NationalWatch

One year ago this week, Texas passed a new congressional redistricting map, giving President Donald Trump his first major victory in his push to give Republicans a big boost heading into the midterm elections by drawing more right-leaning districts.   

One year later, as they fight to hold their razor-thin House majority, Republicans are the big winners, with partisan redistricting netting them at least 10 additional right-leaning congressional seats in time for the midterms.

Democrats and left-leaning pundits repeatedly railed against Trump’s efforts and charged they would “shred our country’s democracy.”

Top Democrats aimed to fight fire with fire but fell short. Their efforts to keep pace with the GOP were derailed following major court rulings by the Supreme Court and Virginia’s top court earlier this year, which were seen as major legal victories for Republicans. And the GOP scored another redistricting win earlier this month in Missouri, when a judge allowed a new map, backed by Trump and passed last year by Republican state lawmakers, to be used in November’s elections.

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Progressive pundits that cast Trump’s push for Texas to redraw its congressional map before the 2026 midterms as a threat to voting rights and democracy. Among them was former MSNBC anchor Joy Reid.

She branded the fight a “Voting Rights 911” and later titled a segment on “The Joy Reid Show” as “Texas’s War on Democracy Through Gerrymandering.”

John Oliver, host of “Last Week Tonight” on HBO, was also among a group of pundits that criticized the redistricting push as a power grab by Trump and the GOP.

Oliver said gerrymandering was the practice of manipulating maps “to get the outcome you want,” and called it “putting a heavy thumb on the scale of who gets elected.”

Fox News Digital reached out to representatives for Reid and Oliver to see if they continue to stand by their criticism, but didn’t receive responses by the time this story was published.

It wasn’t just pundits who spoke out.

Top Democrats also took action, after Trump, aiming to prevent what happened during his first term in the White House when Democrats reclaimed the House majority in the 2018 midterms, first floated the idea of rare, but not unheard of, mid-decade congressional redistricting.

After Texas led the way last summer, Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin called a ruling by the conservative-dominated Supreme Court to greenlight the redistricting a victory for a “rigged map” meant to protect the GOP from midterm accountability.

“But it will backfire,” Martin predicted.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who led a successful redistricting effort in his Democrat-dominated state last year to negate the GOP gains in Texas, emphasized, “California will not sit idle as Trump and his Republican lapdogs shred our country’s democracy before our very eyes.”

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And Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York, who considered but decided against redrawing congressional maps in the blue-leaning state, charged that Trump and Republicans were aiming to “erode our democracy and drag us toward authoritarianism.”

A veteran Republican strategist sees the Democrats’ arguments as hypocritical.

“The left’s overcharged political rhetoric is undermined by Governor Gavin Newsom’s willingness to spearhead a power grab in his state that eliminated at least 5 GOP congressional seats,” Colin Reed told Fox News Digital.

Reed argued that “Democratic leaders had the same goal as Republicans with mid-decade redistricting; they just weren’t as successful, but their intent makes any complaints about democracy ring hollow.”

But Democrats stand by their resistance.

“Elected leaders in every state should respond aggressively to this unAmerican attempt to rig control of congress for a generation,” John Bisognano, executive director of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, told Fox News Digital.

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While Texas and California were the first major battlegrounds in the redistricting war, the fight quickly spread from coast-to-coast.

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

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

And Republicans in Indiana’s state Senate in December defied Trump, shooting down a redistricting bill that had passed the state House.

But Democrats were dealt a major blow this spring when the Virginia Supreme Court struck down the Democrat-controlled state’s congressional redistricting ballot measure, which would have produced up to four more left-leaning House seats.

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Concurrently, a blockbuster decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that gutted key portions of the landmark Voting Rights Act – ruling that race should not dictate the redrawing of legislative districts – gave a handful of GOP-dominated Southern states the greenlight to move forward with redistricting.

The legal rulings locked in an advantage for Republicans in this year’s battle for the House. Now it’s up to voters to decide which party will control Congress.

But the redistricting fight is far from over.

Democrat-controlled New York is taking steps toward redistricting in time for the 2028 elections.

So is blue state Maryland, but a court ruling on Wednesday dealt Democrats a setback. A Maryland court blocked Democrats from adding a congressional redistricting initiative to the November ballot on Wednesday. The Democrat-backed effort would have allowed Maryland residents to vote on an amendment to the state constitution to let lawmakers redraw district maps ahead of the 2028 elections.

Meanwhile, battleground Georgia, where Republicans currently control the governor’s office and state legislature, is also mulling a move.

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“The gerrymandering crisis Trump started last year is is not over. We expect him to continue demanding new congressional maps that manipulate voting districts to protect Republicans despite what American voters want,” Bisognano told Fox News Digital.

He urged state leaders to speak out and draw “responsive maps to ensure the national congressional map reflects the make up and the will of the American people.”

A Los Angeles councilwoman’s celebration of a newly painted neighborhood crosswalk has drawn online mockery after critics seized on the months-long timeline and glossy “street infrastructure” rollout for what they said amounted to a basic city service.

Los Angeles Councilmember Nithya Raman, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, is facing online mockery after celebrating the completion of a neighborhood crosswalk project, which was first raised by the Los Feliz Neighborhood Council late last year, in a post on X. The post featured before-and-after images and thanked her field team for “continuing to problem-solve, push for solutions, and make our streets safer.”

“Dear Lord, Nithya. Your standards are so incredibly low,” responded Richard Grenell, Presidential Envoy for Special Missions amid Donald Trump’s second term. “They didn’t even fix the street, they painted over cracks. And it took them a year…..”

“Holy s—t, my sides…Nithya Raman’s big accomplishment is taking 9 months to paint 7 yellow stripes over a cracked street?” quipped former L.A. mayoral candidate and reality television star Spencer Pratt. “How dumb do you have to be to post this? BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA”

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“This is beyond parody,” responded conservative commentator Ben Shapiro. “Eight months to paint some yellow lines. Huge infrastructure victory! Make her mayor!”

“They’re calling it the most ambitious infrastructure project since the Golden Gate Bridge,” added the Manhattan Institute’s Chris Rufo.

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Fox News Digital reached out to Raman’s office and Pratt for comment but did not receive a response before publication.

Raman’s announcement labeled the work “Improving Our Neighborhood Street Infrastructure” and included before-and-after photos showing yellow crosswalk markings across the cracked roadway. She said the Los Feliz Neighborhood Council had brought the issue to her office in late 2025.

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The post did not specify the project’s cost, when physical work began, which city department performed it or whether the work involved safety improvements beyond the painted markings.

The race to build the infrastructure behind artificial intelligence is creating a new boom for America’s blue-collar workforce, as construction firms scramble to fill jobs building data centers, power systems and the facilities that keep the technology running.

The rapid buildout is putting a new premium on skilled trades, with data centers requiring armies of workers to prepare sites, pour concrete, install electrical systems and handle the infrastructure needed to bring them online.

“For many years, there’s been a lack of focus just in general from what is the benefit of a career in the trades,” explained Cole Renken, general manager of Merlo America, the U.S. division of Italian construction equipment manufacturer Merlo Group.

“It’s a very stable income, very stable lifestyle that you can provide for,” he added.

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Now, the AI infrastructure boom could bring renewed attention to those careers.

U.S. construction spending is projected to climb from $2.22 trillion in 2026 to $2.85 trillion by 2031, according to a new report from Merlo America developed with predictive sales intelligence firm BiltData.ai. Industrial construction, which includes factories and data centers, is projected to reach $684 billion by 2031, representing 24% of total U.S. construction spending.

Much of that growth is being driven by the infrastructure needed to power AI, cloud computing and 5G, with data centers emerging as a major source of construction and industrial activity. And building those facilities requires skilled workers at nearly every stage of a project.

Renken said large projects require heavy-equipment operators to prepare sites and logistics workers to coordinate materials, followed by concrete workers, electricians, plumbers and other skilled trades as construction progresses. Electrical workers, he said, could face particularly high demand.

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And the jobs don’t necessarily disappear once construction is complete.

Brittany Kaiser, CEO of AI infrastructure company Alpha Compute, told Fox News Digital that data centers require workers not only to build the facilities and energy infrastructure, but also to install equipment, monitor operations, perform maintenance and support future expansion.

“These are projects that can provide hundreds or thousands of jobs over many, many years,” Kaiser said. “It’s not a quick construction project.”

She described data centers as “a constant construction project,” requiring workers across construction, electricity, energy development, monitoring and maintenance as facilities grow and expand.

That ongoing demand could create opportunities for surrounding communities, particularly for workers who can be trained for specialized positions.

“It’s jobs that can also be taught and trained,” Kaiser said. “So it’s very possible to engage with the community on education and training initiatives to allow people to get access to these higher paying jobs that they didn’t have a skill set for before.”

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But as projects multiply, finding enough skilled workers could become a challenge.

Renken said shortages in the trades have persisted throughout much of his career and could intensify as more projects come online.

The boom, he said, is also a reminder that even the most advanced technology depends on physical infrastructure and the skilled workers needed to build and maintain it. That need, he said, could bring new attention to skilled trades that have long been overshadowed by the focus on high-tech jobs.

“To me, it has been kind of an overshadowed market that hasn’t gotten the attention that it needs,” he said.

President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order renaming Lake Ontario to Lake America, a move that came amid a trade war with Canada. 

“The Lake of America was something I’ve been thinking about for a long time, actually. As you know, we took something called the Gulf of Mexico — we changed it — and now it’s very routinely the Gulf of America,” Trump said in the Oval Office.

The president said he has directed Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and the department to update the Geographic Names Information System to reflect the name change. 

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The order called Lake Ontario a “tremendous asset” to the United States. 

“The United States is the greatest protector of the Great Lakes, including the body of water currently known as Lake Ontario,” the order states. “Without the security and investment provided by the United States, this freshwater system would not be open for shipping, recreation, and responsible use to the same extent as it is today.”

The order said the U.S. Coast Guard supplies nine of the 11 ice-breaking vessels on the Great Lakes, securing commercial shipping lanes free of charge. The U.S. has also invested nearly $4 billion in protecting the Great Lakes freshwater ecosystem in the last decade, while Canada “has invested far less in similar initiatives over the same period.”

On X, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Lake Ontario comes from the “Wendat word Ontari’io, which, appropriately, means ‘the lake is beautiful, the lake is big.'”

“The name is more than 400 years old, predating both the Confederation of Canada and the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America,” Carney wrote. “We know that America is changing. Their trading relationships, their foreign policies, their national monuments, their hydronyms. Canadians also know that naming reality means calling it Lake Ontario – then, now and always.”

The move to rename the lake, which sits on the U.S.-Canada border, came amid a breakdown in trade between both nations, with Trump accusing Ottawa of unfair trade practices.

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Trump floated renaming Lake Ontario, one of the Great Lakes, hours before Carney’s announcement of reciprocal tariffs on U.S. imports. 

The U.S. imposed new 50% tariffs on Canadian goods such as wine, furniture and dairy products, while Carney said U.S. trade demands proved Washington wanted to “destroy our major industries,” including autos, steel and aluminum, FOX Business previously reported.

“Canada has been ripping us off for a long time on trade,” Trump said Thursday. “Very sadly, even the military, you know, we defend Canada for nothing. We don’t get anything. They don’t pay us to defend Canada.”

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He said that Canada wants to “be treated like a state” and “we just can’t do that anymore.” Trump angered Canadian officials last year when he advocated for Canada to become the 51st U.S. state. 

Trump even jokingly floated renaming the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

“So, if you think about it, we have a gulf and we have a lake,” he said. “Now, all we need is an ocean. So maybe we’ll have to change the name of the Atlantic and or the Pacific. Maybe we’ll change them both.”

Trump previously used geographic names to make political statements, ordering the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. 

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman is backing a once-futuristic answer to America’s fight over AI data centers: Move them into Earth’s orbit.

Isaacman said Wednesday that solar-powered facilities in space could tap the sun’s energy without competing for the land, water and grid capacity required by sprawling data centers proposed across the country.

“Let’s take our data centers, put them in Earth orbit, take advantage of that free fusion reactor that’s out there for us and use that to ensure we do win the space race for sure, but the AI race, too,” Isaacman said in an interview with Nexstar DC.

Isaacman’s idea comes as voters push back on the data center boom. A Fox News poll this summer found 70% of voters oppose building AI data centers in their own area, while 79% said construction should slow to address environmental and community concerns rather than move as quickly as possible to maintain a competitive edge over China.

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Half of those opposed said environmental issues, including energy and water use, pollution and noise, were their chief concern.

The idea comes with its own engineering problems. AI chips produce immense heat, and satellites would have to release it through large radiators. Operators would also need cheap, reliable launches, radiation-resistant hardware and laser links fast enough to connect thousands of computers spread across orbit.

That has not stopped companies from trying to turn the concept into a business. Google has called Project Suncatcher a “moonshot” to place its TPU chips on solar-powered satellites linked by lasers. It plans to launch two prototype satellites by early 2027 to test its hardware in orbit and determine whether the satellites can share data fast enough for AI workloads.

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SpaceX is pursuing a more aggressive version. Its proposed AI1 satellite would stand about 98 feet tall, have a wingspan of roughly 246 feet and carry up to 175 kilowatts of average AI computers, according to the company. SpaceX says it is building a Texas factory intended to produce thousands of the satellites as early as late 2027.

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Small-scale tests are already underway. Startup Starcloud launched a satellite carrying a Nvidia H100 chip in November and says it later ran a version of Google’s Gemini model and trained a small language model in space. Starcloud plans its first commercial mission, Starcloud-2, for 2027.

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SpaceX has also asked the Federal Communications Commission for authority to deploy as many as 1 million orbital data-center satellites between 500 and 2,000 kilometers above Earth. The satellites would use optical links to communicate with one another and SpaceX’s Starlink network. The FCC has accepted the application for review but has not approved the constellation.

President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order renaming Lake Ontario “Lake America,” then joked that the Atlantic and Pacific oceans could be next.

“As you know, we took something called the Gulf of Mexico, we changed it, and now it’s very routinely the Gulf of America,” Trump said.

“So if you think about it, we have a gulf and we have a lake. Now all we need is an ocean,” he continued. “So maybe we’ll have to change the name of the Atlantic and or the Pacific. Maybe we’ll change them both.”

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Trump declared the Lake Ontario change “official, effective immediately” while announcing the order.

“And finally, it’s the purpose of this more than anything else is we’re going to be changing the name of Lake Ontario, effective immediately to Lake America,” Trump said. “That’s going to take place right now as I signed the order.”

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The president said the administration had “filed all the necessary papers, documents, everything else” and notified the relevant parties.

“So we’ve done everything that you have to do. And this is official, effective immediately,” Trump said.

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The order directs Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, working with the Board on Geographic Names, to take steps within 30 days to rename the lake in the federal Geographic Names Information System and remove references to “Lake Ontario.” 

It also directs the board to ensure federal maps, contracts, documents and agency communications use the new name.

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The order does not control the name used by Canada, which borders the lake along with New York.

It is not Trump’s first effort to put an American stamp on a major body of water.

On his first day back in office, Trump signed Executive Order 14172, “Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness,” directing the federal government to use “Gulf of America” in place of the Gulf of Mexico.

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Trump later signed a proclamation declaring Feb. 9, 2025, the first “Gulf of America Day” while aboard Air Force One over the newly renamed gulf en route to Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans.

“Today, I am very honored to recognize February 9, 2025, as the first ever Gulf of America Day,” Trump wrote in the proclamation.

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Burgum said at the time that the Interior Department had implemented Trump’s instruction from the executive order.

The Lake America order invokes that same policy, arguing that the United States is the “greatest protector” of the Great Lakes system. 

It points to nearly $4 billion in U.S. freshwater ecosystem investment over the last decade, as well as the Coast Guard’s fleet of icebreaking vessels.

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“The United States has invested nearly $4 billion in protecting the Great Lakes freshwater ecosystem in the last decade, while Canada has invested far less in similar initiatives over the same period,” the order states.

The order also cites the lake’s historic role in American trade, settlement, defense, commerce and energy, arguing it remains a major economic and strategic resource for the United States.

“In recognition of this flourishing economic resource and its critical importance to our Nation’s economy and its people, I am directing that the Lake officially be renamed as Lake America,” Trump wrote.

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Trump’s comments about renaming the Atlantic and Pacific appeared to be a joke. He announced no executive action or formal effort targeting either ocean.

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

The Trump administration spent months insisting Iran did not control passage through the Strait of Hormuz.

But after Iran and Oman unveiled a proposed framework that Tehran says would exclude military vessels if finalized, the White House would not say whether President Donald Trump would accept any restriction on U.S. warships under the arrangement.

U.S. Central Command, meanwhile, rejected Iran’s underlying claim of authority.

“Iran does not control the Strait of Hormuz,” CENTCOM spokesperson Capt. Tim Hawkins told Fox News Digital. “The strait is an international waterway that commercial vessels continue to transit with U.S. military assistance.”

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Fox News Digital asked whether Trump would accept a restriction on U.S. military vessels if the proposal becomes binding, whether American forces would be expected to comply and whether U.S. warships retain the right to operate in the strait regardless of any future arrangement. The White House did not respond.

Hawkins said U.S. forces have helped nearly 1,500 vessels transit the strait since early May.

The silence marks a shift after months in which the administration publicly challenged Iranian efforts to dictate passage through Hormuz. Secretary of State Marco Rubio repeatedly called a proposed toll system illegal and unacceptable, while Trump threatened Oman this month if it “gets in the way” of a U.S. deal with Iran.

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The administration has also spent months applying military and economic pressure aimed at reopening the strait on U.S. terms. American forces have struck Iranian military targets, protected commercial shipping and maintained a blockade of Iranian ports, while the administration expanded sanctions through its new Operation Economic Outcast campaign.

Those measures have helped push some ships back through Hormuz, but traffic remains far below pre-war levels.

Oil flows through the strait stood Monday at about 5 million barrels per day, down from more than 20 million barrels per day before the war, according to Reuters, which cited provisional Vortexa tracking data.

Iran is now pursuing a reopening arrangement that, by its account, would preserve a measure of control over the waterway while excluding foreign military vessels.

Oman and Iran announced a proposed framework Monday to reopen the strait through a joint temporary navigational corridor and a joint mine-clearing project.

Their joint statement said technical talks would continue on a permanent corridor, future administration of the strait, traffic management and security services, leaving key terms unresolved.

Iranian officials filled in some of those blanks Tuesday.

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Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said the temporary arrangement would route commercial ships entering the Persian Gulf through Iranian waters, with outbound traffic moving through Iranian and Omani waters. He said the proposal would exclude military vessels if it becomes binding.

Separately, Sepah News, an outlet run by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, quoted IRGC spokesman Hossein Mohebbi as saying Iran and Oman had reached agreements on “each country’s share of the strait’s waters” and the two countries’ “share of its revenues.”

Mohebbi also accused the U.S. of obstructing the talks.

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But Oman’s public statement did not mention a military-vessel ban, transit fees or revenue sharing, and described the framework as proposed. Iranian officials also told Reuters the arrangement was not yet final.

That leaves the arrangement’s most consequential question unresolved: whether Iran can use the emerging commercial shipping framework to restrict American military access to the strait — and what the Trump administration intends to do if Tehran tries.

A federal judge on Thursday again blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order limiting mail-in voting, halting the directive, at least for now, for a second time with only about a week before the first mail ballots are expected to be sent out for the upcoming midterm elections.

U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani issued a 14-day temporary restraining order blocking enforcement of the new U.S. Postal Service rule implementing the order.

The ruling is likely to be quickly appealed and could soon make its way back to the Supreme Court, days after the nation’s highest court handed down a procedural decision that allowed the administration to move forward.

Thursday’s ruling comes after Democrats and voting rights groups refiled their lawsuits to comply with the recent Supreme Court decision. The high court did not address the legality of Trump’s order, only finding that Talwani had acted too soon.

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The administration has now issued a formal rule governing how states must prepare and submit mail ballots for USPS acceptance, effectively taking the legal fight back to square one.

The case will have a significant impact on November’s midterms, as nearly one-third of Americans vote by mail and election officials argue there is not enough time to amend their systems to comply with the new directives.

The Postal Service said it will not accept outbound mail ballots if states do not submit required recipient information through its portal and meet the rule’s envelope and barcode requirements.

“Plaintiff states have neither time nor funds to design new mail ballots, seek approval of the new designs, order production of mail ballots, update their own election management systems, train election officials to use the USPS portal and upload citizen data to the portal, all before the midterms,” Talwani wrote in Thursday’s ruling.

A hearing in the case is scheduled for Sept. 3.

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Democrats and voting rights groups argue that the Postal Service rule and Trump’s order are unconstitutional. They say the Constitution grants states, as well as Congress in some cases, the authority to establish election rules, noting that the president and Postal Service do not have that power. USPS, however, says the rule does not determine voter eligibility or compare submissions with state voter rolls, and that states retain control over who may vote by mail.

“This rule is a clear attempt by the federal government to interfere in elections it has no power to control. Today, a federal court halted it before this administration could wreak havoc on our elections,” New York Attorney General Letitia James, one of two dozen Democrat attorneys general who filed one of the lawsuits, said in a statement.

Trump’s first executive order, which was issued last year, was blocked on those grounds.

The order attempted to change election procedures, including by requiring additional physical documentation to register to vote, such as a U.S. passport, a REAL ID or military ID indicating U.S. citizenship or a government-issued photo ID accompanied by proof of citizenship.

Trump has long criticized mail-in voting, which he falsely attributes to his 2020 election loss to former President Joe Biden. But Trump himself uses mail-in voting to cast his ballot as a registered voter in Florida.

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According to a 2025 report by the Brookings Institution, mail-in voting fraud was recorded in only about four cases out of every 10 million mail ballots cast, contradicting claims by Trump and his allies that election fraud is widespread. The analysis covered general elections from 2016 through 2022 and relied in part on a database that its source says is not comprehensive.

Trump issued the executive order targeting mail-in voting in March, leading to legal challenges. 

In a separate case, a federal judge in Washington declined earlier this year to block the order at that stage, finding the challenge premature because the administration had not yet implemented the directive.

The Supreme Court struck down one of those holds earlier this week.

Talwani removed the second injunction a short time later. The plaintiffs then refiled their challenges, pointing to the Postal Service’s publishing of its final rule, in an effort to build a stronger case.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Minnesota’s progressive Attorney General Keith Ellison accused Texas Gov. Greg Abbott of turning the Lone Star State into a “sanctuary state for violent criminals” after an ICE agent charged in the shooting of a man in Minneapolis was released from a Texas jail, escalating a politically charged extradition fight between the two states.

Christian Castro, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent charged in connection with a non-fatal January shooting in Minneapolis, was released Thursday from a south Texas jail after a federal judge denied Minnesota’s emergency request to keep him in custody and compel Abbott to sign the extradition warrant. Texas law generally limits pre-extradition detention to 90 days, and Abbott has not yet decided whether to approve Minnesota’s request.

“This is not politics — this is not a game,” Ellison said in a statement after Castro’s release. “If a governor can delay extraditions and cherry-pick cases according to their political tastes, then no state will be able to hold fugitive criminals accountable.”

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Meanwhile, Ellison wrote on X that by “refusing to extradite Castro, Greg Abbott is turning Texas into a sanctuary state for violent criminals.”

“You guys are such bad lawyers. You showed up unprepared, uninformed & unpersuasive. You don’t know the law & it showed,” Abbott wrote on X in response to Ellison’s post calling Texas a “sanctuary state for violent criminals.”

“Minn. is the literal definition of a sanctuary state because you refuse to assist in enforcing immigration laws,” Abbott shot back. “I’ll put Minneapolis at the top of the list for future bus drop offs if we ever have a President like Joe Biden again.”

Castro faces four felony counts of second-degree assault and one misdemeanor count of falsely reporting a crime – charges filed by a Minnesota state court. He is accused of firing through the front door of an occupied north Minneapolis home during an ICE operation in January, striking Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis in the leg. Castro has maintained that he acted in self-defense.

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Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty’s office filed the underlying state charges against Castro following an investigation by Minnesota’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. The Trump administration initially cast the episode as an attack on an ICE officer, but ICE later placed Castro and another agent on administrative leave after its acting director said they appeared to have made “untruthful statements” about what happened.

Minnesota prosecutors say surveillance video and other evidence contradict Castro’s account that he fired after being attacked with a broom and snow shovel. Federal assault charges initially filed against Sosa-Celis and another man were later dismissed after prosecutors said new evidence was “materially inconsistent” with the original allegations.

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Abbott has said Texas is investigating whether Castro qualifies as a fugitive subject to extradition, noting that the agent returned to Texas on federal orders rather than voluntarily fleeing Minnesota. The governor’s office praised the judge’s ruling, accusing Minnesota of trying to force a deadline on Abbott’s review.

Fox News Digital asked Abbott’s office about how the governor was planning to act on Minnesota’s extradition request and for clarification on Texas’ review of Castro’s fugitive status, but did not receive a response before publication.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin responded to criticism from Texas Democratic U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico about the deportation of a young boy who was detained with his father by federal immigration authorities.

Victor Martinez Nieto and his 5-year-old son, Liam Tadeo, were both deported Tuesday. The pair were detained by authorities in Austin, Texas, earlier this month while on their way to a soccer match.

On Wednesday, Talarico, who has highlighted the case in his criticism of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement agenda, said Tadeo, who was slated to start kindergarten this week, should have spent his first day of school in a classroom.

DEM’S STUNNING IDEAL STANDARD FOR IMMIGRATION DETENTION CONDITIONS RESURFACES AMID TEXAS SENATE BID

“ICE kidnapped Liam Tadeo on his way to a soccer game with his dad,” Talarico wrote on X. “Liam should be in kindergarten. Instead, our government has thrown him in a prison camp hundreds of miles from home.”

On Thursday, Talarico posted that Liam had been deported.

HOMAN BLASTS DEM HYPOCRISY ON DEPORTATIONS, RECALLS PAST WHEN ‘OBAMA GAVE ME AN AWARD’ FOR ENFORCING BORDER

Looking to set the record straight, Mullin said Talarico “won’t tell the American people the full story.” He said the boy was deported with Martinez Nieto at his father’s request.

“ICE does NOT separate families,” Mullin wrote. “Parents are asked if they want to be removed with their children or ICE will place the children with a safe person the parent designates. In this case, both the father and son were deported together.”

BIDEN JUDGE OVERRULED ON KEY TRUMP IMMIGRATION POLICY

Mullin noted that parents are responsible for what happens to their children “just as any U.S. citizen parent who breaks the law is when they are arrested.”

The father and son were both held at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center.

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Fox News Digital has reached out to the family’s attorney. Martinez Nieto was arrested by immigration officers in November 2025 and deported in February. He later reentered the United States illegally, The Austin American-Statesman reported.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Thursday responded to President Donald Trump’s executive order to rename Lake Ontario to “Lake America” amid his ongoing trade war with Canada, saying her state would continue using the old name.

“New York won’t be calling it that,” Hochul, a Democrat, wrote on X.

Trump’s order, directs the Interior Department and Board on Geographic Names to update federal records and provide guidance so federal references reflect the new name.

But Canada and international bodies are not required to adopt the new name.

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

“The name Lake Ontario comes from the Wendat word Ontari’io, which, appropriately, means ‘the lake is beautiful, the lake is big.’ The name is more than 400 years old, predating both the Confederation of Canada and the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America,” Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said in a statement.

“We know that America is changing. Their trading relationships, their foreign policies, their national monuments, their hydronyms. Canadians also know that naming reality means calling it Lake Ontario — then, now and always,” he added.

U.S. states are also not bound by the order and can continue using “Lake Ontario” on state maps, highway signs and tourism materials. Hochul, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers and Vermont Gov. Phil Scott were among state leaders who criticized or mocked the move.

“And I just renamed Lake Michigan Lake Wisconsin. See, I can sign napkins that say things, too,” Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, wrote on X alongside a video of himself writing “Lake Wisconsin” on a McDonald’s paper napkin and signing the bottom.

Vermont Gov. Phil Scott, a Republican, called Trump’s move to rename the lake over the trade feud “petty and disappointing.”

“We should be at the negotiating table, finding a path forward that strengthens both the U.S. and Canadian economies. Further escalating tensions does nothing to help American or Canadian families and businesses,” Scott said.

The name Lake Ontario is also commonly traced to an Indigenous word translated as “lake of shining waters,” and includes around 5.6 million Americans and Canadians in its watershed, according to the Center for Great Lakes Literacy. The lake borders Canada’s Ontario province and New York, connecting the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean through the St. Lawrence Seaway.

Hochul has criticized Trump for the trade war with Canada, saying earlier this week that the president is “treating our allies as enemies” and that “American families continue to suffer because of it.”

TRUMP TAUNTS CANADA ON RENAMING LAKE ONTARIO THE ‘LAKE AMERICA’ AMID RISING BORDER TRADE RIFT

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New York is among many states expected to be hit hard by the trade war with the U.S.’s northern neighbor. U.S. goods and services traded with Canada totaled an estimated $872.3 billion last year, according to U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer’s office.

Carney said the Canadian government would impose retaliatory tariffs on the U.S. beginning Sept. 8 in response to the Trump administration’s new 50% tariffs on about $20 billion worth of Canadian goods, which took effect earlier this month.

The prime minister said Canada “will match Washington’s new tariffs dollar for dollar in order to protect Canadian workers, farmers, families, and businesses.”

Social media is in a frenzy over a report that police raided the home of Rep. Ilhan Omar’s son over allegations against his roommate.

Minneapolis police raided the home of Adnan Hirsi earlier this week and confiscated guns and ammunition before arresting his roommate, Abdulrahman Abdi, Alpha News reported. 

Hirsi, Omar’s son, has not been implicated in any wrongdoing, nor was the congresswoman implicated in the incident.

CAUGHT ON CAMERA: SQUAD DEM SQUIRMS WHEN PRESSED ON VANCE DOJ FRAUD PROBE

But the report’s mention that the suspect shares an apartment with the progressive lawmaker’s son was enough to make her right-wing critics on social media erupt.

“Nothing to see here. Move along,” Steve Ferguson, a small business owner with nearly 300,000 followers on X, posted.

Right-wing activist Benny Johnson wrote, “Not a good look for Ilhan Omar.”

Online influencer “Spitfire” wrote on the site, “This Omar investigation is getting more interesting by the day.”

“Anyone shocked that a horrible person would be a horrible mother? What do you expect from someone who marries their brother?” Townhall columnist Derek Hunter wrote, referencing an unproven online conspiracy theory that Omar previously was married to her brother, which she has denied.

REP ILHAN OMAR’S DAUGHTER STRIKES HARD-CORE COMMUNIST POSE AS MOM BATTLES CLAIMS SHE IS RICH

Commentator Gunther Eagleman called to “deport Ilhan Omar and her family.”

“Ilhan Omar: Supports violent jihad. Ilhan’s daughter: Arrested during pro-Hamas campus riots; traveled to Cuba with a CCP-linked group. Ilhan’s son: Home raided by police; guns and ammunition seized,” Eitan Fischberger, a former staff sergeant in the Israeli military and a current opinion columnist, wrote.

The report itself was also shared without comment by former Trump advisors Corey Lewandowski and Sean Spicer.

The report said a search warrant was executed Tuesday at the home Abdi shares with Hirsi, and that guns and ammunition were recovered. Abdi was reportedly arrested earlier in the day. No wrongdoing by Hirsi was reported.

The Minneapolis Police Department declined to comment when reached by Fox News Digital.

Fox News Digital did confirm that Abdi was arrested by Minneapolis police and booked just after noon on Tuesday. He was released just before midnight the next day, records show.

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Omar is a staunch advocate for gun control. Fox News Digital reached out to her office for comment on the incident.

The Republican National Committee is escalating its fight with New Jersey election officials over voter roll records, threatening legal action as it seeks information related to noncitizens found on the state’s rolls.

The RNC sent formal National Voter Registration Act violation notices Wednesday to New Jersey‘s secretary of state, and election officials in Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Middlesex, Somerset and Union counties.

The committee is seeking records related to noncitizen removals, citizenship verification efforts and other voter roll maintenance activities. Officials have until Sept. 15 to produce the records or potentially face litigation, according to the RNC.

“Democrat (Gov.) Mikie Sherrill admitted what the RNC already uncovered through public records requests: noncitizens are on New Jersey’s voter rolls,” RNC Chairman Joe Gruters said in an RNC release. “Now, election officials are refusing to turn over records explaining how it happened.

“Voters deserve answers, and the RNC is putting officials on notice: comply with the law, hand over the records, or face legal action.”

NEW JERSEY GOVERNMENT UNDER CONGRESSIONAL INVESTIGATION AFTER EXPLOSIVE REVELATIONS ON NONCITIZEN VOTERS

The RNC claims Bergen County records identified 134 noncitizens removed from New Jersey voter rolls between January 2023 and August 2026.

Of those, 91 registrations were linked to the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC), according to the committee.

Sherrill’s administration has separately disclosed that a software error at the MVC improperly registered approximately 6,600 people to vote between June 2023 and June 2024, before she took office.

DEMOCRATS CONCEDE NJ VOTER-ROLL FAILURE WAS ‘HORRIBLE’ — BUT REJECT BROADER FRAUD FEARS

Her administration said approximately 5,100 people affected by the error were removed from the voter rolls because they had no separate registration or attestation of eligibility.

Another approximately 1,450 registrations were changed to rejected status pending further review by county election officials.

The state said approximately 340 people newly registered because of the software error voted. It also identified approximately 220 people affected by the error who voted, but had previous registrations or separate attestations indicating they may have been validly registered.

Sherrill said county officials had been directed to resolve remaining cases before the November election.

HOUSE REPUBLICANS CONFRONT NJ GOVERNOR OVER 6,600 NONCITIZENS REGISTERED TO VOTE IN ALLEGED SOFTWARE FAILURE

She has also accused the Trump administration of seeking greater federal control over state voter rolls and resisted federal efforts to obtain nonpublic voter information, calling the effort a “phishing expedition here in New Jersey.”

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The governor’s office has said its investigation into the MVC error remains ongoing.

The RNC, New Jersey secretary of state’s office, and Sherill’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Democrat Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro joined a multistate lawsuit against the Trump administration Thursday challenging new conditions on federal family planning grants, including requirements aimed at ensuring taxpayer resources do not support elective abortion and promoting “life-affirming” services.

Shapiro announced the lawsuit by accusing the Trump administration of making it harder for low-income Pennsylvanians to access what he called “lifesaving reproductive care and family planning services,” specifically pointing to cancer screenings and testing for sexually transmitted infections.

But the 63-page complaint also challenges abortion-related provisions in the Trump administration‘s new requirements for Title X grants, including a directive that recipients “maintain strict separation from prohibited activities” and contribute to broader U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) efforts to “safeguard life-affirming, lawful, and ethical program delivery.”

PLANNED PARENTHOOD ACROSS MIDWEST AT RISK DUE TO LACK OF FEDERAL FUNDS AFTER 3 FACILITIES CLOSE IN MICHIGAN

Live Action blasted Shapiro’s characterization in a statement to Fox News Digital, accusing him of fighting to keep taxpayer dollars flowing to Planned Parenthood.

“Governor Shapiro is calling Planned Parenthood’s services ‘lifesaving care’ while fighting to keep taxpayer dollars flowing to the nation’s largest abortion chain,” Noah Brandt, vice president of communications and government affairs at Live Action, said. “There is nothing lifesaving about abortion.”

FEDERAL APPEALS COURT BLOCKS MAILING OF ABORTION PILLS IN RULING WITH NATIONWIDE EFFECT

Brandt said women deserve access to cancer screenings, prenatal care and other medical services, but argued that does not require taxpayers to subsidize Planned Parenthood.

“Governor Shapiro should stop hiding the abortion industry behind euphemisms and be honest about what he is defending: the killing of our youngest children,” Brandt added.

Title X funding is already prohibited from being used for abortion. Shapiro’s lawsuit challenges the Trump administration’s additional conditions aimed at “life-affirming” program delivery.

The administration’s new funding terms state that HHS will prioritize programs that uphold federal abortion-funding protections and “do not use taxpayer resources to promote or support elective abortion.”

COALITION OF 25 STATES SUES TRUMP ADMIN OVER MEDICAID WORK RULE DESIGNED TO PREVENT FRAUD

Recipients are also expected to maintain “strict separation” from prohibited activities, according to language reproduced in the lawsuit.

The states argue the rules could cost providers Title X funding even when abortions are performed outside the federally funded program.

Pennsylvania received $12,729,659 in Title X family planning funding in fiscal 2026, according to the complaint.

SUPREME COURT KEEPS BROADER ACCESS TO ABORTION PILL MIFEPRISTONE IN PLACE WHILE LEGAL FIGHT CONTINUES

Shapiro’s administration has backed Medicaid coverage for abortion, increased reimbursement rates for abortion services and joined legal efforts seeking expanded access to mifepristone.

The filing marks Shapiro’s second lawsuit against the Trump administration in as many days.

On Wednesday, the potential 2028 Democratic presidential contender joined a coalition challenging new federal requirements for mail-in ballots ahead of the November midterms.

SUPREME COURT KEEPS BROADER ACCESS TO ABORTION PILL MIFEPRISTONE IN PLACE WHILE LEGAL FIGHT CONTINUES

Neither Shapiro’s office nor the White House responded to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.

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The lawsuit, led by New York, Maryland and Massachusetts, and joined by more than 20 mostly blue states and governors, asks a federal court in Maryland to block the administration from applying the challenged conditions to Title X applicants and grantees.

Fox News Digital’s Alec Schemmel contributed to this reporting.

A highly radioactive material used to treat cancer is back on U.S. soil after American officials removed it from Guatemala over concerns it could be stolen and used to create a “dirty bomb.”

The cobalt-60 source had been housed inside a disused medical radiation device before U.S. and Guatemalan teams removed the radioactive component and transported it to secure storage in the United States.

The U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announced the operation Thursday, saying it was part of a broader effort to prevent dangerous radioactive materials from falling into the hands of terrorists and other adversaries.

The operation began in May, when specialists from the NNSA’s Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico worked with a facility in Guatemala to remove part of a U.S.-origin teletherapy machine containing cobalt-60.

Guatemalan officials assisted with transportation, logistics and physical security.

TRUMP SAYS US COULD ‘TAKE’ IRAN’S URANIUM AFTER STRIKES: HOW IT WOULD WORK

Cobalt-60 is used in medical devices to treat cancer, but the NNSA said highly radioactive sources can pose a security threat if stolen. The agency said the material removed from Guatemala could have been used to create a radiological weapon, commonly known as a “dirty bomb.”

The removal comes as the Trump administration emphasizes preventing terrorists from obtaining chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear weapons. The administration’s 2026 Counterterrorism Strategy identifies preventing terrorists from acquiring such weapons as a critical U.S. national security responsibility.

“Our mission is simple: protect American citizens, secure our borders, and ensure our adversaries never get their hands on materials that could harm our country,” Matthew Napoli, deputy administrator for the NNSA’s Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation, said.

LIVE EXPLOSIVE DEVICE FOUND NEAR HOMELAND SECURITY OFFICE IN CLEVELAND, FORCING MASS EVACUATIONS

“This successful removal is a massive win for homeland security and demonstrates our positive relationship with the Guatemalan government. NNSA will do whatever it takes to defend America and keep our communities safe,” Napoli added.

Guatemala’s National Centre of Radioactive Wastes and Ministry of Energy and Mines provided transportation, logistical and physical security support during the operation, according to the NNSA.

“Thanks to our collaboration with NNSA and DTRA in removing high-risk radioactive material from our facility, we were able to eliminate the danger it posed to our community and country,” Mayra Villatoro, head of the Unit of Technical Laboratories at Guatemala’s Ministry of Energy and Mines, said.

After the NNSA securely packaged the cobalt-60 component, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) provided secure transportation back to the U.S.

“The successful repatriation of the cobalt-60 source is a product of vital U.S. Government interagency cooperation,” Robert Bridges, DTRA program manager of Nuclear Transportation & Disposition, said. “We are proud to work with NNSA to take meaningful action in their mission to eliminate radiological risk and keep America safe.”

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The operation is part of the NNSA Office of Radiological Security’s work with foreign governments and other partners to remove high-activity radioactive material and strengthen protections around radioactive sources.

Marine One’s crew made repeated but unsuccessful attempts to notify Reagan National Airport that President Donald Trump’s helicopter was preparing to depart on Aug. 4 before it flew near a commercial passenger jet, according to a preliminary federal report released Thursday.

The National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary report said the crew’s first call to Reagan National’s helicopter-control frequency before departing from the Ellipse was not received. A second transmission was “broken and completely unreadable.”

After failing to reach the tower, the Marine One crew tried to relay the required three-minute notification through the helicopter facility at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, but that effort was unsuccessful as well, according to the report.

TRUMP EYES NEW WHITE HOUSE LAWN PROJECT THAT COULD RESHAPE PRESIDENTIAL TRAVEL

The missed warning meant Reagan National controllers did not receive notice that would have required them to stop departures before the presidential helicopter lifted off.

Instead, Envoy Air Flight 3742, an Embraer E-170 bound for Pensacola, Florida, was cleared to take off from Runway 1 as Trump departed the White House aboard Marine One for a planned trip to Los Angeles.

The passenger jet was beginning its initial climb as Marine One departed the Ellipse, about 2 miles north of the airport, the NTSB said.

The FAA’s preliminary estimate found the aircraft came within about 0.82 nautical miles of one another laterally and roughly 700 feet vertically. No one was injured, neither aircraft was damaged, and both flights continued without further incident.

FAA PROBES JFK NEAR MISS AFTER ANOTHER RECENT CLOSE CALL FUELS SCRUTINY OF AIR TRAFFIC SAFETY

The Envoy flight crew said the jet’s traffic-collision system announced, “Traffic, Traffic,” as the aircraft climbed and accelerated after takeoff. The pilots did not visually spot Marine One, but said the helicopter appeared to the right and below their aircraft on the cockpit display.

The system did not issue a resolution advisory, a more urgent instruction telling pilots to climb or descend to avoid another aircraft, according to the NTSB report.

PILOTS ACCIDENTALLY BROADCAST ‘MEOWING’ OVER REAGAN NATIONAL AIRPORT FREQUENCY

Marine One was eventually able to contact the tower after climbing high enough to establish reliable communications. Controllers then issued a traffic advisory, and the helicopter crew immediately reported having the Envoy jet in sight, the report said.

The newly released report also shows the communications concern had been raised just days earlier.

HOUSE TO VOTE ON AVIATION SAFETY BILL AFTER DEADLY DC MIDAIR CRASH

On July 30, Marine Helicopter Squadron One, known as HMX-1, met with Reagan National tower staff to discuss operations in the area. During that meeting, HMX-1 told controllers that communications had been “spotty,” the NTSB said.

Controllers had also raised concerns that HMX-1 crews had not always provided the required three-minute warning before takeoff. The two sides agreed that helicopter crews would use backup methods to reach the tower, including relaying the notification through another aircraft, if direct radio communication failed.

NTSB REPORT DETAILS HOW CONTROLLER DECISION AND TECH FAILURES LED TO DEADLY RUNWAY COLLISION

That is what Marine One’s crew attempted on Aug. 4, but the message still did not get through.

FAA technicians later determined there was not adequate line-of-sight coverage between the radio transmitter-receiver site and the Ellipse, where Marine One was temporarily operating during construction at the White House. 

The FAA subsequently moved the radios used for the airport’s helicopter-control frequency from a nearby residential neighborhood to the top of Reagan National’s control tower, according to the report.

FAA INVESTIGATES AFTER INCOMING PLANE EXECUTES GO-AROUND DUE TO AIRCRAFT LEAVING FROM INTERSECTING RUNWAY

The agency later conducted radio checks with two HMX-1 aircraft operating near the Ellipse and reported no deficiencies after the equipment was moved.

The FAA and NTSB began reviewing the incident earlier this month and previously characterized the event as a “momentary loss of separation.”

“Based on our preliminary safety review, there was momentary loss of separation, after which the aircraft continued to move away from one another,” the FAA previously told Fox News Digital. “The air traffic controller was in contact with both the commercial pilot and Marine One pilot during the loss of separation.”

While the aircraft were estimated to be less than 1.5 nautical miles apart horizontally, the NTSB said the preliminary estimate of 700 feet of vertical separation met the applicable FAA standard. In the relevant Class B airspace, the standard requires either 1.5 nautical miles of lateral separation or 500 feet of vertical separation.

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL AUDIO CAPTURES TENSE MOMENT TWO PLANES NEARLY COLLIDED AT BOSTON LOGAN AIRPORT

The NTSB said it is continuing to review surveillance data to calculate and confirm the closest point between the two aircraft.

The White House previously said Trump was never in danger.

“Marine One flights are piloted by some of the best aviators in the world, and at no point was the president in harm’s way,” White House spokesman Kush Desai told Fox News Digital.

The NTSB told Fox News Digital its preliminary report “is intended to present the factual information developed to date” and does not contain “analysis, conclusions, or findings related to probable cause.”

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“The investigation remains ongoing, and we are not providing additional comment beyond the information contained in the preliminary report,” the agency said, adding that any safety recommendations would be publicly announced, and further findings would be released through its public docket and final report process.

Fox News Digital’s Robert McGreevy contributed to this report.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani repeatedly declined to distance himself from embattled New York City Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) co-chair Gustavo Gordillo, after being pressed on allegations that the DSA leader failed to pay thousands in rent on a Crown Heights apartment while his family spent a reported $1.4 million renovating the NYC townhouse where he lives—a contrast critics say is difficult to square with the anti-landlord, rent-abolitionist socialist housing agenda he helps champion.

Mamdani said Sunday that people working for a “more affordable life” and a “fairer life” for New Yorkers “should be welcomed into this work.” When asked again Monday whether Gordillo should step down and whether he condemned allegations that Gordillo lied about his employment, the mayor said he welcomed anyone committed to making New York “a city that everyone can belong to.” Meanwhile, asked directly whether he condemned Gordillo’s alleged actions and lying, Mamdani ended the exchange: “Thank you very much.”

Gordillo, an Ivy League graduate who as a NYC-DSA co-chair met weekly with Mamdani and his campaign manager as the group coordinated fundraising, field and communications efforts, later served on Mamdani’s Economic Development & Workforce Development transition committee, according to public reporting. 

He is named in a pending Brooklyn Housing Court case, in which a former landlord alleges Gordillo failed to pay $5,000 in rent on a $2,500-a-month Crown Heights apartment, while his family’s townhouse was undergoing its $1.4 million in renovations, according to the New York Post. Gordillo’s family reportedly bought the Bed-Stuy townhouse in 2019 for $935,000, while Gordillo’s father has said it is for Gordillo and his brother to live in.

SOCIALIST BIGWIG BLASTS THE WEALTHY WHILE LIVING IN $1.4M BROOKLYN BROWNSTONE WITH EYEBROW-RAISING BACKSTORY

“The Democratic Socialists of America have become the Double Standards of America — demanding transparency, fairness, and accountability from everyone else while ignoring serious questions about one of their own,” Rev. Kevin McCall, a Brooklyn pastor who also assists tenants in New York City Housing Authority complexes, told the New York Post.

“The allegations surrounding NYC chapter co-chair Gustavo Gordillo raise troubling questions about whether he misled working-class New Yorkers about where he lived, how he obtained housing, and his labor credentials. DSA leaders and elected officials must answer these questions publicly and call for Gordillo’s resignation,” the Reverend added.

NEW YORK CITY MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI STRUGGLES TO DEFINE ‘WORKING CLASS’

Neither Mamdani’s office, the NYC-DSA nor Gordillo, responded to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment. The housing case involving Gordillo remains pending and no judgment has been issued.

Questions about Gordillo’s working-class credentials were also central to Monday’s exchange between Mamdani and reporters about Gordillo. The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers told the New York Post that its Joint Apprentice Training Committee terminated Gordillo’s electrician apprenticeship in March after a “prolonged absence from and failure to participate in required work and classes.”

FRUSTRATED BLUE-COLLAR UNION BOSSES RIP SOCIALIST POLITICIANS, WARN OF LABOR EXODUS FROM DEM PARTY

The New York Post reported that Gordillo later sought and received approval for a $95,000 annual salary from NYC-DSA without disclosing the termination to members. The outlet also reported that the Bed-Stuy renovation used nonunion contractors and was hit with a city stop-work order over permit issues—prompting further criticism of a DSA leader who has cast himself as a union electrician and advocate for working people.

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A source close to the union, according to the New York Post, said Gordillo “didn’t have a strong work record to begin with” and took the job “just for show,” while hogging “a slot from someone who probably really needed the opportunity.”

Fox News Digital’s Robert Schmad contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump took to social media ahead of the latest round of Republican primary elections to emphasize, “My Endorsements are stronger than ever….There has never been anything close!”

The numbers back up the president’s assertions that despite some setbacks, he remains the ultimate kingmaker in GOP nomination showdowns.

According to a Fox News Trump Primary Endorsement Tracker, the president is batting a thousand in Senate primaries so far this cycle, with all 24 of his endorsed candidates winning their contests.

In House races, Trump has a nearly perfect record, with 214 of the 218 candidates he endorsed winning their primaries.

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In gubernatorial showdowns, Trump-backed candidates have suffered a handful of high-profile defeats, but overall, 16 of the 21 contenders for governor the president has endorsed have captured the party’s nomination.

This week, Trump-backed candidates scored statewide victories in two very competitive contests.

Trump-endorsed Sen. Darline Graham of South Carolina, who was recently appointed to fill the remaining months of her late brother Sen. Lindsey Graham‘s current term, edged conservative Rep. Ralph Norman in a runoff to win the GOP Senate nomination for November’s election. Graham will face the Democratic nominee in November in the race for the final months of her late brother’s Senate term.

WHAT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS IN THE MIDTERM RACES SHOW

In Oklahoma, former state budget secretary and former state Sen. Mike Mazzei captured the GOP gubernatorial nomination by just 2,000 votes over rival Gentner Drummond, the state attorney general.

“I supported and ENDORSED two so-called ‘underdogs’ yesterday, one from South Carolina, and the other from Oklahoma, and they BOTH WON,” the president posted on social media Wednesday, following Tuesday’s primaries.

The president pulled out all the stops to help push Graham, whose stumble over international affairs during a debate last week grabbed national attention, over the finish line.

Trump headlined a rally for Graham on Friday in Myrtle Beach, where he pledged federal funding for a long proposed new interstate highway in South Carolina. He also held a tele rally for her on the eve of the primary. And MAGA Inc, the top Trump-aligned super PAC, dished out nearly $900,000 to support Graham’s campaign.

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But the Trump endorsement hasn’t proven to be a sure bet this cycle in South Carolina.

Trump backed Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette for the GOP gubernatorial nomination — in the race to succeed the term-limited McMaster — ahead of the state’s early June primary.

Evette was the top vote-getter in the primary but lost the ensuing runoff election against South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson in a landslide. And Trump, ever hungry for a victory, endorsed Wilson in addition to Evette days before the runoff.

It’s undeniable that Trump has dramatically reshaped the GOP since his first White House victory a decade ago, with the populist MAGA and America First wings gaining prominence over more traditional fiscal and social conservatives.

And the president’s grip over party politics remains extremely firm.

But he has had some setbacks, with five of his gubernatorial picks in Republican primaries this year going down to defeat. Besides South Carolina’s Evette, that list includes Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and Rep. Randy Feenstra of Iowa, who lost nominating contests this spring. And two weeks ago, Wyoming Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder and Minnesota businessman and “My Pillow” founder and former CEO Mike Lindell fell short.

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Meanwhile, two House incumbents endorsed by the president also lost their bids for renomination this month: Reps. Andy Ogles of Tennessee and Cory Mills of Florida, who was facing multiple controversies.

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“The Republican Party is Trump’s party, and there’s no question that an endorsement from the president provides a tremendous boost in a Republican primary. But it doesn’t necessarily mean the candidate’s going to win,” veteran GOP strategist and communicator Ryan Williams told Fox News Digital.

Williams said that “the president still has a firm grip on the party, even in places where a candidate he backed loses a nomination.” But he noted that “if there are underlying issues with a candidacy, those can pose problems that even an endorsement can’t overcome.”

The Treasury Department announced sanctions against three far-left international networks as part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on politically motivated violence.

The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control took action against Autistici Inventati, an Italy-based nonprofit; Palestine Action, a U.K.-based organization which it designated a terrorist group; and Masar Badil, a Spain-based group that allegedly operates as a front for the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, already sanctioned by the U.S.

“Far-left extremists, their fronts and their enablers should be on notice: We will bring the full weight of our economic tools to bear,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement. “Political terrorism has no place in our society, and we will continue to cut the financial lifelines of these groups until they are eliminated.”

RUBIO PUTS ENTIRE WORLD ON NOTICE AGAINST RISE OF ‘POISONOUS’ FAR-LEFT TERROR ‘MASKED AS EQUALITY’

Over the past year, Treasury Department officials have leveraged the powerful Office of Foreign Assets Control to investigate far-left nonprofits and activists, including Marxist influencer Hasan Piker and CodePink co-founders Medea Benjamin and Jodie Evans, for allegedly violating U.S. sanctions against Cuba. Piker, Benjamin and Evans have denied any wrongdoing, and they haven’t been charged with any crimes.

The latest move comes amid wider coordinated interagency efforts against far-left groups. Yesterday, the State Department issued a report saying that Autistici Inventati provided services to overseas terrorist groups and violent far-left agitators, causing chaos in American cities, according to a memo obtained by Fox News Digital.

The memo also revealed Portland-based Rose City Antifa, known for participating in riots and property destruction, is one of the U.S. groups that relied on Autistici Inventati tools and services.

Earlier this summer, Spanish authorities arrested wealthy far-left financier Fergie Cox, the estranged heir of the Cox cable TV empire, for extradition to the U.S. as part of a Justice Department investigation into his alleged funding of organizations, including Palestine Action. Cox has denied any wrongdoing and is fighting extradition.

The Treasury Department also sanctioned two officials of Masar Badil.

The sanctions block the groups’ access to any property or property interests located in the U.S. or controlled by U.S. citizens.

The sanctions also freeze any bank accounts these organizations might have in the U.S. and prevent American citizens from conducting financial transactions with the groups.

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Last year, the U.K. government sanctioned Palestine Action, criminalizing any U.K. involvement or support for the group.

Founded in 2020, Palestine Action is known for aggressive campaigns against defense companies it believes is supporting Israel. Palestine Action has reportedly broken into facilities, occupied factories and destroyed equipment. U.K. government officials said the group caused more than $1.3 million in damages to an Elbit Systems facility.

Huda Ammori, Palestine Action co-founder, denounced the sanctions in a message on the X social media platform.

“As a Palestinian and Iraqi, the fact the country which destroyed both my homelands is calling me a terrorist, is beyond hypocritical,” she said. “Trump is the antithesis to everything Palestine Action stands for.”

As for Masar Badil, the Treasury Department said the organization serves as a front for the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, which the U.S. and Canada sanctioned in 2024 after Treasury said it serves as an international fundraiser for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization.

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The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine was designated a foreign terrorist organization after decades of international terrorist attacks, including airline hijackings in the 1960s and 1970s that killed more than 20 Americans.

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine received its foreign terrorist organization designation alongside Hamas, Hezbollah and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in 1997.

“Organizations like Samidoun masquerade as charitable actors that claim to provide humanitarian support to those in need, yet in reality divert funds for much-needed assistance to support terrorist groups,” Bradley Smith, then-Treasury acting under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in an October 2024 statement. “The United States, together with Canada and our like-minded partners, will continue to disrupt those who seek to finance the PFLP, Hamas and other terrorist organizations.”

Samidoun’s internal coordinator, Charlotte Kates, rushed to X to defend Palestine Action and Masar Badil shortly after Treasury announced the sanctions.

“The U.S.’ latest sanctions and designations are targeting Palestine Action and the @MasarBadil, attempting once again to bring the upsurge for Palestine to an end through criminalization and state terror,” Kates posted. “The fact is: designations can’t stop a resistance or a revolution.”

Masar Badil executive committee member Khaled Barakat told Fox News Digital in a statement that U.S. sanctions are part of Washington’s broader campaign against Palestinians, accusing the U.S. of working with Israel to suppress pro-Palestinian activism and criminalize those who organize or speak out in support of the Palestinian cause.

“The Trump administration is the primary perpetrator of terror in the world, along with its closest friend and co-conspirator, Benjamin Netanyahu and the Zionist regime,” Barakat said. “Rest assured, these sanctions will not quiet the voice of the Palestinian people, and our work and our movement will not be suppressed by state terror. The world knows it to be true: no sanctions will succeed in shoring up a declining empire. Palestine will be free, from the river to the sea.”

In a new report, “Building a Transnational Movement Around Armed Resistance Advocacy,” published Wednesday by researchers at George Washington University’s Program on Extremism, the authors said Masar Badil was directly involved in unrest on some campuses following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, and has repeatedly made efforts to physically mobilize to protest Israel and U.S. involvement.

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In addition to Palestine Action and Masar Badil, the Treasury Department sanctioned Autistici Inventati, saying the group provides services such as website hosting on foreign servers, encrypted email accounts and digital infrastructure to violent left-wing extremist groups, including sanctioned terrorist organizations such as the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, which was also designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization in 1997.

Lara Burns, a former FBI special agent who is now the head of terrorism research at George Washington University’s Program on Extremism, detailed why the organizations sanctioned by the Treasury Department pose a dangerous threat.

“These networks are driving concepts that terror activities — that murder — are acts of legitimate resistance that are somehow justified, and that is a scary concept,” Burns told Fox News Digital. “The broader this message is and the farther this message reaches, the more normalized it becomes. And so, as these groups have been allowed to operate both here in the United States and abroad, the message has become louder.”

Organizations will operate under the cover of charity or activism to mask their true and potentially violent intentions, Burns said.

She noted that if nonprofit organizations “are driving pro-terror agendas under that cover, then the federal government needs to take action against them.” The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Burns said, has stealthily shifted from full-blown terrorist attacks to influence operations under the guise of activism, prisoner campaigns and transnational support networks.

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Fox News Digital reached out to Palestine Action and Autistici Inventati, the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, Kates and Ammori, but didn’t receive responses.

After raging against a key tool in President Donald Trump’s economic arsenal, Senate Democrats quietly green-lit the authority before they left Washington, D.C.

Democrats have bashed Trump’s use of tariffs since they were first floated during his campaign in 2024, and have taken every chance to challenge and push back against duties imposed on other countries throughout his second term.

But nearly the entire Senate Democratic caucus voted in favor of giving Trump limited tariff authority in exchange for bone-crushing sanctions against Russia. Only nine Democrats, and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., ultimately voted against the package.

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Now, Trump has ignited a trade war with Canada, introducing 50% tariffs against the country on roughly $20 billion worth of goods, which has reignited the debate on the campaign trail and as Democrats seek to flip the Senate and corral his authority.

Some warned that giving congressional approval would allow the administration to abuse the power.

“It gives Donald Trump massive new tariff authority that he can use to threaten our trading partners and raise prices on the American people,” Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said on the Senate floor. “I believe senators will come to deeply regret voting to give Donald Trump this tariff authority.”

Though not directly connected to the authority granted in the sanctions package, which directly deals with countries buying oil from Russia, Trump’s move to enter into a fight with one of America’s top trade partners is what he warned of: giving the White House congressional leeway.

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The tariff authority baked into the sanctions package would allow Trump to issue levies of up to 500% on Russian imports and tariffs of up to 100% on the top five countries buying Russian energy, like China and India.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., who, alongside the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, pushed the package for nearly two years, told Fox News Digital that if Trump strays outside the legal confines built into the package, the courts will block him as they did with his sweeping tariffs unveiled on “Liberation Day” last year.

“If Donald Trump wants to break this law, he will be restrained by the courts, just as when he broke the law on tariffs previously,” Blumenthal said. “We can’t do any more than be explicit in limiting his authority to the top five purchasers, and only those countries, by the terms, specific in the legislation.”

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., who went on to vote against the package, told reporters last month that Trump “has shown what he will do with broad tariff authority.”

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“Heck, he’s shown what he’ll do even if he doesn’t have authority,” she said.

And Paul, who has been one of the lone Republicans to consistently oppose Trump’s use of tariffs, introduced an amendment alongside Wyden to strip them from the broader package, warning that the duties were nothing more than an additional tax on the American people.

“Do not let sympathy for Ukraine blind you to the reality of tariffs,” Paul said.

One Senate Democrat, Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., received guarantees from U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer that the tariffs baked into the sanctions package would just be limited to the top five energy trading partners with the Kremlin.

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He told Fox News Digital that the concern was that Trump could broadly bend the rules in the package and impose duties as he pleased, which is why he sought guardrails and commitments from the administration.

“It was important to hold [Vladimir] Putin accountable. He is a war criminal,” Warnock said. “His aggression towards Ukraine has national security implications for us. But at the same time, it was important to put some guardrails on this president. And I think I made considerable progress in making sure that that happens.”