NationalWatch

New York state Sen. John Mannion, a former public school teacher, won the Democratic primary in New York’s 22nd congressional district Tuesday night to face Rep. Brandon Williams, R-N.Y., in November. 

The nonpartisan Cook Political Report ranks the district as one of the most competitive in the country, and Democrats are eyeing it as a prime pickup opportunity to retake control of the House next year.

His victory comes despite recent allegations that his New York State Senate office was a toxic work environment “including mistreatment, harassment, and retaliation,” according to an unverified open letter signed by “Concerned Mannion Staff.” Mannion told local outlet CNY that the accusations were a “false political attack.”

WATCH: THIS HOUSE PRIMARY IS THE MOST EXPENSIVE IN CONGRESSIONAL HISTORY

Rep. Brandon Williams, R-N.Y., is one of the most vulnerable House incumbents this cycle. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Williams’ district in central New York includes cities like Syracuse and Utica.

It’s one of 17 House GOP-held districts that President Biden won in 2020, making it a prime target for Democrats.

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Democrats John Mannion and Sarah Klee Hood faced off in a bid to challenge Williams in November. (Mannion For Congress/Sarah Klee Hood for NY)

Williams won his seat in 2022 with roughly 1.5% of the vote, and off-year redistricting has since changed his district’s boundaries to include bluer areas.

The first-term Republican lawmaker is a Navy veteran and currently sits on the committees for Transportation, Science, and Education and the Workforce.

AOC SLAMMED FOR SAYING ‘FALSE ACCUSATIONS’ OF ANTISEMITISM ARE ‘WIELDED AGAINST PEOPLE OF COLOR’

Williams is supporting former President Trump’s reelection. (Felipe Ramales for Fox News Digital)

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Williams came out in support of former President Trump in late January of this year, though with a lukewarm endorsement that didn’t extol the former president directly.

“President Trump will be the Republican nominee for president. Our country is under immense pressure—inflation, chaos at the border, sanctuary cities, fentanyl, cashless bail, crime, energy costs—we can’t endure 4 more years of Progressive fantasies, we need a Republican in the White House. And I have always said our nominee will have my full support to turn this country around,” Williams said on X after Trump won the New Hampshire GOP primary.

Mike Kennedy on Tuesday won the Republican nomination for Utah’s 3rd Congressional District to replace outgoing Rep. John Curtis, R-Utah, becoming the immediate favorite to win the seat in November.

Kennedy beat fellow Republicans JR Bird, John Dougall, Case Lawrence and Stewart Peay in a packed primary pool for the district. Curtis is vacating his seat to run for U.S. Senate to replace outgoing Sen. Mitt Romney.

Kennedy, a state senator, had won the party’s nomination for the seat in April but faced challenges from other candidates who gathered signatures to be on the ballot. Peay had won the endorsement of Romney, who is also Peay’s wife’s uncle. Kennedy had won the endorsement of Sen. Mike Lee, who said he was needed to “fight against the Uniparty and help get this country back on track.”

‘SQUAD’ MEMBER FACES OUSTER FROM CONGRESS AS NEW YORK, COLORADO AND UTAH HOLD PRIMARIES ON TUESDAY

From left, JR Bird, John Dougall, Mike Kennedy, Case Lawrence and Stewart Peay, candidates in the Republican primary for Utah’s 3rd Congressional District, take part in a debate at the Eccles Broadcast Center in Salt Lake City on June 12, 2024. (Spenser Heaps/Deseret News via AP/Pool)

Bird, a mayor, emphasized his experience of running a small town as well as the importance of the energy sector and agriculture, according to the Deseret News.

Dougall, the state auditor, had run as an anti-MAGA candidate and had slammed some GOP legislation, including what he saw as an overly aggressive bill that tasks him with enforcing a ban on transgender-identifying individuals using restrooms that are inconsistent with their sex.

WATCH: THIS HOUSE PRIMARY IS MOST EXPENSIVE IN CONGRESSIONAL HISTORY

He has also been deeply critical of former President Trump. On Tuesday on X, he also questioned the “cavalier manner” of any official who swears to uphold the Constitution “then endorses Trump following January 6th.” He has advertised himself as “mainstream, not MAGA.”

At a debate this month, candidates split on the question of military funding to Ukraine as well as whether the federal government should explicitly ban abortion. Peay, Dougall and Case Lawrence – a trampoline park entrepreneur – had called on Congress to keep sending weapons to Ukraine to help it fend off the ongoing Russian invasion.

Bird and Kennedy disagreed, arguing that it was not beneficial to the U.S. to keep funding the Ukrainians, with the two calling for stronger sanctions and the seizure of Russian assets.

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Sen. Mitt Romney (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Kennedy will go on to face Democrat Glenn Wright in the November election, but the Republican is favored to win comfortably in a district that has voted Republican since 1997.

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Elsewhere in the state, Republican Gov. Spencer Cox, a major GOP Trump critic, held off a primary challenge from Phil Lyman, another 2020 election denier who easily won the state party convention.

The Associated Press and Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.

Spencer Cox emerged with the victory in the battle for the GOP nomination in Utah’s governor’s race, besting Phil Lyman in one of the more surprising primary challenges in the country.

TRUMP ENDORSES GOP UTAH SENATE CANDIDATE LOOKING TO REPLACE ROMNEY: ‘HE WILL BE A GREAT SENATOR’

Gov. Spencer Cox applauds after signing two social media regulation bills during a ceremony at the Capitol building in Salt Lake City on Thursday, March 23, 2023. Cox signed a pair of measures that aim to limit when and where children can use social media and stop companies from luring kids to the sites. (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP)

Lyman, a loyal supporter of former President Donald Trump’s, mounted the primary challenge against Cox despite the incumbent’s popularity in the state, with many conservative members of the state party becoming disillusioned with the governor’s vetoes of conservative legislation and noncommittal support for the former president.

Lyman, who was pardoned by Trump in 2020 after a misdemeanor conviction related to protesting the federal closure of the Recapture Canyon to offload vehicles, has promised a slew of reforms including tax cuts, education reforms, and immigration reforms.

Cox, meanwhile, continued to enjoy healthy popular support throughout the state, with recent polls showing a nearly 40 point lead for the incumbent ahead of Tuesday’s election.

Phil Lyman (Utah House of Representatives) 

UTAH GOP CHOOSE TRUMP-BACKED CANDIDATE AS NOMINEE TO REPLACE SEN. ROMNEY, BUT PRIMARY STILL TO COME

The current governor, who represents the party’s more moderate flank, further angered the states GOP delegates by gathering the 28,000 signatures necessary to be on the ballot instead of relying on the convention process, a tactic also used by former Gov. Gary Herbert to also work around the state’s more conservative grassroots. Herbert went on to easily win the nomination and general election that year.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Cox will now face off with Democratic State Rep. Brian King in November’s general election, with King securing his party’s nomination for the top state post in April.

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King faces an uphill battle in reliably red Utah, with a Republican holding the governor’s office in the state every year since 1985.

Republican candidate Gabe Evans, who received the backing of former President Donald Trump, defeated his primary challenger in the race to represent Colorado’s 8th Congressional District in the House.

The victory by Evans, a current member of the Colorado House of Representatives, came after he was pitted against former state Rep. Janak Joshi in Tuesday’s primary election.

Evans previously served in the U.S. Army and Colorado Army National Guard as a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter pilot and company commander, according to his campaign’s website.

In addition to his service in the military, Evans, a first-term state representative from Fort Lupton, also served as an Arvada police officer for more than a decade. Now, in his free time from serving as a state lawmaker, he teaches a concealed carry class in the 8th District.

SEMI DRIVER IN DEADLY COLORADO HIGHWAY CRASH IS ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT WHO WAS DEPORTED FROM US MULTIPLE TIMES: ICE

Gabe Evans (left) defeated Janak Joshi (right), in Tuesday’s GOP primary election to represent Colorado’s 8th Congressional District in the House. (Getty Images, Janak Joshi for Congress)

Evans’ campaign outlines “four pillars” on its website for which he is running his campaign, including American prosperity, American security, American education, and the defense of American values.

Evans and Joshi were the only two Republicans seeking their party’s nomination in Tuesday’s election. Evans received support from Trump and several other prominent Republicans, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, while retired physician Joshi was backed by the Colorado Republican Party.

Trump gave Evans his “Complete and Total Endorsement” earlier this month, writing in a post to Truth Social, “A decorated Army helicopter pilot and police officer, Gabe will be an INCREDIBLE Fighter in Congress and will work hard to Grow the Economy, Lower Inflation, Uphold the Rule of Law, Defend the Border, Promote American Energy, and Support our Great Military and Police.”

With his primary victory in the bag, Evans now advances to the state’s Nov. 5 general election, where he will face off against incumbent Democratic Rep. Yadira Caraveo – a former Colorado state representative who has represented the district in the House since 2023.

Colorado state Rep. Gabe Evans works at the Colorado State Capitol on February 8, 2023, in Denver, Colorado. (RJ Sangosti/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images)

Caraveo’s campaign previously slammed Evans following the endorsement from Trump, saying he “will do anything to get elected.”

“Evans will do anything to get elected, even stand by convicted felon Donald Trump. Now, Trump is rewarding Evans’ allegiance with an endorsement,” Mallory Payne, a spokeswoman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, told Colorado Politics this month. “If it wasn’t already clear that Evans would cave to his MAGA leader’s every demand, it is now.”

VULNERABLE HOUSE DEMS DO A U-TURN ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION AFTER CALLING CRISIS ‘NON-EXISTENT THREAT’

Immigration issues and the border crisis are likely to play a large role in the general election matchup between Evans and Caraveo.

Evans’ campaign website notes the “humanitarian and public policy crisis at the Southern border started the moment Joe Biden took office” and that a “huge percentage of the crime in Colorado is driven not just by homegrown criminals but by international crime organizations and cartels who exploit the open border and Colorado’s sanctuary policies as they prey on Colorado residents.”

Caraveo was one of 211 Democrats who voted against the Secure the Border Act of 2023. That measure, which passed in the House, would have expanded the type of crimes that make someone ineligible for asylum, limited the eligibility to those who arrive at ports of entry, mandated a system similar to the E-Verify employment eligibility verification system and created additional penalties for visa overstay.

Incumbent Rep. Yadira Caraveo, D-Colo., will face off against Gabe Evans in the state’s Nov. 5 general election. (Getty Images)

Caraveo was also one of the many House Democrats who voted against a GOP-led effort in the House to impeach Homeland Security Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas.

During her previous tenure in the Colorado state House of Representatives, Caraveo joined other Democrats from across the nation to send a letter urging the Biden administration to relax immigration rules and “divest from immigration enforcement agencies like ICE and CBP.”

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The Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan election analyst, currently ranks Colorado’s 8th District as a “Democrat Toss Up” race this cycle.

Welcome to Fox News’ Politics newsletter with the latest political news from Washington D.C. and updates from the 2024 campaign trail. 

FACE OFF: Don’t miss the Fox News Simulcast of the CNN Presidential Debate on Thursday at 9 p.m. ET. Stay in the know for more updates here.

What’s happening…

-Calls for Biden to fire official for past anti-Israel tweets

-Trump urges drug test for Biden

-Whistleblower who exposed NPR bias finds new job

What can he say?

Judge Juan Merchan has partially lifted the gag order he imposed against former President Trump – weeks after the jury found him guilty on all counts.

Trump and his legal team have been fighting the gag order since it was imposed upon him at the start of the trial, but had ramped up their efforts when it concluded last month. The former president and presumptive Republican nominee’s legal team had argued the gag order should be lifted before the June 27 presidential debate.

Merchan’s gag order barred Trump from making or directing others to make public statements about witnesses with regard to their potential participation or about counsel in the case – other than Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg – or about court staff, DA staff or family members of staff.

Merchan on Tuesday partially lifted the gag order because the trial has concluded.

Trump is now able to speak about protected witnesses and jurors.

Trump is still blocked from commenting about individual prosecutors, court staff and their family members. That portion of the gag order will remain in effect until Trump’s sentencing on July 11.

Judge Juan Merchan imposed over Donald Trump (AP)

White House

‘JUST HORRIFYING’: Watchdog group calls for Biden to fire WH official for past anti-Israel tweets …Read more

Capitol Hill

‘OBSCENE’: House GOP lawmaker rips State Dept ahead of vote on U.S. dollars going to Taliban …Read more

U.S. Representative Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) speaks to the crowd while he campaigns in the Bronx borough of New York City, U.S., June 22, 2024. REUTERS/Joy Malone (REUTERS/Joy Malone)

Tales from the Campaign Trail

‘THEATER OF CONFLICT’: Democrat challenger slams Bowman tirade, says profanity-laced rally jeopardizes party ‘unity’ …Read more

JUST SAY ‘NO’: Trump urges drug test for Biden, says he’ll do same screening …Read more

EPIC CLASH: How to watch the CNN Presidential Debate Simulcast on the Fox News Channel …Read more

‘SUGARCOATING’ CONTROVERSY: California city keeps charged ballot language for non-citizen voting measure …Read more

CALL TO THE BULLPEN: Obama again serving as Joe’s closer ahead of 2024 Trump rematch …Read more

Trials and Tribulations

DAY 3: US v Trump: The afternoon public hearing ended with no decision from Judge Cannon Read more

Across America

NO ABORTIONS FOR MINORS: Tennessee sued over law banning adults from helping minors get abortions without parental consent …Read more

MOVING ON: Whistleblower finds new gig after exposing alleged liberal bias at NPR …Read more

NEW YORK PAYS PRICE FOR NAIVETY: Cuomo scorches Dems for migrant crisis: ‘We’re finding out, 200,000 people later, you needed a plan’ …Read more

GETTING AWAY WITH MURDER: This blue city that ‘Defund Police’ supporters call home has over 1,000 unsolved homicides …Read more

KENYAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCE: Kenyan police depart for Haiti to tackle rampant gang violence …Read more

ALL MUST SERVE: Israel’s Supreme Court rules ultra-Orthodox men must serve in military in unanimous decision …Read more

HUGE POPULATION: Houston area, an immigration hot spot, reeling from murder of Jocelyn Nungaray …Read more

Subscribe now to get Fox News Politics newsletter in your inbox.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.

Attorneys for former President Trump argued that the search of his Mar-a-Lago property in August 2022 was without probable cause and a violation of the presumptive Republican presidential nominee’s constitutional rights, while federal prosecutors blasted the defense as a “conspiracy theory.” 

Trump attorneys and federal prosecutors appeared in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida Tuesday before Judge Aileen Cannon.

JUDGE UNSEALS FBI FILES IN TRUMP CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS CASE, INCLUDING DETAILED TIMELINE OF MAR-A-LAGO RAID

Cannon first held a hearing Tuesday morning related to Trump’s “Motion for Relief relating to the Mar-a-Lago Raid and Unlawful Piercing of Attorney-Client Privilege.”

The hearing took place during a sealed session in order to protect secret grand jury materials. It is also sealed to protect materials in which Trump asserts attorney-client privilege and/or work product protection.

Former President Donald Trump, left, and Special Counsel Jack Smith. Smith is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear Trump’s immunity claims in the election interference criminal case against him.  (Getty Images)

Cannon later opened the hearing to the public and the press. The hearing Tuesday focused on the legality of federal agents raiding Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property. 

Trump attorney Emil Bove argued that the search was impermissably large, arguing that the Mar-a-Lago property is 58 bedrooms, 33 bathrooms, and that the federal government needed to establish probable cause for a search of the property in its entirety.

Cannon expressed skepticism, asking Bove: “What’s your point? It’s a property.”

Bove reportedly went on to explain areas the FBI agents took photos of — areas he said they were not supposed to search, like former First Lady Melania Trump’s bedroom, the gym and Barron Trump’s room.

Cannon pressed back, saying: “You can agree though, paperwork is a thing you could find anywhere.”

Cannon was essentially suggesting that classified documents could have been found anywhere in the home.

Bove also argued that the government told the magistrate judge, who signed off on the warrant, certain things but did not fully brief FBI agents on where to search during the raid. 

Bove said FBI agents executing the search were in no position to decide unilaterally where to search and what were personal records of Trump and what were not. 

A view of former President Donald TrumpÂs Mar-a-Lago home on Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2022, in Palm Beach, Fla. (Matias J. Ocner/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Bove went on to say there were omissions in the information given to the magistrate judge, arguing that some FBI agents said the search was unnecessary and that Trump should’ve been given a heads-up.

Bove said the agents were interested in “consent” from Trump. 

The Trump legal team repeatedly asked Cannon to schedule a “Franks hearing,” which is a hearing to explore the admission of evidence obtained during a search warrant that was issued after a magistrate judge had been misled. Cannon seemed skeptical but said she would take the motion under advisement.

Special Counsel Jack Smith, who brought the charges against Trump after his months-long classified records investigation, was present in court Tuesday. 

FEDERAL JUDGE POSTPONES TRUMP’S CLASSIFIED RECORDS TRIAL WITH NO NEW DATE

Federal prosecutor David Harbach argued for the special counsel’s team and told Cannon that, in this instance, the defense is required to make a “substantial showing” to prove false statements intentionally or a reckless disregard for the truth in the documentation given to the magistrate judge when obtaining the initial search warrant. 

Harbach added that the mandate for such a hearing is that there must be allegations of a “deliberate falsehood,” and that must be accompanied by proof. Harbach argued to Cannon that Trump’s team had fallen “woefully” short in their filings to satisfy those requirements.

Cannon did ask the prosecution about the Trump team’s allegation that there was dissension within the FBI about whether to give former President Trump a chance at “consent” of the search — in other words, to let him know a search was coming and negotiate the terms of turning over documents. 

Former president Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida.  (Charles Trainor Jr./Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

“Would that have made a difference?” Cannon asked.

Harbach replied, “Definitely not,” and added that was not something that the magistrate judge would have considered in connection with probable cause. Harbach also called that argument from the Trump team a “conspiracy theory.”

Harbach said the defense team did not meet their burden of proof for this motion and argued they should not be allowed to trigger an additional evidentiary hearing. They hoped to be able to bring in FBI agents to ask about their “mental state” on the day of the Mar-a-Lago raid.

With regard to Trump’s argument that the search of Mar-a-Lago was overbroad, Harbach argued that the former president had access to his wife’s quarters as well as his son’s, and said the FBI’s search of those rooms was “plainly within the scope of the warrant.”

Harbach also defended the search, saying there was no “rummaging” through rooms, and maintained that the agents carried out their duties “professionally and expeditiously.” 

Harbach argued that there was “reason to believe” that classified documents were at Mar-a-Lago, and that the documents had been moved at Trump’s direction. Harbach said coupled together, those two things were sufficient reason to search the entire property.

Meanwhile, Trump’s lawyers raised issue with the fact that other documents were seized during the raid beyond classified records, including personal documents like medical and tax records. 

Cannon asked why a medical record “would need to be seized?” 

Harbach answered that was because the warrant “authorized the seizure of the box… the boxes contained all kinds of things.” 

Harbach also added that the medical records and the passport were returned to Trump. 

Trump’s team had also argued that the FBI had carried out the raid in an egregious fashion, but Harbach told Judge Cannon that was “false.”

The Trump team also has said there was no reason for the FBI to bring firearms to Mar-a-Lago, the property of a former president protected by Secret Service.

Federal Judge Aileen Cannon. (US Courts )

Harbach told Cannon that FBI agents carry firearms as a matter of course and that’s just “part of protocol.”

Bove delivered a rebuttal, where he again urged Cannon to schedule a hearing to explore issues surrounding the magistrate judge’s issuing of the search warrant and the FBI’s execution of the search warrant.

“He says there was no rummaging,” said Bove, referring to Harbach, “Says who?”

TRUMP CLASSIFIED DOCS JUDGE TO WEIGH ALLEGED ‘UNLAWFUL’ APPOINTMENT OF SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH

Bove added that’s why this situation “requires a hearing.”

“Your challenge is a particularity challenge,” Cannon said. “I don’t see what else should have been [in the attachments given to the magistrate judge.]” 

Meanwhile, Harbach accused Trump defense attorneys of attempting to “hijack the hearing.”

Cannon replied that there was no hijacking, that rather the hearing was coming to an end.

Harbach then said he wanted to make a “factual point about the tactics of the defense,” and accused them of repeated attempts to use this hearing to import other allegations.

There, Cannon cut him off and said she would take the motion under advisement.

The hearing comes after Cannon indefinitely postponed Trump’s trial due to the “myriad and interconnected pre-trial” issues “remaining and forthcoming.” She said it would be “imprudent and inconsistent with the Court’s duty to fully and fairly consider the various pending pre-trial motions.”

Cannon did not schedule a new trial date.

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Trump was charged out of Smith’s investigation into his retention of classified materials. Trump pleaded not guilty to all 37 felony charges from Smith’s probe, including willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice, and false statements.

Trump was also charged with an additional three counts as part of a superseding indictment out of the investigation: an additional count of willful retention of national defense information and two additional obstruction counts.

Trump pleaded not guilty.

Fox News’ Jake Gibson contributed to this report.

During a week in which President Biden remains optimistic about his chances for a second term, the people of Scranton, Pennsylvania — Biden’s own birthplace — shared their perspectives with Fox News Digital on his first term’s performance and the issues most important to them this year.

Resident Michael said the president has left many a mark on his hometown.

“Well, the road’s named after him. You can start there,” Michael pointed as he stood just off Biden Street — formerly Spruce — in the city’s downtown.

“You know what the crazy part about politics is? You can’t win either way,” he said, casting doubt on the qualifications of both major-party candidates.

BIDEN CLAIMS TO SEE THE ECONOMY THROUGH THE EYES OF SCRANTON, NOT WALL STREET

The former Central Scranton Expressway — now the President Biden Expressway — diverges from I-81, which continues toward Binghamton, N.Y. (Charles Creitz)

“Now, what are we going to do? Vote-in a convict; a criminal — or person who doesn’t know anything.”

Resident Lauren, who declined to give her last name, said her top issue is women’s reproductive rights. Lauren said she is not pleased with how the chips fell on the abortion issue during Biden’s tenure.

Walking with a companion near Boscov’s department store on Lackawanna Avenue, local resident Thomas said he fully supports Biden, saying he has “done a lot for the economy.”

He cited food prices recently sliding somewhat, and praised the city’s decision to rename the Central Scranton Expressway connector to I-81 after its native son.

Steve later spoke to Fox News Digital outside the city bus terminal along the Lackawanna River.

He said he was on his way to the welfare office; a trip he never thought he’d have to make.

BIDEN’S HOMETOWN SPEAKS OUT ON BIDENOMICS

Gary spoke to Fox News Digital outside a Scranton market (Charlie Creitz/Fox News Digital)

“[The economy] has tanked,” he said. “It’s so terrible right now. Everything — every decision [Biden] has made, it’s put us in a spot where we can’t even live,” he said, going on to reference where he was heading.

“That’s the first time in my life. It’s terrible. I can’t even explain it. If we continue like this, everybody’s going to be living in the woods.”

Another man, Brian, said Biden’s term has been a “disaster,” but stopped short of claiming former President Trump returning to office would be the answer.

“I think they’re both the same, to be honest with you.”

“[Biden’s] presidency has been a disaster. Our country only got worse. Everything’s been bad ever since. But it’s been that way for the last 20 years with everybody [who has been] in office. So I just don’t know what the answer is to that.”

Nonetheless, Brian said, he still remains undecided about his candidate choice.

Heather, who was on break from her job at a local restaurant, remarked, “Trump 2024,” when asked about Biden.

“Absolutely ridiculous — he doesn’t even complete sentences,” she said.

BIDEN’S MOVE TO LIFT RESTRICTIONS ON NOTORIOUS DICTATORSHIP RECEIVES BACKLASH

John from Scranton said he’s supporting Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. this year. (Charlie Creitz/Fox News Digital)

Her friend, John, said he can’t give a prognosis of Biden’s first four years. “We go downhill, then we go uphill,” he said of the U.S. economy over the longer term.

At the Northern Light Espresso Bar on Biden Street, owner Jennifer Saunders told Fox News Digital business is going well as of late.

She said restaurant-related prices and costs are high, however, while adding she avoids passing the difference on to the consumer.

“I try not to as much as I can, but I have to stay in business… it’s a tough balance,” she said.

Saunders said she doesn’t necessarily ascribe such market forces to who is in power. Instead, she said the effects of COVID-19 caused the economy to tank over the long-term.

Joe Biden speaks to reporters outside his childhood home on N. Washington Ave. in Scranton in 2020. (Drew Angerer/Getty)

As for elections, Saunders said 2020 felt like a choice of “the lesser of two evils,” and that the 2024 rematch appears the same.

Locally, however, Saunders said things are looking up, calling Scranton a “fantastic city” in which to live, work and visit.

Josie, a self-described “anarchist” who was leaving a Pride Month event in neighboring Wilkes-Barre, said neither candidate is in it “for the people,” but that Biden has a purported advantage in her mind:

“I think that they’re all completely removed from the struggles of regular people. However, at least his team doesn’t really seem to want me dead,” she claimed, referring to Trump as the latter.

“To be honest with you. I mean, as for everything with Israel, it’s absolutely appalling,” Josie added.

IN WINNING DEBATE COIN FLIP, TEAM BIDEN PRIORITIZES PODIUM OVER CLOSING STATEMENT ORDER

A sign popularized by NBC’s “The Office” sits on display at the Mall at Steamtown, Scranton, Pa. (Charles Creitz)

In Scranton’s downtown, a young man named John said he was eschewing both major party nominees in favor of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

John said Kennedy has both an impressive policy agenda and persona.

“I like his character. I like the way he speaks on a variety of issues and his plans to address them,” he said.

John said he believes Kennedy is gaining traction at the right time, and that he’s “rooting for him” to pull off an upset in November.

“A world leader, [Biden] is not,” added Joe, another Scrantonian. 

“The economy is not as good as he says it is,” Joe said as he walked near the government building named for another famous city native, former Democratic Gov. Robert Casey of Casey v. Planned Parenthood fame.

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Lauren from Scranton offered her take on President Biden, saying women’s reproductive rights are top of mind. (Charles Creitz/Fox News)

Relatedly, Monday marked the two-year anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision reversing Roe v. Wade, and Scranton Democratic Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti headlined a Biden campaign-connected rally outside the courthouse.

After her remarks, Gebhardt Cognetti spoke to Fox News Digital about why she is supporting her fellow Scrantonian this fall.

With “Dobbs” front-of-mind, Gebhardt Cognetti said Trump will try to “erode the rights of women” if he has a second term in office. She praised Biden for supporting working-class cities like Scranton, which she said need to remain attractive for investment and raising families.

Jen, a registered nurse for the past 28 years, who spoke at Gebhardt Cognetti’s event, said health care has always been her top political issue.

“My general messaging is always just that ‘Donald Trump is hazardous to your health,'” she said.

“You look at the Affordable Care Act, you look at the protections that are in place for patients with preexisting conditions. Overall, there’s just no better choice when it comes to health care than Joe Biden.”

Fox News Digital’s Kyle Schmidbauer contributed to this report.

The primary race between Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., and Westchester County, N.Y., Executive George Latimer tells a story.

It’s a story which will say a lot about the Democratic Party, circa 2024.

And it’s a story Democrats may wish would disappear just four-and-half months before the November election. 

SENATE STUMPED OVER COVID ORIGINS: WHAT WE KNOW – AND DON’T KNOW

The primary challenge race Bowman and Latimer highlights schisms in the Democratic Party. It exposes the raw nerves between progressives like Bowman and more mainstream Democrats like Latimer. It also underscores the fissure over the Middle East which is cleaving the party. Bowman lambastes Israel over the war against Hamas. Latimer is outspoken in his defense of Israel.

Latimer decided to challenge Bowman after the Congressman formerly denied sexual violence and other atrocities by Hamas.

“There’s still no evidence of beheaded babies or raped women. But they still keep using that lie. Propaganda,” said Bowman in a TikTok video which went viral.

It took until last week for Bowman to retract those comments during an appearance on WNYC-FM in New York.

“Immediately when the UN provided additional evidence, I voted to condemn the sexual violence. I apologize for my comments,” said Bowman on WNYC. 

A side-by-side view of Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., and Westchester County, N.Y., Executive George Latimer. (Getty Images)

The pro-Israel political action committee AIPAC poured money into the campaign of Latimer after Bowman lashed out at Isarel. The race emerged as the most-expensive primary in House history. The tab: a whopping $24 million between the candidates combined.

But it’s the involvement of groups like AIPAC playing in the race which spurred the progressive cavalry to ride to the aid of Bowman. Bowman surrogates didn’t linger on his differences with Israel. Instead, they targeted the influx of cash into the race.

“This election is not about a clash of ideas. This election is about whether billionaire super PACs can buy our democracy,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.

“Since he has been elected to Congress, he has not accepted one dime of corporate lobbyists,” said Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., while campaigning for Bowman. “Why does he do that? Because he knows if you take corporate money, if you take lobbyist money, you can not put the people of Westchester first.”

Bowman put it in more profane terms while campaigning over the weekend.

BIDEN’S ATTORNEY GENERAL IS FIGHTING BACK AS THE GOP-LED HOUSE CONTEMPLATES CONTEMPT

“We are gonna show f$*king AIPAC the power of the motherf–king South Bronx,” boasted Bowman at an expletive-laden campaign rally outside the district Saturday. 

Latimer called such coarse language “inappropriate.”

“I think I get the right to lose my temper,” said Latimer. “I don’t think I get the right to curse in public.”

Bowman continued his salty rant to an adoring crowd in the Bronx.

“People ask me why I got a foul mouth. What am I supposed to do? You coming after me? You coming after my family? You coming after my children? I’m not supposed to fight back?  I’m not supposed to fight back? We’re gonna show them who the f&%$ we are,” warned Bowman.

That distills the quintessence of the Bowman/Latimer race. Different styles. Different approaches. Different ways to connect with Democratic voters.

“X. For Gen X. For the Bronx. X. From Malcom X!” thundered Bowman.

“What I’ve offered is a slogan that says results. Not rhetoric,” said Latimer. 

Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) speaks at a re-election rally at Maceachron Park on June 21, 2024 in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York.  (Joy Malone/Getty Images)

And then there is the geography of the district. Progressives dot the urban areas of the north Bronx which Bowman represents now. Same with inner suburbs like Yonkers and New Rochelle. But it’s a different game when you tread deeper into Westchester County. That’s home to a significant pro-Israel, Jewish population. Especially in towns like Rye Brook and Mamaroneck. 

Voters aren’t as progressive as you creep out of New York City. 

“Bowman’s support diminishes as you go north in Westchester County,” said Ross Baker, a political scientist at Rutgers University who’s watched the race. “It’s really tapering off pretty dramatically when you get to places like Rye. So it’s basically Latimer country.” 

Bowman finds himself squeezed in an electoral vice between progressives and energized voters who align with Israel. That’s why the contest is a bellwether for the internal rift which torments the Democratic Party.

FORMER PRESIDENT TRUMP AND HOUSE SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON: WHO NEEDS WHO?

“If Jamaal Bowman also falls, I think it would deliver a pretty strong message that this particular wing of the Democratic Party is out of favor with Democratic primary voters,” said Baker. “(The Middle East) is right on the fault line between progressives and moderates. And both candidates are perfect examples of what their various factions represent.”

Latimer tries to contrast his views with those held by Bowman. 

“He had other members of the squad have an active, aggressive, anti-Israel situation. If there’s a path to peace, then you have to have Israel and the Arab world at the table and they have to negotiate this out.”

Bowman was controversial before the war in the Middle East. U.S. Capitol Police charged him criminally after he pulled a fire alarm in the Cannon House Office Building last fall during a vote to avoid a government shutdown. 

“It was a dumb choice,” said Bowman after his court appearance. “I take full responsibility for it now. I’m trying to move on. Just do my job.”

George Latimer, Westchester County executive and US Democratic House candidate for New York, speaks during the Glen Island Bridge public meeting at New York Athletic Club Travers Island in Pelham, New York, US, on Tuesday, March 19, 2024.  (Yuki Iwamura/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Bowman avoided jail time. But he faced a fine and had to exhibit good behavior for a couple of months. The judge also required him to write a letter of apology to the U.S. Capitol Police. 

Former. Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., who chaired the House Foreign Affairs Committee and was a major supporter of Israel, represented the district for three decades. But Bowman defeated Engel in a 2020 primary. That loss by Engel represented a leftward tilt by Democrats and an emergence by progressives in the House Democratic Caucus. Ocasio-Cortez defeated former Rep. Joe Crowley, D-N.Y., in the New York primary in 2018. Crowley was thought by many to be a potential successor to former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. Then came other progressives. Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., took out former Rep. William Lacy Clay, D-Mo., in a 2020 primary as well. 

But the war in the Middle East began to reveal friction in the Democratic coalition. The fight over the Bowman/Latimer race is a microcosm of this. The Mideast conflict is why President Biden may struggle to get younger voters to the polls this fall. He and other Democrats may also face trouble in regions with significant Arab or Muslim populations like Michigan. 

But the race is a litmus test for the direction of the party. A Bowman loss may show fractures with progressives. But a single loss could just be a one-off. However, Bush is on the ballot in a primary contest against St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell and former state senator Maria Chappelle-Nadal in August. It’s a trend if Bowman loses – potentially followed by a loss later this summer by Bush. 

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And the lesson for the Democratic Party? There’s a lot of division on their side of the aisle.

The top election officials of all 50 states were sent letters Monday encouraging them to seek from the Biden administration’s Department of Homeland Security the information required to properly crosscheck state voter rolls and ensure noncitizens are not registered to vote in federal elections before November. 

America First Legal (AFL), a conservative nonprofit, said it sent a letter to the top election official of every state and a copy to every governor and state attorney general, advising them of “two critical tools” that exist under existing federal law “that Congress has provided to verify the citizenship status of individuals registered to vote in your State.” The letters cite federal statues 8 U.S.C. § 1373 and 8 U.S.C. § 1644, specifically. 

“These tools, codified in federal law for decades, allow you to submit requests for information to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) about an individual’s citizenship or immigration status for any lawful purpose. This includes an inquiry where you have reason to believe that a given individual who is registered to vote might not be a United States citizen,” Gene Hamilton, executive director, America First Legal Foundation, wrote in a seven-page letter sent to each state. “Given the unprecedented levels of illegal immigration since January 20, 2021, the need for action could not be greater, and the stakes could not be higher. If you act now, there is likely still time to conduct legally sound voter list maintenance and remove ineligible foreign nationals from your State’s voter rolls before the fall elections.” 

Under federal law, foreign nationals are prohibited from voting or registering to vote in federal elections, but states have the obligation to conduct voter list maintenance and ensure ineligible people are removed. 

ALABAMA ELECTION OFFICIAL SAYS BIDEN EXECUTIVE ORDER GIVES ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS ‘MECHANISM’ TO REGISTER TO VOTE

A voter casts his ballot at a polling station in Rye, New York, on Tuesday, June 25, 2024. (Bing Guan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The nonprofit noted that the federal voter registration form created by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) does not require applicants to demonstrate documentary proof of citizenship. The form merely requires voter registrants to sign a pledge “under penalty of perjury,” swearing or affirming that “I am a United States citizen.”

The U.S. Supreme Court, as America First Legal explained, previously held that because the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) of 1993 requires that states must “accept and use” the EAC form, then “the NVRA forbids States to demand that an applicant submit additional information beyond that required by the Federal Form.” 

DHS’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) does make available to states a system for verifying the immigration status of foreign nationals known as the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) Program. But America First Legal stressed that “SAVE has a design flaw and does not fully solve the critical problem of foreign nationals voting in federal elections.” 

Most notably, SAVE requires users to submit an Alien Registration Number or some other DHS identifier to run queries through the system – something that states and localities do not have when registering someone to vote. Furthermore, SAVE does not process Social Security or driver’s license numbers, which are the ID numbers that state and local officials are most likely to have at their disposal. 

“Thus, in practice, SAVE is practically useless for verifying the citizenship of voter registrants,” the letter says. “It can only be of value when a State has the specific numeric identifiers that are the searchable variables in SAVE. Most States would not have access to these identifiers, in part because none of these identifiers are required under the current version of the EAC federal voter registration form. States cannot use the most readily available identifiers they have in their possession, including social security and driver’s license numbers.” 

The letter proposed a solution: “States should submit requests to DHS to verify the citizenship or immigration status of registered voters on voter rolls – and DHS has a legal obligation to provide such information.” 

A sign directs people to the voting site at Bronx County Supreme Court House during the Democratic primary on June 25, 2024, in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

The nonprofit argues that requests citing federal statutes 1373 and 1644 “require DHS to search for specific individuals using any available information such as a name and date of birth.”

“Based on the information you receive in response, you can take further steps consistent with applicable law to ensure that only U.S. citizens remain on your voter rolls. Congress has imposed upon DHS a mandatory obligation to respond to lawful inquiries about an individual’s citizenship or immigration status. Should DHS refuse or fail to provide this information, you can initiate legal action to obtain it,” the letter says. 

CALIFORNIA CITY KEEPS CONTROVERSIAL LANGUAGE ON BALLOT MEASURE FOR NON-CITIZENS TO VOTE: ‘SUGARCOATING’

Last month, Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, and Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, introduced the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which, if passed, would require states to obtain proof of citizenship – in person – when registering an individual to vote, and require states to remove noncitizens from existing voter rolls. America First Legal said that while such bills aiming to reform the NVRA “are essential to protect the integrity of our elections,” Monday’s letter “provides something that States can do NOW until legislation like the SAVE Act becomes law.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and the Department of Homeland Security for comment on Tuesday. 

A man makes his way to vote in Santa Ana, California, on “Super Tuesday,” March 5, 2024. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)

America First Legal president Stephen Miller said the letters come in “response to this extraordinary threat to our elections,” providing the election officials in all 50 states with an “emergency action plan” that explains “the steps they can immediately pursue to defend democracy by purging their voting rolls of illegal aliens and non-citizens.” 

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“States have the utmost authority, obligation, and expectation from the American people to prevent noncitizens from voting in elections,” Hamilton added in a statement. “Congress has equipped States with the tools necessary to verify the citizenship status of registered voters and remove ineligible foreign nationals – but States must act swiftly to ensure that only citizens vote in this fall’s elections. Failing to use these available tools is an abdication of the responsibility to ensure our elections are decided solely by, and for, the American people.” 

Programming Note: The Fox News Channel will be airing the CNN Presidential Debate Simulcast at 9:00 p.m. ET on Thursday, June 27.

President Biden and former President Trump are just days away from their first onstage clash of the 2024 election cycle.

The two will face off in Atlanta on Thursday at a debate hosted by CNN — the first time they will meet face to face since their final debate ahead of the 2020 presidential election nearly four years ago.

Americans across the country can tune in to the Fox News Channel from 9:00 p.m. ET to 11:00 p.m. ET to watch the CNN Presidential Debate Simulcast. Viewers can also tune into Fox’s live coverage before and after the debate for expert analysis.

INSIDERS REVEAL HOW BIDEN, TRUMP ARE PREPPING FOR THE 1ST 2024 PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE

President Biden, left, and former President Trump. ( Win McNamee/Getty Images/Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

HILLARY CLINTON COMPLAINS IT’S ‘IMPOSSIBLE’ TO DEBATE TRUMP, ‘WASTE OF TIME’ TO REFUTE ARGUMENTS

Host Jesse Watters will kick off the CNN Presidential Debate’s preview coverage at 7:00 p.m. ET with chief political anchor Bret Baier. Host Martha MacCallum will take the reins at 8:00 p.m. ET.

Sean Hannity will host live from the debate spin room in Atlanta immediately following the debate for analysis and to gauge the public’s reaction to what is expected to be a fiery clash. 

Viewers can also log on to Foxnews.com for the CNN Presidential Debate Simulcast beginning at 8:30 p.m. ET and follow along with Fox News Digital’s live coverage of the debate.

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Sean Hannity will host live from the debate spin room in Atlanta immediately following the debate for analysis. (Roy Rochlin/Getty Images)

Fox News’ Matteo Cina contributed to this report.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Former President Trump has volunteered to undertake a drug test before Thursday’s debate if President Biden agrees.

Trump made the comment on Monday via Truth Social, his proprietary social media platform.

“DRUG TEST FOR CROOKED JOE BIDEN???” Trump wrote in all capital letters. “I WOULD, ALSO, IMMEDIATELY AGREE TO ONE!!!”

DONALD TRUMP HAS PICKED HIS RUNNING MATE AND THEY WILL BE AT THURSDAY’S DEBATE

Trump speaks at the Faith and Freedom Coalition’s “Road to Majority” policy conference in Washington, D.C. (Reuters/Evelyn Hockstein)

The Trump team has made the hypothetical use of drugs at Thursday’s CNN Presidential Debate, a prominent talking point — continuing the former president’s longstanding claim that Biden is unable to speak for long periods of time without medication.

Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas, the White House physician-turned-House lawmaker, demanded in a letter last week that Biden submit to a drug test before the debate with Trump.

The former president shared the letter without comment via Truth Social not long after it was published by Jackson.

CNN PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE: ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION LOOMS AS TOP ISSUE AMID OUTRAGE OVER 12-YEAR-OLD GIRL’S MURDER

President Biden delivers remarks during an event in the State Dining Room of the White House. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Jackson made his request for a “clinically validated drug test” in a three-page message to Biden and his physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor.

“This drug test should be administered both immediately before and after the debate and should include, but not be limited to, performance enhancing drugs,” Jackson wrote.

White House Spokesman Andrew Bates has previously responded to Jackson’s speculations about Biden’s mental health by comparing him to Dr. Nick, a character from “The Simpsons” who is known to have questionable credentials and medical practices. 

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Rep. Ronny Jackson, a former White House physician under the Trump administration, speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Orlando, Florida. (Elijah Nouvelage/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“How should I handle him? Should I be tough and nasty, and just say, ‘you’re the worst president in history.’ Or should I be nice and calm and let him speak?” Trump asked the crowd during his rally at Temple University on Saturday.

Trump told Fox News that he is not worried about Biden’s debate preparations and feels confident in his own ability.

“Well, I think if he prepares, he’ll be fine. Then he will forget it within about an hour after preparing. So, we’ll see what happens. We’ll see what happens,” Trump said.

Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.

Former President Obama is again stepping in to help lock up votes and dollars during the home stretch of President Biden’s quest for the White House, apparently having ditched the concerns that reportedly made Obama wary of Biden’s candidacy in 2020.

Biden’s rematch with former President Trump features a second encore from Obama, whose celebrity and status with Democrat donors has been a financial and public relations boon to Biden at a time when the president is facing increasing questions about his record, plans and cognitive abilities.

“I take great pride in what the Biden administration has accomplished,” Obama said during a recent event with Biden and late-night host Jimmy Kimmel at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. “And it’s a reminder that we don’t have to just vote against something in this election. We have somebody to worry about. And there’s a whole agenda that we should be concerned about.”

He continued, “But we can take pride in affirming the extraordinary work that Joe has done. And we want to make sure that we build on that and then pass it on to the next president rather than have a president who wants to reverse the progress that has been made.”

CELEBS SHOWER BIDEN WITH CAMPAIGN CASH, BUT COULD UNDERCUT ‘SCRANTON JOE’ IMAGE

TV host Jimmy Kimmel is shown with President Biden and former President Obama during a campaign fundraiser in Los Angeles on June 15, 2024. (Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images)

Obama’s comments were part of a ritzy fundraising event at which the Biden campaign pulled in a whopping $30 million as Hollywood stars such as George Clooney and Julia Roberts took the stage in support of the 46th president. The dollar total shattered previous Democrat fundraising records.

Biden is gearing up for a difficult rematch against Trump this year, with polling showing Biden with a two-point advantage over Trump, which is well within the margin of error.

BIDEN LOOKS TO CAPITALIZE ON STAR-STUDDED HOLLYWOOD FUNDRAISER AFTER TRUMP’S MASSIVE CASH HAUL IN BLUE STATE

Biden said in April last year that he’d “finish the job” and run for re-election, and the announcement was soon followed by a series of high-profile fundraising events with Hollywood stars, elites at the highest echelons of American society and industry, and notably Obama. 

President Biden and former President Obama. (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

Obama’s appearance in Los Angeles this month was not the first time his attendance helped bring in millions for Biden. 

The 44th president, as well as former President Bill Clinton, joined Biden at Radio City Music Hall in New York in March for another star-studded fundraiser, this time hosted by actress Mindy Kaling. During the event, late-night host Stephen Colbert moderated a conversation with Biden, Obama and Clinton, while special guests such as Queen Latifah, Lizzo and Ben Platt also appeared.

TRUMP CATCHES UP TO BIDEN IN CASH DASH, BUT CAN HE SPEND THE MONEY IN TIME?

That event pulled in more than $26 million, according to the campaign at the time. 

Obama has also recorded campaign videos with Biden this election cycle and held conversations with Biden regarding the structure of the campaign heading into 2024, according to various media reports.

Former Presidents Clinton and Obama are shown with President Biden. (Getty Images)

Obama’s 2024 fundraising efforts mirror his actions when he stepped in to help boost Biden in 2020, including an $11 million fundraiser that marked the duo’s first such event together since the Obama administration. Obama went on to hit the campaign trail in support of Biden in the leadup to Election Day, which included issuing a scathing assessment of Trump.

BIDEN HAS A MASSIVE MAY FUNDRAISING HAUL, BUT COMES UP FAR SHORT OF TRUMP

“Trump cares about feeding his ego. Joe cares about keeping you and your family safe,” Obama said in Flint, Michigan, just days before the 2020 election.

Obama added, “He’s still worried about his inauguration crowd being smaller than mine. It really bugs him. He’s still talking about that. Does he have nothing better to worry about? Did no one come to his birthday party as a kid? Was he traumatized?”

President-elect Trump greets outgoing first lady Michelle Obama on Jan. 20, 2017. (Reuters)

But long before joining Biden on the campaign trail – or even endorsing his former running mate – Obama cautioned Biden against seeking the White House, citing fears that the campaign could “damage his legacy,” according to a 2019 New York Times report.

LATE-NIGHT DNCTV? COLBERT, KIMMEL FUNDRAISE FOR PRESIDENT BIDEN

“You don’t have to do this, Joe, you really don’t,” Obama reportedly told Biden.

“Win or lose, they needed to make sure Mr. Biden did not ‘embarrass himself’ or ‘damage his legacy’ during the campaign,” the New York Times reported, citing two people with knowledge of the conversation.

Former President Obama (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Obama remained coy for a long while about who he would endorse, saying he would not back anyone during the primary. As Democrat contenders such as Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Sen. Bernie Sanders dropped out of the primary race and cleared a path for Biden, however, Obama finally endorsed his former veep in August 2020.

Obama said in a video at the time that “Joe has all the qualities we need in a president right now,” noting that choosing him as his running mate in both the 2008 and 2012 elections was “one of the best decisions I ever made.”

OBAMA PLEADS WITH DIGITAL INFLUENCERS TO BACK BIDEN: ‘YOU MAY NOT AGREE WITH EVERYTHING HE DOES’

But even the process by which Obama landed on Biden as his vice presidential pick got off to a rocky start.

President Obama takes President Biden by the wrist at a fundraising event. (Christopher Gardner via Storyful)

Biden made a series of gaffes before becoming Obama’s running mate, including in 2007 when Biden was about to declare his own run for the White House. On the eve of his announcement, Biden described Obama to a reporter as “the first mainstream African American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy.”

Despite Biden’s comment, he and Obama soon developed and strengthened their professional relationship, culminating in Biden being selected as Obama’s VP.

Obama could continue bolstering Biden’s campaign this election cycle as recent donation data shows Trump closing his campaign’s fundraising gap with Biden’s campaign. 

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Biden previously had a massive fundraising advantage over Trump in the 2024 race for the White House, but recent windfalls following Trump’s conviction in his New York criminal trial have essentially erased Biden’s lead, Fox News Digital reported this weekend. 

Trump and the Republican National Committee in May notched their second consecutive month outraising Biden and the DNC, all while not yet launching a general election ad buy. Biden’s campaign, conversely, has spent at least $65 million on ad purchases.

“The campaign appreciates President Obama’s help and support,” a Biden campaign spokesperson told Fox News Digital when reached for comment. 

During a hearing on Wednesday in the matter of the government’s classified documents case against former President Trump, his defense team will argue that Trump’s due process rights were violated when FBI agents raided his Mar-a-Lago property and attorney-client privilege was breached. 

The 11 a.m. hearing will be sealed, meaning no press or members of the public will be able to attend. The private hearing is being conducted in such a fashion to protect materials that can be either included under grand jury secrecy or that Trump’s team claims attorney-client privilege or work product protection applies.

Afterward, there will be another hearing at 1 p.m., which will be open to the public.

CNN PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE: ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION LOOMS AS TOP ISSUE AMID OUTRAGE OVER 12-YEAR-OLD GIRL’S MURDER

Trump’s legal team is pushing back on the legality of the Mar-a-Lago raid. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, was raided by FBI agents in August 2022 and the Department of Justice reportedly recovered 15 boxes of classified materials from the estate.

Trump’s defense will make the case that evidence obtained during the search should be thrown out due to unconstitutionality, because the warrant “lacked particularity required by the Fourth Amendment.” 

PROSECUTORS WANT ANOTHER GAG ORDER ON TRUMP IN CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS CASE

Former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate is seen in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)

Further, the defense for the former president has claimed in a filing that Special Counsel Jack Smith’s office does not have standing to invoke the good-faith exception to preserve evidence from the search, giving examples of the agents’ “bad faith” in conducting it. 

Lawyers for Trump will explain on Tuesday its argument that the government misled a judge in order to obtain the search warrant in the first place. 

‘THE VIEW’ CO-HOSTS DEFEND CNN HOST CUTTING OFF INTERVIEW WITH TRUMP CAMPAIGN SPOKESWOMAN: ‘SO GOOD!’

This image contained in a court filing by the Department of Justice on Aug. 30, 2022, and partially redacted by the source, shows a photo of documents seized during the Aug. 8 FBI search of former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. (Department of Justice via AP)

The argument of Trump’s defense is also expected to rely on its claims that attorney-client privilege was breached by the FBI during the search. The initial filing from Trump’s lawyers requesting relief relating to the raid claimed the special counsel acted in an “extraordinary and unlawful” way to get access to legal communications between Trump and his lawyer, which are protected by attorney-client privilege. The lawyers claimed it was erroneous for a court to apply the crime-fraud exception, which removes certain protections for Trump lawyer M. Evan Corcoran under attorney-client privilege. 

This image, contained in the indictment against former President Trump, shows boxes of records stored in a bathroom and shower in the Lake Room at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla. (Justice Department via AP)

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According to Trump’s legal team, the elements of the crime-fraud exception were not met by the prosecution, particularly because they claim the communications between Trump and Corcoran were not furthering any crimes. 

The request from Trump’s defense, initially made in May, is that evidence seized during the raid and obtained in alleged violation of attorney-client privilege should be suppressed and that the superseding indictment from the special counsel’s office should be dismissed. 

House Republicans are using three key government funding bills to pass conservative priorities on abortion, diversity and drag performances. 

The House is expected to consider appropriations bills this week funding the Department of Defense (DOD), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the State Department and foreign operations for fiscal year 2025.

It’s part of an ambitious schedule House GOP leaders have laid out to have their 12 individual appropriations bills passed by August recess.

But in addition to funding the government by the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30, Republicans are also eyeing the spending race as an opportunity to get at least some conservative social policies over the line before the November election, when they risk losing the House majority. 

ILLINOIS ELECTION RESULTS: DEMOCRAT SORENSEN WINS TOSS-UP HOUSE RACE FOR OPEN SEAT

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson is expected to hold votes on three culture war-heavy spending bills this week. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

That includes pushing for former President Trump’s border wall – there is $600 million in the DHS appropriations bill for funding its construction, along with a policy provision to force Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to erect physical barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border as quickly as possible.

Both the DHS and defense bills also block their respective funds from being used for abortion services. 

The defense bill stops use of “paid leave and travel or related expenses of a servicemember or their dependents to obtain an abortion or abortion-related services,” according to the House Appropriations Committee’s defense subcommittee.

The former prohibits federal dollars from being used to perform abortions for noncitizen detainees of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Likewise, that bill also stops funding from going toward transgender health care-related measures for ICE detainees.

The defense spending bill also bans funding from being used for programs like drag queen story hour, and prevents hiring of drag performers as military recruiters. The subcommittee’s bill summary argues such programs “bring discredit upon the military.”

DRAG PERFORMER SPEAKS OUT AGAINST ALLOWING KIDS TO ATTEND DRAG SHOWS: ‘THIS IS AN ADULT VENUE’ 

Republicans are also eyeing the spending race as an opportunity to get at least some conservative social policies over the line before the November election, including funding for former President Trump’s border wall. (Fox News)

All three bills expected for consideration this week block federal dollars from going toward diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. It’s a priority House Republicans also pushed for in the last spending fight, which resulted in the shutdown of the House Office of Diversity and Inclusion.

Similarly, the defense and DHS bills place restrictions on those departments enacting critical race theory (CRT) programs.

While defense and DHS spending are set to get modest bumps in fiscal year 2025, Republicans are aiming to slash spending at the State Department.

House Republicans are working toward a topline of roughly $1.6 trillion in discretionary government funding. GOP leaders are guided by last year’s Fiscal Responsibility Act, a deal struck between then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and President Biden to raise the debt ceiling and limit federal spending.

AOC DEMANDS BIDEN ‘REVERSE COURSE’ ON BORDER WALL CONSTRUCTION AMID MIGRANT SURGE: ‘CRUEL POLICY’

But unlike last year, when the final numbers were inflated by McCarthy and Biden’s side deals, House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole, R-Okla., and Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., pledged to forge ahead on the topline number alone.

The defense bill and DHS bill are seeing roughly $9 billion and $3 billion increases from 2024, respectively, while the State Department bill is an 11% cut from last year.

President Biden has already threatened to veto the bills. (Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

All three are being considered by the House Rules Committee on Tuesday, the last stop before a bill faces a chamber-wide vote. Democrats have already come out in opposition to the House GOP’s plans, however.

Biden threatened to veto all three spending bills in a statement of administration policy on Monday.

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“Rather than respecting their agreement and taking the opportunity to engage in a productive, bipartisan appropriations process to build on last year’s bills, House Republicans are again wasting time with partisan bills that would result in deep cuts to law enforcement, education, housing, health care, consumer safety, energy programs that lower utility bills and combat climate change, and essential nutrition services,” the White House said.

“The draft bills also include numerous, partisan policy provisions with devastating consequences, including harming access to reproductive health care, threatening the health and safety of… (LGBTQI+) Americans, endangering marriage equality, hindering critical climate change initiatives, and preventing the Administration from promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion.”

MOUNT VERNON, N.Y. — An increasingly contentious Democratic Party battle between a member of the far-left “Squad” in Congress and his more moderate challenger that spotlights the party’s deep divisions over the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza is taking center stage on Tuesday as New York, Colorado and Utah hold primaries.

And the race between two-term Rep. Jamaal Bowman and Westchester County executive George Latimer in New York’s 16th Congressional District, which covers southern Westchester County [in suburban New York City] and a small portion of The Bronx, is already in the record books as the most expensive congressional primary in the nation’s history.

But the contest could make more history as Bowman, a former middle school principal who four years ago ousted 16-term Rep. Eliot Engel in the Democrat primaries, now faces becoming the first member of the Squad, a progressive group of diverse House Democrats, to be ousted from Congress, and the first House member of either party to be defeated by a primary challenger this cycle.

Bowman, who’s been outspoken about his support for Palestinians amid the war in Gaza and has charged that Israel has committed genocide, has been targeted by roughly $14 million in spending by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the deep-pocketed pro-Israel group that is supporting Latimer.

WATCH: THIS HOUSE PRIMARY IS THE MOST EXPENSIVE IN CONGRESSIONAL HISTORY

Rep. Jamaal Bowman greets Sen. Bernie Sanders while he campaigns in the Bronx, New York City, on June 22, 2024. (REUTERS/Joy Malone)

Progressive rock stars Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York are supporting Bowman and teamed up with the besieged lawmaker at a rally Saturday in the Bronx. The event was anything but a PG-rated spectacle as Bowman repeatedly used profanities.

“We are going to show f—ing AIPAC the power of the motherf—ing South Bronx!” Bowman said at the rally, which was held outside the congressional district’s boundaries.

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Speaking with reporters on Monday, Latimer called Bowman’s language “inappropriate.”

And Latimer emphasized that “during this campaign I’ve been called a lot of unkind things. I’ve opened up a weekly newspaper in this county and seen myself referred to as genocide George. I’ve had all sorts of claims lobbed at me.”

“I think there’s been a lot of criticism lobbed at me by my opponent that’s unfair and inaccurate,” Latimer argued, “But I don’t think I get it right to use my temper. I don’t think I get the right to curse in public and carry on in a certain way.”

Westchester County executive George Latimer, who is challenging Democrat Rep. Jamaal Bowman in New York’s 16th Congressional District primary, speaks after being endorsed by local clergy leaders on June 24, 2024, in Mount Vernon, N.Y. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)

While the Israel-Hamas war is a top issue in the primary, it’s not the only one at play.

Bowman, who’s grabbed plenty of attention during his four years in Congress for his verbal warfare with Republicans and for pulling a fire alarm in a House office building last year during a vote over government funding, is also getting hit for voting against President Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure bill and against raising the debt limit.

While knocking off an incumbent is extremely difficult – and has yet to be accomplished by a challenger so far this cycle – Latimer, who is a former state senator, is well known in the district.

He’s been endorsed by local mayors and council members, multiple Westchester County legislators, and by former Secretary of State and former Sen. Hillary Clinton. The 2016 Democratic presidential nominee lives close to the district in northern Westchester County.

He spoke with reporters on Monday at an event where he was endorsed by more than a half dozen diverse clergy leaders from the congressional district.

The ads on behalf of Latimer are also a factor. A record $25 million has been spent by outside groups and the two campaigns to run ads in the district, which is located in New York’s pricey media market, according to Adimpact, a well-known national ad tracking firm.

While the Democrat primary between Bowman and Latimer will grab the most attention in Tuesday’s primaries, it’s far from the only contest worth watching.

John Avlon, a former Fox News analyst and one of the founders of the No Labels political organization who later went on to work as an anchor for CNN, is running against former Stony Brook University chemistry professor Nancy Goroff in the Democrat primary in New York’s 1st Congressional District on the eastern end of Long Island, which was won by President Biden in 2020. The winner will face off in November with Republican Rep. Nick LaLota.

In Colorado, seven Republicans are running in the state’s competitive 3rd Congressional District in the race to succeed GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert, who decided to run this year in the more Republican-friendly 4th Congressional District after nearly losing in 2022. 

Rep. Lauren Boebert (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images)

Boebert is favored to win the seat in the fourth district, which was left vacant after GOP Rep. Ken Buck retired from Congress.

In Utah, the battle to succeed retiring Republican Sen. Mitt Romney is taking center stage.

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Romney, a former Massachusetts governor and the GOP’s 2012 presidential nominee, is a vocal Republican critic of former President Trump, the party’s 2024 presumptive nominee.

Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, speaks to the media about not running for a second term in his office in the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 13, 2023. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images)

Trump is backing Riverton, Utah, Mayor Trent Staggs, who also has the backing of the Utah GOP after winning the most votes in April’s state party convention.

But Rep. John Curtis, a former Democrat and environmental activist who voted to accept Biden’s victory in the 2020 election, enjoys a solid fundraising lead over Staggs.

Republican Gov. Spencer Cox of Utah, another major GOP Trump critic, is facing a primary challenge from Phil Lyman, another 2020 election denier who easily won the state party convention. But Trump to date has remained neutral and hasn’t endorsed Lyman.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

When you strip away the hype, blather and speculation surrounding Thursday’s presidential debate, the core narrative is this: Can Joe Biden get it done?

In other words, can the 81-year-old president, beset by doubts about his stamina and sharpness, be sufficiently cogent and aggressive in a way that transforms the campaign narrative? 

But I would suggest that may be the wrong question.

There’s no way that the president, if he doesn’t wander into the curtains, doesn’t turn in a reasonably strong performance after a week of prep at Camp David. Sure, he could stumble, mix things up or just look frail.

‘NO QUESTION’ BIDEN’S GAINED GROUND AHEAD OF THE DEBATE: HOWARD KURTZ

But Biden will clear the absurdly low bar that Donald Trump, Republican allies and conservative commentators have set for him. Dazed, confused, senile, doesn’t know where he is, can’t string two sentences together.

That portrayal is so deeply embedded that Trump’s last-minute effort at course correction – suddenly Biden is a “worthy” debater who “destroyed” Paul Ryan in 2012 – is a drop in the bucket.

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at the annual Lincoln Reagan Dinner hosted by the Minnesota Republican party on May 17, 2024 in St. Paul, Minnesota. A recent poll has President Joe Biden leading Trump in the state by two percentage points.  (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

And if Biden just holds his own, most of the media will declare him the winner and insist he shattered expectations.

In my view, the larger question of the CNN debate is focused on Donald Trump.

There’s now a concerted effort by the anti-Trump media to hammer home the message that the former president is losing it.

WHITE HOUSE DOWNPLAYS BAD BIDEN MOMENTS AS FAKE

Trump rambles quite a bit at his rallies. In his view, he’s entertaining the crowd with yarns that are often semi-facetious or even self-deprecating.

But as his critics see it, Trump, 78, is showing his age through stream-of-consciousness digressions and detours.

So with his weekend appearances in Philadelphia, Trump told the tale of a boat owner telling him they can’t switch to electric because the batteries are so large they sink the boats (the conversation may have been real, but the reality is not).

And then there was his familiar lament about showers.

Trump talked about how much he likes to lather up his beautiful hair because that makes it thicker, and then the water comes out drip drip drip. (I’d wager that the showers at Mar-a-Lago, Bedminister and Trump Tower, at least, provide plenty of pressure.)

Still, Trump knows the difference between doing shtick for adoring crowds and handling a debate. He’ll obviously come on strong, as no one questions his energy level. 

BIDEN TEAM ARGUES THAT ALL UNFLATTERING VIDEOS OF HIM ARE FAKE, BUT THAT’S NOT TRUE

But what most people are missing here is his level of discipline. Trump is perfectly capable of turning it on for as long as necessary.

I speak from personal experience. When I interviewed the former president for an hour at Mar-a-Lago some weeks ago, he was sharp and substantive.

Knowing full well that my audience is more independent, Trump easily fielded questions on abortion, immigration, Israel, indictments, Tik Tok, retribution, law enforcement and other topics–a couple of which had just broken hours earlier. While he got in a few zingers, especially about the 2020 election, he didn’t miss a beat, even about something he’d done in 1985. He acknowledged sometimes using inflammatory language to drive the news cycle.

Now I wasn’t under any illusion that he had morphed into a different candidate. Within a couple of days he was dropping hand grenades again. The risk for Trump this week is that he gets irked and hits Biden with below-the-belt shots. But no one thinks he won’t come out swinging.

Here’s how I see it unfolding: Biden and Trump both perform fairly strongly. And since the president is the one who’s been pilloried as a doddering old fool, the media, as I said, declare him victorious.  

But the bigger surprise in the Atlanta studio will be the more disciplined Trump. And he’ll be aided by the lack of an audience and the muted-mic rule, which will keep him from the constant interruptions that marred his first debate in 2020.

Oh, Trump seems pretty serious. You know, this is not the Trump I remember. He looks more presidential. That may be the reaction among Republicans or independents who were leaning against Trump but might like the more restrained version.

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Of course, debates are unpredictable and I could be wrong. But it’s not just Joe Biden who has the ability to present a different persona. 

Footnote: Both presidents will be rusty, since neither has debated in four years. But Trump has an edge here because he’s constantly doing TV, radio and podcast interviews, enabling him to refine his answers. The incumbent, by largely avoiding journalists and being terse with shouted questions, is unaccustomed to such sparring.

The second day of hearings on motions from both the defense and prosecution in former President Trump’s classified documents case in Florida ended Monday shortly after 5:30 p.m.

Two issues were considered during the day’s hearings: Special Counsel Jack Smith’s funding for the case and its legality, and a potential added provision to Trump’s release conditions to limit some of his speech regarding the raid of his Mar-a-Lago estate. 

CNN PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE: ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION LOOMS AS TOP ISSUE AMID OUTRAGE OVER 12-YEAR-OLD GIRL’S MURDER

Former President Donald Trump and Special Counsel Jack Smith (Getty Images)

In a hearing that began at 10 a.m. and ran for roughly an hour and 45 minutes, Trump’s defense attorney, Emil Bove, argued that Smith was being “unlawfully funded.” He claimed the funding being used by Smith’s team isn’t authorized by statute, ultimately posing a separation of powers issue. As it stands, the special counsel is operating on an allegedly infinite budget in its effort to convict the former president. 

Notably, Smith was present for the Monday hearing, sitting behind where the prosecution was seated but not quite in the gallery of the courtroom. 

PROSECUTORS WANT ANOTHER GAG ORDER ON TRUMP IN CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS CASE

Smith was present in court on Monday. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon for the Southern District of Florida questioned Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecutor James Pearce about his argument that there are indefinite appropriations legally made available to the special counsel. Cannon prodded him over the “limitless appropriations,” to which he provided several examples of similar instances in the U.S. Code. Pearce also noted that eight other special counsels were funded in the same manner, potentially hinting that her ruling could have far-reaching implications in other matters. 

Cannon further probed some of the budget reports regarding the prosecution, showing that nearly $9 million was spent on the case by the special counsel’s office and the DOJ in a matter of months between November 2022 and March 2023. 

‘THE VIEW’ CO-HOSTS DEFEND CNN HOST CUTTING OFF INTERVIEW WITH TRUMP CAMPAIGN SPOKESWOMAN: ‘SO GOOD!’

Cannon questioned both sides during the hearings. (REUTERS)

Pearce made a separate argument that even if the funds are determined to be unlawful, that should not warrant the case being dismissed, as Trump’s defense has pushed for. 

Later in the day, the court heard arguments both for and against what amounts to an informal and limited gag order on Trump as a modification to his release conditions. 

ANTI-FREE SPEECH CULTURE IN GOVERNMENT, ACADEMIA: JONATHAN TURLEY

Trump has gag orders in two of his cases. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, Pool/File)

The government sought the speech restriction specifically as it relates to the raid on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home after he made numerous remarks regarding the FBI agents’ sanctioned use of force during the operation. The prosecution pointed to language that described the FBI as being “locked and loaded and ready to take me out” as having the potential to endanger law enforcement. 

During the second hearing, DOJ prosecutor David Harbach was rebuked by Cannon for his tone and warned to act within the court’s decorum. He argued that the speech restriction on Trump was necessary because of the connection between the former president’s statements and the actions of some supporters. He also claimed that the names of FBI agents involved in the Mar-a-Lago raid had been made public, putting them in danger. 

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However, when Cannon asked for the person who made the names public, Harbach did not tell her, instead saying the prosecution was aware of the person responsible. This seemed to irritate Cannon, who prompted him to ask why they wouldn’t make it public and have that person prosecuted. 

Trump’s defense attorney argued during the hearing that the requested informal and limited gag order was too vague, also claiming the former president’s attacks were obviously targeting Biden and not officers of the law. 

Court resumes Tuesday with a sealed hearing at 11 a.m. and an open hearing at 1 p.m. 

Utah Republican Rep. Burgess Owens is demanding the president of Northwestern University sever school ties with news outlet Al Jazeera following repeated reports of its connection to terrorist group Hamas, Fox News Digital has learned. 

“Turns out that Al Jazeera is not just a platform for anti-Israel, pro-terrorist propaganda; it is also a safe haven for Hamas supporters,” Owens said in comment to Fox News Digital.

“It is unacceptable for any American university that receives hundreds of millions of dollars in annual federal funding to partner with organizations whose members are terrorists or whose reporting incites terror on behalf of Hamas. President Schill testified before Congress that Northwestern was looking into its formal partnership with Al Jazeera, and in light of disturbing reports, I’m calling for immediate answers and action to ensure this corruption is nowhere near American students.”

Owens – alongside Republican Reps. Elise Stefanik of New York, Andy Ogles of Tennessee and Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey – sent a letter Friday to Northwestern University President Michael Schill demanding answers on the school’s ties to outlet Al Jazeera, which is funded by the Qatari government. Northwestern has a satellite campus in Qatar, which includes a partnership with Al Jazeera that allows its students “to engage regularly with leading media industry professionals,” according to Northwestern’s website. 

BURGESS OWENS CORNERS ELITE UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT OVER EYE-POPPING DONATIONS FROM HAMAS-HARBORING QATAR

Utah Republican Rep. Burgess Owens in hearing with Northwestern President Michael Schill. (The Committee on Education and the Workforce/Youtube)

Earlier this month, reports surfaced that a journalist who previously wrote for Al Jazeera held three Jewish hostages in his home before he was killed by the Israeli military. The journalist was never an official employee of the outlet, the New York Post reported, but had a byline with the publication and other outlets in Gaza.  

Owens’ letter cited the journalist while demanding answers regarding the school’s ties to the Qatari-backed outlet. 

“On Saturday, June 8, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched a daring raid on Hamas to rescue Israeli hostages abducted during the horrific events of October 7. During the raid, the IDF discovered that three of the rescued hostages were held at Abdallah Aljamal’s home in Nuseirat. Aljamal, who was killed during the rescue, was a journalist who had published an article on Al Jazeera and whose information can be found on the Al Jazeera website,” the letter to Schill reads. 

NEW BATCH OF ‘MORALLY BANKRUPT’ COLLEGE ADMINISTRATORS TO BE GRILLED OVER CAMPUS ANTISEMITISM BY HOUSE

Northwestern University President Michael H. Schill, seen here when he was president at the University of Oregon, Jan. 1, 2020.  (Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

“Unfortunately, this is not the first time Al Jazeera has been connected to terrorists or terrorist organizations. According to the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), Al Jazeera and its reporters have been connected to Hamas throughout the Israel-Hamas War. For example, a Palestinian journalist named Mohammad Wishah working for Al Jazeera was discovered to have been a commander in Hamas’s anti-tank missile unit who went on to work in research and development for Hamas, and posted a photograph of himself with Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar on social media,” the letter continues. 

TRUMP SLAMS ‘RADICAL LEFT LUNATICS’ CREATING CHAOS ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES NATIONWIDE

A terrorist from Hamas takes part in a military parade to mark the anniversary of the 2014 war with Israel, near the border in the central Gaza Strip on July 19, 2023. (Reuters/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/File Photo)

The lawmakers listed other reports linking Al Jazeera to Hamas, including a correspondent accused by the IDF of serving as a “platoon deputy commander” for Hamas, as well as two Al Jazeera journalists accused by Israel of “operating a drone that posed a threat to Israeli soldiers” before they were killed in an airstrike. 

“The fact that Northwestern would partner with Al Jazeera despite evidence showing a number of its journalists are active members, and even leaders, of Hamas, as well as its dissemination of propaganda on behalf of Hamas, is deeply troubling. It is unacceptable for an American university that receives hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding annually to partner with organizations whose members are terrorists or whose reporting propagandizes on behalf of terrorist organizations,” the lawmakers wrote in their letter to Schill. 

JEWISH STUDENT DEFIES ANTI-ISRAEL RADICALS WHO ‘STALKED’ HIM ON CALIFORNIA CAMPUS: WON’T BE ‘SILENCED’

“It is anathema to the American way of life and contrary to our education system which seeks to change hearts and minds through persuasion and dialogue rather than through brute force.”

Rep. Burgess Owens attends the House committee hearing in the Rayburn Building on Feb. 1, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

During a fiery House hearing last month, Owens cornered Schill on the eye-popping sum in donations the elite school has reportedly received from Qatar.

“Do you think it’d be a good idea for the University of Northwestern to partner with a government that harbors terrorist Hamas, and Iranian operatives who fund terrorism? Yes or no?” Owens asked Schill, while sitting in front of a large billboard check prop depicting a $600 million donation from Qatar to Northwestern. 

“I’m not going to engage in yes or no answers,” Schill responded. 

CAMPUS ‘OCCUPATION GUIDE’ TAPS INTO AGITATORS’ ‘RAGE,’ INSTRUCTS HOW TO ‘ESCALATE’ CHAOS

“Obviously, you don’t have a problem with that,” Owens said. “Northwestern’s school of journalism…” Owens continued before he was cut off by Schill. 

“I’m really quite offended by you telling me what my views are,” Schill interjected. 

Students and residents camp outside Northwestern University during an anti-Israel protest in Evanston, Illinois, on April 27. (Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images)

“Did you know that the Northwestern school of journalism has a formal partnership with Al Jazeera?” Owens pressed the university president, who answered he was only recently made aware of the partnership. 

“I, in fact, just found out about that last week,” he responded. 

STEFANIK SPARS WITH HEAD OF TOP SCHOOL OVER FAILING GRADE ON ANTISEMITISM, STUNNING WHISTLEBLOWER CLAIM

“Let me make you aware of it then, because Al Jazeera – because of their pro-Hamas reporting – the secretary of state, Anthony Blinken, asked the Qatar prime minister to tone down Al Jazeera’s anti-Israel incitement. Also, it was Israel, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt that have blocked Al-Jazeera because they are a pro-Hamas mouthpiece. My understanding is that you have a contract with the Qatar Foundation that expires at the end of the 2027-2028 academic year. Now that you know about Qatar, are you going to still renew that contract?” he asked. 

The hearing, held by the House Education and Workforce Committee, featured testimony from Schill, UCLA Chancellor Gene Block and Rutgers President Jonathan Holloway regarding their handling of campus antisemitism last school year after widespread protests, tent encampments and demands that schools divest from Israel. 

Northwestern President Michael Schill, Rutgers President Jonathan Holloway and UCLA Chancellor Gene Block (University of Oregon/Rutgers/Getty )

Schill told the committee during the hearing that he was “concerned by the agreement” with Al Jazeera, adding “we are going to look into it.”

STEFANIK GRILLS HARVARD PRESIDENT OVER STUDENTS CALLING FOR ‘INTIFADA,’ RAMPANT ANTISEMITISM ON CAMPUS

The letter sent Friday demands an update by July 19 on Schill’s investigation into the ties to Al Jazeera, and called on the school president to “take immediate action” and end the Qatar campus’ partnership with the outlet. 

The Weber Arch at Northwestern University on Nov. 13, 2020, in Evanston, Illinois. (Jose M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

“Mr. Schill, in the Congressional hearing held on May 23rd, you expressed concern regarding Northwestern University in Qatar’s partnership with Al Jazeera. You promised in that hearing that you would look into that partnership. In light of these reports, we urge Northwestern University to take immediate action to end the existing partnership between Northwestern University in Qatar and Al Jazeera. We request that you respond to this letter by noon ET on Friday, July 19,” the lawmakers wrote. 

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Fox News Digital reached out to Northwestern University Monday afternoon but did not immediately receive a response. 

Illegal immigration and how to solve the ongoing crisis at the southern border are likely to be top issues at this Thursday’s presidential debate between President Biden and former President Donald Trump — after a string of horrific crimes by illegal immigrants, including the brutal murder of a 12-year-old girl in Texas.

Two Venezuelan illegal immigrants are charged with capital murder in the death of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray in Houston, Texas. One of the two men accused had his bail set at $10 million on Monday. Authorities said she was “lured” under a bridge in Houston before she was tied up and killed. 

The arrests came the same week as the arrest of an Ecuadorian national in the U.S. illegally for a broad daylight sex attack in which police said a machete-wielding man raped a 13-year-old girl at a park. Last week, police also announced that an illegal migrant from El Salvador had been arrested for the murder of Rachel Morin — a Maryland mother of five. The horrific crimes are part of a broader wave of crimes across the U.S. committed by those in the country illegally.

JOCELYN NUNGARAY MURDER: ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT SUSPECT ACCUSED OF KILLING HOUSTON GIRL HAS BAIL SET AT $10M 

Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at the Faith and Freedom Coalitions Road to Majority policy conference in Washington, U.S., June 22, 2024. (Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters)

The arrests come days before this week’s CNN presidential debate between Trump and Biden, where immigration was already expected to be a top topic, given the ongoing crisis at the southern border.

The U.S. has seen record numbers of migrant crossings at the border, with more than 2.4 million in FY 23 alone on top of three years of the highest crossings ever seen. Republicans and Trump have hammered Biden over the crisis, arguing that it is his policies — and the rolling back of Trump-era policies — that have fueled the crisis.

“These are Biden migrants,” Trump told Fox News Digital last week. “They are flooding our country. They are flooding our cities and states.”

Trump has promised the largest domestic deportation operation in U.S. history if elected, and to terminate “every Open Border policy of the Biden administration.” He has also promised to deploy special forces to the border and reinstate his 2017 travel ban.

SUSPECTS ‘LURED’ TEXAS 12-YEAR-OLD TO HER DEATH, PROSECUTORS SAY 

President Biden has made major moves on immigration in recent weeks. (Getty Images)

Biden, meanwhile, has argued that Congress needs to step up to pass immigration reform to fix what he calls a “broken” immigration system. His administration introduced a bill on day one, but Republicans balked at the inclusion of a pathway to citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants already in the U.S.

He also backed a bipartisan Senate bill introduced earlier this year, but it has failed to pick up steam in the upper chamber. Biden has blamed Trump for stifling the bill, which included additional funding for border operations and a mechanism to shut down crossings after a certain level.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS

“Republicans in Congress, not all, walked away from it. Why? Because Donald Trump told them to,” he said in February.

Biden has made two major immigration moves in recent weeks as congressional action stalls. One was a move to further limit asylum claims by migrants once average border encounters exceed 2,500 a day. Last week he also announced a deportation shield for some illegal immigrant spouses of U.S. citizens. He has repeatedly said, however, that it is not enough and he needs Congress to act in order to fix the system. 

Biden will likely go into the debate armed with data showing that numbers at the border are trending down. There were 170,723 total encounters at the southern border in May, the lowest month this fiscal year and the lowest May since Biden took office.

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Additionally, Fox News has reported that illegal crossings continue to plummet, with just under 1,900 apprehensions on Sunday, one of the lowest such days since early 2021.

However, Trump will likely highlight the crimes being committed by those who were released into the U.S., particularly those who were released during Biden’s presidency — including the murder of Jocelyn Nungaray.

Fox News’ Greg Norman and Bill Melugin contributed to this report.