NationalWatch

Another Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) member just toppled the party establishment’s preferred candidate, this time in Florida.

Florida state lawmaker Angie Nixon, who recently disrupted a vote in the Florida Legislature with a bullhorn protest inside the state Capitol, defeated establishment-backed candidate Alexander Vindman. 

Nixon, a progressive activist and DSA member, defeated the retired Air Force officer by more than 10 percentage points despite Vindman’s $16.3 million campaign war chest compared to Nixon’s roughly $1 million.

SOCIALISTS CAPTURE MAJOR FLORIDA VICTORY ON HIT-OR-MISS NIGHT FOR TRUMP-ENDORSED PRIMARY CANDIDATES

Nixon’s viral moment came in April when she took a bullhorn to a legislative fight, walking down the aisle and disrupting proceedings on the Florida House floor during final passage of a redistricting bill backed by Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Dressed in a pink jumpsuit and carrying a pink megaphone, Nixon approached the House speaker’s dais and shouted to fellow Florida representatives as the final vote was called. 

She shouted, “This is a violation of the Constitution! It is!”

Nixon continued shouting into the bullhorn for the entirety of the vote. She insisted, “What y’all are doing is illegal!” and “I will not allow you to destroy our democracy!” As she shouted, several colleagues filmed her on their phones.

The protest did not stop the vote. While she continued shouting, “You are out of order!” and “This is a violation of the Constitution,” the Florida House granted final approval of the redistricting bill in an 83-28 vote.

A month later, WUSF reported that Nixon was arrested after she refused to leave DeSantis’ office while protesting the redistricting measure. She was released shortly afterward.

WUSF previously reported that Nixon self-identified as a member of the DSA.

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Nixon also publicly objected to resolutions honoring the late Charlie Kirk. In a September social media post, Nixon called it “BEYOND disrespectful” to honor Kirk because, as she wrote, “that man said some of the most hateful about [sic] Black People and cloaked it in scripture.”

Nixon claimed if someone supported honoring Kirk, “you are a tool of white supremacy.” After his assassination, Nixon also claimed that Kirk was “homophobic, antisemitic, [and] misogynistic.”

On her campaign website, Nixon vows to fight for what she calls a “working families guarantee,” which she says includes Medicare-for-all, free childcare, a national rent freeze, a moratorium on evictions and a universal jobs program with inflation-adjusted wages. 

Her website says the government could pay for the programs by taxing billionaires “so that everyone pays their fair share” and by prioritizing “the needs of everyday Americans instead of spending trillions on war and violence overseas.”

Nixon also advocates for “abolishing ICE and rebuilding immigration enforcement from scratch.” 

“I don’t believe any person is illegal, and I don’t believe human beings should be treated as commodities in a system built to punish rather than to heal,” she has said.

On policing, Nixon has called for “demilitarizing policing and investing in community-based public safety, violence prevention and crisis response.”

SOCIALISTS LAUNCH RADICAL PLATFORM TO ABOLISH THE US SENATE IN BID TO FUNDAMENTALLY TRANSFORM AMERICA

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Nixon has also claimed that the U.S. has “fueled the genocide in Palestine.”

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Fox News Digital reached out to Nixon and the DSA for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Peter D’Abrosca contributed to this report.

Conservatives mocked criticism of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s son-in-law, Republican congressional candidate Michael Alfonso, over old Venmo payments with suggestive captions, arguing the notes were being taken too literally as Alfonso called the criticism “wildly dishonest” and turned it into a fundraising pitch.

A post from the DNC’s social media account, FactPost, went viral this week after highlighting Venmo payments Alfonso made with notes reading “The strippers” and “High supplies.” Alfonso responded by sharing screenshots of the payments and saying the captions were jokes.

“It’s wildly dishonest to leave out the part where the ‘strippers’ were $5 because—brace yourself—they obviously weren’t actual strippers. You can write literally anything in a Venmo note. This is called a joke—something the humorless left is incapable of comprehending,” he wrote.

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“Patriots: I would be very grateful for $5 or any amount you can contribute to my campaign. None of the proceeds go to strippers or high supplies—only toward defeating the radical left in November,” he wrote.

The exchange sparked a broader discussion about Venmo payment captions and the joking or unserious descriptions users may attach to payments, with conservatives arguing that Alfonso’s critics were reading too much into the notes.

“I have no idea if there is anything here. I do know that literally not one of my male friends has ever—ever—sent me a Venmo payment with a description that wasn’t a joke,” said National Review editor Charles C.W. Cooke.

“People thinking the Venmo comment line is an actual audit trail,” wrote Wisconsin State Representative Calvin Callahan.

YOUNG CONSERVATIVES REVEAL WHAT’S TOP OF MIND AS GOP, DEMOCRATS BATTLE FOR ‘HOPELESS’ GEN Z VOTERS

“Yeah, because people who pay strippers totally put that truthfully in Venmo,” said one user.

“BREAKING: boomers have discovered the Venmo comment section exists,” said New York Post correspondent Lydia Moynihan.

“This is such a Gen Z ‘scandal’ I’m dying Buckle up, because every incoming member of Congress under 30 is going to have something like ‘heroin — $1’ in their Venmo history,” Alfonso’s wife, Evita Duffy-Alfonso, wrote.

“The Left can’t meme, can’t take a joke, and then wonders why it keeps losing young men at the ballot box,” she added.

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“One time my wife Venmoed a bunch of our friends for their share of an Airbnb with risqué captions, got banned from the app, and had to call customer service to explain it was just a joke. Unlike the media, Venmo understood and let it go,” shared Daily Wire bureau chief Tim Rice.

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The 26-year-old congressional candidate advanced Aug. 11 in a crowded GOP primary and is set to face Democrat Fred Clark in November.

Fox News Digital reached out to Alfonso for comment.

One of the betting favorites to replace Karoline Leavitt as White House press secretary declared Wednesday that she is not in the running for the job.

The 28-year-old White House press secretary, fresh off maternity leave, announced earlier this month that she would end her tenure at the podium at the end of August to spend more time with her two young children.

As speculation continued to swirl over whom President Donald Trump would tap to succeed Leavitt, bettors on prediction market platform Kalshi began favoring Alina Habba for the role.

KAROLINE LEAVITT’S REPLACEMENT AS PRESS SECRETARY FACES ‘CRITICAL’ TEST AS MIDTERMS LOOM, TRUMP ADVISOR SAYS

Habba, who serves as senior adviser to the attorney general for U.S. attorneys, was previously floated for the position after Trump won re-election.

Bettors on Kalshi gave Habba a 35% chance of being named Leavitt’s replacement at the time before she publicly dismissed the speculation.

Habba, however, threw cold water on that idea.

“Flattered by the Kalshi odds, but I’m not in the running for any job,” Habba posted on X.

“However, if I’m getting a new one, I’d love for one of these anonymous sources to let me know first,” she continued. “Fake news remains the undefeated champ…well…until I come at them.”

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When speculation emerged about Habba potentially becoming press secretary following Trump’s 2024 election victory, she said she was “flattered” by the consideration but believed she would “be better served in other capacities.”

Habba went on to serve just over two months as counselor to the president before being appointed interim U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey. After a federal appeals court upheld a ruling that her subsequent service as acting U.S. attorney was unlawful, she resigned from the position and was later named senior adviser to the attorney general for U.S. attorneys.

Habba also previously served as Trump’s personal attorney and was a high-profile surrogate during his 2024 presidential campaign.

JIM ACOSTA DEMANDS CNN FIRE SCOTT JENNINGS AFTER ON-AIR CONFRONTATION WITH PANELIST

Following Habba’s post Wednesday, CNN political commentator Scott Jennings became the new betting favorite on Kalshi, followed by Leavitt’s deputy, Anna Kelly.

Jennings, a former aide to President George W. Bush, was also reportedly considered for the press secretary role after Trump won the 2024 election before Leavitt was ultimately selected.

Trump has touted Jennings’ recent book and referred to him as a “patriot” who “gets it.”

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“The next press secretary will undoubtedly be someone who has a strong existing relationship with President Trump,” former White House press secretary Sean Spicer previously told Fox News Digital.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Ashley J. DiMella contributed to this report.

The co-chair of New York City’s Democratic Socialists of America has railed against the wealthy and championed the working class — while living in a roughly $1.4 million Brooklyn home purchased and renovated by his parents.

Property records show that a family LLC purchased the Bed-Stuy home in 2019. Gordillo’s father, a Peruvian immigrant and successful businessman, told the New York Post that he renovated the property and allows his two sons, including the DSA co-chair, to live there.

The arrangement has drawn scrutiny because Gordillo has become a prominent voice in New York City’s democratic socialist movement while criticizing wealth, high investment returns and the affordability pressures facing working-class residents. Critics say his living arrangement — in a valuable Brooklyn property purchased and renovated by his family — undercuts that message and highlights the contrast between his political rhetoric and the financial advantages provided by his family.

DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST HEADED FOR $142K LEGISLATURE SALARY BEGS FOR RENT HANDOUT, DELETES POST AFTER BACKLASH

“Nothing says working class like a $1.4M townhouse your daddy bought you,” New York City Councilwoman Joann Ariola wrote on X.

Gordillo, a Yale graduate with an art degree, lists his occupation as a “union electrician” on social media.

Gordillo attracted controversy in July when he told Fox News that the DSA doesn’t “think that anyone should have a constitutional right to double-digit returns on their investment.” His father’s business success helped provide the family with the means to purchase and renovate the Brooklyn property in an increasingly expensive New York City

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“I am shocked, just shocked that the co-chair of the NY Socialist party lives like a king in [the] $1 million+ home his parents bought for him in cool Bed-Stuy,” former New York State Senate candidate Maria Danzillo wrote. “Who would have ever guessed that a [New York City DSA] gentrifier doesn’t have to worry about paying rent or any of the other mundane problems actual working class people have to contend with?”

In February, Gordillo complained that “millionaires don’t actually leave New York the way other income groups do,” arguing that it was unfair that lower income people and minorities were being priced out of the city.

INSIDE THE LAVISH LIFESTYLE OF ULTRA-WEALTHY DEM ENDORSED BY TOP BERNIE SANDERS GROUP

“Not only did DSA co-chair Gustavo Gordillo’s parents buy him this rowhouse, they converted it from a two family and renovated it into a luxury single-family home for him,” New York City Councilwoman Vickie Paladino said on X. “Exactly the kind of ‘greed’ the DSA rails against on a daily basis, and reducing valuable housing inventory by one more unit, which is supposedly something the DSA cares very deeply about.”

Gordillo and his father did not respond to requests for comment when reached by Fox News Digital on Wednesday.

“In Dostoevsky’s novel ‘The Possessed,’ it was the sons of rich boomers who were the most in love with socialism. Not the poor. The more things change, the more things stay the same,” Manhattan Institute senior fellow Rob Henderson wrote on X.

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Gordillo acknowledged his wealthy upbringing in an August interview with the New York Times, squaring the apparent gap between his affluence and ideology by arguing that the democratic socialist project seeks to “build a world” where his parent’s success story is “not exceptional.”

A Missouri judge handed President Donald Trump and Republicans a major redistricting victory Wednesday, ruling that the state’s referendum process cannot be used to challenge congressional maps drawn by the Legislature and allowing a new GOP-friendly map to remain in place for November’s midterm elections.

Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Green ruled Wednesday that Missouri’s constitutional referendum provisions “do not apply to congressional redistricting enacted by the General Assembly,” siding with Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins in a closely watched fight over a Trump-backed map that could help determine control of the U.S. House.

Green also ruled that Hoskins’ decision not to certify the referendum petition was “lawful” and ordered that the Republican-backed congressional map “remains in full force and effect for the 2026 general election.”

TRUMP ALLIES NOTCH REDISTRICTING WIN AS JUDGES FIND NO ‘SMOKING GUN’ TO SCRAP RED STATE MAP

Plaintiff Richard von Glahn appealed the ruling Wednesday evening, according to the court docket.

The ruling preserves a map passed by Missouri’s Republican-led Legislature after Trump urged GOP-controlled states to redraw congressional boundaries ahead of the 2026 midterms.

The new boundaries are aimed at giving Republicans an opportunity to defeat Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver of Kansas City. Missouri’s current eight-member House delegation consists of six Republicans and two Democrats.

The map splits portions of Kansas City between neighboring Republican-held districts and stretches the remainder of Cleaver’s 5th Congressional District east into Republican-heavy rural areas. About 59% of voters in the reshaped district are new to it, according to an Associated Press estimate.

TRUMP URGES REPUBLICANS TO ‘BE BOLD’ AS RED STATES PUSH TO REWRITE CONGRESSIONAL MAPS

Republican state Sen. Rick Brattin won the GOP primary in the redrawn district earlier this month, while Cleaver was unopposed for the Democratic nomination.

The new boundaries were already used in Missouri’s August primaries.

Opponents collected thousands of signatures seeking to force a statewide referendum on the map, but Hoskins rejected the petition, arguing that Missouri’s Constitution does not allow congressional redistricting to be put to a referendum.

Green agreed, entering judgment for Hoskins and the Republican National Committee, National Republican Congressional Committee and Missouri Republican State Committee, which intervened in the case.

BLOCKBUSTER SUPREME COURT VOTING RIGHTS RULING IGNITES REDISTRICTING WAR ACROSS SOUTHERN STATES

The Missouri fight is part of a broader national redistricting battle ahead of November.

Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe called lawmakers into a special session last year after Trump urged Republican-led states to redraw congressional boundaries ahead of the midterms.

Missouri became the second Republican-led state, after Texas, to pursue new congressional boundaries as part of that push.

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Green’s ruling leaves the Trump-backed map in place while the case moves to the appeals court.

The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Republican Rep. Cory Mills of Florida, facing a pair of controversies, is the latest in a growing list of congressional incumbents sent packing in party primaries this year.

Twelve House members and two senators have been ousted in the 2026 midterms as they bid for renomination, according to the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia.

“It’s one of the highest numbers in decades in a non-national redistricting year,” Center for Politics Communications Director Kyle Kondik told Fox News Digital.

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

Kondik noted that “the years that the number was higher are years that end in the number two, which are full national redistricting years. This was a partial redistricting year, but it’s a very high number historically.”

While the rare but not unheard of redistricting push over the past year contributed to some of the losses by incumbents, there were plenty of other factors. Those include incumbents wounded by scandals, President Donald Trump’s moves to oust some GOP lawmakers, the increasing push by Democrats for generational change and the successful movement by the far left to target more moderate, establishment-backed Democrats in nomination showdowns.

Democratic Rep. Shri Thanedar of Michigan was defeated earlier this month by a left-wing challenger, state Rep. Donavan McKinney, who is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).

Democratic Rep. Dan Goldman of New York was ousted in the state’s June primary by progressive challenger Brad Lander, a former New York City comptroller who was backed by socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

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Rep. Adriano Espaillat of New York, a Democrat who serves as Congressional Hispanic Caucus chair, was defeated by community organizer and activist Darializa Avila Chevalier, a DSA member who was also supported by Mamdani. Age was also a factor in the race, as the 32-year-old Chevalier ousted the 71-year-old Espaillat.

Ideology and age were also key ingredients in DSA member Melat Kiros’ victory over more moderate Democratic Rep. Diana Degette of Colorado, who has served in the House for nearly three decades.

Age and the push for fresh faces fueled a victory by 38-year-old Democratic Rep. Christian Menefee, who won a special congressional election earlier this year, over Rep. Al Green, a fellow Democrat who turns 79 next month. The two incumbents faced off for a House seat redrawn through a Texas Republican redistricting push.

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Redistricting in Texas also forced Democratic Rep. Julie Johnson into a showdown in the state’s 33rd Congressional District against her predecessor, former Rep. Colin Allred, which Allred won in a runoff election.

Generational change was the key factor as 47-year-old former Mayor Luke Bronin of Hartford, Connecticut, scored a victory in the Democratic primary over nearly 30-year congressional veteran Rep. John Larson, who is 78.

Trump played a key role in the ouster of Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana earlier this year. Cassidy was one of a handful of Republicans who voted to convict Trump during his second impeachment trial five years ago.

Meanwhile, longtime Republican Sen. John Cornyn was defeated in the Texas GOP Senate nomination runoff election in late May by state Attorney General Ken Paxton, a MAGA firebrand and major supporter of the president. Trump stayed neutral during the year-long bitter battle but endorsed Paxton at the last minute ahead of the runoff.

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Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, a vocal Republican Trump critic, lost his renomination bid to former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein, who was backed by the president.

Republican Rep. Dan Crenshaw of Texas went down in defeat to a more conservative challenger, state Rep. Steve Toth, who cast the incumbent as anti-Trump. While the president remained neutral in the race, Toth was supported by conservative firebrand Sen. Ted Cruz.

Republican Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee lost in his bid for renomination despite having Trump’s endorsement.

Ogles, saddled by controversial comments and social media posts in recent years, was defeated by former Tennessee Agriculture Commissioner Charlie Hatcher, who was backed by Gov. Bill Lee, former Gov. Bill Haslam and other prominent Republicans including former Trump Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue.

In Florida, Mills was topped by Ryan Elijah, a former local television news and sports reporter, in a four-way GOP primary in the right-leaning 7th Congressional District.

Elijah repeatedly targeted Mills over a House Ethics Committee investigation into the congressman and the restraining order placed against Mills by a judge last year after a former girlfriend said the two-term lawmaker threatened to release sexually explicit videos of her.

Mills, an Army veteran and former military contractor, denied the allegations but faced bipartisan calls to resign. An endorsement earlier this year from President Donald Trump wasn’t enough to save him in Tuesday’s primary.

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Earlier this year, GOP Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas, who had advanced to a runoff election, quit his race after admitting to an affair with a former staffer who died by suicide.

Facing heavy pressure from House leaders, he resigned from Congress entirely weeks later.

If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

A Chinese national living in Massachusetts was arrested Wednesday after federal prosecutors said he impersonated another Chinese national to register and vote in the 2024 presidential election then reported the alleged victim to immigration authorities for illegally voting.

Yupeng Sun, 33, of Andover, was charged with one count of fraudulent voter registration and one count of fraudulent voting, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.

The criminal complaint alleges Sun admitted during a July interview with federal investigators that he registered the victim to vote and later cast a ballot using the man’s identity.

“I tell you the truth, I register,” Sun told investigators when shown the victim’s voter registration information, according to the complaint.

CANADIAN NONCITIZEN ACCUSED OF ILLEGALLY VOTING IN FEDERAL AND STATE ELECTIONS

After investigators showed Sun a photograph of the early voting ballot envelope submitted at Malden City Hall on Oct. 31, 2024, Sun allegedly responded, “I used his name to vote.”

Massachusetts voter records show the ballot cast under the victim’s name was accepted for the 2024 presidential election, according to the complaint.

Sun previously rented a room from the victim and his family in Malden, and investigators allege he also impersonated the victim and his wife in immigration documents requesting that they abandon their legal permanent resident status.

When the couple returned from an international trip in June 2024, their green cards were confiscated, and they were placed into removal proceedings. 

An immigration judge restored their legal permanent resident status in January 2026 after finding their testimony credible and receiving forensic evidence that they had not signed the forms, according to the complaint.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT LEARNS FATE AFTER USING STOLEN IDENTITY TO VOTE IN US ELECTIONS FOR DECADES

Federal investigators say Sun later submitted anonymous tips to Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services accusing the victim of illegally voting in the 2024 election.

Sun allegedly acknowledged sending the tips when investigators interviewed him.

“I went to post office and, uh, to report the father vote,” Sun said, according to the complaint.

Sun is a citizen and national of China who entered the U.S. in September 2020 on a B-2 tourist visa that expired in March 2021, according to the complaint. He has deferred action status based on a U-Visa application submitted in February 2022.

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The Massachusetts Secretary of State’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Each voter fraud charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. Prosecutors said Sun could also face deportation after completing any sentence imposed.

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U.S. Attorney Leah Foley and Jeff Grimming, acting special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England, announced the charges. The Lexington and Andover police departments assisted in the investigation.

Democratic Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is facing scrutiny after an online ad revealed that campaign contributions from supporters of her re-election bid would be matched by taxpayer dollars.

“Your donation to our campaign right now is more critical than ever before,” said Bass, speaking into a lapel microphone with upbeat music playing in the background of the ad, which was posted to her campaign’s X account.

“Let me explain,” she continued. “Thanks to LA’s super match program, every qualified donation from Los Angeles residents is matched 6-to-1 by the city. But after the primary, we had to start over from scratch, so we need you to rush your matching donation right now to help fuel this campaign.”

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Bass noted that chipping in $5 would equate to a $35 total donation, while $25 would become $175.

The explanation immediately raised eyebrows for those concerned that taxpayer dollars are being used as campaign contributions.

“It’s a system they set up to enrich themselves and their friends and get themselves elected,” Roxanne Hoge, chairwoman of the Republican Party of Los Angeles County, told Fox News Digital in response to Bass’ video. 

“It’s like when you’re a kid, and the kid with the fancy ball gets to make all the rules of the game you’re about to play. That’s what this is.”

But the system is perfectly legal.

“It’s much like when people complain about election fraud in California. It’s not fraud. Everything is codified just the way they like it,” said Hoge.

“Almost none of the money that Los Angeles takes in is used for things that make sense,” she continued. “Money goes to homelessness and it increases homelessness. Basically, nothing makes sense here, and this is another thing that doesn’t make sense.”

Bass’ campaign did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Still, critics raged online about a program that has been in use for mayoral candidates since the 1990s.

“This is grotesque,” author and University of Austin professor Michael Shellenberger said in response to the video of Bass.

“Outrageous,” quipped Richard Grenell, a Trump administration official.

“Hold your horses… The current Mayor of the City of LA, who is running for reelection, is allowed to take money from the city to fund her campaign at a 6 to 1 payout???” former Ronald Reagan official David McIntosh asked incredulously.

“That’s so innovative, I’m sure this totally legit and not communist at all,” Los Angeles activist Tony Moon said sarcastically.

SUPREME COURT STRIKES DOWN LIMIT ON PARTY CAMPAIGN SPENDING IN COORDINATION WITH CANDIDATES

The matching program has been in effect for qualified mayoral candidates since 1990.

Slowly over time, the match limit has increased, and, in 2019, the current 6-to-1 match took effect and has been in use since then.

Qualified candidates can choose to participate in the matching program and must fill out a statement of acceptance of matching funds, according to city campaign rules.

LA MAYORAL RACE HEADS TO NOVEMBER RUNOFF AS KAREN BASS FACES MAMDANI-STYLE SOCIALIST

To qualify, a candidate must have already raised 300 times the maximum matchable amount per contributor — $257 — have at least 100 donors who have contributed $5 or more and live in Los Angeles, have an opponent and hold at least one public town hall or debate.

All matched donations must come from Angelenos.

FAR-LEFT POLITICIANS STILL USING ACTBLUE AS 88-YEAR-OLD DISPUTES DONATING NEARLY $150,000 TO FUNDRAISING GIANT

The maximum allowable qualifying donation is $257, which, after the taxpayer-funded 6-to-1 match becomes $1,799. The total cap on matched donations is just over $1.5 million in the general election.

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President Donald Trump on Wednesday issued a stern warning to any nation thinking about offering a lifeline to Iran after announcing the launch of a U.S. operation he likened to an “economic D-Day.”

“Today, I am announcing the MOST CRUSHING ECONOMIC OPERATION EVER TAKEN AGAINST ANY COUNTRY! This will be Economic Warfare and Isolation on an unprecedented scale,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “I am also announcing that ANY country that allows its financial institutions, businesses, airports, or government entities to provide any type of lifeline to Iran will itself face TREMENDOUS Economic Consequences.”

IRAN DEAL CLOCK HITS ZERO AS TRUMP DEMANDS ‘WHITE FLAG’ WITH NEW PRESSURE CAMPAIGN LOOMING

“Oil smuggling, swap lines, cash transfers, exchange houses, ship registries, front companies — It all needs to stop NOW,” he continued. “You know who you are. This will be an ECONOMIC D-DAY, and we need all of our Allies to stand with the United States of America to isolate, and defeat, the Iran threat. These maniacs are on the ropes, and these HISTORIC MEASURES will cripple them and their ability to project terror worldwide.”

Trump said Iran’s navy and air force are destroyed, while their production facilities have all been reduced to “rubble.” 

The president added Tehran’s currency is “worthless,” and the country as a whole “is hanging by a thread.”

The announcement came amid a pressure campaign from Washington, including a naval blockade, to get Iran to capitulate. Meanwhile, Iranian leaders on Wednesday warned neighboring Gulf states against assisting the U.S. military. 

KEY CHINA-IRAN INFRASTRUCTURE EXPOSES CRITICAL HOLE IN TRUMP’S WAR STRATEGY

The United Arab Emirates (UAE), a close U.S. ally and regional power, on Wednesday severed all financial and economic ties with Iran, citing a military escalation by Tehran with incoming missile fire. Iran has attacked its neighbors in similar fashion in the months since the war began. 

Amid the war with the United States, Tehran has relied on regional groups and proxies to fight back, though the country is traditionally allied with China and Russia.  

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On Monday, Trump threatened to bomb Oman if the country acts as a barrier to reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a major point of contention on both sides of the conflict. 

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is catching heat for defying President Donald Trump on a key energy policy.

The progressive Midwestern leader issued an executive order Tuesday blocking mining permits and leases near a swath of land in northeast Minnesota called the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, a significant portion of which is under federal jurisdiction.

That’s despite President Donald Trump signing legislation in April that reversed a Biden administration-era order blocking new mining leases near the Boundary Waters for a period of 20 years.

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., the highest-ranking Minnesotan in Congress, called Walz’s move “stupid” and “dangerous.”

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“This lame duck loser is trying to make us more energy and mineral-dependent on our adversaries,” Emmer told Fox News Digital.

MINNESOTA FRAUD SCANDAL WILL HAUNT FLANAGAN IN HIGH-STAKES SENATE RACE, TOP HOUSE REPUBLICAN WARNS

He said the order would “harm Minnesota (and) good union jobs in northern Minnesota,” and “put our national defense more at risk with our enemies, adversaries like Communist China.”

The legislation, which passed the House and Senate before getting to Trump’s desk, was led by Rep. Pete Stauber, R-Minn.

Walz’s order focuses on the mining of metals like copper and nickel, which have a variety of uses, including boat components, electric vehicle components, military equipment and commercial electronics.

TRUMP GETS MAJOR WIN AGAINST CHINA IN AFRICAN RARE EARTH MINERALS RACE

Northeastern Minnesota is home to the largest known untapped source of nickel and copper in North America, the Duluth Complex.

Emmer argued that a failure to tap into those resources would put the U.S. at a disadvantage to China’s metal mining industry.

Mining is already banned inside the Boundary Waters, but environmental groups who hailed Walz’s order have warned that mining in the protected lands outside its buffer zone still risks harming that inner area, according to MPR News.

“The federal government sold out our canoe country earlier this year by stripping away protections that took hundreds of thousands of Minnesotans’ voices and years of work to secure, all while ignoring science and the will of the public,” Save The Boundary Waters Executive Director Ingrid Lyons said in a statement.

“Now, our governor is doing right by Minnesota by pulling out all of the stops to keep toxic copper mining out of the headwaters of the Boundary Waters, while also calling on our state’s legislature to finish the job permanently. Thank you, Governor, for your actions that save the Boundary Waters today, and for building a foundation from which to protect it for generations to come.”

When asked about environmental groups’ support, Emmer dismissed it as a “false argument.”

“Every one of us is an environmentalist. I make this point, so nobody gets to claim the high ground. It’s like somebody saying, ‘I’m a better conservative than you.’ No, we all care about our environment. We all want clean water. We all want clean air,” he said.

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“What you’re literally saying is, ‘I’d rather have the Chinese and other adversaries mine in the old-fashioned ways and not care about leaving the world in a better condition, than allow us to do it right here in Minnesota, where we have one of the top precious metal mines in the world.’ … And we have the most stringent environmental laws in the world, I would argue, that are going to ensure that it’s done safely, and it protects not only the people doing the work, but it protects the environment.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Walz’s office for a response.

Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed said he wanted to “take it a step further” when asked whether he supported Bernie Sanders’ public-ownership model for major artificial intelligence companies, arguing for “some system of public control” — days after a top House Democrat rejected suggestions that young socialists are talking about “seizing the means of production.”

Asked during a June 12 appearance on the left-wing “Head in the Office” podcast whether he supported public ownership models for major artificial intelligence companies like one proposed by Sanders, El-Sayed said he wanted to “actually take it a step further,” adding that while he agreed “we need public ownership,” he also believed “we need some system of public control.”

El-Sayed did not explicitly call for the government to seize or take ownership of private AI companies, instead describing possible forms of “public control” that included public representation on corporate boards or an oversight body.

EL-SAYED TAUNTS TRUMP, CLAIMS HE’S GOING TO MAKE HIM ‘MAIN CHARACHTER OF THE MIDTERMS’

“I want to actually take it a step further. I agree that we need public ownership, but I also agree that we need some system of public control. What is the point of democracy if it’s not to protect us from existential risk? And, right now, there is no regulation,” El-Sayed said when asked about public ownership and public control of major AI companies, with the podcast host citing proposals from Sanders.

“I just think it’s really important for us to be thinking what is democratic control over this industry? What does it look like?” El-Sayed continued.

El-Sayed later offered examples of what such “public control” could look like, including public representation on corporate boards or a public oversight body over the companies, while arguing that AI poses potentially “existential” risks requiring greater public oversight.

“Democracy is supposed to fix these problems and right now they’re trying to slip democracy and we cannot allow that,” El-Sayed continued about the political power tech companies wield in Washington. “And so we need leaders who both understand the technological risk and are not bought off by the AI industry itself. It is mission-critical right now for our future.”

EL-SAYED AIDE LIKENS GOP OPPONENT’S CAMPAIGN TO ‘KKK CROSS BURNING’ OVER VIDEO WITH FORD PICKUP

El-Sayed’s call to “take it a step further” on public ownership comes as senior Democrats have sought to push back on the idea that the party’s rising socialist wing is seeking government control of the means of production.

Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., recently argued that young Americans who identify as socialists are not embracing socialism in its traditional Marxist sense, asking whether they mean, “I want to socialize the means of production,” before answering, “I don’t think so.”

Raskin has similarly argued that young self-described socialists are primarily seeking “greater equality and opportunity,” rather than embracing concepts such as “dialectical materialism” or the “dictatorship of the proletariat.”

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But some of the movement’s most prominent figures have used more explicit language. Mamdani said during a 2021 Young Democratic Socialists of America conference that one of the movement’s firmly held beliefs was the “end goal of seizing the means of production,” while acknowledging it did not then enjoy the same level of public support as other progressive causes.

The June podcast comments are drawing fresh attention as El-Sayed, a progressive who has embraced comparisons to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, seeks to carry that brand of politics into a marquee statewide Senate race. The resurfaced exchange also comes amid a broader debate over the Democratic Party’s embrace of democratic socialists and how far the movement’s economic agenda extends beyond policies such as universal healthcare and a higher minimum wage.

Former National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent, who resigned in March due to his opposition to the Iran war, contends that President Donald Trump should remove U.S. combat troops from the Middle East. During an interview with Fox News Digital on Tuesday, he said Republicans and Democrats both support U.S. involvement in “endless foreign wars,” but that he wants to help create another “political coalition.”

Kent, a military veteran and Gold Star husband whose late wife Shannon was killed in Syria in 2019, said the U.S. is “making our troops basically tripwires so that if the Iranians hit us, and we lose more troops, then we will have to double down” on the war.

“This war is not in our national security interest,” he said. “Iran posed no imminent threat,” the retired Green Beret asserted, reiterating the same view he voiced in his mid-March resignation letter to the president less than a month after the start of the Iran war. “This war was prompted by the pressure that the Israelis were able to exert on the Trump administration and the influence that the, the Israelis have over our government.”

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U.S. bases in the region have proven to be a liability, he said.

“The Iranians were able to hit them with their ballistic missiles, with their drones. We had to evacuate our bases. We couldn’t even fight a war from our military bases. So the fundamental question is, what good is a military base that you can’t fight a war from? So really our bases and our presence in the region simply give the Iranians the ability to reach us and strike us whenever they want,” Kent asserted.

EX-COUNTERTERRORISM OFFICIAL JOE KENT CONTINUES CALLING FOR US MILITARY WITHDRAWAL FROM MIDDLE EAST

More than five months have passed since Trump launched the war against Iran in conjunction with Israel. The U.S. military is currently conducting a blockade against Iran and it remains unclear when the conflict will conclude.

“Right now, we’re at a place where President Trump could walk away from it. We haven’t recently taken any losses,” Kent said, adding that the president could withdraw U.S. troops from the region. “And I think he has the political power to basically sell it as a win or at least kind of a draw to the American people.”

Kent said he would encourage those who agree with him to “call their congressmen, call their senators, call the White House and” tell them “that we want out of war right now.”

In a statement to Fox News Digital on Wednesday, White House spokesman Davis Ingle targeted Kent.

“President Trump has destroyed nearly all of Iran’s military capabilities and is crushing what’s left of its abysmal economy with the most powerful naval blockade in world history. In quitter Joe Kent’s twisted mind, that somehow means Iran is winning, which only proves he doesn’t know his a– from his elbow,” Ingle said in the statement.

TRUMP CAN DECLARE IRAN VICTORY NOW AND WITHDRAW TROOPS, FORMER COUNTERTERROR OFFICIAL ARGUES

Asked whether he has any interest in running for political office again, Kent, who has run unsuccessfully for Congress twice, told Fox News Digital that he does not “have any political aspirations.”

But he said he wants to help construct a “political coalition” that conveys to Americans “that a reason why it seems like no matter who they vote for their, their quality of life is not improving,” is because no matter who occupies the Oval Office, much of “their time and our money… and our national will” is expended “on these foreign wars,” and “propping up an empire that does not benefit the American people.”

Both parties “agree that we should be engaged in… endless foreign wars,” he said.

When Americans choose between a Republican and Democrat, they end up with “the next war,” “more deficit,” “more debt,” and have “their civil liberties… encroached upon,” he said.

TRUMP SAYS IRAN TALKS ARE DEAD, INSISTS STRAIT OF HORMUZ IS ‘OPEN AND OPERATING’

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Kent said the U.S. cannot afford to dole out foreign aid, given the national debt, inflation and the condition of the economy — but if foreign aid is going to be distributed, he said it should go “to partners that actually benefit our nation’s security, not to countries that are gonna drag us further into more conflicts” which “actually end up costing America more in the long run.”

He said the U.S. should not provide aid to nations “that are actively spying on us and running influence operations like the Israelis are.”

President Donald Trump’s approval rating has plummeted to a record low during his second term in office, and is now tied for his lowest approval rating ever as commander-in-chief, according to a new poll.

Only 33% of those surveyed in a new Reuters/Ipsos poll approve of the 45th and 47th president’s job in the White House. The rating is down from 35% last week. A survey of 1,166 respondents showed that 64% disapproved of Trump’s job performance.

Trump hit 33% approval in December 2017, his lowest during his first term in office, according to Reuters/Ipsos.

FOX NEWS POLL: AS ECONOMIC PAIN DEEPENS, DISAPPROVAL OF TRUMP HITS NEW HIGH

Meanwhile, 80% of survey respondents said they expect the war in Iran “will go on for an extended period of time.”

The war began in February, and was explained to Americans as mission to wipe out the Middle Eastern country’s nuclear weapons program. Iranian attempts to assert dominance over the Strait of Hormuz have complicated matters.

One fifth of the world’s oil traverses the Strait, and the effects have been felt at the pump.

LAWMAKERS CLASH OVER TRUMP GAS TAX HOLIDAY AS IRAN WAR DRIVES PRICES HIGHER

Since the war began, national average gas prices have jumped from just under $3 per gallon to just over $4 per gallon, according to American Automobile Association (AAA) data. On Friday, at a rally with law enforcement in New York touting record low crime rates, Trump defended the jump in prices at the pump.

“Remember that when you have to pay a little bit more, $4, it’s okay,” he said, adding that he did “the right thing,” and saying, “I’ll never apologize.”

Inflation has also spiked since the beginning of the war. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), year-over-year inflation in February was 2.4%. That number now sits at 3.4%.

TRUMP’S AFFORDABILITY PLAN FACES CONSERVATIVE PUSHBACK AS POCKETBOOK ISSUES LOOM OVER MIDTERMS

“President Trump has signed the largest middle-class tax cuts in history, lowered the cost of prescription drugs, sealed the border, driven violent crime to the lowest level in nearly a century, unleashed an energy revolution, and sent Americans’ 401(k)s climbing to record highs,” White House spokesperson Olivia Wales told Fox News Digital in response to questions about the polling.

“President Trump is cleaning up Joe Biden’s mess and there is more work to do, but the United States of America has never been stronger,” she continued.

The White House did not comment on whether there is a target date for ending the war.

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Democrats have seized on the war, which only 35% of Americans support according to Reuters/Ipsos, along with affordability in their attempts to re-take the House and Senate in November.

A Democratic prosecutor permitted a Tajik national held in a psychiatric hospital after his landlord’s killing to travel to Washington to obtain a passport, which he later used to leave the U.S.

Abdulloi Doniyor Toshpulodzoda left the country after he was granted a second “community pass” in July from the Northern Virginia Mental Health Institute (NVMHI) in Falls Church, went to nearby Dulles International Airport and flew to Dushanbe, Tajikistan, by way of Turkey, prompting renewed criticism of Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano over his prosecution of cases involving migrants.

Toshpulodzoda had been found not guilty by reason of insanity (NGRI) in the killing of Mohammad Hemmatian but was still granted the equivalent of a day pass twice — once to travel 20 miles to Washington, D.C., to obtain a passport and again in July to stay at an apartment furnished through a Fairfax County program — despite being under county supervision.

Former Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares criticized Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano for failing to recognize what Miyares described as the danger of allowing Toshpulodzoda to obtain a passport.

SANCTUARY COUNTY REFUSED 615 ICE TRANSFER REQUESTS, TURNED OVER JUST 11 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS, RECORDS SHOW

“A judge said no, Virginia authorities said yes anyway,” former Attorney General Jason Miyares said in a statement. Descano has faced criticism for years over his prosecution of cases involving illegal immigrants and foreign nationals.

“Fairfax’s Steve Descano supported a violent, committed man accused of killing his landlord to obtain a passport. The passport request should have been the five-alarm fire, but instead it ignored and he was allowed to walk out of a mental facility and flee the country. This is an unconscionable level of incompetence,” Miyares added.

Virginians for Safe Communities, an advocacy group that highlights crimes, including those involving foreign nationals and illegal immigrants, called Fairfax County’s justice system “a joke.”

“You hear the one about the crazed killer who walked into Dulles and went to Tajikistan?” the group tweeted.

“If Descano policies were literally written by illegal immigrant confessed murderers in mental institutions, how would they be different?” asked conservative commentator Mary Katharine Ham.

DOJ OPENS INVESTIGATION INTO SOROS-BACKED DA ACCUSED OF SHIELDING ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS FROM CONSEQUENCES

Descano’s office confirmed it “did not oppose” Toshpulodzoda taking an “escorted visit” outside the confines of NVMHI to obtain “updated documentation from the [Tajik] embassy.”

“[B]ut, that is not indicative of our position on community release [itself],” a Descano spokeswoman said.

SOROS-BACKED PROSECUTOR HIT WITH REBUKE AFTER DISMISSING PROBE AS TRUMP ‘PARTISAN ATTACKS’: ‘HEY SCUMBAG’

The spokeswoman said Descano’s prosecutors repeatedly opposed Toshpulodzoda’s release in annual court hearings, citing public safety concerns.

Descano’s prosecutor Claiborne Richardson and Toshpulodzoda’s attorney, Amy Jordan, jointly requested and received court permission for Toshpulodzoda to travel to Washington, D.C., with institute staff on May 29, 2024, according to court documents.

Descano’s office said prosecutors argued at a June hearing that Toshpulodzoda should remain in the institute’s custody, and the judge agreed.

Descano’s office deferred further questions about the issuance of day passes to the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health.

TRUMP DOJ UNLEASHES LARGEST DENATURALIZATION EFFORT IN DEPARTMENT HISTORY — AND SAYS IT’S ‘ONLY THE BEGINNING’

Laura Cunningham, a spokesperson for VDBH, said federal and state privacy laws preclude public discussion of individual patients’ cases.

She added that the “community pass” process utilized by Toshpulodzoda is available under Virginia law for clinical teams to request “graduated privileges” that are later reviewed by experts before “progress[ing] to the next level.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board for comment. The board furnished the Alexandria apartment where Toshpulodzoda stayed through its Fairfax Permanent Supportive Housing Program.

The Daily Wire reported that Toshpulodzoda told authorities he was “guilty” but was later found NGRI.

A DHS spokesperson said in a statement that Toshpulodzoda’s departure was the “ultimate compliance of his final removal order” placed on him after an immigration judge ordered him removed on June 24.

JORDAN GRILLS SOROS-BACKED DA DESCANO IN HEATED SPAT OVER SOFT-ON-CRIME POLICY: ‘THIS IS ALMOST LAUGHABLE’

Conservative columnist and Fairfax resident Tim Carney similarly tweeted that “my local prosecutor Steve Descano has a unique deportation policy.”

“He endorsed giving an accused murderer, who was deemed insane, permission to travel to DC to get a passport. The accused murderer, on weekend leave, then hopped on a plane and fled to Asia.”

“Total system failure,” former police officer turned conservative commentator Brandon Tatum tweeted.

Virginia authorities have issued a warrant for Toshpulodzoda’s arrest if he returns to the U.S.

Toshpulodzoda entered the U.S. during the Obama administration and later violated the terms of his admission, according to DHS.

According to several reports, Toshpulodzoda admitted to Fairfax authorities that he killed Hemmatian but was later found NGRI and institutionalized.

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Hungarian-American billionaire George Soros contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to Descano’s local races in the heavily Democratic Beltway county.

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Fox News Digital reached out to the Tajik Embassy, the Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office and the State Department for comment.

President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he is nominating Heidi Overton, deputy assistant for domestic policy, as the next FDA commissioner.

Overton, a physician, is known for her pro-life views and Trump said she has been a “ROCKSTAR” in his administration so far.

“Dr. Overton will continue putting AMERICA FIRST, and creating a HEALTHY AMERICA,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.

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This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, is again dunking on a popular sports brand as the company’s stock price hits a 12-year low.

Cruz joined in on social media criticism of Nike, the Swoosh-emblazoned brand whose stock price has been on a steady decline for years.

The lawmaker responded to conservative social media influencer Douglass Mackey’s list of reasons why Nike’s stock was suffering in a callback to his own boycott of the brand several years ago.

MARY CAIN’S BOOK AND NIKE’S TRANS-ATHLETE STUDY REVEAL THE SAME PATTERN OF CORPORATE HYPOCRISY

“Sad & predictable,” Cruz posted on X, where he reiterated that Nike’s decision to nix its Betsy Ross themed shoe was how the company “lost me.”

“For my whole life, I wore nearly 100% Nike for athletic wear,” Cruz said. “Kaepernick pissed me off, but when they cancelled the Betsy Ross shoe it showed that their marketing plan was America-hate. I went out & bought brand new shoes, shorts, t-shirts.”

“Turns out I wasn’t the only one,” he continued. “#GoWokeGoBroke.”

Nike’s stock price hit a 12-year low earlier this week, dropping nearly 80% since the company’s all-time high in 2021.

NIKE CRITICIZED FOR WALKING BACK BOSTON MARATHON AD FOLLOWING ‘PACE SHAMING’ BACKLASH

The yearslong tumble downward saw nearly $200 billion in market value erased for the company, which five years ago saw its share price hit an all-time high of $177.51.

It’s also not Cruz’s first foray into bashing the brand.

In 2019, Cruz joined several conservatives to boycott Nike after the company opted to dump its planned Betsy Ross-themed shoe.

Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who earned the ire of conservatives for sitting and kneeling during the national anthem in an act of protest against police brutality a decade ago, reportedly urged the company to drop the product.

MLB GREAT JIM EDMONDS SAYS HE WOULDN’T HAVE TOLERATED NATIONAL ANTHEM PROTESTS: ‘WE STAND UP AND SALUTE’

He argued that the Revolutionary-era flag, with 13 white stars in a circle on a blue backdrop, was a symbol that had been adopted by White nationalist groups and a reminder of a time when Black people were enslaved.

Nike said in a statement at the time that it opted to yank the shoe, which was set for a July Fourth release, because of “concerns that it could unintentionally offend and detract from the nation’s patriotic holiday.”

Cruz at the time blasted the company and dumped his Nike gear.

“It’s a good thing @Nike only wants to sell sneakers to people who hate the American flag…. @NFL #HappyFourth,” he said on X.

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He wasn’t the only major political figure to take a shot at the brand. Then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., criticized the decision to pull the Betsy Ross-themed shoe, and countered that if any other company had the same idea, he’d be the first in line to buy.

“If we’re in a political environment where the American flag has become controversial to Americans, I think we’ve got a problem,” McConnell said.

The United Arab Emirates suspended all trade, commercial exchanges and financial transactions with Iran after accusing Tehran of firing ballistic missiles toward maritime traffic.

The action severs one of the Islamic Republic’s most important commercial and financial links and threatens to close off an economic route President Donald Trump’s sanctions have struggled to reach. It also further deepens Iran’s isolation amid its standoff with the U.S.

The UAE supplied 31% of Iran’s imports, valued at roughly $21 billion, in 2024, and was the destination for 13% of its exports, according to World Trade Organization trade data.

IRAN DEAL CLOCK HITS ZERO AS TRUMP DEMANDS ‘WHITE FLAG’ WITH NEW PRESSURE CAMPAIGN LOOMING

Miad Maleki, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and former Treasury official, said the UAE is one of Tehran’s two key economic lifelines.

“The UAE and China are Iran’s two economic bloodlines. If UAE is serious about its economic embargo against Iran, then it’ll close the one the U.S. Navy couldn’t touch,” Malek wrote on X.

KEY CHINA-IRAN INFRASTRUCTURE EXPOSES CRITICAL HOLE IN TRUMP’S WAR STRATEGY

Maleki said Dubai has become Tehran’s gateway to global commerce, with third-country goods routed through the emirate to Iran. “Most of what Iran calls ‘imports from the UAE’ was never Emirati. Dubai has been basically Iran’s window to the world economy,” he said.

The UAE Foreign Ministry said the measures would remain in place “until further notice,” citing a regional escalation that it said undermined peace and security.

Emirati officials said two ballistic missiles launched from Iran fell into the sea and were targeting maritime navigation. Iran denied responsibility, with its foreign ministry deeming the accusation as “baseless.” Spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said the UAE’s claim ran counter to good-neighborliness and referred to what he called a history of “multiple false-flag operations” in the region.

Dubai has also served as an important conduit for Iranian financial networks facing U.S. sanctions.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Dubai-based exchange houses and trading fronts it said helped Iranian networks move hundreds of millions of dollars and recover revenue from oil sales.

The Treasury said this action advanced President Donald Trump’s maximum-pressure policy, though neither Washington nor Abu Dhabi has said the UAE’s new trade freeze was coordinated with the U.S. campaign.

IRAN FAILS TO STRIKE DEAL WITH US AS DEADLINE PASSES AND TRUMP CALLS FOR ‘WHITE FLAG OF SURRENDER’

The UAE’s move to suspend trade comes at a time when U.S.-Iran diplomacy has again broken down due to disputes over the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic waterway that had carried roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas before the war started earlier this year.

A deadlock again emerged this week after Monday’s 60-day deadline came and went with no new deal on the table.

Trump said Tuesday that no talks with Iran were underway or planned after a 60-day window for a broader agreement expired.

He also said the U.S. naval blockade remained in effect and insisted the strait was “open and operating,” while Iran maintained it would remain closed until Washington lifted oil sanctions, ended its blockade of Iranian ports and met other conditions.

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A day earlier, Trump posted a map on Truth Social labeling the Strait of Hormuz “NEW U.S. Territory,” escalating the dispute over control of the strategic waterway.

Sen. Darline Graham, the late Sen. Lindsey Graham’s sister who was appointed to fill his vacant seat, admitted during a South Carolina GOP Senate debate that she is “not that informed on national security” as she campaigns for a full six-year term.

Graham made the candid admission just days before South Carolina’s GOP Senate runoff between her and Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., after a moderator asked whether Taiwan and the South China Sea are national security issues for the United States. She responded that national security is “not my thing” and “not my area of expertise.”

The political newcomer has the backing of President Donald Trump, who urged her to seek a full term and endorsed her candidacy after she was appointed to the Senate by South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster.

“Are Taiwan and the South China Sea national security issues for the United States, and if so, why or how?” the moderator asked.

RALPH NORMAN SUGGESTS SPECIAL GOP PRIMARY RUNOFF RIVAL DARLINE GRAHAM IS THE ESTABLISHMENT’S CHOSEN CANDIDATE

“I’m just going to be honest here. I’m not that informed on national security,” Graham responded. “But I do support the military. My brother was in the Air Force for 33 years, so I will do everything I can to support the military. My dad was in the Army. I’m not a polished politician up here. National security is not my thing, not my area of expertise. But I do support the military.”

The gaffe earned Graham backlash and responses on X, including from former U.N. ambassador and South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley.

“Lindsey Graham was well informed on the United States’ national security. Darline Graham admits she’s not. This is not something you inherit. And it’s critical in the U.S. Senate,” Haley wrote on X alongside a clip of Graham’s remarks.

“DEVASTATING: Darline Graham can’t answer a softball question about China and Taiwan, admitting she doesn’t know much about foreign policy,” wrote South Carolina talk-show host Tara Servatius, noting that her “stunned 16 year old answered it off the top of his head.”

After the debate, Graham told reporters that South Carolinians are “worried about their pocketbooks more than they’re worried about the South China Sea, quite honestly,” according to the Post and Courier.

TRUMP’S FIERCEST GOP CRITIC BECAME HIS MOST INFLUENTIAL VOICE ON WAR AND PEACE

Graham’s spin room comments echoed how she has previously described the differences between herself and her late brother, who made foreign policy and national security a hallmark of his Senate career.

During a July interview on Fox News’ “Hannity,” Graham recalled urging her brother to focus more on the everyday issues facing voters rather than national security.

“I would watch him, and I’d be like, ‘Lindsey, are you just talking about national security all the time?’” Graham said, pointing instead to issues such as groceries, gas and health care.

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Graham’s response to the Taiwan question wasn’t the only gaffe she had during Tuesday night’s debate. Graham is also facing heat for saying that South Carolina was home to 50 million residents, when in fact it only has about five million.

“Darlene Graham doesn’t even know how many people live in South Carolina! Here she is saying 50 million people live here. Darlene darling, approximately 5.5 million people, not 50 million people live in South Carolina. I can’t even right now with this Senate race,” said Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., on X.

The Turkish government publicly denounced Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for allegedly pursuing “expansionist and destabilizing policies” after Israel launched airstrikes on a Syrian airbase this week.

Netanyahu’s office took responsibility for the Tuesday morning strike on the Abu al-Duhur airbase the next day, saying Syria was on the verge of breaching a security agreement by allowing Turkish troops to deploy from the base, which is near Aleppo.

“Israel repeatedly warned Syria that such a deployment would pose a threat to Israel’s security,” Netanyahu’s office said Tuesday night. “Syria chose to ignore these warnings. Israel will not tolerate threats to its security, and would welcome a return to the status quo.”

On Wednesday, Turkey called these allegations from Israel “untenable,” arguing that they are “intended to legitimize Israel’s unlawful airstrikes targeting Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

CRITICS SAY TURKEY’S VERBAL ATTACKS ON ISRAEL HAVE CROSSED INTO ANTISEMITISM

“The imputations voiced stem from Netanyahu’s intent to pursue expansionist and destabilizing policies in the region ahead of the elections in Israel,” Turkey’s government said in a social media post.

“Türkiye, like the vast majority of the international community, stands for the consolidation of lasting peace in our region. The sole path to this objective lies in Netanyahu’s abandonment of his aggressive and coercive policies and in his respect for international law,” it continued.

“Türkiye will resolutely continue to cooperate with the Syrian Government on a legitimate basis for the establishment of peace, stability, and prosperity in Syria, and will never allow the destabilization of Syria,” the statement concluded.

TRUMP BETS ON FORMER NATO TROUBLEMAKER AS TURKEY’S STRATEGIC VALUE SURGES

The strike on the Syrian airbase, which caused damage but no casualties, also drew criticism from U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack, despite a senior Israeli official telling Fox News that “highly sensitive intelligence was shared with the United States in advance” of the attack.

“We are deeply concerned that the confirmed Israeli airstrikes on Abu al-Duhur Airbase constitute an unnecessary escalation that does not advance regional stability,” Barrack said in an X post.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has not “adopted a predatory posture nor maintained proxy forces” and has “repeatedly indicated a preference for de-escalation with Israel,” Barrack added.

Barrack, who is also the U.S. special envoy for Syria, told Reuters he is working to establish a deconfliction mechanism to ease tensions between Israel, Turkey and Syria.

TRUMP’S TURKEY ARMS SALE PROPOSAL SPARKS CONGRESSIONAL QUESTIONS BEFORE NATO SUMMIT

Al-Sharaa, formerly the head of al-Qaeda’s affiliate group in Syria, became the country’s new leader in January 2025 after he led rebel forces that ousted Bashar al-Assad from power.

President Donald Trump has expressed strong support for al-Sharaa’s government, including the lifting of broad economic sanctions on Syria in late June.

But Turkey, which has been training Syria’s soldiers to rebuild the country’s armed forces, has routinely accused Israel of trying to destabilize the region.

BRIEF ALCOHOL BAN IN DAMASCUS SPARKS CONCERNS ABOUT PRESIDENT AL-SHARAA’S VISION FOR SYRIA

Since al-Assad was deposed in December 2024, Israel has repeatedly struck targets within Syria seeking to prevent the new government from building up its military capabilities near the border.

Netanyahu reiterated in July that he wants the region south of Damascus to remain demilitarized, while also professing a desire to protect the Druze population, an ethnoreligious minority that lives in Syria.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration’s plan to move FBI headquarters into Washington, D.C.’s Ronald Reagan Building, preserving the previously selected Greenbelt, Maryland, site for the bureau’s long-planned new headquarters.

U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang ruled Monday that the FBI and General Services Administration’s (GSA) decisions to select the Reagan Building were “not in accordance with law” and exceeded their statutory authority. The court also found the FBI’s decision to redirect previously appropriated funds toward the move was arbitrary and capricious.

The FBI blasted the decision in a statement to Fox News.

REAGAN NATIONAL AIRPORT MAKES DRASTIC CHANGE FOLLOWING DEADLY 2025 MIDAIR COLLISION

“This is not the first time courts have tried to undermine the administration in its goal to make government more cost-effective for American taxpayers. The court has chosen to impermissibly intervene for political reasons. This FBI is mission focused and will continue the best course of action to meet the needs of law enforcement. Sycophants seeking to undermine the work of this FBI, which has led the largest reduction in crime in American history under President Trump, will not deter us.”

The ruling marks the latest turn in a fight stretching back more than a decade over replacing the deteriorating J. Edgar Hoover Building, which has housed FBI headquarters since 1974. The court noted that the building is obsolete, cannot house all headquarters staff and does not meet applicable security standards.

GSA selected Greenbelt in 2023 after Congress directed the agency to choose among three previously identified sites: Greenbelt and Landover, Maryland, or Springfield, Virginia. But in July 2025, the FBI and GSA announced that they instead planned to relocate headquarters to the Reagan Building in Washington.

GSA FINDS CHINA-MADE TECH LABELED ‘MADE IN USA,’ ORDERS SWEEPING FEDERAL PROCUREMENT REVIEW

Chuang found that those congressional site-selection requirements prevented the agencies from unilaterally choosing a different location. The court said the Reagan Building was not among the three sites Congress authorized and that the FBI exceeded its statutory authority by selecting it.

The ruling blocks the FBI from moving forward with its planned headquarters at the Reagan Building and reinstates Greenbelt, Maryland, as the selected site. The judge said Congress would have to change the law if the administration wants to pursue a different location.

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The White House referred Fox News Digital to the FBI for comment on the ruling.

Fox News’ David Spunt contributed to this reporting.