NationalWatch

FIRST ON FOX: Following mainstream media reporting about ICE arresting a 13-year-old boy and separating him from his family, the Trump Department of Homeland Security is setting the record straight on his suspected gang involvement and stated intent to “shoot and kill” another student.

Media outlets ran headlines such as, “Her 13-year-old son was arrested, then taken by ICE to a detention facility. The police chief calls it a first for his city” and “Mass. 13-year-old was picked up by ICE after a police interaction and now he’s hundreds of miles from home.”

However, DHS officials told Fox News Digital that the teen, Brazilian illegal immigrant Arthur Yuri De Almeida Silva Berto, is a suspected member of the “33” gang with 11 prior police complaints filed by Everett Police Department in Massachusetts for criminal behavior, including breaking and entering, vandalism, theft, fighting, ‘flash mob’ style shoplifting and more.

Berto was arrested by Everett Police Oct. 9 after a classmate reported he had shown her a concealed gun on school property, stating he was looking for another boy he had been fighting with and that he was going to “shoot and kill him,” according to a police report obtained by Fox News Digital.

KENTUCKY TEEN DIES PROTECTING MOTHER FROM ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT’S VIOLENT ALLEGED ASSAULT IN FAMILY APARTMENT

After being alerted, police searched the school area and found Berto at a bus stop. He was searched and found with a concealed 5½-inch Milwaukee knife.

According to DHS, local officials contacted federal law enforcement and notified it of the arrest. Later that same day, ICE Boston officers took the teen into custody outside the Everett Police Department. The next day, ICE transported Berto to the Northwest Regional Juvenile Detention Center in Winchester, Virginia.

An immigration court document obtained by Fox News Digital from a high-ranking Trump administration official states that, based upon Berto’s recidivist criminal history and ties to the 33 gang, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations determined him to be a “public safety threat.”

According to the document, Berto entered the U.S. illegally with his family Sept. 24, 2021, near San Luis, Arizona. He and his family were released into the U.S. on an order of release on recognizance under the Biden administration.

ICE ARRESTS ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CHARGED WITH CHILD SEX CRIMES AFTER HIS RELEASE BY LOCAL POLICE DESPITE DETAINER

Police complaints involving Berto date back to June 2024, when Everett police responded to a disturbance involving minors and found him with other gang members, according to an immigration court document obtained by Fox News Digital from a senior Trump administration official.

In July 2024, police issued a summons for larceny over $1,200 for Berto after he was observed on video footage stealing two bicycles and a cellphone.

After further incidents involving vandalism, he was identified by police as a “high-risk juvenile” in March. In April, he was charged with receiving stolen property and unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle. That same month, he was caught by police in a stolen vehicle with three other individuals, all wearing ski masks.

In May, he was again caught on video footage, this time participating in a 33 gang “flash mob”-style shoplifting incident at a convenience store. Berto was arraigned in May by the Middlesex County Juvenile Court in Cambridge, Massachusetts, for knowingly receiving stolen property, breaking and entering and malicious destruction of property.

MAN DEPORTED 3 TIMES NOW CONVICTED AFTER ILLEGAL US REENTRY DURING BIDEN ADMIN

In July, he was again arraigned for assault and battery and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. Everett police also filed a criminal complaint against Berto for the charge of receiving stolen property over $1,200 after receiving a report that he had stolen a moped.

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“Here are the facts: This individual and suspected gang member posed a public safety threat with an extensive rap sheet, including violent assault with a dangerous weapon, battery, breaking and entering and destruction of property,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

“Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, federal law enforcement is restoring common sense and law and order to our streets. This public safety threat will stay in juvenile detention pending further proceedings.”

Three labor unions filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on Thursday, arguing that the federal government violated the First Amendment rights of visa holders legally in the U.S. by using a program to search their social media for specific viewpoints, including criticism of the U.S. government and Israel.

United Auto Workers, Communications Workers of America and the American Federation of Teachers sued the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service, Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

This comes after the State Department said it had revoked the visas of at least six people over social media comments made about late conservative activist Charlie Kirk following his murder last month.

“Plaintiffs represent thousands of people whose speech is chilled by the threat of adverse immigration action if the government disapproves of anything they have expressed or will express,” the lawsuit reads.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TO VET LEGAL IMMIGRANT APPLICANTS FOR ‘ANTI-AMERICANISM’ AND ANTISEMITISM

Administration officials have purported that foreigners do not have the same constitutional rights as U.S. citizens and do not have a right to hold a visa, as the federal government seeks to target them for speech.

“The United States is under no obligation to allow foreign aliens to come to our country, commit acts of anti-American, pro-terrorist, and antisemitic hate, or incite violence. We will continue to revoke the visas of those who put the safety of our citizens at risk,” State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in a statement.

The lawsuit points to high-profile cases and the comments of federal officials to argue that a government program uses artificial intelligence and other automated tools for surveillance of visa holders’ posts and targets people critical of the Trump administration and what the government considers to be “hateful ideology.”

The federal government has broadly defined support for terrorism to include criticism of U.S. support for Israel and the Jewish State’s military action, as well as support for Palestinians. The government has used this as a justification to cancel visas.

FEDERAL JUDGE LAUNCHES SCATHING BROADSIDE OF TRUMP’S EFFORTS TO DEPORT PRO-PALESTINIAN PROTESTERS

The unions’ complaint cited the case of green card holder Mahmoud Khalil, who was released in June following months in detention after the government attempted to deport him for participating in pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University.

The lawsuit said the immigration threats over views disapproved by the government have prompted some union members to withdraw from publicly affiliating with their unions at organizing events, step down from leadership roles and “deleted, refrained from, or otherwise altered their social media and online engagement with the unions.”

“This loss of engagement has harmed the plaintiffs’ ability to further their organizational missions and impeded their ability to carry out their responsibilities, which include recruitment, retention, and organization of union members; advocacy on behalf of union members; and the promotion of civic and political engagement among union members,” the lawsuit said.

Many union members have stopped expressing their views because “the government has promised and proven that saying the wrong thing can trigger life-altering immigration consequences, particularly for visa holders and Lawful Permanent Residents,” the complaint reads.

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Since President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January, the administration has searched for online posts to target foreigners for the potential rescinding of their visa.

On his first day back in office, Trump signed an executive order to ensure visa holders “do not bear hostile attitudes toward its citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles, and do not advocate for, aid, or support designated foreign terrorists and other threats to our national security.”

Over the summer, the State Department said it would start requesting that applicants make their social media accounts public for government monitoring and that interviews with applicants would determine who may pose a threat to national security.

Reuters contributed to this report.

We’re two weeks into the government shutdown. There’s no movement by either side. Is President Trump seemingly relishing it?

“The Democrats are getting killed on the shutdown because we’re closing up programs that are Democrat programs that we were opposed to,” the president boasted. “They’re never going to come back in many cases. So, we’re being able to do things that we were unable to do before. So, we’re closing up programs that are Democrat programs that we wanted to close up or that we never wanted to happen.”

He added that his administration would simultaneously preserve “Republican programs.”

As a result, fired feds are fuming.

NO. 2 HOUSE DEMOCRAT SAYS HEALTHCARE DRIVES PARTY’S STRATEGY AS SHUTDOWN HEADS INTO NEXT WEEK

“Shame! Shame! Shame! Shame!” chanted a group of RIF’d federal workers, egged on by Virginia and Maryland Democrats during a protest at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

The Trump administration’s scythe slashed the job of Christopher Pumford at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in February.

“It’s very hard to find a job in this economy,” said Pumford. “It’s very hard for me to find my next step, especially since I invested a lot of time and money into being specialized in international relations.”

Pumford said he thought he might spend his “career serving the American people.”

But he’s out of work now.

“I would love to be there for you and to be able to serve. But unfortunately the administration has other ideas,” said Pumford.

The FDA just canned Jessica Weinberg. Weinberg says even her 6-year-old son realized the financial distress now facing the family.

“He knows that mommy is out of work, and we’re worried about paying our bills,” said Weinberg.

So, her son offered to print 3D Minecraft Legos to sell.

“He didn’t want to make money so he could buy himself more toys, which he’s always asking for, but so he can help us pay our mortgage,” said Weinberg. “It was the sweetest and most heartbreaking thing he’s ever said.”

JOHNSON RAISES STAKES ON SCHUMER AS GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN BARRELS INTO WEEK 3

OMB warned people on social media to “batten down the hatches and ride out the Democrats’ intransigence.”

Republicans are doubling down. That’s why nothing has evolved during the shutdown in weeks.

“There is nothing to negotiate,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., refuses to recall the House until Senate Democrats cave to the GOP demand to fund the government — without any add-ons — through Nov. 21.

That means no House hearings. In fact, the House last conducted a hearing — in Charlotte, N.C., on crime — on Sept. 29.

As a result, the House only convenes for a few seconds every three days for what’s called a “pro forma” session. The House gavels in, conducts some quick ministerial business like the Pledge of Allegiance and an opening prayer and then gavels out without legislative business, debate or votes.

House Democrats are taking note of the GOP’s conspicuous absence.

“They need to get their butts back working,” said Rep. Glenn Ivey, D-Md.

DEMOCRATS ROLL OUT NEW CAMPAIGN ADS TARGETING REPUBLICANS OVER ONGOING GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

During the 2013 government shutdown, Congress traded competing spending proposals. In fact, the House passed one measure and sent it to the Senate. But the Senate immediately flushed it, sending the measure back to the House. It was a 45-minute round-trip from the House to the Senate for that spending package.

The House also conducted hearings on Obamacare and veterans issues during the 2013 shutdown.

Both bodies handled some business on the floor during the record 34-day shutdown that stretched from late 2018 into early 2019.

Congress has even postponed a Congressional Gold Medal ceremony for 90-year-old Willie O’Ree, the first Black player in the National Hockey League.

Despite the paucity of congressional action during this shutdown, Johnson concedes the House is handling some tasks — behind the scenes.

“The attorneys for the House Oversight Committee during the shutdown are still doing work. They were in New York City combing through the Epstein estate files,” said Johnson.

Really.

DEMOCRAT SUCCEEDS HER LATE FATHER IN CONGRESS AS GOP HOUSE MAJORITY SHRINKS

Johnson still refuses to seat Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva, D-Ariz. She’s the daughter of late Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., who died of cancer in March after serving in Congress for more than two decades. The younger Grijalva won the special election to succeed her father more than three weeks ago.

The congresswoman-elect would provide the pivotal, 218th signature on a petition to go over the head of the speaker and force a vote on the House floor to release the Epstein files. Johnson has long said his refusal to swear-in Grijalva has nothing to do with the Epstein files. He even said the House would swear her in “whenever” she wanted. But then Johnson said he couldn’t do so since the House wasn’t meeting in regular session. He added that Grijalva deserved the “pomp and circumstance” of a full House session to become a member.

“Doesn’t your resistance to (swearing her in) add fuel to the fire that this is about the Epstein files?” yours truly asked.

“No,” replied Johnson, saying the House wanted to release the files in an orderly way and not expose names of some of the women victimized by Epstein. “We have a duty and responsibility. You can’t just wave a wand and just, you know, open the floodgates.”

Democrats aren’t buying Johnson’s reasoning.

“She is not concerned about the pomp and circumstance. She wants to get about the business of doing the job that she was elected to do,” said Rep. Greg Stanton, D-Ariz. “By the way, the speaker did forego the pomp and circumstance with the two Republican members from Florida when they were sworn in the day after their elections in a pro forma. I mean, the hypocrisy is blatant, and it’s unacceptable.”

That’s a reference to Johnson swearing in Reps. Randy Fine, R-Fla., and Jimmy Patronis, R-Fla., just after they won their special elections in the spring. Republicans argued they needed the votes of Fine and Patronis to help pass the Big, Beautiful Bill.

“No member of this body should have the authority to ignore the will of the voters of a particular district,” said Stanton.

‘WE DON’T WANT ANYTHING’: TRUMP SPEAKS ON REPUBLICAN PARTY’S STANCE ON GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

Johnson pointed out that former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., didn’t swear in Rep. Julia Letlow, R-La., for 25 days after she won her 2021 special election. But that was partially because the House was out for wide swaths of time due to COVID-19.

Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-Calif., actually delayed his own swearing-in for more than a month after he won a 2017 special election. Gomez was a member of the California state legislature. His vote was needed in Sacramento to help Democrats pass a controversial climate change law. Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., was minority leader at the time. McCarthy even called out Pelosi and Gomez for the holdup at the time.

So, don’t expect a resolution to Grijalva’s circumstances any time soon. Let alone the government shutdown.

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“We’re not making much headway this week,” lamented Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska. “I think both sides think that there is a political advantage for them sticking with the positions that they have. And until such time as they think that they actually might be slipping a little bit, I don’t think you have the incentive.”

And until there is incentive, nothing will change with the shutdown.

Virginia Democratic attorney general candidate Jay Jones appeared to come out swinging during a spirited debate at the University of Richmond on Thursday — but more so against the president of the United States than his own Republican opponent, incumbent Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares.

A tally by Fox News Digital counted 37 references to “Donald Trump” or “Trump” as well as a dozen mentions of “the president” by Jones, whose campaign had been embroiled in dueling scandals between texts envisioning the murder of a former top Republican and the adjudication of his 116-mile-per-hour reckless driving arrest in New Kent, Virginia.

When Miyares accused Jones of being a politician more than a prosecutor, the Democrat replied that the Republican says “a lot about prosecuting cases, but he can’t seem to prosecute a case against Donald Trump to save his life.”

Miyares did reference a singular 2025 case against the Trump Department of Veterans Affairs over education benefits, which Jones later acknowledged.

VIRGINIA DEM JAY JONES’ FATHERHOOD-THEMED POST SPARKS OUTRAGE OVER PAST TEXT WISHING HARM TO REPUBLICAN’S KIDS

But Jones continued to slam Trump for “illegally firing” federal workers through DOGE efforts and claimed 350,000 Virginians will lose healthcare because of the president.

“As attorney general, I can’t wait to see Donald Trump in court. I will never flinch or back down from him,” Jones pledged.

“I relish that fight because this is about us here in Virginia. It’s not about some guy in Washington who’s telling us what to do.”

‘CONSUMED WITH HATE’: WINSOME-SEARS, JASON MIYARES UNLOAD ON DEMOCRAT JAY JONES OVER VIOLENT TEXTS

After several Trump name-drops, Miyares appeared to borrow a line from another Republican president — Ronald Reagan — to verbally shake his head at the Democrat’s persistent references.

“There he goes again,” Miyares said. “Fifteen times he said the name of the president. Not one time did he say the name of a victim. That tells me he’s a politician, not a prosecutor.”

Reagan famously defused a tense 1980 debate with then-President Jimmy Carter by remarking, “There you go again,” after the Georgia Democrat mischaracterized his record on support for Medicare.

JAY JONES’ ‘TWO BULLETS’ SCANDAL OVER VIOLENT TEXTS EXPECTED TO DOMINATE VIRGINIA AG DEBATE

Later in the debate, Jones again invoked Trump, criticizing Miyares for being too cozy with the White House.

“[While] they hang out at MAGA rallies together, I will see Donald Trump in court to hold him accountable for Virginia,” he said.

Jones also pointed to Trump’s words of endorsement of Miyares, in which he reportedly said the Republican will never “let us down.”

TRUMP, VANCE BLAST DEMOCRATS FOR BACKING VIRGINIA AG CANDIDATE OVER TEXTS FANTASIZING GOP LAWMAKER’S MURDER

Jones said that should be translated to show that Miyares works for the administration more than Virginia.

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“We have a chance to chart a very different future. Donald Trump doesn’t run this commonwealth. Jason Miyares seems to think that that’s who his boss is. He’d rather be Donald Trump’s pro bono attorney than do his job,” Jones claimed.

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

On “The Ingraham Angle” Thursday, former Trump advisor Jason Miller called Jones a “special kind of sick.”

Socialist New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani appeared to backtrack on his position about Hamas laying down arms in Thursday night’s mayoral debate.

“Of course, I believe that they should lay down their arms,” Mamdani said on the debate stage in New York City alongside former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa.

Mamdani was responding to a question from a moderator who said his previous answer, made to Fox News anchor Martha MacCallum, was “confusing,” after he dodged questions when she asked if he believes Hamas should lay down weapons and leave leadership in Gaza, according to the ceasefire agreement it entered into. 

“I don’t really have opinions about the future of Hamas and Israel beyond the question of justice and safety,” Mamdani said, reiterating that both Hamas and the Israeli military should abide by international law. 

‘ABSOLUTELY A COMMUNIST’: MAMDANI DODGES LABEL, BUT HIS RECORD AND EXPERT SAY OTHERWISE

“I’m proud to be one of the first elected officials in the state who called for a ceasefire and calling for a ceasefire means ceasefire,” Mamdani said on the debate stage on Thursday. 

“That means all parties have to cease fire and put down their weapons. And the reason that we call for that is not only for the end of the genocide, but also an unimpeded access of humanitarian aid. I, like many New Yorkers, and I’m hopeful that this ceasefire will hold.”

Mamdani said he hopes President Trump’s negotiated ceasefire is “durable” and “just.”

MAMDANI BREAKS SILENCE ON FREED ISRAELI HOSTAGES IN STATEMENT THAT DOESN’T MENTION TRUMP

Shortly after Mamdani’s response, social media accounts labeled his comments as a “new answer.”

In Mamdani’s Fox News interview on Wednesday, he said it was too early to give credit to Trump for the peace agreement.

Republican Curtis Sliwa, the only candidate to mention Trump by name in his response to news of the Israeli hostages being released, took issue with that stance on the debate stage.

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“The president of the United States should have been applauded by you, Zohran Mamdani, and you, Andrew Cuomo,” Sliwa said. 

Mamdani has been widely criticized in recent months for his positions on Israel, including his hesitancy to definitively condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada.”

“I want to be very clear,” Mamdani said on the debate stage. “The occupation is a reference to international law and the violation of it, which Mr. Cuomo has no regard for since he signed up to be Benjamin Netanyahu’s legal defense team during the course of this genocide.”

President Donald Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops to major American cities loomed large over Thursday night’s New York City mayoral debate.

During Thursday night’s debate, the candidates, Democrat Zohran Mamdani, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa, were asked about the “threat hanging over the city” of National Guard troops being sent to New York City. All three candidates indicated they would oppose troops being sent to the city.

“If the president ordered troops to hit the streets of New York now, how would you respond?” a moderator asked.

“We do not need the National Guard here in New York City,” Mamdani answered.

ZOHRAN MAMDANI LAUNCHES ANTI-TRUMP TOUR ACROSS FIVE BOROUGHS IN NEW YORK CITY

“If it was safety that President Trump was so concerned about, he would send them to the eight out of ten states that have the highest levels of crime in this country. But he won’t because they’re all run by Republicans,” he asserted.

“What New Yorkers need is a mayor who can stand up to Donald Trump and actually deliver on that safety,” he added. “When Donald Trump sent ICE agents on people in Los Angeles, Andrew Cuomo said that New Yorkers need not overreact. That is the furthest answer that New Yorkers are looking for. They are looking for someone who will lead, someone who will say that they will have their back, someone who will actually fight for the people of this city.”

Cuomo said “the answer in the subways is not more National Guard. … More NYPD is the answer.”

ZOHRAN MAMDANI LEVELS COUNTERPROPOSAL AFTER CUOMO CHALLENGES HIM TO DEBATES IN ALL 5 NYC BOROUGHS

He asserted that Trump is “not sending in the National Guard to do any real function. It’s control. It’s power.”

“He’s trying to say these Democrats don’t know how to run these cities, and it’s a political gesture by sending in the National Guard,” he continued, adding that if Mamdani is elected, Trump “will take over New York. Forget the National Guard.”

Sliwa similarly said, “There’s no need for the National Guard in New York” adding “there are other cities that could desperately use their help in dealing with their crime crisis.”

HERE’S EVERYTHING YOU MISSED FROM ZOHRAN MAMDANI’S FIRST FOX NEWS INTERVIEW

Asked for a show of hands on whether there are any circumstances in which they would allow the New York Police Department to cooperate with National Guard troops sent by Trump, not a single candidate raised his hand.

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With under three weeks until Election Day, Mamdani holds a double-digit lead in the race for the nation’s most populous city, but Cuomo is narrowing the gap, according to the latest public polling.

Mamdani stands at 46% support among likely voters in the most recent survey in the race from Quinnipiac University. Cuomo had 33% support in the survey and Sliwa stood at 15% in the poll.

Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser, Andrew Mark Miller and Deirdre Heavey contributed to this report.

A video shared on X shows Erika Kirk at the Turning Point USA office surrounded by staff members, proudly showing them the Presidential Medal of Freedom awarded to her late husband, Charlie Kirk.

In the clip posted by Mikey McCoy, Charlie Kirk’s former chief of staff, Erika speaks movingly to the assembled team.

CHARLIE KIRK’S COLLEAGUES AND PASTORS PRAISE HIS PATRIOTISM AS TRUMP READIES HIGHEST CIVILIAN HONOR

In the clip, she can be heard saying, “I wanted you guys all to see the Medal of Freedom and be able to look at it and the back of it.”

“You guys are all part of the legacy. Thank you,” she says warmly.

ERIKA KIRK HONORS LATE HUSBAND CHARLIE IN EMOTIONAL WHITE HOUSE TRIBUTE: ‘A FREE MAN MADE FULLY FREE’

The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award in the U.S. It was awarded posthumously to Charlie Kirk by President Donald Trump on Oct. 14, 2025, a date that would have been Kirk’s 32nd birthday. 

CHARLIE KIRK POSTHUMOUSLY AWARDED MEDAL OF FREEDOM ON WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN HIS 32ND BIRTHDAY

Erika accepted the award on her husband’s behalf at a ceremony in the Rose Garden at the White House. She also delivered remarks highlighting her husband’s beliefs and sacrifice.

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Charlie Kirk was assassinated on September 10, 2025, while speaking at a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley State University in Orem, Utah.

Following her husband’s death, Erika was unanimously appointed CEO and chair of Turning Point USA’s board.

New York City Public Schools filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education on Thursday over its move to cut $47 million in promised grants in response to the schools’ policies regarding transgender students.

The lawsuit asks for the reversal of the move to pull the grants.

City officials said the federal agency stripped funding without the required notice or hearing, after it concluded that school policies allowing transgender students to participate on sports teams and use bathrooms matching their gender identity rather than biological sex violate Title IX, which prohibits sex-based discrimination in education.

Last month, the Department of Education gave New York City Public Schools a Sept. 23 deadline to amend the policies or lose current and future funding for 19 specialty magnet schools.

DENVER SCHOOL’S ALL-GENDER BATHROOMS VIOLATE TITLE IX, EDUCATION DEPARTMENT FINDS

Under the policies, “male students who identify as female or transgender are given unqualified access to female intimate spaces,” Craig Trainor, the acting assistant secretary for civil rights at the agency, said in a letter.

Several other school districts, including in Chicago and Fairfax County, Virginia, received similar letters.

New York City school officials affirm that they are fully compliant with Title IX and that the federal department’s “novel interpretation” contradicts state and city laws against sex-based discrimination.

“U.S. DOE’s threat to cut off tens of millions of dollars in magnet funding unless we canceled our protections for transgender and gender expansive students is contrary to federal, state, and local law and, just as importantly, our values as New York City Public Schools,” Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos said in a news release.

An Education Department spokesperson said the agency “sees no merit in this lawsuit.”

The spokesperson added that the magnet school grant program “requires certification of civil rights compliance, which we could obviously not do in the face of NYC’s continued determination to violate the rights of female students under Title IX.”

Under the Trump administration, federal officials have sought to target school districts for policies allowing students to use bathrooms or participate on sports teams that correspond with their gender identity.

Additionally, New York State Education Commissioner Betty Rosa ordered a school district in the New York City suburbs this week to temporarily abandon its new bathroom restrictions for transgender students.

TRUMP ADMIN PUSHES CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOLS TO ABOLISH ‘BLACK STUDENT SUCCESS PLAN’

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The Massapequa School District implemented a policy last month prohibiting transgender students from using bathrooms and locker rooms that match their gender identities rather than biological sex.

The district said after the commissioner’s order that it will continue to offer a gender-neutral locker room and bathroom option to “any student who will be more comfortable using such a space.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Democratic Party candidate for Virginia attorney general Jay Jones was pressed on accountability and asked why voters should trust his judgment following revelations of politically violent rhetoric he made in 2022 about wanting to kill his GOP rival and a reckless driving conviction that he has been accused of trying to skirt his community service requirements for. 

His GOP opponent, incumbent Attorney General Jason Miyares, accused Jones of going 116 miles per hour on Interstate 64 in Virginia in his opening remarks of a Thursday night debate from the University of Richmond.

Miyares claimed that the day Jones went to court after getting caught for reckless driving, there were four people, including Jones, who had all been caught driving roughly the same speed. But, Miyares claimed, Jones was the only not to receive a jail or suspended jail sentence. Miyares also claimed that Jones sought to undermine his 1,000-hour community service requirement that was part of his conviction, alleging he completed the service for a political action committee he controlled.

JOE SCARBOROUGH TELLS DEM CANDIDATE JAY JONES TO LEAVE RACE OVER VIOLENT COMMENTS AGAINST GOP LAWMAKER

“I was held accountable. And several years ago, I made very grave mistakes, but I was held accountable not just by the people in my party, but the Virginia State Police,” Jones said when asked why Virginia voters should trust his judgment. 

The reckless driving criticism coincides with criticism about text messages Jones sent to someone about his Republican political rival in 2022. Jones fantasized in the text exchange about putting “two bullets” in the head of then-GOP Virginia House Speaker Todd Gilbert. Jones also fantasized about violence against Gilbert’s children in the text exchange, which has earned him a lot of heat as well amid the campaign for attorney general.

“I’ve taken accountability for my mistakes, and I know that people in Virginia right now demand and deserve leaders who accept when they make mistakes and can acknowledge that and ever been held accountable. This job right now demands someone who will hold Donald Trump accountable,” Jones said when pressed by the debate moderator for a clear answer on why voters should trust his judgment. 

Jones continued, “For the last nine months, Jason’s had 50 chances to sue the administration, to protect us, to protect our workers, to protect our health care, to protect our K-12 funding, funding for law enforcement. And his office hasn’t done a thing because he’s too weak and too scared to stand up to the president.”

WATCH: KAINE DEFENDS JONES AMID AG CANDIDATE’S TEXTS ENVISIONING MURDER OF GOP LEADER: ‘STILL A SUPPORTER’

Miyares pushed back, however. He argued he has “sued both administrations,” meaning the Biden and Trump administrations. Miyares touted his record supporting veterans and their G.I. benefits in the courts and circled back to comments about how he has been tough on crime to “protect all Virginians.”

“Every day I work to make Virginians more safe, more prosperous. That’s been our mission,” Miyares said. “This office is an executive office. If Jay Jones wants to fight the fights in Washington, then he should run for Congress.” 

Miyares frequently called Jones a “politician” and not a prosecutor throughout the debate. Miyares added that Jones was hurting Virginiains with his soft-on-crime stances, such as voting in favor of an early-release program for felons.

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While lambasting Jones over his policies Thursday night, Miyares noted how one of Jones’ public safety agenda items is to protect children. He used it as an opportunity to drill down on the “two bullets” scandal that has gotten national attention. 

“How can anybody who’s ever worked in any of the crimes against children, all of the areas of federal and state local law department, how can they ever take you seriously? Be the top prosecutor knowing that you view the children should die to advance a political agenda,” Miyares questioned. “How can you ever say you want to represent people to think differently than you politically? Now that we know that you want to see violence against those because they have the wrong ideas.”

FIRST ON FOX: Progressive “Squad” member Rep. Rashida Tlaib’s, D-Mich., campaign has spent over $35,000 on “luxury limousine services” between Oct. 2024 and Sept. 2025, according to her Federal Election Commission filings.

Tlaib’s campaign spent approximately $36,717 in payments to “Aline Luxury Limo Services,” a company based in the Detroit suburbs, according to filings reviewed by Fox News Digital. Dozens of payments were listed as “travel” and “transportation” expenses and were made over a span of approximately one year.

Individual payments to the limo service listed in the filings range from $118.80 to as high as $1,326 with several payments in the $700s and $600s.

Fox News Digital reached out to Tlaib’s campaign for an explanation of these payments, but did not immediately receive a response.

AOC DROPS THOUSANDS ON LUXURY HOTELS WHILE ‘FIGHTING OLIGARCHY’ WITH SANDERS, FILINGS REVEAL

While Aline Luxury Limo Services has no publicly available information, a now-defunct website for DTW Chauffeured Rides — a company registered at the same address as the owner — described the business as a “limousine service company providing luxury transportation for more than a decade,” according to an archived version of the website on the Wayback Machine.

The website stated the company offered a “range of vehicles, from classic limousines to modern sedans and SUVs,” and said it is “committed to providing an upscale experience at an affordable price.” 

As the first Palestinian-born woman elected to Congress and someone who is widely seen as a leading progressive voice, Tlaib has regularly criticized wealth and income inequality in the U.S.

In September, Tlaib joined with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., in introducing the “Tax Excessive CEO Pay Act,” which they said in a joint statement is meant to “take on corporate greed and rein in the obscene salaries of America’s top executives.”

FORMER BIDEN AIDE ACCUSES ‘SQUAD’ REP. TLAIB OF ABANDONING CONSTITUENTS FOR ‘ACTIVIST’ AGENDA

Tlaib criticized CEOs for making “290 times more than their average worker” and said that “working people are sick and tired of corporate greed.”

“It’s disgraceful that corporations continue to rake in record profits by exploiting the labor of their workers,” wrote Tlaib, adding, “I’m proud to re-introduce the Tax Excessive CEO Pay Act with Senator Bernie Sanders to address the massive income and wealth inequality in our nation. It’s time to make the rich pay their fair share.”

At the passage of the President Donald Trump-backed big, beautiful bill, Tlaib attacked it as “an act of violence against our communities” during a time of extreme income inequality.

“At a time of extreme income and wealth inequality, while 60% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, this budget is absolutely devastating for the working families we represent,” she wrote in a statement.

RASHIDA TLAIB HIT WITH HOUSE CENSURE THREAT, ACCUSED OF ‘CELEBRATING TERRORISM’ IN PRO-PALESTINIAN SPEECH

“Republicans are literally taking food out of the mouths of hungry kids by cutting billions of dollars in nutrition assistance. And the same lawmakers who claim that we don’t have the money to feed hungry children or make sure people in our communities have the health care they need have no problem voting to send an additional $150 billion to weapons manufacturers and endless war and $170 billion to masked agents terrorizing our communities and illegally disappearing our neighbors for profit,” wrote Tlaib.

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“Every member who voted to pass this disastrous budget betrayed the people they represent to serve the rich and powerful and deserves to be voted out of office,” she added. 

President Donald Trump on Thursday announced efforts to expand access to in vitro fertilization (IVF) by making such treatments more affordable.

The move includes two priorities: lowering drug prices and making IVF treatment more affordable for women seeking to conceive but who struggle to afford the expensive procedure.

“In the Trump administration, we want to make it easier for couples to have babies, raise children, and start the families they’ve always dreamed of,” Trump said during an announcement from the Oval Office.

BATYA UNGAR-SARGON: HOW TRUMP USES SAME STRATEGY TO CURB BIG PHARMA, SECURE MIDEAST PEACE

Trump said EMD Serono, the largest fertility drug manufacturer in the world, has agreed to provide discounts on the cost of fertility drugs the company sells in the U.S.

The deal includes the drug Gonal-f, which treats infertility in women and men.

Dr. Mehmet Oz, who leads the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said: “There are going to be a lot of Trump babies. I think that’s probably a good thing.”

Trump said a single round of IVF in the United States can cost up to $25,000, with many couples requiring multiple rounds for a successful pregnancy.

“We’re pleased to announce that, depending on the patient’s income, the cost of drugs for a standard IVF cycle of infertility will decrease somewhere between 42 and 79% for families,” an official said, “based on the results of this negotiation.”

TRUMP SAYS ADMINISTRATION CLOSE TO FINALIZING FEDERAL FUNDING DEAL WITH HARVARD UNIVERSITY

In 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said a single cycle of IVF ranges from $15,000 to $20,000 and can exceed $30,000.

“Given that the average number of cycles needed to become pregnant from IVF is 2.5, this means that the average cost of IVF to conceive successfully can easily exceed $40,000,” an HHS report states.

Libby Horne, EMD Serono’s U.S. vice president of fertility and HIV/endocrinology, praised Thursday’s announcement, noting that 1 in 8 couples face infertility.

“Through our partnership with the administration, we are proud to announce that Americans will have access to our leading IVF therapies at an 84% discount off list prices,” said Horne.

The announcement came after Trump in February signed an executive order directing federal agencies to find ways to lower the cost of IVF.

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Trump pledged on the campaign trail that if he won a second term, he would mandate free in vitro fertilization treatment for women.

Trump credited Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., with bringing the issue of IVF access to his attention.

“This is the most pro-IVF thing that any president in the history of the United States of America has done,” Britt said Thursday alongside Trump.

The U.S. is planning to offer rewards to Gazans who help locate the bodies of the deceased hostages who were held by Hamas, a pair of senior White House advisors told reporters Wednesday evening.

“We’re probably going to put together some sort of program where we’re going to ask people to see if they can help us to locate bodies. And we’re going to pay rewards for that type of good behavior,” one advisor said.

As part of the ceasefire agreement, all 20 living hostages have been returned to Israel, along with nine bodies of the deceased. Nineteen more bodies have yet to be located.

Hamas claims it does not know the location of the other bodies, and “significant efforts and special equipment” would be needed to locate them.

IDF SAYS BODY TURNED OVER BY HAMAS DOESN’T MATCH ANY HOSTAGES

An advisor tamped down accusations that Hamas had violated the ceasefire agreements, insisting the terms of the agreement prioritized living hostages, and they expected bodies to be difficult to locate in a war zone.

Still, they added, “I can tell you that we’re not going to leave here until everybody comes home.”

“We’ve heard a lot of people saying, ‘Well, you know, Hamas violated the deal, because not all the bodies have been returned.’ I think the understanding we had with them was we’d get all the live hostages, out, which they did honor that.”

EXCLUSIVE: ISRAELI AMBASSADOR SAYS NO PEACE IN GAZA UNLESS HAMAS HANDS OVER ALL 48 HOSTAGES, DISARMS

Israeli intelligence and Turkish retrieval experts, trained for Turkey’s frequent earthquakes, will aid the effort to locate the 19 remaining bodies.

“You have to understand the complexity of the conditions on the ground,” an advisor said. “The entire Gaza Strip has been pulverized. It looks like something out of a movie. And there’s very, very little buildings left standing.”

The advisor equated the debris levels to those seen after the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center. “This is, I don’t know, it feels like multiple times more.”

Amid the debris are unexploded ordnance, further complicating body retrieval.

An advisor also detailed plans for “safe zones” behind the Yellow Line — the area still occupied by the Israeli Defense Forces in Gaza — for Palestinians looking to flee Hamas as the militant group conducts executions across the strip.

“Israel is very committed to creating safety for the people of Gaza who want to live in peace. And so this is a new line of effort that we requested. And that it was met with a lot of enthusiasm from Israel to try to set this up.”

Violent clashes between Hamas and rival groups have been reported in areas across Gaza, and videos circulating across social media appear to show executions.

An advisor told reporters it had told Hamas to stop the killings.

“There have been a lot of reports in Gaza of Hamas killing and going after Palestinian civilians. That’s something that we’ve been working with the mediators to send a message to say we’d really like to see that stop.”

“We are seeing different actions on all sides that, obviously, that President Trump and his team are working very hard to minimize.”

An Israeli military official told Fox News Digital the killings are “Hamas’ deliberate attempt to show the killing publicly and reestablish its rule by terrorizing civilians.”

Trump earlier this week suggested Hamas was conducting police activities and those who were killed were gang members.

“[Hamas] do want to stop the problems and they’ve been open about it, and we gave them approval for a period of time,” he told reporters on Monday.

“You have close to 2 million people going back to buildings that have been demolished, and a lot of bad things can happen. So we want it to be — we want it to be safe.”

The president added on Tuesday: “They did take out a couple of gangs that were very bad gangs, very, very bad.”

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“And that didn’t bother me much, to be honest with you,” he added.

On Monday, Hamas returned all living hostages, showing a positive sign for the historic but tenuous ceasefire agreement with Israel. The IDF, in turn, pulled back in Gaza to behind what’s known as a “Yellow line,” part of Phase One of the agreement.

Fox News’ Efrat Lachter contributed to this report. 

Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump administration, Capitol Hill and more Fox News politics content. Here’s what’s happening…

-Here’s everything you missed from Zohran Mamdani’s first Fox News interview

–Justice Jackson’s remarks on minority voters spark heavy backlash: ‘They’re disabled’

-Senate Democrats block GOP plan for 10th time, ensuring shutdown lasts into next week

Obama backs Spanberger in VA governor’s race

Former President Barack Obama endorsed former Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger in Virginia’s governor race, releasing a pair of ads attacking Republicans. 

The contest between Spanberger, a former CIA officer, and Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears is one of only two governor races in the U.S. this November. The contests are viewed as political bellwethers ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. 

“Virginia’s elections are some of the most important in the country this year. We know Republicans will keep attacking abortion rights and the rights of women. That’s why having the right governor matters, and I’m proud to endorse Abigail Spanberger,” Obama said in one of the ads, titled “Protect Our Rights.”…Read more

White House

PEACE THROUGH POWER: Grenell praises Trump’s ‘common sense’ foreign policy, slams Biden for avoiding Putin

World Stage

STRENGTH WORKS: Trump’s Iran gamble pays off as WWIII doomsayers now praise Israel-Hamas ceasefire

Capitol Hill

HOSTAGE POLITICS: No 2 House Democrat says healthcare drives party’s strategy as shutdown heads into next week

BLUE TAKEOVER: Johnson says ‘Marxists’ run Democratic Party as government shutdown heads into next week

GRIDLOCK GRIND: Republicans push to pay troops, reopen government as Democrats balk

‘NOT NAZIS’: Fetterman says he knows and loves Trump voters: ‘I’m the only Democrat in my family’

NANCY’S MELTDOWN: Pelosi tells reporter to ‘shut up’ when asked about January 6 committee

Across America 

MAGA MOMENTUM: 2025 GOP wins in New Jersey, Virginia, would ‘set the table for…more decisive victories’ in 2026

OFF THE RADAR: A secret fleet of ‘ghost ships’ moving Russia’s oil could soon enter Trump’s crosshairs

DISMISSING JONES: Arlington prosecutor defending Jones rife with Soros-linked donations

GRIEF TO GLORY: Texas mother turns tragedy into purpose: Esmeralda ‘Esmi’ Cantu-Castle runs for office after losing daughter

ACADEMIC ACTIVISM: Bombshell report exposes ‘deeply concerning’ Midwest university initiative pushing far-left K-12 lesson plans

‘UNNECESSARY’: Secretary of Education points out that the government shutdown shows her department is unneeded

‘CRIMINAL HISTORY’: ICE reveals ‘disturbing details’ after agency rescued 3-year-old abducted to Mexico

URBAN CLASH: Final stretch: Mamdani’s large lead shrinking as Cuomo gains ground in NYC mayoral race

‘ARMED EXTREMISTS’: DOJ brings first Antifa-related terrorism charges in Texas ICE attack

GUT PUNCH: Blue city repeat offender accused of metal pipe rampage just days after release

ARCHITECT-IN-CHIEF: Trump reveals Arc de Triomphe-style monument for America’s 250th anniversary

Get the latest updates on the Trump administration and Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.

Now that Israel and Hamas have agreed to a ceasefire, all eyes are on the next continuing global conflict: Russia and Ukraine. 

President Donald Trump isn’t wasting any time directing his attention to the war in Ukraine, and is scheduled to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House Friday as the president weighs arming Ukraine with Tomahawk cruise missiles. 

Likewise, Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin Thursday and said that high-level advisors for the U.S. and Russia will meet the following week. Subsequently, he said he and Putin would meet in Budapest, Hungary, “to see if we can bring this ‘inglorious’ War, between Russia and Ukraine, to an end.”

TRUMP FINDS NEW LEVERAGE IN UKRAINE FIGHT WITH TOMAHAWK THREAT AND LONG-RANGE STRIKE AUTHORIZATION

Additionally, Trump said he believes that the Middle East deal could provide momentum to resolve the conflict in Europe. 

“I actually believe that the Success in the Middle East will help in our negotiation in attaining an end to the War with Russia/Ukraine…I believe great progress was made with today’s telephone conversation,” Trump said in a Thursday social media post. 

While the new peace agreement in the Middle East shares some parallels with the conflict in Europe due to increased pressure on adversaries, the conflicts are too different for Gaza to serve as a clear blueprint for Ukraine and Russia, according to experts. 

Rather, what the Middle East deal really does is pave the way for Trump to devote more of his energy to negotiating an end to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Whereas other foreign policy priorities were previously vying for Trump’s attention, now Ukraine and Russia are at the top of the list. 

“The U.S. president can turn his attention to only so many issues at one time,” Peter Rough, a senior fellow and director of the Center on Europe and Eurasia at the Hudson Institute think tank, told Fox News Digital in a Tuesday email. “Now that he has a framework in place in the Middle East, President Trump can train his sights squarely on the war in Ukraine.” 

There are a lot of differences between the two conflicts — including the relative power between the two adversaries involved in each of the conflicts, experts said.

“In the Middle East, Hamas was weaker than our ally in Israel,” Rough said. “The challenge in Europe is that Russia is a major (nuclear) power astride the Eurasian landmass. It is larger and more powerful than our partner, Ukraine. This is why it’s so essential that the U.S. and Europe support Ukraine against Russia. Absent such support, it’s hard to convince Russia to accept a deal.” 

The peace deal in the Middle East included a provision to return the hostages that were still in captivity within 72 hours of Hamas signing off on the deal. It also called for Israeli forces to withdraw its troops and a complete disarmament of Hamas.

John Hardie, Russia program deputy director at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said that another key difference between the conflicts is that Russia has refused to agree to a ceasefire unless Ukraine signs off on certain demands. Those demands previously have included barring Ukraine from ever joining NATO and concessions on some of the borders that previously belonged to Kyiv. 

“In the Gaza war, Israel got some significant concessions in the ceasefire deal but also agreed to leave some major issues to be negotiated in a political process,” Hardie said in a Tuesday email to Fox News Digital. “In Ukraine, by contrast, (Russian President Vladimir) Putin has consistently refused to accept a ceasefire unless Kyiv first capitulates to non-starter demands even though Russia has virtually no prospect of imposing them by force.” 

TRUMP HITS BACK CEASEFIRE NOT NECESSARY FOR PEACE DURING HIGH-STAKES MEETING WITH ZELENSKYY

Meanwhile, Trump is ramping up pressure on Russia and told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday that he might send Ukraine Tomahawk cruise missiles should Russia refuse to “settle” the conflict. Trump said he told Zelenskyy he may bring up the matter with Russia, because it is a “new step of aggression.” 

The Tomahawk missiles can be fired from ships, submarines and ground assets to hit targets as far as 1,000 miles away, according to Raytheon, which manufactures the weapons. 

Moscow did not welcome the news, and Russia’s former president Dmitry Medvedev said in a post on Telegram that outfitting Ukraine with the missiles “could end badly for everyone … most of all, for Trump himself.” 

Despite Russia’s claims that such a move from the U.S. would escalate tensions, equipping Ukraine with the missiles would actually put Kyiv on equal footing to fight back against Russia, according to Mick Ryan, a senior fellow for military studies at Australia’s Lowy Institute’s International Security Program. Ryan is an Australian army retired major general who also served as a strategist for the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff in the Pentagon. 

ZELENSKYY OUTLINES PEACE DEMANDS BEFORE HIGH-STAKES WHITE HOUSE MEETING WITH TRUMP

“Russia has employed missiles similar to Tomahawks since Day 1 of the full-scale invasion,” Ryan said in a Monday X post. “This is NOT escalation. It is just leveling the playing field for a three-year-long Ukrainian long-range strike campaign that has now achieved critical mass and momentum.” 

Zelenskyy said his Friday meeting with Trump would center around exerting more pressure on Russia in an attempt to secure peace through air defense and long-range capabilities. Additionally, Zelenskyy capitalized on the recent peace agreement in the Middle East, and said in a post on X Monday that “it is important not to lose the momentum in spreading peace.” 

“If I were Trump, I would focus my energies on supporting the Ukrainian military and pressuring Russia until Moscow signals it’s open to ending the war on more reasonable terms,” Hardie said. 

Zelenskyy has visited the White House on multiple occasions since Trump took office again — including in February when he sparred with Trump and Vice President JD Vance over engaging in diplomacy with Russia to end the conflict.

The White House said that Russia should prioritize securing a deal swiftly, and that Trump believes he can deliver one. 

“If they were smart, they would more urgently pursue a deal to end the war which has done significant damage to Russia’s reputation, stop the killing, and get their country back on the right track,” a White House official said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “President Putin has repeatedly rejected generous proposals toward peace that would have benefited Russia. The President remains optimistic that he will be able to get both sides to stop the senseless killing.”

A federal judge reportedly said she wants federal agents in the Chicago area to wear body cameras after a series of violent clashes with anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) crowds.

U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama, said images of the clashes on TV left her a “little startled” as the Trump administration continues its illegal immigration crackdown.

“The field director is going to explain to me why I am seeing images of tear gas being deployed and reading reports that there were no warnings given out in the field,” Ellis said in court this week, according to The New York Times.

Last week, Ellis ordered ICE agents to wear badges and banned them from using certain riot control tactics against peaceful protesters and journalists. ICE agents have reportedly used tear gas and taken other measures as tensions between the immigration enforcement officers and the public escalate.

CHICAGO POLICE ORDERED NOT TO RESPOND AFTER CAR-RAMMING ATTACK ON FEDERAL AGENTS: SOURCES

“I’m getting images and seeing images on the news, in the paper, reading reports where I’m having concerns about my order being followed,” Ellis said.

“I’m having concerns about my order being followed,” the judge added this week, according to The Associated Press.

“I am adding that all agents who are operating in Operation Midway Blitz are to wear body-worn cameras, and they are to be on,” Ellis said, referring to the government’s name for the crackdown.

Justice Department attorney Sean Skedzielewski laid blame on “one-sided and selectively edited media reports,” according to the AP. He also said it wouldn’t be possible to distribute cameras immediately.

“I understand that. I would not be expecting agents to wear body-worn cameras they do not have,” Ellis said, adding that the details could be worked out later.

She said the field director of the enforcement effort must appear in court Monday.

The ICE facility in Broadview, Ill., a Chicago suburb, has been the site of several chaotic clashes between federal law enforcement and protesters.

Following a different federal judge’s order, an eight-foot fence surrounding the facility was taken down Tuesday, FOX 32 Chicago. The fence was reportedly put up late last month and caused tension between federal and local officials. The Broadview Fire Department reportedly informed DHS that the fence was built without permission on a public street, which is under the village’s jurisdiction, according to FOX 32.

Also on Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that two illegal immigrants were in custody after ramming their vehicle into a Border Patrol vehicle in Chicago during an immigration enforcement operation. This led to a clash with protesters.

The illegal immigrants were identified as Luis Gerardo Pirela-Ramirez and Yonder Enrique Tenefe-Perez, both of whom are from Venezuela. A senior DHS source told Fox News that the two rammed into a Border Patrol vehicle and attempted to flee the scene.

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

“This morning, while conducting an immigration enforcement operation in Chicago, a vehicle, driven by an illegal alien rammed a Border Patrol vehicle and attempted to flee the scene,” a DHS spokesperson said. “Border Patrol pursued the vehicle and was eventually able to stop it utilizing an authorized precision immobilization technique (PIT) maneuver. Once the vehicle was stopped, the suspects, who are both illegal aliens, attempted to flee on foot. As Border Patrol arrested the subjects and attempted to secure the scene, a crowd began to form and eventually turned hostile and eventually crowd control measures were used.”

During the clash with protesters that followed the incident, federal officers deployed tear gas, exposing 13 Chicago police officers on the scene to the riot control agent.

Several Democrats, including Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, have pushed back on the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement policies. President Donald Trump recently called for Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson to be arrested for failing to protect federal ICE agents.

“I will not back down. Trump is now calling for the arrest of elected representatives checking his power. What else is left on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?” Pritzker said in reaction to Trump on Oct. 8. “We must all stand up and speak out.”

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Fox News Digital contacted Ellis’ office, which acknowledged the judge’s courtroom statements but noted an official order has not yet been issued regarding requiring federal agents to wear body cameras. 

The White House declined to comment, saying it would need the full order to do so.

DHS did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Fox News’ Bill Melugin, Fox News Digital’s Landon Mion and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Mass., the No. 2 Democrat in the House of Representatives and the whip of the caucus, placed healthcare messaging at the center of the party’s attention in an interview with Fox News — even amid other questions about the party’s direction. 

“Fighting for healthcare is our defining issue,” Clark told senior congressional correspondent Chad Pergram on Thursday when asked whether the age of the party’s candidates would play into the party’s considerations in the 2026 midterms.

“Shutdowns are terrible and, of course, there will be, you know, families that are going to suffer. We take that responsibility very seriously. But it is one of the few leverage items we have. It is an inflection point in this budget process where we have tried to get the Republicans to meet with us and prioritize the American people.”

DEMOCRATS ROLL OUT NEW CAMPAIGN ADS TARGETING REPUBLICANS OVER ONGOING GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

The government ran out of funding on Oct. 1 after lawmakers failed to reach an agreement on spending legislation for 2026, plunging the country into a shutdown that has gone on for 16 days. Democrats in Congress have made it clear they won’t support any funding package to reopen the government that doesn’t also include an extension of COVID-era Obamacare subsidies.

Those subsidies, which dramatically extended the pool of eligible applicants for enhanced premium tax credits as a part of the 2021 American Rescue Plan, are set to expire at the end of 2025. Several lawmakers from both parties have expressed alarm that letting them expire would leave millions of Obamacare policyholders — who took advantage of that extended eligibility — suddenly stuck with dramatically higher premiums overnight.

HOUSE DEMOCRATS THREATEN SHUTDOWN FIGHT TO PROTECT OBAMACARE PERKS

Open enrollment for the enhanced premium tax credits is set to start at the beginning of next month.

“We are watching a crisis come at us,” Clark said. “And this is the crisis of that.”

“The marketplace, the ACA marketplace, open enrollment takes place on Nov. 1,” she said, referring to Obamacare, also known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA). “People are receiving their premium notices that they’re going to go to that marketplace and say, ‘I can’t afford this.’ That is a real crisis for American families. And it drives up the cost of healthcare for every single person, no matter where you get your health insurance from.”

Clark’s messaging echoes the position of other leaders in the Democratic Party, such as House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who have similarly made healthcare a focus of their messaging on the shutdown.

Clark noted that Democrats perceive a heightened political leverage to push for an extension to the Obamacare credits in light of GOP-led changes to Medicaid that became law under Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) earlier this year.

DEMOCRATS BLAME GOP FOR OBAMACARE WOES TIED TO PANDEMIC-ERA SUBSIDIES

“This is a fight that we are waging on behalf of the American people who are telling us, ‘We’re not making it.’ And they deserve to have healthcare when they need it that they can afford and where they need it,” Clark said.

Among other changes, the OBBBA pushed some of the costs of Medicaid back onto the individual states, implemented new reporting requirements and introduced slightly higher work requirements for certain demographics.

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Republicans in the House have rebuffed Democratic demands to open negotiations on the Obamacare tax credits as a condition for re-opening the government. Some of the chamber’s most conservative lawmakers called the idea a “non-starter” on Wednesday as the shutdown entered a third week.

The Senate voted for a 10th time on Thursday to reopen the government, but the vote failed amid the continued gridlock.

Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson sparked debate Wednesday after she invoked the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) during oral arguments to illustrate how the government can remedy discrimination — an exchange that quickly took off on social media, where some critics accused her of comparing Black voters to disabled persons. 

The back-and-forth took place during nearly three hours of oral arguments in Louisiana v. Callais, which centers on states’ obligation to consider race when drawing congressional maps under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.

Jackson’s remarks were a follow-up to questions posed by Justice Elena Kagan, who had also pressed counsel for Louisiana on what remedies the government must provide in cases of discrimination under the 14th and 15th Amendments, and if they must take into account issues of intent.

“Going back to this discriminatory intent point — and the fact that remedial action, absent discriminatory intent, is really not a new idea in civil rights laws. And my paradigmatic example of this is something like the ADA,” Jackson said.

SUPREME COURT SIGNALS IT MAY LIMIT KEY VOTING RIGHTS ACT RULE

“Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act against the backdrop of a world that was generally not accessible to people with disabilities. And so it was discriminatory, in effect, because these folks were not able to access these buildings — and [it] didn’t matter whether the person who built the building, or the person who owned the building, intended for them to be exclusionary. That’s irrelevant,” she continued.

“Congress said the facilities have to be made equally open to people with disabilities, if readily possible. I guess I don’t understand why that’s not what’s happening here.”

Jackson went on to note that the idea of Section 2 is that the government “is responding to current-day manifestations of past and present decisions that disadvantaged minorities,” and to “make it so they now have equal access to the voting system, right? They’re disabled,” she said, drilling down on the hypothetical. 

FORMER SUPREME COURT JUSTICE WARNS PARTISANSHIP PLAYS ‘TOO MUCH OF A ROLE’ IN JUDICIAL NOMINATIONS

The lawyer arguing for Louisiana interjected to note, “The difference is that the remedy under the ADA and other anti-discrimination laws are not stereotyping.”

“It’s not race-based,” Jackson quickly agreed of the ADA and other discrimination laws. “I take your point.”

“But what you’re saying, then, that if the problem of no access is about race, ‘it’s just too bad,’ because you can’t have a remedy that relates to race?”

“Absolutely not, Your Honor,” counsel responded. 

Despite the heavy backlash that erupted on social media and suggestions that she was describing Black people or other minorities as “disabled,” Jackson’s remarks were not unique — nor were they unique in the eyes of the Supreme Court.

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As she noted during the same exchange, the “disabled” terminology was used by the Supreme Court in a 2021 case, Allen v. Milligan, which also dealt with race-based redistricting issues in the state of Alabama and issues of discriminatory intent. 

In Milligan, Jackson said, the Supreme Court “used the word disabled — we said, that’s a way in which you see that these processes are not equally open.”

“So I don’t understand why it matters whether the state intended to do that. What Congress is saying is, if it is happening, which Section 2 gives us the tools to determine, you’ve got to fix it.”

The court’s conservative majority seemed poised to significantly weaken Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, though to what extent it will do so remains to be seen.

EXCLUSIVE: Kennedy Center President and Ambassador Richard Grenell slammed former President Joe Biden for avoiding Russian President Vladimir Putin as war raged between Russia and Ukraine while praising President Donald Trump’s “common sense” foreign policies.

“You have a president who is really watching the situation, unlike the last president, Joe Biden, who literally didn’t talk to Vladimir Putin for three and a half years,” he said. “President Trump doesn’t believe in that strategy. He wants to confront the issues. He wants to figure out ways to fix them.”

Trump plans to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin Thursday — just hours after Russian missiles and drones attacked Ukrainian cities. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy already had been scheduled to head to Washington to meet with Trump Friday, to discuss the war and strengthening his country’s defenses. 

Trump vowed from the campaign trail that he would facilitate negotiations for a peace deal to end the war between Russia and Ukraine, which has raged since 2022, but ongoing talks have yet to yield an agreement. 

RUBIO HAILS TRUMP AS ‘ONLY LEADER IN THE WORLD’ WHO CAN BROKER UKRAINE PEACE DEAL AFTER TALKS

In addition to Russia and Ukraine, Trump also been active in efforts to bring peace to the Middle East. Trump secured a historic peace declaration as of Monday, when he traveled to Israel and Egypt to meet with foreign leaders stretching from the Middle East to Europe.

BACK FROM ALASKA, TRUMP STARTS WEEK WITH CRUCIAL FOREIGN POLICY TALKS OVER UKRAINE WAR

Grenell discussed Trump’s strategy for international conflicts during his second term in office while attending “The Sound of Music” at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

“Well, first of all, I’ve worked with President Trump for a long time, and the one thing about President Trump is that he’s filled with common sense, and he evaluates his decisions constantly,” Grenell told Fox News Digital.

Grenell said Trump can make America stronger on the world stage with his ability and willingness to adapt to different international conflicts.

“You see him adjust the policy,” he said. “Something isn’t working, he’s not afraid to replace somebody or change the policy.”

HAMAS ACCEPTS TRUMP PEACE PLAN ENDING 2 YEARS OF WAR IN GAZA, RETURNING HOSTAGES

Grenell described Trump as an “active president” who is ready to make moves and advance U.S. interests.

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“I think that what we’re seeing on the global stage is someone who is an activist president, watching the situation, adjusting the policy so that it’s making America stronger, more prosperous, and solving problems around the world,” Grenell said.

Senate Democrats wanted an equal say in crafting spending bills before the shutdown and are about to get a chance to do so, but they’re unlikely to support Republicans’ latest effort to jump-start the government funding process.

The Senate on Thursday is set to move through a procedural hurdle on the annual defense spending bill, which, among other things, would ensure that military service members would get their paychecks.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., teed up the bill earlier this week as the shutdown raged on to pressure Senate Democrats to make good on their desire to fund the government in a bipartisan manner, and in the hopes of getting the appropriations process moving again. 

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“We can actually get the appropriations process going forward,” Thune said. “So that’s in the works.”

And in the Senate, given the 60-vote filibuster threshold, spending bills are prime examples of the many pieces of legislation that have to be bipartisan to pass. But Senate Democrats seemed unwilling to go all in on supporting the defense bill, and like the Republicans’ plan to reopen the government, appear ready to block Thune’s effort.

They want to know exactly what Republicans plan to put on the floor later on, despite the vote on Thursday afternoon being designed to give lawmakers the chance to move forward with at least one of several spending bills that must be passed to fund the government.

“We have to see what they’re going to put on the floor,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said. “They haven’t told us yet.”

Republicans are also eyeing at least three other spending bills to attach to the defense appropriations bill, including legislation that would fund the departments of Labor, Commerce, Transportation, Health and Human Services, and Housing and Urban Development.

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Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., is a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee and appears ready for the reality that Democrats would block the defense bill and broader spending package.

“You have to start with the defense, and then you can add the other ones to it, but once again, it takes agreement by our Dem colleagues that want to move that forward,” he said. “I’m not sure that we’ve got the votes to do that yet.”

There is a trust deficit between Senate Democrats and Republicans from earlier this year when the GOP passed President Donald Trump’s request to claw back billions in funding for foreign aid and NPR and PBS, in addition to continued actions by Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought to withhold or cancel funding for Democratic priorities.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., told Fox News Digital after Senate Democrats met behind closed doors on Wednesday that there had been no indication from Republicans there would be “bipartisan cooperation or any willingness to put any guardrails around what they plan to do.”

“I think the stage we’re at is that we’ve been shown nothing,” he said. “So there’s no reason to vote for it yet.”

“I think what was needed is a larger agreement about how the appropriations process is moving forward, so it’s clear that our priorities are respected,” he continued.

However, pairing the defense bill could grease the wheels for some in the Democratic caucus.

“No, not unless it’s paired with [the Labor and HHS bill],” Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, said.

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Thune’s move to reignite the appropriations process, an exercise that played out in the Senate in early August when lawmakers advanced a trio of funding bills ahead of the shutdown deadline, is part of Republicans’ broader desire to fund the government the old-fashioned way, rather than through a colossal omnibus spending package.

It’s an exercise, however, that hasn’t been fully completed since the 1990s.

Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., noted to Fox News Digital that a major part of selecting a new leader for the Senate GOP was returning to what’s known as regular order, or passing spending to fund the government.

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He argued that when Schumer ran the Senate as majority leader, the upper chamber was often resigned to passing “these omnibus bills that were developed in the, you know, middle of the night with four people.”

“We’re not interested in that. So we want to get bills on the floor, and they’ve got to move in a bipartisan way, right? So I think this is something that I would hope Democrats would support, too,” he said. “But if their mentality is at this point, you know, just oppose everything Republicans want to do, it’s pathological, and I don’t have any advice for them except seek help.”

Republicans are still trying to reopen the government and plan to put the House-passed continuing resolution (CR) on the floor again Thursday for a 10th time. And just like many times before, it is expected to fail.

When asked if he believed that the shutdown could transform into lawmakers passing spending bills one-by-one to reopen the government, Thune said, “I certainly hope not.” 

EXCLUSIVE – SADDLE BROOK, N.J. – GOP gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy of Ohio was a long way from home on Wednesday night, as he briefly left his own race to help another Republican running for governor.

But Ramaswamy’s campaign trail stop in New Jersey’s competitive and combustible gubernatorial election, where he teamed up with GOP nominee Jack Ciattarelli at a packed diner full of supporters, could pay dividends next year in his own race back home.

New Jersey and Virginia are the only two states to hold gubernatorial showdowns in the year after a presidential election, and the contests traditionally grab outsized attention and are viewed as political barometers ahead of the following year’s midterm elections.

And this year, they’re being viewed to a large degree as ballot box referendums on President Donald Trump’s unprecedented second-term agenda.

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Pointing to New Jersey and Virginia, Ramaswamy said in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital that GOP victories in both elections would “set the table for even bigger and more decisive victories, hopefully in places like Ohio next year.”

Ramaswamy arrived in New Jersey hours after the latest poll in the governor’s race indicated Ciattarelli narrowing the gap with Rep. Mikie Sherrill, the Democratic Party nominee in the race to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy.

The MAGA world rock star’s stop in New Jersey could help Ciattarelli energize many in the party’s base – low propensity voters who often skip casting ballots in non-presidential election years.

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“If you want to bring down costs in this state, back Jack,” Ramaswamy told the boisterous crowd. “If you want to make New Jersey great again, back Jack. We are ready, Jack, for change. This state is hungry for it.”

And Ramaswamy, the multimillionaire biotech entrepreneur and conservative commentator who pushed an “America First 2.0” platform as he ran for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination before ending his bid and becoming one of Trump’s top supporters and surrogates, told Ciattarelli, “We’re going in Ohio next year, but you’ve got to pave the path this year. We’re counting on you.”

Ramaswamy, who’s been endorsed by Trump, is the only major Republican candidate right now in the 2026 race to succeed term-limited GOP Gov. Mike DeWine.

Former Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan, who spent two decades representing a large swath of northeastern Ohio, including Akron and Youngstown, is likely to launch a gubernatorial campaign in the coming days. Ryan, his party’s Senate nominee in Ohio’s 2022 election, would become the second major Democrat in the 2026 gubernatorial race, joining former state health director Amy Acton.

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“It doesn’t matter who we’re running against,” Ramaswamy said when asked what a Ryan candidacy would mean to him. “The beauty of our side of this election in Ohio is we’re more united than we’ve ever been as a Republican Party. I’m running unopposed in the Republican primary. But even more importantly, we have widespread labor support in Ohio. This is unprecedented.”

Ramaswamy, as he spoke at the Ciattarelli event in New Jersey, which included an overflow crowd of a couple of hundred people outside the diner, received encouragement to make another White House run down the road.

“I’m 100% focused on Ohio,” Ramaswamy told Fox News Digital. “You can’t make long-run plans. Life never goes according to your plan.”

But he added, “We’re gonna do our part in Ohio, and that’s my next step for how we save the country.”

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Ramaswamy’s stop in New Jersey, with less than three weeks until Election Day, came hours after multiple sources confirmed to Fox News that Trump will hold tele-rallies with Ciattarelli. 

In what’s expected to be a low-turnout election, Trump’s backing could prove crucial for Ciattarelli, who’s making his third run for governor after narrowly losing to Murphy four years ago.

“There’s obviously a whole lot of people across the state of New Jersey that are pleased with the job the president’s doing,” Ciattarelli said earlier Wednesday in an exclusive Fox News Digital interview.

Pointing to the president’s push to temporarily halt wind farms off the Jersey Shore, his vow to kill New York’s congestion pricing, tax cuts, deductions, and credits in the GOP’s massive domestic policy measure, and his efforts to secure the nation’s southern border, Ciattarelli said that people “are very pleased with the president, what he’s done for New Jersey.”

Trump endorsed Ciattarelli earlier this year, in the GOP gubernatorial nomination race. And the president headlined a tele-rally for Ciattarelli ahead of the June primary.

While Trump isn’t on the ballot, he’s loomed large over the New Jersey gubernatorial election.

At last week’s second and final debate, Sherrill charged that her GOP rival had “shown zero signs of standing up to this president. In fact, the president himself called Jack 100% MAGA, and he’s shown every sign of being that.”

Asked whether he considered himself part of the MAGA movement, Ciattarelli said he was “part of a New Jersey movement.”

When asked to grade the president’s performance so far during his second term, Ciattarelli said, “I’d certainly give the president an A. I think he’s right about everything that he’s doing.”

“I think that tells us all we need to know about who Jack Ciattarelli’s supporting. I give him an F right now,” Sherrill responded, as she pointed to New Jersey’s high cost of living.

While Democrats have long dominated federal and state legislative elections in blue-leaning New Jersey, Republicans are very competitive in gubernatorial contests, winning five out of the past 10 elections.

And Trump made major gains in New Jersey in last year’s presidential election, losing the state by only 6 percentage points, a major improvement over his 16-point deficit four years earlier.

Ciattarelli said in a Fox News Digital interview last month that he was “really pleased that the White House has offered to help us in any way that we see fit,” and that he and his campaign were “in constant communication with the White House about different ways they can help.”

And while there’s no indication, as of now, that Trump will join Ciattarelli in person in New Jersey, campaign strategist Chris Russell told Fox News, “We’re appreciative of all the help we’ve received from the president and his team so far, and grateful for any support they provide down the stretch.”

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But the Democratic National Committee (DNC), in a release after word of the Trump tele-rally was first reported by Axios, claimed that Ciattarelli was “desperate.”

“It’s clear that this election comes down to one major truth: Jack is 100% for Trump, while Mikie Sherrill is 100% for New Jersey,” DNC Deputy Communications Director Abhi Rahman said in a statement.