NationalWatch

President Donald Trump secretly boarded a third, smaller U.S. military aircraft using an airport catering truck as cover to depart the NATO summit in Turkey in July while using an older Air Force One jet as a decoy, according to reports.

Citing an official and other material it reviewed, The Washington Post reported that the undercover maneuver took place at Ankara airport amid a credible Iranian threat against the president.

Trump had arrived in the Turkish capital on July 8 aboard a brand-new Boeing 747-8, an aircraft donated by Qatar.

Following U.S. military strikes against Iranian targets earlier in the summer, intelligence officials identified a specific threat from Iran targeting the president’s movements.

TRUMP TAKES INAUGURAL FLIGHT ABOARD NEW AIR FORCE ONE AHEAD OF LIBRARY DEBUT HONORING FAMED OUTDOORSMAN

To counter the threat, U.S. security officials executed a ruse on the Turkish tarmac, according to the outlet.

Trump walked up the stairs of the legacy blue-and-white Boeing 747 — the older Air Force One — and waved to news cameras before entering the cabin.

Minutes later, Trump and a small team of aides were said to have stepped out of view into an airport catering truck that had been lifted to an exit door on the far side of the plane.

TRUMP SAYS HE’S IRAN’S ‘NO. 1’ TARGET AS RENEWED CONFLICT RAISES ASSASSINATION FEARS

The truck lowered to ground level and drove across the tarmac to a nearby Air Force C-32A, a modified Boeing 757.

Meanwhile, the media and White House staff boarded the older 747, believing Trump was inside.

Reporters were then instructed to close their window shades for takeoff, and the jet took off as a decoy, according to the Washington Post.

The legacy jet initially appeared on radar without a call sign before taking the ‘AF1’ call sign midflight, despite Trump not being aboard, according to flight-tracking data reviewed by the outlet.

Trump then flew in secrecy aboard the smaller C-32A to RAF Mildenhall in England, landing shortly before the decoy jet.

NEW AIR FORCE ONE TAKES FLIGHT AS TRUMP UNVEILS REVAMPED PRESIDENTIAL AIRCRAFT

It is unclear how Trump transferred from the C-32A to the legacy Air Force One after landing in the U.K.

At about 10:56 p.m., he appeared before TV cameras and descended the legacy aircraft’s external stairs, according to a media pool report. 

Trump boarded the new Qatari-donated Boeing 747-8 for the return flight to Washington at about 11:01 p.m. Staff and reporters also transferred from the legacy aircraft before departing.

Reporters asked the president about why the window shades were ordered down in Turkey. Trump told them: “You’re probably on a dangerous flight because of the sleaze bags that we have to deal with.”

The president added that he faces threats constantly and is “Number One” on Iran’s target list.

When reached by Fox News for comment on the Washington Post’s reporting, White House Communications Director Steven Cheung said the new Air Force One is a “state-of-the-art aircraft that has been fitted with high-level security protocols that ensure the safety of the President and his staff.”

He added: “As the President has said recently, there are many enemies of America who have their sights on him, and we use every tool at our disposal to address those threats.”

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The U.S. Air Force similarly touted the new Air Force One jet’s safety.

“The aircraft is safe, secure and equipped with the most advanced technologies necessary to meet the requirements of the presidential mission,” the Air Force said in a statement to Fox News. “Those requirements were carefully crafted to prioritize mission over aesthetics, leaving much of the previous head of state interior layout minimally changed. No risk was taken in security, safety or mission communications, but the collective team made trades on some of the less commonly used mission sets that Boeing must deliver to support the next 40 years.”

Fox News also reached out to the U.S. Secret Service for comment.

Fox News’ Pat Ward contributed to this report.

Democratic Gov. Maura Healey was met with applause and smiles as she signed away Massachusetts’ gestational limits on abortion, making the deep-blue state the 10th to permit the procedure up to birth.

Under the Prioritizing Patient Access to Care Act, health care workers will have greater discretion in determining whether to perform an abortion later in pregnancy, without facing legal penalties under the state’s previous restrictions.

Healey said the law is intended to ensure families facing medical complications late in pregnancy can abort their babies in Massachusetts rather than having to travel out of state. Those complications can include maternal health complications and fatal diagnoses.

During the bill signing, Healey pledged to keep abortion safe, legal and accessible in Massachusetts for as long as she remains governor.

LATE-TERM ABORTION TAKES FRONT SEAT AS BLUE STATE RUSHES TO EXPAND ACCESS BEFORE SESSION ENDS

“We believe that health care decisions should be made between women and families and their doctors, not politicians,” Healey said. “Abortion will remain safe. It will remain legal, and it will remain accessible here in Massachusetts. That’s my commitment to you.”

The bill is scheduled to take effect in 90 days. Previously, state law generally prohibited abortions after 24 weeks, with limited exceptions.

Massachusetts now joins Alaska, Colorado, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon and Vermont in removing gestational age limits on abortion, along with the District of Columbia.

NEW JERSEY DEMOCRATS ADVANCE BILL CRIMINALIZING INTERFERENCE WITH ABORTION, TRANSGENDER HEALTHCARE

Healey said Monday’s signing was intended to “stand with women,” arguing that those who oppose the legislation do not support women’s health.

“The bottom line for people in Massachusetts, if you care about women’s health, if you care about making sure that women are able to access the health care that they need in consultation with their doctors, should be clear,” she said. “I stand with women. My opponents do not.”

Healey also framed the legislation as a “shield” against national efforts under President Donald Trump and Republicans to roll back abortion protections following the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade.

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“It is up to the states to lead,” Healey said. “And as governor, I promise that no matter what Donald Trump or Republicans in Congress or the Supreme Court does, we’re going to continue to make sure that women and families have access to the health care that they need, right here in Massachusetts.”

President Donald Trump on Monday demanded that Iran compensate Americans killed or seriously wounded in attacks he blamed on Tehran, while also calling for payments to the families of Iranian protesters killed by the regime.

The president also said he had instructed his representatives to raise his compensation demands in any future negotiations with Iran.

Trump’s remarks came after senior Iranian officials demanded compensation from Washington as part of Tehran’s conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

“I see that Representatives of the Islamic Republic of Iran are asking for compensation for the damage done to them during the last five month Military Conflict (started because, THEY WILL NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON), even though it was never mentioned in any of our negotiations or meetings!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

TRUMP SAYS IRAN WILL PAY — WHAT IT TAKES TO END THE WAR REMAINS UNCLEAR

Trump also called Iran’s request for compensation “an interesting idea” before saying he was also demanding compensation from Iran, “for all of the people that they have killed and gravely wounded with their roadside bombs and many conflicts, for which they are famous, as led initially by General Soleimani, including the families of those killed on the USS Cole, and thousands of others killed in combat.”

“Additionally, compensation should be paid to the families of the hundreds of thousands of innocent protestors that Iran has killed over the last 50 years, not to mention the 52,000 that have been killed in the last five months,” he wrote.

“I have instructed my representatives to put this firmly into any and all future negotiations,” Trump wrote.

TRADE VESSEL STRUCK BY PROJECTILE IN STRAIT OF HORMUZ AMID US-IRAN TALKS

In a second Truth Social post, Trump said Iran should also be held responsible for “the damages and death caused to the people of Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and Gaza.”

Following his two posts, Trump revisited the topic during an executive order signing at the White House and confirmed that Tehran had demanded “reparations.”

“They asked for reparations, you might say,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

“Or they asked for money for the damage that we’ve done. I said that’s a good idea. Well, we’re going to ask for money for the damage they’ve done over a 50-year period,” he said.

INVESTIGATORS BELIEVE IRANIAN HACKERS ARE LIKELY BEHIND CYBERATTACK ON MINNESOTA WATER SYSTEMS: REPORT

Trump added: “So, if there are damages to be paid, I think Iran should pay those damages.”

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said over the weekend that the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed until the United States “corrects its behavior,” setting out a series of conditions for reopening the strategic waterway.

Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, also set out conditions for reopening the strait, including an end to U.S. military operations and threats, the lifting of sanctions, the release of frozen Iranian assets and compensation for war damage, according to reports.

“The Supreme National Security Council will never back down, whether in war or in negotiations,” Zolghadr said.

On Aug. 8, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Iran and Oman were “very close” to reaching a deal on a new shipping route through the strait, but also said there would be conditions, including compensation for what Tehran says were U.S. violations of the Islamabad memorandum of understanding (MOU), Reuters reported.

TRUMP WARNS IRAN FIGHTING ISN’T OVER AS HE VOWS US WILL ‘WIN’ AS TALKS FADE

Trump on Monday also declined to say whether Iran had exhausted its chances to reach a deal with the United States, telling reporters at the White House, “You’ll find out.”

When asked whether the last round of talks was Tehran’s last chance before decapitation strikes, Trump said, “You’ll find out, you’ll find out.”

“Well, we have that certainly that ability if we want to do that. Yeah. You’ll find out,” he repeated.

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Trump also said Sunday that the United States was “only semi-negotiating” with Iran.

The top Democratic lawmaker on the Senate Finance Committee has floated increasing taxes on data centers, a move critics say could raise costs on services used by practically all Americans.

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., released a white paper proposal last week calling to end tax incentives for data centers and to impose an ongoing tax on data centers operating in the United States. Critics of Wyden’s proposal argue that the costs of the new tax could ultimately be borne by all Americans by increasing the costs of common services.

“This tax will be paid by anyone who uses the internet. A tax on data centers is a tax on your email, family photos, small business operations, cloud storage, and your Instagram, X, TikTok and Facebook posts,” Americans for Tax Reform director of innovation technology James Erwin said. “Senator Wyden is betraying his legacy as a champion of a free and open internet accessible to all.”

TEXAS GOV. GREG ABBOTT EFFECTIVELY PAUSES NEW DATA CENTER PROJECTS PENDING STATEWIDE GRID AUDIT

Americans for Tax Reform dubbed Wyden’s proposal a “national internet tax.”

Wyden’s office did not respond to a request for comment when reached by Fox News Digital on Monday.

Wyden’s white paper acknowledges that there is some difficulty in applying a tax to data centers, given how common such facilities are and how wide their utilization is.

“Generally, a data center is a facility that primarily contains electronic equipment used to process, store, and transmit digital information, and may be free-standing or within a larger structure that uses environmental control equipment to maintain the proper conditions for the operation of electronic equipment,” the white paper reads. “This definition alone would be broad, so carveouts would be developed to focus the tax on data centers as commonly understood, rather than trip-wiring ancillary operations into the tax.”

To solve this problem, Wyden suggests excluding “internet infrastructure” from his proposed tax, but does not define what that term means or what kinds of facilities it would cover. The paper does, however, suggest that cloud computing, a highly important piece of internet infrastructure used by many industries, would not be exempted under his tax.

A SOUTHERN STATE JUST TOOK THE TOP SPOT IN ONE OF THE WORLD’S FASTEST-GROWING INDUSTRIES

In addition to excluding data centers from many tax incentives, Wyden’s proposal would hit their owners with a “low single-digit” annual tax on gross receipts, not their profits.

Though Wyden cites land use, local power prices and local water use as the concerns that prompted him to propose the new taxes, he also advocates for taxing any data centers that are built in the Earth’s orbit.

“President Trump is cementing American AI dominance over China while ensuring data centers pay for their own power, water and other utilities,” White House assistant press secretary Liz Huston told Fox News Digital when asked about the Wyden plan. “The President’s commonsense approach will beat China, harness this technological boom and deliver lower costs and new opportunities for working families and small businesses.”

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

Wyden’s proposal clashes with President Donald Trump’s push to accelerate artificial intelligence development and expand the infrastructure supporting it. While Wyden seeks to prioritize assistance for workers and communities disrupted by data center construction, the Trump administration emphasizes maintaining economic growth and ensuring the United States retains a technological edge over China.

The two do have common ground in seeking to limit the impact of data center construction on energy and water prices, though the president has a different way of going about that. A White House official told Fox News Digital that the administration has brought together over 200 utilities, data center developers, cooperatives and state leaders into its “Ratepayer Protection Pledge,” an initiative uniting different stakeholders to facilitate to creation of more energy sources to keep prices low.

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The Oregon senator’s approach, however, is less aggressive than the calls for a total moratorium on data center construction, which Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. have advocated for.

President Donald Trump is spearheading a major overhaul of current childhood vaccination mandates in an effort to give parents more freedom to choose which shots their children take, and when.

Trump signed an Executive Order announcing what the administration is calling the Gold Standard Childhood Vaccine Recommendations, saying that not only do the new recommendations align with other developed nations, but they also with common sense.

A memo on the order recommends children receive immunizations for 11 diseases, fewer than the 18 current Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines. It also ended recommendations that all minors receive the COVID-19 jab.

A Health and Human Services (HHS) scientific assessment compared the U.S. vaccine schedule to those of peer nations in Europe. It found that the American childhood vaccine schedule recommends many more vaccines than most western nation counterparts — sometimes close to double the number of shots.

SWITZERLAND FIRES HOCKEY COACH WHO ADMITTED TO FAKING VACCINATION STATUS FOR 2022 BEIJING OLYMPICS

The memo recommends that parents should have five separate vaccine appointments, instead of children taking all of the vaccines at once.

“I think you’re going to see some amazing results [by] breaking it up,” Trump said in the Oval Office while announcing the order on Monday.

“It’s not just that you’re doing fewer vaccines or jabs, as they say, but you’re doing them in a series of visits to the doctor. Much smaller amounts.”

Trump has previously voiced opposition to appointments where babies and toddlers are given multiple vaccinations at one time.

The memo on Trump’s latest health-related executive action stresses flexibility for parents, urging them to “make individualized decisions for higher-risk children through shared clinical decision-making.”

The memo also recommends separating the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccines into separate shots, instead of taking all three vaccines at once, as is common. It also notes that the U.S. is in the minority of peer nations that mandates vaccinations in order for children to enroll in school.

Additionally, the order focuses on discriminatory practices based on vaccine status.

“In addition, this executive order directs the Attorney General to advance legal challenges against states that violate children’s rights to religious or medical vaccination exemptions,” Trump said.

“Parents can still choose to give their children all of the vaccinations if they wish, it’s up to the parents — we’re making recommendations that are strong – but it’s up to the parents if they wish and they will be covered by insurance,” he continued. “However, this updated recommendation finally aligns the United States with other advanced and developed nations around the world. More importantly, it aligns us with common sense and knowledge.”

LONGER LIVES, WORSE HEALTH? SCIENTISTS UNCOVER TROUBLING TREND ACROSS GENERATIONS

The order is part of Trump’s commitment to Make America Healthy Again (MAHA). Last year, the president, by executive order, launched the MAHA Commission, aimed at addressing the causes of what the administration says is an “escalating” health crises.

The commission was specifically directed to investigate childhood chronic diseases. The probe led to “a sweeping plan with more than 120 initiatives to reverse the failed policies that fueled America’s childhood chronic disease epidemic.”

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The White House did not provide further comment when reached about the latest initiative.

GOP gubernatorial frontrunner Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Wis., is warning voters that a potential general-election matchup with socialist state Rep. Francesca Hong could determine whether socialism gains a foothold in Wisconsin as Tuesday’s primary approaches.

Tiffany, speaking to Fox News Digital alongside former Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, said the election could determine whether Wisconsin becomes a “firewall” against the spread of socialism as far-left candidates continue to beat out moderate Democrats throughout the country in primary elections.

“Is the heartland going to be the firewall that stops this movement of socialism coming from, especially the East Coast?” Tiffany said. “And I think Wisconsin will be. We’ll be the place that stops socialism.”

SCOTT WALKER: DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS ARE COMING FOR MY STATE. THIS IS HOW WE BEAT THEM

Hong, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), backs progressive policies such as calling for the defunding of the police, abolishing prisons, creating public banks and grocery stores, universal childcare and a $20 minimum wage.

Her “TAX THE RICH” plan proposes raising state income taxes by 1% for couples making over $431,000 and individuals making over $323,000.

“I think what Francesca Hong stands for is the antithesis of America,” Youngkin said. “She wants to defund police, close prisons. She wants to get rid of the military. She wants to get rid of the presidency. I mean, these are all the things that the DSA stands for and she is a card-carrying member.”

“I just know my friends and neighbors, including some who are Democrats, they are not crazy,” Tiffany said. “They do not believe in some of these crazy policies, abolish prisons, abolish police, highest tax rates that you could possibly have. I mean they do not accept that.”

WISCONSIN DEM SOCIALIST GUBERNATORIAL HOPEFUL DODGES WHETHER SHE STILL WANTS TO ‘ABOLISH POLICE’

Past social media posts from Hong have drawn scrutiny, including a 2021 post stating that police “exist to uphold white supremacy” and posts calling to abolish the U.S. Senate and criticizing Thanksgiving and Valentine’s Day.

She has since walked back some of her comments, although she recently refused to give a direct answer asking for her current stance on defunding the police, but acknowledging her inability to do so as governor.

“[They are] going to do everything they can to walk them back, but people see through this,” Tiffany said. “Those flip-flops, people know about that already and they’re going to know about it as we go through the final, you know, couple months of the campaign. They see through that type of stuff when you are not genuine.”

When asked to respond to Tiffany’s criticism by Fox News Digital, Hong characterized her past posts as some “bad takes.”

“You have some hot takes, sometimes bad takes on Twitter,” Hong said about the posts. “And I let my feelings out into the world.”

Republicans, like Tiffany and Youngkin, have sought to portray Hong’s progressive record as a liability for the battleground state.

JOHNSON TURNS DEMOCRATS’ SOCIALIST CIVIL WAR INTO NEW WEAPON FOR MIDTERMS

“This is a moment for the heartland of America to stand up for America,” Youngkin said of the race.

Tiffany, a Trump-endorsed member of the House Freedom Caucus and a former dairy farmer, spoke to Fox News Digital about the race as he and Youngkin held last-minute campaign events on home ownership and school choice leading up to Tuesday’s primary.

Hong has argued that Democratic voters are fed up with the party establishment, claiming her candidacy appeals to a variety of both Democrats and Republicans, who disagree with President Donald Trump and his aligned candidates.

TOP WISCONSIN DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST CANDIDATE CONFRONTED ON PAST ‘DEFUND POLICE’ RHETORIC

Tiffany and Hong enter Tuesday as the frontrunners in their respective primaries, with Tiffany running against medical service technician Andrew Manske, and Hong facing off against three other Democratic candidates — Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, former Wisconsin Department of Administration secretary Joel Brennan and democratic state Sen. Kelda Roys.

“[Tiffany] is what’s gonna be on the ballot against someone who literally wants to deconstruct America,” Youngkin said.

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“This is what this election eventually is gonna be about — common sense against crazy.”

A socialist leader squirmed during a tense Sunday interview after a local California television anchor pressed her on the real-life ramifications of the radical party’s calls to abolish police and prisons.

In an interview with NBC 4 Los Angeles, anchor Conan Nolan posed pointed questions to Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) National Political Committee Member Frances Gill on the topics of law enforcement, immigration and the movement’s other far-left proposals.

After a brief back-and-forth over what defunding the police means and how that would be applied in practice, Gill resorted to deflecting by refusing to engage in ‘hypotheticals.’

DSA CO-CHAIR PUSHES BACK ON SOVIET UNION COMPARISONS, WANTS PRISONS TO BE ‘LESS NECESSARY’

“What we really want to see is a horizon where folks are not reliant on armed enforcement to meet our public safety needs,” Gill conceded.

“Right, but it says ‘defund police’ on your website — that’s your goal — and also to get rid of prisons and jails, correct?” he pressed, to which Gill answered affirmatively.

“So if my daughter is assaulted and raped, is there any agency that would seek to find her assailant and bring him to justice?” asked Nolan.

“Of course, yeah of course—” said Gill before the host jumped back in with a follow-up question.

“What would it be if not police and where would he be if not a jail?” asked Nolan.

SOCIALIST HOUSE NOMINEE’S RADICAL LAW-AND-ORDER VISION: ‘WHAT ARE ILLEGALS?’

“So I guess I really want to avoid getting caught into these hypotheticals and talk about the reality that we’re actually facing right now,” Gill dodged.

That reality, she said, is the city spending “outrageous amounts on police and policing,” instead of addressing real issues plaguing Los Angeles. She suggested that the lack of street lights, substance abuse treatment and mental healthcare are all contributing to a lack of public safety and rise in crime.

The pair then clashed over voter demographics in Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary, won by DSA-adjacent candidate Abdul El-Sayed — closely associated with extremist streamer Hasan Piker, who once said America deserved 9/11. The two palled around on the campaign trail.

2026 MIDTERMS STATE OF PLAY: KEY RACES UNFOLD AS STEVENS, EL-SAYED BATTLE IN MICHIGAN

Nolan noted that El-Sayed’s support came overwhelmingly from college-educated voters like Gill, and that El-Sayed lost the state’s 15 counties where the majority of voters did not have a college degree, characterizing the latter as the “working class” that DSA claims to support. Noting that she has $500,000 in student debt, Gill said college-educated voters like herself believed their degrees would lead to prosperity, but ultimately they found themselves downwardly mobile because society’s “scales are tipped in one direction to benefit the rich.”

On the issue of border security, Gill became defensive and questioned whether Nolan was acting in “good faith” when he quizzed her about whether there would be any border security if, like the DSA promotes, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was abolished.

DEM REP HENRY CUELLAR REJECTS DSA AGENDA, SAYS SOCIALISTS ARE TRYING TO ‘USE’ DEMOCRATIC PARTY

“I guess I don’t understand why we kind of constantly get pinned on these particular questions when the immediate reality of the situation is that immigration enforcement is absolutely out of control, needs to be addressed immediately and we know that in Los Angeles, like, more than almost any other city in the country,” she said.

She also denied that former President Joe Biden opened the borders. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data show that the agency encountered at least 11 million people during Biden’s presidency.

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Under President Donald Trump, that number has waned to fewer than 10,000 per month, and the administration touts that zero illegal aliens have been released into the country since retaking office.

Fox News Digital reached out to DSA for comment on Gill’s interview.

Conservatives online aren’t willing to forgive and forget the destruction caused by woke activists over the past several years after Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., flippantly cast aside the behavior as a thing of the past.

AOC, an original member of the so-called Squad of progressives elected to Congress in 2018, brushed off in a Sunday morning interview the first wave of ‘woke,’ which she helped champion.

“You don’t get to spend years pushing to fundamentally transform the country, divide it on racial lines, inject DEI into every institution, and then try to brush it off as a minor misunderstanding when your worldview turns out to be extremely unpopular with the American people,” said Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, on X in response to her comments.

ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ SHRUGS OFF PAST ‘DEFUND THE POLICE’ COMMENTS, JOKING ‘WOKE 1 WAS CRAZY’

ABC “This Week’ host Jonathan Karl briefly pressed the congresswoman, who is a member of the New York chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), on radical comments made by fellow socialist and Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate Francesca Hong in 2020 and 2021.

“I have a local city councilman that has this saying, ‘Woke 1 was crazy,'” Ocasio-Cortez said while grinning. “And I think that what’s important is that we have to assess what a candidate is saying now.”

But the political right isn’t ready to extend an olive branch to proponents of woke-ness like AOC, no matter which version or iteration of the movement they are pushing.

“AOC and the far-left said these issues were existential just a couple of years ago. They said we needed to reorder our entire society and nation around them… ” said one X account with more than 350,000 followers. “Now they are laughing it all off, admitting they got swept up and couldn’t think logically. You are not fit to lead.”

“Never forget that AOC led Woke 1 charge,” said conservative commentator Steve Guest.

HASAN PIKER MAKES AOC HIS 2028 PICK FOR PRESIDENT, SAYS IT’S ‘NOT EVEN A QUESTION’

AOC’s posts from that time period demonstrate as much, like several where she claimed men could have periods.

“Not just women! Trans men & non-binary people can also menstruate,” she tweeted in 2021, earning 64,000 likes on the social media platform. “Some women also don’t menstruate for many reasons, including surviving cancer that required a hysterectomy. GOP mad at this are protecting the patriarchal idea that women are most valuable as uterus holders.”

In a follow-up post, she wrote: “Trans, two-spirit, and non-binary people have always existed and will always exist. People can stay mad about that if they want, or they can grow up.”

“AOC is going to run for president in 2028. Now she’s saying Democrat policies in 2020 era — woke 1 she calls it — were all crazy,” said Outkick founder Clay Travis. “Many of us remember being ripped for opposing all these insane policies. Now Dems want to pretend that era never happened.”

There is speculation that the four-term congresswoman will throw her hat into the ring for the Democratic nomination for president during the 2028 election cycle. So far, however, she has dodged questions on the subject of her political future.

If she were to launch a bid, it’s likely the party would push AOC to shift further towards center left if she wants to earn the backing — and the money that comes with it — of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and the rest of the Democrat establishment.

“Democrats think they can brush this off without actually conceding anything. ‘Wow man, those 2010s were crazy and 2020 was insane, wasn’t it?’ You don’t get to laugh away the generational enemies you created,” said commentator Christian Heiens.

“Does calling Woke 1 crazy mean you now oppose any of the ideological positions that Wokeism demanded of you? Of course not. They haven’t changed their minds about anything,” he continued. “These things have come to define the Left at this point. No Democrat can oppose them without losing their primary.”

AOC TAKES PAGE FROM BIDEN PLAYBOOK IN DODGING INTERVIEWS WITH NATIONAL PRESS

Other online critics called for further explanation about what qualities of “Woke 1” Democrats like AOC now oppose that they once publicly supported.

“If you’re going to go with the line ‘Woke 1 was crazy,’ I think we need a bit fuller of an account of why you and these other politicians became crazy and what you all learned about how not to do it again,” said Josh Barro, who bills himself as a political centrist.

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Fox News Digital reached out to AOC’s office for comment, but did not hear back at time of publication.

Conservatives piled on former Vice President Kamala Harris after she warned Americans would have to “prove who you are” under the SAVE America Act, arguing her criticism inadvertently turned into a sales pitch for the Republican-backed bill.

“Incredible SAVE America Act saleswoman,” wrote conservative commentator Eric Daughetry on X.

Harris posted a video on her X account Friday discussing midterm elections while highlighting the SAVE Act, including lamenting to voters that “you’re going to have to have proof of who you are.”

She added the bill will require “a passport, which a lot of Americans don’t have, or a birth certificate. Same point, obstacles to make it difficult for you to register to vote.”

SCHUMER SAID ‘DEMOCRATS SUPPORT VOTER ID’ — THEN EVERY SENATE DEMOCRAT VOTED AGAINST GOP BILL

Trump has made passage of the SAVE Act a top priority for his administration, pushing the stalled election legislation through a series of pressure tactics, including tying it to defense spending and threatening housing legislation.

The clip went viral among conservatives, with Trump even pinning the video to the top of his profile on Truth Social.

“The Jim Crow comparisons are tired. The poll tax is gone. Jim Crow is gone. Proving you’re an American citizen before voting in an American election is not oppression. It’s common sense,” said Texas Rep. Wesley Hunt in response.

WATCH: ELISSA SLOTKIN SAYS SAVE AMERICA ACT WOULD MAKE IT ‘HARD FOR ANY DEMOCRAT’ TO WIN AN ELECTION

“This is CRAZY- imagine a world where you have to prove who you are,” said former White House press secretary Sean Spicer.

“She needs to hang it up,” wrote Oversight Project vice president of litigation Jeff Clark.

“Kamala Harris complains that if the SAVE America Act passes, people will have to prove who they are in order to register to vote,” wrote conservative commentator Benny Johnson.

“Wonder why Kamala Harris thinks this is a bad thing,” posted Elon Musk’s political action committee America.

“Kamala Harris on the SAVE Act: it would require Americans to ‘prove who you are’ to vote. Trump reposted her clip himself,” said Fox News anchor Sean Hannity.

REPUBLICAN SAYS TRUMP’S TOP ELECTION PRIORITY ‘DEAD’ IN SENATE AS GOP FRACTURES AHEAD OF MIDTERMS

Trump has warned about the need for voter ID laws for years, including from the 2016 campaign trail.

With Congress out of session and the midterms approaching, Trump is continuing to push lawmakers to prioritize passage of the SAVE Act, keeping pressure on Republicans to act when they return to Washington. 

Democratic lawmakers have argued the SAVE Act would create unnecessary barriers for eligible voters, most notably potentially disenfranchising them.

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Fourteen states and Washington, D.C., do not require most voters to present identification when voting in person.

President Donald Trump announced in a Sunday Truth Social post that assistant to the president and White House staff secretary Will Scharf will soon serve as White House counsel.

“It is my Great Honor to announce that, effective September 1st, Will Scharf will become Assistant to the President and White House Counsel, replacing a man, David Warrington, who has done a truly outstanding job as White House Counsel and, before that, for my Presidential Campaign. David will be going on to the Private Sector,” Trump said in the post.

“Will has done an amazing job in his current role as White House Staff Secretary, and has also served as Chairman of the National Capital Planning Commission. I know Will well! He previously represented me in numerous cases, including at the Supreme Court, during the Biden Administration’s corrupt and illegal campaign of Weaponization,” the president continued.

BLANCHE SURVIVES REPUBLICAN DEFECTORS AS TRUMP GETS HIS NEW ATTORNEY GENERAL

“He also previously served as a Federal Prosecutor, worked as an attorney in private practice, clerked for two Federal Appeals Court Judges, and was a top student at both Princeton University, and Harvard Law School. Will is Tough, Strong, and Smart! He also loves our Country, and respects the Law. Will Scharf will do a great job as White House Counsel!” Trump added.

Scharf is the man who has sometimes been seen handing the president documents to sign and explaining the purpose of each item.

White House chief of staff Susie Wiles congratulated Scharf in a post on X, which White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt retweeted.

“Warmest congratulations to Will Scharf as he will soon take the helm as White House Counsel. There is so much winning ahead!” Wiles wrote.

TRUMP PRAISES SUSIE WILES’ CANCER FIGHT IN SURPRISE GALA VIDEO: ‘WINNING IT DECISIVELY’

“And to my friend Dave Warrington: thank you for your tenure as White House Counsel, Trump-Vance campaign counsel, and President Trump’s loyal attorney. The White House Counsel’s Office helped deliver 24 Supreme Court victories and the confirmation of 54 judges. And much more. I can’t wait to see what’s next for you. It will most certainly be fantastic!” Wiles added.

Conservative commentator Josh Hammer, who in 2023 announced that he and Scharf had co-founded “Jews Against Soros,” told Fox News Digital during a Monday phone call that he thought Trump “hit a grand slam home run with” Scharf, who will be a “tremendous boon to the White House counsel’s office.”

TRUMP LAWYER WILLIAM OWEN SCHARF PICKED FOR ‘CRUCIAL’ WHITE HOUSE ASSISTANT ROLE

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Hammer indicated that they did not really have the time to develop the Jews Against Soros effort, but said that he and Scharf were “fed up with the idea that” criticism of left-wing political megadonor George Soros represents “a dog whistle for antisemitism,” while Soros, Hammer asserted, funds “a ton of antisemitism and anti-Israel activity worldwide.”

A California lawmaker is fighting back against an environmental regulation that he says is raising costs for Americans across the country via a “hidden tax” on a variety of goods.

Rep. Vince Fong, R-Calif., is leading legislation to roll back a Biden administration-era regulatory rule that effectively allows California to levy massive cost penalties on shipping vessels docked in its ports.

“It’s a massive hidden climate tax that’s being imposed on every single ship that’s coming into California. And so all of those costs now are getting passed on to consumers,” Fong told Fox News Digital in an interview. “Our ports, they work through and process over 40% of all the containers that come into the United States.”

CALIFORNIA SUES TRUMP EPA OVER MOVE TO SUBJECT STATE VEHICLE EMISSIONS WAIVERS TO CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW

Fong’s legislation would target the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) authorization allowing California to enforce the rule, called the Vessel At Berth regulation, which was granted in 2020 under Gov. Gavin Newsom’s tenure.

It lets the California Air Resources Board (CARB) force a number of large vessels like cargo ships to shut off their diesel engines and instead use a state-approved emissions strategy when docked in the Golden State’s ports. A failure to do so could result in potentially tens of thousands of dollars of penalties — costs that Fong said are then passed to people buying goods delivered by those ships.

Without the Biden administration’s green light, the deep blue state would be rendered mostly toothless. That’s why the Trump administration asked Congress to initiate a review of the rule in July 2026, which is what Fong’s legislation would pave the way for.

A Senate counterpart to his bill was introduced by Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, who told Fox News Digital that families in his state “pay the price” when California imposes new mandates.

The Port of Los Angeles is consistently ranked as the busiest in the country in terms of traffic, followed by the Port of Long Beach — both in California.

THE OVERLOOKED WAY THE IRAN WAR IS MAKING GROCERIES, AMAZON PACKAGES AND NEW HOMES MORE EXPENSIVE

Currently, most large ships that do not shut off their diesel engines and plug into the state’s electrical grid or use some mode of electric energy instead could see tens of thousands of dollars per day in penalties. Similar to cars, ships need to run their engines to power lights, temperature regulation and other onboard systems.

Fong argued that because current infrastructure hasn’t caught up to allow universal compliance, it inevitably leads to shipping companies paying penalties. He said those penalties affect a variety of goods.

“When you order something on Amazon, when a small business is buying product to put products on their shelves, when grocery stores are trying to get products into the stores, when you’re trying to buy gasoline — all of those things come through either the port, or it comes through some type of mechanism through a ship,” he said. “And so when you add additional costs on our transportation system and our shipping network, those costs ripple throughout the entire supply chain.”

It comes at a time when Americans across the country are feeling the strain of the high cost of living, which has emerged as a central issue in the coming midterm elections.

Fong said failing to roll back California’s mandate could keep a precedent in place allowing other states to similarly seek the EPA’s permission to enforce such standards.

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“You have shipping companies that have paid hundreds of millions of dollars in penalties, if you aggregate it all. And as this goes on, this could ripple throughout the United States,” Fong said. “You have other states now that are looking at California and say, well, if they’re gonna do it, we might do it too. So this could grow exponentially.”

FIRST ON FOX: The U.S. State Department announced on Monday that it has revoked more than 175,000 visas during President Donald Trump’s administration so far.

The announcement comes less than two years since Trump started his second term.

“Under President Trump, the United States Department of State has revoked more than 175,000 visas from foreign nationals who violated the terms of their visas, committed crimes, called for violence against U.S. citizens, defrauded Americans, abused our immigration system, or endangered national security,” the State Department noted.

FOREIGN DRUNK DRIVERS COULD FACE SWIFT BOOT OUT OF COUNTRY UNDER TRUMP’S ‘AMERICA FIRST’ CRACKDOWN

“The majority of these visas were revoked due to law enforcement encounters for a range of criminal activity, with assault, driving under the influence, theft, and drug crimes being the leading causes. A significant share of visas were revoked for reckless driving, sexual assault, child abuse, fraud and embezzlement, and other crimes,” according to the department.

The department pointed to some examples of individuals who allegedly committed heinous crimes.

TRUMP SIGNS EXECUTIVE ORDERS TARGETING BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP, BIRTH TOURISM AFTER SUPREME COURT SETBACK

It indicated some of the individuals whose visas were revoked included “A foreign national who was charged with felony rape and sexual battery – including of a victim who was mentally disabled” and “A foreign national charged with felony kidnapping, human trafficking, and sexual exploitation of a minor.”

The department also pointed to the issue of birth tourism.

“A U.S. embassy in North Africa revoked over 100 visas for ‘birth tourist’ parents who came to the United States primarily to give birth so their children would get U.S. citizenship,” the department noted.

TRUMP ADMIN REVOKES BRAZILIAN AMBASSADOR’S VISA IN ESCALATING DIPLOMATIC FEUD

“Under President Trump and Secretary Rubio’s leadership, the State Department will continue to identify, investigate, and revoke the visas of foreign nationals who threaten the safety of the American people. A U.S. visa is a privilege, not a right. The Department remains committed to using every tool available to protect our communities from those who abuse it,” the department declared.

Fox News’ Nicholas Kalman contributed to this report

FIRST ON FOX: House Republicans have adopted a new weapon on the campaign trail as they fight to keep control of Congress for the latter half of President Donald Trump’s term — using Democrats’ own intraparty civil war against them.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is unveiling a website on Monday that will highlight the contrast between what he calls “common sense and crazy.”

The name for the new initiative is “Contrast for America,” a play on the Newt Gingrich-led “Contract with America” GOP policy platform used during the 1994 midterm election.

That same year saw a massive red wave help the GOP retake the House and Senate for the latter two years of former President Bill Clinton’s first term, and Republicans are hoping to harness that energy now as they fight an uphill battle to retain the House and Senate.

MIKE JOHNSON PREDICTS GOP COULD GAIN UP TO EIGHT SEATS IN MIDTERMS, DEFYING HISTORICAL TRENDS

The website is divided into five separate parts, beginning with a video message from Johnson that includes a montage of Fox News clips and compares images of unrest in U.S. cities to videos of patriotic displays of the country’s 250th anniversary.

“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. It must be fought for. It must be protected. It has to be taught, passed along to the next generation. Thirty-five years ago, Republicans and Democrats in Congress, they were fighting communism on a distant shore. Now it’s here,” Johnson says in the video.

The website also includes a timeline of failed communist governments throughout the world, followed by dueling lists that show what Republicans are running on versus what Democrats’ far-left insurgency is pushing.

SOCIALIST VICTORIES SHOW DEMS’ DESCENT DOWN ‘DEADLY PATH OF COMMUNISM,’ JOHNSON WARNS

It comes as candidates linked to the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) surge to the top of Democratic primaries across the United States, even toppling establishment and progressive incumbents in places like Colorado and New York.

Johnson’s website highlights those specific DSA-linked candidates along with Republicans who are endorsed by House GOP leaders.

“House Republicans have delivered working families tax cuts to put more money in your pocket, a secure border, safer streets, American energy dominance, an end to woke indoctrination for our kids, and renewed American strength abroad. Meanwhile, Democrats have surrendered to the socialist and communist far-left that wants to abolish borders, defund police, abolish prisons, raise your taxes, and shred our Constitution, leaving America less safe, less prosperous, and less free,” Johnson told Fox News Digital in a statement.

“By highlighting this decisive contrast for America and our common sense polices and America first candidates, House Republicans are ready to defy history and win the midterms.”

100 DAY SPRINT TO THE MIDTERMS KICKS OFF AS REPUBLICANS AND DEMOCRATS CLASH FOR CONTROL ACROSS THE COUNTRY

Political history shows that the party in power in the White House usually loses one or both houses of Congress during the midterm elections.

But the slate of DSA victories is giving Republicans new hope that they can buck tradition.

Among the DSA’s policy goals are abolishing the Senate, police, and the prison system, extending voting rights to noncitizen permanent residents, and establishing public ownership of large corporations.

DSA candidates have also called for abolishing the nation’s borders and granting mass amnesty to people in the U.S. illegally.

It’s a message Johnson has made on the campaign trail already as he’s campaigned in Wisconsin, North Carolina, Washington, Oregon, and Alaska, with plans to hit a total of 30 districts across 18 states.

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Whether the message is potent enough to buck decades of political history, however, will become clear in November.

Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., asserted that all Muslim public servants in the U.S. pose a threat to the nation.

“Every single Muslim holding public office in America is a trojan horse, and a threat to both national security and our republic,” Mace declared in a Friday post on X. “We refuse to be silent.”

Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., condemned Mace’s comments and insisted that Republicans should do so as well.

EL-SAYED TOUTS ENDORSEMENT FROM PASTOR WHO PRAISED NOTORIOUS ANTISEMITE INFAMOUS FOR CALLING JEWS ‘TERMITES’

“This is absolutely disgusting and dangerous. Republicans must denounce this blatant Islamophobia. To Muslim communities across America: I will always stand with you,” Jayapal wrote in a Saturday post on X.

Mace, in part of a post replying to Jayapal, wrote, “Islam must be confronted and Islam must be removed from civil society in the US.”

IMAM WHO PRAYED BEFORE CONGRESS FACES FORMAL REBUKE AFTER CELEBRATING GRAHAM’S DEATH

California state Sen. Scott Wiener, who is running for the U.S. House in San Francisco, wrote, “Nancy Mace is on yet another bender demonizing Muslims and advocating to strip them of full citizenship. She is a vile person.”

Owen Jones, a British man who describes himself on X as a “Socialist, antifascist, writer in various places,” shared Mace’s post and wrote in a Saturday post, “This is a Republican Congresswoman. If she spoke like this about Jewish Americans, she would right be regarded as a loud-and-proud Nazi. Islamophobia is spiralling out of control in the US.”

Mace shared Jones’ post and wrote on Sunday, “If not wanting to be blown up, stabbed, or rammed by a car by a radical Islamist in the United States of America makes us Islamophobes, then so be it.”

DEMS IN THE HOT SEAT FOR SKIPPING CRUCIAL HEARING ON RADICAL GROUP HIDING IN US: ‘EMBARRASSMENT’

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Mace, who has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2021, ran unsuccessfully in the Republican South Carolina gubernatorial primary this year.

Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, has released a video on X saying she and her congressional staff involved in a Toledo, Ohio, car accident earlier this month are in good shape, thanking the well-wishes for helping fuel her “very rapid recovery.”

“As I move to physical rehabilitation, sharing a message with the thousands who shared good wishes from our community, across our region, our country, and around the world,” the longest-serving woman in U.S. House history, Kaptur, 80, wrote on X and sharing the video.

“It’s made a huge difference in my very rapid recovery. Each of you continue to uplift my spirit as we move forward. Thank you!”

Kaptur, a 22-term House member serving since 1983, and her staffer Keegan Zimmerman were in a vehicle traveling to a church service when it was struck in what police described as a “hit-skip” crash near Detroit and Central avenues in Toledo. Ohio law uses the term hit-skip for a driver’s failure to stop following a crash.

OHIO REP MARCY KAPTUR HOSPITALIZED AFTER HIT-AND-RUN CRASH ON WAY TO CHURCH

“Dear friends, first of all, thank you so very, very much for the thousands of good wishes that are coming from our community, across our region, our state, our country, and even around the world,” Kaptur says in the video, where she is seated on what appears to be a wheelchair in front of an office window. “Really, it’s made a huge difference in my very rapid recovery.

“I want to thank all of you on behalf of myself, my beautiful staff, including Keegan Zimmerman who was with me on that fateful day on Sunday a week ago. He also is in good shape. And I’m working my way back and am so grateful for all of the help that has been given to me in this effort.”

The House is on August recess, giving her additional time to recover before returning to Washington, D.C.

“We will not return to Washington until next month, so I’m blessed to have time to recover fully, and I want to thank the first responders, the fire and rescue squads, the police, and all of the medical personnel that served us at such a fateful moment,” she added in the video.

TRUMP-BACKED REPUBLICAN ADVANCES TO FACE VULNERABLE DEMOCRAT IN KEY HOUSE BATTLEGROUND

She is seeking another term in November in a rematch against former Ohio State Rep. Derek Merrin after narrowly defeating him in 2024. The race will be a key battleground in the bellwether state of Ohio.

In 2024, she won by just more than the 0.5% margin that would have triggered an automatic recount, with a Libertarian candidate snagging about 4% of the vote.

But, she is recovering after the crash where she suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was active and alert after the collision, her office reported after the crash.

“It was not a pleasant experience and there were wounds that resulted, but let me tell you we have to be very grateful in this region to have the kind of dedicated medical staff that exists at Mercy St. Vincent’s treating patients from across this region, many of are underserved,” she said in the video. “Absolute dedication to saving lives. I was just so impressed.”

TOP DEMOCRAT LAWMAKER SUFFERS MINOR INJURIES IN DELAWARE CAR CRASH

Kaptur closed the video by showing viewers a handmade get-well card she received from a child. The card included a drawing of a brown dog named Charlie, whom Kaptur jokingly described as “half-human.”

“We’ve heard from many people of many ages, and I received this card from a young gentleman named Avery,” she said. “Isn’t this sweet? That’s his dog, Charlie. And he and I happen to be friends. And he was worried about me. So he did this card for me.

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“And I’ll just read it for you: It says, ‘Get well soon’ – with Charlie, with hearts, because I really love this dog, Charlie. He’s half-human. And signed Melanie, Adam, Eli, and Avery.”

“These are wonderful people, and they uplift your spirits, and each of you uplift my spirit as we move forward.”

Rep. Gabriel Vasquez, D-N.M., voted against the package that implemented President Donald Trump’s “no tax on tips” law despite calling for a permanent implementation of the policy just a month later.

“Tipped workers deserve to take home more of their hard-earned pay,” Vasquez told local outlets in August.

Vasquez, along with the rest of his Democratic colleagues, voted against President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” which became law on July 4 and included the no-tax-on-tips provision.

‘FLIP FLOP’: DEMOCRAT FIREFIGHTER IN TIGHT HOUSE RACE BLASTS POPULAR TRUMP POLICY HIS NATIONAL UNION SUPPORTS

But unlike most Democrats who have soundly condemned almost every facet of the tax and border security package, Vasquez’s call to further extend portions of the bill highlights his attempts to win over one of the most competitive districts in the country.

To at least one Republican onlooker, it’s a thinly-veiled ploy to sway on a policy he ultimately tried to stop.

“Defund the police Gabe Vasquez wants to raise taxes, rip away benefits from workers, and make families’ lives harder. New Mexicans want none of Vasquez’s radical agenda,” Reilly Richardson, a spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee, said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

Responding to questions about his vote, Vasquez’s campaign said he had opposed other measures included in the Big Beautiful Bill, such as reforms to Medicaid parameters that implemented an 80-hour work requirement for non-disabled adults ages 19-64 beginning in 2027.

“Vasquez would have happily voted for a permanent no tax on tips policy that didn’t kick millions of hardworking families off Medicaid and food assistance and push our rural hospitals to the brink of closure,” Patricia Socarras Santiago, a campaign spokesperson, said.

The campaign also highlighted recent jobs reports, arguing that Trump’s proposals weren’t doing enough to confront job stability in the hospitality industry.

“The Administration’s latest jobs report today tells the truth about our tipped worker economy under MAGA leadership, and it’s not pretty: tipped workers in fields like hospitality are losing their jobs, and inflation is outpacing any gain made by a temporary no tax on tips policy.” 

Notably, Vasquez isn’t calling for an expansion of the current law.

“The current sham version of ‘no tax on tips’ isn’t going to cut it,” Vasquez said as he called for its expansion. “The reality is, under the law Republicans just passed, every worker will still pay taxes on tips and overtime.”

His proposal, which he introduced earlier this year as H.R. 1314 or the TIPS Act, would eliminate subminimum wages, the taxable, low-end salary that most tipped workers earn. In New Mexico, for instance, employees must pay workers $2.13 per hour.

‘PAWN STARS’ ICON RICK HARRISON SAYS TRUMP TAX POLICIES CHANGE EVERYTHING FOR SMALL BUSINESSES

Vasquez’s language would also make the policy permanent. Trump’s policy, set under the Big Beautiful Bill, has a four-year lifespan before expiring in 2028.

On Tax Day in April, Vasquez highlighted his bill in a press release and slammed the Trump administration for, in his view, misinforming voters about what the no-tax-on-tips provision does and doesn’t do. He noted that taxes still apply to overtime pay and that only businesses earning over a set amount qualify for the policy.

“Tax Day is no one’s favorite time of year, but I worry this filing season is going to be especially frustrating for a lot of folks. Many hardworking New Mexicans may be surprised when they file and realize they don’t qualify for the tax relief they were promised,” Vasquez said.

“New Mexicans deserve honesty. Instead of confusing, temporary policies, I’m focused on real solutions that help workers and seniors actually keep more of their hard-earned pay and benefits in their pockets — not with the IRS.”

SCOOP: HOUSE REPUBLICANS TARGET DOZENS OF VULNERABLE DEMOCRATS ON EVE OF TAX FILING DEADLINE

Having captured the party’s nomination by running unopposed in the primary, Vasquez now looks ahead to the Nov. 3 general election, where he will face off against Republican nominee Greg Cunningham, a veteran and former DEA narcotics officer.

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

As wars spread, trade tensions escalate and inflation remains stubbornly high, governments around the world are quietly buying more gold, a sign many are preparing for a future they believe will be more uncertain.

A new World Gold Council survey found that 89% of central banks expect global gold reserves to grow over the next year, while a record 45% plan to add to their own holdings. Central banks are the institutions that manage a country’s money and financial reserves.

For everyday Americans worried about rising prices, growing government debt and what comes next for the economy, the trend is worth paying attention to.

A SINGLE TRUMP ANNOUNCEMENT SPARKS BILLIONS IN LOSSES ACROSS GOLD AND SILVER

Some experts say central banks buying more gold is a sign they expect today’s economic and geopolitical uncertainty to stick around.

That’s because gold has long been considered a safe place to put money during wars, market turmoil and periods of high inflation because it isn’t tied to the economy or policies of any one country.

Why governments are buying gold

For decades, central banks have invested heavily in U.S. Treasurys — government debt backed by the U.S. and considered among the world’s safest investments.

But Cavatoni said many countries are now adding gold because they want another layer of protection against inflation, global instability and economic turmoil.

WHAT TRUMP’S NEXT PICK TO LEAD THE FEDERAL RESERVE MEANS FOR YOUR WALLET

“They’re looking at diversifying,” Cavatoni said. “And gold fills that need because it provides liquidity, diversification and protection against inflation and geopolitical uncertainty.”

The World Gold Council survey backs that up.

About 90% of central banks said gold’s performance during times of crisis is one of the main reasons they hold it. Another 84% cited its role as a long-term store of value and inflation hedge, while 83% said it helps diversify their reserves.

Those reasons have fueled a global buying spree.

Who’s buying?

While China has received much of the attention, it isn’t alone. Central banks around the world have been steadily increasing their gold reserves.

According to Cavatoni, Poland, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, the Czech Republic, Chile, Jordan and Ghana have also been among this year’s biggest buyers.

While the United States still owns more gold than any other country, much of today’s buying is coming from developing economies looking to rely less on foreign currencies they don’t control.

“The U.S. has no natural need to continue to accumulate more reserves in the form of gold,” Cavatoni said.

The survey also found that nearly three-quarters, or about 74%, of central banks expect the U.S. dollar’s share of global reserves to be lower five years from now, while they expect gold’s share to increase.

What does this mean for everyday people?

The same concerns driving governments to buy gold are also attracting individual investors.

One trend that surprised Cavatoni is that even with gold trading near record highs, people aren’t rushing to sell.

“It tells me a couple of key things,” Cavatoni said. “People are less likely to let go of their gold.”

For everyday investors, the trend doesn’t necessarily mean they should rush out and buy gold. But it does offer a window into how some of the world’s largest financial institutions are preparing for uncertainty, with central banks placing greater value on diversification and protection against economic and geopolitical risks.

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And individual investors appear to be showing a similar mindset.

Instead of cashing in, both investors and many central banks are holding on to or building their gold positions, a sign that they see gold less as a short-term investment and more as long-term financial insurance in an increasingly unpredictable world.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., revealed that she is freezing her eggs, opening up about the deeply personal decision in a series of Instagram Story videos while saying the procedure will give her more control over her future and using the announcement to criticize the Trump administration’s policies on women’s reproductive health.

The progressive “Squad” member posted the videos Saturday, explaining that she had spent years considering the procedure and saving for it before deciding to undergo fertility preservation.

Ocasio-Cortez said she wanted to be open about the process because women are often not taught enough about their reproductive health or family-planning options.

AOC SAYS MAHA ADVOCATES’ FIGHT ‘ISN’T PARTISAN’ AS SHE BLASTS HEALTHCARE SYSTEM FOR FUELING ‘A TON OF ANXIETY’

“I have made the decision to start freezing my eggs,” Ocasio-Cortez said.

“I was weighing it for a very long time, and I think that I was saving for it for a very long time.”

Ocasio-Cortez, who was first elected to Congress at 28, said serving in office at a young age meant navigating major life decisions publicly in a way many people do not.

“When you get elected young, you have to grow up in the public eye in a time that most people usually get to grow more privately,” she said.

MELINDA FRENCH GATES SAYS IT TOOK 3 DOCTORS TO DIAGNOSE THE CONDITION SHE WAS SUFFERING FROM

The New York Democrat said she hoped sharing the experience would help normalize conversations about fertility, pregnancy, menopause, perimenopause, PCOS and other aspects of women’s health that she believes are too often overlooked.

“As women in general, we are not taught about our bodies,” Ocasio-Cortez said, referencing puberty, pregnancy, perimenopause, menopause and conditions including PCOS.

“I think we need to show more depictions of women having full lives in every context and every choice,” she added.

Ocasio-Cortez framed the move as an effort to take more control over her future.

NEW JERSEY DEMOCRATS ADVANCE BILL CRIMINALIZING INTERFERENCE WITH ABORTION, TRANSGENDER HEALTHCARE

“This is a choice that I am making to feel more in control of my life,” she said. “If people want to make assumptions about my decision, let them make those assumptions. I feel empowered to make this choice.”

She acknowledged that being able to undergo the procedure was a privilege and said advances in technology had helped make egg freezing more financially accessible.

Ocasio-Cortez then pivoted to politics, saying she was aware there could be a “political tax” associated with disclosing such a personal decision and arguing that female politicians face scrutiny around marriage, pregnancy and family planning that male politicians often do not.

She also blamed the Trump administration for what she described as an increasingly hostile environment for women’s reproductive choices.

LATE-TERM ABORTION TAKES FRONT SEAT AS BLUE STATE RUSHES TO EXPAND ACCESS BEFORE SESSION ENDS

“In the political context that we’re in, in an administration that is dedicated to politicizing women’s bodies and taking our choices away from us and punishing us around decisions to be pregnant or not be pregnant,” she said.

“Frankly, this administration has made pregnancy more dangerous than probably at any point in the last 30-plus years,” Ocasio-Cortez added.

“We’re going to take our power back,” she said. “And we have to talk about it.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment on Ocasio-Cortez’s remarks.

SEE IT: MARK KELLY BLAMES TRUMP’S AGENDA FOR BOOSTING AOC AS DEMS PRESIDENTIAL PICK

The announcement quickly drew criticism from some conservatives on social media, including Turning Point USA spokesman Andrew Kolvet, who argued that Ocasio-Cortez’s decision reflected what he described as a broader progressive message prioritizing careers over starting families.

“This is the message progressives spread when it comes to family formation, and one of the reasons why fertility rates are cratering,” Kolvet wrote on X.

“Just freeze your eggs, kids! Pursue that career, even if you’ve been engaged for 4 years to a man you’ve known since college,” he continued.

“AOC turns 37 in a few weeks so if she got pregnant tomorrow it would already be a geriatric pregnancy. This is not female ‘liberation,’ it’s a cautionary tale.”

FDA TO REVIEW 7 POPULAR PEPTIDES TOUTED FOR WEIGHT LOSS, HEALING AND LONGEVITY

Ocasio-Cortez has been engaged to longtime partner Riley Roberts since May 2022.

Her egg-freezing announcement comes roughly seven years after the New York Democrat famously warned in 2019 that “the world is gonna end in 12 years if we don’t address climate change,” leaving about five years remaining under that timeline.

Ocasio-Cortez said she plans to take viewers through parts of the egg-freezing process, including the hormone injections required ahead of egg retrieval.

She said she had already filmed herself unboxing her medications and administering her first shot.

The congresswoman said she would even give herself one of the injections in the green room before appearing on an ABC morning show.

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“I’m gonna take my shot in the green room before my interview,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “Because women can do anything.”

“I think it’s bad— that I’m gonna be, you know, giving myself shots in the green room, get my glam on, roll out, talk about international events, domestic policy, elections, pop out, live my life, do my thing.”

President Donald Trump escalated his criticism Sunday over the dismissed Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool vandalism case, pointing to a National Park Service employee’s account that former Olympian David Hearn “violently” ripped and tugged at the pool’s coating before authorities arrived.

Trump shared a screenshot from court documents on Truth Social that detailed interviews with two National Park Service employees who were cleaning the interior of the Reflecting Pool when Hearn approached the area.

According to the document, one employee, identified as W-1, said Hearn initially used his cellphone to take what the employee believed were photos or video of damage to the pool.

WHITE HOUSE CONDEMNS ‘TARGETED SABOTAGE’ OF REFLECTING POOL AS REPAIRS PUSHED PAST JULY 4 CELEBRATION

The employee then alleged Hearn “knelt, placed both hands into the reflecting pool, below the surface of the water, and started to ‘violently’ rip and tug at a large portion of the blue pool coating,” according to the document Trump posted.

The filing further states that W-1 asked a second NPS employee to contact police and told Hearn not to touch or pull at the coating. Hearn allegedly responded that NPS personnel were “awfully sensitive about the pool” and continued tugging at the coating until National Guard soldiers arrived.

Trump pointed to the witness account Sunday as he continued pressing his case after federal prosecutors moved to dismiss the felony charge against Hearn earlier this month.

“ALERT: A National Park Service career employee, a highly credible witness, saw David Hearn (ActBlue) in broad daylight vandalize the Reflecting Pool by ‘violently’ ripping and tugging at the Pool’s somewhat delicate coating,” Trump wrote.

TRUMP URGES JEANINE PIRRO TO REVISIT DROPPED LINCOLN MEMORIAL REFLECTING POOL VANDALISM CASE

The president said the employee provided the account to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in early July and argued that the statement bolstered his claim that at least some of the damage was caused deliberately.

Trump also alleged that other incidents occurred around the Reflecting Pool, including the use of an “acid like material” on newly installed grass beside the pool, where “86 47” was allegedly written.

“There was substantial other damage to the Reflecting Pool, also but, unfortunately, there is no video or proof, other than the damage, itself,” Trump wrote.

Trump acknowledged in the same post that contractors were responsible for a portion of the problems at the pool, saying there was “some contractor error” as crews rushed to finish the renovation ahead of July 4, but he described that damage as limited.

TRUMP SHARES NEWS OF ‘CRYSTAL CLEAR’ REFLECTING POOL, CALLS FOR VANDALISM SUSPECT’S ARREST

“We are working on the Pool, and it will reopen shortly,” Trump said, adding that security cameras have been and are being installed.

The latest post comes days after Trump urged U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro to revisit the case after prosecutors dropped the charge against Hearn.

Hearn was indicted July 2 on one count of felony destruction of property after U.S. Park Police alleged he grabbed and pulled at a loose portion of the pool coating on June 19 and continued after being told to stop by a National Park Service employee. Officials initially alleged the damage exceeded $1,000.

Pirro’s office later said prosecutors had received only “barebones” reports from the Department of the Interior before seeking the indictment and were not initially given records documenting broader problems with the pool coating’s installation.

FORMER US OLYMPIAN DAVID HEARN INDICTED IN ALLEGED REFLECTING POOL VANDALISM

Prosecutors said documents produced after the indictment showed that some of the Reflecting Pool damage was tied to flawed installation by contractor Atlantic Industrial Coatings and a push to finish the project before events surrounding the America 250 celebration.

“Had DOI been forthcoming with the information clearly in its possession, the government would not have sought a grand jury indictment,” prosecutors wrote in seeking dismissal.

The government said the newly disclosed evidence made it difficult to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Hearn caused the damage alleged in the indictment. Prosecutors asked for the case to be dismissed without prejudice, leaving open the possibility that charges could be brought again.

OLYMPIAN CHARGED IN REFLECTING POOL VANDALISM DONATED THROUGH DEM FUNDRAISING GIANT

Trump has repeatedly challenged Pirro’s decision, saying last week that he “disagree[d] 100%” with the U.S. attorney and later accusing her of having “choked” under pressure in the case.

Hearn’s attorneys, Norm Eisen, Mary Dohrmann and Steve Levin, previously said the case “should never have been brought” and accused the administration of wrongly arresting and charging a man they said “did nothing wrong.”

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Trump, however, argued Sunday that the witness account shows the Reflecting Pool damage wasn’t caused by faulty construction alone, pointing to the government’s own court filing to support his claim.

Fox News Digital’s Brie Stimson and Jackson Thompson contributed to this report.

Certain migrant communities are helping to drive widespread fraud that has cost taxpayers billions of dollars, Vice President JD Vance told Fox News Digital.

In an interview in his office in the West Wing of the White House last week, Vance discussed his work leading the fraud task force under President Trump. Vance said his team has found a clear pattern of collaboration involving migrant communities.

“You definitely see patterns where certain communities,” Vance said. “It’ll start as maybe one Somali person takes advantage of the system, or realizes you don’t even have to have children to get money from these programs. You could just claim that you have children, there’s no verification. Then, word spreads like wildfire, and that program gets tapped into by the same members of that community.”

TRUMP TOLD DONORS ‘WE NEED TO ELECT JD,’ SOURCE CONFIRMS, AS HE WEIGHS VANCE OR RUBIO IN 2028

Vance, who is also leading ongoing negotiations with Iran and recently welcomed a new addition to his family, has a robust portfolio. He was tapped to tackle fraud after the issue exploded in Minneapolis earlier this year and is now working with Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz and other agencies.

In recent months, hundreds of hospice and home health agencies suspected of fraud in Minnesota and California have had federal payments suspended, and a number of other states are also under the watch of the task force. Vance said the fraud his team has uncovered has many victims.

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT’S LANDLORD JOINS VANCE FRAUD CRACKDOWN AS WHITE HOUSE WIDENS HUNT: ‘CRITICAL FORCE’

“The first and the most obvious victim is the American taxpayer,” Vance said. “You give your money to the federal government, and you expect the federal government, even if you disagree with the policy behind it, you expect that money to go to the people that it’s supposed to go to.”

“When a new mom goes to apply for help for herself and her baby, the money isn’t there anymore,” said Vance, whose office is adorned with artwork by his kids, a rosary, a photo of him and Usha kissing on Mount Rushmore and a glass replica of a diet Mountain Dew can.

“Or, you have autistic kids who benefit from services that are meant to go to the families of children with autism, and you have fraudsters who get rich off these programs,” he added. “Sometimes they don’t even have children, much less autistic children enrolled.”

FBI ADDS 2 FUGITIVES TO ‘MOST WANTED FRAUDSTERS’ LIST AMID HISTORIC $6.5B HEALTHCARE TAKEDOWN: PATEL

Vance revealed that roughly $230 billion in fraud has been uncovered since Trump took office and that $55 billion in federal payments to suspected fraudsters has been halted.

Last week, federal and state law enforcement charged 19 defendants accused of participating in schemes involving more than $4 million in claims submitted to Medicare and Medicaid, according to the Department of Justice.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday also announced a plea agreement involving the final defendant in a previously charged 21-defendant case tied to more than $1.7 million in claims in the Keystone State.

Prosecuting fraudsters is one thing, but Vance said that recouping the money presents yet another challenge, since much of it has already been spent.

“Getting money back is very hard,” Vance said. “Once it’s gone out the door, it’s very hard to get it back.”

“What we’ve done most effectively is actually just stop the money from going out the door in the first place, because that’s the only real way to ensure the American people don’t lose it.”

At the end of last year, reports and social media coverage from independent journalist Nick Shirley exposed a network of daycare centers, like the “Quality Learing (sic) Center,” that were allegedly fraudulent and operated mostly by Somali immigrants.

OWNER OF DAYCARE IN VIRAL NICK SHIRLEY VIDEO CHARGED IN $4.6M DAYCARE FRAUD SCHEME, PROSECUTORS SAY

The reports sparked swift action from the administration, and former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem deployed DHS and ICE agents to the streets of Minneapolis to catch and deport Somali immigrants in the country illegally. The deployment sparked a clash between local residents and federal agents that exploded into violent riots across the Twin Cities.

While the duties of a vice president vary from one administration to another, Trump has leaned heavily on his No. 2. Vance has traveled abroad twice to meet directly with Iranian leaders and regularly provides updates on the negotiations to the press. That role came after Trump appointed Vance as the head of the White House’s anti-fraud task force in May, dubbing him the “Fraud Czar.”

Despite his array of assignments, Vance, who recently turned 42, and his wife, first lady Usha Vance, had their fourth child last month, making him the first sitting vice president to have a child in more than 150 years.

“Kids have a way of forcing you to focus on them, even when things are crazy at work,” Vance said. “[I was] with my six-year-old this morning, who was making like zoo animal noises, and I was like, ‘Buddy, what are you doing?’ And he said, ‘I just want you to get off the stupid phone.’ And I said, ‘Alright, this can wait.'”

SECOND LADY USHA VANCE SHARES FAMILY PHOTOS FEATURING NEWBORN WHO IS LESS THAN 1 WEEK OLD

Whether in his current role or possibly as Trump’s would-be successor, Vance believes his family values make him better at his job.

“Kids are so, they’re so in their own little world that they sort of force you to go into their world, and that’s a very, very good thing,” he said. “It’s good for my psychology. I think it’s good for my soul, but it’s a very good thing. The job obviously has its demands and the schedule can get kind of crazy.”

Vance, who at 44 would be just a year older in 2028 than John F. Kennedy was when he was elected president, has always demurred when asked about running for president. But although Trump recently told reporters it is “way too early” for him to endorse a successor, he has sent mixed signals.

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“At the end of the day, we need to elect JD,” Trump said during an Oval Office meeting with donors last month, a source with knowledge of the comments confirmed to Fox News Digital on Thursday. The Washington Post was the first to report the president’s comments.