NationalWatch

FIRST ON FOX — Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is launching a new tipline for Americans to report suspected commercial driver’s license (CDL) fraud as the Trump administration ramps up its crackdown on unqualified truckers following a series of deadly crashes involving illegal immigrants.

ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations announced the official CDL fraud tipline Tuesday, Fox News Digital learned. 

Americans can report suspected fraud by calling 866-347-2423.

The new tipline comes as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Transportation (DOT) have expanded efforts to identify illegal immigrants and other unqualified drivers operating commercial vehicles on American roads.

OUT OF CONTROL, UNQUALIFIED ILLEGAL ALIEN TRUCKERS ENDANGERING KIDS ON US ROADS, INSIDER WARNS: ‘JUST MADNESS’

DHS pointed Fox News Digital to cases involving illegal immigrants who received CDLs from states including California, Massachusetts, New York and Pennsylvania before later being involved in fatal crashes or arrested in connection with other alleged crimes.

“Too many American lives have been lost or permanently changed because illegal aliens who have no business being on our roads have been granted CDLs,” DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said.

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

“ICE and our federal partners, including the Department of Transportation, will be cracking down on CDL fraud so that not one more American life is lost to a reckless illegal alien behind the wheel of a semi-truck. You can help save American lives and make our roads safer by dialing ICE’s new CDL fraud tipline today.”

DHS also shared details behind several deadly crashes that officials say point to the concerns behind the Trump administration’s crackdown.

DEADLY ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT TRUCK CRASH EXPOSED FAILURES ON THE ROAD AND AT THE BORDER: KEY SENATOR

In July, Michael Bon, an illegal immigrant from Haiti who DHS says had been granted a CDL by Massachusetts, allegedly caused a semi-truck crash that killed a Pennsylvania State Trooper.

Another case cited by the department left four people dead in Indiana.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ACCUSED OF KILLING NEWLYWED COUPLE IN OREGON CRASH ARRESTED BY ICE AFTER JAIL RELEASE

Bekzhan Beishekeev, an illegal immigrant from Kyrgyzstan, swerved into oncoming traffic in February and caused a head-on collision that killed four people, according to DHS. The department said Pennsylvania had granted Beishekeev a commercial driver’s license before the crash. ICE arrested him that month.

In Oregon, Rajinder Kumar, an illegal immigrant from India, jackknifed his trailer in November 2025 in a crash that killed a newlywed couple, according to DHS. The department said Kumar had been granted a CDL by California and was arrested by ICE in April 2026.

REP. BRIAN MAST: I WANT UNSAFE TRUCKERS OFF OUR HIGHWAYS — AND AMERICA’S VETERANS IN THEIR SEATS

And in Florida, Harjinder Singh, an illegal immigrant from India, made an illegal U-turn in a tractor-trailer in August 2025, causing a crash that killed three people, according to DHS. The department said California had granted Singh a CDL.

The tipline is the latest step in a broader federal crackdown on commercial trucking fraud and unqualified drivers.

DOZENS OF ILLEGAL ALIEN TRUCK DRIVERS BUSTED WITH LICENSES FROM DEEP BLUE STATES

In August, DHS said the second wave of Operation Highway Shield removed more than 800 truckers from U.S. roads, including 51 illegal immigrants, during a three-day operation.

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A separate three-day operation in Oklahoma in October 2025 resulted in the arrests of 120 illegal immigrants, including 91 who were operating commercial vehicles with CDLs, according to DHS.

DHS and DOT have also targeted fraudulent and illegal practices at CDL schools nationwide as part of the Trump administration’s broader crackdown.

In an interview discussing his rumored 2028 presidential run, California Gov. Gavin Newsom asserted that the Democratic Party is “pretty aligned” with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), especially when it comes to universal healthcare, climate change and moving away from fossil fuel usage.

During an interview with “PBS NewsHour,” Newsom was questioned about what recent democratic socialist victories across the country mean for the Democratic Party.

“If you have these candidates and this platform that is clearly animating the base, energizing turnout, should more of those ideas be worked into the broader Democratic platform?” Newsom was asked.

“I think they are,” Newsom shot back. “I mean, we want money out of politics. I’ve been supporting clean money campaigns for decades.”

NEWSOM TELLS DEMOCRATS TO BE IN THE ‘ADDITION NOT SUBTRACTION’ BUSINESS WITH SOCIALISTS

The interviewer pressed Newsom further, saying, “There seems to be some distance between [Democratic] leadership and those DSA candidates.”

“But, not the ideas,” Newsom responded.

“I believe in universal healthcare, and I believe in Medicare for All, the party does overwhelmingly,” he said. “And so, if it’s about more money in your pocket, lowering costs, getting money out of politics, if it’s about Medicare for All, I think we’re pretty aligned.”

He added, “It’s about recognizing that we’ve got a planet that is getting hotter and drier and that we’ve got to address the issue of climate change, we want energy security, and we want to move off fossil fuels. That’s a DSA position, that’s a mainstream position within the Democratic Party.”

Newsom dismissed worry about democratic socialist influence in American politics, saying, “I think in many ways, it’s just a label … it’s just such a familiar label to me, we call them progressives.”

NEWSOM HIT WITH LAWSUIT THREAT AS WHISTLEBLOWER BEGS TRUMP FOR HELP WITH ‘MONUMENTAL’ FRAUD SCANDAL

“Maybe it’s just because I’m from California and I think it’s healthy … I’m not consumed by this,” the governor continued, adding that the DSA’s ideas reflect “aspects and component parts of our party that we’ve always had, and it’s a healthy dialectic within the party.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Newsom’s office for additional comment. Fox News Digital also reached out to the DSA and to the Democratic National Committee for comment.

The DSA is the pre-eminent socialist political group in the U.S. This year, the group rolled out an updated platform that includes eliminating the Senate and replacing the president and the Supreme Court with an executive and judiciary chosen by Congress. Additionally, the updated platform includes amnesty for all immigrants and defunding the Department of War.

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This is in addition to the DSA’s already existing policy platform, which calls for an “immediate end to all deportations,” free migration between countries without restrictive immigration controls, and “extending full voting rights to people with criminal convictions and noncitizens.”

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Once considered a fringe movement on the Democratic Party’s progressive wing, the DSA has been gaining relevance, with several of its members toppling longtime establishment party figures. This has prompted many to speculate that the DSA represents the Democratic Party’s future.

EXCLUSIVE — DALLAS — With an eye toward energizing the GOP’s MAGA base, the Republican National Committee (RNC) on Tuesday announced the speaking order and times of this week’s first-ever GOP midterm convention, and President Donald Trump will be the Primetime headliner both nights.

According to the list, which was shared first with Fox News Digital on the eve of the convention, the president will deliver Wednesday’s keynote address, which is tentatively scheduled to start at 9 p.m. ET.

Trump will return on Thursday evening at the American Airlines Center in downtown Dallas to close out the convention, with remarks after Vice President JD Vance gives the second night’s keynote speech.

With less than two months to go until the midterm elections, Trump and Republicans are gathering in Texas for their historic confab as they aim to energize the party’s base ahead of key races that will determine whether the GOP keeps control of Congress. Supporters of the president traditionally do not turn out in robust numbers when Trump is not on the ballot.

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Democrats and Republicans traditionally hold large nominating conventions during presidential election years. But Trump last year floated the idea of a similar gathering ahead of the midterms to showcase the signature policy achievements he and Republicans in Congress have produced over the past two years.

The president called the convention “a truly Historic Event” and “a RALLY like none other!” when he announced it earlier this summer.

The convention comes as Republicans face energized Democrats and stiff political headwinds as they defend their slim House and Senate majorities in the midterms.

But Republicans are expected to paint a contrast, as they use the convention to spotlight the Democrats’ leftward lurch and tie the entire Democratic Party to far-left and socialist proposals.

“The midterm election is about the future of our country. President Donald Trump and Republicans are fighting to launch the golden age of America while extreme liberal Democrats want to tear this country apart and create a liberal failed state with their out-of-touch and anti-American views,” RNC chair Joe Gruters argued in a statement to Fox News Digital.

THESE 12 MIDTERM RACES WILL DECIDE WHICH PARTY CONTROLS THE SENATE

Gruters emphasized that “the choice is clear in November and the American people will reject these liberal policies and deliver historic wins for Republicans across the country.”

The DNC, which remains in debt and decided against holding a similar convention, sees the GOP confab as a chance to blast Republicans.

“While everyday Americans struggle to pay their bills, fill up their tanks, or put food on the table, Republicans are hosting a multi-million dollar celebration to satisfy an aging and erratic Trump and tie vulnerable Republican candidates closer to his failed agenda,”,” DNC Rapid Response Director Kendall Witmer charged.

Witmer argued that “Americans don’t want a ‘Trumpapalooza’ — they want lower costs and affordable healthcare.”

The convention will also serve as the GOP’s closing argument heading into November. In the fight for the Senate majority, Republican candidates in some of the most crucial races will also address the convention.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, the GOP nominee in Texas who is facing off against Democratic state Rep. James Talarico in the race to replace Republican Sen. John Cornyn, will speak on the first evening. So will former RNC Chair Mike Whatley, who is defending retiring GOP Sen. Thom Tillis’ seat in battleground North Carolina.

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Sen. Jon Husted of Ohio, who is in a pitched fight with former longtime Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, will also address the crowd, as will Rep. Mike Collins of Georgia, the Republican challenger taking on Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff in swing state Georgia.

Former Rep. Mike Rogers of Michigan, who is hoping to flip a Democrat-held open seat in the key Great Lakes battleground as he runs against far-left Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed, speaks on Thursday evening.

In the battle for the House, where the GOP holds a razor-thin majority, incumbents and candidates in competitive races will also be in the speaking spotlight.

They include Reps. Monica De La Cruz of Texas, Derrick Van Orden of Wisconsin, Rob Bresnahan of Pennsylvania, and candidates Mike LiPetri of New York and Jay Feely of Arizona on Wednesday night.

Among the House Republican incumbents and candidates in close races speaking on Thursday are Reps. Ryan Mackenzie of Pennsylvania and Mike Lawler of New York, along with nominees Greg Cunningham of New Mexico, Derrick Merrin of Ohio and Eric Flores of Texas.

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Speaker Mike Johnson will speak on Thursday evening, according to the RNC schedule.

Johnson’s Senate counterpart, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-South Dakota), is notably absent from the list of speakers released by the RNC. But a source familiar with the planning tells Fox News Digital that Thune will be in Dallas, with a full schedule that includes helping Senate candidates fundraise.

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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who is running for a fourth term leading the Lone Star State, speaks on Thursday. So does Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, the conservative firebrand who is not on the ballot this year but could make a second White House bid in 2028.

Meanwhile, some of the biggest names in Trump’s Cabinet are scheduled to speak, including Attorney General Todd Blanche and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday evening, and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who spearheaded the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement, on Thursday evening.

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., is under fire over leaked texts with his staff in which he brushed off meetings with a children’s hospital and paralyzed veterans, but he is pushing back, calling the reports “smears” with support from his Republican Pennsylvania colleague, Sen. Dave McCormick.

Fetterman broke his silence following a bombshell report based on leaked text messages between him and his staff that portrayed him as brushing off basic duties of being a senator, including meetings with constituents.

Fetterman told CNN in a statement that “disgruntled” staffers had concocted the story, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, to knock his reputation.

FETTERMAN FACES DEM REVOLT AS BOMBSHELL REPORT FUELS PUSH TO OUST HIM: ‘DISGRACE’

“Per usual — lies, half-truths, innuendos, smears and anonymous,” Fetterman said.

“No matter how many smears or stories, I’m proud to continue to deliver for Pennsylvania,” he continued.

The lawmaker’s response follows an explosive report published last week that painted Fetterman as a politician more interested in appearing on Fox News to discuss Israel than meeting with constituents, including a group of paralyzed veterans from his state, and opting to blow off a funeral for slain police officers because it would have taken too long.

While other Democratic members of the Pennsylvania delegation were furious with Fetterman, his fellow senator, McCormick, came to his defense.

“These stories are the latest example of outrageously disloyal staff and forces on the Left using anonymous leaks to cancel my friend John Fetterman,” McCormick said on X. “They hate that he is an independent thinker who refuses to fall into line so they want to silence him.”

WHY TRUMP, GOP ARE COURTING JOHN FETTERMAN, WHO INSISTS HE’LL REMAIN A DEMOCRAT

Fetterman and McCormick share a unique relationship in a Congress that has grown increasingly partisan. They’re one of three Senate duos from a purple state, and Fetterman has vowed to not support an opponent when and if McCormick runs for re-election in 2030.

“Well, I would absolutely never move against my friend,” Fetterman told reporters.

They also launched a joint fundraising effort in July, called Common Ground PA, according to federal financial filings.

DNC VICE CHAIR ATTACKS DEMOCRATIC SEN. JOHN FETTERMAN: ‘YOU’RE A MESS’

And the pair spent Labor Day together, per a post from McCormick, where they toured Bell & Evans, a chicken processing company in Pennsylvania.

“He and I will continue to work together to deliver for Pennsylvania by saving jobs at US Steel, passing a new law to make housing more affordable, securing $600 million to replace the Delaware River Bridge, and delivering critical funding to protect Presque Isle State Park,” McCormick continued.

Still, members of the Pennsylvania delegation and beyond, including the vice chair of the Democratic National Committee, are laying the groundwork to oust him.

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Rep. Chris Deluzio, D-Pa., a progressive representing southwest Pennsylvania, charged that Fetterman’s behavior was “pathetic,” and said that “this man has no sense of duty.”

Whether Fetterman mount a bid for reelection in 2028 remains to be seen.

“He is not up for the high office he was elected to — and we in Pennsylvania will do something about it in 2028,” Deluzio said on X.

One of the largest hospitals in New York City will stop providing sex reassignment procedures to minors after entering an agreement with the Trump administration.

Mount Sinai has provided sex reassignment services, which included hormonal therapy and surgeries, to thousands of transgender patients. In 2025, Mount Sinai’s Institute for Advanced Medicine reported that its providers saw 4,931 transgender and gender-diverse patients, but the exact number of minors receiving sex reassignment procedures has not been publicly disclosed, according to the hospital’s report.

“The Department of Justice is committed to holding accountable medical providers that violate federal law and endanger children through so-called gender-affirming care,” said Attorney General Todd Blanche. “This agreement puts an end to these practices at Mount Sinai and provides meaningful relief for individuals who have already suffered harm.”

LARGEST CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL IN US TO OPEN ‘DETRANSITION CLINIC’ AFTER $10M SETTLEMENT WITH TRUMP DOJ, STATE

The agreement includes a monetary penalty and requires Mount Sinai to dedicate $2 million to free medical care for people suffering harmful consequences from transgender treatments they received as children. The agreement comes as part of an ongoing Justice Department investigation into hospitals providing such procedures to minors.

“A growing number of hospitals, like Mount Sinai, have recognized the medical scandal of sex-rejecting procedures,” Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate of the Civil Division said in a statement. “While we are grateful when we secure resolutions to end this discredited practice and protect children, we must not and will not rest in our pursuit of justice for the victims it has left behind.”

Curbing sex reassignment procedures for minors has been a top priority under the Trump administration.

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Just a week after being sworn into office, President Donald Trump issued an executive order titled “Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation,” seeking to defund federal funding for gender reassignment procedures and directing the Justice Department to enforce the nation’s female genital mutilation laws and investigate drug-safety violations and potential parental rights violations.

The Justice Department’s investigation examines potential violations of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, the False Claims Act and other federal health care laws, including alleged fraudulent billing practices such as the use of false diagnosis codes to obtain payment from federal health care programs and private insurers, according to the department.

The executive order also directed federal agencies to rescind or amend policies that rely on guidance from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH).

WPATH, a professional association that develops standards of care for transgender and gender-diverse patients, is being sued by the Federal Trade Commission and several states, which allege the group made false and unsubstantiated claims about the safety, effectiveness and medical necessity of pediatric medical-transition services. The case is pending.

COLORADO SUPREME COURT ORDERS CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL TO RESUME GENDER TRANSITION TREATMENTS FOR MINORS

WPATH’s medical guidelines served as the bedrock for Mount Sinai’s medical guidelines for transgender procedures, and Dr. Joshua Safer, executive director of the Mount Sinai Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery, has co-authored WPATH guidelines.

The Justice Department did not release the details of the agreement with Mount Sinai but acknowledged that the hospital “remained cooperative, proactive, and solution-driven” at all times of the investigation.

“The settlement is complex, but at its core reflects Mount Sinai’s commitment to safeguarding our patients’ confidential information and protecting our clinicians,” Mount Sinai said in a statement to the New York Times.

Mount Sinai’s settlement is just the latest the Justice Department has reached with major hospitals providing transgender procedures. Texas Children’s Hospital, the Cleveland Clinic Foundation and Connecticut Children’s Hospital have agreed to halt youth transgender procedures in the past couple of months.

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Fox News Digital reached out to Mount Sinai for comment.

Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, may retire from Congress next year with a reputation that is anything but gilded among his fellow Democrats.

Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash., is seeking reelection in a competitive district. But some of her colleagues may consider “MGP” to be notorious if she returns to Capitol Hill in January.

The House of Representatives is now out — again — until Sept. 14. That follows a six-week sabbatical over the summer. But were it not for Golden and Gluesenkamp Perez, House Republican leaders may have had no other choice but to send members home early a few days ago. The duo committed something close to a parliamentary heresy, handing the GOP the necessary votes on a procedural matter to unlock the floor for the majority.

Republicans lacked the votes to do it on their own – had Golden and Gluesenkamp not intervened.

JEFFRIES THREATENS ‘SERIOUS RESPONSE’ AFTER DEMOCRATS HELP GOP ADVANCE ANTI-SOCIALISM VOTE

However, the most schismatic betrayal was that neither one briefed Democratic leaders on what they planned to do. Congressional leaders from both sides are never pleased with members who stray from the party line. Especially on a procedural vote, which is almost always the responsibility of the majority to pass. But at the very least, leaders like to be clued in. They might give someone a pass if they understand the reasoning.

“Did they give you a heads up that they were going to vote with Republicans on that rule?” asked Fox News’ Kelly Phares of House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass.

“They did not. They surprised us,” answered Clark.

Yours truly observed to Rep. Tim Kennedy, D-N.Y., that in politics it’s always best to “stab someone in the front” rather than “in the back.”

“There’s a lot to be said for that,” replied Kennedy.

Let’s start with the nature of the dissent by Golden and Gluesenkamp Perez.

Most major pieces of legislation in the House need what’s called a “rule” before the body can debate the measure. The House must debate and approve a “rule,” dictating how much time and what amendments would be in order. The House can’t debate a bill until it first OKs a rule. And except on rare occasions, the majority party is expected to carry the rule. It’s simply something the minority party rarely assists with – except in extreme circumstances.

Last week, the House planned to debate a resolution to condemn socialism, green-light the SAVE America Act, maintain the number of justices on the Supreme Court at nine and consider a plan to help the nation’s lobster industry. The House adopted the rule, 210-208. However, five Republicans voted nay on the rule.

It’s about the math.

Those GOP defections would have killed the rule and frozen the floor for the rest of the week. In fact, the vote may have compelled House Republican leaders to cut everyone loose from Capitol Hill. The House was stalled considering any legislative traffic.

TENSIONS ERUPT IN HOUSE HEARING AS GOP ADVANCES ANTI-SOCIALISM RESOLUTION WHILE DEMS RAGE: ‘SILLY SEASON’

But Golden and Gluesenkamp Perez voted yes, unlocking the floor for the remainder of the week.

Democrats seethed at their colleagues for blindsiding them.

“The two Democrats who have voted to move a procedural bill forward didn’t do the right thing,” said Kennedy.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., Clark and House Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., issued a rare, joint condemnation of the dissenting duo. They characterized the revolt “a significant breach of trust,” adding it “necessitates a serious response.”

“It’s a mistake to vote against our caucus. We have to be unified,” said Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Pa.

Golden said he voted with Republicans so the House could pass the bill safeguarding Maine’s lobster industry.

“It’s about protecting the working class communities those men and women support. In my district, lobster fishing is the backbone of towns up and down the coast,” said Golden. “In some towns, 20 to 40 percent of residents hold a lobster license.”

Political observers view the infighting as a misstep for the party ahead of November.

“As a member, you should be able to communicate with your leaders and how you intend to vote,” said Rep. Susie Lee, D-Nev. “Something was skipped along the way.”

While some lawmakers blamed Golden and Gluesenkamp Perez, others said this was the fault of Jeffries. Others put it on Clark. Still there were those pinning this on the entire leadership team.

Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., knows something about his own members undercutting him. Republicans stripped McCarthy of the Speaker’s gavel nearly three years ago. But the California Republican believes the problem with Golden and Gluesenkamp Perez falls on the shoulder of Jeffries.

“You would know who would be the five to eight Democrats who would leverage that [vote],” said McCarthy. “You would have reached out to them.”

One former Democratic aide noted that it wasn’t even what Jeffries, Clark and Aguilar said in their statement. But it was the very fact that a statement appeared. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., never would have sent a statement. Her leadership power was implicit. Everyone knew not to cross her. Or, if there was an issue, at least have a conversation.

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Jeffries has not been the House’s top Democrat in the majority. That could change if Democrats win the House this fall. But McCarthy argued the statement said a lot about Jeffries.

“If Hakeem has to put out a statement that he’s strong, it’s a sign that he is weak,” said McCarthy.

One senior House Democratic leadership source said that rank-and-file members demanded accountability by Jeffries. Golden is done in January. Gluesenkamp Perez has repeatedly defied political gravity in a district which favors President Trump. The source didn’t believe anything Machiavellian was afoot between Democratic leaders and Gluesenkamp Perez. But the source indicated that Gluesenkamp Perez tussling with the Democratic brass probably helps the Washington Democrat back home.

Still, some Democrats demanded retribution.

“I think there should be consequences. I think at the end of the day, we have a caucus united against what Republicans are trying to do,” said Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee.

Actions speak louder than words. Remember that Golden and Gluesenkamp Perez voted against a “rule” in the House. Gluesenkamp Perez appeared at an unrelated meeting of the Rules Committee the next day. During her testimony, Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., the top Democrat on the panel, swiveled around in his chair and sat with his back to his fellow Democrat.

Jeffries hoped to turn a corner with the renegades. He spoke briefly with Golden. But a deeper conversation with Gluesenkamp Perez.

“Congresswoman Marie Gluesenkamp Perez and myself were able to talk in a very forward looking way about how to make sure that we’re all on the same page as we approach the midterm elections and beyond,” said Jeffries.

He indicated that McGovern and Gluesenkamp Perez also talked.

But the Leader was cryptic when pressed why he even had to issue an admonition.

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“Does that say something about where the Democratic Caucus is and if they follow your leadership?” I pressed Jeffries.

“Res ipsa loquitur,” answered Jeffries. “That’s Latin for ‘the thing speaks for itself.’”

Not really.

Was the statement just a warning shot as Jeffries tries to flex his muscles in anticipation of becoming Speaker and presiding over a Democratic majority next year? Where’s that “serious response” that Democratic leaders spoke of?

Some Democrats who are angry about the desertion will demand action. And if Jeffries doesn’t respond forcefully – despite a declaration otherwise – some members may interpret the warning statement as prattle.

That said, Democrats need Gluesenkamp Perez to win her district in order to claim the majority. And more specifically, Jeffries needs Gluesenkamp Perez to support him for Speaker if Democrats have control next year and the margin is close.

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Res ipsa loquitur? If Jeffries doesn’t take action – that speaks for itself, too.

Iran-backed Houthi rebels struck Saudi Arabia with dozens of ballistic missiles and drones Tuesday, hitting multiple energy targets, including the facilities of the world’s largest oil company.

The attacks on Aramco, the state-owned national oil company of Saudi Arabia that produces 10 million barrels of oil per day, threaten to tighten pressure on a second critical oil route as the Middle East war continues to restrict shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

Aramco notably supplies roughly 10% of the world’s total oil demand. And attacks on its facilities raise the risk of higher oil, shipping and transportation costs that could hit U.S. consumers in coming months — just in time for the 2026 midterm elections.

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The attacks hit the southern Saudi Arabian cities of Jazan, Najran, Abha and Khamis Mushait, wounding 73 people and sparking fires at energy facilities and utilities that temporarily forced some operations to stop, according to Saudi officials. The Jazan site includes a refinery capable of processing roughly 400,000 barrels of crude per day, according to the Associated Press.

Tuesday’s strikes land at a particularly vulnerable moment for global energy markets. With oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz sharply reduced, Saudi Arabia has redirected more crude toward the Red Sea — increasing the importance of the Bab el-Mandeb, where the Houthis have already threatened and attacked Saudi-linked shipping.

The Energy Information Administration estimates that just 4.9 million barrels of oil and petroleum liquids moved through Hormuz per day in the second quarter of 2026, down from 21.6 million barrels per day before the conflict. Before the conflict 20% of the world’s oil moved through the consequential waterway.

Traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb, meanwhile, averaged 8.1 million barrels per day during the quarter as Saudi Arabia redirected more crude to bypass Hormuz amid ongoing conflict.

That creates a potentially costly vulnerability: renewed Houthi attacks on Saudi energy infrastructure or commercial vessels could put pressure on two crucial oil routes at once, raising the risk of higher crude, shipping and transportation costs that could eventually reach U.S. consumers.

Brent crude was trading near $99 per barrel Tuesday.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s strikes, saying the group had used “dozens of ballistic missiles and drones” against Aramco facilities, the Jazan industrial zone and a Saudi air base, according to Xinhua.

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The Houthis said the operation was retaliation for Saudi airstrikes in Yemen and threatened “stronger and wider strikes” if Riyadh’s military campaign continues.

The escalation also comes with a warning already issued by President Donald Trump.

After the Houthis struck two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea in July, Trump said the U.S. would hold Iran responsible if the group attacked ships again and threatened “major military punishment” against both Tehran and the Houthis.

“If they do this again, the U.S. will hold Iran responsible, in that the Houthis are a Surrogate and/or Proxy of Iran, and major military punishment will be inflicted upon Iran and, of course, the Houthis, themselves,” Trump wrote on Truth Social at the time.

The warning followed the Houthis’ announcement of a maritime blockade targeting Saudi Arabia and attacks on Saudi tankers in the Red Sea. The escalation sent Brent crude above $100 per barrel amid fears that disruption could spread from the Strait of Hormuz to the Bab el-Mandeb.

The latest strikes targeted Saudi territory and energy infrastructure rather than ships, leaving unclear whether the White House considers them to cross the line Trump drew in July. It creates a new test for the administration as Houthi attacks increasingly intersect with the wider conflict over Iran and regional energy supplies.

The Trump administration has previously authorized U.S. strikes against Houthi weapons and infrastructure in Yemen in response to attacks and threats against American forces and shipping. A White House report says Trump directed those actions to defend U.S. forces and protect American national-security interests.

The U.S. Maritime Administration also maintains an active advisory warning that the Houthis continue to pose a threat to commercial vessels in the southern Red Sea, the Bab el-Mandeb and the Gulf of Aden.

From November 2023 through October 2025, the Houthis carried out more than 100 attacks on commercial vessels affecting more than 60 nations, according to the MARAD advisory. The attacks forced major shipping companies to avoid the Red Sea and reroute vessels around the Cape of Good Hope, adding time to voyages and increasing fuel, freight and insurance costs.

The Houthis renewed that threat in July when they targeted Saudi oil tankers and threatened a blockade of Saudi shipping through the Red Sea.

Saudi Arabia’s increased reliance on the route makes another sustained disruption potentially more consequential. The EIA says alternate routes used to bypass disrupted waterways are longer, more expensive and limited in capacity.

The latest strikes threaten to revive pressure on the Red Sea route just as the Iran conflict has made the Persian Gulf route more difficult to use. The Houthis may lack the capability to permanently close the Bab el-Mandeb, but repeated missile, drone or tanker attacks could still reduce traffic through the waterway if shipping companies determine the risks are too high.

Saudi Arabia condemned Tuesday’s strikes on civilian and economic assets and vowed to defend its territory. The Saudi-led coalition described the attacks as a “dangerous escalation” and said it would take measures to deter further attacks.

The immediate economic impact will depend on how quickly Saudi Arabia restores affected operations and whether commercial shipping continues moving through the Bab el-Mandeb.

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The next test could be whether the Houthis again target tankers or other commercial vessels. Another attack could put greater pressure on a waterway carrying an increased share of Middle Eastern oil — while also testing Trump’s warning that renewed Houthi attacks on shipping would bring U.S. retaliation against both the group and Iran.

President Donald Trump honored deceased volunteer firefighter Welles Crowther – also known as the “man in the red bandana” – with the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Tuesday. 

Speaking during Tunnel to Towers’ “Steel Across America” event in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, President Donald Trump praised Crowther, whose actions during 9/11 saved up to 18 people’s lives, sparking nationwide admiration and a series of documentary features on his bravery. 

“Today we also remember another hero of 9/11. After the plane hit the south tower, a group of people on the 78th floor were trapped with broken bones, charred skin and eyes and lungs filled with black smoke. Death was all about them. It was certain they were sure they were going to die. Then suddenly a rescuer appeared. They call him the man in the red bandana. Have you heard that term? The man in the red bandana has become more famous than me. I don’t like it. Very unhappy. But he’s become much more famous than me,” Trump joked. 

“He’s the man in the red bandana. He had found the only stairwell that barely survived. The stairwells were all knocked down. You couldn’t get by. Impassable. He found an opening in one of the stairwells, and the impact was so great there was no other way down but this one little opening, this one little hole. And [he] traveled down from the 104th floor to look for those trapped and dying,” Trump continued. 

“When he heard cries for help on the 78th floor, he began extinguishing the fires, blocking the exit, directing survivors who could walk, of which there weren’t that many. He helped them out physically. They literally pulled him out toward the only working stairwell and carried those who couldn’t walk. And he just did things that people said were not even imaginable because they knew they were dead. They said, ‘we’re goners.’ One guy was screaming, ‘we’re goners! We’re goners!’ He didn’t know those he helped and, nor who would have known, but he willingly made all of these trips up and down, up and down, up and down, over and over again, saving life after life,” Trump added.

“That rescuer was a 24-year-old equities trader and volunteer firefighter from Rockland County named Welles Crowther. And Welles’ father, also a firefighter, great firefighter, had given him that bandana as a very special tribute when he was a boy. He probably knew something about his son. When asked why he always kept it, Welles replied ‘with this red bandana, I’m going to change the world. I’m going to change the world with this bandana.’ Little did he know, on September 11th Welles saved many, many people before losing his own life in the South Tower lobby. When the building came down, he was in the lobby and that building came down, thousands of tons of steel,” Trump said.

“Today, in honor of his incredible bravery and all of the other countless unknown acts of heroism that day, it is my privilege to award the very special, the highest honor that we give, the highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. We want to award that to Welles and the Welles family. Welles is up there looking down at his mom and his sister, his family,” Trump said. 

Trump was speaking during the Tunnel to Towers’ “Steel Across America” event, in which the organization takes a 16,900 lb steel beam that came from the World Trade Center’s South Tower across the country. 

The president also invited Crowther’s mother on stage to speak about her son after revealing he had promised her years earlier to award the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, to her son. 

“That Welles’ light still shines brilliantly today, even after 25 years, is testament to his legacy of courage, compassion and love for humanity that continues to inspire and uplift others,” Alison Crowther said. 

“Wells, however, would not have been able to do what he did as effectively on 9/11 if it had not been for the training and experience he gained as a member of Empire Hook and Ladder Company Number one of Upper Nyack. Empire is a volunteer company and the members are fully trained firefighters. They have other jobs and responsibilities, businesses to run and their own families. But when the alarm goes off at any time, day or night, they respond to the call to save life and property. This is a calling. And Welles – following in the footsteps of his father, Jefferson – joined Empire at the age of 16. He was no longer an equities trader on 9/11, he was a firefighter,” she said.

MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Democratic and Republican Senate nominations are up for grabs on Tuesday in swing state New Hampshire, in a race that may determine if Republicans keep control of the chamber in the midterm elections.

Socialist-aligned candidate Karishma Manzur is on the move as she tries to pull off a major upset and defeat establishment-backed four-term Rep. Chris Pappas in the Democratic Senate primary.

Once a longshot, Manzur gained momentum in recent weeks as the national spotlight turned to New Hampshire after a six-month primary season that saw the far-left score a slew of high-profile victories over centrists in what’s been framed as a battle for the Democrats’ ideological future.

The winner of the Democratic primary will take on either John E. Sununu or Scott Brown, two former senators who are battling for the GOP Senate nomination in the race to succeed retiring longtime Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the first woman in the nation’s history elected governor and senator.

THESE 12 MIDTERM RACES WILL DECIDE WHICH PARTY CONTROLS THE SENATE

Republicans haven’t won a Senate election in New Hampshire in 16 years, but they view the open Democrat-held seat as a top flip opportunity in the fight to hold their slim majority in the midterm elections.

In the Democratic primary, Manzur is taking the fight to Pappas.

“All he wants to do is just get his little cushy job and go to D.C., go to all these parties and these restaurants and just do whatever the bare minimum is,” she charged in a Fox News Digital interview.

The first-time candidate, scientist with a Ph.D. in biochemistry and nonprofit leader who is a member of a local Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) group, is pushing for universal healthcare, raising the minimum wage to at least $20 per hour, abolishing ICE and ending all military aid to Israel for what she argues is the Israeli government’s “genocide” against the Palestinian people in their war against Hamas in Gaza.

Manzur charged that Pappas, who has been supported over the years by the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC, is a “genocide enabler.”

“Chris Pappas has had his turn and has not been able to serve this state honorably. He hasn’t done a good job in serving his corporate donors, his AIPAC foreign-aligned lobbies,” she claimed.

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Pappas, in an interview with Fox News Digital, said, “Israel’s a historic ally of the United States, the only democracy in the region. And you can say that while you have vehement disagreements with the Netanyahu government as I’ve expressed.”

Referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Pappas said, “I think Netanyahu’s being incredibly reckless right now. He faces voters in a matter of weeks and could lose his election. And I think that would be important to set a new tone for the U.S.-Israel relationship.”

CHECK OUT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLLING IN THE MIDTERM ELECTIONS

Pappas, who has been the frontrunner for his party’s nomination ever since Shaheen announced early last year that she wouldn’t seek re-election, enjoys strong establishment and union backing. And for over a year, as he runs for the Senate, Pappas also takes aim at what he calls a political system “rigged for billionaires.”

Regardless, Manzur charges that Pappas is taking a page from her playbook.

“It’s really embarrassing and insulting to the people of New Hampshire. He’s been there for eight years. He has not provided any of that sort of populist messages, and now he’s realizing, wait, he’s dropping in the polls, and now he has to catch up,” Manzur argued. 

Pappas defended his record, noting, “I’ve been fighting to change Washington to get big money out of our political system since I got elected to Congress in 2018.”

And Pappas emphasized he’s “appealing to those voters between the 20- and 80-yard line on the political playing field, and there are a lot of them in New Hampshire. This is not a left wing or a right wing state. It’s a state of voters who are pragmatic.”

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While Democrats wage an ideological battle, Republicans are fighting over Trump’s influence in their own primary.

The president in February endorsed Sununu, a longtime GOP Trump critic, over Brown, one of his first-term ambassadors. Sununu is also backed by Senate Majority Leader John Thune and the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

Brown charged in a Fox News Digital interview that Sununu’s “got 70 endorsements on his website, but he doesn’t have the president’s. He never talks about it. He’s embarrassed by it.”

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“I’ve had the MAGA base and a lot of those so-called traditional Republicans for almost over a year,” Brown highlighted. “Johnny came lately, and he’s here, and now he thinks everyone’s going to just vote for him. That’s not how it works. You got to go earn it.”

Brown claimed that Sununu is “beholden” to Trump, Thune, the Senate leadership, and outside groups.

“He owes them everything. He doesn’t work for the people of New Hampshire,” Brown charged.

But Sununu emphasized, “I’ll have one job: stand up for the people of New Hampshire every single day… I don’t need to make anyone in Washington happy. It’s all about our state, our communities, our economy, and our small businesses.”

Asked by Fox News Digital about Trump’s endorsement, Sununu didn’t mention the president’s name but highlighted his local endorsements, saying, “We’ve received tremendous support in New Hampshire … we’ve got great momentum at the grassroots level.”

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Trump last week said he’d be heading out on the campaign trail to help fellow Republicans running in the midterms.

Asked if he’d like Trump to join him on the Granite State campaign trail, Sununu answered, “I don’t need anyone from outside New Hampshire to campaign for me. I’ve said that from the very beginning.”

The former senator also disagreed with the Trump administration’s trade war with neighboring Canada, saying, “I don’t think it’s the right thing to pick a trade war with Canada. They’re a great trading partner for New Hampshire.”

In the race to replace Pappas in New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District, Shaheen’s daughter Stefany Shaheen, a former Portsmouth city councilor, is in a heated battle for the Democratic nomination against Maura Sullivan, a U.S. Marine combat veteran who later served in the Defense Department during then-President Barack Obama’s administration. Gaining strength in the final weeks of the campaign is progressive contender Carleigh Beriont, a Hampton selectwoman.

Businessman and auto dealership owner Anthony DiLorenzo, who is backed by Trump, and Hollie Noveletsky, a businesswoman and former state party vice chair who’s running a second straight time for Congress, are the frontrunners for the GOP nomination. State Rep. Brian Cole is also bidding for the Republican nomination.

In the state’s 2nd Congressional District, first-term Democratic Rep. Maggie Goodlander is facing a primary challenge from the left from state Rep. Paige Beauchemin.

Lily Tang Williams, a former Colorado Libertarian Party chair who is running a third straight time for Congress in New Hampshire, is the frontrunner in the Republican primary.

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Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte, a former U.S. senator and former state attorney general, faces no serious opposition as she seeks a second two-year term as New Hampshire governor.

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Cinde Warmington, a former New Hampshire Executive Councilor and 2024 candidate for governor, is unopposed for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination.

Eight weeks from today, millions of Americans will choose their next congressperson. Poll after poll tells us that the state of the economy will shape their choice: it’s the top issue for voters by a wide margin and most Americans are in a sour mood about it.

That’s not the end of the story.

We’ve learned from previous elections that voters consider a wide range of issues when they vote. The “economy” has different meanings to voters. Optimism doesn’t win over voters on pocketbook issues. And this year, while voters aren’t happy with President Trump’s economy, that hasn’t yet made them enthusiastic about the Democratic alternative.

These are the four rules to think about as we inch closer to the midterms.

Meantime, Democrats inch closer to victory as the Power Rankings takes a fresh look at congressional races in Missouri and Ohio.

1. The economy is central to elections, but watch for related issues

The importance of the economy to elections has been a golden rule since the early ’90s, when Democratic strategist James Carville famously cited “the economy, stupid” as the most important focus for a campaign.

Did you know it was only one of three orders he gave to candidates that cycle?

The economy has been a top-three issue throughout the Trump era, including the last two midterm elections, where it was the most important issue for 47% of voters (2022) and 18% of voters (2018).

If that 2018 figure feels low, it’s because health care (26%) and immigration (23%) finished ahead. That year, Republicans lost 42 seats.

No wonder another of Carville’s three rules for candidates was “don’t forget health care.” (The third was “change vs more of the same.”)

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The state of the economy bleeds into other major concerns, including health care. But even a strong economy wasn’t enough to get the GOP out of that election unscathed. And health care looms as another important issue this year: it’s ranked close behind the economy in most surveys this year.

2. The economy means different things to voters

When pollsters ask about voters’ views on the economy, they usually ask how important “the economy” or “the state of the economy” is, or whether they’re satisfied with Trump’s performance on that issue.

In some important ways, Trump has a strong economic record. Just last week, the U.S. added 162,000 jobs, about triple what economists had expected. The unemployment rate was steady at 4.1%. The stock market also continues to grow, even as Iran and tariffs drive volatility.

These have helped keep Trump’s overall economic approval rating in the low-to-mid 30s in multiple polls this summer.

When pollsters ask only about Americans’ personal economic situation, things look tougher.

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In a Reuters/Ipsos poll released last week, 32% of voters said they approved of Trump on the economy. But only a quarter approved of his performance on cost of living and 24% approved of him on inflation and prices.

The cost of gas, food, and other basic goods are the major factors driving this discrepancy. If Democrats deliver a strong result in November, it will come down to a presidential approval rating in the mid-20s on these issues.

3. Voters see through economic optimism

In 2022, President Biden faced similar headwinds: the economy was rebounding, especially if you looked at unemployment, but inflation hovered around the 8% mark all year. Gas prices came in around $3.75.

The Biden administration kept selling the positives. First, inflation was “transitory.” Then the president argued that “zero percent inflation” from one month to another was a win, despite the high annualized rate. Senior officials took victory laps on the unemployment rate.

Voters rejected this messaging at the ballot box, delivering the House to the GOP after a net loss of nine Democratic seats and handing Biden a net approval rating of -23 points on the economy.

Today, headline inflation is less than half that at 3.4%, while gas prices are a little higher at $4.15. Trump’s net approval on the economy currently sits at -33 points.

The Trump administration is running a familiar playbook. Vice President Vance said last week that gas prices could be worse if not for the Trump administration. As Fox’s Gillian Turner noted on Special Report, there are similarities between a comment like that and the statements Biden officials made four years earlier.

These optimistic visions are likely to remain a tough sell to voters.

4. Economic dissatisfaction doesn’t make voters any happier about the alternative

It’s easy to look at all this and think the Democrats are in for a big night in November. That’s certainly a possibility.

But polls keep showing that voters are just as discouraged by the left’s economic messaging.

FOX NEWS POLL: MOST RATE THE ECONOMY NEGATIVELY, INCLUDING HALF OF REPUBLICANS

Right now, Democrats are offering voters competing economic visions. Some, like Abdul El-Sayed and Troy Jackson, want a revolution that starts with Medicare for All and higher taxes on the wealthy. Others say they want to undo Trump’s agenda while keeping the core of America’s economic system in place.

It’s not yet clear whether these visions are unappealing to voters or whether the contrast between them is the problem.

Either way, in the Reuters/Ipsos survey, 36% of voters say Republicans are the better party to handle the economy, while 37% prefer the Democrats. The poll has a ±3.3pt margin of error.

That’s not encouraging for Team Blue.

If the Republicans hold relatively steady in November – also a possibility in this forecast – those results will explain why.

House: Democrats remain in the lead as two seats fall away from the GOP

Democrats are still the favorites to take the House this November, with 212 seats in their columns to the GOP’s 206. There are seventeen seats that are so close they could go either way.

Those seats tend to swing in one direction as votes get counted. On a good night for Democrats, that means 229 seats, while a good night for the GOP would still see them hold onto their current House majority.

(A “great” night for either party would mean winning some of the seats that lean towards the opponent in this forecast. The Power Rankings puts seats in the ‘lean’ category when they’re highly competitive, but one party has an edge.)

The changes in this forecast, which see two seats fall out of the GOP’s columns, all come from Missouri and Ohio.

Missouri: redistricting ruling flips one seat back to the Democrats and keeps another in contention

Republicans picked up redistricting wins across the southeast after the Supreme Court’s ruling narrowing the scope of the Voting Rights Act this year.

That includes Missouri, where Republican lawmakers redrew the Kansas City-based 5th District, currently held by Democrat Emanuel Cleaver, who won reelection there by 24 points, to include more White, rural areas.

That put the district into the Solid R column in the initial Power Rankings this year.

Last Thursday, the Missouri Supreme Court unanimously blocked the new districts from being used unless voters approve them in a referendum. The order restores the state’s existing map, flipping Cleaver’s district back to Solid D.

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(It also makes Missouri’s 2nd District more competitive. The rankings already had that district at Likely R; we’re keeping it there for now.)

Missouri has appealed the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, which could rule on the state ruling quickly. For now, Cleaver holds on to the 5th District.

Ohio: Sherrod and scandal make the state more competitive

Three races in Ohio are heading leftward.

First, Ohio’s 7th District, held by Republican Max Miller. The congressman’s ex-wife, Emily Moreno, has accused Miller of physically abusing both her and their young daughter. Miller denies the allegations and has suggested Moreno has mental health issues.

Moreno is the daughter of Ohio Sen. Bernie Moreno, who Miller says is trying to take down his political career.

The 7th District was already close for the ‘likely’ column, and after these headlines and some prodding from Republicans to drop out, it’s become highly competitive. It moves from Likely R to Toss Up.

Meanwhile, in the southwest of the state, watch the 10th and 15th Districts, held by Republicans Mike Turner and Mike Carey, respectively.

These shouldn’t be part of the Democratic playbook in a regular election year: they’re predominantly White and middle-class.

Turner’s 10th District contains Dayton and some suburban areas; Carey’s 15th includes some suburban and exurban parts around Columbus and stretches to the rural south.

As the Fox News Poll has shown twice now, Democrat Sherrod Brown is running a strong race for Senate; up eight points at 53% in May and August. That kind of performance could create a closer race than Republicans would like.

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The “Mikes” have the clear advantage, but victory isn’t a sure thing. The 10th and 15th Districts move from Solid R to Likely R.

The U.S. has for years been the top weapons supplier in the world. Over the past five years, arms exports have gone to nearly 100 countries.

“These weapons are sought after around the world because we have the best weapons,” said War Department Under Secretary for Acquisition and Sustainment Michael Duffey.

The Trump administration says some of the U.S. stockpile depletion is because of the weapons given to Ukraine. The Center for Strategic and International Studies assesses those transfers have been a minor factor in the shrinking U.S. inventories except for one important tool – the Patriot Missile Defense System.

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“We’ve maxed out the production lines now, and that process began during the Ukraine War when it was clear that modern conflict was going to require a lot more munitions than we had been planning on,” said Mark Cancian, a retired U.S. Marine colonel and senior advisor with the CSIS Defense and Security Department.

Between 2021 and 2025, Ukraine was the largest recipient of major arms around the world, with at least 36 countries supplying weapons. The U.S. was the top supplier over the five-year time period, accounting for 41% of Ukrainian arms imports.

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Before Russia’s war in Ukraine began in 2022, CSIS estimates the U.S. had around 2,200 Patriot missiles in its inventory. Estimates show around 600 missiles were given to Ukraine, with a few of those possibly coming from U.S. allies. Deliveries of new production outpaced the number given to Ukraine, with an estimated 2,300 missiles in the U.S. Patriot inventory before the Iran conflict began. It’s estimated that around 36% of Patriot Interceptors remain from the pre-Iran war inventory.

“As chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, my job is to sign off on all foreign military weapons and sales to countries like Israel, to countries, like Taiwan and Ukraine, for that matter. And when we can’t deliver on that promise because we can’t make those weapons fast enough, it hurts our alliances, it hurts allies’ ability to protect themselves,” said Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas.

Publicly available government reports show at least four countries, including the U.S., have provided full Patriot missile systems to Ukraine. The U.S. is the only country that manufactures the Patriot battery, and one of two countries along with Japan to publicly show it produces Patriot missiles.

“If we take all of the Patriots for ourselves, and of course, that’s 600 a year, we can refill the inventory much more quickly, but we have frozen out our allies and partners,” Cancian said.

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Patriot producer Raytheon says, “Patriot is the foundation of integrated air and missile defense for 19 nations.” But as the U.S. prioritizes rebuilding its weapons inventory, deliveries for some countries are already delayed.

“Unfortunately, the world we live in is an increasing threat, and that means that we need a bigger military force, and we need a stronger defense industrial base to be able to equip the warfighter and supply all that we need to win the fight,” Duffey said.

Patriot batteries and Tomahawk missiles were first used in Operation Desert Storm. At least two other countries have Tomahawks and while the stockpile remains large compared to other systems, at around two-thirds of its prewar inventory, new orders from Japan and the Netherlands could face delays.

“With Tomahawk, we have the same situation with the Japanese. They bought 400. They’re told they’re being pushed back in the queue. On the other hand, they’re facing China. They’ve reconfigured one of their ships to take the Tomahawks. So, there’s again going to be a diplomatic discussion there,” Cancian said.

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Just the U.S., the UAE and Saudi Arabia have THAAD systems. Their first confirmed use was in 2022 after a UAE system intercepted missiles launched by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. No official delays have been reported for THAAD orders, but the U.S. has 52%-62% of its inventor remaining and outstanding deliveries for Saudi Arabia, expected to be completed by April 2028.

“This military competition we’re in with China and Russia and Iran is real. And we have to win that competition,” McCaul said.

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The ground-launched PrSm, or Precision Strike Missile, developed by Lockheed Martin, was first used in Operation Epic Fury. CSIS says just 10-22% of those weapons remain from pre-Iran conflict levels, following the ceasefire expenditures and revised estimates from the beginning of the conflict in late February.

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“It’s important to keep in mind that the level of intensity in those 14 days of renewed conflict were not as high as they were during the first 39 days of the air war,” Cancian said about the July strikes after the ceasefire ended. “During the 14 days the U.S. was launching maybe 80 to 100 strikes according to the Pentagon per day. During the 39 days of the major air war, we were launching about 350 strikes a day, plus Israel was launching another 200 to 250. So, the intensity wasn’t quite as high, but we were still going through these Munitions.”

James Talarico, the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Texas, once framed disciplinary practices in schools as an outflow of the ideas behind criminal justice reforms he hoped lawmakers would implement in Texas.

“I’m recently excited about the formation of a bipartisan criminal justice reform caucus in the Texas House with prominent Democrats and prominent Republicans who understand that we have to move away from a tough-on-crime approach to a smart-on-crime approach, and that, I think, filters down to our schools,” Talarico said in a 2020 interview on school disciplinary practices and their effect on minorities.

Talarico’s train of thought from criminal reform laws to changes in educational discipline demonstrates his underlying beliefs about moving away from punitive corrections.

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Talarico fleshed out his view, detailing how the changes would affect the educational system.

“[We are] starting in elementary school, where we really pursue restorative practices that are going to rehabilitate our students who are suffering from trauma, our students who are feeling unsafe in school and our students who harm a classroom community.”

Talarico was referring to “restorative justice,” a view that links misbehavior to past personal and emotional experiences. In the words of Texas Appleseed, a group that promotes “social, economic and racial justice,” restorative justice in education emphasizes the relational cost of conflict as a way to deter future bad behavior. “Restorative Justice, when applied to a school setting, focuses on how student behavior has harmed others and how to make amends. Schools use it to build community and strengthen student–school connections,” the group wrote in a definition submitted to lawmakers.

The approach is often mentioned as an alternative to “zero tolerance” policies that focus on punishments that deter discouraged conduct.

To Talarico, its adoption could deemphasize other forms of punishments.

“What that means is really allowing students to repair the harms that they’ve caused in a classroom community. It’s a lot more rigorous and a lot more effective than just expelling a student or suspending a student or removing them from a classroom community,” Talarico said.

While in the Texas legislature in 2021, Talarico introduced a bill, HB 62, which would have sought to move schools away from in-school suspension, out-of-school suspension and removing kids to alternative educational programs.

The bill stalled in committee and never became law.

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In the wake of the Uvalde school shooting in 2022, Republican lawmakers pushed back against Talarico’s line of reasoning, arguing that, despite some calls for leniency, repercussions for problematic behavior are sometimes unavoidable.

“Look, I don’t want to see a kid go to jail for being caught with some pot. I don’t want to see a kid go to jail because he gets into a fight with another kid,” Texas state Rep. Steve Toth, a Republican, told interviewers.

“That’s clearly not the intent here. But if you’ve got a kid that is violent and is consistently violent, and they’ve been violent toward other children and teachers, then we either have to reach that kid or we have to remove that kid. They shouldn’t be in the classroom. Period.”

Talarico’s statements are consistent with past calls to step away from law enforcement and prisons and towards social programs — calls that also show his beliefs about the best ways to deter criminal behavior.

“If we took just half of what we spent on wars, prisons, and policing and spent it on education, health care, and jobs, we could make prisons obsolete,” Talarico said in a 2022 speech to a graduation ceremony for incarcerated students.

A little later on in that same speech, Talarico went further, calling the idea of prisons themselves a kind of violence.

“My experience as a teacher, a legislator, and a Christian tells me that birds don’t belong in cages; children don’t belong in cages; people don’t belong in cages. Poverty is violence. Pollution is violence. And yes, prison is violence,” Talarico said.

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“I’m not asking you to join the system; I’m asking you to change the system. Dismantle this system of violence.”

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When asked about his views on criminal justice and how they link to education, Talarico’s campaign said he has always prioritized both safety and smart-on-crime approaches, noting that he had been a member of the state’s criminal reform caucus.

“James joined his Republican colleagues on this caucus because as a former public school teacher, James cares about keeping Texas students safe. James agrees with most Texans that we government should be smart-on-crime, and our students deserve all the support possible,” JT Ennis, a campaign spokesperson said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

“While James has passed bills in the legislature to deny bail for violent criminals, crack down on violent felons and send billions of dollars to support law enforcement, Ken Paxton has abused his office to benefit his wealthy donors and the well-connected — allowing criminals back on the street even as it made Texans less safe. Even Ken Paxton’s fellow Republicans have blasted his public safety record: more murders, soft on human trafficking, and pedophiles walking free,” he added, referring to Talarico’s Republican challenger, former Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

Having cleared the primary and secured his party’s nomination, Talarico will face off against Paxton in the Nov. 3 general election.

A former member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) who lives in Michigan issued a dire warning against extremism in American politics, and ripped far-left, progressive Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed as dishonest and “sanctimonious.”

“So, I think that it’s up to everyone to not sit on their hands, Democrats, Republicans, Independents, we all need to be out there,” Jake Altman told Fox News Digital. “We all need to be supporting candidates who love this country, who want to deliver for Michiganders. We should not be leaning into this sectarian politics. My fear is we’ve seen the left wing of the Democratic Party import the politics of Hezbollah into the United States, and now we’re living with the sectarian aftermath of that.”

Altman, who formerly worked for several labor unions, said the DSA began adding fanatical far-left factions, including Marxists and Leninists, around 2014 and 2015. 

He claimed that at the time, similar far-left actors were taking control of labor unions, intending to use well-meaning workers as pawns in a much larger political battle to push the Democratic Party further left. That was about the time he left the movement, which he said has become “very susceptible to extremist takeover.”

FORMER DSA MEMBER ALLEGES COMMUNISTS HAVE ‘CAPTURED’ SOCIALIST GROUP, WARNS DEMOCRATIC PARTY IS NEXT

“That’s not America,” he said. “We want… a broad, tolerant America. We want pluralism here. We don’t want to be at each other’s throats. I’m just — we have to stand up and say ‘no’ to this.”

Tensions between the DSA and Democratic Party have reached a boiling point — nowhere more evident than in Michigan — where El-Sayed, who has palled around with socialist streamer Hasan Piker on the campaign trail, is facing difficulty rallying the party’s moderates in support of his candidacy.

DEMOCRATS’ CIVIL WAR HEADS TO MICHIGAN WHERE PROGRESSIVES FACE BIGGEST TEST YET IN HIGH-STAKES SENATE SHOWDOWN

“So, I’ve met Abdul several times,” said Altman. “I worked very closely with his dad when his dad was union president of the AAUP local I worked for. So I have, you know, I think I have a pretty good read on the guy.”

Mohamed El-Sayed, Abdul’s father, is an engineering professor at Eastern Michigan University, where he served as president of the school’s AAUP chapter and led a faculty strike in 2022.

“When I was at the Democratic Party convention, the recent Democratic Party nominating convention, [Abdul El-Sayed] recognized me,” Altman continued, clarifying that he was referring to April’s contentious Michigan Democratic Party endorsement convention. “He was working a line that I was standing in, and he recognized me, and he asked me, ‘why all the hate?’ ’cause I had been critical of the campaign up to that point.”

Altman said Abdul El-Sayed told him that his campaign “doesn’t do that,” apparently claiming that his campaign wasn’t engaged in political mudslinging.

EL-SAYED’S HASAN PIKER PROBLEM FOLLOWS HIM TO DEM CONVENTION AS JEWISH VOTERS BREAK RANKS

“We see that the guy is not a straight shooter, he’s not an honest broker,” said Altman. “He, himself, said that his primary opponent, who I was supporting, couldn’t string two coherent sentences together. I mean, the idea that he is somehow above it all is just not true. He’s the most sanctimonious man in Democratic Party politics, and that’s going a long way because there’s a lot of sanctimony in that party.”

As for the DSA, according to Altman, it is unrecognizable compared to just a decade ago.

“So, you had this older generation that was very tolerant, part of a broader liberal tradition, engaged in a productive way with the Democratic Party, not a destructive way as we see today,” Altman explained.

Part of that tradition, he said, was a total rejection of communism. But recently, the party voted to lift its ban on Leninists, allowing the proliferation of extremism among the party ranks.

“We’ve seen in August 2025 that DSA at the convention voted to remove its prohibition on having Leninists operating within the organization,” he said. “I mean, it doesn’t get any clearer than this.”

He bemoaned current DSA co-chair Megan Romer, whom he described as a “Marxist-Leninist” and “fan of the Cuban regime.”

HOW THE ‘LONG MARCH’ THROUGH THE INSTITUTIONS LED TO SOCIALIST TAKEOVER OF DEM PARTY: ‘NEED TO WAKE UP’

Romer traveled to Cuba last year with a group of 40 far-leftists, where she hyped the communist country as “care-focused vs. production-focused,” blamed the United States’ blockade for the country’s food shortages and mass emigration and said the country has “the most LGBTQ-friendly constitution in the world.”

Meanwhile, Abdul El-Sayed continues his attempts to try to win over moderate Democrats while also campaigning against Republican former congressman Mike Rogers ahead of the crucial 2026 midterms that will determine whether Democrats regain control of either or both chambers of Congress.

Abdul El-Sayed has been dogged by questions about his affiliation with Piker, whom he invited on the campaign trail during primary season. He has refused to condemn Piker, choosing instead to brush him off as a “streamer from California” who has little connection with the Michigan race.

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Piker said in 2019 that “America deserved 9/11,” and has also praised Mao Zedong and Communist China, said capitalists should be murdered in the streets and spewed a litany of antisemitic comments.

Fox News Digital reached out to El-Sayed’s campaign.

DALLAS — With less than two months to go until the midterm elections, President Donald Trump and Republicans gather in Texas this week for the first ever GOP midterm convention, as they aim to energize the party’s base to turn out in key races that will determine if Republicans keep control of Congress.

Democrats and Republicans traditionally hold large nominating conventions during presidential election years. But Trump a year ago floated the idea of a similar gathering ahead of the midterms, to showcase the signature policy achievements he and the Republicans in Congress produced the past two years.

The president called the convention “a truly Historic Event” and “a RALLY like none other!” when he announced it earlier this summer.

Trump will be at the American Airlines Center in downtown Dallas for the convention’s Wednesday and Thursday evening sessions. Trump will speak on both nights, and will deliver the keynote address on the first night, with Vice President JD Vance headlining the second night.

SPEAKER JOHNSON’S MIDTERM PREDICTION TO BUCK HISTORY

The convention comes as Republicans face energized Democrats and stiff political headwinds as they defend their slim House and Senate majorities. There are concerns that the two-day confab that’s been described by GOP leaders as a “Trumpapalooza” may not be the best approach with the president’s approval ratings deep underwater.

But Republicans are expected to paint a contrast, as they use the convention to spotlight the Democrats’ leftward lurch and tie the entire Democratic Party to far-left and socialist proposals.

“This is not a midterm like any other, because we actually have a competition against communism now, and that’s a very serious thing. It’s going to animate voters coast to coast,” House Speaker Mike Johnson emphasized in a Fox News Digital campaign trail interview last month.

Democrats, as they try to win back congressional majorities, were already battling a brand that public opinion polling indicates is extremely unpopular. Making matters worse, the high-profile victories this spring and summer by left-wing and socialist candidates over establishment rivals in Democratic primaries, which gave Republicans extra ammunition to portray all Democrats as extremists.

THESE 12 MIDTERM RACES WILL DECIDE WHICH PARTY CONTROLS THE SENATE

“What we’re going to highlight at that convention is the fact that this is not your father’s Democrat Party,” Johnson said. “It’s a contrast election, and people are making a contrast between common-sense solutions and candidates, and really crazy, which is represented by the other side.”

But Republicans have their own issues.

As the party currently in power, the GOP was already up against traditional political headwinds that have historically led to a loss of congressional seats during midterm election years. Add to that the challenging climate fueled by persistent inflation Americans see daily at the grocery store, high gas prices tied to what polls show is an unpopular war with Iran and Trump’s negative numbers.

“Democrats are going to win back power,” Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Ken Martin predicted last month at the party’s summer meeting as he looked towards the midterms.

But his counterpart, Republican National Committee (RNC) Chair Joe Gruters, told Fox News Digital this summer, “We have a chance to defy history and win the midterms.”

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

The victories by Trump and Republicans two years ago in winning back the White House and Senate and holding the House were fueled by Americans fed up with the high cost of living. Two years later, inflation is the Republicans’ biggest liability.

Three out of four voters questioned in the most recent Fox News national poll said inflation had caused financial hardship, while 54% expected the economy to worsen.

“Donald Trump started a war that no one wanted, and now Americans are paying the price. Gas prices are soaring and families who were already struggling in Trump’s economy are forced to stretch their budgets even further while footing the bill for this war,” the DNC’s Martin charged.

But Gruters and other GOP leaders are spotlighting the major tax cuts on tips, overtime and Social Security that congressional Republicans passed and Trump signed into law last year.

“This midterm convention gives us a chance, an opportunity to showcase all the great things this president has done, and this administration, to the American people in a direct way,” he said.

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But Republicans are facing a low-propensity problem: MAGA voters who don’t always go to the polls when Trump’s name isn’t on the ballot.

Gruters called Trump the “best showman that’s ever existed in politics, bar none… He knows how to deliver these low-propensity voters. He knows how to get people up, motivated, excited about the midterms, and that’s what we’re going to need.”

Johnson, painting a preview of the convention, told Fox News Digital: “Two nights of earned media on every station in America. We’ll parade all of our stars across the stage, talk about our extraordinary record of achievement. The president will look into the camera at the end and say, ‘I am on the ballot,’ because we need his base to turn out.”

The DNC, which remains in debt and decided against holding a similar convention, sees the GOP confab as a chance to blast Republicans.

“While everyday Americans struggle to pay their bills, fill up their tanks, or put food on the table, Republicans are hosting a multi-million dollar celebration to satisfy an aging and erratic Trump and tie vulnerable Republican candidates closer to his failed agenda,” DNC Rapid Response Director Kendall Witmer charged.

Witmer argued that “Americans don’t want a ‘Trumpapalooza’ — they want lower costs and affordable healthcare.”

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Veteran Republican strategist Doug Heye said the GOP convention isn’t a bad idea.

But Heye, a former RNC communications director, said “the implementation is important. If it’s Trumpapalooza and ‘America has never been hotter or richer,’ it will fall flat. If they can be focused on what they’ve done and are doing to lower prices, that, along with fundraising, could have some success.”

But he cautioned, “everything we’ve seen thus far suggests the focus will be on Trump, not on the issues voters are screaming about.”

In the midterm battle, Republicans come into the convention with a major campaign cash advantage over the Democrats.

“We have a ton of money to spend,” Gruters told Fox Business last week. “We have the cash, and we’re going to deploy it in a way to make sure that we hold the majority.”

And Republicans aim to pad their war chest, as they plan to raise millions of dollars this week during the convention.

That includes asking donors to fork more than $88,000 for a photo with the president at a private roundtable, according to an invitation first reported by the Wall Street Journal and confirmed by Fox News Digital.

Among the other major speakers at the convention: Attorney General Todd Blanche, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Medicaid and Medicare Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner, former White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, and Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son who’s popular among MAGA supporters.

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Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) will be addressing the convention, but his Senate counterpart, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-South Dakota), is notably absent from the list of speakers released by the RNC.

But a source familiar tells Fox News Digital that Thune will be in Dallas, with a full schedule that includes helping Senate candidates fundraise.

Sen. Jim Justice, R-W.Va., found a way to get something passed unanimously, despite what he rebukes as “romper-room behavior” of political polarization in the Senate.

In an interview Saturday with Fox News Digital, Justice detailed how he worked around the Senate’s bitter partisan divide to get a monument honoring late World War II Medal of Honor hero Hershel “Woody” Williams onto the National Mall.

“I’ve never seen anything like this, never in my life seen anything to where it is, it is so preposterous,” Justice lamented. “You know, no one could make any sense out of what in the world is going on a lot of times.”

“I don’t know why we don’t talk to one another,” he added. “I don’t know why we’re disrespectful to one other.”

DEMOCRATS BLINK AS SCHUMER HELPS GOP CLEAR KEY SHUTDOWN HURDLE

Using good, old-fashioned dialogue, Justice’s effort ultimately succeeded in getting his first Senate law passed for his late friend. The Williams National Medal of Honor Monument Location Act directs the National Medal of Honor monument to a prominent location within the Reserve on the National Mall.

The legislation is Justice’s first bill as a senator. It honors Williams, a West Virginia native who received the Medal of Honor for extraordinary heroism during the Battle of Iwo Jima and who was the last surviving World War II Medal of Honor recipient before his death in 2022 at age 98. The monument will honor Williams by name while commemorating Medal of Honor recipients as a whole.

The House approved the measure on Aug. 31 after the Senate passed it unanimously in March. The legislation is now awaiting Trump’s signature.

“We’re really hopeful he’s going to sign it this coming week,” Justice said. “There’s been a lot to make all that happen and everything, and I can’t be more proud.”

Justice, describing the partisan fight in the interview, said the path to unanimous approval was anything but smooth.

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“I mean, we had it shot down,” he said, adding, but “I just wouldn’t turn it loose.”

“And the reason I wouldn’t turn loose is because it was just real simple: I mean Woody’s unbelievable, or was unbelievable, that’s for sure. But all these Medal of Honor recipients and everything, the ones we’ve lost and all those that are still living, they are so deserving.”

Justice described how the measure initially had become caught up in the same divisiveness that has locked up the Senate on a much broader range of issues.

“All we managed to do is keep a food fight going to where – because it was a Republican thing or Republican Jim Justice introducing – well, I’m telling you, if I’m a Democrat, by God, we’re not gonna let that happen and everything,” he lamented. “And then it’s just, it’s the same thing on both sides. Way, way, way too much for a guy that’s got white hair and wants to try to get things done.”

EXCAVATION SET TO BEGIN ON TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S 250-FOOT TRIUMPHAL ARCH AMID LEGAL BATTLE

Justice said the breakthrough came just before he was preparing to take the matter to the Senate floor with four Medal of Honor recipients present.

“I was about three feet from going into the Senate chambers,” Justice recalled. “And we sat down right there, you know, kind of on the steps and really just started talking.”

The senator was Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M. The two serve together on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and Justice said he had developed a personal relationship with Heinrich over the years, including through Justice’s well-known bulldog, Babydog.

SEN RICK SCOTT: AMERICANS WORK FIVE DAYS A WEEK, WHY CAN’T THE SENATE?

“I said, Martin, I don’t understand. I mean, how in the world can we do this?” Justice said. “And I said, Martin, you know, I’m getting ready to go on the floor and it’s not going to be good. It’s not gonna be good for you. It’s not going to good for a lot of folks and everything. A lot of people are going to be upset. A lot of people are going to be really sad.”

Justice said he appealed directly to Heinrich to find a way forward.

“And I just said, Martin, I don’t know any way to tell it other than just to tell you the truth. And you’re a good guy. And I don’t know why in the world we just can’t talk with one another.”

Heinrich responded with a blunt explanation of the broader problem, Justice said.

MEDAL OF HONOR RECIPIENT JAMES CAPERS JR. SAYS RECOGNITION IS BITTERSWEET AFTER LOSING ‘SO MUCH’

“And he looked right at me and he said, you know, people here don’t talk to one another,” Justice said. “And I really appreciate you doing that and I’m not going to object.”

Justice said the measure then moved “in three minutes, boom, boom, boom, done.”

“It was an amazing moment really, and like I said Martin’s a good guy, and I just think that maybe we could all learn from that just a little bit,” he said.

“Now we’re going to honor, you know, another great, unbelievable, courageous group of people and it’s way, way, way overdue.”

HOUSE REPUBLICANS DID WHAT VOTERS ASKED AND WE HAVE THE RECEIPTS. IT’S UP TO THE SENATE

On other issues in the Senate still in gridlock, Justice urged dialogue like that above and for everyone to “grow up.”

“Why in the world would you carry on with just childishness, and in all fairness, that’s what it is,” Justice said. “You can’t make sense of it. There’s no point in us trying to do that. This is Romper Room behavior. And if there’s anything in the world I could do, I wish to goodness that I could tell everybody, you know let’s grow up a lot. Let’s absolutely grow up and let’s behave.”

Justice said he does not expect the Senate’s structural problems to be fixed easily, pointing to the 60-vote threshold associated with overcoming a filibuster and arguing that lawmakers have little incentive to change a system that protects the political status quo.

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“You’ve got a lot of people there that have never had a job,” Justice said. “They’ve been there forever, and they’ve never made a payroll.”

He said his former chief of staff Brian Abraham once gave him an even simpler explanation for the paralysis.

“I said, guys, we’re really missing something here because we can really get stuff done here and everything,” Justice recalled. “And he looked right at me and he said, you don’t understand, do you?

“People here don’t wanna get something done. All they want to do is just keep it going. Round and round it goes. Fundraiser, fundraiser, fundraiser. Round and around it goes, get reelected, get reelected.”

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Justice said the monument fight was especially important because Williams himself embodied the opposite of that kind of self-interest.

“Woody Williams was all about us,” he said. “Woody Williams was never about Woody Williams. And he just was an amazing man. I got to know him really well, and we became really good friends.”

Williams’ Medal of Honor citation stems from his actions on Iwo Jima, where, under intense enemy fire, he used a flamethrower to destroy Japanese positions and help clear a path for advancing Marines.

Justice said the symbolism of the monument extends beyond Williams and into future generations.

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“Now, I’m going to take them there,” Justice said of his future descendants. “I’m going to show them this and tell them, maybe I was only a grain of sand, but I had something to do with this. And I really stood up hard for it and everything. We got it done.”

President Donald Trump appeared to debut a darker hair color Friday, sparking widespread speculation online after stepping off Air Force One in New Jersey ahead of a weekend at his Bedminster golf club.

Known for his signature blond hairstyle, Trump was photographed arriving at Morristown Municipal Airport with what appeared to be a noticeably darker, more brunette look —prompting a flood of reactions across social media.

“Trump becoming a brunette was definitely not on my 2026 bingo card,” one user wrote on X.

“This was Donald Trump yesterday while departing to New Jersey for the weekend! Look at the appearance of his hair! Is he getting a new hair color?” another user wrote.

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“Seems brown is the new blonde …,” a third user added.

“Trump is now a brunette!” another post read.

Photos shared on Instagram by internet personality Michael Solakiewicz showed Trump golfing Saturday in a red hat that covered most of his hair, making it difficult to tell whether the darker look remained.

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The online speculation comes just days after Trump pushed back on allegations that he wears a wig, pointing to a windy 2024 campaign rally in Ohio, according to The Hill.

“I don’t wear a wig. But that night, they found out I did not wear a wig because if you did, it was not going to be on your head very long,” Trump said Wednesday.

Trump has rarely made noticeable changes to his appearance while in office.

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In 2019, he sparked similar speculation after appearing with what looked like a slicked-back hairstyle during a surprise visit to a Virginia church.

That hairstyle was short-lived. Trump spoke to reporters later in the day wearing his usual hairdo.

The White House could not immediately be reached by Fox News Digital for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Bradford Betz contributed to this report.

An armed individual lunged at Ohio gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton and injured multiple people Sunday in a burst of violence at the Canfield Fair, her campaign said.

“While attending the Canfield Fair, an armed individual lunged at Dr. Acton, injuring multiple people,” Acton campaign communications director Addie Bullock said in a statement.

“Dr. Acton and Eric are grateful for the swift and decisive action of law enforcement and are praying for the recovery of those injured,” Bullock added. “This kind of violence has no place in Ohio. Dr. Acton will always stand up to the chaos, hate and vitriol that pits us against one another.”

The campaign did not say if Acton was injured.

TRUMP’S DECADE OF ASSASSINATION THREATS RUNS FROM BUTLER SHOOTING TO LATEST GOLF CLUB BREACH

Authorities did not immediately release details about the alleged attacker, the weapon involved or the conditions of those injured. It was also unclear what prompted the confrontation and whether anyone had been arrested.

The incident came as Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin warned that candidates and other public figures continue to face threats as campaign season kicks into high gear.

“You’re never safe in the public eye,” Mullin told Fox News’ Peter Doocy during an interview on “The Sunday Briefing.”

WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS’ DINNER SHOOTING LATEST IN YEARS OF ATTACKS TARGETING TRUMP, CONSERVATIVES

Doocy asked Mullin whether candidates were safe heading into the traditional Labor Day weekend kickoff to campaign season, citing the political assassinations and assassination attempts that have rocked the country in recent years.

“If you read any of the social media posts, which I choose not to, but you see the type of rhetoric and the hatefulness that’s out there,” Mullin said.

DEM SENATE HOPEFULS UNDER SCRUTINY FOR ‘CHOKE THEM OUT’ RHETORIC AFTER TRUMP ATTACK SCARE

“The threats to our elected officials, they don’t go away,” he continued. “We’ve got to bring down the temperature, but the temperature is not going to go down on itself.”

Mullin said Americans must accept that political disagreements are part of the country’s system of government while drawing a firm line at violence.

WEST VIRGINIA MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO MAKING VIOLENT THREATS AGAINST TRUMP, ICE

“The American people have to realize that we do have a republic, and the republic has different opinions, and it’s OK to have different opinions,” he said.

“When you cross a line and say that that different opinion needs to be silenced — it needs to be silenced through violence — that’s where Homeland comes into place,” Mullin added. “Free speech is something we all protect, but there’s a line that you can cross that goes from free speech to inciting dangerous behavior.”

Mullin was speaking broadly about political threats and was not responding directly to the reported confrontation involving Acton.

Republican gubernatorial nominee Vivek Ramaswamy and his running mate, Ohio Senate President Rob McColley, condemned the Canfield Fair incident.

“Candidates should be able to meet with voters without having to worry about threats or violence,” Ramaswamy campaign communications director Connie Luck said in a statement.

“What happened today is completely unacceptable and has no place in politics, and we hope that no one was hurt,” she added.

RAMASWAMY OUTLINES KEY CONTRASTS WITH DEM OPPONENT LESS THAN 100 DAYS OUT FROM KEY GUBERNATORIAL ELECTION

Acton and Ramaswamy are facing off in November’s closely watched race to replace term-limited Republican Gov. Mike DeWine.

Acton, a physician, became a household name in Ohio while serving as director of the Ohio Department of Health during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to The Associated Press. She appeared alongside DeWine during televised briefings as the state imposed shutdowns and other public-health restrictions.

Her handling of the pandemic has since become a central campaign issue, The AP reported. Ramaswamy and other Republicans have criticized Acton over the restrictions, while her campaign has defended her work with DeWine as necessary to protect Ohioans.

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Fox News Digital reached out to the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office for additional information.

Fox News’ Peter Doocy contributed to this report.

The White House on Sunday amplified President Donald Trump‘s call to rebrand New Mexico as “New America,” reposting an image from the president’s Truth Social account showing the state’s name crossed out and replaced with “America.”

Trump’s original post featured a map of the Southwestern state with the word “Mexico” crossed out in bright red and replaced with “America,” effectively depicting it as “New America.”

TRUMP RENAMES LAKE ONTARIO ‘LAKE AMERICA’ AMID INTENSIFYING US-CANADA TRADE DISPUTE

The White House later shared the image on its verified X account. Neither post included an explanation or indicated whether it reflected an actual policy proposal.

The post comes just days after Trump signed an executive order renaming Lake Ontario “Lake America” for U.S. federal use. The executive order followed a series of tariff disputes between Washington and Ottawa.

Trump said he directed Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and the department to update the Geographic Names Information System to reflect the name change. Google and Apple later updated their maps for U.S. users to reflect the change.

MAJORITY OF AMERICANS REJECT TRUMP’S RENAMING OF LAKE ONTARIO TO ‘LAKE AMERICA,’ POLL FINDS

Trump also signed an executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America” early in his second term.

Unlike lakes and other geographic features that can be renamed for federal use through executive action, a president cannot unilaterally rename a U.S. state. Trump and the White House have not announced any formal effort to change New Mexico’s name.

The name “New Mexico” predates the state by centuries. Spanish explorers began using “Nuevo México” in the late 1500s. The territory kept the name after becoming part of the United States in 1848 and later achieved statehood on Jan. 6, 1912.

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The White House and the Office of New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.

The Trump administration filed a new appeal with the Supreme Court on Sunday seeking to enforce restrictions on mail ballots, as the ballots begin entering states across the country ahead of the midterm elections.

The filing asks the high court to stay a preliminary injunction issued Friday by U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani that prevents the U.S. Postal Service from enforcing several requirements for ballot mail in the November elections.

“Ballots have already begun to be mailed in North Carolina, and more States will begin the mailing process as the injunction remains in place — including Alabama on September 9 and at least five States the week of September 13,” Solicitor General John Sauer wrote.

FEDERAL JUDGE AGAIN BLOCKS TRUMP’S MAIL BALLOT ORDER JUST BEFORE MIDTERMS

“Once those ballot envelopes enter the mailstream, there is no retrieving them,” he added.

Sauer argued that allowing the injunction to remain in place risks “sowing confusion and chaos” as more states begin mailing ballots because preparations to comply with the Postal Service rule remain voluntary rather than mandatory.

The administration maintains the rule is “a lawful and modest exercise of rulemaking authority delegated by Congress to the Postal Service” and “regulates the U.S. Mail, not federal elections.”

The rule requires federal election ballots sent through the mail to use envelopes that include the official Election Mail logo, meet automation requirements and carry unique barcodes, according to the filing. State election officials would also have to submit envelope designs for review and provide the Postal Service with information about intended ballot recipients.

The administration says the requirements are intended to improve the handling and delivery of ballot mail and protect the mail system from being used to facilitate voter fraud.

MAIL-VOTING CRACKDOWN MOVES AHEAD AS TRUMP COURT WIN OPENS DOOR TO FEDERAL ACTION

The rule would not give the Postal Service authority to determine who is eligible to vote by mail or whether ballots should be counted, responsibilities that would remain with state and local election officials.

Democratic-led states and voting rights groups challenging the restrictions contend the changes are unconstitutional, while election officials have argued there is not enough time to revise their systems to comply before November.

The administration disputes those arguments, saying Congress gave the Postal Service broad authority to regulate the handling and delivery of mail and that the rule does not dictate ballot content, determine voter eligibility, establish election deadlines or govern how ballots are counted.

The filing marks the third time the administration has asked the Supreme Court to intervene in the dispute. The high court previously allowed the administration’s plan to move forward but has not ruled on whether the restrictions themselves are legal.

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The battle could have major ramifications for the November elections, when control of Congress is at stake. Nearly one-third of U.S. voters cast ballots by mail.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, introduced legislation Thursday seeking to hit American artificial intelligence developers with a “corporate death penalty” and up to 20 years in prison— a move critics warn will hand a crucial edge in the global AI arms race to Beijing and Moscow.

The Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act would temporarily halt advanced AI development and establish a Cabinet-level federal agency authorized to oversee the physical destruction of non-compliant tech systems, likening advanced AI creation to the unlawful development of nuclear weapons. The measure explicitly targets systems capable of matching or exceeding human cognitive performance—specifically outlawing any AI model that exhibits the capacity to subvert shutdown commands, execute unauthorized cyberattacks, or undermine the U.S. government.

But while progressives frame the measure as an urgent check on “AI oligarchs,” experts are warning that imposing sweeping criminal penalties on U.S. firms will severely handicap domestic innovation, while foreign adversaries will be able to continue expanding their capabilities unchecked.

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“If the United States stops developing advanced AI, China is unlikely to follow. Surrendering the lead in a potentially transformative technology would carry serious economic and national security costs,” Daniel Castro, president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), a leading nonpartisan tech-innovation policy think tank, said in response to Sanders’ proposal.

“A permanent, unilateral ban on all research into superhuman AI is too broad,” added Gary Marcus, an AI expert who has testified on the matter before the U.S. Senate. He added that the proposed law was “a guarantee” the U.S. would be left behind when it comes to artificial intelligence advancements, describing it as “not the right approach,” even though he said there were some aspects of the proposed bill that were “defensible.”

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Under the provisions of the legislation, the proposed criminal and corporate penalties are modeled directly after existing federal statutes governing the unlawful development of nuclear weapons.

Tech companies found attempting to circumvent the federal prohibition would face a “corporate death penalty”—an unprecedented enforcement mechanism that strips a firm’s legal authority to conduct business in the United States. Individual software engineers, researchers or executives found in violation could face up to 20 years in federal prison.

DEM SENATOR PRESSES OPENAI, ANTHROPIC FOR ANSWERS IN AI HACKING PROBE

To enforce the ban, the legislation creates a new Cabinet-level federal AI agency tasked with monitoring frontier systems. The agency would be granted sweeping authority to intervene in tech operations, including physically supervising the removal of dangerous code and overseeing the physical destruction of non-compliant superintelligent hardware and infrastructure.

The bill also establishes criteria for what constitutes a banned system, specifically outlawing any AI model capable of planning or executing the “disempowerment of humanity.” That includes software that exhibits the capacity to overthrow the U.S. government, carry out unauthorized cyberattacks or ignore human shutdown commands.

CRACKDOWN ON CRITICAL TECH COULD OPEN AMERICANS TO A NEW NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT

Industry advocates, however, argue that resorting to extreme criminal sanctions ignores the practical realities of tech infrastructure and risk management.

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“Knee-jerk policymaking is never a good thing, and I think that’s exactly what this proposal boils down to,” said Aden Hizkias, associate policy director at Chamber of Progress, a tech industry coalition. “AI is an incredible tool that can improve millions of lives, but as AI skepticism grows, it’s on companies to earn trust and prove they are good neighbors. That means transparent construction agreements, bringing their own power generation, and making sure they’re meeting environmental standards.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Sanders’ office for comment regarding concerns that the legislation would hand an AI edge to foreign adversaries like China and Russia, but did not receive a response in time for publication.