NationalWatch

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Columbia University’s $200 million-plus discrimination settlement with the Trump administration is laying the groundwork for a culture of accountability, Education Secretary Linda McMahon shared in an interview with Fox News Digital. 

President Donald Trump’s administration is celebrating what it considers a “historic settlement” with the university that has become the epicenter of protests rejecting the war in Gaza since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel. 

“I’m very pleased that we were able to bring those negotiations to a close and have an excellent working agreement now with Columbia. They knew they had an antisemitism problem,” McMahon said ahead of her remarks at the National Governors Association (NGA) Summer Meeting in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

The settlement not only combats antisemitism on college campuses, it takes measures to remove discriminatory hiring practices and enhance campus safety, the education secretary explained. 

TRUMP SECURES $221M COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY SETTLEMENT OVER ALLEGED CIVIL RIGHTS VIOLATIONS

“This agreement is going to be an excellent template for other universities to be able to use as well,” McMahon said. 

COLUMBIA PROFESSORS DEMAND ANSWERS AS WHITE HOUSE FINALIZES NEGOTIATIONS WITH IVY LEAGUE UNIVERSITY

Several Jewish leaders have spoken to Fox News Digital about the “existential threat” they say Jewish New Yorkers are facing since 33-year-old socialist Zohran Mamdani became the Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City.

During the primary campaign, Mamdani’s refusal to condemn the phrase “Globalize the intifada” and recognize Israel as a Jewish state triggered accusations he was antisemitic. 

He has since said he would discourage others from using the phrase and has continuously affirmed his commitment to condemning the rise of antisemitism in New York City.

Yuval David, a Jewish advocate and advisor, told Fox News Digital that Mamdani, as mayor, would “enable, and more importantly, empower antisemitic protesters.”

In light of the Columbia University settlement, Fox News Digital asked McMahon if the Trump administration was worried about a surge in antisemitism on New York City college campuses if Mamdani is elected in November. 

“We didn’t discuss that as part of what we were doing. We weren’t looking at a specific incident that might occur in the future,” McMahon explained.

But the education secretary said what is most important in Columbia University’s settlement is that it will “lay the groundwork, so regardless of what incidents may or may not occur, you’re prepared for it.”

McMahon said Columbia now has a “great working relationship” with the New York Police Department (NYPD). 

The settlement includes Columbia’s commitment to “enforcing strict rules against disruptive protests, prohibiting masked protests and maintaining trained security officers and ongoing cooperation with the New York Police Department.”

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“They won’t hesitate to bring them in to make arrests,” McMahon warned. “There will be consequences. People will be expelled. They’ll be suspended. If there’s criminal activity, they can go to jail.

“The accountability factor of this agreement is incredibly strong, and that’s the message we intend to send, that students on campus need to be in an environment for study.” 

EXCLUSIVE: Artist Amy Sherald canceled her upcoming exhibit featuring a portrait of a transgender Statue of Liberty at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery after Vice President JD Vance raised concerns the show included woke and divisive content, Fox News Digital has learned. 

President Donald Trump signed an executive order in March that placed Vance in charge of overseeing the removal of programs or exhibits at Smithsonian museums that “degrade shared American values, divide Americans based on race, or promote programs or ideologies inconsistent with Federal law and policy.” 

Vance said Sherald’s “American Sublime” exhibit violated Trump’s executive order and was an example of woke and divisive content during a meeting June 9 with the Board of Regents, a source familiar with the meeting told Fox News Digital. 

ARTIST PULLS ART FROM SMITHSONIAN GALLERY AFTER MUSEUM TRIES TO ALTER HER TRANS STATUE OF LIBERTY PAINTING

“Vice President Vance has been leading the effort to eliminate woke indoctrination from our beloved Smithsonian museums,” an administration official said in an email to Fox News Digital. “On top of shepherding the One Big Beautiful Bill through the Senate and helping President Trump navigate international crises, the vice president has demonstrated his ability to get President Trump’s priorities across the finish line.”

Sherald, best known for painting former first lady Michelle Obama’s official portrait in 2018, announced Thursday she was pulling her show, “American Sublime,” from the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery slated for September, The New York Times first reported. 

Sherald said she was rescinding her work from the exhibition after being told that the National Portrait Gallery had some concerns about featuring the portrait of the transgender Statue of Liberty during the show. The painting, “Trans Forming Liberty,” depicts a trans woman with pink hair wearing a blue gown. 

TRUMP WHITE HOUSE CALLS OUT SMITHSONIAN FOR PUSHING ‘ONE-SIDED, DIVISIVE POLITICAL NARRATIVES

“These concerns led to discussions about removing the work from the exhibition,” Sherald said in a statement, The New York Times first reported Thursday. “While no single person is to blame, it’s clear that institutional fear shaped by a broader climate of political hostility toward trans lives played a role. 

“This painting exists to hold space for someone whose humanity has been politicized and disregarded. I cannot in good conscience comply with a culture of censorship, especially when it targets vulnerable communities.

“At a time when transgender people are being legislated against, silenced and endangered across our nation, silence is not an option,” Sherald added. “I stand by my work. I stand by my sitters. I stand by the truth that all people deserve to be seen — not only in life, but in art.”

The Smithsonian did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding Vance’s involvement in the matter. 

DEFUNDING DEI: HERE’S HOW THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION HAS UNDONE BIDEN’S VERY PRIZED PROGRAMS

The White House said the removal of Sherald’s exhibit is a “principled and necessary step” toward cultivating unity at institutions like the Smithsonian. 

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“The ‘Trans Forming Liberty’ painting, which sought to reinterpret one of our nation’s most sacred symbols through a divisive and ideological lens, fundamentally strayed from the mission and spirit of our national museums,” Trump special assistant Lindsey Halligan said in a statement to Fox News Digital. 

“The Statue of Liberty is not an abstract canvas for political expression. It is a revered and solemn symbol of freedom, inspiration and national unity that defines the American spirit.”

Other members of the Smithsonian’s Board of Regents include the Chief Justice of the United States, John Roberts, along with senators John Boozman, R-Ark.; Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev.; and Gary Peters, D-Mich., along with several other House members. 

Fox News’ Gabriel Hays contributed to this report. 

The Department of Education is giving five northern Virginia school districts ten days to fix their transgender bathroom policies or face “enforcement action,” the agency said Friday. 

Public school districts in Loudoun County, Fairfax County, Prince William County, Alexandria City and Arlington were all found to be in violation of Title IX after an investigation by the Education Department’s Office of Civil Rights that began in February, according to a press release shared Friday. 

The release cited a June ruling by the Supreme Court, which the department said acknowledged that a person’s identification as “transgender” is distinct from a person’s biological sex.

TRUMP ADMIN CRACKS DOWN ON OREGON AND VIRGINIA FOR DEFYING TITLE IX AND WOMEN’S SPORTS EXECUTIVE ORDER

“The investigation was based on complaints alleging that the [school districts] have similar anti-discrimination policies pertaining to ‘transgender-identifying’ students, which violate the sex-based protections of Title IX,” the release said.

“The [districts] are also the subject of several lawsuits, informal complaints and reports, which allege that students in the (districts) avoid using school restrooms whenever possible because of the schools’ policies and that female students have witnessed male students inappropriately touching other students and watching female students change in a female locker room.”

Craig Trainor, the Department of Education’s acting assistant secretary for civil rights, blasted the Biden administration for tolerating such behavior, adding it’s time for “northern Virginia’s experiment with radical gender ideology” to come to an end. 

The Education Department’s non-compliance finding prompted the agency to issue a proposed resolution agreement whereby each school district can take corrective action to prevent any enforcement actions by the Trump administration. 

That action would require the districts to rescind any policies or regulations allowing students to access bathrooms, locker rooms or other intimate facilities on the basis of their preferred gender identity as opposed to their biological sex.

SCANDAL-PLAGUED SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERRED TO DOJ AFTER ANOTHER TRANSGENDER LOCKER ROOM CONTROVERSY 

The districts will also be required under the agreement to issue letters to each school it oversees within its district, explaining that any future policies related to bathrooms, locker rooms or other intimate spaces must separate students on the basis of sex and not gender identity.

The districts would also be compelled under the agreement to adopt “biology-based definitions” of the words “male” and “female” to be used in all practices and policies.   

The Department of Education gave the school districts 10 days to voluntarily agree to these demands or risk “imminent” consequences, including a potential referral to the Department of Justice.

VIRGINIA SCHOOL DISTRICT ACCUSED OF RELIGIOUS DISCRIMINATION IN TRANSGENDER LOCKER ROOM CASE

“Today, we at Defending Education are incredibly gratified to learn that a group of Northern Virginia School Districts — many of which were ground zero for the social experimentation of transgender ‘inclusion’ in women’s sports, bathrooms and private spaces — are now facing the music for failing to adhere to the plain text and meaning of Title IX,” said Sarah Parshall Perry, vice president and legal fellow at Defending Education.

“As a mother, as a Virginian and as former senior counsel to the assistant secretary for civil rights at the U.S. Department of Education, I am encouraged to see that this administration is taking the enforcement of long-standing civil rights laws seriously,” Perry continued. 

“Title IX was passed to guarantee women’s educational equality in its myriad manifestations. But intransigent schools in the commonwealth seem to have forgotten that.”

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The school districts all confirmed receipt of the resolution agreements issued to them by the Department of Education and are conducting a review to determine next steps. They all also expressed a commitment to following federal and state laws while simultaneously fostering a welcoming, inclusive and supportive environment for students.

The Trump administration is offering $608 million to states willing to expand migrant detention efforts. 

The money, announced through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) new Detention Support Grant Program (DEP), is aimed at helping states build or enlarge temporary detention facilities modeled after Florida’s Everglades compound known as “Alligator Alcatraz,” according to FEMA documents.

“[Department of Homeland Security] Secretary Kristi Noem has been very clear that Alligator Alcatraz can be a blueprint for other states and local governments to assist with detention,” a DHS spokesperson told Fox News Digital on Friday. 

The funding is part of FEMA’s Shelter and Services Program and is open for applications through Aug. 8, per FEMA’s announcement.

TRUMP SAYS ONLY WAY OUT OF ‘ALLIGATOR ALCATRAZ’ IS DEPORTATION

The program is intended to fast-track construction of secure, temporary detention sites on state or local land, sidestepping long procurement delays. 

Noem has criticized federal contractors as costly and slow, and has encouraged governors to take a more direct role.

“They were willing to build it and do it much quicker than some of the other vendors,” Noem said of Florida. “And it was a real solution we’ll be able to utilize if we need to.”

Florida’s facility was built in just eight days on remote Everglades land at the Dade-Collier Airport. It holds up to 3,000 migrants and is surrounded by fencing, swamp, and natural barriers. 

During a July 1 visit, President Donald Trump praised it as “so professional, so well done,” calling it “a model we’d like to see in many states.” 

“We’re surrounded by miles of treacherous swampland, and the only way out is really deportation,” he added.

RED STATES CONSIDER ‘ALLIGATOR ALCATRAZ’ SPINOFFS AS WH URGES THEM TO FOLLOW DESANTIS’ LEAD: ‘LOTS OF BEARS’

Florida officials confirmed they are seeking FEMA reimbursement to help cover the camp’s estimated $450 million annual operating cost. State officials say the site qualifies for federal funding under the new grant guidelines.

According to Noem, five states are currently in talks with DHS about building similar detention facilities. 

“We’ve had several other states that are actually using Alligator Alcatraz as a model for how they can partner with us,” she said during a recent news briefing.

“I hope my phone rings off the hook from governors calling and saying, ‘How can we do what Florida just did?’”

The new funding comes as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) aims to double detention capacity. 

ICE reported more than 56,000 migrants in custody as of June, the highest since 2019, and is targeting 100,000 beds by the end of the year, according to DHS planning materials.

Funds will be distributed by FEMA in partnership with Customs and Border Protection, according to DHS’ posting.

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

Fox News’ Greg Norman, Emma Colton, and Mara Robles contributed to this report.

The Trump administration is releasing roughly $6.8 billion in previously frozen federal funds for K-12 programs, the Department of Education announced Friday. The announcement was made as Secretary Linda McMahon attended the National Governors Association (NGA) Summer Meeting in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) “has completed its review of Title I-C, Title II-A, Title III-A and Title IV-A ESEA funds and Title II WIOA funds and has directed the Department to release all formula funds. The agency will begin dispersing funds to states next week,” department spokesperson Madi Biedermann told Fox News Digital. 

More than 20 Democratic attorneys general sued the Trump administration earlier this month, describing the Department of Education’s federal funding freeze as unconstitutional and “debilitating” to states just weeks ahead of a new school year.

The bipartisan group of governors, including the NGA’s outgoing chair, Gov. Jared Polis of Colorado, and its vice chair, Gov. Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma, thanked McMahon for unlocking the funding during the NGA’s education session Friday. 

DEMOCRAT AGS SUE TRUMP FOR ‘UNCONSCIONABLE’ FREEZE ON $6.8B IN K-12 SPENDING

“How can we better communicate to make sure that this chaos and uncertainty doesn’t occur again around funding and that people know things earlier?” Polis asked McMahon on the Colorado Springs stage. 

“No guarantees from me that we will eliminate all the communications gaps that do happen, but I can say that part of it is just the transition aspect,” McMahon explained.

The education secretary said the other aspect of the federal funding freeze was that the OMB budget office “took some time to really review the title funding to look at all the programs, etc., before they were released. They were well satisfied. So, now, those funds are going to be going out.”

TRUMP ADMIN SEEKING TO PULL FUNDING FROM LOCAL GOVERNMENTS SLAPPED WITH JUDGE’S PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION

McMahon assured the governors that now that they have reviewed title funding and gone through the process, “we wouldn’t find ourselves in the same situation.”

Several of the governors who attended Polis and McMahon’s education discussion and had the opportunity to ask questions thanked the education leader for returning the federal title funds to the states. 

Polis kicked off the NGA’s summer session in Colorado Springs Friday with his signature policy agenda, “Let’s Get Ready! Educating All Americans for Success.” 

EDUCATION SECRETARY LINDA MCMAHON TOUTS COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY’S $200M SETTLEMENT ‘TEMPLATE’

McMahon said she was appreciative of the governors’ questions and comments, and she committed to visiting as many states and speaking with as many governors as possible to grasp the full scope of the country’s diverse educational needs. 

In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital ahead of her remarks, McMahon affirmed her commitment to collaborating with governors as the Trump administration seeks to dismantle the Department of Education. 

“It’s just incredibly important that if we are going to return education to the states, we have to talk to the governors,” McMahon said. 

“Clearly, education is a nonpartisan issue,” McMahon added. “If we’re going to return education to the states, that just means giving them back the part that is now provided by the federal government, and they’re anxious for it.” 

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Trump signed an executive order earlier this year to dismantle the Department of Education, fulfilling one of his key campaign promises during the 2024 presidential election. 

Fox News Digital’s Breanne Deppisch contributed to this report. 

A federal appeals judge on Friday blocked President Donald Trump’s plan to end birthright citizenship for the children of people in the country illegally or temporarily. 

U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin ruled that a nationwide injunction on the Trump administration’s effort to end birthright citizenship that he issued earlier this year and that was granted to more than a dozen states can stand. 

Sorokin said the ruling was an exception to a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that limited lower courts’ ability to issue nationwide injunctions. The issue is expected to return to the Supreme Court.  

FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS TRUMP’S BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP BAN FOR ALL INFANTS, TESTING LOWER COURT POWERS

Trump and the administration “are entitled to pursue their interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment, and no doubt the Supreme Court will ultimately settle the question,” Sorokin wrote in his ruling. “But in the meantime, for purposes of this lawsuit at this juncture, the Executive Order is unconstitutional.”

The Trump administration has argued that children born in the U.S. to parents in the country illegally and temporarily are not “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States and therefore not entitled to citizenship. 

Trump signed the birthright citizenship executive order, along with a slew of other orders, on his first day in office in January. 

UPENDING US BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP WOULD HAVE DRASTIC NEGATIVE IMPACT, DEFENDERS WARN

On Wednesday, the San Francisco-based 9th Circuit Court of Appeals also affirmed the lower court’s nationwide injunction, and, earlier this month, a New Hampshire federal judge issued a ruling prohibiting Trump’s executive order from taking effect nationwide in a new class-action lawsuit.

Sorokin disagreed with the Trump administration’s argument that the Supreme Court’s ruling warranted a narrower ruling. 

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The plaintiffs in the class-action lawsuit argued that Trump’s executive order is unconstitutional because the 14th Amendment guarantees birthright citizenship, and it also threatens millions of dollars in state funding for “essential” health insurance services contingent on citizenship status. 

Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report. 

In a milestone moment, the Army Friday conducted a live-fire test of its precision strike missiles in Australia, the first ever west of the international dateline. 

The test, seen in footage obtained by Fox News Digital, marks a significant advancement in the region’s long-range strike capabilities. The precision strike missile (PrSM) has an unclassified range of 300 miles and can hit moving targets on land or at sea. 

The test saw a U.S.-manufactured PrSM launched from a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) vehicle owned by the Australian Defence Force. 

TAIWAN CONDUCTS LIVE-FIRE DRILLS WITH US-MADE TANKS AS PRESIDENT LOOKS ON

It was a show of force between the U.S. and Australia at a time of increasing tension in the Indo-Pacific. 

“This is just one of the key steps we’re taking throughout the region to deter conflict, while ensuring that our soldiers have the best capabilities available,” said Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, who observed the test at the Mount Bundey Training Area in Australia. “The PrSM allows our forces to hold land and maritime regions at risk, which gives adversaries pause and increases deterrence.”

The PrSM is the U.S. Army’s newest addition to its long-range precision fires (LRPF) portfolio, a triad of advanced strike systems that includes HIMARS-launched missiles, the mid-range capability platform and the Dark Eagle hypersonic missile.

While HIMARS has already proven itself in combat zones like Ukraine, where its ability to rapidly fire and evade counterattack has made it a prized system, the integration of the PrSM into this platform significantly enhances its strategic utility. 

The mobile launcher can be deployed from C-17 and C-130 aircraft, a U.S. Navy landing craft and even from ships at sea, a capability tested in joint drills with the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps.

Unlike the 90-mile-range Extended Range Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (ER GMLRS), which fires six missiles per HIMARS, the PrSM packs two missiles per launcher and can reach more than triple the distance.

Asked why the missiles were an important part of preparation for a potential war in the Indo-Pacific, Driscoll told reporters, “I think if you look at the way conflict is unfolding now, what is not being rewarded is large, massive presences with static locations and big footprints and signatures. What is being rewarded is the ability to be agile, hide your signature and move quickly.” 

Fielding of HIMARS continues across the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, with the 25th Infantry Division in Hawaii recently receiving 16 launchers, a first for a light infantry division tasked with jungle and archipelagic warfare. Officials say they are looking to increase munitions production with key allies.

PENTAGON MAY SINK BIDEN-ERA DEAL TO SELL AUSTRALIA NUCLEAR-POWERED SUBMARINES

The test comes after it was revealed the Pentagon privately pressed Australia to define how it might help if war broke out over a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. Australia responded by stressing it would not commit troops in advance of any conflict.

Australia does not permit permanent foreign military bases, but the U.S. is expanding its rotational presence at Australian sites. Australia and the U.S. recently led a major joint exercise in Sydney involving 30,000 troops from 19 countries.

It also comes at a time when Washington is reconsidering whether to sell nuclear-powered, Virginia-class submarines to Sydney through the Australia-UK-US (AUKUS) deal.

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The three nations would jointly design a new class of submarines, with Australian production beginning in the 2040s. 

Rep. Ro Khanna sounded off on the Democratic Party establishment in his address to the Voters of Tomorrow Summit for young progressives in Washington, D.C.

“How can we trust government to do big things when government has been corrupted? My friends, for those who want a progressive future, for those who want a government that works to build security and opportunity for the working class, we must get rid of the big money in politics,” Khanna said in his address on Friday afternoon.  

The California Democrat then mentioned the Jeffrey Epstein files, which have become a major point of debate in Washington as some demand more information about the case.

PELOSI CONFIDENT ABOUT DEMS’ CHANCES TO WIN HOUSE, PREDICTS JEFFRIES WILL BE SPEAKER

“We must restore a government for the people, by the people, of the people. The release of the Epstein files is not a magic cure for trust, but it is a first step. It’s a first step to say we will have a new era of transparency,” he continued.

Khanna then bluntly called out his party’s establishment in his closing call to action.

“I’ll end with this clear point: The old guard needs to go. The old ways have not been working. This party needs a new rebirth. This party needs a rebirth to stand for human rights,” he said. “This party needs a rebirth to stand for the working class. This party needs a rebirth to stand for people over the donor class.”

Former Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to give virtual remarks at the summit on Friday, and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi was also a major speaker at the event.

“We have no doubt that we will win the election with the House of Representatives,” Pelosi said during her speech. “No doubt.”

I’M ONE OF THE VOTERS DEMOCRATS NEED TO WIN. 2028 IS THEIR ONLY CHANCE TO REGAIN OUR TRUST

“It’s important to be strong in the year in advance, because that’s when the troops line up. We have our messaging, we have our mobilization, we need the money to do it, but they go only next to a school to hold up the most important part: the candidate,” she continued. 

Younger Democrats, like freshman Arizona Rep. Yassamin Ansari and Illinois congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh, took part in panels at the summit.

Khanna’s address comes as the Democratic Party is striving to navigate the second Trump administration and adapt to the major shifts that occurred across voter demographics in the 2024 election, including among Generation Z. The 2026 election is being seen as an opportunity to get more information about Gen Z voters, as many voted for the first time in 2022 and 2024. 

Some in the party have encouraged a more moderate direction, while others have echoed Khanna’s populist sentiment.

TRUMP SUPPORTERS FIND UNLIKELY COMMON GROUND WITH BLUE STATE CONGRESSMAN AT TOWN HALL: ‘I LOVE IT’

“This party needs a rebirth to find our courage in standing up for immigrant rights instead of running away when people talk about immigration. This party needs more people like you in Congress than the current people we have in Congress,” Khanna added.

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“I’m here to say that a new Democratic Party, a reborn Democratic Party, a populist Democratic Party, a multiracial Democratic Party, a Democratic Party that centers the working and middle class, a Democratic Party that looks like the future is a Democratic Party that can lead us back to victory and lead us to a better America. It’s time to take back our party and then to take back our country,” he continued. 

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…

– SCOOP: Key GOP group starts work on 2nd ‘big, beautiful bill‘ for Trump

– Democrats have hit ‘rock bottom,’ party leader says. Here’s his unorthodox rebound plan

– Two illegal immigrants charged in NYC shooting of off-duty CBP officer

Medical Staff Face Charges After Allegedly Interfering with ICE Arrest

EXCLUSIVE: Federal authorities arrested a staff member of a clinic in Ontario, California, for allegedly interfering with an Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrest, while another remains at large. 

Earlier this month, Honduran national Denis Guillen-Solis, a landscaper, allegedly left on foot to evade law enforcement and went inside the Ontario Advanced Surgical Center, where he was not a patient. 

“This story is another example of a false narrative peddled by irresponsible members of the media in furtherance of a political agenda to delegitimize federal agents. The illegal alien arrested inside the medical center was not a patient and was not in any way affiliated with that location. He ran inside for cover and these medical workers attempted to block his apprehension by assaulting our agents,” U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli told Fox News in a statement… READ MORE.

White House

‘DOESN’T MATTER’: Trump shrugs off Macron’s Palestine recognition plan while GOP hawks fume over decision

‘OWES ME BIG’: Trump says SCOTUS immunity ruling likely helps Obama in light of Gabbard, DNI findings

World Stage

‘A HUGE WIN’: US-Mexico Tijuana River sewage crisis deal is ‘massive’ win for Americans, EPA says

STATEHOOD PUSH: French President Emmanuel Macron to recognize ‘State of Palestine’ in September at UN General Assembly

BAGPIPES & BARGAINS: Trump heads to Scotland to talk golf, politics and trade

Capitol Hill

TRUTH BURIED DEEP: ‘Louder by the hour’: Senate GOP wants the Epstein drama to end, but Democrats aren’t letting it go

SAFETY UNDER REVIEW: FDA chief has no ‘plans’ for abortion pill policy changes but continues safety review

TRIFECTA TAKEOVER: SCOOP: Key GOP group starts work on 2nd ‘big, beautiful bill’ for Trump

BACKING THE PATRIOT: Trump-backed Republican who lost 2024 Senate bid scores president’s endorsement while trying again

MAKING A COMEBACK: Democrats have hit ‘rock bottom,’ party leader says. Here’s his unorthodox rebound plan

‘FABULOUSLY YOURS’: Former Congressman George Santos makes ‘glamorous’ farewell before going to prison: ‘The curtain falls’

THE NEXT GENERATION: Pelosi confident about Dems’ chances to win House, predicts Jeffries will be speaker

PALMETTO PLAN: House Freedom Caucus conservative to enter race for South Carolina governor

GAME ON: SCOOP: Trump ally to launch key battleground state campaign in bid to flip Democrat-held Senate seat

SILENT NO MORE: Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell could be eyeing three outcomes as she meets with DOJ again: expert

‘TREMENDOUS JOB’: DeSantis-appointed US senator scores major endorsement ahead of 2026 special election: ‘Tremendous job’

Across America 

BLAST FROM THE PAST: Mamdani outlines ‘unabashed’ commitment to supporting anti-Israel sanctions as lawmaker in unearthed video

STREAMLINE IN MOTION: Youngkin unleashes cutting-edge AI technology in effort to slash Virginia’s government red tape

‘FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT’: Federal appeals court rules California ammunition background checks unconstitutional

‘NEAR-DEADLY ATTACK’: Two illegal immigrants charged in NYC shooting of off-duty CBP officer

HOSTAGE NIGHTMARE: Columbia University janitors settle case after being held hostage by anti-Israel rioters on campus

WRONG RING, BROTHER!: Heckler hijacks Florida governor’s Hulk Hogan tribute with profane tirade against ‘Alligator Alcatraz’

NOT BRIEFED: Los Angeles mayor says ‘hell yeah’ she regrets Ghana trip during wildfires

JUSTICE DENIED: Grieving parents of American terror victim plead with top criminal prosecutor for justice

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

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., exuded confidence as she declared to Gen Z activists at the Voters of Tomorrow summit that the Democrats would take back the House in 2026.

“We have no doubt that we will win the election with the House of Representatives,” Pelosi said, eliciting applause from the crowd. She then responded to the cheers by once again saying “No doubt.”

The longtime California lawmaker also said she was confident that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., would be speaker of the House after the 2026 midterms.

PELOSI’S STOCK TRADING LEGACY HAUNTS DEMOCRATS AS JEFFRIES SLAMS GOP FRESHMAN’S ‘THIEVERY’

While Pelosi was confident about the Democrats’ chances, she also emphasized the need for preparation. The former House speaker credited early preparation for the Democrats’ victories in 2006 and 2018 to early preparation, saying that 2026 could be the same. 

“It’s important to be strong in the year in advance, because that’s when the troops line up. We have our messaging, we have our mobilization, we need the money to do it, but they go only next to a school to hold up the most important part: the candidate,” she said.

21 DEMOCRATS WHO MAY TRY TO SUCCEED TRUMP IN THE 2028 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

However, Pelosi sees another element as being key to Democrats’ victory: bringing down President Donald Trump’s approval rating. The former House speaker called Trump’s current numbers “terrible.”

“By October — certainly by November, but by October, we will have — with the help of so many people working — we’ll have taken what’s his name’s numbers down,” Pelosi said.

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A recent Fox News Poll found that 46% of voters approve of Trump’s performance, while 54% disapprove. That’s exactly where things stood last month, and better than at this point 8 years ago when 41% approved.

The Voters of Tomorrow summit boasts a lineup of high-profile speakers alongside Pelosi, including former Vice President Kamala Harris, Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., and David Hogg. Both Harris and Raskin are set to address the group virtually.

Fox News’ Dana Blanton and Victoria Balara contributed to this report.

The Pentagon has suspended participation in all think tank events until further notice, departing from a history of dialogue with Washington’s civilian national security realm.

The move is an attempt “to ensure the Department of Defense is not lending its name and credibility to organizations, forums and events that run counter to the values of this administration.”

“Going forward, no DOD official will attend events by America Last organizations that promote globalism and hate (President Donald Trump),” Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson wrote on X. 

In the future, the Defense Department (DOD)’s Office of Public Affairs will conduct a “thorough vetting” every time an official is invited to a conference to decide whether the event advances Trump’s agenda.

HEGSETH ORDERS SWEEPING ARMY OVERHAUL AND CONSOLIDATION AIMED AT COUNTERING CHINA AND GOLDEN DOME CAPABILITIES

Such security events often are funded by foreign governments or defense contractors and serve as a space for such players to push a message or a product they sell to key officials and for defense officials to put out a message of their own from the U.S. government. 

The move comes after the Pentagon yanked its officials from participation in the Aspen Security Forum — a gathering of defense-minded industry leaders and researchers. 

Wilson had said the secretary’s office believed that event “promotes the evil of globalism, disdain for our great country, and hatred for the President of the United States.”

Several top military officials had been scheduled to speak at the event. 

HEGSETH ABRUPTLY PULLS PENTAGON OFFICIALS FROM ‘GLOBALIST’ ASPEN CONFERENCE

Historically, defense secretaries have participated in defense conferences and think tank events like the Munich Security Conference or the Reagan Defense Forum.

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Hegseth skipped out on the Munich Security Conference but attended the International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS) Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore in May.  

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass continued to express regret for her controversial Ghana trip ahead of the devastating fires earlier this year in a recent interview with Vice News.

“I was asked, ‘Do I regret going?’ Hell yeah. I mean, let me just do a comparison. If you are out of town and your kid or a member of your family gets sick or hurt, it doesn’t matter where you were or why you were there. You feel horrible,” Bass said in an interview with Vice News earlier this month. 

“I’m really not trying to give excuses, but there was no way in the world I knew that the city was in danger when I left,” she later added. “Absolutely no way. And if you think about it through, if you take a step back, and because I did ask the chief when I came back, you know, like ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’ and basically the response was ‘Because we have Santa Anas all the time and nobody expected hurricane-force winds.'”

The mayor faced intense scrutiny for the presidential delegation’s visit to Africa even though there were warnings of the fire ahead of time. The Los Angeles Times reported that her team was aware of the fire risk before her trip. 

She ended up returning the day after the fires began ripping through Los Angeles neighborhoods, like the Pacific Palisades, where thousands of buildings were destroyed.

LA MAYOR RIPPED FOR INTERFERING WITH ICE RAID AT CRIME-RIDDEN LOCAL PARK: ‘FULL OF S—‘

“Well, I mean to be with honest with you. Well, I didn’t get briefed. That’s true. But I think that, again, people did not anticipate the historic wind. And it wasn’t just LA. It was the county too.”

“What typically happens is that if there’s going to be a big weather event, there are these briefings that happen and, uh, it’s either initiated by the fire department or the emergency department,” she said. “I was used to the fire chief calling me and telling me, you know, this is getting ready to happen. Come over. I need to brief you and all, you know, everything goes into motion. That didn’t happen in the county, meaning LA and LA County.”

On her flight back, she said she was on the phone almost the entire 12-hour flight back to the U.S. from Ghana.

SOCIAL MEDIA, TRUMP ADMIN ERUPTS OVER LA MAYOR’S REACTION TO ICE RAIDS: ‘YOU’RE A CRIMINAL TOO’

“Well, they’re telling me what’s happening in the fire. We were preparing the emergency declaration. They were talking to the mayor, the council president who serves as acting mayor while I’m gone. I don’t remember if I talked to him or not then, but because there were just a lot of phone calls. Sometimes a lot of people. I think I even did a news interview, but all of that was while I was on the way home,” she said, noting that she had phone access on the plane because it was a military plane, and she did not realize that the Sky News, who she went viral for not answering his questions, was even on the flight.

Bass ousted Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley from her position in February, and Crowley unsuccessfully appealed her removal.

“Our firefighters support Chief Crowley because she stood up for the men and women of our department,” United Firefighters of Los Angeles City posted to X at the time.  

In the interview, Bass claimed there were “lies told” about the budget and fire engines.

LOS ANGELES MAYOR SLASHES FIRE DEPARTMENT DEI BUREAU IN PROPOSED BUDGET MONTHS AFTER WOKE BACKLASH

“Yes, there were broken fire engines. We find out later that those fire engines were there broken because they’re used for spare parts. But there were 40 fire engines that were idle because they didn’t have the staff that [Crowley] sent home. And the budget cut and I don’t I don’t know the reasons for it, and then the budget cut that never happened,” she added.

“Yes,” Crowley notably responded in an interview at the time of the fires when asked if city leadership “failed” her when it came to resources.

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“What we did when we did the budget was we put money aside for fire because we were in labor negotiations. If the budget was signed before then, but when the labor negotiations were done, we put it back in the budget. Which is a common thing. We’re doing that right now,” Bass said.

When asked about the after-action report for the fire, Bass said she would ‘look and see, but they should be about finished now.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Bass’ office and Crowley. Fox News Digital also reached out to the Los Angeles Fire Department, but they did not immediately comment. 

FIRST ON FOX: Republican Rep. Mike Collins will announce a campaign for the U.S. senate in battleground Georgia early next week, sources with knowledge told Fox News on Friday.

Collins is aiming to challenge Democrat Sen. Jon Ossoff, who is running for re-election in the key southeastern battleground state that President Donald Trump narrowly carried in last year’s election.

The GOP views Ossoff as the most vulnerable Democrat seeking re-election in the Senate in next year’s midterm elections.

Collins, a businessman who founded a trucking company, is in his second term representing Georgia’s 10th Congressional District, which includes a large swath of urban, suburban, and rural areas between Atlanta and Augusta.

MIKE COLLINS TEASES SENATE RUN IN BATTLEGROUND GEORGIA

The conservative lawmaker, who’s the son of the late Republican Rep. Mac Collins of Georgia, has been moving closer to launching a Senate campaign for weeks.

“Tires kicked. Fueling up,” Collis wrote Monday in a social media post that was accompanied by a video where he showcased his ties to President Donald Trump.

“Congressman Mike Collins, he loves this state,” Trump said in a clip in the video.

Collins was an early backer of the president, supporting him as Trump first ran for the Republican presidential nomination in the 2016 cycle.

POPULAR GOP GOVERNOR PASSES ON SENATE BID IN 2026

In the 2024 presidential campaign, when Trump won back the White House, Collins traveled on behalf of Trump to the crucial early-voting primary and caucus states of Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina.

He also appeared at multiple Trump rallies during the 2024 cycle and opened three Trump campaign offices in Georgia.

And Collins, not facing a difficult re-election in his solidly red House seat, campaigned in ten congressional districts across the country to help elect Trump-aligned candidates as the GOP defended its razor-thin majority in the chamber.

Collins at the beginning of this year reintroduced the Laken Riley Act, which mandates that undocumented immigrants charged with burglary or theft be detained. It’s named after a Georgia nursing student killed by a man who had illegally entered the U.S. The case grabbed national attention.

The bill, which quickly passed the Republican-controlled House and Senate, became the first legislation signed into law by Trump as he started his second tour of duty in the White House.

A Republican source said that Collins has a “great relationship” with the president and his political team.

And a Georgia-based Republican consultant told Fox News that “the lane that Mike is going to run in is the America First fighter who’s been with President Trump.”

OPINION: WHAT MIKE COLLINS TOLD FOX NEWS DIGITAL

“Mike has the opportunity to run in that lane because it’s an authentic lane for him,” added the consultant, who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely.

Trump, who is the ultimate kingmaker in GOP politics and whose endorsements in Republican primaries are extremely powerful, has yet to weigh in on whom he may back in Georgia’s burgeoning Senate race.

National Republicans were hoping to recruit popular two-term GOP Gov. Brian Kemp to take on Ossoff. But Kemp, who is term-limited, announced earlier this year that he would pass on a 2026 Senate run.

Republican Rep. Buddy Carter, who for a decade has represented a district in coastal Georgia, launched a Senate campaign in the spring. Carter is also courting a Trump endorsement in the GOP primary.

Georgia Insurance Commissioner John King was also running for the Republican nomination, but ended his bid on Thursday.

Former University of Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley, who is the son of former longtime University of Georgia football coach Vince Dooley, is also considering a Senate bid. The younger Dooley is close with Kemp, who’s a longtime friend.

Recent polling indicates that Collins holds the edge over his GOP rivals for the party’s Senate nomination and that he would be competitive with Ossoff in next year’s general election.

While Republicans consider Ossoff vulnerable, beating him won’t be easy.

The first-term senator hauled in over $10 million in the April-June second quarter of 2024 fundraising, bringing his cash-on-hand to over $15 million.

And Georgia Democrats are taking aim at Collins.

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“Immediately after voting to rip away health insurance from 750,000 Georgians, Rep. Mike Collins now wants Georgians to give him a promotion?” Georgia Democratic Party spokesperson Devon Cruz said in a recent statement to Fox News Digital, as he pointed to the Medicaid cuts in the GOP’s megabill that Trump signed into law earlier this month.

Cruz argued that “Collins would join a crowded, messy primary that will leave the GOP nominee badly bruised, while Sen. Jon Ossoff is building massive momentum to take on whichever Donald Trump loyalist limps over the finish line.” 

President Donald Trump said Friday that former President Barack Obama “owes me big” following the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity ruling. 

Trump on Tuesday claimed that Obama was the “ringleader” of Russiagate, calling for him to be criminally investigated amid new claims that members of his administration allegedly “manufactured” intelligence that prompted the Trump–Russia collusion narrative. Obama has denied the allegations, with a spokesperson for him describing them as “bizarre.”

“It probably helps him a lot. Probably helps a lot. The immunity ruling, but it doesn’t help the people around him at all. But it probably helps him a lot,” Trump said Friday. “He’s done criminal acts, there’s no question about it. But he has immunity, and it probably helps him a lot… he owes me big, Obama owes me big.” 

The intelligence community did not have any direct information that Russian President Vladimir Putin wanted to help elect Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential election, but, at the “unusual” direction of then-President Barack Obama, published “potentially biased” or “implausible” intelligence suggesting otherwise, the House Intelligence Committee found, according to a Fox News report earlier this week.

OBAMA DENIES TRUMP’S ‘BIZARRE ALLEGATIONS’ THAT HE WAS RUSSIAGATE ‘RINGLEADER’ IN RARE STATEMENT

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard had declassified a report prepared by the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence back in 2020.

The report, which was based on an investigation launched by former House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., was dated Sept. 18, 2020. At the time of the publication of the report, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., was the chairman of the committee.

The committee focused on the creation of the Intelligence Community Assessment of 2017, in which then-CIA Director John Brennan pushed for the inclusion of the now-discredited anti-Trump dossier, despite knowing it was based largely on “internet rumor,” as Fox News Digital previously reported.

According to the report, the ICA was a “high-profile product ordered by the President, directed by senior IC agency heads, and created by just five CIA analysts, using one principal drafter.”

“Production of the ICA was subject to unusual directives from the President and senior political appointees, and particularly DCIA,” the report states. “The draft was not properly coordinated within CIA or the IC, ensuring it would be published without significant challenges to its conclusions.”

DNI GABBARD CLAIMS ‘DEEP STATE ACTORS’ DIDN’T WANT TRUMP-RUSSIA INFORMATION TO ‘SEE THE LIGHT OF DAY’

The committee found that the five CIA analysts and drafter “rushed” the ICA’s production “in order to publish two weeks before President-elect Trump was sworn-in.”

In a statement Tuesday, Obama denied Trump’s “bizarre allegations” that he was the Russiagate “ringleader.”

“Out of respect for the office of the presidency, our office does not normally dignify the constant nonsense and misinformation flowing out of this White House with a response,” Obama spokesman Patrick Rodenbush said in a statement. “But these claims are outrageous enough to merit one.” 

“These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction,” Obama’s spokesman continued. “Nothing in the document issued last week undercuts the widely accepted conclusion that Russia worked to influence the 2016 presidential election but did not successfully manipulate any votes.” 

Gabbard later told “Jesse Watters Primetime” on Wednesday that there were “deep state obstacles” to releasing her information about the Trump-Russia collusion investigation and that some people within the intelligence community (IC) didn’t want it to “see the light of day.”

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“There are a lot of deep state actors still here within Washington. President Trump wants us to find the truth. I want to find that truth. The American people deserve the truth, and they deserve accountability,” she said.

Fox News’ Brooke Singman and Ashley Carnahan contributed to this report. 

President Donald Trump endorsed U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody for election.

Earlier this year, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis installed Moody in the seat vacated by Marco Rubio, who departed the Senate to serve as President Donald Trump’s Secretary of State.

In a Thursday post on Truth Social, the president declared that Moody has his “Complete and Total Endorsement,” asserting, “SHE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN!”

WHO IS ASHLEY MOODY? MEET THE SENATE’S NEWEST MEMBER FROM FLORIDA

Moody thanked Trump for his support.

“Thank you, President @realDonaldTrump! I’m incredibly honored by your support and look forward to our continued work together to make this a SAFER and STRONGER nation,” Moody said in a post on X.

Moody, like the vast majority of her Senate and House GOP colleagues, voted to pass the Trump-backed One Big Beautiful Bill Act earlier this month.

DESANTIS’ CHOSEN RUBIO REPLACEMENT MOODY WANTS TO TACKLE INFLATION, SPENDING, BORDER: ‘AUDIT THE FED!’

Rubio, who won re-election to the Senate in 2022, departed office well before his term was slated to conclude in early 2029.

A special election will be held next year to allow Floridians to decide who will represent them for the remainder of the term.

DHS HAS BEGUN FLYING MIGRANTS OUT OF FLORIDA’S ‘ALLIGATOR ALCATRAZ,’ DESANTIS ANNOUNCES 

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Prior to joining the U.S. Senate, Moody served as the Sunshine State’s attorney general.

FIRST ON FOX: House Republicans are already discussing contours for a potential second “big, beautiful bill” advancing President Donald Trump’s agenda.

The Republican Study Committee (RSC), the 189-member-strong group that acts as a de facto “think tank” for the House GOP, is launching a working group to look at what a second budget reconciliation bill would look like, Fox News Digital has learned.

It’s the largest organized effort so far by congressional Republicans to follow through on GOP leaders’ hopes for a second massive agenda bill.

FAR-LEFT FIREBRAND SAYS SHE ‘NEVER HAD A CONCERN’ ABOUT BIDEN’S MENTAL STATE AS HOUSE PROBE HEATS UP

“We must capitalize on the momentum we’ve generated in the first 6 months of a Republican trifecta in Washington,” RSC Chairman August Pfluger, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital. “To fulfill the promises we made to the American people, conservatives must begin laying the groundwork for the second reconciliation bill to ensure we continue to drive down the cost of living and restore America’s promise for future generations.”

House Republicans left Washington on Wednesday to kick off a five-week recess period, where they’re readying to sell the benefits of their first massive agenda bill to their constituents. 

Meanwhile, Pfluger also directed lawmakers part of the new working group to begin reaching out to colleagues, conservative senators, and GOP organizations about potential policy proposals for a new bill, Fox News Digital was told.

The goal of the new group is to create a framework for what a second “big, beautiful bill” could look like, and to recommend that framework to GOP leaders.

TAX CUTS, WORK REQUIREMENTS AND ASYLUM FEES: HERE’S WHAT’S INSIDE TRUMP’S BIG BILL

The first bill was a massive piece of legislation advancing Trump’s agenda on taxes, the border, immigration, defense, and energy.

It made much of Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) permanent, while imposing new work requirements on Medicaid and food stamps, among other measures.

After passing the House and Senate, Trump signed it into law during a celebratory event on the Fourth of July.

But the political fight to get just one reconciliation bill took Herculean political efforts across both the House and Senate, with debates and even heated arguments ongoing for months before the bill passed.

Notably, however, Republicans did get the legislation to Trump’s desk by July 4 – meeting a goal that many in the media and even within GOP circles thought impossible.

The budget reconciliation process allows the party controlling the White House and both chambers of Congress to pass massive partisan policy overhauls, while completely sidelining the other side – in this case, Democrats.

Reconciliation bills can pass the Senate with a simple majority rather than 60 votes, lining up with the House’s own passage threshold. But the legislation must adhere to a specific set of rules and only involve measures related to fiscal policy.

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Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told “Sunday Morning Futures” earlier this month that he was eyeing multiple reconciliation bills.

“With President Trump coming back to the White House, and us having the responsibility for fixing every metric of public policy that Biden and Harris and the Democrats destroyed over the previous four years –  so the big beautiful bill was the first big step in that,” he told host Maria Bartiromo.

“But we have multiple steps ahead of us. We have long planned for at least two, possibly three, reconciliation bills, one in the fall and one next spring.”

A new deal between the United States and Mexico aimed at resolving the Tijuana River sewage crisis is “massive” win for Americans living in the San Diego area, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin announced this week. 

The memorandum of understanding was signed Thursday as the EPA said “For many decades, untreated raw sewage has flowed into Southern California from Mexico, polluting the Tijuana River Valley, closing beaches, fouling the air, harming the region’s economy, and sickening people on both sides of the border.” 

“The Trump Administration is proud to deliver this massive environmental and national security win for Americans in the San Diego area who have been living with this disgusting raw sewage flowing into their communities for far too long,” Zeldin said in a statement. 

The EPA said the deal meets multiple “top Trump Administration priorities and milestones critical to ensuring a 100% solution to this issue” — including expediting already-existing critical infrastructure projects. 

LIV GOLF STAR PHIL MICKELSON ADDS HIS REACTION TO DEEPENING SEWAGE CRISIS IN SAN DIEGO 

“The United States — which has withheld sending more American dollars to projects until Mexico fulfilled their obligations toward other projects — agreed to release EPA Border Water Infrastructure Program funding to complete the rehabilitation of Pump Station 1 and the Tijuana River collection pipes. This is because Mexico agreed to fund and begin construction on two priority projects this year, the diversion of treated effluent from two wastewater treatment plants and the rehabilitation of the Parallel Gravity Line,” the EPA said, in reference to a wastewater collecting pipe in Mexico. “This increased the total number of projects planned for this year from two to six.” 

“To that end, Mexico will immediately seek internal funding to initiate the construction process for the diversion, which will divert 10 million gallons per day of treated effluent entering the Tijuana River, and the rehabilitation of the Parallel Gravity Line. This will be completed no later than December 31, 2025,” the EPA added. 

It also said “Several necessary Mexico side projects have been added to account for future population growth in Tijuana and operation and maintenance costs.” 

DEAL STRUCK BETWEEN US AND MEXICO TO ENSURE TEXAS FARMERS GET MUCH-NEEDED WATER 

The deal was reached after Zeldin traveled to San Diego in April to speak to those affected by the situation. 

“I made a commitment to the residents that I would spearhead an effort to construct an all-encompassing plan to finally bring the sewage crisis to an end,” Zeldin said. “Since my visit, the Mexican and United States’ governments have been working collaboratively to urgently finalize a permanent 100% solution to this longstanding issue. Secretary Rubio and the whole State Department, and the National Security Council at the White House worked hand-in-hand with EPA, and other federal partners, to make this agreement a reality.” 

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“This is not just a solution for 2025,” he added. “We devised this agreement to factor in population growth, operation and maintenance costs, and other variables that would make this solution durable and long term. Grateful to President Claudia Sheinbaum, Secretary [of the Environment and National Resources of Mexico Alicia] Bárcena, and the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs for their partnership, cooperation, and commitment to work with us to clean up the Tijuana River Valley. This is a huge win for millions of Americans and Mexicans who have been calling on us to end this decades old crisis.” 

Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Ken Martin isn’t pulling any punches.

“There’s no doubt that … we have work to do,” Martin acknowledged in an extended, sit-down interview this week with Fox News Digital.

But the DNC chair sees President Donald Trump’s signature domestic achievement so far in his second term as ammunition that will help the Democrats rebound.

The party is trying to escape the political wilderness after last year’s elections, when Democrats lost control of the White House and the Senate and fell short in their bid to win back the House majority.

DNC CHAIR TELLS FOX NEWS ‘WE WANT EVERYONE’ INCLUDING ‘LEFTISTS’ LIKE MAMDANI

Republicans made gains with voters who make up key parts of the Democratic Party’s base.

Martin noted that the party has continued to “lose ground with many parts of our coalition.”

But he sees a silver lining.

“When you hit rock bottom, there’s only one direction to go, and that’s up, and that’s what we’re doing,” Martin noted.

POLL POSITION: DEMOCRATIC PARTY’S NUMBERS SINK TO NEW LOWS

The party’s base is increasingly angry — and energized — to push back against Trump’s sweeping and controversial second-term agenda. And its anger is directed not just at the GOP but the Democratic Party lawmakers and officials who many feel haven’t been aggressive enough in combating the president.

And that’s reflected in polls. Favorable ratings for the Democratic Party have plunged to all-time lows in a slew of national surveys. And the Republican National Committee (RNC) has the upper hand over the DNC in fundraising.

“We do have a brand problem,” Martin noted.

Martin pointed to surveys that indicated a “majority of Americans believe that the Republican Party best represents the interests of the working class and the poor, and the Democratic Party is the party of the wealthy and the elites. And sure enough, the only two groups that we over performed within the last election cycle were college-educated voters and wealthy households.”

“That’s a damning indictment on our party brand, and we do have a brand challenge there,” Martin said.

Martin said “people have bought into this idea that Donald Trump and the Republicans best represent their interests for the future.”

RNC CHAIR SAYS ‘BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL’ KEY TO GOP’S MESSAGING EFFORT HEADED INTO MIDTERMS

But he argued that “Trump and the Republicans have done nothing to actually deliver on the promises that they made. They said on day one they were going to bring down costs for people. Costs on all goods are increasing.”

As he looks ahead to next year’s midterm elections, when the Democrats will try to win back majorities in the House and Senate, Martin is targeting the Republicans’ so-called “big, beautiful bill.”

“We welcome the debate because this is the debate that’s going to actually help us, as a Democratic Party, build our coalition again and win elections,” the DNC chair insisted.

RNC CHAIR SAYS ‘BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL’ KEY TO GOP’S MESSAGING EFFORT HEADED INTO MIDTERMS

Martin’s rival, RNC Chair Michael Whatley, told Fox News last week that the sweeping GOP-crafted domestic policy bill that narrowly passed the House and Senate in near-party-line votes and that President Donald Trump signed into law July 4, will be a “cornerstone” of the party’s messaging going forward.

That’s just fine with Martin.

“If this is the ground they want to die on, the hill they want to die, we’ll make sure they die on it,” Martin said of Republicans.

The Republican package is stuffed full of Trump’s 2024 campaign trail promises and second-term priorities on tax cuts, immigration, defense, energy and the debt limit. 

FIRST ON FOX: REPUBLICANS LAUNCH MAJOR AD BLITZ TO SELL ‘BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL’

It includes extending the president’s signature 2017 tax cuts, which were about to expire later this year, and eliminating taxes on tips and overtime pay. 

“This is going to help every family in every community all across the country,” Whatley predicted in his Fox News Digital interview.

But Martin disagreed, saying “there is nothing in this bill that’s going to help hard-working Americans. Let’s be very clear, this is a giveaway to the richest people in our country.”

The measure also provides billions for border security and codifies the president’s controversial immigration crackdown.

The massive tax cuts and spending package is also projected by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to increase the national debt by $4 trillion over the next decade, but many Republicans dispute the projection.

And the new law also restructures Medicaid, the nearly 60-year-old federal program that provides health coverage to roughly 71 million low-income Americans. The CBO this week estimated that 10 million people could lose their health insurance over the next decade.

DEMOCRATS TAKE AIM AT TRUMP’S ‘BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL’

The changes to Medicaid, as well as cuts to food stamps, another one of the nation’s major safety net programs, were drafted in part as an offset to pay for extending Trump’s tax cuts. The measure includes a slew of new rules and regulations, including work requirements for many of those seeking Medicaid coverage.

“The fact is that we’re going to be moving illegal aliens off of Medicaid. We’re going to be strengthening the program,” Whatlley said. “Those are things that absolutely need to happen.”

But Democrats, for months, have repeatedly blasted Republicans over the social safety net changes. And they spotlighted a number of national polls last month and this month, including one this week from Fox News, that indicate the bill’s popularity is in negative territory.

“American people are hurting right now, and there’s no doubt that this is an issue that allows the Democrats right now to actually rebuild our coalition, to actually bring people back in, many who left our party over the years, who felt like we weren’t fighting for them and actually lifting up working people,” Martin said.

And the DNC chair argued that “Donald Trump has betrayed them. I don’t call this the big, beautiful bill. What I call it is a big, ugly betrayal, because that’s exactly what it is. It’s a betrayal to the hardworking Americans who expected more from this president.”

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Martin said shining a spotlight on the GOP’s domestic package is “central to this conversation” as Democrats try to rebound. 

“It allows us, right now, to get many of those people, again, working-class people, back into the conversation with the Democratic Party,” he said.

And Martin, who served as chair of the Minnesota Democrats before taking over at the DNC, said the party has “always been the party for working class and poor individuals in this country and people who want to enter the middle class. Now we have an opportunity to prove it.”

President Donald Trump endorsed former Rep. Mike Rogers as the Republican tries again to win a U.S. Senate seat in Michigan.

Rogers, who lost the Wolverine State’s 2024 U.S. Senate contest to then-Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin, mounted another U.S. Senate bid earlier this year.

Calling the candidate an “America First Patriot,” the president gave the candidate his stamp of approval in a Thursday Truth Social post, writing, “Mike Rogers has my Complete and Total Endorsement — HE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN!” 

FIRST ON FOX: REPUBLICAN LAUNCHES SECOND STRAIGHT BID TO FLIP DEMOCRAT-HELD SENATE SEAT IN KEY BATTLEGROUND

Trump previously endorsed Rogers in 2024, before Rogers went on to win in the Republican U.S. Senate primary.

U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., staunchly opposed Trump’s endorsement of Rogers in 2024.

CORNYN SAYS HE’S SPOKEN TO TRUMP ABOUT A POTENTIAL ENDORSEMENT: ‘IF HE ENDORSED ME, THE RACE WOULD BE OVER’

“Donald Trump just endorsed the worst Deep State candidate this cycle,” Paul declared in a 2024 post on X. “@MikeRogersForMI is a never Trumper, and a card carrying member of the spy state that seeks to destroy Trump. You have to ask yourself who gives Trump this awful advice? Who’s next, John Bolton?”

Minutes later, Paul added in another post, “If he’s good with Mike Rogers (R-Deep State), maybe he should pick Liz Cheney for VP?” 

TRUMP ENDORSES GOP SENATOR YEARS AFTER ASSERTING ‘I WILL NEVER ENDORSE THIS JERK AGAIN’

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Rogers served in the U.S. House of Representatives for seven terms spanning from early 2001 through early 2015.

Ex-President Joe Biden’s former chief of staff ignored reporters on his way out of an interview with congressional investigators on Thursday after a marathon grilling behind closed doors.

Ronald Klain served as White House chief of staff for the first half of Biden’s term. He also reportedly played a key role in helping the former leader prepare for what proved to be a disastrous first and only 2024 election debate against current President Donald Trump.

Klain sat with staff and some lawmakers on the House Oversight Committee for hours for a voluntary transcribed interview.

Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., earlier told reporters that the interview was going well just after the session broke for lunch.

COMER DISMISSES BIDEN DOCTOR’S BID FOR PAUSE IN COVER-UP PROBE: ‘THROWING OUT EVERY EXCUSE’

“I think we’re having a very good transcribed interview. Mr. Klain is being fairly responsive to our questions,” Comer said.

Comer is investigating whether Biden’s top White House aides concealed signs of mental decline in the then-president, and if that meant executive actions were signed via autopen without his knowledge.

Lawmakers who briefly attended the interview, however, called him “credible.”

“I think he is telling what he knows accurately,” Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., told Fox News Digital.

On the other side of the aisle, Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., told reporters, “He answered every single question. He was fully cooperative.”

Comer was guarded, however, in response to questions about how much new information was gleaned.

“There have been tidbits,” he said. “We’ve asked specific questions. Obviously, evidence emerges on a daily basis that would suggest Joe Biden wasn’t mentally fit to be President of the United States.”

Klain is the sixth former Biden administration aide to appear for Comer’s probe and the third to appear voluntarily.

Former White House physician Kevin O’Connor, as well as senior advisors Annie Tomasini and Anthony Bernal, all appeared under subpoena.

FAR-LEFT FIREBRAND SAYS SHE ‘NEVER HAD A CONCERN’ ABOUT BIDEN’S MENTAL STATE AS HOUSE PROBE HEATS UP

Each also pleaded the Fifth Amendment to avoid answering questions.

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Longtime Biden aide Ashley Williams and former staff secretary Neera Tanden both appeared voluntarily.

Like the previous five before him, the longtime Democratic operative did not answer questions from reporters either before or after his interview.