NationalWatch

Reactions poured in from prominent conservatives on social media as former President Trump cruised to victory in nearly every contest in Super Tuesday’s primaries, most of whom called on the party to unite behind him.

“Man I knew Trump would have a good night but this is a rout,” Ohio GOP Senator JD Vance posted on X as Trump continued to stack up victories in state after state on Tuesday night. “For voters, we have the next six months to convince them that DJT deserves another term.”

“But for donors and political professionals, it’s time to unite behind our nominee. Please stop wasting time and money.”

“Admit it,” Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott posted on X. “The primary is over.”

TRUMP REACTS TO SUPER TUESDAY VICTORIES: ‘RARELY HAS POLITICS SEEN ANYTHING QUITE LIKE THIS’

“Time for Republicans to unite and restore sanity at the border.”

“It is LONG past time for us to rally around President Trump as our Republican nominee who will defeat Joe Biden this November,” GOP Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, thought by some to be in consideration for Trump’s running mate, posted on X.  

“The GOP presidential primary is over,” Ohio GOP Chair Alex Triantafilou posted on X. “President Trump’s resounding Super Tuesday victories have solidified it. It is time to listen to our voters and unite the Republican Party.”

BIDEN PLANS TO ‘TRIGGER TRUMP’ IN NEW ‘AGGRESSIVE’ ELECTION STRATEGY: REPORT

“Voters across our country have spoken — this race is about the American people,” South Carolina Republican Sen. Tim Scott, also rumored to be a potential pick for vice president, posted on X. “It’s about safe streets, quality education, and a secure border. Donald J. Trump is the one candidate to unite our country around success and WIN in November.”

Trump made no mention of Haley in his victory speech on Tuesday night but said that “success will bring unity to our country.”

“We’re honored to have received the support of millions of Americans across the country today, including in Vermont where Nikki became the first Republican woman to win two presidential primary contests,” Haley’s campaign said in a statement on Tuesday as she appeared to finish Super Tuesday with only Vermont in the win column.

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“Unity is not achieved by simply claiming ‘we’re united.’ Today, in state after state, there remains a large block of Republican primary voters who are expressing deep concerns about Donald Trump. That is not the unity our party needs for success. Addressing those voters’ concerns will make the Republican Party and America better.”

Alabama Sen. Katie Britt has accepted the task of delivering the Republican response to President Biden’s State of the Union address on Thursday, saying in a statement she was “truly honored and grateful for the opportunity.”

Britt said she plans to put “hardworking parents and families” at the center of her remarks in order to demonstrate their important role within the Republican Party. 

SEN HAWLEY WANTS BIDEN TO HIKE TARIFFS ON CHINESE ENERGY IMPORTS

But who is Katie Britt?

At 42, Britt is one of the youngest members of the Senate. She was elected two years ago during the 2022 midterms and, upon her swearing-in, became not only Alabama’s first elected female senator, but also the youngest Republican woman to serve in the upper chamber. 

She graduated from both the University of Alabama and the University of Alabama School of Law before becoming a practicing attorney. Britt and her husband have two children, Bennett and Ridgeway, whom they raise in Montgomery. 

HILLARY CLINTON SAYS TO MOVE ON FROM BIDEN’S AGE: ‘LET’S GO AHEAD AND ACCEPT THE REALITY’ THAT HE’S OLD

In Britt’s capacity as senator, she serves as ranking member of the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee.

“At this decisive moment in our country’s history, it’s time for the next generation to step up and preserve the American Dream for our children and our grandchildren,” she said in a statement responding to her announcement as the rebuttal speaker. 

“Katie Britt is the absolute best face the GOP could put forward,” said Republican strategist Doug Heye. According to him, she, “as a smart, well-spoken mom of two school-aged kids” is the best person to deliver the party’s vision. 

Fellow Republican strategist John Feehery echoed this point, noting Britt is “smart, young, attractive,” and a contrast to “White males who usually speak on behalf of the party.” 

BIDEN’S GOT 3 MAKE OR BREAK TESTS THIS WEEK AND DEMOCRATS ARE COMPLETELY CLUELESS

But according to Democratic strategist Max Burns, the choice of Britt as the messenger of the GOP’s response was likely a result of “top-tier Republicans” turning the offer down. He pointed to the lack of progress on Republican priorities in Congress, claiming, “No senior Republican wants the impossible task of trying to sell that ineffectiveness to voters.”

He further predicted Britt would spend much of her time criticizing Biden, but not discuss “what Republicans have done – because they’ve done nothing at all.”

“Senator Britt may be the current darling of the Washington establishment, but her selection places abortion access and IVF treatment front and center,” said Eric Schultz, former senior adviser to President Barack Obama.

SUPER TUESDAY RESULTS EXPECTED TO MOVE PRESIDENT BIDEN AND FORMER PRESIDENT TRUMP CLOSER TO GENERAL ELECTION REMATCH

“She supports all of the anti-abortion measures and has not taken any issue with the recent IVF ruling in her home state,” he said, referring to the controversial Alabama Supreme Court ruling on embryos, which prompted several clinics in the state to abruptly halt in vitro fertilization (IVF). 

Schultz said the GOP may believe she makes for good optics, “but she gives Democrats a gift by bringing the Party’s most potent vulnerabilities to the table.”

Several Democratic senators and Biden have announced guests to the address who are related to both abortion and IVF. Biden will be bringing Kate Cox, who ultimately sought an abortion out of state after suing Texas’s Supreme Court for the right to receive the procedure there. 

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Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics, said the SOTU rebuttal “is a tough assignment.” Those who deliver it can only hope “to get out of it without becoming a punchline,” he said. 

As to the choice of Britt, he said, “Britt seems like a rising star within the party, and this speech often goes to people who are perceived that way,” noting past responses given by “Marco Rubio, Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Joni Ernst, Nikki Haley, Tim Scott, Kim Reynolds, [and] Sarah Huckabee Sanders.”

FIRST ON FOX: The Republican National Committee (RNC) is highlighting polling that shows America’s low approval rating of President Biden on key issues ahead of his upcoming State of the Union address.

In a social media blitz Wednesday, shared first with Fox News Digital, the GOP committee released a video compilation of reports showing most voters do not approve of Biden’s handling of both the presidency and issues such as the economy, inflation, and foreign policy.

RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said that given the recent polling and the current state of the nation under Biden, “this will be his last State of the Union address.”

“The numbers don’t lie – Americans know that the state of the union is weaker because of Joe Biden,” McDaniel said in a statement shared with Fox News Digital. 

‘STATE OF MESS’: AHEAD OF STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS, AMERICANS SAY COUNTRY IN ‘SAD STATE’

“Biden and Democrats are underwater on key issues that Americans care about the most, from the economy, to crime, from the open border to protecting our standing on the world stage,” McDaniel continued. “Voters do not want Biden to ‘finish the job,’ which is why this will be his last State of the Union address.”

FOX NEWS POLL: MAJORITIES SAY BIDEN HAS MOSTLY FAILED ON TOP ISSUES

The Biden campaign took aim at a recent poll from the New York Times/Sienna College that showed Trump leading Biden, saying that “polling continues to be at odds with how Americans vote, and consistently overestimates Donald Trump while underestimating President Biden.”

“Trump and the party he leads are weak, cash-strapped, and deeply divided,” the Biden-Harris 2024 campaign communications director Michael Tyler recently said. “Our campaign is ignoring the noise and running a strong campaign to win — just like we did in 2020.”

The RNC also noted growing concerns over the president’s fitness, pointing to surveys that show elevated concerns over Biden’s age. 

A recent ABC/Ipsos poll found about 86% of American adults do not think Biden has the “mental sharpness” to serve as president.

Another recent survey, from Quinnipiac University, backed these concerns, reporting that 67% of likely voters believe Biden, 81, is too old and not physically capable of completing another four-year term as president.

Despite multiple polls showing Biden underwater and setting off alarm bells when it comes to age, several Biden allies and his campaign have embraced his age and tried to use it as a dig at Trump.

“He’s about as old as I am, but he can’t remember his wife’s name,” Biden joked during a recent interview.

As part of a ‘don’t let Biden finish the job’ series, the committee also released several gifs slamming Biden on the border, crime, allowing biological men to compete in women’s sports, the economy, and rising costs.

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The blitz comes just one day before Biden is scheduled to deliver the annual SOTU address to Congress.

The Biden campaign did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., is bringing WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s brother, Gabriel Shipton, as his guest to President Biden’s State of the Union address, as the Biden administration continues to pursue the prosecution of Assange for publishing classified U.S. documents.

“It is a real honor to be a guest of Rep. Massie,” Shipton told Fox News Digital. “He is steadfast in his calls for the prosecution of Julian to be let go, and very clear about what’s at stake in this unprecedented indictment of a publisher for sharing information in the public interest.”

The possible final appeal for Assange challenging his extradition from the U.K. to the U.S. wrapped up last month before the British High Court in London, with the Australian publisher not appearing in court due to health reasons.

Assange, 52, is charged in connection with WikiLeaks’ 2010 publication of classified U.S. military documents leaked by U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning. Assange is facing 17 charges for allegedly receiving, possessing and communicating classified information to the public under the Espionage Act, and one charge alleging a conspiracy to commit computer intrusion.

JULIAN ASSANGE’S US EXTRADITION HEARING WRAPS UP IN LONDON, DECISION NOT EXPECTED UNTIL AT LEAST NEXT MONTH

Biden will deliver the State of the Union address on Thursday at 9 p.m.

“I hope it can bring attention to the injustice being perpetrated against Julian Assange and that maybe the president will realize there is nothing to be gained from continuing this attack against the First Amendment and discontinue it immediately so Julian can return to his wife and two young children,” Shipton told Fox News Digital.

The charges were brought by the Trump administration’s Justice Department over WikiLeaks’ 2010 publication of cables leaked by Manning detailing war crimes committed by the U.S. government in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, detention camp. The materials also exposed instances of the CIA engaging in torture and rendition.

WikiLeaks’ “Collateral Murder” video showing the U.S. military gunning down civilians in Iraq, including two Reuters journalists, was also published 14 years ago.

Assange has been held at London’s high-security Belmarsh Prison since he was removed from the Ecuadorian Embassy on April 11, 2019, for breaching bail conditions. He had sought asylum at the embassy since 2012 to avoid being sent to Sweden over allegations he raped two women because Sweden would not provide assurances it would protect him from extradition to the U.S. The investigations into the sexual assault allegations were eventually dropped.

A U.K. District Judge rejected the U.S. extradition request in 2021 on the grounds that Assange was likely to kill himself if he was held under harsh U.S. prison conditions. Higher courts later overturned that decision after receiving assurances from the U.S. about his treatment, and the British government signed an extradition order in June 2022.

While February’s hearing could be Assange’s final appeal attempting to block his extradition to the U.S., a full appeal hearing could come in the future if the judges rule in his favor. If he loses this appeal, however, Assange’s only remaining option would be at the European Court of Human Rights. The judges who heard arguments in the two-day hearing said they would take time to reach a verdict.

Should he be extradited to the U.S. after exhausting all his legal appeals, Assange would face trial in Alexandria, Virginia, and could be sentenced to up to 175 years in an American maximum-security prison. His supporters have argued that he would not receive a fair trial if he is extradited.

“The U.S. government’s ongoing effort to prosecute Julian Assange threatens the First Amendment rights of Americans and should be opposed,” Massie said in a statement. “During his term in office, I asked President Trump to pardon Mr. Assange, and I was disappointed by his failure to do so. President Biden should drop the criminal charges currently being pursued by the Department of Justice. I am pleased Mr. Shipton has accepted my invitation to join me at the State of the Union.”

The Obama administration in 2013 decided not to indict Assange over WikiLeaks’ 2010 publication of classified cables because it would have had to also indict journalists from major news outlets who published the same materials, which has been described as “The New York Times problem.” Former President Obama also commuted Manning’s 35-year sentence for violations of the Espionage Act and other offenses to seven years in January 2017, and Manning, who had been imprisoned since 2010, was released later that year.

But the Justice Department under former President Trump later moved to indict Assange under the Espionage Act, and the Biden administration has continued to pursue his prosecution.

UK HIGH COURT HEARS ARGUMENTS IN ASSANGE’S US EXTRADITION CASE WITHOUT HIM PRESENT DUE TO HEALTH REASONS

Shipton’s attendance at the State of the Union comes after Massie and Rep. James McGovern, D-Mass., led a bipartisan letter sent to Biden in November urging him to “withdraw the U.S. extradition request currently pending against Australian publisher Julian Assange and halt all prosecutorial proceedings against him as soon as possible.”

The letter was signed by 16 lawmakers on Capitol Hill, including Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga.; Paul Gosar, R-Ariz.; Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.; Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich.; Ilhan Omar, D-Minn.; Cori Bush, D-Mo.; Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky.

Massie has also previously sponsored bipartisan legislation to reform the Espionage Act and protect whistleblowers and journalists.

Assange’s wife, Stella, has said that her husband’s life is at risk every day he remains in prison and that she believes he will die if he’s extradited to the U.S.

Last month, U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture, Alice Jill Edwards, called on the U.K. government to halt the possible U.S. extradition of Assange over concerns that he would be at risk of treatment amounting to torture or other forms of ill-treatment or punishment if he is extradited. U.N. Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression, Irene Khan, also expressed last week that Assange’s prosecution sets a dangerous precedent for investigative journalism.

In January, a group of Australian lawmakers wrote a letter to U.K. Home Secretary James Cleverly demanding Assange’s U.S. extradition be halted over concerns about his safety and well-being, urging the U.K. government to instead make an independent assessment of Assange’s risk of persecution.

Additional efforts have been made by lawmakers in the U.S. and Assange’s home country of Australia in the last year to demand his freedom, including a vote last month in which the Australian Parliament overwhelmingly supported calling on the U.S. and U.K. Governments to end Assange’s prosecution and a resolution introduced in January in the U.S. House calling for him to be released.

UN EXPERT ON FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION URGES END TO JULIAN ASSANGE’S PROSECUTION OVER PRESS FREEDOM CONCERNS

One of Assange’s lawyers, Mark Summers, said during last month’s hearing that there was evidence showing there had been a plan crafted by the Trump administration’s CIA to kidnap or murder Assange while he was in the Ecuadorean Embassy and that former President Trump had requested “detailed options” to kill him.

The CIA under the Trump administration allegedly had plans to kill Assange over the publication of sensitive agency hacking tools known as “Vault 7,” which were leaked to WikiLeaks, Yahoo reported in 2021. The agency said the leak represented “the largest data loss in CIA history.”

The agency was accused of having discussions “at the highest levels” of the administration about plans to assassinate Assange in London and allegedly acted upon orders from then-CIA director Mike Pompeo to draw up kill “sketches” and “options.” The CIA also had advanced plans to kidnap and rendition Assange, and had made a political decision to charge him, according to the Yahoo report.

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While he was in the embassy, the CIA was exposed for spying on Assange and his lawyers. A judge recently ruled that a lawsuit brought against the CIA for spying on his visitors can move forward.

Assange is the first publisher to be charged by the U.S. government under the Espionage Act, and many press freedom groups have argued that his prosecution is intended to criminalize journalism.

In 2022, the editors and publishers of U.S. and European outlets that worked with Assange on the publication of excerpts from the more than 250,000 documents he obtained in the Cablegate leak – The Guardian, The New York Times, Le Monde, Der Spiegel and El País – wrote an open letter calling for the U.S. to drop the charges against Assange.

FIRST ON FOX: Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, is unveiling a new bill on Tuesday that would allow Americans to sue COVID-19 vaccine makers over adverse health effects allegedly caused by the shot.

The Let Injured Americans Be Legally Empowered (LIABLE) Act is aimed at wiping away COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers’ statutory protections, opening them up to civil lawsuits.

A summary of the bill obtained by Fox News Digital said, “The LIABLE Act will allow Americans who took vaccines that were misleadingly promoted and forced onto many Americans via federal mandates to pursue civil litigation for their injuries. These vaccines were given emergency use authorization unilaterally and did not go through the normal FDA approval process.”

CDC RECOMMENDS ADDITIONAL COVID VACCINE FOR ADULTS 65 AND OVER

Currently, manufacturers and health care providers responsible for distributing COVID-19 vaccines are mostly immune from civil lawsuits, even if those seeking money damages have medical proof of their vaccine-related injuries.

That’s because the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act of 2005 limits liability for the manufacturing, development and distribution of medical countermeasures related to a public health emergency.

The PREP Act also created the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program (CICP), which has a one-year statute of limitations and only provides compensation in the event of death or serious injury. According to Roy, CICP has compensated people just 11 times despite thousands of claims lodged.

“Millions of Americans were forced to take a COVID-19 shot out of fear of losing their livelihoods and under false pretenses,” Roy told Fox News Digital. “Many have faced injury from the vaccine, but few have been afforded…recourse. To date, a mere 11 injury claims have been paid out despite nearly 700 million doses of the vaccine having been administered.”

ASK A HEALTH EXPERT: ‘SHOULD I TAKE PAXLOVID IF I HAVE COVID?’

Despite the public health emergency declaration for the COVID-19 pandemic expiring last May, PREP Act liability protections for the vaccine are expected to mostly last through the end of this year, according to a report by the Congressional Research Service. 

Roy’s LIABLE Act would allow Americans claiming to be injured from the vaccine to retroactively sue manufacturers despite the aforementioned protections.

While credited with saving countless lives during the pandemic, the COVID-19 vaccine has also been blamed by critics for side effects such as blood clots, strokes and even sudden death. 

PROTEST OF CDC’S NEW COVID GUIDANCE PLANNED FOR THEIR MONTH IN WASHINGTON, DC: ‘URGENT NEED’

Many of these cases still require further study, but it’s a trend that’s alarmed Republican lawmakers who have long said mandating the COVID-19 vaccine is a violation of Americans’ right to privacy.

Andrew Powaleny, PhRMA spokesperson, criticized the bill in a statement to Fox News Digital.

“COVID-19 has been a reminder of why we need safe and effective vaccines. All vaccines, including those for COVID-19, are subject to a rigorous safety and efficacy review process and post-market monitoring. By upending the existing liability framework manufacturers rely upon to provide predictable vaccine development, our ability to address future public health threats will be at risk,” he said.

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Roy has led the charge against those vaccine mandates, including leading efforts to roll back COVID-19 vaccine mandates in the U.S. military.

His latest bill has at least a dozen House GOP co-sponsors.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Department of Health and Human Services for comment.

The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic has subpoenaed former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to testify on May 24 about his COVID-19 nursing home policies.

In 2020, Cuomo directed New York nursing homes to accept patients believed to have COVID-19 – a decision that has subjected his administration to fierce criticism. In a letter on Tuesday, the committee told the former New York governor that “misguided decision effectively admitted thousands of COVID-19 positive patients into nursing homes, causing predictable but deadly consequences for New York’s most vulnerable.”

The committee also told Cuomo that his testimony is “vital to our investigation into the effectiveness of federal guidance and regulations implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic regarding the protection of nursing home residents.”

BILL MAHER CONFRONTS CUOMO ON NURSING HOME SCANDAL, EX-NY GOV CALLS QUESTIONS ‘MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACKING’

The governor previously deflected blame over the situation by claiming that his state followed guidance from the federal government. The Tuesday letter acknowledged that Cuomo maintained his decisions were “consistent with CMS and CDC guidance.”

“If you think there was a mistake, then go talk to the federal government,” he said at a press conference in 2021. “It’s not about pointing fingers or blame, this became a political football.” 

Cuomo’s administration was also criticized at the time for underreporting the amount of COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes by as much as 50%.

In a social media post, the committee used a harsher tone against Cuomo.

“Governor Cuomo forced New York nursing homes to accept COVID-19 positive patients. Americans died,” the committee wrote in a post on X. “Accountability and honesty are non-negotiable.”

FORMER NY GOVERNOR RE-EMERGES AS CRITIC ON DEMS’ FAR-LEFT POLICIES, FUELING COMEBACK SPECULATION

Subcommittee Chair Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, wrote that “[t]he Select Subcommittee specifically requested your testimony because it was your administration that issued the March 25, 2020 nursing home order stating, in relevant part, that ‘[n]o resident shall be denied re-admission or admission to the [nursing home] solely based on confirmed or suspect[ed] diagnosis of COVID-19.’”

“This misguided decision effectively admitted thousands of COVID-19 positive patients into nursing homes, causing predictable but deadly consequences for New York’s most vulnerable,” Wenstrup continued. “Of course, you have argued – even after leaving office – that the March 25 Order was consistent with CMS and CDC guidance. In addition, you have argued that it was the nursing home staff – not your Administration’s order – that was responsible for the resulting deaths in the nursing homes.”

“In addition to the March 25 Order itself, there is also troubling evidence suggesting the Cuomo Administration at best downplayed its impacts and at worst covered them up,” he also said.

In an email to Fox News Digital, Cuomo spokesperson Rich Azzopardi of Bulldog Strategies called the committee’s subpoena an “obvious press charade.”

“The simple fact remains that this issue has been reviewed three times by the Department of Justice under Trump and Biden, as well as Congress and the Manhattan District Attorney who found no there there,” Azzopardi said.

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“New York followed the guidance put forth by the Trump administration in March of 2020 — as did other Democratic and Republican states. If they have a problem with that, they should look in the mirror. Congress knows this, but it’s not about the facts, this is about politics.”

Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this report.

FIRST ON FOX: Speaker Mike Johnson’s guests at the State of the Union on Thursday will include a mother who lost her son to a pill laced with fentanyl and the mother of a Maryland woman who was raped and murdered in 2022, allegedly by an MS-13 gang member.

Johnson, R-La., has invited Tammy Nobles, whose 20-year-old daughter Kayla Hamilton was killed in her mobile home in 2022, to the Thursday address by President Biden. He has also invited Stefanie Turner, who formed Texas Against Fentanyl after her son Tucker was killed by an illicit Percocet pill.

“President Biden’s open-border catastrophe is undermining the safety of our communities and ripping families apart,” Johnson said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Tammy Nobles and Stefanie Turner are two of the many parents who’ve experienced the devastating effects of the catastrophe at our border, having tragically lost their children to criminal aliens and fentanyl, which is pouring through our borders.”

HOUSE JUDICIARY REPORT FAULTS BIDEN ADMIN FOR RELEASE OF ALLEGED MS-13 GANG MEMBER NOW CHARGED WITH MURDER 

The ongoing border crisis has become a top political issue in the days leading up to the address, with Biden expected to renew his calls for the Senate to pass a border agreement unveiled earlier this year. Republicans have blamed the crisis on the policies of the administration.

“I’m honored to be hosting Tammy and Stefanie at the State of the Union, as we fight for a secure border and to hold President Biden accountable for his failure to protect this country and the American people,” Johnson said.

Nobles testified in the impeachment hearings of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, citing her daughter’s murder as a consequence of the crisis at the border. In 2023, police arrested an El Salvadoran 17-year-old who authorities said is linked to the MS-13 street gang and who was released into the U.S. in 2022 into the custody of his aunt after being encountered at the border.

“I’m honored to be a guest of Speaker Mike Johnson at the State of the Union. I am so glad that my efforts to share Kayla’s story and bring awareness to what is happening at the border are being recognized,” Nobles said in a statement. “I will continue fighting and demanding accountability for what is happening at the border. I hope positive changes will occur in the future to save many lives. Something must change.”

BIDEN, DURING VISIT TO OVERWHELMED BORDER, URGES REPUBLICANS TO BACK SENATE BILL: ‘TIME TO ACT’ 

Turner described fentanyl, which can be fatal in tiny doses and is primarily made in Mexico and smuggled across the U.S. border, as a “clandestine killer.”

“While I carry the pain of losing my only son, Tucker, I also represent all the families who have to learn to live life again after the death of their loved one. It is absolutely heartbreaking. We are so disgusted that more is not being done to stop this war on the American people. We have had enough,” she said in a statement. “We must do more to educate our youth and communities!”

Republicans have tied the three-year crisis to the policies of the administration, including narrowed interior enforcement, catch-and-release and a reversal of Trump-era policies.

Biden, who last week visited the border in Brownsville, Texas, has said Congress needs to pass reforms and provide more funding. He has backed a bipartisan Senate bill, which has failed to drum up enough support to pass. 

DUELING BIDEN, TRUMP VISITS TO BESIEGED BORDER COME AMID FRESH SLEW OF VIOLENT CRIMES BY ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

The deal includes $1.4 billion in funding to cities and NGOs receiving migrants, action to tackle fentanyl smuggling and a limit on asylum claims. It would also increase detention beds to 50,000 and provide additional immigration judges. However, conservatives have opposed it, saying it is insufficient and that it would normalize high levels of illegal immigration. House Republicans have called for the passage of the GOP border legislation passed in the House last year, instead.

But Biden said it was “time to act.”

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“Folks, the bipartisan border security bill is a win for the American people and a win for the people of Texas, and it’s fair for those who legitimately have a right to come here,” Biden said.

“The U.S. Senate needs to reconsider this bill and those senators who oppose it need to set politics aside and pass it on the merits, not on whether it’s going to benefit one party or another party,” he said, also calling for Johnson to put it on the floor in the House.

The White House told Fox News Digital when reached for comment Tuesday, “Speaker Johnson is making the case for the toughest bipartisan border security deal in modern history, which [the] President worked with Republicans and Democrats to deliver, but the Speaker is obstructing. Instead of choosing fentanyl traffickers, human smugglers, and Donald Trump over the Border Patrol and America’s national security, Speaker Johnson should join President Biden in supporting the safety of our communities.”

EXCLUSIVE: Former President Trump, reacting to Super Tuesday primary victories, told Fox News Digital that it is a “great evening,” and that it is his “honor to represent not just the Republican Party but our country in leading it back to health and prosperity.” 

Trump, the GOP frontrunner, won Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Texas, Massachusetts, Colorado, Maine, Alabama, Arkansas, and Minnesota by 9:45 p.m. ET Tuesday night. 

TRUMP, BIDEN SWEEPING SUPER TUESDAY, NIKKI HALEY TRAILING BEHIND ON ELECTION NIGHT

“It is a great evening,” Trump told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview after races were called in his favor in 11 states, and while awaiting race calls and polls closing in others. 

“Rarely has politics seen anything quite like this,” he said. 

Trump added: “It is my honor to represent not just the Republican Party but our country in leading it back to health and prosperity.” 

Trump’s reaction came after 11 states were called. The Fox News Decision Desk is still awaiting race calls in Vermont, and poll closures in Alaska, Utah, and California. 

TRUMP SAYS SUPREME COURT RULING IN COLORADO CASE IS ‘UNIFYING AND INSPIRATIONAL’

Trump’s major Super Tuesday primary victories come after he dominated the Iowa caucuses, left New Hampshire with a commanding victory, swept caucuses in Nevada and the U.S. Virgin Islands, won South Carolina with a “bigger win” than he anticipated, and won Michigan. 

Trump won GOP contests in Missouri, Idaho, and Michigan over the weekend, and North Dakota Monday.

Trump, in a speech at his Super Tuesday Victory Party at Mar-a-Lago, blasted President Biden as “the worst president in the history of our country.” 

“There has never been anything like what’s happening to our country,” Trump said, pointing to the crisis at the southern border. 

The former president, during the speech, said he is focused on efforts to “unify this country and unify this party.” 

“We have a great Republican Party with tremendous talent and we want to have unity and we’re going to have unity and going to happen very quickly,” Trump said. “I have been saying lately, success will bring unity to our country.” 

Trump added: “Our country was coming together. Our country was coming together. And now we have a very divided country.” 

Trump called Election Day on Nov. 5 “the single most important day in the history of our country.” 

“We’re going to take it and make it like it should be… right now our country is known as a joke,” Trump said. 

Trump reflected on the successes of his first term, including energy independence, the economy and foreign policy. 

The former president said some claimed his personality would “cause wars.” 

“No, my personality is going to keep us out of wars — and that’s what happened,” Trump said referring to his presidency and how it impacted the global stage. “For 20 years they were fighting ISIS. I defeated ISIS in four weeks. We got rid of ISIS 100%.”

Trump said there has “never been an administration that had more success in so many different elements.” 

“We got the largest tax cuts in history. We have the largest regulation cuts in history. We rebuilt our military,” Trump said. 

Trump vowed, if elected to a second term, to “take back our country.” 

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“We are going to have the greatest economy ever in the history of our country. We’re going to top what we did. We are going to become an energy center of the world,” he said. “We’re going to pay off debt. We’re going to do things that nobody thought was possible.” 

Trump added: “But we’re going to win this election because we have no choice. If we lose the election, we’re not going to have a country.” 

Patricia “Pat” Collins, a civic-minded matriarch who raised six children, including Republican Sen. Susan Collins, and led a life of public service, died Tuesday at age 96, the senator announced.

Pat Collins was raised in Port Jervis, New York, after coming to the United States as a girl from Colombia, and she put down roots in Maine after attending the University of Maine, marrying husband Donald in 1948, starting a family and becoming the first woman to be elected mayor in Caribou and a chair of the University of Maine System Board of Trustees.

SUSAN COLLINS, KEY SENATE GOP MODERATE, WON’T BACK TRUMP IN 2024

She also was an artist who painted watercolor portraits of her husband’s colleagues in the Maine Senate, earned an art degree from the University of Maine at Presque Isle and was “a fabulous cook who published two cookbooks,” the senator said.

Democratic Gov. Janet Mills called Pat Collins “a friend and trailblazer” who loved her state, “especially her cherished Aroostook County.”

“Pat will be remembered for her extraordinary character, marked by grace and integrity. She leaves behind a deep legacy of service,” Mills wrote in a statement.

Pat Collins found time for many other public service-minded posts while raising her family. She served on the advisory committee of the Maine Public Broadcasting Network, as a court-appointed special advocate for children and chair of the Catholic Charities Maine Board of Directors and the Catholic Foundation of Maine Board of Trustees.

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She was married for 70 years to her husband, who died in 2018. Surviving are five other children in addition to the senator, 11 grandchildren and several great-grandchildren.

Lawyers for Former President Trump filed motions Tuesday night for a new trial in the E. Jean Carroll case, arguing that the court limited his testimony during the trial last month, while stressing that statements he made about her allegations were meant to “defend his reputation, protect his family, and defend his Presidency.” 

Trump’s legal team filed two motions Tuesday night–one for judgment in Trump’s favor and one for a new trial.

TRUMP ORDERED TO PAY MORE THAN $80 MILLION IN E. JEAN CARROLL DEFAMATION TRIAL

A federal jury decided last month that Trump must pay E. Jean Carroll more than $83 million in damages after he denied allegations he raped her in the 1990s. The jury decided Trump must pay $18.3 million in compensatory damages, and $65 million in punitive damages.

In their motion for judgment in Trump’s favor, attorneys for the 2024 GOP frontrunner argue that Carroll failed to establish Trump’s statements caused harm to Carroll. 

“It is readily apparent that the jury’s findings were based on ‘confusion, speculation or prejudice’ as opposed to the ‘evidence presented at trial,’” they wrote. 

In their motion for a new trial, Trump’s lawyers argue that the court severely limited the former president’s testimony, which they say influenced the jury’s verdict. 

Trump’s lawyers stressed that he made statements about Carroll in an effort to “defend his reputation, protect his family, and defend his Presidency.”

TRUMP DEFENDS HIMSELF ON THE STAND, BLASTS E JEAN CARROLL TRIAL: ‘THIS IS NOT AMERICA’

A federal jury in New York City decided last year that Trump was not liable for rape, but was liable for sexual abuse and defamation. The former president was ordered to pay $5 million in that trial.

“Absolutely ridiculous! I fully disagree with both verdicts, and will be appealing this whole Biden Directed Witch Hunt focused on me and the Republican Party,” Trump posted on his TRUTH Social shortly after the verdict was read. “Our Legal System is out of control, and being used as a Political Weapon. They have taken away all First Amendment Rights.” 

Trump added: “THIS IS NOT AMERICA!”

Carroll, who alleged that Trump raped her at the Bergdorf Goodman department store across from Trump Tower in Manhattan sometime in 1996, was seeking $12 million.

Trump, the 2024 GOP frontrunner, has repeatedly and vehemently denied the allegation. His denial resulted in Carroll slapping Trump with a defamation lawsuit, claiming that his response caused harm to her reputation. 

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The jury found Carroll was injured as a result of statements Trump made while in the White House in June 2019. 

The jury awarded Carroll $7.3 million in compensatory damages, other than the reputational repair program, and $11 million in damages for the reputational repair program. The jury found Trump’s statements were made to harm Carroll and awarded her $65 million in punitive damages. In total, the jury said Carroll should be paid $83.3 million. 

Fifteen states and one U.S. territory are holding presidential primaries this evening.

President Biden only faces nominal opposition on Democratic primary ballots, and barring any surprises, could get close to securing his party’s nomination tonight.

On the Republican side, 35% of the total delegates at stake will be settled.

SUPER TUESDAY: LIVE UPDATES

Former President Trump comes into the race with formidable advantages. He has six times as many delegates as Haley, and has polled well ahead of her in recent national surveys.

Haley will be hoping for an upset to make this race competitive, and even if she doesn’t, she is likely to walk away with some delegates, thanks to varying rules.

But regardless of the overall result, the vote count in certain parts of the country tonight will tell us something about Republican voters in 2024.

1. Will counties with high college-educated populations still trend Haley?

College education has been a useful indicator of Haley support so far this year. 

SUPER TUESDAY EXPECTED TO BOOST TRUMP CLOSER TO CLINCHING GOP NOMINATION AS HALEY MAKES POSSIBLE LAST STAND

In New Hampshire, 56% of GOP primary voters who graduated from college cast a ballot for Haley, according to the Fox News Voter Analysis. She ran about even with Trump on college-educated voters in South Carolina.

That makes these counties, which have the highest share of residents with a college degree, worth watching:

1. Falls Church, Virginia – 78.5%
2. Arlington County, Virginia – 74.6%
3. Pitkin County, Colorado – 63.1%
4. Alexandria, Virginia – 62.1%
5. Fairfax County, Virginia – 61.1%

Four of these five counties are in D.C. suburban areas; the other is best known as the home of the luxury ski resort, Aspen.

Haley will look to run up the score as much as possible in places like these.

TRUMP HITS BACK AT NIKKI HALEY’S CLAIM THAT SHE’S A BETTER CHOICE TO BEAT BIDEN: ‘SHE KNOWS IT’S A LIE’

Conversely, the counties with the lowest college degree populations:

1. Loving County, Texas – 0%
2. Kenedy County, Texas – 0.1%
3. Hudspeth County, Texas – 0.1%
4. Frio County, Texas – 0.1%
5. Morgan County, Texas – 0.1%

All of these areas are likely to lean heavily towards Trump.

All five of these Texas counties, predominantly in the southwest of the state, are rural counties with especially small populations.

2. Will northeast Republicans continue to buck the party trend?

Several northeastern states, including Vermont, Massachusetts, and Maine are voting today.

All three have become further out of reach of the GOP in the Trump era.

And Republican voters, particularly in the urban and suburban areas of these states, should be more favorable to Haley.

Those areas have a higher proportion of wealthy and, as discussed above, college-educated voters, who trend Haley.

Her best chance is in Vermont; a great night for her would make her competitive in the other northeastern states.

The former South Carolina governor has held events in all three in the last week.

At an event in Needham, Massachusetts, Haley brought moderate New Hampshire governor Chris Sununu along with her.

HALEY QUESTIONS WHETHER TRUMP WILL FOLLOW CONSTITUTION, BACKTRACKS ON PLEDGE TO SUPPORT GOP NOMINEE

3. Can Haley win Virginia?

Haley got her first win of the primary season in Washington, D.C. on Sunday night.

Today, voters in neighboring Virginia will also have their say, giving Haley an opportunity to pick up more delegates.

The closer to D.C., the better chance Haley has to run up the vote.

In particular, look to:

• Fairfax County (Rubio +15)
• Loudoun County (Rubio +13)
• Prince William County (Rubio +2)

The references to Rubio in brackets show how many points the Florida Senator won each county by in 2016; Haley generally appeals to the same kinds of voters now as he did then.

Further down the state, Haley also has opportunities in Henrico County, Chesterfield County, Albemarle County, and James City.

She will need to do as much as she can in those areas, since the rest of the state contains dozens of heavily Trump-skewing, rural counties.

4. Has Trump remolded Utah?

Utah was one of Trump’s weakest states in the 2016 primaries.

His chief rival in that election, Sen. Ted Cruz, dominated statewide, with 69% of the vote and all 40 delegates on offer then.

Trump came third, after former Ohio Governor John Kasich, with 14% of the vote and no county wins.

Trump went on to win the state in the general election, but his margin shrunk by 27 points compared to Mitt Romney’s performance in the state four years prior (thanks in part to a challenge from independent candidate Evan McMullin).

He added 13 points back to his margin in the 2020 general election.

Now, in 2024, Trump is the favorite to win this primary. Watch the statewide margin to see how much the former president has been able to reshape the party.

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5. How high will Trump’s margin be in rural America?

Over 2,000 counties are voting today, and 84% of them are in rural areas.

Collectively, they add up to a powerful voting bloc.

Trump has dominated with these voters since 2016, and is expected to do so again tonight.

Watch for the results in the lowest populated parts of west Texas, Alabama, and Oklahoma, especially. 

Of all the Super Tuesday states, these parts of the country have skewed the most Republican in recent general elections.

Former Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s spokesman called Congress a “circus” filled with “clowns” in response to a House committee subpoenaing the former New York leader over his COVID-19 nursing home policies. 

“Congress is officially a circus, and they are nothing but clowns,” Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi said in a statement posted to X on Wednesday.

“This is on them, not us,” Azzopardi said in the statement. “The Governor’s counsel two weeks ago provided dates for an interview and even offered to have any questions answered in writing prior to.”

The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic announced it subpoenaed Cuomo on Tuesday to testify on May 24 regarding coronavirus policies and nursing homes. The former governor came under fire in 2020 when he ordered nursing homes to accept recovering COVID patients, which critics argued fanned the flames of deaths in nursing homes during the pandemic. 

HOUSE COMMITTEE SUBPOENAS ANDREW CUOMO OVER COVID-19 NURSING HOME POLICIES

The committee told the former New York governor that the “misguided decision effectively admitted thousands of COVID-19 positive patients into nursing homes, causing predictable but deadly consequences for New York’s most vulnerable.”

Azzopardi continued in his statement that Cuomo’s policies had previously been reviewed by DOJ leaders under both the Trump and Biden administrations, as well as Congress, and that the subpoena is a “press charade.” 

“This is an obvious press charade: they issue a subpoena as a press release,” he wrote. 

BILL MAHER CONFRONTS CUOMO ON NURSING HOME SCANDAL, EX-NY GOV CALLS QUESTIONS ‘MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACKING’

“The simple fact remains that this issue has been reviewed three times by the Department of Justice under Trump and Biden, as well as Congress and the Manhattan District Attorney who found no there there [sic],” Azzopardi said in the statement. “New York followed the guidance put forth by the Trump administration in March of 2020 — as did other Democratic and Republican states. If they have a problem with that, they should look in the mirror. Congress knows this, but it’s not about the facts, this is about politics.”

Azzopardi provided Fox News Digital with a letter sent by Cuomo’s attorney Rita Glavin to Subcommittee Chair Brad Wenstrup, outlining that she had provided four dates for an August interview and that she had not heard back from the office until this week. 

“Pursuant to a conversation with your staff on February 12, 2024, in a February 21, 2024 email we provided four dates (August 6, 7, 13 or 14) that both Governor Cuomo and I are available for such an interview,” Glavin wrote in the letter, dated Monday. 

EX-GOV. ANDREW CUOMO FACES NEW LAWSUIT ALLEGING ‘UNMITIGATED GREED’ CONTRIBUTED TO NURSING HOME DEATHS

She continued that she had not heard back from the office until Monday, and asked Wenstrup to “reconsider issuing a subpoena.” 

“Specifically, earlier today, staff members asked me to accept electronic service of a subpoena to compel Governor Cuomo’s attendance for testimony. Given Governor Cuomo’s stated willingness to appear voluntarily for a transcribed interview, we ask that you reconsider issuing a subpoena,” she wrote. 

“To be clear, Gov. Cuomo has been and remains cooperative,” she added. 

Cuomo stepped down as governor in 2021 amid accusations of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior. 

He has previously defended New York’s COVID policies regarding nursing homes as following guidance from the federal government.

FORMER NY GOVERNOR RE-EMERGES AS CRITIC ON DEMS’ FAR-LEFT POLICIES, FUELING COMEBACK SPECULATION

“If you think there was a mistake, then go talk to the federal government,” he said at a press conference in 2021. “It’s not about pointing fingers or blame, this became a political football.” 

Wenstrup wrote that “[t]he Select Subcommittee specifically requested your testimony because it was your administration that issued the March 25, 2020 nursing home order stating, in relevant part, that ‘[n]o resident shall be denied re-admission or admission to the [nursing home] solely based on confirmed or suspect[ed] diagnosis of COVID-19.’”

“Of course, you have argued — even after leaving office — that the March 25 Order was consistent with CMS and CDC guidance. In addition, you have argued that it was the nursing home staff — not your Administration’s order — that was responsible for the resulting deaths in the nursing homes,” Wenstrup continued. 

Azzopardi concluded in his statement that Congress continues to “play politics” with the pandemic while war rages in Ukraine. 

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“Do your job: Ukrainian soldiers are throwing stones at Russian tanks because we haven’t sent ammunition, and we still don’t have a budget. Instead, they continue to play politics with Covid and weaponize people’s pain and loss of loved ones,” he wrote. 

Fox News’ Greg Norman, Andrea Vacchiano, Tyler Olson, Rich Edson contributed to this report. 

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

What’s Happening? 

– AOC calls on activists to make politicians ‘uncomfortable’

– McConnell in talks to endorse Trump in 2024

– Biden trying to ‘trigger’ Trump in new election strategy

CATCH THE LATEST SUPER TUESDAY RESULTS ON FOX NEWS 

Where is Nikki Haley’s best chance at winning a primary on Tuesday? Check out the five areas to watch as Super Tuesday results come in.

Moving Out, Moving In

The lead-up to Super Tuesday has seen a shakeup in the political landscape, beyond just the presidential primaries.

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema rocked the Senate campaign landscape when she announced on Super Tuesday that she will not seek re-election in Arizona. The move from Sinema, who switched her party affiliation from Democrat to independent in 2022, leaves the race narrowed between Republican candidate Kari Lake and Democrat Ruben Gallego. 

“Our democracy was weakened by government dysfunction and the constant pull to the extremes by both political parties,” Sinema said in a video announcement posted to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. “I promised I would do my best to fix it.”

On the Republican side of the Senate, one of the biggest political endorsements of the year hangs in the balance. 

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s office and Trump’s presidential campaign have been in talks over a possible endorsement, as well as a strategy to unite Republicans just eight months away from the November election, according to The Associated Press, citing a person familiar with the situation.

McConnell is currently the highest-ranking Republican in Congress who has yet to back the former president’s bid to return to the White House.

White House

‘ACCEPT THE REALITY’: Hillary Clinton tells people to ‘accept the reality’ that Joe Biden is old …Read more

Capitol Hill

TASTE OF HER OWN MEDICINE: FLASHBACK: AOC calls on activists to make politicians ‘uncomfortable’ …Read more

NUMBER 2: GOP senator makes bid for 2nd in command amid McConnell successor speculation …Read more

COURT ORDER: Chip Roy unveils bill to let Americans sue COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers for injuries …Read more

STATE OF THE UNION: Johnson’s invites mom of woman allegedly murdered by MS-13 member to Biden’s big speech …Read more

Tales from the Campaign Trail

BIDEN ON THE ATTACK?: Biden trying to ‘trigger Trump’ with new election strategy …Read more

TRUMP’S SUPER TUESDAY?: Super Tuesday results expected to move President Biden and former President Trump much closer to an all-but-certain general election rematch …Read more

‘LAST RITES’: Mark Cuban would support Biden at ‘his last wake’ …Read more

Across America

‘COMING AFTER US’: Georgia prosecutor alleges Fani Willis asked Bradley not to testify on affair …Read more

GEORGIA FIRE: Federal agency asserts water rights in Georgia wildlife refuge …Read more

‘FIRST AMENDMENT SIN’: Federal court rules on DeSantis’ ‘Stop WOKE Act,’ whether banning DEI violates Constitution …Read more

LETTING ‘EM GO: Dem border state governor vetoes bill allowing police to arrest illegals …Read more

11 AGAINST 1: Soft-on-crime DA Gascon faces primary challengers …Read more

‘ZERO FAITH’: Colorado Republicans threaten secretary of state with recall after Trump wins at Supreme Court …Read more

‘BETRAYED DEMOCRACY’: Furious Keith Olbermann calls for Supreme Court to be ‘dissolved’ over Trump ruling …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.

An individual on the terror watchlist was apprehended illegally crossing the Texas border last month, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) sources confirmed to Fox News. 

Carlos Obed Yepez-Bedoya, 40, was caught by Texas Department of Public Safety agents on Feb. 21 crossing near Eagle Pass. 

Customs and Border Protection sources confirmed to Fox News Digital that the Colombian national is registered on the FBI’s terror watchlist.

CBP sources told Fox News Digital that Yepez-Bedoya was a “positive match” on the terror watchlist but did not name the terror organization.

WASHINGTON POST EDITORIAL BOARD SAYS BIDEN SHOULD IGNORE LIBERAL ‘WISH LISTS,’ SECURE BORDER TO BEAT TRUMP

The arrest was made just days before President Biden and former President Donald Trump arrived in the Lone Star State to survey the ongoing illegal immigration crisis. Trump visited Eagle Pass, and Biden traveled to Brownsville.

“This underscores the need for border security measures as potential threats to both public safety and national security are evident and exploit security vulnerabilities,” Texas DPS Lt. Chris Olivarez told the New York Post.

POLLS SHOW BIDEN FACING ‘ENTHUSIASM GAP’ HEADING INTO 2024 ELECTION SEASON

Olivarez continued, “The federal government has failed to enact border security measures, and the state of Texas, through Gov. Abbott’s Operation Lone Star, will continue to take unprecedented action to help secure the border.”

Biden, during his visit to the southern border on Thursday, renewed his calls for Republicans to back a bipartisan Senate border agreement – as illegal immigration continues to be a major political headache for the administration and he seeks to shift blame to Republicans for the crisis.

“It’s real simple, it’s time to act, it is long past time to act,” the president said. “It’s time for us to move on this, we can’t wait any longer.”

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The visit, which coincided with Trump’s visit to the border in Eagle Pass, Texas, comes as illegal immigration has become a major 2024 election issue and remains a thorny issue for the administration. Polls show that more than half of Americans think large numbers of illegal immigrants entering the U.S. represent a critical threat to the country.

The crisis, now into its third year, has smashed multiple records with more than 2.4 million encounters in FY 23 and over 300,000 in December alone – breaking the record for monthly encounters.

Trump declared the Mexican border a “war zone” under Biden, lamenting the lack of cooperation from Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and ripping Democratic governors of border states as the migrant deluge pivots to their lands.

Fox News’ Adam Shaw and Charles Creitz contributed to this report.

Michelle Obama will not launch a bid for the White House amid rumors that the former first lady was eyeing a presidential run, according to her office.

“As former First Lady Michelle Obama has expressed several times over the years, she will not be running for president,” Crystal Carson, the director of communications for Obama’s office, said in a statement provided to ITK on Tuesday.

Obama supports President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, her office said. Fox News Digital has reached out to Obama’s communication team. 

DEMS ONE STEP CLOSER TO REPLACE BIDEN WITH MICHELLE OBAMA AFTER DAMMING REPORT, RAMASWAMY SAYS

Rumors of Obama’s candidacy came as questions about Biden’s mental capacity continue to swirl. The rumors began to circulate after some Republicans floated the idea that she could replace Biden on the November ballot. 

Some political commentators said the former first lady has the best chance of beating former President Donald Trump, who is the leading candidate to secure the GOP presidential nomination. 

Biden is struggling with low poll numbers amid concerns from Republicans and some Democrats about his age and ability to lead the country. 

In 2019, Obama said there was “zero chance” she would run for president. 

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“Just between us, and the readers of this magazine — there’s zero chance,” Obama told Amtrak’s magazine The National. “There are so many ways to improve this country and build a better world, and I keep doing plenty of them, from working with young people to helping families lead healthier lives. But sitting behind the desk in the Oval Office will never be one of them. It’s just not for me.”

In a blow to the Biden administration’s effort to increase corporate transparency, an Alabama federal district judge has ruled that the Treasury Department cannot require small business owners to report details on their owners and others who benefit from the business.

U.S. District Judge Liles C. Burke decided late Friday that the Corporate Transparency Act, a landmark U.S. anti-money laundering law enacted as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2021, is unconstitutional on the grounds that Congress exceeded its powers in enacting the law — and so the rulemaking stemming from it is unlawful.

The National Small Business Association filed suit in November 2022 to block the requirement that tens of millions of small businesses register with the government as part of an effort to prevent the criminal abuse of anonymous shell companies.

THIS 2024 MASS DATA COLLECTION PROGRAM HAS BEGUN AND GOVERNMENT IS TARGETING YOUR SMALL BUSINESS

The small business lobbying group argued that the reporting rule violates the Constitution, saying it is unduly burdensome on small firms, violates privacy and free-speech protections and infringes on states’ powers to govern businesses.

The legal challenge points to the friction between maintaining privacy rights and the government’s effort to uncover sources of criminal activity, especially as the U.S. has attempted to sanction Russian oligarchs and wealthy friends of Russian President Vladimir Putin following the start of his invasion of Ukraine.

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Burke, appointed to the federal court by former President Donald Trump, called the Corporate Transparency Act “congressional overreach” and wrote that “the Corporate Transparency Act is unconstitutional because it cannot be justified as an exercise of Congress’ enumerated powers.”

A Treasury spokesperson said, “Congress overwhelmingly voted to enact the bipartisan Corporate Transparency Act in 2021 to crack down on illicit shell companies and combat financial crime. We are complying with the Court’s injunction” and referred The Associated Press to the Justice Department for further inquiries.

Ian Gary, executive director of the FACT Coalition, a nonprofit that promotes corporate transparency, said in an email that “this is a pro-crime, pro-drug cartel, pro-fentanyl ruling which undermines the rule of law and allows criminals to use anonymous shell companies to hide their dirty money from law enforcement.”

A co-defendant in the 2020 Georgia election interference case says a new witness is prepared to testify against Fani Willis should evidence be re-opened in her disqualification proceedings. 

David Shafer, a former Georgia Republican Party chairman, filed a notice of proposed testimony in Fulton County Superior Court announcing that Cindi Lee Yeager, a co-chief deputy district attorney for Cobb County, stands ready to appear as a witness, FOX 5 Atlanta reported. 

According to the filing, Yeager claims to have had “numerous” interactions with the defense’s star witness, Terrence Bradley, and can corroborate his claims that Willis began an affair with special prosecutor Nathan Wade years earlier than they both claimed.

“Mr. Wade had definitively begun a romantic relationship with Ms. Willis during the time that Ms. Willis was running for District Attorney in 2019 through 2020,” a summary of Yeager’s proposed testimony states.

TRUMP LAWYERS MAKE CLOSING ARGUMENTS IN DA FANI WILLIS ‘IMPROPER’ AFFAIR ALLEGATIONS: ‘IRREPARABLE STAIN’

The motion informs the court that Yeager contacted Shafer’s counsel after watching Bradley’s testimony. She told the attorneys about alleged in-person and other conversations she had with Bradley from August 2023 through January 2024, during which they discussed Willis and Wade. 

Bradley, Wade’s former law partner and divorce attorney, allegedly told Yeager that Willis and Wade initiated their romantic relationship shortly after meeting at the 2019 Municipal Court Continuing Legal Education Conference, and that it continued through 2020, while Willis campaigned for district attorney. 

Yeager alleges Bradley shared that he had “personal knowledge” of the affair and included details regarding the use of Robin Yeartie’s apartment and other meetings before November 2021, when Wade and Willis claim their relationship started.

The Cobb County prosecutor also claims she overheard a September 2023 phone conversation between Willis and Bradley discussing an article about how much money Wade and his law firm had earned from working on the election interference case. 

FULTON COUNTY DA FANI WILLIS ACCUSED OF LYING ABOUT TIMING OF AFFAIR WITH TRUMP PROSECUTOR

During this alleged conversation, which took place before Bradley was subpoenaed as a witness against Willis, Yeager claims she heard the district attorney tell Bradley, “They are coming after us. You don’t need to talk to them about anything about us.”

The motion states Yeager agreed to come forward after seeing how Bradley’s testimony during Willis’ disqualification hearing did not match what he had purportedly told her. 

“Therefore, in the event that the Court re-opens the hearing to receive additional evidence, as requested by the State and Defendant former President Trump, Mr. Shafer requests that the defense be permitted to subpoena Ms. Yeager and present Ms. Yeager’s testimony relating to the matters set forth herein,” the motion states.

It is unclear if Judge Scott McAfee will reopen evidence to allow Yeager’s testimony to be admitted. 

KEY WITNESS IN FANI WILLIS CASE TESTIFIES HE MAY HAVE LIED IN TEXTS ABOUT FRIENDS’ AFFAIR

The judge heard closing arguments Friday on allegations that Willis benefited financially from her affair with Wade and should be disqualified from her case against former President Donald Trump. 

Willis and her office are leading the sweeping racketeering cases against the former president and 18 co-defendants. Several co-defendants, including Shafer and Michael Roman, earlier this year accused Willis of hiring Wade while they were romantically involved and that she benefited from his government salary through lavish vacations they took together. 

Willis and Wade have both denied the allegations and have claimed their romantic involvement started after Wade was hired in 2021. Willis claimed in court testimony that she would always reimburse Wade for her portion of their shared travels in cash. There are no receipts for those reimbursements, and one witness claimed their relationship started as early as 2019. 

Last month, Bradley testified under oath regarding what he knew about Willis and Wade’s personal relationship. He took the stand after McAfee determined Bradley could not claim attorney-client privilege.

Bradley, when pressed under oath, said he could not recall several details and timelines about conversations he had with former client Wade about Wade’s romantic relationship with Willis.

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Bradley said he could not recall key details or specific information more than two dozen times in the roughly two-hour testimony in Fulton County Superior Court on Tuesday. He also said he had only ever discussed Wade’s relationship with Willis once with Wade.

After hearing all the arguments and testimony, McAfee said he would issue a decision in the next two weeks. 

Fox News’ Brianna Herilhy contributed to this report.

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, currently in the middle of a contentious Republican Senate primary race, is touting a key endorsement from a prominent pro-Second Amendment group in the state and making the case that he is the strongest candidate when it comes to gun rights.

“I have stood up to fight for gun rights when it’s hard,” LaRose told Fox News Digital. “It’s easy to say you’re a pro-gun conservative on the campaign trail. Everybody’s going to say that. But when you’re actually standing up on the Senate floor to cast a vote and people in the gallery are yelling terrible things about you, and you still do the right thing, that demonstrates who you are.”

LaRose was recently endorsed in the race by the Buckeye Firearms Association, the largest grassroots pro-Second Amendment group in the state, and told Fox News Digital he believes his record on guns tops the other Republicans in the field, businessman Bernie Moreno and state Sen. Matt Dolan.

“Four years ago, Mr. Moreno recorded a video mocking gun owners and saying, you know, ‘Who needed 100 bullets to shoot a deer?’ Which is a profound misunderstanding of what the Second Amendment is actually for. When he says that you should be able to classify guns like you rank, like you rate movies, kind of makes this bizarre comparison to pornography and says, guns should be rated PG, R and not R, He’s really mirroring some long-standing leftist talking points on gun control.” 

GOP SENATOR ENDORSES TRUMP-BACKED OHIO SENATE CANDIDATE TO FACE VULNERABLE DEMOCRAT

LaRose was referring to a 2019 interview, that his campaign has posted on social media, comparing it to messaging from Democrats, where Moreno said he doesn’t believe in taking guns away but questioned why someone needs “100 bullets at time” and asked how “you are going to eat a deer that has 100 bullets in it?”

LaRose also questioned Moreno’s six-year tenure as a board member of a Cleveland Foundation that gave money to a Michael Bloomberg-linked anti-gun group, suggesting that Moreno should have resigned in protest when the foundation gave money to liberal causes. 

GOP SENATE CANDIDATE IN BATTLEGROUND STATE RAILS AGAINST VULNERABLE DEM INCUMBENT: ‘OUT OF TOUCH’

“I think he was showing us who he really is,” LaRose said. “I think that a lot of the other groups recognize that that’s not genuine. That’s why folks like Buckeye Firearms are endorsing me and no one else for the race.“

Moreno told Fox News Digital that he is a lifetime member of the NRA, received the highest rating a non-incumbent can receive from BFA, criticized LaRose for supporting No Labels in the past, and said it is “stupid” and “desperate” to imply that he was mocking gun owners in the 2019 interview, which he called an attempt to “fool” Ohio voters.

“The reality is I was born in Colombia, South America,” Moreno, who has been endorsed by former President Donald Trump, said. “I understand exactly why we have a Second Amendment. That’s not confusing to me. It’s to protect from the tyranny of government and what we’ve seen over the last three years, especially with COVID, government overreach is exactly what happens when you have a population that’s not armed.” 

“From my point of view, I look at my wife, we have guns in the car, guns that we carry on ourselves because we get death threats and all kinds of lunatics. So a gun that has 100 bullets, I look at it as 100 chances for my wife to survive. So I completely understand it. Frank’s trying to take something that was said obviously in jest in a podcast years and years and years ago where I wasn’t in public office, I wasn’t somebody making public policy.”

LaRose also criticized Dolan for his previous support of a “red flag” law in the state.

“Dolan is well known as an anti-gun guy,” LaRose told Fox News Digital. “He literally sponsored the red flag law in Ohio. He wrote it and introduced it, I think twice, that would allow firearms confiscation. This was a bill that was so liberal that, of course, it didn’t go anywhere in our state legislature. But when it comes to gun rights, both of my opponents have shown themselves to be weak on this issue, and I’ve demonstrated the opposite.”

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Dolan campaign spokesperson Brad Miller defended Dolan’s record on gun rights. 

“Matt Dolan has a strong Second Amendment record, including supporting the Castle Doctrine, concealed carry, and constitutional carry,” Miller said. 

“Matt stands with law enforcement fighting to keep suicidal and homicidal individuals from purchasing a gun and enhancing straw purchase laws to keep guns out of criminal hands. Frank LaRose can explain to Ohioans why he thinks those individuals who want to harm fellow citizens should be able to purchase a gun.”

LaRose told Fox News Digital that gun rights are a key issue in the Buckeye State, where hunting, freedom and being self-sufficient are important to voters.

“We’re a state with people that don’t want to simply rely, although we support law enforcement and we’re all about protecting our men and women in blue, we want to be able to take care of protecting our families ourselves,” LaRose explained. “Because maybe sometimes, you live a long way from the police station, and if you are in jeopardy or your family’s in jeopardy, you believe in being able to protect yourself and these are all values that Ohioans hold dear, and it’s not just an urban or rural issue.”

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Polling in late January by Emerson College suggested all three candidates are essentially tied. Polling released by the Moreno campaign this week showed him holding a 10-point lead but also showed that 27% of voters are undecided with just a couple weeks left before the primary.

Ohioans will decide on Tuesday, March 19, which candidate will become the GOP nominee to square off against incumbent Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown in a race the Cook Political Report rates as a “toss up” and which will have a significant impact on Republican attempts to take back control of the U.S. Senate.

LaRose told Fox News Digital that voters he speaks to are “fearful” that a Republican who isn’t strong on the Second Amendment will go up against Brown, who he says is in lockstep with Biden on an anti-gun agenda.

“This is why when I hold my campaign events around the state, I’ve got a lot of pro-gun people showing up because they know when it comes to this issue, there’s only one candidate they can really trust,” LaRose said.

“There are a lot of good Second Amendment advocates in Ohio who support our agenda,” Dean Rieck, executive director of Buckeye Firearms Association, told Fox News Digital. “However, Frank LaRose is a longtime partner who has always gone the extra mile to improve our laws and protect the rights of Ohio’s 4 million gun owners. He’ll be a great senator representing us in Washington, D.C.”