American Revolution.

TRUMP’S DC BEAUTIFICATION PUSH WINS RARE DEM PRAISE AS PRESIDENT SNAPS LANDMARKS BACK TO LIFE

Trump framed the nation’s 250th birthday as both a celebration of America’s founding and a launchpad for what he called a new “golden age of America.”

“This anniversary is a time to be proud of our past,” Trump said. “But it is also a time to lift our sights, expand our ambitions, and raise our expectations of what America can be.”

“With all of that being said, the best is yet to come,” he added.

The president was joined at the event by House Speaker Mike Johnson, several Cabinet officials and administration figures, and what Trump described as “countless” members of Congress. Trump called the opening ceremony “a very special night.”

VANILLA ICE DOUBLES DOWN ON FREEDOM 250 AFTER ARTIST EXODUS: ‘ONCE YOU COMMIT, YOU DON’T QUIT’

“It’s my honor to officially kick off the celebration with the Great American State Fair,” Trump said. “It’s going to be great. It’s going to be unbelievable.”

Trump said the fair, which runs from Wednesday through July 10, will showcase all 50 states and six U.S. territories and include military flyovers, patriotic music, high-tech demonstrations, exhibitions, a FIFA fan zone and an “old fashioned rodeo.”

“You get just a little, little tiny glimpse of it tonight,” Trump said after the flyovers. “How good is our Air Force?”

Trump also previewed what he said would be a massive Fourth of July celebration on the National Mall, telling supporters he would return to speak as the country rings in its 250th year with “the largest fireworks display in world history.” He also pointed to additional anniversary events, including the Patriot Games, a competition featuring top high school athletes, and a Freedom 250 Grand Prix race around the Capitol and down Pennsylvania Avenue.

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Trump closed by casting the anniversary as a celebration of the generations of Americans who built and defended the country, invoking the Founding Fathers, Patrick Henry, the Revolutionary War, the settling of the West, the building of railroads and skyscrapers, two world wars and the space race.

“This is our heritage. This is our history, and this is the destiny of America to be the greatest, most incredible country ever to grace the earth,” Trump said. “We are one people, one nation, marching into one magnificent future under our great American flag.”

“Happy birthday, America,” he added.

An explosive meeting in the Senate turned into a win for President Donald Trump and his administration as key Republicans flipped on another bid to handcuff the administration’s authorities in Iran. 

In its final act before leaving Washington, D.C., for an over two-week break, the Senate rejected Democrats’ attempt to rein in Trump’s war powers in Iran as talks continue between Iran and the U.S. to hammer out a long-term peace deal. 

It was the same war powers resolution from Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., that passed over a month ago and stunned Republicans in the upper chamber.

‘HE NAMED NAMES’: TRUMP’S SENATE MEETING EXPLODES INTO SHOUTING MATCH OVER IRAN

What seemed like a predetermined outcome just hours after Trump and Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., sparred over the Iran war, and the administration’s lack of forthcomingness with lawmakers, during a closed-door meeting to discuss the president’s marquee voter ID and citizenship verification legislation turned into a surprise late night win.

Trump argued to the GOP that the previous war powers resolution, which passed on Tuesday thanks in part to a pair of Republicans being absent, hurt the administration’s negotiating position with the Iranians.

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Meetings with key holdouts at the White House with key holdouts helped change their minds, and provided the administration with a win as they work toward a deal beyond the 60-day memorandum of understanding with Iran.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates. 

The Trump administration marked a major immigration enforcement milestone Wednesday, announcing that federal authorities have arrested more than 10,000 suspected gang members since President Donald Trump began his second term.

The arrests are part of the administration’s broader immigration enforcement campaign, which officials say is aimed at removing violent criminals from U.S. communities.

According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), those arrested have been accused of crimes including murder, assault with a deadly weapon, drug trafficking, racketeering conspiracy, robbery and extortion.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has delivered on the administration’s goal of making the country’s communities safer.

TRUMP’S IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT PUSH RESULTS IN SKYROCKETING ARRESTS OF CRIMINAL ILLEGAL ALIENS

“Under President Trump’s leadership, ICE has arrested more than 10,000 gang members,” Mullin said in a statement. 

“Many of these gang members were released into our country by Joe Biden,” he continued. “These vicious criminals murdered, assaulted, robbed, and terrorized innocent Americans for sport.”

“Thanks to the Secure America Act, ICE is turbocharged to arrest even more gang members and criminals from American neighborhoods,” Mullin added.

DHS PREPS DEPORTATION OF ALLEGED MS-13 GANG MEMBER WANTED FOR PASTOR’S MURDER IN EL SALVADOR

DHS said the 10,000th suspected gang member arrested was Javier Hernandez Rosas, whom the agency identified as an alleged MS-13 member and an illegal immigrant from Mexico.

According to DHS, Rosas has prior convictions for cocaine possession and was previously arrested on charges including abduction and weapons possession.

The announcement came as Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said it reached a record staffing level this spring, with 21,471 agents — the highest in the agency’s 102-year history.

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The administration has made border security a central priority during Trump’s second term. Officials say illegal immigration has declined by more than 87% compared with October 2024 levels.

Fox News Digital’s Leo Briceno contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump’s meeting with Senate Republicans might have been meant to find a way to pass voter ID and citizenship verification legislation, but it devolved into a tense shouting match over the war in Iran. 

Tensions among Senate Republicans were already simmering with Trump over his last-minute decision to nuke the 21st Century Road to Housing Act, a bipartisan housing package filled with his priorities that the GOP viewed as an easy win to sell to voters in the upcoming midterm elections. 

Trump described the closed-door affair in a positive light afterward. 

“I think we had a really great meeting, and we’re very proud of the party,” he said. “We like our leader. We like everybody, really, in the room. I don’t like a few people, but that’s okay. I think you know who they are.”

TRUMP HEADS TO CAPITOL HILL FOR PIVOTAL MEETING AS SENATE GOP DIVISIONS DEEPEN

What started as a push to pass Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act transformed into Trump railing against Republicans for allowing a war powers resolution handcuffing his authorities in Iran to pass on Tuesday. 

And that spurred a confrontation with Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., who Trump campaigned against and defeated earlier this year. 

“He asked, ‘why would anybody vote for the War Powers Act?’,” Cassidy said afterward. “As he continued, I said, ‘is that a rhetorical question, or would you like to really know?’ He said, ‘I’d like to know.’”

IRATE REPUBLICANS ACCUSE TRUMP OF HANDING DEMOCRATS A WIN AFTER BLOWING UP HOUSING PACKAGE

“I stood and said, ‘you have not told the American people what’s going on. It was supposed to last four weeks, it’s lasted four months,’” he continued. “‘Our original objectives have not been achieved, and I want to know what’s going on.’” 

Then began the shouting match, which Cassidy blamed on the “Irish in me,” until ultimately he was asked to sit down by his colleagues. 

“I guess my point is, though, that the American people need to know more than we are being told,” Cassidy said. “The Senate needs to know, and it does not appear, although I don’t know for sure, that the course of this is going the way that we were told.”

Lawmakers have still not been fully briefed on the memorandum of understanding Trump and Iranian leaders signed last week, and have raised several issues with its contents and whether it will actually meet the end goals the administration set out to achieve at the start of the war months ago. 

TRUMP’S IRAN DEAL SPARKS GOP DEMANDS FOR VOTE AS CONGRESS REMAINS IN THE DARK

A source familiar with the meeting said that Trump was “very animated” over the war powers vote because it hurt the administration’s negotiating position with Iran, and that he “named names” of the Republicans who voted with Democrats, including Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pa., who was absent from the vote because he was with the president at an event in Pennsylvania. 

The source described the shouting match as a “7 out of 10.”

 “You know, [like] two boys on recess that are yelling at each other over a foul on a basketball court,” they said. 

Meanwhile, the meeting came just hours after Trump blew up a ceremony to sign the 21st Century Road to Housing Act into law on his quest to force Republicans to pass the SAVE America Act. 

Lawmakers leaving the meeting said the housing package didn’t come up, and neither did a solution to finding a path forward on passing the SAVE America Act. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has told Trump several times that Republicans don’t have the votes to pass it.

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Thune said after the meeting that Trump’s discussion on the SAVE America Act was focused on “the priority he places on it, and how the pathway he thinks there is to get an outcome or result.” 

“So, it really wasn’t on that particular issue, much of a back and forth,” Thune said.

And lawmakers didn’t push back on Trump’s desire to pass the legislation, either, despite the political reality that Democrats are blocking the bill and there is no unified front from Republicans to nuke the filibuster to ram it through. 

“It was more the president saying, ‘If we don’t do this, we’re gonna get ourselves in real trouble going down the road,’” Sen. Jim Justice, R-W.Va., said. “And basically, that was more of the tone than it was, you know, ‘what do y’all think about this?
Is this gonna pass? It’s not gonna pass.’”

American voters are patriotic, proud of the country, and optimistic the best days are ahead, even as they are split on how well the United States is doing living up to its founding principles.

As the country approaches its 250th anniversary, a Fox News national survey finds voters are divided on the progress America has made toward achieving such ideals as liberty, equality, and self-reliance, as nearly half rate that progress positively, while a narrow majority gives it negative marks.

FOX NEWS POLL: VOTERS EMBRACE HEALTH AGENDA WHILE RATING RFK JR NEGATIVELY

Some of the most positive ratings are among Republicans, White evangelical Christians, rural voters, Whites without a college degree, men, and voters ages 45 and older. Negative ratings come primarily from Democrats, Black voters, independents, women, and voters under age 45.

Fifty-three percent of voters say they are proud of the country today. While that’s down 5 points since last year, it’s higher than during the Biden administration years (39–45%), and during President Donald Trump’s first term in office, when 51% said they were proud (2017).

FOX NEWS POLL: MOVE OVER BIG BROTHER, VOTERS SEE BIG TECH AS GREATER THREAT TO US

Pride varies significantly by generation. More than half of voters ages 45 and older say they are proud of the country, while those under age 45 say they aren’t. The under 30 crowd is the age group that is the least proud at 44%.

Around 8 in 10 Republicans say they are proud of the country today, compared with 3 in 10 Democrats, and 4 in 10 independents. Views on patriotism are more positive. Majorities across all partisan groups consider themselves patriotic, including about 9 in 10 Republicans, 6 in 10 Democrats, and slightly more than half of independents.

Overall, 7 in 10 voters say they are patriotic. That rises to 9 in 10 among MAGA Republicans and about 8 in 10 among White evangelical Christians, voters ages 65+, and non-MAGA Republicans. White voters (75%) express higher levels of patriotism than non-White (57%) and Black voters (46%).

When asked to say in their own words what it means to be an American, more than one-third of voters mention freedom and liberty. Other common themes include national pride, heritage, civic duty, the American Dream and ideas related to rights and equality. About 1 in 10 mention something negative about the current situation in the U.S.

Looking forward, a 54% majority believes America’s best days are ahead, up 11 points from 43% when the question was last asked in 2023. During the president’s first term, 62% said the best days were ahead (2017).

Some 45% think the country’s best days are in the past. 

Views on the nation’s future are closely tied to partisanship. Republicans are about 30 points more likely than both Democrats and independents to believe the best days are still ahead. Since 2023, optimism among Republicans is up by 42 points, but down by 20 points among Democrats.

CLICK HERE FOR CROSSTABS AND TOPLINE

Six in 10 voters believe democracy is not working well in the U.S. today, including three-quarters of both Democrats and independents, and nearly 4 in 10 Republicans. 

Pollpourri

The July 4 holiday has many thinking about summer vacation plans. Voters say they would rather have more money to spend on a vacation than more time to be on one (56% vs. 43%). That marks a reversal from the three previous times the question was asked more than a decade ago, when more than half preferred additional vacation time to additional money to spend on it. 

Meanwhile, despite three-quarters disapproving of the job Trump is doing on gas prices (77%), a 60% majority says they have not changed their summer travel plans because of prices at the pump.  

Conducted June 12–15, 2026, under the direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), this Fox News survey includes interviews with a sample of 1,002 registered voters randomly selected from a national voter file. Respondents spoke with live interviewers on landlines (101) and cellphones (644) or completed the survey online after receiving a text (257). Results based on the full sample have a margin of sampling error of ±3 percentage points. Sampling error for results among subgroups is higher. In addition to sampling error, question wording and order can influence results. Weights are generally applied to age, race, education, and area variables to ensure the demographics are representative of the registered voter population. Sources for developing weight targets include the most recent American Community Survey, Fox News Voter Analysis, and voter file data.

Fox News’ Victoria Balara contributed to this report.

A vulnerable Democratic New Mexico lawmaker once called for his state to walk away from the energy production that brings in almost a third of the state’s general fund, while now pitching an “all of the above” energy approach.

“We have to champion a whole bunch of different policies to really mitigate the impact of climate change,” Rep. Gabriel Vasquez, D-N.M., said in a 2021 interview.

“The electrification of our fleet systems, for example, across our federal government and even our local government here in the city of Las Cruces, the electrification of residential developments, the electrification of residential developments the electrification of commercial and municipal developments, limiting the use of natural gas and other fossil fuels and carbon-based fuels and replacing them with electric,” Vasquez said.

At the time, Vasquez was in the middle of a campaign to become the Democratic nominee to challenge incumbent Rep. Yvette Herrell, R-N.M.

‘MODERATE’ DEM’S UNEARTHED ‘DECONSTRUCT’ LAW ENFORCEMENT COMMENTS DRAW FIRE FROM GOP CRITICS

His resurfaced comments come as he wages a campaign for a third term in one of the country’s most competitive congressional districts and highlight how some Democrats have made efforts to rebrand their stances towards renewable sources of power as they look to champion affordability platforms.

In his most recent campaign materials, Vasquez has said he supports all forms of energy, citing high prices.

“Rep. Vasquez stands by the energy workers in the Permian Basin who fuel America’s energy economy. He believes in an all-of-the-above approach with oil and gas and clean energy to diversify our economy and bring more jobs to New Mexico,” his website reads.

When asked about his past comments and whether he believes they conflict with his current stance, Vazquez’s campaign said the congressman stands by his current position.

“Gabe is proud of his record on the City Council and his advocacy for clean energy, clean air and clean water. In Congress, he continues to support an all-of-the-above energy approach,” Patricia Santiago, a spokesperson for the campaign, said.

Energy production in the Permian Basin, one of the world’s largest oil and gas regions, employs a large number of people in New Mexico.

The industry brings in $13.1 billion in total revenue, according to the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association. Of that, roughly $7.5 billion goes to New Mexico’s general fund, the state Department of Finance and Administration says.

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It’s a reliance Greg Cunningham, a former law enforcement agent and Vasquez’s challenger, believes isn’t going anywhere.

“Progressives like Gabe Vasque are first in line to spend our oil and gas money, and then they run around and shame the very industry that funds our schools, builds our roads and gives more than 100,000 New Mexicans a good-paying job. You don’t get to cash the check and trash the people who wrote it,” Cunningham said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

“Energy is and will continue to be the lifeblood of New Mexico,” Cunningham added.

Back in 2021, Vasquez seemed to believe that the transition away from fossil fuels would take time.

“We also have to make sure we lay down the path into renewable energy, and that means in places like the Permian Basin, where the economy is strongly dominated by fossil fuel extraction, that we prepare the workforce for a transition into a renewable energy workforce,” Vasquez said.

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“That doesn’t mean next year, that doesn’t mean in five to ten years. We have to be much smarter,” he added.

Vasquez last won re-election in a 52.1% to 47.9% victory over Herrell in 2024.

An Obama-appointed federal judge on Tuesday struck down key parts of President Donald Trump’s election integrity executive order, prompting a stark warning from White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller about the judiciary’s course.

U.S. District Judge Denise J. Casper ruled that major sections of Trump’s March 25, 2025, executive order, titled “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections,” exceeded presidential authority and violated the Constitution’s separation of powers. Casper found that the order went beyond enforcing existing law and instead attempted to create or change election rules on its own.

“While the Constitution vests the President with ‘executive Power’ and commands him to ‘take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed’… it does not grant the President any specific powers over elections,” Casper wrote in the ruling. “As a result, the President ‘plays no direct role in the process’ of appointing electors, ‘nor does he have authority to control the state officials who do.'”

In response, Miller posted on social media that he hoped Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts “understands the path these rogue judges have charted for the judiciary.”

FEDERAL JUDGE STRIKES DOWN PARTS OF TRUMP EXECUTIVE ORDER ON CITIZENSHIP VERIFICATION FOR VOTER REGISTRATION

The chief justice serves as the institutional head of the federal judiciary, and while he does not exercise direct authority over lower-court judges, Miller’s reference to Roberts echoed broader conservative criticism that the Supreme Court has not moved aggressively enough to curb lower-court rulings blocking Trump administration policies.

Casper previously issued a preliminary injunction blocking key provisions of the order while the lawsuit played out in court. After more than a year of litigation, the judge on Tuesday largely sided with the plaintiff states.

The lawsuit was brought by 19 states challenging the order and was heard in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta, one of the lead plaintiffs in the case, hailed the ruling as a victory for the states.

“We sued President Trump over his attempt to unilaterally impose voting restrictions across the country — and we won,” Bonta said. “Today, a federal district court ruled that every provision we challenged in the Executive Order is unlawful and reaffirmed that the power to regulate elections is reserved to the States and Congress.”

Casper’s ruling permanently blocks the administration from implementing provisions that would have required documentary proof of citizenship on the federal voter registration form, altered voting requirements for military and overseas voters, and threatened to withhold federal election-related funding from states that refused to adopt certain election rules, including not counting ballots received after Election Day.

Casper declared that sections of the order were “unconstitutional and void because they are ultra vires and violate the separation of powers under the United States Constitution.”

In addition to finding that the executive order violated the Constitution, Casper also concluded that key provisions of Trump’s order conflicted with federal statutes, including the National Voter Registration Act and the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act.

WITHIN MINUTES OF TRUMP SIGNING VOTER DATABASE ORDER, DEM STATES THREATEN LAWSUITS

Trump signed the order on March 25, 2025, arguing that stronger safeguards were necessary to ensure election integrity and public confidence in federal elections, alleging that state officials have failed to comply with court rulings and federal law.

The White House at the time described the directive as an effort to restore trust in elections and strengthen voter citizenship verification.

“Under the Constitution, State governments must safeguard American elections in compliance with Federal laws that protect Americans’ voting rights and guard against dilution by illegal voting, discrimination, fraud, and other forms of malfeasance and error,” the executive order stated. “Yet the United States has not adequately enforced Federal election requirements that, for example, prohibit States from counting ballots received after Election Day or prohibit non-citizens from registering to vote.”

Casper is the second judge to rule against Trump’s executive order.

GOP GOVERNORS, AGS BACK TRUMP SAVE ACT PUSH, WARN SYSTEM GIVES ‘UNDUE INFLUENCE’ TO STATES WITH ILLEGAL ALIENS

In April 2025, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly blocked portions of the order that directed federal officials to add proof-of-citizenship requirements to federal voter registration forms, concluding that the Constitution gives Congress and the states the authority to regulate federal elections — not the president. Casper’s ruling went further, striking down multiple additional provisions related to ballot deadlines, military and overseas voters, and federal funding.

Casper’s ruling comes as Republican lawmakers continue pushing the SAVE Act, legislation that would require documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections. The House passed a version of the measure earlier this year, but the proposal faces an uncertain path in the Senate.

Trump has continued to push for the SAVE Act, elevating it as a key priority and arguing that Senate Republicans should be willing to eliminate the filibuster to ensure the legislation reaches his desk.

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The only issue left concerns whether the federal government can attach conditions to election-related funding for certain states. The judge gave the parties until July 10 to decide whether to continue litigating that claim.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.

FIRST ON FOX: The Trump administration is seeking $672 million for the removal of Iranian nuclear materials, inspections and verification efforts, and other counterproliferation activities as part of its broader $80 billion supplemental funding request, Fox News Digital has learned.

The funding would support the removal and elimination of Iranian nuclear materials, including uranium hexafluoride (UF6), uranium in various forms and research reactor fuel, including highly enriched uranium, according to details shared by a White House official. 

The request also would fund U.S. verification activities inside Iran, support inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency, strengthen nuclear-smuggling detection efforts and expand Nuclear Emergency Support Team operations across the Middle East.

IRAN WAR’S PRICE TAG HITS $80B — MORE THAN DOUBLE WHAT CONGRESS WAS TOLD

The funding would go to the Department of Energy to support “activities that would terminate Iran’s ability to develop or acquire a nuclear weapon, including the disposition of proliferation of sensitive material, technology, equipment, and infrastructure,” a White House official told Fox News Digital Wednesday. 

The funding request comes as U.S. and Iranian negotiators work to translate the recent memorandum of understanding into a more detailed agreement governing Iran’s nuclear program and stockpile of enriched uranium.

Secretary Pete Hegseth is briefing members of the House Republican Study Committee on the $80 billion request to cover the costs of the offensive campaign against Iran known as Operation Epic Fury and rebuild munitions stockpiles. The text of the funding request is expected to be released to Congress in the coming days. 

The funding request comes as U.S. and Iranian negotiators are attempting to translate the recent memorandum of understanding into a detailed agreement governing Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile and future nuclear activities.

The memorandum of understanding, signed by the United States and Iran June 17, kicked off technical talks led by Vice President JD Vance in Switzerland and established the “minimum” acceptable terms for Iran’s roughly 900-pound stockpile of uranium enriched to near-weapons grade as “downblending,” or reducing the concentration of uranium through dilution.

“The United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran have agreed to resolve the disposition of stockpile enriched material pursuant to a mechanism that will be mutually agreed upon in accordance with the schedule mentioned in paragraph seven with the minimum methodology to be down blended on site under the supervision of the IAEA,” the memorandum states. 

The agreement leaves unanswered key questions about the ultimate fate of Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile.

Neither side has publicly said whether they have reached an agreement on what will happen to the material, including whether it will remain in Iran, be downblended, transferred to another country, or be destroyed altogether.

In what Vance hailed as a “major milestone,” he said Iran had agreed to allow U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors back into the country for the first time since U.S. and Israeli military strikes targeted Iranian nuclear infrastructure last year.

OBAMA-ERA INSPECTION FLAWS IN IRAN COULD PERSIST AS EXPERTS WARN OF NUCLEAR BLIND SPOTS

President Donald Trump has insisted Iran agreed to what he described as “nuclear honesty.”

“Iran has fully and completely agreed to highest level Nuclear inspections long into the future (Infinity!!!),” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “If they did not agree to this, there would be no further negotiations!”

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The $672 million request is part of the administration’s broader $80 billion supplemental funding package related to the Iran conflict and its aftermath. The larger request is expected to cover military operations, replenishment of munitions stockpiles and other national security priorities stemming from the conflict.

The challenge of disposing of Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile could be substantial. In 1994, the United States carried out a covert operation known as Project Sapphire to remove roughly 600 kilograms of highly enriched uranium from Kazakhstan after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The mission required weeks of repackaging nuclear material, extensive security precautions and military airlift operations before the uranium could be transported to the U.S.