NationalWatch

FIRST ON FOX: The CEOs of four companies, including Flock Safety, are being called to testify before a Senate panel next week as lawmakers look to crack down on AI-powered surveillance camera tracking Americans’ movements, Fox News Digital has learned.

A number of lawmakers and several governors have called for investigations into alleged privacy violations regarding the handling of images and data generated by AI-backed surveillance cameras.

The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism will hold a hearing titled “Always Watching: Flock’s Nationwide AI Surveillance Network” on Sept. 23.

THREE NEW COMPANIES FACE JOSH HAWLEY’S INVESTIGATION INTO AI SURVEILLANCE AND VEHICLE TRACKING

“Americans do not surrender their privacy rights when they drive to work, drop their kids off at school, or go to church,” subcommittee Chairman Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., told Fox News Digital in a statement. “I’m investigating these companies to determine WHO has access to hundreds of millions of Americans’ data – and what they’re doing with it.”

Garrett Langley, CEO of Flock Safety, Rick Smith, CEO of Axon Enterprise Inc., Greg Brown, CEO of Motorola Solutions, and Filip Kaliszan, CEO of Verkada, have all been invited to testify before the committee.

Fox News Digital reached out to the four companies invited to testify.

AI-powered surveillance cameras have been heavily scrutinized by lawmakers over concerns that the cameras track individuals’ movements without reason, regardless of whether a crime is being committed.

FORMER PENTAGON AI CHIEF WARNS FLOCK CAMERAS COULD CREATE ‘CHINA-LIKE SURVEILLANCE STATE’ IN THE US

A number of politicians have taken action against the devices, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ordering the removal of all license plate reader cameras from Florida state roads and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordering all state agencies to stop spending state money on Flock Safety cameras.

Flock Safety cameras, along with other similar brands and technology, use artificial intelligence to automatically track and identify vehicles and license plates for local law enforcement use. Nationwide concern has grown about whether the AI-backed system should be allowed to track the movement of vehicles without a warrant or the consent of drivers.

FLOCK SURVEILLANCE SPREADS ACROSS THE SOUTH AS RED-STATE LAWMAKERS SEEK TO AX ‘1984’-STYLE TRACKING TOOLS

A total of about 120,000 Flock Safety cameras are operating in the U.S. in every state except Alaska.

Opposition to Flock Safety cameras has created an unlikely political overlap, with Republicans and far-left activists criticizing the technology for very different reasons. Republican lawmakers have largely centered their objections on privacy rights, government overreach and warrantless surveillance, while socialist and communist organizers have incorporated the cameras into broader campaigns opposing artificial intelligence, law enforcement, immigration enforcement, data center development and what they describe as an emerging “police state” or “AI surveillance state.”

LICENSE PLATE CAMERAS ARE TRACKING DRIVERS EVERYWHERE

President Donald Trump told reporters on Monday that he supports the idea of Flock Safety cameras “because of law enforcement” and the aid AI-powered cameras provide to police and local law enforcement.

Over the last year, several far-left organizations tied to a network funded by Shanghai-based tech businessman Neville Roy Singham have organized local opposition to Flock Safety cameras while simultaneously campaigning against new data center projects. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump and other Republican leaders have continued to champion data center construction as part of the administration’s broader technology and infrastructure agenda.

FIRST ON FOX: ‘NO KINGS’ PROTEST NETWORK BEHIND FIGHT AGAINST AI DATA CENTERS AND FLOCK CAMERAS

The Party for Socialism and Liberation’s Denver chapter teamed up with Indivisible and the far-left Sunrise Movement in May to promote a public forum focused on the alleged link between data centers and mass surveillance, contending that both exist to serve billionaires instead of everyday communities.

TEA PARTY FOUNDER LAUNCHES NATIONWIDE ‘DATA CENTER REVOLT’ AGAINST AI DATA CENTER EXPANSION

The Party for Socialism and Liberation’s Tucson chapter joined “deFLOCK Tucson” and the “No Desert Data Center Coalition” on July 25 for a gathering dubbed “It’s ALL Connected,” held at the Global Justice Center on E. 26th Street.

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Event advertisements posed a question about what mass surveillance, data centers and electricity have in common, responding with a single message: “IT’S ALL CONNECTED.”

A college student photographed with a cake mocking Charlie Kirk’s death is at the center of a campus controversy that has prompted the University of Utah to investigate two College Republicans for charges of misconduct after one posted the photo online.

On Sept. 10, 2026, the one-year anniversary of the conservative activist’s public murder, a woman approached a group of College Republicans at an event on the school’s campus and presented them with a cake. The words “Happy Kirkiversary” were written in red icing on the white cake.

Students Riley Beesley, the chairman of the school’s College Republicans chapter, and Rylie Barnes, also a member of the group, took exception to the stunt on a campus less than an hour’s drive from another college campus where Kirk was assassinated last year.

Barnes posted a photo of the cake to her X account, and it quickly went viral and led to an anonymous X user identifying the student as Sara Larsen.

UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE CONDEMNS FLYERS APPEARING TO CELEBRATE CHARLIE KIRK ASSASSINATION

The school’s College Democrats responded by saying Republicans are “waging a campaign of hate” against them.

On Tuesday, the university sent emails to Beesley and Barnes requesting closed-door meetings Wednesday morning with its Student Rights and Responsibilities office.

“We received information that, if accurate, may go against this priority and the policy on Student Rights and Responsibilities, and I would like to meet and hear your perspective,” says a copy of one of the emails, obtained by Fox News Digital. “The report is regarding an incident that happened on or about September 11, 2026 and allegedly involves you attempting to doxx another University of Utah student over a political issue.”

The email was sent by the office’s assistant director, Jose Morales Diaz.

“Doxxing” is the act of publicly revealing, usually online, the personal information of another person, typically with the intent of causing harm to that individual.

“We will talk about the information our office received, and you will have an opportunity to give your perspective of the incident if you wish. We will also talk about possible next steps, such as resolutions and educational or restorative measures if appropriate,” the email said.

30% OF COLLEGE STUDENTS SAY VIOLENCE ACCEPTABLE WAY TO STOP SPEAKERS ON CAMPUSES, SURVEY FINDS

The emails also prohibited the students from recording the meetings. But shortly before the meetings were scheduled to take place, the university abruptly canceled them, according to Beesley.

Diaz did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

“We found it distasteful, vile, and disgusting. Parents, alumni, students and donors deserve to know about the radical political ideologies festering on college campuses in Utah,” Beesley told Fox News Digital of the cake incident.

“Given today’s political climate, mocking or expressing support such as this should be taken incredibly seriously and the public sphere has a right to know about the lack of morality being observed among young Democrats and those on the left.”

He strongly condemned doxxing, and said his group had nothing to do with the release of Larsen’s information. He also condemned political violence.

“We’re observing patterns where those on the left find it comical to make threats, have normalized silencing opposing political viewpoints, and avoid accountability or consequences for glorifying murder,” he said. “This must end.”

CARNEGIE MELLON ‘DEEPLY CONCERNED’ BY PROFESSOR’S ‘HOSTILE AND THREATENING POSTS’ ABOUT CHARLIE KIRK’S DEATH

The university told Fox News Digital it can’t comment on student disciplinary action, citing federal law.

But Wednesday night, the school released a statement about the ongoing controversy, which has been going viral online for days and has become a national news story.

“In recent days, a dispute between political groups on the University of Utah campus has resulted in allegations of harassment, threats, and the inappropriate sharing or amplification of personal information. The University of Utah is reviewing these accusations consistent with established policies, due process and applicable law,” the statement said.

“As we conduct this review, the university will continue to simultaneously protect freedom of expression and the safety of our students. Calls to harm someone, including electronic harassment and inappropriate sharing of information, are not protected by free speech,” it continued.

The school also urged the College Democrats and College Republicans groups on campus to convene with leadership in an attempt to better understand one another.

It also condemned violence.

COLORADO TPUSA CHAPTER ENROLLMENT ‘FLAT’ AFTER ELDERLY SUPPORTER WAS STRICKEN BY STUDENT WITH TACO BELL CUP

Beesley was subject to an alleged violent threat on campus earlier this year, when a person threatened to “Kirk” him.

“It was January 12, we were outside tabling and engaging in debates in a format similar to those organized by, let’s say, Turning Point USA,” Beesley told Fox News Digital at the time. “And soon after [he] declared to us, ‘you should die,’ followed by, ‘I am going to Kirk you,’ which you could only think that means I’m either using your imagination going to shoot you or kill you.”

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Dean Stewart, then 21, was arrested following the incident. Criminal proceedings against him are ongoing, Beesley said.

An X account with the name Sara Larsen made a post on Sept. 11, 2026, apologizing for the cake stunt. Fox News Digital could not independently verify whether the account owner is the student embroiled in the controversy.

“Upon reflection, it was wrong for me to celebrate, or perpetuate the celebration of, Charlie Kirk’s death. I apologize for doing so sincerely. Nobody should be murdered or persecuted for their speech,” reads the tweet — the only post present on an account with 311 followers that was created in February 2017.

A program designed to assist businesses impacted by the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement efforts in Minnesota has been shut down following widespread fraud concerns, according to local news reports.

The board of Hennepin County in Minnesota, home to Minneapolis, approved $2 million in funding for local businesses impacted by Operation Metro Surge — a large-scale immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota launched in December 2025. The county received roughly 300 applications and ultimately distributed about $500,000 to 82 applicants, while more than 200 applications were flagged for potential fraud, according to local reports.

“The fact that people, after all this fraud, felt that they could apply and get away with it, I think it’s a problem because clearly there’s no fear out there,” Hennepin County Commissioner Jeff Lunde said, according to Kare 11. “Until we get it where people fear things, then they’re gonna keep doing it.”

EMMER SAYS MN FRAUD RAIDS SEND ‘CRYSTAL CLEAR’ MESSAGE AFTER FEDS HIT DOZENS OF SITES

Much of President Donald Trump’s rhetoric surrounding illegal immigration in Minnesota has been targeted at the state’s Somali population amid reports of widespread fraud.

Members of Minnesota’s Somali community have been accused, and in some cases convicted, of using non-existent or inactive businesses and nonprofits to siphon money away from government programs intended to help the needy.

FRAUD EXPERT EXPOSES HOW HIDDEN NETWORKS DROVE MINNESOTA FRAUD, OTHER MAJOR SCAMS: ‘CRIMINAL ENTERPRISE’

Similarly, Hennepin County officials reported that many businesses seeking relief funds drafted applications containing false information, seemingly fabricated by AI, that were copied, pasted, and submitted for multiple businesses. Other businesses submitting applications, meanwhile, were found not to exist when county officials made site visits.

“Then at a certain point we’re like, ‘OK, we’re getting declining results on that.’ And so we said it’s time to stop the program. So we just stopped processing at that point,” Lunde, who characterized the applications as overwhelmingly fraudulent, said.

The immigration enforcement operation in the state also drew national attention after U.S. citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti were fatally shot by federal agents in Minneapolis in January.

WALZ APPROVAL RATING CRATERS TO LOWEST LEVEL EVER AND TRAILS TRUMP AMID MASSIVE FRAUD SCANDAL: ‘TIRED OF IT’

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, has acknowledged responsibility for addressing the fraud in his state, saying it is his “responsibility to fix it.” He has previously argued that “any amount of fraud is too much and undermines the very programs that do so much to raise our quality of life.” 

The governor, however, has pushed back on conservative attempts to pin the fraud primarily on the Somali community in the state. 

“What is not helpful is the president of the United States demonizing an entire community,” the governor wrote in a December 2025 op-ed.

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Hennepin County and Walz’s office did not respond to requests for comment when reached by Fox News Digital on Thursday.

Federal judges in Minnesota tasked with deciding a flood of habeas petitions challenging the detention of immigrants swept up during President Donald Trump’s Operation Metro Surge weren’t working entirely on their own — behind the scenes, they were regularly consulting one another through running email threads and developing tools to quickly handle recurring legal questions.

The behind-the-scenes coordination among Minnesota’s federal bench, revealed in a New York Times report Thursday, included regular meetings, running email threads, an informal spreadsheet created by court clerks showing which judges to turn to with particular legal questions, and templates some judges developed to quickly issue orders when similar detention disputes repeatedly came before the court.

The disclosures are fueling questions over whether the judges were colluding on separate cases involving the same Trump administration immigration policies, or simply sharing expertise to manage an extraordinary caseload.

FEDERAL JUDGE TIES ICE AGENTS’ HANDS WITH RULING ON WARRANTLESS SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ARRESTS

“The idea of a running email chain involving a variety of cases — it strikes me as very weird and frankly unprecedented,” Robert Luther III, a professor at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School whose work includes federal courts and judicial ethics, told Fox News Digital. Federal judges can and routinely do consult colleagues, Luther said, particularly about procedural or evidentiary questions. But each judge is ultimately responsible for independently deciding the cases assigned to them — a distinction Luther said makes the coordination significant.

The disclosures have also drawn criticism from the Trump administration on two fronts. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) General Counsel James Percival accused the former chief judge who led the district during Metro Surge of “essentially conspiring with his judicial colleagues” to thwart federal immigration enforcement. The Justice Department (DOJ), meanwhile, questioned the decision by sitting judges to give extensive on-the-record interviews about their experience with the administration’s immigration operation.

Seven of the district’s judges spoke to the Times for Thursday’s report, including former Chief Judge Patrick Schiltz, who sat for a 90-minute interview about the court’s experience during Metro Surge. Schiltz declined to discuss ongoing cases, according to the Times, but described what happened in Minnesota’s federal court as having “created a grave threat to the rule of law.”

“It is remarkable that sitting federal judges are giving on-the-record interviews attacking this Administration’s policies rather than ruling from the bench,” a Justice Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “If judges followed the law in adjudicating cases, there wouldn’t be an ‘overwhelming’ habeas caseload. Judges who have made public comments on pending or related matters should consider whether recusal is warranted going forward.”

OBAMA, BIDEN JUDGES DRAW FRESH FIRE AS TRUMP’S IMMIGRATION COURT CLASHES HEAT UP: ‘ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE’

But Chief Judge Eric Tostrud, who was himself among the Minnesota judges interviewed by the Times, rejected suggestions that the coordination described in the report compromised individual decision-making. He told Fox News Digital that every member of the bench independently decided the merits of each petition assigned to them, while pointing to an extraordinary surge in litigation — from 12 alien-detainee habeas petitions during all of 2024 to 1,427 through August of this year — and noting that many involved similar or identical, often novel, legal questions.

“The bottom line is that each of us made an independent decision with respect to the merits of each and every petition we were assigned,” Tostrud told Fox News Digital.

Tostrud stressed that the judges did not uniformly reach the same conclusions, saying that while some reached the same result on certain legal questions, they “reached different outcomes regarding other legal questions.” He said the judges’ ability to communicate helped them resolve the cases quickly and thoughtfully, regardless of whether individual petitions were granted.

What exactly the judges were sharing behind the scenes, however, remains unclear. Tostrud declined to disclose the contents of the court’s internal working materials, saying documents created by judges and court staff “are not public.”

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S IMMIGRATION PUSH FUELS ICE’S BIGGEST ARREST MONTH IN AGENCY HISTORY

That distinction could be significant, according to Luther, who said administrative templates are commonplace in federal courts, but drew a line between those and templates touching the substance of a case.

“Templates that deal with administrative matters strike me as entirely appropriate and commonplace in federal courts,” Luther said. “Templates for substantive matters — that seems like something altogether different.”

The coordination unfolded amid a broader clash between Minnesota’s federal bench and the Trump administration over Operation Metro Surge. The dispute came as immigration litigation inundated the district. During the first three months of 2026, Minnesota’s federal court received 1,116 habeas petitions, compared with just two during the same period the previous year, according to the Times. Court staff worked 16-hour days, seven days a week to process the incoming cases.

Patrick Schiltz, who served as the district’s chief judge during Metro Surge before taking senior status — a form of semi-retirement — this summer, emerged as a prominent judicial critic of the administration’s handling of the operation. In a Jan. 28 order, Schiltz accused ICE of violating nearly 100 court orders during that month and warned that “ICE is not a law unto itself.”

OBAMA JUDGE’S PECULIAR TRUMP REBUKE IGNITES FURY OVER ‘UNPROFESSIONAL’ LANGUAGE: ‘EMBARRASSMENT’

The cases cited in Schiltz’s January list of alleged violations have largely concluded, according to the Times, which reported that the administration ultimately corrected the issues flagged by the court in many of them.

DOJ said its review of the cases found that in the “large majority” of them, detainees were released on time and no violation occurred, while in most of the remaining cases the department said it ultimately did what the court ordered despite missing an additional deadline.

MASSACHUSETTS’ HIGHEST COURT PUBLICLY REPRIMANDS JUDGE ACCUSED OF ENABLING IMMIGRANT TO ESCAPE ICE

Federal judicial ethics rules generally prohibit judges from publicly commenting on the merits of pending or impending cases, but permit judges to explain court procedures and engage in broader speaking and teaching about the law, legal system and administration of justice.

The DOJ argued that judges who publicly commented on pending or related matters should consider whether recusal is warranted. The Times reported, however, that Schiltz declined to discuss ongoing cases, while Judge Nancy Brasel, a Trump appointee who also participated in the interviews, defended judges’ ability to speak publicly about judicial independence.

“We are allowed to speak out about judicial independence,” Brasel told the Times. “And so we should, in order to keep it.”

Luther, however, took a different view of the judges’ decision to participate in the interviews.

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“Judges should be speaking through their judicial orders, not through their surrogates at The New York Times,” he told Fox News Digital.

FIRST ON FOX: President Donald Trump will host more than 100 hunters, anglers and outdoor industry leaders for dinner at the White House on Thursday night, where he is expected to sign executive orders aimed at expanding hunting and fishing opportunities and reversing certain Biden-era restrictions.

Trump will deliver remarks to the sportsmen and industry representatives gathered for the dinner in the Rose Garden as his administration moves to open more public lands and waterways, ease regulatory barriers and promote hunting among younger Americans and veterans, Fox News Digital learned.

He is expected to sign a pair of executive orders in the Oval Office Thursday aimed at expanding “America’s public lands and waterways,” promoting healthy wild game populations and expanding access to offshore recreational fishing, a White House official told Fox News Digital.

TRUMP WILL WELCOME FARMERS AND RANCHERS TO WHITE HOUSE DINNER TO CELEBRATE TRADE, TAX WINS

Representatives from organizations and companies including Bass Pro Shops, the Cabela Family Foundation, the National Rifle Association, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Yamaha Marine Group, Polaris, Beretta USA, Safari Club International, Primos Hunting, Dallas Safari Club, Outdoor Sportsman Group, Sportsmen’s Alliance, USA Shooting Foundation, Ducks Unlimited, Sportsman Boats, Contender Boats, Taurus Holdings and the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation are expected to attend.

America’s outdoor recreation sector generates over $1.2 trillion annually and supports over 5 million jobs, according to a White House official.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, representatives from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and officials from the Commerce Department and NOAA will be present, Fox News Digital learned.

CONGRESS SHOULD HONOR TEDDY ROOSEVELT AND CONSERVE OUR OUTDOORS FOR THE NEXT 250 YEARS

The secretaries of Interior, Agriculture, War and Commerce are directed to propose changes to current policies.

One of the policies spotlighted in the order targets Biden-era restrictions on the use of traditional lead ammunition and tackle.

Under Biden, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service adopted station-specific requirements for lead-free ammunition and/or tackle at several national wildlife refuges.

DENNY HAMLIN SAYS FORWARD-FACING SONAR IN PROFESSIONAL BASS FISHING HAS GONE ‘A LITTLE OVERBOARD’

Trump’s fishing order seeks to unleash more of America’s coastal waters for recreational fishing while cutting federal red tape and giving anglers a bigger role in how fisheries are managed.

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The administration seeks to move charter operators toward multi-year permits, replace mail-in catch surveys with mobile reporting, launch programs for depleted stocks such as Atlantic striped bass, and use eligible offshore oil and gas platforms to create artificial reefs.

President Donald Trump’s promise of a big payout for Americans if Republicans win the midterms is getting a rocky reception on Capitol Hill.

Several Republicans outright oppose the $5,000 check promise, while others offered tacit support in comments to Fox News Digital but hesitated on whether it could actually be delivered. It’s a sign that the GOP will have an uphill fight to get the “Trump dividend” approved by Congress with the president and lawmakers divided over whether it even needs the legislative branch’s green light.

“I disagree with it. It’s pay-to-play,” Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., told Fox News Digital. “You shouldn’t pay anybody to vote your conscience. Plus, where are you getting the money? I think we’re in debt $40 trillion.”

House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., whose powerful committee would likely play a major role in crafting the $5,000 stimulus if it did run through Congress, said he was “skeptical” it could be achieved.

TRUMP FACES RECKONING AS GOP FIGURES LABEL $5K PROMISE A ‘SOCIALIST VOTE-BUYING SCHEME’

“Take a billion dollars. … I’d rather use it to either bolster defense or save Social Security. I think that’s a better use of the money. But, again, we have to see what we’re looking at. Right now, we don’t have a bill,” Cole told Fox News Digital.

TRUMP DANGLES $5,000 CHECKS AS DEBT SURGES — BUT ONLY IF GOP CAN CLEAR MAJOR MIDTERM HURDLE

He added more optimistically, “We just have an idea that we want to get money back to the American people. I like that.”

Rep. John Rutherford, R-Fla., said he could support the idea if the sudden injection of cash wouldn’t send inflation rates soaring.

“But it ought to be limited — people that are working, people that are paying taxes. I don’t think we should just send paychecks out to everybody willy-nilly,” Rutherford told Fox News Digital.

Rep. Beth Van Duyne, R-Texas, simply said, “The devil’s always in the details. I prefer to look at ways of getting people job opportunities.”

VOTERS HAVE A BLUNT MESSAGE FOR TRUMP ABOUT HIS IDEA TO DOLE OUT $5,000 CHECKS

Rep. Brad Knott, R-N.C., praised Trump’s candor but signaled he was not enthusiastic about a stimulus without guardrails.

“If we can structure tax incentives, if we can do some type of — whether it’s a cut, whether it’s a rebate, something in that vein, I think it’s probably a little better policy than mailing people a check just because they’re here,” Knott said.

But the idea did find support from others, like House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris, R-Md.

“I think that hardworking Americans, probably taxpayers, deserve a tax rebate. We’re going to have to discuss how large a rebate that’ll be,” Harris told Fox News Digital, suggesting the $5,000 figure should be up for negotiation. “That’s a good idea.”

He added that it should go through Congress, potentially through the same mechanism that Republicans used to pass the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act.

“It would probably have to go through reconciliation,” he said.

Republican Study Committee Chairman August Pfluger, R-Texas, suggested the money could come from what the federal government recovers in efforts to crack down on waste, fraud and abuse of taxpayer dollars.

“Why don’t we continue the president’s approach towards fraud and give a dividend to the people of this great country who that money was stolen from?” Pfluger suggested, arguing that hundreds of billions of dollars were lost to fraud in the last administration.

Giving $5,000 to every American adult could cost at least $1 trillion by some estimates, a significant portion of the U.S. annual budget. A price tag that big historically would be subject to congressional approval, but the president may disagree.

“I think they will do it if we needed it, but I think not,” Trump told CBS News when asked if Congress would need to approve the stimulus.

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But Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told CNN’s “State of the Union” earlier this week, “I would assume, yes, he’d need Congress to act.”

EXCLUSIVE: Senate Democratic nominee James Talarico, who has repeatedly accused his Republican opponent, Ken Paxton, of corruption, is now facing Republican accusations of “blatant corruption” over consulting work he performed for a progressive firm while serving on the Texas House’s influential Public Education Committee. Talarico’s campaign has denied the allegation as a “lie.”

The Lone Star State’s Senate race is entering its final stretch, with Talarico leading Paxton in recent polling. A Republican loss could damage the GOP’s chances of retaining its Senate majority.

Paxton has projected confidence that, after emerging from a particularly bitter primary race, Texans will respond to his campaign once they hear his message. Talarico, meanwhile, has continued targeting Paxton through major ad buys, including one in which the Democrat calls him “the most corrupt politician in Texas.”

Republicans are now responding with allegations of their own, characterizing Talarico’s past arrangement with the consulting firm as a “textbook pay-to-play scheme.”

SHOCK POLL: TALARICO TIES PAXTON IN TEXAS SENATE RACE, THREATENING GOP STRONGHOLD

They are pointing to paychecks Talarico received from a firm called MAYA Consulting that simultaneously drew in millions in state contracts awarded by the Texas Education Agency (TEA), which he helped provide oversight to as a member of the Public Education Committee.

Talarico announced he was joining MAYA Consulting in a 2019 Facebook post. In the post, he stated that as a consultant he would be “working with districts, nonprofits, and communities to build excellent and equitable educational opportunities for all our students.”

According to a Senate campaign financial disclosure filed in 2025, Talarico worked with MAYA Consulting, which has since been rebranded as VIDA Collaborative, from 2019 until 2025.

During those same years, official legislative records show that Talarico served as a voting member of the Texas House’s Public Education Committee from 2019 to 2025. Among its responsibilities, the committee oversees the Texas Education Agency, which awards government contracts to firms for services, including then-MAYA Consulting.

TED CRUZ, CONSERVATIVES RESPOND AFTER TALARICO CRITICIZES BIBLE-RELATED EDUCATION IN SCHOOLS AS ‘PROPAGANDA’

TEA registers from 2021 and 2022 show that the agency awarded MAYA two contracts worth $3.578 million and $1.635 million, respectively. The contracts were related to priorities Talarico was pushing in the Texas House at the time, including addressing learning loss due to COVID-19.

Meanwhile, Talarico’s disclosure shows that he earned $83,333.40 from the nonprofit in 2025, in addition to his $13,904.92 part-time salary as a member of the Texas House of Representatives.

Kassi Longoria, CEO of VIDA Collaborative, confirmed with Fox News Digital that Talarico served as an “independent contractor consultant” with the group from 2019 to 2025. She said that Talarico “has no current role with our organization” and clarified that “during his time at VIDA, his consulting work was structured, specifically to remain separate from his role as a Texas state legislator.”

She said that Talarico “never worked under, received compensation from, or was involved in securing any state- or federally-funded contracts.” She noted that “as a matter of standard practice, VIDA discloses any outside employment or potential conflicts of interest for our staff — including Rep. Talarico’s legislative role — in our proposals when we apply for publicly-funded opportunities” and that “similarly, Rep. Talarico’s relationship with VIDA was disclosed in his required public financial disclosure filings.”

However, Republican National Committee spokesman Zach Kraft accused Talarico of wrongdoing, calling the Democrat’s involvement with MAYA an example of “blatant corruption.”

TEXAS DEM CANDIDATE TO HOLD HIGH-DOLLAR HOLLYWOOD FUNDRAISER WHILE GOP GATHERS IN DALLAS: ‘FAKE COWBOY’

“We are looking at a textbook pay-to-play scheme with James Talarico steering millions in taxpayer funds to his DEI consulting agency under the condition he gets commission through a scam no-show job,” Kraft told Fox News Digital.

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As a member of the Texas House’s Public Education Committee, Talarico was not involved in TEA’s process for awarding outside contracts and did not vote on the contracts. Fox News Digital is also not aware of any evidence that Talarico received a commission for contracts awarded to MAYA, a claim that both the organization and Talarico’s campaign denied.

Kraft alleged that Talarico is “one of the most morally bankrupt individuals to ever run for public office in Texas.”

JT Ennis, a spokesperson for Talarico’s campaign, pushed back, saying, “This is a lie.”

Ennis said that “James’ relationship to MAYA was fully disclosed in compliance with Texas House rules” and that “James had no involvement in MAYA Consulting securing any public contracts and his contract with MAYA barred him from representing MAYA before the Texas Legislature or education agencies.”

“Ken Paxton is making up lies about James to distract from the fact that he’s been impeached by his own party for bribery, reported to the FBI by his own staff, and indicted for investment fraud for scamming his own friends,” Ennis alleged, while adding, “Ken Paxton is the most corrupt politician in Texas, and this November, Republicans, Democrats, and independents will come together to reject Ken Paxton’s corruption and stand up to this broken, corrupt political system.”

In July 2015, Paxton was indicted on charges that he misled and defrauded tech startup investors and failed to disclose that the startup was paying him to promote its stock. Prosecutors agreed in 2024 to drop the charges under a deal requiring Paxton to pay about $271,000 in restitution, perform 100 hours of community service and complete 15 hours of legal ethics courses. Paxton did not enter a plea under the agreement and was never convicted.

Meanwhile, Madison Cercy, a spokeswoman for Paxton’s campaign, told Fox News Digital, “It couldn’t be clearer: James Talarico sees Texans tax dollars as his own personal slush fund.”

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Fox News Digital is not aware of any evidence that Talarico has misused tax dollars.

Cercy called Talarico a “taxpayer-funded DEI consultant whose employer receives millions of dollars from Texans while pushing radical ideology in our schools.”

A 53% majority of registered voters say the Trump administration’s enforcement of immigration laws has gone too far, according to new Fox News polling, a view that has stayed consistent since June 2025. 

The remaining voters are split between enforcement not going far enough and enforcement that’s just about right (23% each).

The results skew along party lines: 87% of Democrats and 60% of independents say enforcement has gone too far, while most Republicans split between not far enough (40%) and about right (43%).

Among those saying enforcement has gone too far, voters are divided on the reason: 45% point to the government using too much force, while 49% say the wrong people are being targeted. 

FOX NEWS POLL: SQUEEZED BY COSTS, FRUSTRATED VOTERS TURN TO THE DEMOCRATS

Democrats say the government is targeting the wrong people (by 7 points) while independents say it’s because of using too much force (by 2 points). There are not enough Republicans saying the enforcement has gone too far to draw meaningful conclusions.

Consequently, President Trump’s approval rating on immigration sits at 43%, down from a high of 48% last summer.

For the past four years, until this summer, voters consistently said the Republicans would do a better job handling immigration than the Democrats. That advantage has all but disappeared, as voters are split between the parties (48% D vs. 49% R). The Democrats are competitive on immigration due to independents backing them over the GOP by 6 points and 15% of non-MAGA Republicans preferring the Democrats.

FOX NEWS POLL: COOL YOUR SERVERS! VOTERS REJECT DATA CENTERS

“The immigration issue has been defined in terms of border security since the Biden years,” says Daron Shaw, the GOP pollster who helps conduct the survey with Democrat Chris Anderson. “But voters now think of immigration policy as ICE crackdowns, and many say these have been too aggressive.”

Despite fewer than 1 in 10 (8%) voters identifying immigration as their priority, it only trails the cost of living (34%) and the broader economy (14%) as the most important issue facing the country.

One more thing…

Nearly two-thirds of voters (63%) agree that a child born to an illegal immigrant in the United States should automatically become a citizen. While overall support has softened from previous highs around 67-69%, it’s still far above its low of 45% in 2006.

CLICK HERE FOR CROSSTABS AND TOPLINE

Again, results are defined by partisanship: roughly 9 in 10 Democrats and 6 in 10 independents support birthright citizenship, while 6 in 10 Republicans oppose it.

Among Hispanic voters, two-thirds disapprove of Trump’s overall job performance and his handling of immigration. They trust the Democrats over the Republicans on the issue by 19 points, while 60% say immigration enforcement has gone too far.

Three-quarters of Hispanic voters think citizenship should be guaranteed for those born in the U.S. to illegal immigrant parents.

Conducted September 11-14, 2026, under the direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), this Fox News survey includes interviews with a sample of 1,211 registered voters randomly selected from a national voter file. Respondents spoke with live interviewers on landlines (96) and cellphones (821) or completed the survey online after receiving a text (294). 

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.

Nearly seven months into the war with Iran, a new Fox News national survey finds views souring as voters feel the Trump administration lacks a clear strategy for ending the war, a growing number think the conflict will make the U.S. less safe and a majority believes the decision to take military action was wrong.

Seven in 10 voters think the Trump administration lacks a clear strategy for ending the conflict, including 95% of Democrats, 83% of independents and 43% of Republicans.

In addition, a growing 47% of voters say the conflict will make the U.S. less safe in the long run, up from 39% in April. By comparison, 32% think it will make the country safer, and 20% say there will be no difference. The rise in concern is largest among White voters, voters under 45 and independents.

Sixty percent say U.S. military action against Iran was the wrong decision, while 37% say it was right, widening the margin to 23 points, up from 17 points in June (58% to 41%). Attitudes against the war have increased modestly across most demographic groups, with the largest shifts among Hispanic voters, voters under age 30, moderates and voters 65 and over.

FOX NEWS POLL: ECONOMIC ANXIETY AND CANDIDATE CONCERNS DEFINE OHIO SENATE RACE

“Typically, the public rallies around the president in response to a foreign policy crisis,” said Republican pollster Daron Shaw, who conducts the Fox News Poll with Democrat Chris Anderson. “But two things are different here. First, President Trump hasn’t consistently and forcefully made the case for the war, and the U.S. doesn’t have boots on the ground. Both of those things matter for public opinion.”

FOX NEWS POLL: SQUEEZED BY COSTS, FRUSTRATED VOTERS TURN TO THE DEMOCRATS

Trump’s overall job performance stands at 39% approval and 61% disapproval.

The president’s ratings on foreign policy are underwater by 24 points. His 37% approval is a second-term low and is just one point above his first-term low of 36% in September 2019.

When asked to name the most important issue facing the country, in their own words, only 4% of voters say Iran and a miniscule 1% name foreign policy in general. By comparison, 34% mention the top issue of the cost of living.

Meanwhile, by a 10-point margin, more voters say the Democrats are better equipped to handle foreign policy than the Republicans, a reversal from the previous midterm cycle when Republicans were more trusted by 6 points in September 2022.

Israel and Ukraine

A low of 48% say they side more with the Israelis than the Palestinians (38%) in the ongoing conflict in Gaza. That is down from 54% in June and a high of 68% at the conflict’s outset in October 2023.

Since 2023, the sharpest decline in support for Israel — down at least 20 points — comes from women, Hispanic voters, voters under age 45, voters with a college degree and Democrats. Republican support has fallen 10 points during the same time.

On Ukraine, voters favor the U.S. continuing to provide financial aid to fight Russia by 16 points (55% to 39%), roughly unchanged during the past two years. Democrats favor supporting Ukraine, while Republicans and independents are divided.

One more thing…

Ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s upcoming visit to the U.S., more than twice as many voters say Trump is not tough enough on China (45%) as say he is too tough (20%). Three in 10 (30%) say his approach is about right.

There is bipartisan agreement on this: the largest share of Democrats (44%), Republicans (47%), and independents (44%) say Trump is not tough enough on China.  Republicans are more split, with 43% saying his approach is about right.

CLICK HERE FOR CROSSTABS AND TOPLINE

Conducted September 11-14, 2026, under the direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), this Fox News survey includes interviews with a sample of 1,211 registered voters randomly selected from a national voter file. Respondents spoke with live interviewers on landlines (96) and cellphones (821) or completed the survey online after receiving a text (294). 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.

A popular far-left streamer tied the Democratic nominee in the high-stakes U.S. Senate race in Michigan doubled down on anti-American comments he’s made in the past during an on-camera interview released Thursday.

Hasan Piker was featured in an episode of “The Axios Show” taped in Los Angeles, where he resides, where interviewer Alex Thompson recalled the internet personality’s past claim that “America is the top dog in terrorism.”

“Do you think America, then, is worse than al-Qaeda?” Thomspon asked.

HASAN PIKER INSISTS ABDUL EL-SAYED ASKED HIM TO ‘STUMP’ FOR MICHIGAN CAMPAIGN AMID BACKLASH

“Pound for pound as far as the number of deaths, yes,” Piker replied. “We have caused tremendous terror all around the world.”

“I think that that is not only terror that we are waging on regular civilians, and nations in the periphery, but it’s also having consequences on ourselves,” the Twitch streamer continued. “It’s having dramatic consequences on the home front.”

“One clear example of this is what we did in Minab [Iran],’ Piker said, referring to American attacks earlier this year that struck a school. A United Nations mission said it found “reasonable grounds” to believe that the U.S. committed a war crime. “There’s no distinction between blowing up a school, tripple-tapping it with Tomahawk missiles. If you’re killing 140 school girls, that is an act of terror.”

Piker conceded that not all Americans are terrorists, but still called for an “environment of accountability.”

EL-SAYED PALS AROUND WITH FAR-LEFT STREAMER HASAN PIKER THE DAY BEFORE CRUCIAL MICHIGAN SENATE ELECTION

Piker is closely tied to Abdul El-Sayed, the controversial far-left U.S. Senate candidate in Michigan. Piker joined El-Sayed on the campaign trail during primary season. The two were pictured partying together on the night El-Sayed ended up winning his primary election.

Since winning the Democratic primary, El-Sayed hasn’t been able to shake Piker’s shadow, and has refused to condemn him for past controversial comments. Instead the candidate has painting him as a “streamer from California” who has no bearing on the race in Michigan in attempts to distance himself from Piker’s more radical views and comments.

Piker said in 2019 that “America deserved 9/11.” He has also praised Mao Zedong and Communist China, said capitalists should be murdered in the streets and is known for making antisemitic comments.

El-Sayed’s campaign responded to Piker’s comments on The Axios Show, but did not mention Piker by name.

ABDUL EL-SAYED DISMISSES QUESTIONS ABOUT HASAN PIKER TIES ON ‘FACE THE NATION,’ PIVOTS TO GROCERIES

“I do not agree with this statement [on al-Qaeda], nor do I give much weight to the statements made by a social media streamer,” the campaign told Axios. “I am more concerned with the dangerous policies of Donald Trump and Mike Rogers that are raising the prices of gas, groceries and healthcare for Michiganders.”

El-Sayed’s campaign reiterated that statement when reached by Fox News Digital on Thursday.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

During a trip to Washington, D.C. on Wednesday to meet with potential future colleagues, El-Sayed was caught on camera walking into the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC). When asked by Fox News Digital whether he would condemn Piker, El-Sayed waved off the question and swiftly ducked into the building where he sat down with Democrat senators.

El-Sayed’s staff later banned Fox News Digital from joining an impromptu post-meeting press event where he took questions and discussed a range of issues key to the 2026 midterms.

Rep. María Elvira Salazar, a Republican who represents a solidly red district in Miami, has broken with the president on immigration as the midterms cycle hits a fever pitch.

“Mr. President, some of your immigration enforcement efforts have gone too far,” Salazar said in a newly released campaign advertisement. “Be careful what your advisors are telling you about immigration policy. The same Hispanics who helped you get to the White House in 2024 feel betrayed today. You can be for immigration what Lincoln was for slavery and Reagan was for communism.

“I’m not talking about giving them amnesty. I’m talking about giving them a dignified life in this promised land.”

THE HISPANIC VOTE IS UP FOR GRABS IN 2026; CANDIDATES WHO IGNORE IT WILL LOSE

A Fox News poll released Wednesday found President Donald Trump’s overall approval rating at 39%, with 61% of registered voters disapproving of his job performance.

Voters disapprove of Trump generally by a margin of 61% to 39%, according to the poll. On immigration, however, only 56% of voters are unhappy with the president’s performance, beating out his handling of the economy and foreign policy.

VOTERS SAY REPUBLICANS OUTDO DEMOCRATS ON THESE KEY ISSUES: FOX NEWS POLL

Salazar’s break with the president on immigration follows a legislative record that has combined tougher enforcement measures with support for legal status reforms.

During her time in Congress, Salazar has supported tougher border enforcement while also backing legislation that would provide legal status to some long-term noncitizens, including through the bipartisan DIGNITY Act.

She also voted for the 2023 Secure the Border Act and the 2025 Laken Riley Act, which expanded immigration enforcement and required the detention of certain undocumented immigrants accused of crimes.

TRUMP ADMIN MARKS 15 STRAIGHT MONTHS WITH ZERO BORDER RELEASES AS APPREHENSIONS PLUNGE 94%

Trump’s hardline stance on immigration, likewise, is nothing new.

The issue defined his initial rise to power during the 2016 presidential election, and he leaned heavily into promises of deportations while on the campaign trail in 2024. Amid the president’s hawkish rhetoric, Hispanics in places such as the Miami metropolitan area and along the Southern border shifted heavily to the right.

Trump has endorsed Salazar’s bid for re-election.

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The Salazar campaign did not respond to a request for comment when reached by Fox News Digital on Thursday.

FIRST ON FOX: A House GOP lawmaker’s pointed message to President Donald Trump criticizing his immigration policy is under fire from her Republican colleagues.

Rep. María Elvira Salazar, R-Fla., released a campaign ad Thursday that attacked Trump’s handling of immigration enforcement, specifically arguing he has gone too far in pursuing people without criminal records.

“President Trump’s immigration enforcement efforts should be applauded and continue as is,” House Freedom Caucus leaders said in an official statement first shared with Fox News Digital.

“Any alien who enters this country illegally has committed a crime. The United States should deport every illegal alien. This is America, and this government should be ensuring the dignity of American citizens. Illegal aliens can enjoy dignity in their home country or come to this country legally.

GOP INFIGHTING ERUPTS OVER IMMIGRATION BILL THAT WOULD SHIELD MILLIONS FROM DEPORTATION

“Granting illegal aliens any legal status to remain in the United States is amnesty. We reject amnesty. The House Freedom Caucus stands with President Trump: secure the border, enforce the law, and lock these policies into statute, so no future administration can erase them with a pen.”

TRUMP DHS CHIEF UNDER FIRE FROM CONSERVATIVES AFTER IMMIGRATION SPEECH IGNITES BACKLASH

The ad takes place outside the White House, with Salazar directly addressing the camera.

“Mr. President, some of your immigration enforcement efforts have gone too far,”
Salazar said. “Be careful what your advisors are telling you about immigration policy. The same Hispanics who helped you get to the White House in 2024 feel betrayed today.

“You can be for immigration what Lincoln was for slavery and Reagan was for communism. I’m not talking about giving them amnesty. I’m talking about giving them a dignified life in this promised land. And only you can do that.”

TRUMP-BACKED REPUBLICAN SURVIVES PRIMARY AFTER BUCKING HIM ON DEPORTATIONS

It’s a notable choice of words, given that her district voted for Trump by double digits in 2024. But she’s one of several Hispanic lawmakers in the House GOP who have been warning their party could be alienating Hispanic and Latino voters who were critical to Republican wins in recent years.

Salazar’s South Florida district is rated R+6 by the nonpartisan Cook political report, meaning it’s likely to stay in Republican hands. But Democrats are targeting her seat as a potential pickup opportunity as they work to win back control of the House.

She previously took heat from the Freedom Caucus over her bipartisan legislation to reform the asylum process and give a legal pathway to undocumented people already in the U.S. who have not committed crimes.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) also pushed back on Salazar, telling Fox News in a statement, “DHS is focused on delivering the most HISTORIC mass deportation campaign in American history — exactly as President Trump promised.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

“Whether Congresswoman Salazar likes it or not, the men and women of ICE are enforcing the laws passed by Congress. To be clear: The only thing America should be giving illegal aliens is a one-way ticket home or a generous $3,000 check for them to self-deport immediately. We will not ignore the rule of law.”

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee called out Macklemore for antisemitism on Thursday, saying he supports NFL owners pushing to cancel Macklemore’s performances.

Huckabee made the statement in an interview with Fox News Digital, saying his time living in Israel has shown him the vast majority of criticisms against Israel are misguided and unfounded.

“It’s really unfortunate that Malcklemore has decided that he’s going to become the voice, if you will, of Jew hatred, and I don’t understand why it’s entertainers like him think that it is entertaining to go and take a pro-Hamas position, a position that supports people that viciously raped, beheaded babies, burned elderly people in their wheelchairs and did unthinkable and unspeakable things to innocent civilians as Hamas came across the border from Gaza and butchered, massacred 1,200 people, and then took 251 people hostage, including many Americans,” Huckabee said.

ROBERT KRAFT, GILLETTE STADIUM BOOT MACKLEMORE FROM ED SHEERAN TOUR OVER ‘FREE PALESTINE’ RANT

“The fact that there’s a pushback against that, why not? I think most of us would say that, you know, you have free speech, but that doesn’t mean that you can say anything you want anytime you want, anywhere you want without consequences. The people that own these stadiums, the people that have promoted the concerts, weren’t promoting a pro-Hamas rally,” he added.

Huckabee went on to address reports of rising antisemitism in Canada and calls for President Donald Trump’s administration to take on the issue.

FROM AUSCHWITZ, HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR ISSUES URGENT WARNING OVER RISING ANTISEMITISM IN CANADA

Huckabee referenced a letter sent to Trump by the National Association of Christian Lawmakers earlier this month calling on the administration to allow Jewish Canadians to more easily obtain visas to enter the U.S.

“I think we’ve all seen and, frankly, been quite alarmed at some of the extraordinary Jew hatred that is taking place in Canada, and many Canadian Jewish people are really concerned and afraid for their lives,” Huckabee said.

“And they fear that they might be the subject of some violent attack or a terror attack. The rhetoric in the country has gotten very, very harsh, and President Trump, as you may remember, took the letter from the NACL, and he published it and said that he would certainly look into it.”

BILL MAHER RIPS MACKLEMORE’S GAZA STANCE, SAYS CELEBRITY ‘MORAL CONFUSION’ IS FUELING ANTISEMITISM

The ambassador also addressed the latest developments in the conflict with Iran, namely the Iran-backed Houthi offensive against Saudi-backed government forces in Yemen.

Asked whether Israel may be interested in assisting Saudi forces in the conflict, Huckabee said Israel has made it clear it wants to improve relations with all of its close neighbors in the Middle East.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

“Would Israel be willing to bring some assistance? I think they would. Whether they have been asked? That’s something to ask the Saudis or to ask the Israelis. Wouldn’t be for me to say what has been done or what has been requested. But there is a growing sense that Israel isn’t the problem over here. Israel isn’t trying to take anybody else’s land,” he said.

Fox News’ Eric Mack contributed to this report.

trump

The Trump administration’s move to eliminate a swath of Biden-era power plant emissions standards will be a game changer for the U.S. economy, National Association of Manufacturers CEO Jay Timmons tells Fox News Digital.

Timmons hailed EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin for the move announced this week, but noted that even more red tape remains to be cut.

“It really sent a signal to manufacturers that the administration was listening to our concerns,” Timmons said of the cuts to power plant emissions standards.

TRUMP’S EPA CHIEF PUSHES BACK ON CLIMATE SKEPTICS BEING LABELED ‘SCIENCE DENIERS’

He said NAM and other groups had objected to former President Joe Biden’s 2024 standards “very, very clearly” at the time, saying the standards were “simply unworkable.”

“The timeline that they had proposed was just, it wasn’t feasible. Not that the aspirations for, you know, for cleaner air and a healthier environment aren’t good aspirations. I think we all share that. I know the current EPA and Administrator Zeldin certainly share those objectives, but how you get there really matters and whether manufacturers are able to meet the challenge,” he said, noting, however, that the Biden administration had heard their concerns, but simply disagreed.

TRUMP-APPROVED ENERGY PROJECTS AT RISK OF SUDDEN DEATH BY NEXT HOSTILE PRESIDENT

The emissions regulations cut this week were removed by executive fiat, but Timmons says more lasting change must come through Congress as manufacturers hope to avoid regulatory whiplash between administrations.

“Uncertainty is the absolute worst enemy for manufacturers because manufacturers are on a very long-term horizon when it comes to planning and strategy, product development, research development, so when administrations change, there has often been kind of that pendulum swing,” Timmons said.

SEN KEVIN CRAMER: CHINA BUILDS FOR WAR WHILE AMERICA WAITS ON PERMITS

One area he said could use further reform is in permitting. NAM polling found that 80% of manufacturers say the length and complexity of the permitting process is harmful to increasing investment.

As much as 87% of manufacturers told NAM they would expand business operations, hire more workers or increase wages and benefits if the permitting process were more streamlined.

SENATE MOVES TO UNSHACKLE AMERICA’S DRIVERS FROM CALIFORNIA’S ‘CLIMATE ZEALOTS’

Timmons said it is critical for Congress to hear directly from manufacturers when drafting legislation, however.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

“There needs to be more opportunities for business to be at the table. To really explain what the art of the possible is. No one is saying that we should not be working hard to achieve cleaner air, cleaner water, healthier communities. In fact, we’re saying exactly that. We should be part of the solution to make that happen,” he said.

Christina Bohannan, an Iowa state legislator and the Democratic nominee in one of the country’s most competitive districts, once opposed an Iowa “Back the Blue” law passed in the wake of the 2020 George Floyd riots, calling it an “overreaction.”

“I think that we’re seeing a backlash and, frankly, an exaggerated backlash, an overreaction to all of that,” Bohannan said at a 2021 virtual legislative forumon social justice issues.

“That’s what’s happening. A lot of this is happening because they just don’t have a lot of minorities in their districts, they don’t interact with people on any kind of regular basis and so they don’t see these issues.”

To some onlooking critics, her resurfaced comments are further proof of what they’ve characterized as her soft-on-crime stances — positions they believe are at odds with the electorate of the Hawkeye State as she wages her third campaign to unseat Rep. Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa.

WATCH: BATTLEGROUND DEMOCRAT CALLED IOWA A ‘BACKWATER’ OVER TRANSGENDER ATHLETES BAN

“Christina Bohannan achieved the ultra-rare-final-boss level of woke where police are bad, criminals are good, and anyone who disagrees is racist,” Zach Kraft, a spokesperson for the Republican National Committee, said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

“There is a reason why this DEI Queen has been rejected twice by voters – she is straight up nuts, and her soft-on-crime agenda would endanger all Iowans.”

Bohannan launched her career in education, teaching at the University of Iowa College of Law, where she remained until, in 2020, she won a seat in the Iowa House of Representatives, unseating a 20-year Democratic incumbent.

Bohannan has run for Congress before.

In 2022, she lost to Miller-Meeks in a 53.4% to 46.6% contest. She tried again in 2024 and got closer, losing by a fraction of a percent: 50.0% to 49.8% — just 799 votes.

VANCE, CRUZ, HEAD TO IOWA ON 2026 MISSIONS AS 2028 GOP RACE TO SUCCEED TRUMP HEATS UP

In all three races, Republicans have attacked her on her statements as an academic and her voting record as a state legislator, painting her as a soft-on-crime candidate.

In the resurfaced clip, Bohannan was referring to Senate File 342, signed by Gov. Kim Reynolds in 2021. Among other provisions, the bill raised penalties for rioting, making it a class D felony punishable by five years behind bars, and implemented more stringent punishments for unlawful assembly.

The law came amid a wave of anti-police sentiment that swept the country after George Floyd, a Black man from Minneapolis, died after then-officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck area during a restraint. The incident sparked widespread debate on law enforcement safety and profiling. Where states like Minnesota and Washington passed restrictions on police and other law enforcement officers, Iowa lawmakers rallied to their support.

Iowa Rep. Jarad Klein, a Republican and the bill’s sponsor, framed the legislation as a clear way to support embattled public servants in a floor speech.

“Let me be clear: If you support law enforcement, truly support law enforcement, you will be voting ‘yes’ tonight. If you stand up and say you support law enforcement, your words will become meaningless with a ‘no’ vote. Actions speak louder than words,” Klein said.

Gov. Reynolds echoed that thinking at her signing.

“I made it clear in my Condition of the State Address that Iowa’s law enforcement will always have my respect, and I will always have their back. Today’s bill embodies that commitment in a historic way. The public peace is too important, and the safety of our officers too precious, to tolerate destructive behavior,” Reynolds said in a press release.

For her own part, Bohannan said she opposed the legislation, arguing it went too far.

“The bill that’s coming over to the House from the Senate about the protestors actually would make it okay for a person to drive negligently or grossly negligently and hit a protestor and there would be immunity for that. It’s sick. These are kids, mostly,” she said.

UNEARTHED CLIP EXPOSES MORE ANTI-POLICE RHETORIC AS EL-SAYED GETS GRILLED FOR DELETING SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS

The final version of the bill does have a provision that protects drivers from civil liability. But it only applies to drivers “exercising due care” and who cause injury to someone engaging in disorderly conduct by blocking traffic in a public street or highway.

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Bohannan’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital on her statements from 2021 or whether she stood by her views of the “Back the Blue” bill.

EXCLUSIVE — Starbucks will pay Florida $1 million and will not use race-and sex-based goals, quotas and preferences in employment practices companywide under a sweeping settlement ending the state’s civil rights lawsuit against the coffee giant.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier’s office confirmed to Fox News Digital that the agreement applies to all Starbucks operations nationwide, not just the company’s locations in Florida.

“Every Floridian deserves to be hired, promoted and compensated based on merit, qualifications and character — not race or sex,” Uthmeier told Fox News Digital. “This resolution ensures that Starbucks’ policies and practices fully comply with Florida’s civil rights laws. DEI can never be an excuse to violate civil rights.”

The negotiated resolution ends the lawsuit Uthmeier filed in December 2025 accusing Starbucks of violating the Florida Civil Rights Act through racial and sex-based goals, quotas and preferences in its workplace policies.

GOP FRESHMAN FIREBRAND TARGETS GLOBAL CONSULTING GIANT OVER ‘PLAINLY ILLEGAL’ DEI PRACTICES

Under the agreement, Starbucks committed to complying with the state civil rights law, which prohibits race and sex-based preferences in hiring, promotions, pay, executive compensation, mentorship programs, supplier selection and board composition.

The company also agreed it will not participate in organizations that require it to increase the racial diversity of its board of directors.

GEORGIA DISTRICT QUIETLY TRAINED TEACHERS TO BLAME ‘WHITENESS,’ ‘DECOLONIZE’ UNDER FEDERAL CRACKDOWN: REPORT

Starbucks’ chief legal officer will be required to submit annual certifications of the company’s continued compliance for four years. The company will also pay $1 million to the Florida Department of Legal Affairs to reimburse the office for the time, expenses and costs of bringing the case.

“We’re pleased to have resolved this matter without admission of wrongdoing and appreciate the constructive engagement of the Attorney General’s Office throughout this process,” Pilar Ramos, executive vice president and chief legal officer of Starbucks said. 

“We will continue to focus on offering great jobs and career opportunities to our partners who wear the green apron, while making a positive impact on the communities we serve in Florida and around the world.”

The agreement includes no admission of liability or wrongdoing by Starbucks.

SEATTLE MAYOR’S STARBUCKS BOYCOTT CALL SLAMMED BY LOCAL RADIO HOST AS COFFEE GIANT ADDS NASHVILLE-BASED ROLES

The settlement follows Uthmeier’s lawsuit, which alleged Starbucks had turned diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives into a system that discriminated based on race.

The December complaint pointed to goals Starbucks announced in 2020 to have people of color fill 40% of retail and manufacturing jobs and 30% of corporate positions by 2025.

‘SEATTLE CAN’T SURVIVE THIS’: CRITICS HAMMER SOCIALIST MAYOR AFTER STARBUCKS REVERSAL

It also alleged the company paid certain employees more than workers of other races with the same experience and skills and, before March 2024, tied executive bonuses to diversity goals.

For fiscal year 2024, the lawsuit alleged that bonus criteria included executives mentoring Black, Indigenous and other employees of color, holding monthly meetings with mentees and keeping retention among those workers above a stated threshold.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACCUSES PRESTIGIOUS LAW SCHOOL OF FAVORING BLACK APPLICANTS OVER WHITE, ASIAN PEERS

The complaint further alleged that Florida Starbucks employees and job applicants contacted the attorney general’s office and reported feeling excluded or humiliated because they were White. Uthmeier accused the company of “systemic discrimination” against workers it considered “non-diverse.”

“Starbucks made DEI more than a slogan,” Uthmeier said when the lawsuit was announced. “They turned it into a mandatory hiring and promotion system based on race.”

FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY HIT WITH FEDERAL CIVIL RIGHTS INVESTIGATION OVER RACE, SEX-BASED SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMS

He said at the time that race-based hiring goals and executive bonuses tied to meeting them amounted to discrimination prohibited under Florida law.

The state initially sought $10,000 in damages for each alleged instance of racial discrimination against a Florida resident, an amount Uthmeier’s office said could have reached tens of millions of dollars or more. Starbucks operates more than 900 stores in Florida, according to the complaint.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION PROPOSES STRIPPING TAX-EXEMPT STATUS FROM SCHOOLS USING RACE-BASED PROGRAMS

The effort began in 2024 under then-Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, now a Republican U.S. senator, after she called for an investigation into the company’s hiring practices.

Florida was not the only state to challenge Starbucks’ DEI policies. Then-Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey filed a separate federal lawsuit in February 2025 alleging the company used race and sex-based hiring quotas and unlawfully tied executive pay to diversity targets.

OAKLAND SCHOOLS IN HOT SEAT OVER ‘STUDENTS OF COLOR’ PROGRAM WHILE TAKING MILLIONS IN FEDERAL FUNDING

A federal judge dismissed that case in February 2026, finding that Missouri had not identified a resident who was actually harmed by the policies. The state appealed the ruling.

Starbucks previously disputed Florida’s allegations, telling Fox News Digital after the lawsuit was filed that its programs and benefits were open to everyone and lawful.

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“Our hiring practices are inclusive, fair and competitive and designed to ensure the strongest candidate for every job, every time,” a company spokesperson said at the time.

Fox News Digital’s Rachel del Guidice and Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story was updated to reflect Starbucks’ commitment to not using race-and sex-based goals, quotas and preferences in employment practices companywide.

EXCLUSIVE — Starbucks will pay Florida $1 million and end race- and sex-based goals, quotas and preferences in employment practices companywide under a sweeping settlement ending the state’s civil rights lawsuit against the coffee giant.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier’s office confirmed to Fox News Digital that the agreement applies to all Starbucks operations nationwide, not just the company’s locations in Florida.

“Every Floridian deserves to be hired, promoted and compensated based on merit, qualifications and character — not race or sex,” Uthmeier told Fox News Digital exclusively. “This resolution ensures that Starbucks’ policies and practices fully comply with Florida’s civil rights laws. DEI can never be an excuse to violate civil rights.”

The negotiated resolution ends the lawsuit Uthmeier filed in December 2025 accusing Starbucks of violating the Florida Civil Rights Act through racial and sex-based goals, quotas and preferences in its workplace policies.

GOP FRESHMAN FIREBRAND TARGETS GLOBAL CONSULTING GIANT OVER ‘PLAINLY ILLEGAL’ DEI PRACTICES

Under the agreement, Starbucks committed to complying with the state civil rights law, which prohibits race and sex-based preferences in hiring, promotions, pay, executive compensation, mentorship programs, supplier selection and board composition.

The company also agreed it will not participate in organizations that require it to increase the racial diversity of its board of directors.

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Starbucks’ chief legal officer will be required to submit annual certifications of the company’s continued compliance for four years. The company will also pay $1 million to the Florida Department of Legal Affairs to reimburse the office for the time, expenses and costs of bringing the case.

“We’re pleased to have resolved this matter without admission of wrongdoing and appreciate the constructive engagement of the Attorney General’s Office throughout this process,” Pilar Ramos, executive vice president and chief legal officer of Starbucks said. 

“We will continue to focus on offering great jobs and career opportunities to our partners who wear the green apron, while making a positive impact on the communities we serve in Florida and around the world.”

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The settlement follows Uthmeier’s lawsuit, which alleged Starbucks had turned diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives into a system that discriminated based on race.

The December complaint pointed to goals Starbucks announced in 2020 to have people of color fill 40% of retail and manufacturing jobs and 30% of corporate positions by 2025.

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It also alleged the company paid certain employees more than workers of other races with the same experience and skills and, before March 2024, tied executive bonuses to diversity goals.

For fiscal year 2024, the lawsuit alleged that bonus criteria included executives mentoring Black, Indigenous and other employees of color, holding monthly meetings with mentees and keeping retention among those workers above a stated threshold.

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The complaint further alleged that Florida Starbucks employees and job applicants contacted the attorney general’s office and reported feeling excluded or humiliated because they were White. Uthmeier accused the company of “systemic discrimination” against workers it considered “non-diverse.”

“Starbucks made DEI more than a slogan,” Uthmeier said when the lawsuit was announced. “They turned it into a mandatory hiring and promotion system based on race.”

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He said at the time that race-based hiring goals and executive bonuses tied to meeting them amounted to discrimination prohibited under Florida law.

The state initially sought $10,000 in damages for each alleged instance of racial discrimination against a Florida resident, an amount Uthmeier’s office said could have reached tens of millions of dollars or more. Starbucks operates more than 900 stores in Florida, according to the complaint.

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The effort began in 2024 under then-Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, now a Republican U.S. senator, after she called for an investigation into the company’s hiring practices.

Florida was not the only state to challenge Starbucks’ DEI policies. Then-Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey filed a separate federal lawsuit in February 2025 alleging the company used race and sex-based hiring quotas and unlawfully tied executive pay to diversity targets.

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A federal judge dismissed that case in February 2026, finding that Missouri had not identified a resident who was actually harmed by the policies. The state appealed the ruling.

Starbucks previously disputed Florida’s allegations, telling Fox News Digital after the lawsuit was filed that its programs and benefits were open to everyone and lawful.

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“Our hiring practices are inclusive, fair and competitive and designed to ensure the strongest candidate for every job, every time,” a company spokesperson said at the time.

Fox News Digital’s Rachel del Guidice and Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.

Americans may not feel it in their wallets, but two major measures of economic well-being improved in 2025, as the nation’s poverty rate fell to a historic low and inflation-adjusted median household income reached a record high, according to new Census Bureau data.

In 2025, the poverty rate in the United States dropped to an all-time low of 10.2%, down roughly half a point from 2024, according to the Census Bureau. Even as the proportion of people living in undesirable conditions declines, however, the percentage of people who told Fox News pollsters that their personal financial situation was worsening or not changing held steady at around 85% for the duration of 2025.

Many have attributed President Donald Trump’s unpopularity, which some conservatives fear could cost the GOP control of Congress in November, to his economic policies. Amid Republican unpopularity and consumer pessimism, even states that are usually reliably conservative, like Texas, Ohio and Alaska, could very well send Democrats to the Senate.

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The Census Bureau defines poverty depending on the number of people in a given household and their income. A family with two adults and two children, for instance, would need to make less than $32,649 a year to be considered impoverished. The threshold for poverty increases as inflation lowers the value of the dollar.

Median household income also reached an all-time high, growing by 2.6% to $87,460 in 2025. That gain, however, is erased by inflation as the dollar’s value declined by about 3% between 2024 and 2025.

A number of factors could explain the gap between economic perception and improving macroeconomic indicators.

“See a lot of mutuals on here in DC, New York, LA talking about high prices. Meanwhile folks I know in Alabama, Indiana, Georgia getting new jobs, raises, or expanding and growing,” Andrew Beck, a partner at the consulting firm Beck and Stone, wrote on X. “Doesn’t help young folks in the blue states, but the South is booming.”

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Economic growth in Southern states has consistently outpaced that of the United States at large, spurred by internal migration and friendly business environments incentivizing large enterprises to move south.

High gas prices, sparked by the president’s military operations in the Middle East, and price increases attributable to tariffs have also proven unpopular, hurting the president’s approval ratings even as poverty rates dip and incomes climb. Roughly two-thirds of voters in a recent Fox News poll said that they believe the Trump administration is making the economy worse.

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Conservatives on social media have used the Census Bureau’s data to take a victory lap.

“Poverty is bad. Every American should celebrate poverty rates are now the lowest on record. Good job everyone,” Rep. Michael Baumgartner, R-WA, wrote on X. “Keep it going.”

“Good news we can all celebrate,” Rep. Don Bacon, R-Nebraska, a critic of the president, posted.

The number of people without health insurance also remained near historic lows, according to the Census Bureau.

Some on the left, however, deny that poverty rates are actually declining.

“Our elites terrorize the entire world while ordinary Americans continue to foot the bill. We spent trillions ‘fighting’ the terror we created to provide cover for our oil barons stealing 3rd World resources,” Twitch streamer Hasan Piker wrote on X Thursday. “It only amounted to more death overseas, more poverty at home. All while the [military industrial complex] ballooned. No houses, no hospitals, no schools-just a growing crisis of homelessness, underemployment and diseases of despair in the wealthiest country on earth.”

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Even as Americans have gotten wealthier over the past few decades, the price of housing has significantly outpaced wage growth. With personal homeownership holding strong cultural importance to Americans, rising home costs fuel pessimism in ways that improvements in other areas can’t necessarily offset.

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., was readying a long-shot attempt at regulating an industry that has, in recent weeks, spurred fears and anxiety about human annihilation.

He planned to ram through his bill, which would require artificial intelligence (AI) companies to have a kill switch for rogue AI, on the Senate floor. But his attempt Wednesday night was blocked by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. 

Kennedy told Fox News Digital he feared there was little desire from Republicans to do anything to regulate AI.

“There’s no appetite in my caucus to do anything that I can say,” Kennedy said.

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Paul contended the following day that regulating something “so pervasive as AI throughout our economy” would require hearing from people who are involved in the industry and having a debate over the regulatory structure.

“I think it would be crazy to get on the floor one day and regulate an entire industry,” Paul told reporters.

Still, the anxiety over the unfettered evolution of AI has spread like wildfire after reports that rogue bots began acting on their own, but it’s an issue that Congress has had years to address.

Three years ago, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who was then leading the Senate when Democrats had control under former President Joe Biden, met with lawmakers and Big Tech CEOs to sketch out an AI roadmap. Since then, Congress hasn’t taken legislative action to add guardrails to AI development.

Now, with fears ramping up that AI could wipe out humanity in a decade, and with reports of rogue AI agents scheming privately and attacking other AI, lawmakers are again taking notice.

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But some wonder whether this time Congress will take action to regulate AI, or if it’s turning a growing problem into another political issue to be debated and ignored.

“It’s already a political issue,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., told Fox News Digital. “Donald Trump has said it’s not a problem, and that is like a dead weight loss on every one of the Republican senators or representatives.

“Thus far, the courage they have demonstrated in standing up to Donald Trump on anything has been somewhere around zero.”

Warren had just left a closed-door meeting led by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who has pushed for a ban on superintelligent AI, held with lawmakers and with AI experts Geoffrey Hinton, known as the “Godfather of AI”; physicist Max Tegmark; and Ajeya Cotra.

“There is now a growing alarm about the future of humanity and creating technology that human beings cannot control,” Sanders told reporters. “And I’m happy to tell you that I think there is a growing sense of urgency upon members of Congress that this has to be done.”

One of the points the experts impressed on lawmakers was that, at the very least, a kill switch should be implemented to deactivate rogue AI. Kennedy was the lone Republican to attend that meeting.

“I’m just saying they have to have a kill switch to turn the son of a b—- off if it goes wrong,” Kennedy said. “This doesn’t put government in charge in any way. It doesn’t affect innovation. It just says, ‘If you’re gonna sell this thing in America that has the potential to turn into an independent species, like the ‘Terminator,’ you’ve got to have a way to shut it down immediately, as soon as you discover that.'”

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But there have been Republicans, like Kennedy, who want to regulate AI sooner rather than later.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has been pushing his regulatory bill alongside Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., since 2023. But Thune argued to Fox News Digital that it was Democrats standing in the way.

“I think the Democrats, in my view, clearly are trying to politicize this. I mean, all the rhetoric around it and everything else, and stuff like that. But you know, the truth is, the bill, which we have, that addresses the AI issue, which we worked on for a long time, which actually passed the Commerce Committee in 2024, is available with modifications and updates. It reflects what’s happened since the last time they passed it in our committee.

“The obstacle to getting it up and going and getting it filed is Democrats,” he continued. “So, if they’re looking for a legislative vehicle, there is one out there.”

Meanwhile, Warren said she could see herself supporting a kill switch, but that Hinton made the case that the switch would need a human to flip it, “and a smart AI will persuade a human being not to do it.”

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“They will create enough evidence, enough of a narrative, that no one will ever throw the kill switch,” Warren said. “Which is back to the point I was raising. So, where are the places that you act?”

She argued that Congress needed to find the “pinch points” where humans could still have agency to stop rogue AI. But, for now, there wasn’t a real desire to find a new regulatory and enforcement tool to do so.

“There are things we say are illegal. We have a mechanism for how to enforce the laws that say, ‘Don’t do that,’” Warren said. “It’s not perfect, but we have it. We need a whole new enforcement device now, and nobody seems to be thinking through what that looks like.”

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Wednesday he does not plan to attend protests during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s upcoming visit to New York for the United Nations General Assembly, while denying that he has ever encouraged New Yorkers to protest the Israeli leader.

The comments come less than two months after Mamdani said New Yorkers had the right to protest Netanyahu’s visit and that he would leave the decision to them.

“I do not have any plans to attend any protest at the UNGA,” Mamdani said on Wednesday. “To New Yorkers I have never encouraged them to protest. What I have always told them is that they have the right to do so in this city.”

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Mamdani and Netanyahu have clashed over the Israeli leader’s expected New York visit since July, when Mamdani said he had asked his administration to review applicable law to determine whether the city could execute an International Criminal Court arrest warrant against Netanyahu.

The Democratic socialist mayor said in July that New Yorkers had the right to protest Netanyahu’s visit, calling protest “one of the bedrocks of our city.”

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“It is something that has been a part of what makes our city so special, that New Yorkers can express themselves whether they are in support or in opposition no matter on whatever topic,” he said during the press conference on July 22.

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“And I’ve always said that when we respect our Constitution, we also respect our First Amendment. And here in New York City it will always be a place where you can exercise that,” the Mayor added.

Mamdani has repeatedly criticized Israel’s conduct in Gaza and accused the country of committing genocide, while voicing support for pro-Palestinian causes. He also skipped New York City’s annual Israel Day Parade on May 31, becoming the first mayor in decades to miss the event.

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Mamdani previously called Netanyahu a “war criminal” and “architect of a horrific genocide against the Palestinian people.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Mamdani’s office for comment.