NationalWatch

Florida Lt. Gov. Jay Collins, who could potentially mount a gubernatorial bid in the Sunshine State, appears to be taking jabs at U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, the candidate President Donald Trump has endorsed for governor. 

Collins — who Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis tapped for the lieutenant governor role earlier this year — retweeted a post on X that appeared to juxtapose him and Donalds with the phrases “Tough as Nails” and “Soft as Soy.”

“Hard times → Strong men,” Collins wrote when retweeting the post. “Strong men → Good times,” he continued. “Good times → Weak men,” he added. “Weak men → Hard times.” 

FLORIDA OFFICIAL CONFRONTS NEWSOM OVER CRASH TIED TO ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT TRUCKER

“Traveling around the state with ZERO record and nothing but an endorsement to brag about is not good enough,” Collins declared in part of another post, in which he later asserted, “Florida deserves better and I’ve delivered.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Donalds’ campaign for comment.

REP. DONALDS: TRUMP HAS PROVEN HE IS THE ‘PRESIDENT OF PEACE’

While interviewing Collins, CBS News Miami’s Jim Defede asked the politician point blank, “Are you running for governor?”

Collins replied by saying “we are just finalizin’ that plan.” He later said “we’ll put out our final decision here shortly. But we are really close to makin’ that … final call.” 

DESANTIS PICKS ‘THE CHUCK NORRIS OF FLORIDA POLITICS’ AS NEW TOP DEPUTY

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In addition to President Trump’s backing, Donalds has also been endorsed by GOP Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, and Republican Rep. Chip Roy of Texas.

Business tycoon Elon Musk has also declared that Donalds has his “full support.”

In a collaboration no one saw coming, United Nations Ambassador Mike Waltz and rapper Nicki Minaj are teaming up this week to spotlight Christian persecution in Nigeria.

Revealing himself as a fan of the ‘Super Bass’ singer, Waltz deemed Minaj “arguably the greatest female recording artist.” Waltz said on X: “I’m grateful she’s leveraging her massive platform to spotlight the atrocities against Christians in Nigeria, and I look forward to standing with her as we discuss the steps the President and his administration are taking to end the persecution of our Christian brothers and sisters.”

Minaj replied: “Ambassador, I am so grateful to be entrusted with an opportunity of this magnitude. I do not take it for granted. It means more than you know.  The Barbz & I will never stand down in the face of injustice. We’ve been given our influence by God. There must be a bigger purpose.”

POPE LEO XIV CALLS OUT CHRISTIAN PERSECUTION AMID LATEST MASSACRE OF CIVILIANS IN AFRICAN NATION

The address, first reported by Time Magazine correspondent Eric Cortellessa, will take place on Tuesday in New York. 

Years of bloodshed in Africa’s most populous nation has only recently garnered widespread attention in the U.S., with President Donald Trump threatening military action if the Nigerian government cannot get a handle on violent Islamist groups. 

While the government disputes that Christians are specifically targeted — pointing out that non-religious and moderate Muslims have fallen victim too — Christian advocacy group Open Doors deems Nigeria the seventh most dangerous country in the world for Christians and says, “more Christians are killed for their faith in Nigeria than in the rest of the world combined.”

“Terrorists attack all who reject their murderous ideology — Muslims, Christians, and those of no faith alike,” the office of the Nigerian presidency wrote on X. 

TRUMP DESIGNATES NIGERIA AS ‘COUNTRY OF PARTICULAR CONCERN’ OVER WIDESPREAD CHRISTIAN PERSECUTION, KILLINGS

The nation is home to 100 million Christians and various human rights groups claim that 50,000 have been killed since the beginning of a Boko Haram insurgency in 2009. 

Numbers are difficult to verify, but the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law reports at least 52,000 Christians have been killed, some 18,500 abducted and unlikely to have survived, and 20,000 churches and Christian schools attacked between 2009 and 2023.

Trump this month designated Nigeria as a ‘country of particular concern’ – putting it among the likes of China, Iran, Russia and North Korea – and tasked Reps. Riley Moore, R-W.Va., and Tom Cole, R-Okla., with leading an investigation into what they call Christian “genocide.” 

In a video on Truth Social this month, Trump threatened to “do things to Nigeria that Nigeria is not going to be happy about” and “go into that now-disgraced country guns-a-blazing.”

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Minaj has said that during hard financial times early in her music career, she considered giving up for a 9-to-5 but “faith” got her through. 

“[Faith is] what’s always got me through. My mother kept me in church when I was younger, so I never really strayed far from that in terms of my belief and my faith and my drive,” she said in a discussion on Fuse TV with Matte Babbel.

President Donald Trump blamed his hoarse voice on a tense discussion with a foreign nation who attempted to renegotiate the terms of their trade deal. 

Trump sported a raspy voice during a meeting with the White House’s task force on the FIFA World Cup 2026, prompting a reporter to ask if he felt alright.

“I feel great. I was shouting at people because they were stupid about something having to do with trade and a country, and I straightened it out, but I blew my stack at these people,” Trump told reporters Monday.

When pressed about which country, Trump did not specify which nation sparked his ire and only said that he wasn’t pleased.

TRUMP, XI MEET IN EFFORT TO RESOLVE TRADE TENSIONS SPARKED BY US TARIFFS

“A country wanted to try and renegotiate the terms of their trade deal,” Trump said. “And I wasn’t happy about it.”

When asked again which country, Trump said: “Why would I say that to you?”

The U.S. has engaged in trade talks with a number of countries in recent months, including Japan, Cambodia, Malaysia and Indonesia. Additionally, Trump met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea in October, where the two hammered out some negotiations on trade between the two countries.

TRUMP SAYS CHINA WILL WORK WITH HIM TO STOP FENTANYL TRAFFICKING

For example, Trump said he agreed to cut tariffs on Chinese imports by 10% — bring down the rate from 57% to 47% — because China said it would work with the U.S. on addressing the fentanyl crisis.

Likewise, Trump said that he would not impose an additional 100% tariff on Chinese goods that were expected to kick in Nov. 1. Trump threatened the steep hike after China announced in October it would impose export controls on rare-earth magnets, which he said China had agreed to postpone by a year.

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Afterward, Trump said that a broader trade deal between the two countries would be signed in the near future.

“Zero, to 10, with 10 being the best, I’d say the meeting was a 12,” Trump told reporters after meeting with Xi. “A lot of decisions were made … and we’ve come to a conclusion on very many important points.”

Facilities designed to discourage abortion have seen tens of thousands of additional clients in the wake of the Supreme Court’s landmark Dobbs ruling, according to a study published Monday.

The Charlotte Lozier Institute, the research arm of the pro-life organization SBA Pro-Life America, found in its annual report that the facilities, often known as pregnancy resource centers, surpassed one million clients for the first time in 2024.

That total is up from 974,965 in 2022, when the high court scrapped the federal right to abortion and flipped the issue back into the hands of states. The study looked at data from roughly 3,000 facilities nationwide.

The centers poured nearly half a billion dollars into supporting their clients, and the dollar value of material goods, such as diapers, strollers and cribs, provided to clients rose 48% from 2022.

NEWSOM BAILS OUT PLANNED PARENTHOOD WITH $140M TO KEEP 100 CLINICS OPEN AFTER TRUMP CUTS

Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of SBA Pro-Life America, told reporters on Monday the centers were an answer to the prevalence of abortion since Dobbs that the Charlotte Lozier Institute has attributed, at least in part, to easy access to abortion pills, which people can purchase by mail.

Pregnancy resource centers have “become even more important, especially with the horrific national policy that we have on the abortion drug which has led to the increase of abortions to around 1.1 million,” Dannenfelser said.

“You have a Planned Parenthood organization and a big abortion movement that, to the problem of addiction, says when she enters a clinic, or she goes online, ‘Here’s your pill. Have a nice life,’” Dannenfelser said.

MAJOR PRO-LIFE GROUP DEMANDS INVESTIGATION INTO ABORTION PILL BILLBOARDS IN FLORIDA

“Pregnancy centers, with the support of care workers, are going to the roots of the problem, to addiction, domestic abuse, homelessness, of the problem of just physically getting to your job so that you can do your job and support your family, the question of finishing school that you find yourself needing more resources and community and help at a moment where you want to say yes to your child and you also want to say yes to your own life and its trajectory,” she said.

Pregnancy centers have faced criticism, largely from the left, that they deceive their clients and donors into thinking they are not firmly against abortion and mislead clients about their ability to practice medicine. A lawsuit centered on that fight is pending before the Supreme Court; the high court will hear oral arguments in the case next month.

The report showed that clinics offer a range of services, from providing tangible items to adoption agency services, counseling and a variety of medical services, including abortion pill reversal, pregnancy tests, ultrasounds and STD screening.

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The Charlotte Lozier Institute also said it found that more than 60% of women who have had abortions would rather have given birth if they had had more emotional and financial support.

“When we have the courage to ask the questions of real women in the real world, this is what we find over and over and over again,” Dannenfelser said.

The Trump administration filed a lawsuit on Monday challenging California’s law banning federal immigration agents from wearing face masks to hide their identities, arguing that the measure is unconstitutional.

The lawsuit claims that the state does not have the authority to restrict federal agents.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the No Secret Police Act and the No Vigilantes Act into law in September. Under the bills, most law enforcement, including federal agents, would be barred from wearing masks on the job and non-uniformed officers would be required to visibly display identification during their duties.

Exceptions to the mask ban would be permitted for undercover agents, for those using medical masks like N95 respirators or as part of tactical gear.

NEWSOM BANS LAW ENFORCEMENT FROM WEARING MASKS, TAUNTS ICE AGENTS: ‘WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF?’

Newsom said that federal immigration officers would no longer be “hidden from accountability” while performing operations in California.

“That’s not the America we’ve grown up in. And so we are pushing back,” he said ahead of the bill signings.

Federal agents have conducted immigration raids in Southern California since June, targeting migrant workers at local businesses that sparked protests and the subsequent federal deployment of the National Guard and Marines. During the raids, some federal agents wore masks and hid their identities.

The administration urged the court to deem the laws a violation of the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution and issue a preliminary injunction blocking California from enforcing the laws.

The Supremacy Clause establishes that federal law is the “supreme Law of the Land,” overriding state law.

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE PASSES BILL PROHIBITING LAW ENFORCEMENT FROM WEARING FACE MASKS TO SHIELD IDENTITIES

The lawsuit also argues that the California laws violate Article 5, Section 301 of the U.S. Code, which says agency heads “may prescribe regulations for the government of his department [and] the conduct of its employees.”

Attorney General Pam Bondi said on Monday that the California laws “discriminate against the federal government and are designed to create risk for our agents.”

After Newsom signed the measures, administration officials directed ICE agents to ignore the California laws.

The Department of Homeland Security said on Sept. 22 that it will “NOT comply with Gavin Newsom’s unconstitutional mask ban,” pointing to an increase in threats towards ICE officers.

The lawsuit also argues that the California laws “would recklessly endanger the lives of federal agents and their family members and compromise the operational effectiveness of federal law enforcement activities.”

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But supporters of masks for immigration agents say that the use of face coverings generates fear among the public and must be stopped.

Newsom office said that California officials “will see the [DOJ] in court.”

“If the Trump administration cared half as much about public safety as it does about pardoning cop-beaters, violating people’s rights, and detaining U.S. citizens and their kids, our communities would be much safer,” spokesperson Diana Crofts-Pelayo said in a statement to The Hill, referring to President Donald Trump pardoning more than 1,000 people who participated in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots.

President Donald Trump said Monday that Americans could see payment checks funded by tariff revenues as soon as next year, promising that “hundreds of millions of dollars in tariff money” would be distributed as dividends by mid-2026.

“We’ve taken in hundreds of millions of dollars in tariff money. We’re going to be issuing dividends probably by the middle of next year, maybe a little bit later than that,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

The president first floated the idea last week, saying he would use tariff revenue to send $2,000 payments to low- and middle-income Americans, with any remaining funds directed toward paying down the nation’s soaring debt.

TRUMP CALLS TARIFF OPPONENTS ‘FOOLS,’ PROMISES $2K DIVIDEND PAYMENTS FOR AMERICANS

With the nation’s debt hovering just north of $38 trillion, revenue from tariffs amount to little more than a rounding error: billions collected against trillions owed.

The proposal comes at a pivotal moment, with tariff receipts climbing and the Supreme Court reviewing the legality of Trump’s trade measures.

Since Trump announced his “Liberation Day” tariffs in April, tariff revenues have climbed sharply from $23.9 billion in May to $28 billion in June and $29 billion in July. 

Total duty revenue reached $215.2 billion in fiscal year 2025, which ended Sept. 30, according to the Treasury Department’s Customs and Certain Excise Taxes report.

TRUMP DEFENDS TARIFFS, SAYS US HAS BEEN ‘THE KING OF BEING SCREWED’ BY TRADE IMBALANCE

So far in fiscal year 2026, which began on Oct. 1, the U.S. has collected $37.5 billion, according to the latest numbers published by the Treasury Department.

And while tariff collections have soared under Trump, they remain a modest contributor to federal coffers. 

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By contrast, individual income taxes generated more than $2.6 trillion in fiscal 2025, compared with $195 billion from tariffs and $452 billion from corporate income taxes, Treasury figures show.

The nation’s highest court is still in the process of deciding the fate of Trump’s trade agenda and the tariffs in question.

Conservatives on social media erupted over a clip showing a top education official in Michigan struggling to answer a question from a Republican lawmaker on how many genders exist. 

In the viral clip, resurfaced on X by conservative influencer LibsofTikTok on Sunday and seen over 2 million times, Michigan Chief Deputy Superintendent Dr. Sue Carnell is asked in an Oct. 28 hearing by Republican state Rep. Jay DeBoyer about her opinion on how many genders exist.

“How many genders are there,” DeBoyer asked, prompting Carnell to smile and pause without answering. “How many genders are there?” DeBoyer asked again.

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“Different people have different beliefs on that,” Carnell responded. 

The clip quickly went viral on social media and resulted in conservatives lambasting Carnell for not directly answering and instead explaining the importance of inclusivity. 

Former Michigan Republican gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon reacted in a statement to Fox News Digital saying, “Democrats want to sexualize every facet of the curriculum and the MBOE is imposing its radical ideology on all Michigan K-12 schools.”

“3/4 Michigan kids can’t read at grade level,” GOP Michigan state Sen. Aric Nesbitt posted on X. “When you realize these are the people in charge of education in Michigan, that number starts to make a lot more sense.”

TOP MEDICAL SCHOOL MOVED DEI OFFICE TO SECRET LOCATION AS IT TRIES TO ‘EVADE ACCOUNTABILITY’: LEGAL GROUP

“Surprised progressives are still not prepared for the ‘what is a woman’ question when they testify at hearings,” Heritage Foundation VP Roger Severino posted on X. “You would think they would have come up with something better than ‘I’m not a biologist’ (as Justice Jackson said) by now.”

“This is beyond embarrassing,” conservative influencer Paul A. Szypula posted on X. “If a person can’t answer how many genders there are then they shouldn’t be allowed to vote.”

“She is caught in the grips of an institutionalized mania,” political commentator Wesley Yang posted on X. 

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Carnell explained, “What I want people to know about gender identity is what’s in the update to the Michigan Health Education Standards Guidelines. It’s not about gotcha questions. It’s about providing local school districts with research-based information about health topics and including a few standards about gender identity areas for consideration by local schools.”

Carnell went on to say that the guidelines provide students, by completion of 8th grade, to be able to “Define gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation, and explain that they are distinct components of every individual’s identity” and “explain how biological sex, gender identity, and gender expression are distinct concepts and how they interact with each other.”

Last week, the Michigan State Board of Education approved new state sex education standards, which include recommendations that students be taught about gender identity and sexual orientation despite pushback from some parents and pastors, who argue they undermine parental rights and religious liberties.

The standards, which were being debated in the viral clip of Carnell, were adopted after a 6-2 vote.

“Despite serious concerns from parents and legislators, board members passed this controversial far left change while the state already had standards,” Dixon told Fox News Digital.

The state Department of Education emphasized that the standards are only guidelines and not mandates, adding that schools are still required to comply with all relevant state law.

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“The standards provide guidance to local school districts and, as in previous versions, local control remains in place and parents retain the right to decide whether their children should participate in sex education instruction,” the state Department of Education said in a news release after the vote.

“Local boards of education determine the health curriculum for their districts which may include sex education curriculum — if the district decides to offer sex ed— that has been reviewed by local sex education advisory boards that must include 50% parent representation,” it added.

Fox News Digital’s Landon Mion contributed to this report. 

President Donald Trump said he’s not ruling out sending U.S. ground troops into Venezuela amid his administration’s crackdown on criminal networks tied to the country’s top leadership and drugs that are exported from it. 

“No, I don’t rule out that, I don’t rule out anything,” Trump said Monday when asked if he has ruled out sending U.S. troops to Venezuela. 

“We just have to take care of Venezuela. They dumped hundreds of thousands of people into our country from prisons. Nobody knows better than this young lady right here,” Trump continued, referring to Department of Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem. “She’s done an incredible job with Tom Homan and all of your people.” 

The U.S. has carried out a series of strikes on boats that reportedly traffic narcotics in the waters off of Central and South America since September. The administration has carried out at least 21 fatal strikes on the boats since September, with the most recent strike unfolding Sunday. 

TRUMP REVEALS MADURO ‘WOULD LIKE TO TALK’ AS MILITARY OPTIONS REMAIN ON THE TABLE FOR VENEZUELA

The strikes come as the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford arrived in the Caribbean Sea earlier in November. Trump said Sunday that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro indicated he wants talks with the U.S. as tensions mount between the nations. 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Sunday that a criminal network allegedly tied to Maduro and his allies, the Cartel de los Soles, will be designated a foreign terrorist organization as tensions continue to escalate. 

Trump added Monday that he would speak with Maduro when asked if he was prepared to directly speak with the dictator. 

“Yeah, I probably would talk to him. Yeah, I talked to everybody,” Trump said. 

The administration has defended the strikes, saying the U.S. is engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels after the groups evolved into transnational terror organizations.

TRUMP AGREES MADURO’S DAYS AS VENEZUELA’S PRESIDENT ARE NUMBERED IN ‘60 MINUTES’ INTERVIEW

“We have a tight border right now,” Trump said. “Nobody comes in. But we had millions of people pouring through a year ago. We had millions of people pouring through our border, and many of them came from Venezuela, including Tren de Aragua, the gang. And I guess what I’m hearing, Kristi, is that there’s been a gang.” 

Trump has said the strikes are out of an effort to curb drugs flooding into the U.S., while experts have weighed in that the pressure on Venezuela is likely part of a larger puzzle to force Maduro’s ouster and end his regime in the country. 

TRUMP SAYS ‘WE’LL SEE WHAT HAPPENS’ WHEN ASKED ABOUT POSSIBILITY OF STRIKING VENEZUELA AMID RISING TENSIONS

Noem added during the Oval Office meeting, which focused on the 2026 FIFA World Cup that will be hosted in North America, that Tren de Aragua is a worse gang than MS-13. Tren de Aragua is a Venezuela-based gang with syndicates in nations stretching from South America to the U.S. Trump designated the gang, and other drug cartels and transnational gangs, as a foreign terrorist organization under an executive order in February of this year. 

“Killers. They massacre people,” Noem said. “They cut them up into pieces and they bury them in their communities where they grew up. They’re horrible people.” 

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“And we had a lot of them and many of them, most of them,” Trump added of alleged illegal gang members in the U.S. “Pretty soon most of them are going to be out, but they sent them in like we’re dumping ground. So, I’m not in love with the people running Venezuela. I love Venezuela. I love the people of Venezuela. But what they’ve done to this country and I really say this, what Biden and the Democrats have done to this country can never, ever be forgotten.”

Fox News Digital’s Bradford Betz, Emma Bussey and Louis Casiano contributed to this report. 

President Donald Trump said Monday that he was the first former McDonald’s fry cook to become president — a 30-minute shift, he joked, that lasted “longer than Kamala’s.”

Speaking at the McDonald’s Impact Summit 2025 in Washington, D.C., Trump used his fast-food experience to connect with franchisees and reinforce a theme he introduced on the campaign trail last fall — that his humor and work ethic set him apart from former Vice President Kamala Harris.

The president told the crowd his short stint behind the fryer gave him bragging rights as the only commander in chief to have worn an apron under the golden arches. He also thanked the McDonald’s employee who verified that Harris never worked there.

“I’m honored to stand before you as the very first former McDonald’s fry cook ever to become President of the United States,” Trump said. “And I actually was there for about 30 minutes, and that was 30 minutes longer than Kamala was there, despite her job at McDonald’s. That didn’t work out too well.”

TRUMP MAKES SURPRISE DC RESTAURANT STOP TO SHOWCASE ‘VIRTUALLY NO CRIME’ IN CAPITAL, FACES DOWN PROTESTERS

The joke carried over from an October 2024 campaign stop in Pennsylvania, where Trump put on a McDonald’s apron and worked the fryer while cameras rolled. He used the visit to rib Harris and highlight what he called his connection to working Americans.

He entered the restaurant to cheers, greeting employees and supporters as he grabbed a spatula and headed for the fry station.

“Hello, everybody. It’s my first day at McDonald’s — I’m looking for a job,” Trump said as he shook hands with the owner. “I’ve now worked for 15 minutes more than Kamala at McDonald’s.”

TRUMP DRAWS LAUGHS FROM WORLD LEADERS MOMENTS INTO UN SPEECH

He handed out fries, took drive-thru orders and talked with reporters about wages and what he called his lifelong wish to flip fries under the golden arches. He also wished Harris a happy birthday while tossing another jab her way.

At the Impact Summit, Trump praised McDonald’s as a symbol of affordability and American success, calling himself one of the company’s most loyal customers and noting that his planes were stocked with burgers and fries instead of expensive catering.

He credited the chain’s global reach and value meals as proof of American innovation, saying McDonald’s had done more than most corporations to support workers and keep prices steady for families.

PAT MCAFEE DEFENDS HAVING TRUMP ON SHOW, SAYS HE EXTENDED INVITE TO OBAMA: ‘IT’S THE PRESIDENT’

“I’m also one of your all-time most loyal customers,” Trump said. “Other politicians fly around on campaign planes stocked with expensive catering. When Trump Force One — prior to ascending to Air Force One — flew during the campaign, we served only McDonald’s almost every time. On occasion we couldn’t find one, which is pretty hard to believe, but we really did. You fed us very well, and I even got Bobby Kennedy to eat a Big Mac. He told me he loved it.”

Trump tied his praise for McDonald’s to his broader argument that the economy had rebounded and prices were easing. He said McDonald’s was helping lower costs for consumers while keeping jobs in the U.S.

“In the past six months, the price of breakfast items has fallen 14%,” Trump said. “Bread prices are down, dairy prices are down, and the price of eggs has declined 86% since March. I want to give a very special thanks to McDonald’s for slashing prices for the most popular items. We’re getting prices down for this country, and there’s no better leader or advocate than McDonald’s.”

He closed by urging franchise owners to stay focused on quality and affordability, calling McDonald’s a “cornerstone of the American dream.”

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“From the cashier starting her first job, to a franchisee opening his first location, to the young family in a drive-thru line — that’s the American dream,” Trump said. “I made the French fries, and the response was love.”

Fox News Digital’s Stepheny Price contributed to this report.

Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said the Democratic Party would welcome fellow Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., after the conservative congresswoman has become increasingly critical of her party in recent weeks, a comment that elicited boos from the crowd.

Raskin made the comments while speaking at the 2025 “Blue Bash Brunch” Democratic fundraiser in Miami on Sunday, in which he said his party has a big tent that welcomes all “patriots” who would stand up for the Constitution.

“Let me just say a couple more things to you, great Florida Democrats,” Raskin said. “One of them is, we are a big tent. We must be a huge, vast tent.”

“I say, this is a party that’s got room for Marjorie Taylor Greene, if she wants to come over,” Raskin said, to a mixed reaction from the crowd. “We got room for anybody who wants to stand up for the Constitution and for the Bill of Rights today.”

TRUMP GIVES EX-ALLY GREENE NEW NICKNAME AFTER DROPPED ENDORSEMENT, SAYS SHE BETRAYED ‘ENTIRE REPUBLICAN PARTY’

The audience booed at the congressman’s suggestion that Greene — a longtime conservative firebrand and staunch supporter of President Donald Trump until their recent falling out — should be brought into the fray.

Greene has stepped up criticism of GOP leadership in recent months, taking aim at the party’s approach to health care and other issues. She has also broken from her party regarding Israel, calling the Jewish State’s military campaign in Gaza a “genocide” and “humanitarian crisis.”

She has also been at odds with Trump and her party’s leaders over her call for the full release of documents related to the case of deceased sex predator Jeffrey Epstein, although the president has since reversed course on his pressure campaign to stop the release after House lawmakers secured enough support to force a full vote on a bipartisan resolution to release the files.

MARJORIE GREENE SAYS TRUMP’S ‘TRAITOR’ LABEL COULD PUT HER LIFE IN DANGER

Greene’s feud with Trump led to the president pulling his endorsement of the Georgia Republican and calling her a traitor, an accusation Greene rejects, saying last week she was being targeted “to make an example to scare all the other Republicans before next week’s vote to release the Epstein files.”

“I remain the same today as I’ve always been and I will continue to pray this administration will be successful because the American people desperately deserve what they voted for,” Greene responded on X.

Raskin urged Democrats to be open to expanding the party to include different ideological views. He described himself as a “liberal” and “progressive” due to his support for liberty and progress.

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“But my favorite thing to call myself today is a conservative, because I want to conserve the land, the air, the water, the climate system, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act, the National Labor Relations Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Voting Rights Act, Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act,” he said.

“Everything that party of authoritarians wants to destroy is everything we’re going to conserve and defend in America,” the congressman continued. “We are the party of the conservatives, the liberals and the progressives. All the patriots today are in the party of democracy. That’s who we are.”

The U.N. Security Council on Monday adopted a U.S.-backed resolution to end the Gaza war and deploy an international stabilization force after Ambassador Mike Waltz urged members to support what he called “a bold, pragmatic blueprint” born from President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan.

In an address to the council, Waltz described Gaza as “a hell on earth” after two years of conflict, saying the resolution offered the world a chance to replace “rubble where schools once stood” with “a path to peace.” The measure passed 14–0, with two abstentions — including Russia — and was adopted.

“Voting yes today isn’t just endorsing a plan,” Waltz said. “It’s affirming our shared humanity. A vote against this resolution is a vote to return to war.”

The plan, developed through U.S.-led diplomacy with Qatar, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Pakistan, and Indonesia, establishes a multinational stabilization force to secure Gaza, oversee demilitarization and protect civilians as Israel gradually withdraws.

TREY YINGST: HAMAS MUST ACCEPT TRUMP PEACE PLAN TO END WAR ONCE AND FOR ALL

Waltz said many of the peacekeepers will come from Muslim-majority nations, including Indonesia and Azerbaijan.

He credited Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff with brokering the deal, which has already produced what he called “tangible results” — a holding ceasefire and the release of 45 hostages by Hamas. Waltz said the United States remains committed to ensuring the return of the remaining hostages still believed to be held in Gaza.

“This resolution charts a path for Palestinian self-determination after the Palestinian Authority completes key reforms,” Waltz said. “It dismantles Hamas’s grip and ensures Gaza rises free from terror’s shadow — prosperous and secure.”

UN AMBASSADOR WALTZ REVEALS TRUMP’S MIDDLE EAST PEACE PLAN IS ‘THE ONLY WAY FORWARD’

Following the vote, Waltz thanked Council members for what he called “a historic and constructive resolution” and praised the coalition of nations that supported Trump’s plan.

He said the Board of Peace, which will be led by the president, “remains the cornerstone of our effort” to rebuild Gaza and establish accountable local governance.

The board will coordinate humanitarian assistance, oversee reconstruction, and support a technocratic Palestinian committee responsible for day-to-day administration while the Palestinian Authority implements its reforms. Waltz said the stabilization force will “dismantle terrorist infrastructure, decommission weapons, and maintain the safety of Palestinian civilians.”

“The path to prosperity requires security first,” Waltz said. “Security is the oxygen that governance and development need to live and thrive.”

US MILITARY TO OVERSEE NEXT PHASE OF PEACE DEAL FROM COORDINATION BASE IN ISRAEL

Russia abstained from the vote after circulating a rival draft. Waltz said hesitation and delay would only “cost lives,” adding that “every day without this force, aid trucks lie idle, children starve, and extremists regroup.”

Trump praised the U.N. Security Council’s passage of the Gaza peace resolution Monday, calling it “one of the biggest approvals in the history of the United Nations.”

In a post on Truth Social, Trump congratulated world leaders and said the creation of the Board of Peace, which he will chair, represents “a moment of true historic proportion.”

Trump said the board will include “the most powerful and respected leaders throughout the world” and pledged to announce additional members in the coming weeks. He thanked both Security Council members and partner nations — including Qatar, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Turkey, and Jordan — for backing the plan.

“This will go down as one of the biggest approvals in the history of the United Nations,” Trump wrote. “It will lead to further peace all over the world and is a moment of true historic proportion.”

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Trump’s message echoed the themes laid out by Waltz, who credited the president’s leadership and diplomacy for uniting regional powers behind the peace initiative.

“President Trump’s historic 20-point plan marks the beginning of a strong, stable, and prosperous region,” Waltz said. “Under President Trump’s bold leadership, the United States will continue to deliver results alongside our partners to make lasting peace a reality.”

A staffer for Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., has been fired after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said he misrepresented himself as the attorney of a detained illegal immigrant to facilitate the man’s release.

Last week, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director Todd Lyons told the Illinois Democrat that her staffer, Edward York, claimed he was legally representing Jose Ismeal Ayuzo Sandoval.

Sandoval, a 40-year-old illegal immigrant, had a DUI conviction and was previously deported four times to Mexico. 

According to ICE, the staffer made the claim to federal agents after entering an ICE facility in St. Louis, Illinois, on Oct. 29.

DHS CALLS OUT NBC AFFILIATE FOR HIDING ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CRIME HISTORY IN ARREST STORY

“At approximately 1:29 p.m., an individual identified as Edward York, who, according to publicly available information, is employed as a Constituent Outreach Coordinator for your Senate office, entered the field office lobby, and in a discussion with a federal officer, claimed to be Mr. Ayuzo’s attorney. Mr. York demanded to speak with his ‘client,’” the Nov. 12 letter from ICE states.

“This staff member allegedly did so to gain access to the detainee and seek his release from custody, and he accomplished it by falsifying an official Department of Homeland Security (DHS) form.”

In a letter on Monday, Duckworth addressed Lyons and said that the staffer was fired.

SENATE DEM DICK DURBIN ACCUSES TRUMP ADMIN OF ‘TERRORIZING PEOPLE IN THEIR HOMES’

“Upon reviewing the matter, I can confirm that neither I nor my leadership team was aware of, authorized or directed what your letter describes as the employee’s conduct,” the message read.

Duckworth then confirmed that her office “terminated the employment of said employee, effective November 17, 2025.”

Lyons had given the senator a Monday deadline to provide answers about the staffer’s employment and whether he knowingly lied on government documents.

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“It is my sincere hope that you will advocate on behalf of your constituents who have been victimized by illegal alien crime and work with DHS to remove these criminals from the United States,” Lyons wrote on Nov. 12.

Fox News’ Michael Tobin, Leo Briceno and Kyle Schmidbauer contributed to this report.

Ahead of a visit to the nation’s capital by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) on Tuesday, a cohort of 9/11 survivors, first responders, and family members of those lost, are urging President Donald Trump to demand that Saudi Arabia take accountability for its alleged role in the tragic Sept. 11, 2021 attacks.

Several weeks ago, United States federal district court judge George B. Daniels ruled against Saudi Arabia’s efforts to dismiss a lawsuit brought against them by the families of 9/11 victims, which alleged the country was party to the attacks. Daniels’ decision to let the case go to trial appeared to agree with the judge claiming in his August 2025 ruling that Saudi government agents provided “essential support” for the hijackers.  

“The backdrop to this visit is the recent ruling of a federal judge in New York that Saudi Arabia must stand trial for its role in the 9/11 terrorist attacks that murdered 3,000 of our loved ones,” 9/11 Justice President Brett Eagleson, whose father died in the attacks, said. “As Washington prepares to roll out the red carpet for the Saudi Crown Prince, we want to shine a spotlight on the facts found by the court, the overwhelming evidence of Saudi government support for the 9/11 plot, and the families’ nearly 25-year fight for justice.”

The statement follows a similar call to Trump from 9/11 Families United, a separate group representing 9/11 victims and their families, which was released last week. 

THE QUIET WAR: HOW TERROR HAS EVOLVED SINCE SEPT 11

Fox News Digital reached out to the Saudi Embassy in Washington, as well as the White House for comment, but did not receive a response in time for publication. 

Daniels’ August ruling implicating Saudi Arabia in the 9/11 attacks is just one of the latest developments in a multi-decade legal battle that started in 2002.

While the kingdom has denied that anyone from the Saudi Arabian government directed the individuals accused of conspiring with 9/11 hijackers, Daniels said he found it “more likely than not” that there was “some connection.” 

The allegations center around Omar al-Bayoumi and Sheikh Al Fahad Thumairy, two individuals that the 9/11 victims allege were party to helping the hijackers.

SAUDI ARABIA’S 40-YEAR-OLD DISRUPTOR: HOW MBS REWIRED THE KINGDOM IN 10 SHORT YEARS

Among the allegations against Bayoumi, who has significant ties to the Saudi government according to declassified FBI documents, is that he helped the hijackers find an apartment. When the hijackers applied for the apartment, Bayoumi co-signed the lease and listed himself as the new apartment’s guarantor.

According to Bayoumi, it is customary for the Islamic community to help newcomers find an apartment.  

Meanwhile, evidence also showed Bayoumi traveling to Washington, D.C. alongside two Saudi government officials employed by the embassy, according to Daniels’ ruling. Both of the Saudi government officials, Mutaeb Al-Sudairy and Adel Al-sadhan, also had ties to Thumairy, who they met in Los Angeles for an Islamic event between December 1998 and January 1999. 

After spending a few days in Los Angeles, according to Daniels, the pair of Saudi officials traveled to San Diego, where they stayed with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, alleged mastermind of the 9/11 attacks.

A subsequent letter from Bayoumi to Thumairy thanked him for coordinating the trip that “provid[ed] us with brothers Mutaeb Al-Sudairy and Adel Al-sadhan.”

Thumairy, who left the U.S. for Saudi Arabia shortly before the 9/11 attacks, is accused of having met with the hijackers when they first came to California in early 2000. He denies the allegation despite being pictured with them, according to Daniels. Bayoumi, who federal agents found in 2001 was in possession of a notepad with various airplane drawings, calculations, and notes in it, is alleged to have met them shortly thereafter.

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President Trump is set to host the Crown Prince for talks Tuesday. Improving diplomatic relations between the two nations has been a priority for Trump. He visited the kingdom in May, which was his first major international trip of Trump’s second term.   

“I hope that Saudi Arabia will be going into the Abraham Accords very shortly,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Friday ahead of this week’s MBS meeting in Washington, according to the Associated Press. 

Mayor Katrina Thompson of Broadview, Illinois declared a “civil emergency” Monday, citing “serious and credible bomb and death threats” and warnings of attempts to disrupt village government after out-of-town protesters threatened to storm Village Hall and “shut down” the local board meeting.

Village officials told Fox News the meeting, originally scheduled in person, was moved online after law enforcement warned of possible disruptions tied to Friday’s unrest outside the federal immigration processing center in Broadview.

Officials said the FBI has been notified and is investigating multiple threats against the mayor and her staff.

“I will not allow threats of violence or intimidation to disrupt the essential functions of our government,” Thompson said. “I will not allow our staff or residents to be placed in harm’s way.”

CHICAGO-AREA MAYOR INSISTS ‘WE DON’T NEED’ GUARD TROOPS DESPITE REPEATED ANTI-ICE CLASHES

In a statement released Monday, the village said the emergency order followed a series of escalating threats — including a September 4 telephone bomb threat targeting Village Hall and an October 13 death threat against Thompson.

The situation intensified Friday when a group of non-resident protesters tried to storm Village Hall and vowed to disrupt Monday’s Board of Trustees meeting, according to Broadview Police.

TRUMP OFFICIALS SLAM BLUE STATE GOVERNOR FOR IGNORING CHAOTIC ANTI-ICE ‘RIOTERS’ DISRUPTING OPERATION

During the same day’s protests near the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility, officials said 21 people were arrested after demonstrators clashed with Broadview Police, Illinois State Police, and Cook County Sheriff’s deputies. Two Broadview officers were injured, along with a state trooper and a sheriff’s deputy.

“The order is designed to preserve the continuity of governance in light of imminent threats against the lives of village officials and public property,” Thompson said in the village’s statement.

JUDGE WHO ORDERED RELEASE OF 600 CHICAGO ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS SLAMMED BY DHS AS ACTIVIST PUTTING LIVES AT RISK

The emergency declaration allows Thompson to move public meetings online and take security measures without board approval. Written public comments for Monday’s meeting were being accepted by Village Clerk Kevin McGrier and read into the record.

Tensions have grown since Thompson signed an executive order last month restricting where and when demonstrations can occur near the ICE facility — limiting protests to a designated area between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. Civil-liberties groups, including the ACLU of Illinois, have criticized the order as unconstitutional.

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“The safety of our officers and residents has to come first,” Broadview Police Chief Thomas Mills said. “We respect the right to demonstrate, but violence and threats cross the line.”

The civil emergency will remain in effect until Thompson determines that the threats to officials and property have subsided.

Fox News’ Patrick McGovern contributed to this report.

U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ordered lawyers for the Trump administration and for a class of deported Venezuelan migrants to come to court Wednesday to discuss the case’s status and the long-stalled question of whether the administration willfully defied his earlier court order and acted in contempt. 

The new updates, codified in a minute order on Monday, are almost certain to spark fresh ire from President Donald Trump and his allies in a major immigration fight that has stretched on for more than nine months. 

At issue is the Trump administration’s use of the Alien Enemies Act, a 1798 wartime immigration law, to deport 252 Venezuelan migrants from the U.S. to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador in March. 

Boasberg had issued an emergency order in March blocking the Trump administration’s use of the law to immediately deport migrants to a third country, and ordered officials to return any planes that had already left US soil.

WHO IS JAMES BOASBERG, THE US JUDGE AT THE CENTER OF TRUMP’S DEPORTATION EFFORTS?

Despite his order, hundreds of migrants arrived in El Salvador hours later — where they remained until July, when they were removed again from CECOT to Venezuela as part of a broader prisoner exchange that involved the return of at least 10 Americans and permanent U.S. residents detained in Venezuela.

Trump officials have argued that the individuals removed were alleged members of the Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua. But lawyers for the ACLU and other groups representing the migrants have vehemently disputed that claim, citing several reports from major news outlets that separately concluded that just a handful of individuals deported under the 18th century law had serious criminal records.

The Alien Enemies Act has been used three times previously in U.S. history, and most recently during World War II. 

Boasberg tried for months without success to obtain information about the individuals who were deported to CECOT, and to obtain information about who in the Trump administration had ordered the flights in violation of his temporary restraining order. 

In April, Boasberg ruled that the court had found “probable cause” to move on criminal contempt proceedings against the Trump administration for failing to return the migrants to U.S. soil, citing what he described as the administration’s “willful disregard” of the court.  

Boasberg’s finding that the Trump administration likely acted in contempt of his March 15 emergency order had been halted for months, after a three-judge panel for the appeals court issued an emergency stay halting his order. 

EX-JUDGES BLAST TOP TRUMP DOJ OFFICIAL FOR DECLARING ‘WAR’ ON COURTS

In August, the judges ruled 2-1 to toss it completely. Their decision was appealed to all eleven judges for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to review the matter en banc.

On Friday, judges on the panel declined by an 8-3 vote to further review Boasberg’s ruling, which in theory would have kept the lower court’s ruling in place. They did not, as some of the judges explained, because the two majority judges for the panel had split in August over the reasons for tossing Boasberg’s opinion.

Therefore, the court said, “the writ of mandamus issued by the panel has no ongoing practical or precedential effect.”

The update from the en banc panel effectively clears the way for Boasberg to consider the contempt proceedings, giving him jurisdiction over the issue again for the first time in more than 200 days. 

TRUMP FOE BOASBERG ORDERS DOJ TO DETAIL STATUS OF CECOT MIGRANTS SENT TO VENEZUELA

Boasberg, for his part, quickly clarified that he intends to move on the contempt question imminently. 

In a minute order issued Monday morning, Boasberg ordered lawyers for the Trump administration and the ACLU, who represent the deported class of Venezuelan migrants, to appear in court Wednesday for a previously scheduled motions hearing prepared to discuss case updates and next steps in the contempt inquiry.

The Trump administration has not provided, as of this writing, a list of the migrants sent to CECOT in March, or details of their immigration status in the U.S. prior to removal. 

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Boasberg’s emergency order in March touched off a complex legal saga that ultimately spawned dozens of federal court challenges across the country – though the one brought before his court was the very first. 

His role overseeing the case has also landed him squarely in the crosshairs of the Trump administration and the president himself, who has repeatedly excoriated Boasberg as an “activist judge.” 

The late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein discussed President Donald Trump in emails released by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Wednesday.

The Democrats on the committee released three emails Wednesday that Epstein’s estate provided them — prompting Republicans to release their own stash of 20,000 pages of Epstein documents hours later, while the White House accused Democrats of seeking to distract from the government shutdown.

In response, Trump announced Friday that he would direct the Justice Department and the FBI to investigate Epstein’s relationship with those including former President Bill Clinton, former Treasury Secretary during the Clinton administration Larry Summers and others.

“This is another Russia, Russia, Russia Scam, with all arrows pointing to the Democrats,” Trump said in a Friday Truth Social post.

WHITE HOUSE SLAMS DEMS’ ‘BAD-FAITH’ EPSTEIN DOC RELEASE AS DEMAND FOR FILES INTENSIFIES

Meanwhile, Clinton has denied that he ever visited Epstein’s island, and wrote in his 2024 memoir “Citizen” that he wished they’d never met. Clinton has not been accused of engaging in any sexual misconduct in connection to Epstein or his victims.

A spokesperson for Summers did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

Included in the documents released Wednesday are emails between Epstein and his longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell, and correspondence with author Michael Wolff, former President Barack Obama’s White House counsel Kathy Ruemmler, among others, where Epstein mentions Trump.

“i want you to realize that that dog that hasn’t barked is trump.. (VICTIM) spent hours at my house with him ,, he has never once been mentioned. police chief. etc. im 75 % there,” Epstein said in an email to Maxwell in April 2011, which was provided with other correspondence to the committee by Epstein’s estate in response to a subpoena request.

“I have been thinking about that…” Maxwell said in response.

The “VICTIM” mentioned in the emails is redacted, but White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to Fox News that it was a reference to Virginia Giuffre, who accused Epstein of facilitating sexual encounters between her and some of his influential friends, including the U.K.’s then-Prince Andrew.

Giuffre died by suicide in April, but said in her memoir that was completed prior to her death and released in October that she met Trump once at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, and that he “couldn’t have been friendlier.” She did not accuse Trump of any misconduct.

The emails released by both parties on the Oversight Committee lack context and are full of redactions. 

BILL CLINTON LETTER IN EPSTEIN ‘BIRTHDAY BOOK’ AMONG NEW FILES RELEASED BY HOUSE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE

In another email from 2019, Epstein told Wolff that “of course he knew about the girls as he asked ghislaine to stop,” referencing Trump. The president previously told reporters in July that he had prohibited Epstein from the president’s Florida Mar-a-Lago golf club because Epstein kept “taking people who worked for me.”

Additionally, it’s unclear from the exchange whether “girls” referred to minors or not.

In a separate exchange between Wolff and Epstein from 2015, the two discussed the possibility of CNN asking Trump about his relationship with Epstein.

“I think you should let him hang himself,” Wolff said in an email to Epstein. “If he says he hasn’t been on the plane or to the house, then that gives you a valuable PR and political currency. You can hang him in a way that potentially generates a positive benefit for you, or, if it really looks like he could win, you could save him, generating a debt.”

Wolff is an author who has written four books about Trump’s political career — including “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House,” which was released in 2018 and pieced together an unflattering picture of Trump’s early days in office during his first term. The White House at the time characterized it as “trashy tabloid fiction.”

Hours after the initial Democrat release of documents, the Republicans on the committee unveiled their own document pile, which included emails from Epstein where he also discussed Trump.

Other email exchanges released Wednesday included correspondence between Epstein and Ruemmler, who is now the chief legal officer at Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Ruemmler shared a link to a New York Times opinion piece in August 2018, which detailed alleged hush-money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about an alleged affair with Trump. Ruemmler said she thought Epstein would find the piece “interesting.”

“I know how dirty donald is,” Epstein emailed in response.

Trump was convicted in May 2024 on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in connection with the alleged hush-money payments. He continues to deny the affair and maintains his innocence, calling the case a politically motivated “witch hunt.”

Ruemmler did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

In a separate 2017 email to Summers, Epstein said that while he’s met some “very bad people,” none have been “as bad as trump.”

“Not one decent cell in his body.. so yes – dangerous,” Epstein said.

Summers did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

While the documents themselves are authentic, Epstein’s statements in the emails remain unverified and uncorroborated. They do not allege wrongdoing by Trump; they only show Epstein referencing him. Trump has not faced formal accusations of misconduct tied to Epstein, and no law enforcement records connect Trump to Epstein’s crimes.

TRUMP DOJ HANDING EPSTEIN DOCUMENTS TO HOUSE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE ON FRIDAY AS SUBPOENA DEADLINE LOOMS

The White House shrugged off the release as a “distraction.”

“These emails prove literally nothing,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a Thursday statement to Fox News Digital. “Liberal outlets are desperately trying to use this Democrat distraction to talk about anything other than Democrats getting utterly defeated by President Trump in the shutdown fight.”

Meanwhile, Trump also said in a Wednesday social media post that the Democrats were seeking to revive discussion on the Epstein case to distract from their role in the government shutdown.

EPSTEIN BOASTED HE BRIEFED RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT ON HOW TO HANDLE TRUMP IN NEWLY RELEASED EMAILS

“The Democrats are trying to bring up the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax again because they’ll do anything at all to deflect on how badly they’ve done on the Shutdown, and so many other subjects,” Trump said Wednesday. “Only a very bad, or stupid, Republican would fall into that trap.”

“There should be no deflections to Epstein or anything else, and any Republicans involved should be focused only on opening up our Country, and fixing the massive damage caused by the Democrats!” Trump said.

Trump’s connections to Epstein have come under heightened scrutiny after Trump’s Justice Department and FBI announced it would not unseal investigation materials concerning Epstein, and that their investigation into the case had closed.

Additionally, the agencies said that they did not detect a list of sexual predators with ties to Epstein, and concluded there were no new people who could face charges.

Meanwhile, U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche met with Epstein associate Maxwell in Florida in July, and the Justice Department released transcripts from their interview. In the records, Maxwell claimed that she didn’t see Trump behave in an inappropriate manner.

“I never witnessed the President in any inappropriate setting in any way,” Maxwell said, according to the transcript the Justice Department released. “The President was never inappropriate with anybody. In the times that I was with him, he was a gentleman in all respects.”

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Epstein died by suicide while awaiting trial on federal charges in 2019. Maxwell has been convicted on charges including sex trafficking of a minor and is serving a 20-year sentence.

Fox News’ Patrick Ward and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

EXCLUSIVE: A top parents’ rights advocacy group is sounding the alarm on “woke” LGBT literature being implemented into the curriculum at Chicago Public Schools, one of the largest public school systems in the United States.

The report from Defending Education, released last week, alleges that Chicago Public Schools has been issuing “Pride guidances” to teachers that encourages them to host a “Pride Week,” display “Pride flags,” and distribute other materials supportive of LGBT agendas in schools.

Additionally, the group says that the guidance includes a goal of every district implementing a “Gender and Sexuality Alliance” club which they have already made significant progress on over the past couple of years. 

Defending Education exclusively spoke to Fox News Digital about its concerns over the materials being disseminated to children.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE CAMPUS RADICALS COAST TO COAST

“Chicago Public Schools’ ongoing obsession with wasting classroom time — and district resources — on everything except educating students on core subjects is absolutely appalling,” Nicole Neily, founder and president of Defending Education, told Fox News Digital.

“Families expect that their children will learn basic skills like reading, writing, and math that will provide them a path to a better life, a social contract that CPS has clearly broken. District test scores demonstrate that Brandon Johnson and his CTU cronies are failing Chicago families.”

One document obtained by Defending Education suggests that teachers are being reminded that state law prohibits them from opting out of “LGBTQ+ inclusive curriculum” and stating that they are required to teach “LGBTQ+ History.”

BIBLE COLLEGE SAYS CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOLS DISCRIMINATE OVER FAITH-BASED HIRING PRACTICES

“Pride is more than just a month of celebrations and recognition of the LGBTQ+ community,” one of the documents posted by Defending Education says. “It’s a protest and a fight for equality. It’s collaboration and support across other marginalized communities.”

A FAQ section in one of the documents asks, “Can I put Pride flags and other LGBTQ+ affirming materials in my classroom?”

The answer from the school system reads, “Yes! We encourage you to do so!”

Fox News Digital reached out to CPS for comment.

Chicago Public Schools found itself in hot water last month when an elementary school teacher was captured on video at a protest mocking the murder of Charlie Kirk by pointing an imaginary gun to her neck in front of Kirk supporters.

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The video went viral on social media with many calling for the teacher to be fired.

The district has not publicly condemned the teacher’s actions or said anything about her current employment status. 

President Donald Trump is turning up the heat on Indiana Republicans who have been resisting political pressure from the president to move forward with congressional redistricting.

Trump on Monday, for a second straight day, vowed to back primary challenges against state Republican lawmakers in the solidly red Midwestern state who didn’t support his push to draw new maps in Indiana, which would create another GOP-leaning congressional district.

“I will be strongly endorsing against any State Senator or House member from the Great State of Indiana that votes against the Republican Party, and our Nation, by not allowing for Redistricting for Congressional seats in the United States House of Representatives,” Trump wrote in a social media post.

Indiana is the latest battlefield in the high-stakes redistricting showdown pitting Trump and Republicans versus Democrats to shape the 2026 midterm landscape in the fight for the House majority.

INDIANA REPUBLICANS REJECT TRUMP-BACKED REDISTRICTING PUSH

Republicans currently control seven of Indiana’s nine congressional districts, and any new map passed by the GOP supermajority in the legislature would likely shift the state’s 1st Congressional District from blue-leaning to a red-leaning seat.

Despite pressure from Trump and his political team, Indiana Republican Senate leader Rodric Bray announced last week that there wasn’t enough support in the chamber to move forward with redistricting.

Trump on Sunday lambasted Bray and another Republican state senator, calling for their ouster.

“Because of these two politically correct type ‘gentlemen,’ and a few others, they could be depriving Republicans of a Majority in the House, A VERY BIG DEAL!” the president charged.

RULING BY RED STATE JUDGE REDISTRICTING SETBACK FOR REPUBLICANS

Trump is twisting elbows in his attempt to make Indiana the latest Republican-controlled state to change their congressional maps. The president has called state lawmakers and Vice President JD Vance visited the state earlier this autumn to discuss redistricting.

And Fox News has confirmed that Trump has invited some of the Indiana Republicans who are holding out against redistricting to White House meetings in the coming days. The news was first reported by Politico.

Trump, in his Sunday post, also took a jab at Republican Gov. Mike Braun of Indiana, arguing that the governor “perhaps, is not working the way he should to get the necessary Votes.”

Braun on Monday wrote on social media that “I just had a great call with President Trump! I told him I remain committed to standing with him on the critical issue of passing fair maps in Indiana to ensure the MAGA agenda is successful in Congress.”

And the governor claimed that “the Indiana State Senate is hiding behind closed doors and refusing to even bring redistricting to a vote. Hoosiers deserve to know where their legislators stand and expect them to show up for work, not walk out and hide in the dark.”

NEWSOM TAKES VICTORY LAP AFTER LANDSLIDE REDISTRICTING VICTORY IN CALIFORNIA

The push by the president in Indiana is part of a broad effort by Trump’s political team and the GOP to pad the party’s razor-thin House majority to keep control of the chamber in next year’s midterms, when the party in power traditionally faces political headwinds and loses seats.

Trump is aiming to prevent what happened during his first term in the White House when Democrats reclaimed the House majority in the 2018 midterm elections.

Texas, Missouri, North Carolina, and Ohio have drawn new maps as part of the president’s push. And Florida and Kansas are also mulling redrawing their maps.

“We must keep the Majority at all costs,” Trump wrote Monday.

But Democrats are fighting back.

California voters two weeks ago overwhelmingly passed Proposition 50, a ballot initiative which will temporarily sidetrack the left-leaning state’s nonpartisan redistricting commission and return the power to draw the congressional maps to the Democrat-dominated legislature.

That is expected to result in five more Democratic-leaning congressional districts in California, which would counter the passage earlier this year in Texas of a new map that aims to create up to five right-leaning House seats.

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Illinois and Maryland, two blue states, and Virginia, where Democrats control the legislature, are also taking steps or seriously considering redistricting.

And in a blow to Republicans, a Utah district judge last week rejected a congressional district map drawn up by the state’s GOP-dominated legislature and instead approved an alternate that will create a Democratic-leaning district ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

FIRST ON FOX: The Kennedy Center will unveil its first-ever Christmas tree and lighting ceremony in December as the iconic cultural landmark under the Trump administration continues promoting Christmas-centered events and performances, Fox News Digital learned. 

The Kennedy Center, which serves as the national cultural center of the U.S. and located along the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., will unveil what officials say is its first ever Christmas tree with a lighting ceremony Dec. 17. 

“The Kennedy Center’s inaugural Christmas Tree Lighting is a milestone for America’s cultural center, one of Washington’s premier holiday attractions,” Roma Daravi, the Kennedy Center’s vice president of public relations, told Fox News Digital. “We are grateful to partner with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service to showcase a beautiful red spruce from the highest peaks of the Southern Appalachians and create new traditions for families and visitors this holiday season.”

FOX NATION PATRIOT AWARDS TROPHIES FORGED FROM AMERICAN HISTORY WITH NAILS FROM GEORGE WASHINGTON’S CHURCH

The tree is a towering 18-foot red spruce donated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service and harvested from the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests in southern Virginia’s Appalachian Mountains. 

The tree lightening ceremony invites families and other visitors to take part in the event, which will include Christmas entertainment and remarks from Kennedy Center leadership and special guests, Fox News Digital learned. 

“The ceremony will mark a historic moment for America’s cultural center as it establishes a new holiday tradition in the nation’s capital,” the Kennedy Center said of the tree lighting ceremony in a press release provided to Fox News Digital.  

The Kennedy Center has long held Christmas events, but has come under fire from President Donald Trump and the administration for previously hosting left-wing performances, such as drag shows, at the venue at other times in the calendar year. This year’s schedule boasts a handful of Christmas events, including those focused on the birth of Jesus and other religious events, such as a Christmas concert including a live nativity. 

WHITE HOUSE OPENS SOUTH LAWN TO TRICK-OR-TREATERS FOR HALLOWEEN CELEBRATION WITH TRUMPS

“We are proud to present a meaningful, faith-filled experience for families to immerse themselves in the Christmas story at America’s cultural center,” Daravi told The Christian Post of the upcoming Christmas show. “Tis the season to create cherished memories and celebrate the sacred alongside the festive.” 

Kennedy Center President and Ambassador Richard Grenell said early in his term as the cultural center’s chief that the center would promote traditional and Christ-focused holiday events. 

NATIONAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA TO OPEN ALL OF ITS KENNEDY CENTER SHOWS WITH THE NATIONAL ANTHEM

Grenell told Fox News Digital in February of this year that he would help usher in the “Golden Age of the Arts” with a stack of performances that attract visitors as the Kennedy Center faces a persistent uphill battle to become profitable amid years of running in the red. 

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“How crazy is it to think that we’re going to celebrate Christ at Christmas with a big traditional production, to celebrate what we are all celebrating in the world during Christmastime, which is the birth of Christ?” Grenell said back in February while speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference.

A majority of Democrats, Independents and Republicans agree that “extremist political rhetoric” contributed to the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, according to a new poll.

The survey from NBC News found that 54% of Democrats agree that extreme rhetoric from “some in the media and by political leaders” was a major factor in Kirk’s killing. An overwhelming majority of Republicans, 73%, expressed the same sentiment, while 53% of Independents agreed.

Across all respondents, 61% of Americans said they believe rhetoric contributed to Kirk’s death.

Meanwhile, 28% said they believed Kirk’s killing was caused more by the lone actions of a disturbed individual than the broader political climate. Another 4% said it was a combination of the two.

EXPERTS WARN LEFTIST CELEBRATIONS OF CHARLIE KIRK’S DEATH SIGNAL A DANGEROUS MAINSTREAM SHIFT IN POLITICS

The poll marks the first time in 15 years of NBC News polling that majorities of all major American political groups agree that extreme rhetoric was a major factor in causing a violent incident.

Polls going back to the 2011 shooting of former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., show a steady rise in Americans blaming political rhetoric for violence, rather than just a lone individual.

In Giffords’ case, 71% of respondents blamed the lone attacker, while 24% blamed rhetoric. By the time of President Donald Trump‘s second assassination attempt, however, 37% blamed the attacker and 54% blamed rhetoric.

FOLLOWING KIRK’S ASSASSINATION, LAWMAKERS REACT TO LETHAL POLITICAL CLIMATE: ‘VIOLENT WORDS PRECEDE VIOLENT ACTIONS’

Kirk’s alleged killer, Tyler Robinson, faces a capital punishment trial in Utah. Members of his family say he became politically extreme and moved further and further to the left in the year leading up to Kirk’s assassination.

Robinson faces a slew of charges, including aggravated murder, which carries the potential the death penalty. He has not yet entered a plea.

Judge Tony Graf granted a defense motion to allow Robinson to wear civilian clothes in court, citing his constitutional presumption of innocence, but denied a motion to allow him to appear without shackles.

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Robinson’s next hearing is scheduled for Jan. 16, 2026, when he is expected to make his first in-person appearance.

Fox News’ Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.