NationalWatch

Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s political action committee spent more than $1.5 million buying thousands of copies of his new memoir — accounting for about two-thirds of all copies sold nationwide — according to campaign finance filings. 

The PAC spending helped propel Newsom’s memoir, “Young Man in a Hurry,” onto the New York Times bestseller list and is raising new scrutiny as his national profile builds ahead of a possible 2028 presidential run.

In November, the Campaign for Democracy Committee launched a book campaign asking donors to contribute any amount to the PAC to receive the memoir when it was released on Feb. 24. Newsom spokesperson Nathan Click told the New York Times that the PAC bought about 67,000 copies—representing a substantial portion of the 97,400 total sold.

“We were thrilled with the response,” Click told the New York Times. “Our goal was to deepen the relationship between him and the millions of folks who have already expressed support for Governor Newsom’s work.”

TRUMP QUESTIONS NEWSOM’S FITNESS FOR WHITE HOUSE, CITING HIS DYSLEXIA

The PAC made two payments totaling over $1.5 million to Porchlight Book Company, according to a FEC filing posted on Wednesday and reviewed by Fox News Digital. The governor will not receive royalties from the books sold through the campaign, the New York Times reported. 

THE MOST UNUSUAL PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: NEWSOM IS DYSLEXIC, STRUGGLES WITH SPEECHES, REJECTS ‘LIBERAL’ LABEL 

When asked about the book’s ranking on the best seller list, a New York Times spokesperson explained the outlet places a dagger symbol on the list to indicate when a book’s ranking has been influenced by a bulk purchase.

“When The Times has reason to believe that sales of a book include a mix of organic and bulk sales, the book’s best-seller ranking is accompanied by a dagger. That’s what we did with the Newsom book,” Nicole Taylor, spokesperson for The Times, said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

Fox News Digital reached out to representatives for Newsom but did not immediately reply. 

Book promotion is common among politicians, but Newsom’s PAC spending outpaces similar political committee purchases. The Republican National Committee, for example, spent about $100,000 in 2019 purchasing Donald Trump Jr.’s book, the New York Times noted in its report.  

GOV GAVIN NEWSOM: FROM PRIVILEGE TO HEARTBREAK, MY LIFE BEHIND THE HEADLINES

Newsom’s memoir is focused on the challenges he faced in his upbringing, addressing his battle with dyslexia and having divorced parents, as well as his political career. 

Newsom’s book tour, which included visiting cities across the nation, drew criticism from conservatives for the Democrat governor allegedly putting himself over leading California. 

Chairwoman of the California Republican Party Corrin Rankin told Fox Digital, in response to the book campaign, she believes Newsom is trying to “rebrand his national image” while abandoning issues at home, as recent data underscores ongoing challenges in the state.

Social media commenters have not shied away from mocking Newsom over the book sales, including Republican California gubernatorial candidate and former Fox News host Steve Hilton. 

“Gavin Newsom’s ‘bestseller’ memoir just got the ultimate California treatment: his PAC dropped $1.56 million of donor cash to buy 67,000 free copies and mail them to anyone who donated any amount,” Hilton posted to X on Thursday. “That’s two-thirds of all print sales. Nothing says ‘Young Man in a Hurry’ like rigging your own book numbers with political slush funds while California burns.”

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Newsom is considered a top potential 2028 presidential candidate for the Democrat Party, though he has not confirmed whether he will officially throw his hat in the ring. 

One month after President Donald Trump ordered a government-wide halt on artificial intelligence firm Anthropic’s technology following a clash with the Pentagon, the company’s CEO is back at the White House for high-level talks — as officials reconsider whether a system they sidelined over national security and political concerns may be too important to ignore.

A source familiar with the meeting told Fox News White House chief of staff Susie Wiles met with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei Friday. 

Anthropic’s new artificial intelligence model, Mythos Preview, is considered so advanced that the company has restricted its release, limiting access to a small group of partners over concerns about potential misuse.

The meeting signals a rapid reversal inside the Trump administration, as officials weigh whether a system previously flagged as a national security risk could also be critical to defending U.S. infrastructure — exposing a growing internal tension over how to handle powerful AI tools with both defensive and offensive potential.

MADURO RAID QUESTIONS TRIGGER PENTAGON REVIEW OF TOP AI FIRM AS POTENTIAL ‘SUPPLY CHAIN RISK’

The talks come despite a recent clash inside the Trump administration, as officials reconsider a company the Pentagon flagged as a supply chain risk. Its ties to former Biden officials and past criticism of Trump by its CEO have added a political dimension to the debate over whether its technology should return to government use.

That potential and the risks that come with it already have triggered tensions inside the U.S. government.

Pentagon clash, legal fight and reversal put Anthropic back in play

The meeting comes after a sharp break between Anthropic and the Pentagon earlier in 2026.  

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth designated the company a national security “supply chain risk,” effectively cutting it out of military systems and barring contractors from using its technology.

Anthropic is now challenging the designation in court, after filing multiple lawsuits against the Pentagon and other federal agencies arguing the “supply chain risk” label is unlawful and retaliatory. 

The designation, which effectively bars contractors from using Anthropic’s technology and has been compared to measures typically reserved for foreign adversaries, already has faced conflicting rulings in federal court, with one judge temporarily blocking parts of the policy while an appeals court declined to halt its enforcement. The legal fight is ongoing, leaving contractors and agencies navigating uncertainty over whether and how Anthropic’s systems can be used.

The move followed a dispute over how the Pentagon could use Anthropic’s AI. 

The company declined to grant open-ended authorization for “all lawful purposes,” instead insisting its systems not be used for mass domestic surveillance or fully autonomous weapons. While Pentagon officials said they do not rely on AI for either purpose, they rejected being constrained by a private company’s restrictions.

Trump then directed federal agencies to stop using Anthropic’s models altogether, escalating the standoff beyond the Defense Department into a government-wide halt.

Now, just weeks later, the company is back in high-level talks with the White House as officials weigh whether its new Mythos system — despite the earlier ban — could shift the balance of cyber defense and attack.

Political ties and past criticism may complicate White House talks

The dispute also has taken on a political dimension.

Amodei previously has drawn attention for his criticism of Trump, at one point likening him to a “feudal warlord” in a pre-2024-election Facebook post, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

In an internal message posted on Anthropic’s Slack platform and later leaked to The Information, Amodei suggested the Trump administration’s dispute with the company was driven in part by its refusal to offer what he described as “dictator-style praise.” 

The message, written during a rapid escalation of tensions in early March, later was cited by the Wall Street Journal and other outlets. Amodei subsequently apologized for the tone, saying the post did not reflect his considered views.

FEDERAL APPEALS COURT REJECTS ANTHROPIC BID TO BLOCK PENTAGON BLACKLIST IN AI DISPUTE

When asked about Anthropic’s governance, hiring and broader political ties, a White House official said the administration “continues to proactively engage across government and industry to protect the United States and Americans,” including “working with frontier AI labs to ensure their models help secure critical software vulnerabilities.”

The official added that “any new technology that would potentially be used or deployed by the federal government requires a technical period of evaluation for fidelity and security,” and said “the collective effort of all involved will ultimately benefit industry, and our country, as a whole.”

Beyond the immediate dispute, the company’s broader ties to Washington also have drawn attention.

Anthropic’s governance structure has also drawn attention as the administration weighs closer engagement. The company is overseen in part by an independent “Long-Term Benefit Trust,” an unusual mechanism designed to give nonfinancial stakeholders influence over corporate decisions. 

The trust holds special voting shares that allow it to appoint and eventually control a majority of the company’s board, with members drawn from national security, public policy and global development backgrounds.

Current trustees include Clinton Health Access Initiative CEO Neil Buddy Shah, Carnegie Endowment president Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar, a Democrat who was appointed to the California Supreme Court by former Gov. Jerry Brown in 2014, and Center for a New American Security CEO Richard Fontaine — who advised John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign. The group is a mix of policy and national security leaders that underscores the company’s deep ties to Washington and global policy circles.

Anthropic’s backers also have placed it at the center of overlapping tech, policy and political networks. 

Early funding for the company included investments from figures such as Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, both longtime Democratic donors, and a major early investment from Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX.

At the same time, the company has since attracted a broad range of major institutional investors — including Amazon, Google and Microsoft — reflecting its growing role in the global AI race and complicating efforts to characterize it along purely political lines.

The company also has brought on several officials from the Biden administration into key policy roles, further embedding Anthropic in Washington’s AI policy ecosystem. Among them is Tarun Chhabra, a former National Security Council official who now leads the company’s national security policy work, as well as other advisers and staff with experience shaping federal AI and technology strategy.

Anthropic also has sought to build ties across party lines as it expands its presence in Washington. 

The company employs policy staff with Republican backgrounds, including legislative analyst Benjamin Merkel and lobbyist Mary Croghan, and in February added Chris Liddell — a former deputy White House chief of staff under Trump — to its board. It has contributed $20 million to Public First Action, a bipartisan group that backs candidates from both parties who support AI regulation.

The company has also faced criticism from within the Trump administration. 

White House AI adviser David Sacks has accused Anthropic of pursuing a “regulatory capture” strategy, arguing the firm is using concerns about AI safety to push rules that could benefit its own position while slowing competitors. 

Anthropic has pushed back on those claims, saying its approach reflects genuine concerns about the risks posed by advanced AI systems.

Anthropic declined to comment on the White House meeting and questions about its political ties.

JUDGE FREEZES TRUMP ADMIN MOVE AGAINST AI FIRM, FUELING BATTLE OVER SECURITY AUTHORITY

New AI system could reshape cyber warfare, raising alarms inside US government

The new technology could help developers identify and fix long-standing security flaws, but it could also give hackers a powerful new tool to target U.S. businesses and government systems.

“Given the rate of AI progress, it will not be long before such capabilities proliferate, potentially beyond actors who are committed to deploying them safely,” Anthropic said in its announcement. “The fallout — for economies, public safety, and national security — could be severe.”

Anthropic has not released Mythos publicly, instead limiting access through a program called Project Glasswing, where a select group of companies use the model to scan critical systems for vulnerabilities.

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The company says the system has already uncovered thousands of previously unknown flaws — some decades old — underscoring both its defensive value and the risk it could be used to accelerate cyberattacks if the technology spreads.

Fox Business’ Edward Lawrence contributed to this report.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Friday that the Trump administration is working with federal agencies and the FBI to review a growing number of cases involving American scientists who have gone missing or died and to determine whether any of the cases may be connected.

“In light of the recent and legitimate questions about these troubling cases, and President Trump’s commitment to the truth, the White House is actively working with all relevant agencies and the FBI to holistically review all of the cases together and identify any potential commonalities that may exist,” Leavitt said in a post on X.

“No stone will be unturned in this effort, and the White House will provide updates when we have them.”

Leavitt’s statement came after a Wednesday exchange with Fox News’ Peter Doocy, who asked whether federal authorities were investigating reports that scientists with access to sensitive U.S. research had gone missing or died.

MOST SHOCKING EXAMPLES OF CHINESE ESPIONAGE UNCOVERED BY THE US THIS YEAR: ‘JUST THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG’

“There are now 10 American scientists who have either gone missing or died since mid-2024,” Doocy said. “They all reportedly had access to classified nuclear or aerospace material. Is anybody investigating this to see if these things are connected?”

Leavitt said at the time that she had seen the reports but had not yet spoken with the relevant agencies.

“I’ve seen the report, Peter. I haven’t spoken to our relevant agencies about it,” she said Wednesday. “I will certainly do that and we’ll get you an answer. If true, of course, that’s definitely something I think this government and administration would deem worth looking into.”

The number of cases has since grown, with an 11th scientist now included among the deaths and disappearances involving people tied to U.S. military, nuclear and aerospace research.

Amy Eskridge, a Huntsville, Alabama-based researcher who died in 2022 at age 34, is now being included in the list, Fox News Digital has reported.

Her death has drawn renewed attention as at least 10 other recent cases involving people tied to advanced research fields have raised questions about whether there may be a pattern.

CHINESE RESEARCHER ON US VISA CHARGED WITH SMUGGLING E. COLI INTO THE COUNTRY, FBI DIRECTOR KASH PATEL SAYS

President Donald Trump said Thursday he had “just left a meeting” on the issue and vowed answers within days, calling the situation “pretty serious.”

“I hope it’s random, but we’re going to know in the next week and a half,” Trump said.

The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration said it is aware of the reports and is looking into the matter.

“NNSA is aware of reports related to employees of our labs, plants, and sites and is looking into the matter,” the agency said in a statement.

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Officials have not confirmed any connection between the cases. But the timing of the deaths and disappearances, along with the individuals’ ties to advanced research fields, has drawn public attention and speculation.

There is no publicly available evidence linking Eskridge’s death to the other cases, and authorities have not indicated any tie between her work and the circumstances of her death.

Former President Barack Obama is urging Virginians to vote in favor of a congressional redistricting ballot measure that if passed, could give Democrats a big boost in this year’s midterm elections.

“By voting yes, you have the chance to do something important — not just for the Commonwealth, but for our entire country,” Obama said in the video. “By voting yes, you can push back against the Republicans trying to give themselves an unfair advantage in the midterms.”

The video by the former president, who remains one of the most popular former presidents and whose favorable ratings among Democrats remain very high a decade after leaving the White House, was released Friday on the eve of the final day of early voting ahead of Tuesday’s statewide referendum.

If the ballot measure is successful, it would give the Democrat-controlled legislature — rather than the current nonpartisan commission — temporary redistricting power through the 2030 election. It could result in a 10-1 advantage for Democrats in Virginia’s congressional delegation, up from their current 6-5 edge.

OBAMA ENDORSES VIRGINIA REDISTRICTING CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT THAT COULD HELP DEMS GAIN 4 SEATS

That would give Democrats four additional left-leaning U.S. House seats ahead of the midterms, as the party tries to win back control of the chamber from the GOP, which currently holds a razor-thin majority.

“By voting yes, you can take a temporary step to level the playing field. And we’re counting on you,” Obama said in the video.

Republicans call the Democrats’ redistricting effort an “unconstitutional power grab.” Democrats counter that it’s a necessary step to balance out partisan gerrymandering already implemented by Republicans in other states under the urging of President Donald Trump.

The video by Obama is the former president’s latest effort tied to the referendum. He has previously appeared in ads released by Virginians for Fair Elections, the Democrat-aligned group working to pass the ballot initiative.

Virginians For Fair Maps, the leading Republican-aligned group opposing redistricting, is using past comments by Obama against political gerrymandering in their ads opposing the referendum.

“Because of things like political gerrymandering, our parties have moved further and further apart, and it’s harder and harder to find common ground,” the former president says in a clip showcased in the spot.

A separate group that is also urging Virginians to vote no has sent mailers across the state featuring Obama’s image alongside a six-year-old quote from the former president saying, “For too long, gerrymandering has contributed to stalled progress and warped our representative government.”

Supporters of redistricting have dramatically outraised and outspent groups opposed to the referendum. But polling suggests support for the ballot initiative is only slightly ahead of opposition, amid a surge in early voting.

Virginia is the latest battleground in the high-stakes fight between Trump and the GOP versus Democrats over congressional redistricting.

BATTLE FOR THE HOUSE RUNS THROUGH VIRGINIA AS COURT OKS HIGH-STAKES REDISTRICTING VOTE

Aiming to prevent what happened during his first term in the White House when Democrats reclaimed the House majority in the 2018 midterms, Trump last spring first floated the idea of rare, but not unheard of, mid-decade congressional redistricting.

The mission was simple: redraw congressional district maps in red states to pad the GOP’s fragile House majority to keep control of the chamber in the midterms, when the party in power traditionally faces political headwinds and loses seats.

When asked by reporters last summer about his plan to add Republican-leaning House seats across the country, the president said, “Texas will be the biggest one. And that’ll be five.”

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas called a special session of the GOP-dominated state legislature to pass the new map.

But Democratic state lawmakers, who broke quorum for two weeks as they fled Texas in a bid to delay the passage of the redistricting bill, energized Democrats across the country.

Among those leading the fight against Trump’s redistricting was Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom of California.

REPUBLICANS TARGET VIRGINIA GOVERNOR IN BID TO DEFEAT DEMOCRAT-BACKED REDISTRICTING

California voters in November overwhelmingly passed Proposition 50, a ballot initiative that temporarily sidetracked the left-leaning state’s nonpartisan redistricting commission and returned the power to draw the congressional maps to the Democratic-dominated legislature.

That is expected to result in five more Democratic-leaning congressional districts in California, which aimed to counter the move by Texas to redraw their maps.

The fight quickly spread beyond Texas and California.

Republican-controlled Missouri and Ohio, and swing state North Carolina, where the GOP dominates the legislature, have drawn new maps as part of the president’s push.

In blows to Republicans, a Utah district judge late last year rejected a congressional district map drawn up by the state’s GOP-dominated legislature and instead approved an alternate that will create a Democratic-leaning district ahead of the midterms.

Meanwhile, Republicans in Indiana’s Senate in December defied Trump, shooting down a redistricting bill that had passed the state House. The showdown in the Indiana statehouse grabbed plenty of national attention.

Florida is next up.

Two-term Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and state lawmakers in the GOP-dominated legislature are hoping to pick up an additional three to five right-leaning seats through a redistricting push during a special legislative session that kicks off on April 28.

Hovering over the redistricting wars is the Supreme Court, which is expected to rule in Louisiana v. Callais, a crucial case that may lead to the overturning of a key provision in the Voting Rights Act.

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If the ruling goes the way of the conservatives on the high court, it could lead to the redrawing of a slew of majority-minority districts across the county, which would greatly favor Republicans.

But it is very much up in the air — when the court will rule, and what it will actually do.

Virginia voters are set to decide a redistricting referendum Tuesday, even as a high-stakes legal challenge before the state’s Supreme Court argues the amendment should be invalidated because it was pushed through an unlawfully extended legislative session.

The case centers on whether lawmakers violated the Virginia Constitution by keeping the special session open for nearly two years to pass the redistricting measure, a move critics say was an abuse of legislative authority. The measure, if it passes Tuesday and survives state Supreme Court scrutiny, would reshape the state’s congressional map so that Democrats have a 10-1 advantage in the upcoming midterms.

“The voters are the first hope that we have, and the best one,” Jason Snead, executive director of Honest Elections Project, told Fox News Digital, warning that if the referendum passes, the Supreme Court decision could be “the last chance” before the next census to challenge the map.

VIRGINIA DEM ADMITS REDISTRICTING PUSH AIMS TO ‘STOP TRUMP’, NOT ABOUT ‘FAIRNESS’

Snead’s group this week submitted a brief to Virginia’s highest court making the case that the legislative special session was improperly extended.

“If you look at what the Constitution of Virginia requires and what the law requires, it’s very clear that what happened here was an illegally extended special session that essentially turned a part-time legislature into a full-time one,” Snead said. “They kept it open for nearly two years and then used that to push through a constitutional amendment — and we think that’s a blatant violation of the limits the Constitution puts on legislative power.”

Virginia Democrats, led by Gov. Abigail Spanberger and House Speaker Don Scott, passed an amendment this year that they argued allowed them to bypass the typical redistricting process in the state to shift the current 6-5 map to 10-1. Scott told reporters in February the move was a direct response to national redistricting fights playing out across the country.

NEW POLL REVEALS SPANBERGER’S POPULARITY IS PLUMMETING AMID BACKLASH OVER GERRYMANDERING

“This is about leveling the playing field across the country. Republicans are gerrymandering maps to override the will of the voters,” Scott said. “We just saw it in Texas, North Carolina and Missouri. At Donald Trump’s direction they’re manipulating election maps because they know they can’t win on their agenda in 2026. … A 10-1 map levels the playing field.”

Democrats have argued to the Supreme Court that the General Assembly has broad constitutional authority to manage its own legislative sessions and procedures, including extending a special session, and that nothing in the Virginia Constitution explicitly prohibits how this particular session was handled. 

The Honest Elections Project’s brief argues otherwise.

“If you look at what the law requires, it’s very clear that Governor Spanberger and her allies are steamrolling the process to try to launch a power grab,” Snead said

SPANBERGER ONCE BLASTED GERRYMANDERING AND NOW BACKS AMENDMENT CRITICS SAY COULD ERASE VIRGINIA GOP

The Supreme Court decided in March to allow the referendum vote to move forward while it considers Republicans’ arguments challenging how the map amendment was passed by way of a special session.

“It is the process, not the outcome, of this effort that we may ultimately have to address,” the state’s highest court found. “Issuing an injunction to keep Virginians from the polls is not the proper way to make this decision.”

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The state Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the case April 27 and a decision could come anytime after that.

Fox News Digital reached out to Spanberger’s and Scott’s offices for comment.

The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts on Thursday gave preliminary approval to President Donald Trump’s plan for a massive new triumphal arch monument in the nation’s capital, according to the New York Times.

The outlet reported that the body holds an advisory role regarding the project’s design, but does not wield enforcement authority.

The Associated Press reported that the commission approved the concept for several projects, including the arch. The federal agency next will review updated designs for all three projects at a future meeting before taking any final votes.

GOLDEN EAGLES, LIONS AND A WINGED LADY LIBERTY TOP TRUMP’S PROPOSED 250-FOOT DC TRIUMPHAL ARCH DESIGNS

The proposed monument features a giant arch topped with a winged Lady Liberty statue flanked by eagle statues.

Near the base of the arch there would be lion statues.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House on Friday.

The AP reported that White House spokesperson Davis Ingle indicated that the commission’s action is “another step in accomplishing President Trump’s promise to the American people from the campaign trail — to Make America Safe and Beautiful Again.”

DEMS UNLOAD ON TRUMP’S LATEST DC UPDATE WITH ‘CHRISTIAN NATIONALIST’ BROADSIDE, LEGAL PUSH

Reports indicate that commission vice chair James C. McCrery, II raised number of design notes, including the possibility of not including the statues atop the monument.

“And I wonder… if it’s not even a better, more Washingtonian design without the three finials,” he said.

LEAVITT SHOWS OFF US TRIUMPHAL ARCH, WITH PLANS TO BE RELEASED THURSDAY

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“I’d say work on the lions and find replacements for them,” he said, noting that as he had indicated previously, “they’re not of this continent.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report

Amy Eskridge, a Huntsville, Alabama–based researcher who died in 2022, is now being cited as the 11th case in a growing list of scientists who have died or disappeared under unusual circumstances.

Her death has drawn renewed attention as at least 10 other recent cases involving individuals tied to U.S. military, nuclear and aerospace research have prompted questions about whether any pattern exists.

President Donald Trump said Thursday he had “just left a meeting” on the issue and vowed answers within days, calling the situation “pretty serious.”

“I hope it’s random, but we’re going to know in the next week and a half,” Trump told reporters.

WHO WAS NUNO LOUREIRO? MIT PROFESSOR GUNNED DOWN IN APARTMENT NEAR UNIVERSITY

While officials have not confirmed any connection between the cases, the overlap in timing and the individuals’ ties to advanced research fields has fueled growing public attention and speculation.

Eskridge died June 11, 2022, in Huntsville, Alabama, at the age of 34, according to obituary records. Her death has been reported as a self-inflicted gunshot wound, though limited official details have been publicly released.

Eskridge co-founded the Institute for Exotic Science and described her work as focused on experimental propulsion concepts, including what she referred to as “antigravity” research.

“We discovered anti-gravity and our lives went to (expletive) and people started sabotaging us,” she said in a 2020 interview with Youtuber Jeremy Rys. “It’s harassment, threats. It’s awful.” 

“If you stick your neck out in public, at least someone notices if your head gets chopped off,” Eskridge said. “If you stick your neck out in private, they will bury you. They will burn down your house while you’re sleeping in your bed and it won’t even make the news.” 

In the same interview, she described what she characterized as escalating pressure surrounding her work.

“I have to publish because it’s only going to get worse until I publish,” she said, adding that the situation was “getting more and more aggressive.”

In presentations and interviews, Eskridge also suggested that researchers working on unconventional technologies could face pressure to move their work out of the public domain, describing what she saw as a pattern in which scientists who reported breakthroughs would “disappear” from public work or stop publishing.

Eskridge’s death is being cited alongside cases involving retired Air Force Maj. Gen. William “Neil” McCasland, NASA scientist Monica Jacinto Reza, contractor Steven Garcia, astrophysicist Carl Grillmair, Massachusetts Institute of Technology physicist Nuno Loureiro, NASA engineer Frank Maiwald, Los Alamos–linked employees Melissa Casias and Anthony Chavez, NASA researcher Michael David Hicks and pharmaceutical scientist Jason Thomas.

The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) told Fox News Digital it is investigating the deaths and disappearances. 

“NNSA is aware of reports related to employees of our labs, plants, and sites and is looking into the matter,” a statement from the department said. 

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At the same time, there is no publicly available evidence linking Eskridge’s death to those cases, and authorities have not indicated any connection between her work and the circumstances of her death.

Her case has also become the subject of speculation in online and alternative technology communities, where some commentators have raised questions about the circumstances surrounding her death. Those claims, however, remain unverified and are not supported by official findings.

FIRST ON FOX: A conservative legal group called on the Trump administration on Friday to investigate an Alaska school district over a policy that withholds gender identity information from parents.

America First Legal asked the Education and Justice departments to open inquiries into the school district, the latest to come under scrutiny for its transgender policies in the wake of a major Supreme Court ruling last month that sided with religious parents on the matter. The high court’s decision applied to California but has continued to affect school districts across the country.

AFL’s complaint centers on a policy in Hoonah City School District, a small K-12 district in Alaska, that instructs school administrators to use a student’s legal name and pronouns when communicating with parents, even if the student is going by a different name and pronouns at school.

VIRGINIA MOM PRAISES TRUMP FOR SHINING ‘A LIGHT’ ON DAUGHTER’S SCHOOL TRANSITION CASE DURING SOTU

AFL argued that in practice, the policy “requires school staff to present one identity to parents while facilitating another at school, effectively directing them to deceive parents about their own children.”

“Hoonah City School District’s nonsensical ‘gender identity’ policies strip parents of their rights, applaud deception, and brazenly violate federal law,” AFL senior counsel Ian Prior said in a statement.

The DOJ Civil Rights Division has already signaled it is open to investigating such policies after recently opening a similar probe into Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation’s second-largest school district comprising more than half a million students.

CALIFORNIA HIT WITH FRESH SETBACK IN FAILED GENDER SECRECY CASE COSTING TAXPAYERS MILLIONS

AFL’s complaint mirrors a similar legal threat the conservative Thomas More Society made last month against the Westwood Regional School District in New Jersey.

The legal group, which helped bring the California Supreme Court case, said it would initiate litigation if the school district did not rescind a policy that lets schools withhold students’ gender identity information from parents.

The complaints and investigations come after the Supreme Court temporarily blocked California from enforcing a policy that prevents school staff from notifying parents if their child expresses a desire to engage in gender transitioning, unless the child consents to the parents finding out. The case, Mirabelli v. Bonta, was brought by parents who argued the policy encroached on their religious freedom. The California policy also required school staff to use students’ preferred names and pronouns regardless of the parents’ wishes.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit sided with the state in the case, but the high court temporarily vacated the 9th Circuit’s order 6-3, saying the state policy was likely unconstitutional. The three liberal justices dissented.

SUPREME COURT RULING ON SECRETIVE CALIFORNIA GENDER POLICY COULD RESHAPE PARENT RIGHTS FIGHTS NATIONWIDE

“The State argues that its policies advance a compelling interest in student safety and privacy,” the high court’s majority had written in the unsigned opinion. “But those policies cut out the primary protectors of children’s best interests: their parents.”

California attorneys had argued that the state policy was designed to protect transgender children from allegedly abusive parents.

Peter Breen, an executive vice president with the Thomas More Society, recently told Fox News Digital he had hoped the Supreme Court’s decision “would end the practice of secret gender transitions, but what’s becoming clear to us is this is just the beginning.”

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“We are already fielding requests from other parents across the country, and we anticipate sending a lot more demand letters, unfortunately,” Breen said.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Hoonah City School District and the DOJ and Ed. Dept. for comment.

Pope Leo XIV, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, decried people who twist religion for military, economic or political benefit.

“Jesus told us, blessed are the peacemakers. But woe to those who manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic or political gain, dragging that which is sacred into darkness and filth,” he declared.

He also called out “The masters of war,” during the remarks in Cameroon on Thursday.

“The masters of war pretend not to know that it takes only a moment to destroy, yet often, a lifetime is often not enough to rebuild. They turn a blind eye to the fact that billions of dollars are spent on killing, on devastation, yet the resources needed for healing, education, and restoration are nowhere to be found,” the pope said.

POPE LEO SAYS HE’S UNAFRAID OF THE TRUMP ADMIN AFTER PRESIDENT CALLS HIM ‘TERRIBLE’ ON FOREIGN POLICY

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House on Thursday regarding the pontiff’s comments in Cameroon.

But the president himself spoke about the pope on Thursday after he was asked about the religious figure’s comments.

TRUMP REJECTS AMERICAN BISHOP ROBERT BARRON’S CALL TO APOLOGIZE TO POPE FOR ‘DISRESPECTFUL’ COMMENTS

President Donald Trump said on Thursday that it is “very important that the Pope understands” that “Iran killed 42,000 people that were totally unarmed, they were protesters.”

“Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon,” the president asserted, saying that if the foreign nation were to possess such a weapon, every nation in the world, including Italy, “would be in trouble.”

“But the pope has to understand, Iran, very simple, Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. The world would be in great danger,” he declared.

Asked whether he would meet with the pope to iron out their differences, Trump responded, “I don’t think it’s necessary.”

TRUMP ACCUSES POPE LEO OF BEING ‘TERRIBLE’ ON FOREIGN POLICY OVER PONTIFF’S ANTI-WAR COMMENTS

Trump blasted the Catholic figure in a Truth Social post on Sunday night, declaring that the man “is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy” and that he should “stop catering to the Radical Left, and focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician.”

“I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon. I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s terrible that America attacked Venezuela, a Country that was sending massive amounts of Drugs into the United States and, even worse, emptying their prisons, including murderers, drug dealers, and killers, into our Country,” Trump declared in part of the lengthy post.

“And I don’t want a Pope who criticizes the President of the United States because I’m doing exactly what I was elected, IN A LANDSLIDE, to do, setting Record Low Numbers in Crime, and creating the Greatest Stock Market in History,” he added.

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In a Truth Social post on Tuesday, the president wrote, “Will someone please tell Pope Leo that Iran has killed at least 42,000 innocent, completely unarmed, protesters in the last two months, and that for Iran to have a Nuclear Bomb is absolutely unacceptable. Thank you for your attention to this matter. AMERICA IS BACK!!!”

Leaders of the Air National Guard argued that the Air Force’s readiness was woefully inadequate in a recent letter to Congress requesting more funding.

“The United States Air Force is the oldest, the smallest, and the least ready in its 78-year history,” the letter, which was obtained by Air and Space Forces Magazine, read.

To rectify the historic deficiency, military leaders are requesting between 72 and 100 new fighter jets across the Air Force’s active duty, reserve and guard corps.

Specifically, the adjutants generals —  the leader of the National Guard in their respective state —  are requesting at least 48 new F-35s and 24 new F-15EXs.

IRAN FUNDING EMERGES AS KEY TEST FOR JOHNSON’S RAZOR-THIN HOUSE MAJORITY

The letter also states a desired goal of procuring 72 new F-35s and 36 new F-15EXs every year.

It was signed by all 22 adjutant generals that lead Air National Guards in the states that have them, something Idaho’s assistant adjutant general, Brig. Gen. Shannon Smith, called “a pretty big deal.”

“What we’re trying to do with this is send a strong message from the two-star generals that command the National Guards in these states,” he told Air and Space Forces.

HERE COME THE BIG BOMBS AS US ESCALATES STRIKES ON IRAN’S HUGE MILITARY ARSENAL

Smith pointed to Operation Epic Fury, the U.S.’s sprawling military campaign in Iran, as showcasing the need for more jets and resources.

“We are burning these jets and the Airmen over time to support the joint force to accomplish the president’s goals with Epic Fury in this conflict with Iran,” he told the magazine.

The procurement requests are a significant jump from recent Air Force asks. The Air Force asked Congress to procure 48 F-35s in 2024 and 42 in 2025. For F-15EXs, they asked for 24 in 2024 and 18 in 2025.

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“If we keep dabbling under 72, that isn’t winning, that is raising the water line,” Smith told the outlet. “If we don’t procure at a higher rate, all of these fighter squadrons will remain with ’70s-era fighters. Most of the money will go to keep them flying. In a few years, they’ll be struggling to be flyable, let alone be relevant.”

The lofty ask comes amidst an equally audacious budget request for the Pentagon from President Trump. His proposed fiscal year 2027 budget asks for $1.5 trillion for the Pentagon, a near $700 billion jump from 2026.

Fox News Digital contacted the Pentagon and the Air Force for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

Republican strategists and lawmakers are hoping that when voters head to the polls in November to elect the next U.S. Senator of Minnesota, they’ll be forced to choose between either a Republican candidate — or Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan.

In a Democratic primary that has yet to play out, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., believes Flanagan would give Republicans better odds than her opponent, Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn.

“You’ve got the radical Left that is really upending the party. It’s that crazy Marxist anarchist group that is in Minneapolis, especially with a primary,” Emmer said in an interview with local media.

“Think about this. You’ve got Angie Craig, who will have all the money. But she knows that her numbers are in the tank against this radical, wild, wild-eyed Peggy Flanagan, the current lieutenant governor. So, guess who shows up [to the primary]? All the crazies from Minneapolis.”

EX-NFL REPORTER LAUNCHES GOP SENATE BID, REVEALS HOW SHE WILL FLIP SCRIPT ON STATE’S ‘CRISIS OF LEADERSHIP”

“Peggy Flanagan is likely going to be their candidate, and that is good for us,” Emmer said.

The assessment isn’t unique to Emmer.

The Democratic race began in February of last year when Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., sparked a four-way Democratic primary with news that she would not pursue reelection in 2026.

In addition to Craig and Flanagan, Billy Nord, an anti-establishment activist, and Melisa López Franzen, a former minority leader of the Minnesota Senate, announced bids for the seat. But it didn’t take long for Craig and Flanagan to emerge as the clear-cut frontrunners.

Craig, a former journalist, businesswoman and a current four-term U.S. congresswoman, has $4.8 million in cash on hand, according to FEC records.

Flanagan, Minnesota’s lieutenant governor for the past seven years, has $1.1 million cash on hand.

Nord has not reported contributions with the FEC and López dropped out of the race in May of last year.

DEMOCRAT IN KEY SENATE PRIMARY SAYS SHE ‘REGRETS’ VOTE ON LAKEN RILEY ACT, DRAWS GOP BACKLASH

While Republican onlookers believe both frontrunners can be described as “far-left,” many have pointed out Flanagan shares platform similarities with more polarizing, high-profile Democrats — such as New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and has shared the same platform as Gov. Tim Walz, who she has called an “incredible partner.” Walz was hammered during his failed 2024 vice presidential bid for all of his far-left proposals.

In the view of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, that makes for a Republican advantage.

“She, too, supports Medicare for All, wants to ‘re-imagine’ policing and attended anti-ICE protests where she called on people to “put their bodies on the line” to defend illegal immigrants from ICE,” the NRSC said in a press release.

More notably, Republicans believe Flanagan’s greatest liability is a tenure that overlaps with recent revelations of up to $9 billion in fraud through government benefit programs.

Through scores of schemes, fraudsters in Minnesota allegedly siphoned funding from government programs like daycare centers and health clinics while returning no benefits, greatly exaggerating their services and pocketing government funding.

The fraud revelations made national news last year, raising questions about how state leadership could have missed the sheer size of the losses.

DFL party Chair Mike Erlandson told the Minnesota Star Tribune he believes fraud will remain front-and-center in the minds of voters.

“I don’t think there’s any way that this issue isn’t still being talked about in November. And anybody that was a party to it, whether you’re a legislator or Lt. Gov. Flanagan, if she’s the nominee, is going to have to answer questions around it,” Erlandson said.

NRSC Chairman Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., echoed that sentiment.

“From allowing billions of dollars in fraud to vilifying law enforcement, the Walz-Flanagan administration has failed Minnesotans,” Scott wrote in a post to X.

For her own part, Flanagan’s campaign told Fox News Digital she likes her chances to win in a general election, pointing to Minnesota’s solidly-blue track record of sending Democrats to the U.S. Senate.

“Minnesota hasn’t voted for a Republican statewide in over 20 years – with Trump in the White House and the chaos ICE inflicted on Minnesotans, this is not going to be Craig’s or the GOP’s year,” Alexandra Fetissoff, a Flanagan campaign spokeswoman, said.

“Peggy Flanagan is the only candidate in this race who has won statewide, the only candidate not taking corporate money and the only candidate that hasn’t enabled Trump’s ICE. Minnesotans know Peggy and trust her leadership and that’s why she’ll be the next Senator from Minnesota.”

MICHELE TAFOYA SAYS MINNESOTA NEEDS POLITICAL OUTSIDER ‘WITH A SPINE’ IN REPUBLICAN SENATE BID

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When asked if he stood by his comments on the Minnesota primary, Emmer said he believes Republicans will run a competitive race, regardless of the Democratic nominee.

“Minnesotans will reject both of these far-left, fraud-enabling radicals who would only dig our state into an even deeper hole than it’s already in. Good luck to Flanagan and Craig as they continue fighting tooth and nail to win over the cop hating, open-border extremist base while alienating commonsense Minnesotans,” Emmer said.

Craig and Flanagan will face off in the primary on Aug. 11. Fox News Digital reached out to Craig for comment.

President Donald Trump announced that he is nominating Dr. Erica Schwartz to helm the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

“I am pleased to announce the new leadership of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It is my Honor to nominate the incredibly talented Dr. Erica Schwartz, MD, JD, MPH, as my Director of the CDC,” the president declared in a Thursday Truth Social post.

“Erica graduated from Brown University for College and Medical School, and served a distinguished career as a Doctor of Medicine in the United States Military, the Greatest and Most Powerful Force in the World, and then served as my Deputy Surgeon General during my First Term. She is a STAR!” he continued.

ANTIBIOTIC-RESISTANT BACTERIA LINKED TO SEVERE STOMACH ILLNESS ACROSS US

Schwartz served in the role of deputy surgeon general during part of the first Trump administration until early in the Biden administration, according to material posted on the website of Butterfly Network Inc., which indicates that she is on its board of directors.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. thanked the president for tapping Schwartz for the CDC role.

“Thank you, President Trump, for nominating Dr. Erica Schwartz to serve as CDC Director. I congratulate Dr. Schwartz and the new CDC leadership team. I look forward to working together to restore trust, accountability, and scientific integrity at the @CDCgov so we can return it to its core mission and Make America Healthy Again,” Kennedy declared in a post on X.

SHOUTING MATCH ERUPTS BETWEEN RFK JR AND DEM LAWMAKER OVER HIS COMMENTS ABOUT BLACK CHILDREN

The Senate will need to confirm Schwartz to serve in the role.

Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama said in a post on X, “Dr. Erica Schwartz will be a great CDC Director. Under Joe Biden, the CDC was a disaster. I have no doubt that Dr. Schwartz will ensure the CDC is 100% focused on making Americans HEALTHY again. I look forward to voting to confirm her soon.”

Trump also added in his Truth Social post, “I am also pleased to announce the appointment of Sean Slovenski as the CDC Deputy Director and Chief Operating Officer, Dr. Jennifer Shuford, MD, MPH, as the CDC Deputy Director and Chief Medical Officer, and Dr. Sara Brenner, MD, MPH, as Senior Counselor for Public Health to Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.”

PEPTIDES MAY SOON BE EASIER TO GET AMID RFK JR.’S PUSH, BUT EXPERTS WARN OF RISKS

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“These Highly Respected Doctors of Medicine have the knowledge, experience, and TOP degrees to restore the GOLD STANDARD OF SCIENCE at the CDC, which was an absolute disaster focused on “mandates” under Sleepy Joe. Together, they will do a TREMENDOUS job leading the CDC as we continue to MAKE AMERICA HEALTHY AND GREAT AGAIN!” he declared.

Talks between the U.S., Denmark and Greenland are on a “good trajectory,” a White House official said, despite a public dispute over President Donald Trump’s insistence that the United States should take control of the island. 

Technical talks are ongoing, the official told Fox News Digital Wednesday, “to address United States’ national security interests in Greenland.”

“We are not going to participate in a back and forth through the media, but we are very optimistic that we’re on a good trajectory,” the official said.

WATCH: EX-NATO CHIEF DRAWS RED LINE AS TRUMP FUMES ALLIANCE ABANDONED US DURING IRAN WAR

The optimism comes after Trump said recently that Denmark and Greenland have resisted his proposal. 

“We want Greenland. They don’t want to give it to us,” he said.

The dispute centers on Greenland’s growing strategic importance, as the island sits along the shortest route between North America and Europe and plays a key role in U.S. missile warning systems and Arctic defense. Trump has argued greater U.S. control is necessary to counter Russia and China’s expanding presence in the region.

The United States already maintains a military presence in Greenland under a 1951 defense agreement with Denmark, which allows U.S. forces to operate bases on the island as part of NATO’s collective defense framework. 

The U.S. operates Pituffik Space Base in Greenland — a key installation for missile warning and space surveillance — and retains broad rights to expand its military footprint in coordination with Danish authorities.

U.S. officials have recently explored expanding that presence further, including seeking access to additional sites and increasing operational capabilities in the Arctic, with discussions underway as tensions over Greenland have grown.

Representatives for Denmark’s and Greenland’s governments did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Greenland is a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, which retains responsibility for defense and foreign policy — exposing a rift within the NATO alliance.

European leaders have rejected any change to Greenland’s status, emphasizing that the island’s sovereignty is not up for negotiation and backing Denmark’s authority over the territory.

Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen told NBC News in an interview published Wednesday the island’s residents “don’t feel safe” amid Trump’s repeated push for ownership.

The dispute already has moved beyond rhetoric. Denmark has expanded its military presence in Greenland, while European allies have stepped up Arctic exercises and coordination following the president’s push to take control of the island.

“Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders and the U.S. shall not take over Greenland,” Danish and Greenlandic leaders said in a joint statement in December 2025. 

Former NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance remains prepared to defend Greenland under its collective defense framework.  

NATO HEAVYWEIGHTS BALK AT HORMUZ MISSION AS TRUMP WARNS ALLIANCE AT RISK

“NATO is there to protect all allied territory, including Greenland,” Stoltenberg, now Norway’s finance minister, told Fox News Digital.

Trump has justified his push by pointing to growing activity in the Arctic, arguing the United States needs greater control over Greenland to counter Russia and China.

Russia has expanded its military footprint across the region, reopening and modernizing Cold War-era bases along its northern coast and increasing air and naval patrols. China, which has declared itself a “near-Arctic state,” has expanded its presence through research stations, icebreaker fleets and joint projects with Moscow, including cooperation on energy and shipping routes.

The two countries also have deepened coordination in the region, including joint military exercises and broader cooperation in Arctic development and infrastructure.

Stoltenberg pushed back on suggestions that the West is losing its strategic edge in the Arctic to Russia and China.

“We are scaling up our presence and our capabilities in the Arctic to make sure there is no room for misunderstanding,” he said.

The broader challenge for NATO is responding to growing Russian and Chinese activity in the Arctic while also managing a rift within the alliance itself over Greenland’s sovereignty.

Greenland’s location along the shortest path between North America and Europe makes it central to U.S. and NATO missile defense systems, with early-warning radar installations helping detect incoming ballistic missiles traveling over the Arctic.

At the same time, melting Arctic ice is opening new shipping lanes and access to natural resources, increasing the region’s economic and strategic value and drawing greater attention from both Russia and China.

The tensions over Greenland come as broader strains within NATO have been exposed by the Iran conflict, where Trump accused European allies of failing to support U.S. operations.

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“NATO wasn’t there for us, and they won’t be there for us in the future!” Trump wrote on Truth Social Tuesday.

Conservatives on social media erupted with outrage Thursday after Democratic lawmakers in Minnesota united to block a Republican effort to investigate further and impeach Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison.

A resolution taken up by the Minnesota House Rules and Legislative Administration Committee to launch an impeachment investigation and allow the committee to hold hearings, issue subpoenas and further investigate the massive fraud scandal was blocked after all eight Democrats on the committee voted against it, Fox 9 Minneapolis reported.

The lawmakers deadlocked 8-8 on a straight party-line vote.

“This is a fundamentally unserious proposal by a fundamentally unserious party who isn’t interested in governing,” Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL) Rep. Michael Howard said about the move. 

COMER TO SAY TIM WALZ ‘ENABLED FRAUD,’ FAILED WHISTLEBLOWERS IN BOMBSHELL MINNESOTA HEARING

“Gas prices are rising because of Trump’s illegal war in Iran. Health care, housing and childcare costs are spiking. We have hospitals closing, yet this is what we’re going to do today? A bill that’s absolutely going nowhere, dead on arrival.”

On social media, conservatives blasted the Minnesota Democrats for not taking seriously the unfolding fraud scandal, which is estimated to have cost taxpayers a total of up to $19 billion. 

“Despite years of whistleblower reports, dozens of hearings &  local news stories, & court convictions, Democrats CONTINUE to block any investigation of Tim Walz,” Minnesota House Fraud Committee Chair Rep. Kristin Robbins, R-Minn., who is running for governor, posted on X. 

“They protect each other to protect their political base.  @amyklobuchar is just part of the protection racket.”

“Minnesotans lost $9B in taxpayer dollars to just 14 Medicaid programs under Tim Walz’s administration,” Townhall columnist Dustin Grage posted on X. “Today, every single Democrat in Rules Committee voted to block an investigation into that fraud. Absolutely disgusting.”

TAFOYA RIPS WALZ ‘DODGING’ ACCOUNTABILITY IN HEARING, UNVEILS PLAN TO FIGHT FRAUD: ‘FULL WEIGHT OF THE LAW’

“Look at their campaign contributions,” Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., posted on X. 

“They’re panicked and don’t want anyone finding out how this was allowed to happen,” conservative influencer Eric Daugherty posted on X. “REMOVE WALZ FROM OFFICE and start the criminal proceedings for complicity!”

“You don’t block investigations into fraud unless you’re benefiting from the fraud,” conservative commentator Shawn Farash posted on X.

“When one party does not want accountability or transparency, When one party knows that massive fraud exist but refuses to investigate that fraud, the people must stand up and demand they be held accountable,” Jay Feely, a former NFL kicker who is running for Congress as a Republican in Arizona, posted on X.

AUDIO OF ELLISON MEETING WITH CONVICTED FRAUDSTERS RESURFACES AS LAWYER ALLEGES WALZ, AG SHARE BLAME

“This is why all spending and every program at the federal level and state level should be on Blockchain for everyone to see.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Democratic leadership on the committee for comment.

Walz dropped his bid for re-election in January as pressure to address systemic fraud mounted. He testified in front of Congress months later along with Ellison in a fiery hearing that left conservatives unsatisfied over the answer to the question of what the two elected officials knew about the fraud and what they did to stop it.

Walz has rebuffed calls for him to resign, prompting Minnesota Republicans to take various actions to further investigate or impeach him.

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Impeaching or removing either Walz or Ellison would be a difficult uphill battle for Republican lawmakers in Minnesota given the current makeup of the Minnesota Legislature. Impeachment requires a simple majority vote in the House. 

However, the House is evenly split, making it nearly impossible for Republicans to pass articles of impeachment without significant Democratic defections or a major shift in control.

Removing an official from office requires a two-thirds supermajority vote in the Senate, where the DFL holds a narrow one-seat majority.

President Donald Trump’s push to extend the government’s controversial warrantless surveillance powers suffered a minor setback early Friday morning after a group of conservative lawmakers rejected a compromise deal that would have extended the program for five years while incorporating some minor reforms intended to appease GOP privacy hawks.

Shortly before 2 a.m. Friday, the House of Representatives approved a two-week extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), giving lawmakers until April 30 to reach a deal.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., voiced confidence that his conference can come to an agreement by the end of the month.

“We were very close tonight. There’s some nuances with the language and some questions that need to be answered and we’ll get it done. The extension allows us the time to do that,” he said.

JOHNSON FACES GOP REVOLT OVER WARRANTLESS SURVEILLANCE POWERS AHEAD OF KEY VOTE

The short-term FISA extension came together after House GOP leadership was forced to scrap an initial 18-month extension of the program due to opposition from conservatives, who want more privacy guardrails added to the program.

GOP privacy hawks also shot down a compromise agreement that would have extended the surveillance law until 2031 while adding more stringent criminal penalties for violations of FISA searches.

The Section 702 authority allows the government to spy on foreign nationals abroad even when those communications involve Americans. Both conservatives and progressives have pushed for a requirement that would force officials to obtain a warrant before reviewing Americans’ data.

House GOP leadership had been racing this week to renew the surveillance law before the April 20 deadline. When their desired approach ran into conservative opposition on the House floor, they settled for a two-week extension.

The Senate could pass the short-term extension by unanimous consent as early as Friday.

“What we’re trying to do is thread the needle of ensuring that we have this essential tool to keep Americans safe but also safeguard constitutional rights and making sure that the abuses of FISA in the past are no longer possible,” Johnson said early Friday morning.

The speaker could spare just two GOP defections during the test votes assuming all members are present and voting. Though many Democrats were supportive of a clean FISA reauthorization bill, Johnson could not count on their support during the procedural votes because they typically vote along party lines.

The Trump administration has argued the spying authority must be renewed to prevent potential terrorist attacks on the homeland and that it would be reckless to let the program lapse amid conflict with Iran.

“There’s a lot at stake,” CIA Director John Ratcliffe told Fox News during a visit to Capitol Hill in an effort to sell GOP holdouts on a clean extension.

Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine sent a letter, obtained by Fox News Digital, to Capitol Hill offices touting the surveillance tool’s importance for national security. Trump also publicly urged Republicans to “UNIFY” behind his desired approach of a clean extension on Truth Social.

ODNI SENDS CRIMINAL REFERRALS TO DOJ FOR EX-IG, WHISTLEBLOWER TIED TO TRUMP IMPEACHMENT

House GOP leadership’s and the Trump administration’s lobbying for a clean FISA extension absent reforms proved to be a tough sell among some conservatives. Despite the high-profile pressure campaign, GOP privacy hawks remained insistent on including a warrant requirement, which they argued would better protect Americans’ data.

“We understand and agree with the president that we need 702 authority to go after bad guys abroad,” Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, told reporters. “We’re fighting for greater protections, whether it’s this administration or future administrations to ensure citizens have protections.”

“The folks who are saying we want these reforms within FISA, we mean what we say, and that’s not something that we’re going to sidestep,” Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., said Thursday.

“We’re always threatened … that something very bad is going to happen, people will die if we don’t reauthorize 702,” Boebert continued. “But many men and women, thousands have died for the Fourth Amendment, and I’m going to continue to stand up and protect that Fourth Amendment right for all American citizens.”

Democrats also slammed the compromise deal early Friday morning for being drafted at the eleventh hour and argued the warrant requirement included in the since-rejected FISA deal is effectively toothless.

“This simply says they may seek a warrant. They don’t have to. They may seek a warrant,” Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said, referring to the FBI. “In other words, this provision is meaningless. It just returns us to exactly where we were.”

Despite a swath of GOP holdouts, fewer Republicans opposed a clean extension of the 702 program than during previous legislative fights over the spying law.

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Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, a FISA skeptic, backed a straight reauthorization, citing more than five dozen reforms that Congress made to the program in 2024.

“2026 is not 2024 and a short-term clean extension of the 702 part of FISA law is an acceptable outcome for the situation that we find ourselves in,” Jordan said Tuesday.

House GOP leadership argued that failure is not an option in preventing a reauthorization lapse for the FISA program.

“This is an essential tool for national security,” Johnson told Fox News on Wednesday. “We cannot allow it to expire, and we won’t.”

Fox News’ Kelly Phares contributed to this report.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris is sparking more speculation about whether she will launch another presidential run in 2028 by making stops this week in a crucial presidential primary state.

Harris is in Columbia, South Carolina, on Thursday after making stops Wednesday in Greenville. For more than two decades, South Carolina has been one of the key early-voting states in the Democratic Party’s nominating calendar, and visits by potential presidential contenders generate buzz about their national ambitions.

The South Carolina swing by the former vice president comes less than a week after she dropped a tantalizing comment at the first major cattle call of Democratic presidential contenders.

HARRIS DROPS BIGGEST HINT YET ABOUT 2028

“I might. I might. I’m thinking about it… I’ll keep you posted,” Harris said last Friday at the National Action Network’s 35th Anniversary Convention last Friday, when asked by the event founder, the Rev. Al Sharpton, if she would seek the presidency in 2028.

Harris, who replaced then-President Joe Biden as the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee but later lost the election to President Donald Trump, was greeted by the crowd with chants of “run again.”

The civil rights organization’s gathering gave Harris and eight other Democratic White House hopefuls an opportunity to speak directly to an influential group of Black leaders and activists who are key members of the Democratic Party’s base.

Black voters are also key players in South Carolina’s Democratic Party electorate. And Harris, the first female and Black vice president in the nation’s history, received a warm welcome when she arrived Wednesday at a South Carolina Democratic Party fundraiser and reception in Greenville.

HARRIS, NEWSOM, STIR 2028 SPECULATION AT MAJOR DEMOCRATIC PARTY MEETING

Harris is holding a book tour event on Thursday for her memoir, “107 Days,” her look back at her abbreviated 2024 campaign.

Harris was mostly out of the headlines for a couple of months after the end the Biden administration. She began stepping back into the political spotlight last spring and summer, including headlining Democratic National Committee fundraisers.

Her decision last summer to pass on launching a 2026 gubernatorial campaign in her home state of California was seen as clearing the runway for a 2028 presidential bid. Her nationwide book tour has helped keep her visible while building email lists and boosting donor interest.

The former vice president’s current southern swing also includes fundraising appearances for the state Democratic Parties in Georgia and North Carolina, two crucial general election battlegrounds.

Harris narrowly lost both those states and the five other key battlegrounds to Trump in the 2024 election.

Pointing to Harris’ schedule, a veteran strategist in the former vice president’s political orbit recently told Fox News Digital, “Of course we are reading tea leaves.”

21 DEMOCRATS WHO MAY RUN FOR THE WHITE HOUSE IN 2028

The strategist, who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely, said, “No one knows what she is planning to do for 2028, but until she tells us herself, she is going to continue to travel, speak up about the issues she cares about the most.”

If she does run again in 2028, Harris would be considered one of the early frontrunners in what’s expected to be a crowded and competitive race for the Democratic nomination.

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The Republican National Committee (RNC) is giving thumbs down to the White House hopefuls.

“Democrats are kicking off the 2028 primary by parading Kamala Harris and a roster of failed governors trying to outrun their own records,” RNC national press secretary Kiersten Pels told Fox News last week as she pointed to potential contenders who appeared at Sharpton’s convention.

The head of U.S. Space Command said the U.S. is “very concerned” that Russia may be developing a nuclear weapon in space to target satellites, warning such a move could disrupt global communications, GPS systems and daily life on Earth.

Gen. Stephen N. Whiting, the commander of U.S. Space Command, made the remarks during an appearance on The General & The Journalist, a weekly podcast by The Times.

“Russia remains a very historic and sophisticated space power. Yes, they have been hurt by economic sanctions, but they continue to invest in counter-space weapons, with the most concerning reports being that they are potentially thinking about placing on orbit a nuclear ASAT weapon,” he added. “That would violate the Outer Space Treaty that they’re a party to, and it would hold at risk everyone’s satellites in low Earth orbit, and that would be an outcome that we just couldn’t tolerate.”

Whiting noted that space is considered a global commons, with the 1967 Outer Space Treaty — signed by nearly every nation, including all major space powers — prohibiting claims of sovereignty.

SWEDEN JAMS SUSPECTED RUSSIAN DRONE NEAR FRENCH CARRIER AS NATO WAR FEARS RISE

He said that differs from earlier eras when explorers would plant flags to claim land for a king or country.

Whiting stopped short of confirming the underlying intelligence, but emphasized the seriousness of the concern.

“I won’t speak about our intelligence sources and methods, but obviously it’s a report that we’re very concerned about,” he said.

PUTIN PUTS ‘NUCLEAR TRIAD’ ON FAST TRACK, ZELENSKYY CLAIMS ‘WORLD WAR 3’ UNDERWAY

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Pentagon for further comment on the matter.

A nuclear detonation in low Earth orbit — which spans roughly 100 to 1,200 miles above Earth — could have devastating consequences for both military and civilian infrastructure, according to Whiting.

“All of low Earth orbit would be at risk, and you know, that’s over 10,000 satellites today with these new proliferated low earth orbit constellations like Starlink,” he said.

RUSSIA, CHINA SQUEEZE US ARCTIC DEFENSE ZONE AS TRUMP EYES GREENLAND

Such an event could cripple satellite networks that underpin GPS, communications, financial systems and global internet access.

Whiting noted that most people do not realize how dependent modern life is on space-based systems.

“The average citizen around the world probably doesn’t think about how space enables their life every day, but if they carry a smartphone in their pocket, they are leveraging space multiple times a day,” he said.

US COMMANDER SAYS RUSSIA AND CHINA’S ARCTIC PATROLS ARE ‘NOT FOR PEACEFUL PURPOSES’

He suggested Russia may view space-based attacks as a way to offset what it sees as U.S. and NATO advantages in conventional warfare.

“From a Russian perspective, they look at the United States, they look at NATO and they see a conventional overmatch there of conventional arms,” Whiting said. “They believe that novel ways of trying to undermine the United States and NATO, such as by neutralizing our space capabilities, helps them to level the battlefield.”

Whiting also pointed to ongoing Russian activity targeting satellite systems, including widespread interference in Europe.

‘THEY WERE SPYING’: SULLIVAN SOUNDS ALARM ON JOINT RUSSIA-CHINA MOVES IN US ARCTIC ZONE

“Clearly across Europe, we have seen sustained satellite communication jamming and GPS jamming,” he said.

He warned that such actions are already having real-world consequences, particularly for civilian aviation.

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“The real problem with that GPS jamming, for example, is it’s being done in a way that’s affecting civil aviation in Eastern Europe and across Southern Europe,” Whiting said.

“When we put at risk civilian airliners full of citizens just trying to go on business or holiday, that’s incredibly problematic,” he added. “We do not want to see this normalization of trying to interfere with other satellites.”

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton criticized the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement practices, warning that the detention of thousands of migrant children is causing “terrible damage” – but data from former President Bill Clinton’s tenure shows a similar trend. 

“Terrible damage to children is being done in our name,” Clinton shared in an X post on Wednesday, along with data showing the Trump administration has so far detained 6,200 children, with an average of 226 children held a day. 

Clinton’s criticism lands against a historical record that complicates the attack, because federal data from the 1990s showed hundreds of juveniles in custody on an average day under former President Clinton as immigration enforcement toughened.

IGNORED ICE DETAINERS ‘PUT LIVES AT RISK,’ DHS SAYS, TARGETING NEWSOM, PRITZKER, HEALEY

The Clinton administration’s Immigration and Naturalization Service, a former agency within the Department of Justice, detained 4,136 unaccompanied illegal juveniles in fiscal year 2000 for longer than a 72-hour period, according to a Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General (OIG) report published in 2001. About 400 to 500 children were held in custody on an average day that same year, the report continued. 

In 1996, former President Clinton signed the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act and the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, two laws that expanded immigration enforcement by broadening mandatory detention and speeding up removals.

The data Clinton referenced in her tweet came from the Marshall Project, a nonprofit news outlet that reports on the criminal justice system, and outlined detainee figures during the second Trump administration.

“ICE does not target children or separate families,” a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson told Fox News Digital on Wednesday when asked about Clinton’s post. “Parents are asked if they want to be removed with their children, or ICE will place the children with a safe person the parent designates. This is consistent with past administrations’ immigration enforcement.”

Clinton’s tweet followed her appearance at the Munich Security Conference in February, when she said there’s a “legitimate reason” to have a debate on immigration policies, adding that it “went too far.”

“It’s been disruptive and destabilizing, and it needs to be fixed in a humane way with secure borders that don’t torture and kill people, and with a strong family structure, because that is at the base of civilization,” said the former 2016 presidential candidate.

Following the influx of over 18 million illegal immigrants under the Biden administration, according to the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), DHS says it has stopped the exploitation of 450,000 unaccompanied children. 

“Many of the children who came across the border unaccompanied were allowed to be placed with sponsors who were smugglers and sex traffickers,” the DHS spokesperson said. “The Trump administration has located more than 145,000 of these children in person in the United States through visits and door knocks.”

HILLARY CLINTON SAYS MIGRATION ‘WENT TOO FAR’ AND ‘NEEDS TO BE FIXED IN A HUMANE WAY’

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Fox News Digital reached out to the offices of Bill and Hillary Clinton.

Republicans fell far short in their bid to flip a vacant U.S. House seat in a blue-leaning district in northern New Jersey.

Democrat Analilia Mejia, who was backed by progressive champions Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of neighboring New York, convincingly defeated GOP candidate Joe Hathaway in Thursday’s special election in New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District, The Associated Press reported. The race was called minutes after the polls closed at 8pm ET.

With her victory, Mejia will fill the final eight months of the term of Gov. Mikie Sherrill, the Democratic representative who stepped down from Congress in November after winning New Jersey’s gubernatorial election.

The special election came as the GOP clings to a fragile House majority. Republicans would have relished the opportunity to pick up the seat, but they faced a steep uphill climb to flip the suburban district Sherrill won by 15 points in her 2024 re-election and carried by roughly the same margin in last year’s gubernatorial election. 

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Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin, in congratulating Mejia on her victory, said her “grassroots campaign spoke to hardworking New Jersey families. I know she’ll fight to lower costs, protect health care, and tackle the affordability crisis head-on.”

Mejia, a progressive organizer who served as national political director on the 2020 Sanders presidential campaign, pulled off an upset in the February Democratic primary, narrowly edging out a more moderate rival, former Rep. Tom Malinowski, in a field of 11 candidates. While Mejia was the clear choice of the party’s left flank, the rest of the field appeared to divide the moderate and center-left vote.

Her primary victory was another boost for the left against the establishment after democratic socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani sent shock waves across the nation with his Democratic primary victory in June 2025.

Hathaway, a former Randolph Township mayor and current council member who was unopposed for the GOP congressional nomination, aimed to paint Mejia as too far to the left for the district. He told Fox News Digital the choice for voters was “between a common sense, practical independent leader who’s gotten things done at the local level in New Jersey and knows the issues, contrasted with someone who’s running on pure ideology, far left-wing ideology, Squad-backed ideology.”

PROGRESSIVES NOTCH ANOTHER WIN OVER DEMOCRATIC MODERATES AS SANDERS-AOC ALLY NEARS CONGRESS

Mejia recently appeared at a town hall with Malinowski and, on Sunday, teamed up with Sherrill on the campaign trail as she aimed to unite Democrats, who enjoy a sizable registration advantage in the district. Sherrill, a moderate Democrat, flipped the district in her 2018 election to Congress.

Hathaway claimed Mejia was trying “to hide a little bit” from “some of her rhetoric, because she knows that those policies are completely out of touch, but it’s not fooling voters. It’s certainly not fooling us.”

Jewish voters make up a key part of the district’s electorate, and Hathaway, in the only debate in the special election, claimed Mejia was antisemitic, noting she has said Israel committed genocide in Gaza.

“She blamed Israel for the attacks by Hamas on Oct. 7,” Hathaway said. “I think Jewish individuals across this district, Republican or Democrat, are very afraid of this kind of rhetoric.”

Hathaway said, “I’ve spoken to more members of the Jewish community who have told me they’ve never voted for a Republican in their life, who are going to vote for me in this race. I mean, that shows you where the Jewish community is on the importance of this race and how they are not aligned with Mejia … and her platform.”

Mejia pledged to “protect the rights of Jewish constituents” and said her criticism of Israel’s actions in Gaza should not be conflated with antisemitism.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Mejia said, “Joe Hathaway’s inability to distinguish between criticism of a government or government official and bigotry is troubling and disgusting in equal measure.”

Mejia last week wrote that she was “honored” after being endorsed by the liberal pro-Israel political group J Street PAC. But her acceptance of the endorsement triggered pushback on the left, with the North Jersey Democratic Socialists of America calling her move a “heel turn.”

As he worked to win over independents and Democrats, Hathaway pointed out where he agrees and disagrees with President Donald Trump, who lost the district by eight points in the 2024 presidential election.

REPUBLICANS WIN BUT DEMOCRATS ALSO CLAIM VICTORY WITH BALLOT BOX SURGE IN TRUMP TERRITORY

“I’m always going to do what’s right for this district first. And I’ve been clear: If the president’s going to do things that are good for the district, increasing the SALT cap deduction, putting money back in people’s pockets, especially New Jersey, affordability is so tough here. If we’re doing things like border security, reducing fentanyl deaths like we’ve seen in our community, those are good things. I support those policies,” Hathaway said.

“But, on the other hand, if the president’s going to do things that aren’t in the best interest of our district, it’s my job to push back, and that’s exactly what I’ve done.”

Hathaway pointed to Trump’s move last year to terminate billions of federal dollars for the Gateway Project, which is funding a new train tunnel under the Hudson River connecting New Jersey and New York, and the president’s plans to cut roughly 1,000 jobs and nearly $1 billion in funding for an Army base located in New Jersey.

“I’m going to call balls and strikes in this race. I’m not going to be a rubber stamp for anybody,” Hathaway said.

“I think we have the right math, the right bipartisan coalition to come together to win this thing on April 16.”

But Hathaway came up short, given the rough political climate facing Republicans and the traditional headwinds for the party in power.

Mejia repeatedly linked Hathaway to Trump and Republicans in Congress.

“MAGA Republicans are driving up everyday costs with extreme policies my opponent supports. Healthcare and critical programs are being gutted just to fund tax breaks for the ultra-rich. We can’t afford another vote for Trump in Congress,” she wrote in a recent social media post.

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Dan Cassino, a Fairleigh Dickinson University political science professor and pollster, called Hathaway’s hopes of capturing crossover Democrats “a pipe dream.”

“Democrats as a whole do not seem interested in finding common ground with Trump,” Cassino said on Monday, predicting most voters in the special election would be strong partisans. 

“Democratic turnout is through the roof, and Republican turnout is depressed at this point.”

Hathaway, looking ahead to a likely rematch with Mejia in November, said in a statement Thursday night, “I still believe the broader electorate in NJ-11 is looking for balanced, pragmatic leadership, not the kind of far-left policies embraced by Ms. Mejia. That conversation is not over.”

The Trump administration on Thursday announced a “significant expansion” of its ​visa restriction policy in ⁠the Western Hemisphere, targeting people working on behalf of U.S. adversaries.

In its announcement, the State Department said the expanded policy allows it to restrict U.S. visas for people intentionally acting on behalf of adversarial countries to “undermine America’s interests.”

“President Trump’s National Security Strategy makes clear: this Administration will deny adversarial powers the ability to own or control vital assets or threaten the security and prosperity of the United States in our region,” the department said in a press release. “The Department of State is working to advance American leadership in our hemisphere, protect our homeland, and ensure access to vital routes and areas throughout our region.”

RUBIO IDENTIFIES ‘SINGLE MOST SERIOUS THREAT’ TO THE US FROM WESTERN HEMISPHERE

“In support of this critical objective, the Department of State is announcing a significant expansion of an existing visa restriction policy that targets those working on behalf of U.S. adversaries to undermine our national interests in our hemisphere, including regional security and democratic sovereignty,” the department continued.

The administration also said that family members of individuals subject to visa restrictions under this policy will not be allowed to enter the U.S.

“This expanded policy enables us to restrict U.S. visas for nationals of countries in our region who, while within Western Hemisphere countries and while intentionally acting on behalf of adversarial countries, their agents, or enterprises, knowingly direct, authorize, fund, or provide significant support to, or carry out activities that are adversarial to and undermine America’s interests in our hemisphere. These individuals – and their immediate family members – will be generally ineligible for entry into the United States,” the department said.

Activities the administration has deemed adversarial and that could trigger visa restrictions include enabling adversarial powers to acquire or control key assets and strategic resources in the Western Hemisphere, destabilizing regional security efforts, undermining American economic interests and conducting influence operations designed to weaken the sovereignty and stability of nations in the region.

STATE DEPARTMENT TO ASK FOR BONDS OF UP TO $15,000 FOR VISA APPLICATION FROM A DOZEN MORE COUNTRIES

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The department said it has imposed visa restrictions on 26 people under this policy.

“To demonstrate our commitment to this expanded policy, we have taken steps to impose visa restrictions on 26 individuals across our hemisphere who have engaged in these activities,” the department said. “The Trump Administration will use every available tool to protect our national security interests, defend American interests, and promote our region’s safety and prosperity.”

This comes after a series of moves by the administration in recent months to restrict visas for people around the world, including a visa ban on people from dozens of countries listed by the State Department, which civil rights groups have previously sharply criticized.

Critics, including civil rights advocates, have raised concerns about similar visa restriction policies, saying broad definitions of prohibited activity can create questions about how individuals are identified and what due process protections are available.

“This administration’s targeting of people based on their national origin is part of an autocratic playbook designed to make America smaller – to shut out ideas, perspectives, and communities,” Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, said in a statement earlier this year about the suspension of immigrant visa processing for people from around 75 countries.