NationalWatch

Graham Platner’s Senate campaign repeatedly ignored warnings from its own vetting team that he needed a more robust background check, a source familiar with the early stages of the campaign told Fox News Digital.

An in-depth vetting process could have saved Democrats a massive headache in one of the most important Senate races of the 2026 cycle, something that has led many on the left to blame Dan Moraff and Morris Katz — the political staffers behind Platner’s meteoric rise — for not doing their due diligence before putting him forward.

The source confirmed to Fox News Digital that the vetting process was largely handled by Moraff and Katz, who limited investigators to a three-day review of Platner.

PLATNER’S THREE-DAY VETTING JOB COMES BACK TO HAUNT DEMS AS RAPE ALLEGATION ROCKS SENATE BID

The firm that vetted Platner repeatedly reached out to the campaign, warning them that additional vetting was required as the initial review had turned up several concerning pieces of information that could lead to more serious issues — warnings that were ignored by Platner’s staff, according to the source familiar with the early stages of the campaign.

During the vetting process, campaign staff didn’t allow the individuals investigating Platner to interview him, the source told Fox News Digital. In addition to the vetting process identifying Platner’s Reddit posts, which the Wall Street Journal previously reported, it also turned up information that cast doubt on Platner’s blue-collar image, the source added.

ACTIVISTS BEHIND GRAHAM PLATNER’S RISE ADMIT VETTING PROCESS DIDN’T BRING UP NAZI-LINKED TATTOO

“The firm sent us a thing and it had some of the posts, but it didn’t have all of them,” Moraff told the Wall Street Journal in June of the vetting process, referencing Platner’s now-deleted Reddit posts.

Many of the scandals that went on to rock the Platner campaign — such as his DUI, his relatively affluent upbringing and Nazi-linked tattoo — were discoverable via public information and later reported by the press.

Platner suspended his senatorial campaign on Wednesday after an ex-girlfriend accused him of raping her. His withdrawal followed a string of scandals stemming from controversial posts he made on his deleted Reddit account, a Nazi-linked tattoo he acquired during his time in the armed forces and his alleged mistreatment of women.

He filed the paperwork necessary to officially withdraw from the election on Friday.

MILLIONS IN DEM AD MONEY VANISHED FROM PLATNER RACE DAYS BEFORE RAPE ALLEGATION DOOMED SENATE BID

“That’s odd … no one asks for, like, three days’ worth of research,” an individual familiar with candidate vetting told Fox News Digital. “It’s not unusual to have to rush an initial triage research product,” the source said, explaining that truncated background checks like that are almost always followed by “​​a comprehensive doc or a more thorough doc.”

Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Platner’s campaign defended its decision to commission an abridged vetting process on the grounds that they didn’t have the financial resources to afford a more complete investigation at the outset. The campaign paid just over $6,000 for its vetting, compared to the tens of thousands of dollars usually required for a full background check of a political candidate.

Platner, however, very quickly became one of the strongest Democratic fundraisers in the nation, bringing in over $16 million in contributions between July 2025 and June 2026, raising questions as to why his campaign didn’t seek out a complete vetting once it had the resources to do so.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Democrats in Maine are holding a nominating convention to replace Platner ahead of the July 13 statutory deadline to remove him from the ballot. Party delegates will vote to choose the Democratic nominee for the November general election.

The Platner campaign, Moraff and Katz did not respond to requests for comment when reached by Fox News Digital on Friday.

A bipartisan housing bill became law Saturday at midnight after President Donald Trump declined to sign it, capping a weeks-long saga over whether the president would veto the measure amid frustrations with Congress over his stalled agenda.

Trump refused to sign the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act — legislation aimed at expanding the nation’s housing stock and lowering costs — in an attempt to pressure Congress to pass the SAVE America Act, despite the housing bill clearing both chambers with overwhelming majorities.

“I will not sign the Housing Bill, which has been fully approved by Congress and sent to the White House, in PROTEST over the fact that the United States Senate is not capable of passing THE SAVE AMERICA ACT, which is polling at 97% with the Republican Party, and very high with the non-politician Dumocrats,” he declared on Truth Social Friday morning. 

The Trump-backed election measure, which would require proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections and impose voter ID requirements, has struggled to overcome the Senate’s 60-vote threshold. 

Meanwhile, the House has not passed a version of the bill that includes the president’s proposed crackdown on mail-in voting and banning men from women’s sports.

HOUSE CONSERVATIVES DERAIL GOP AGENDA IN SAVE AMERICA ACT SHOWDOWN

Under the U.S. Constitution, Trump had 10 days, not including Sundays, to sign or veto the housing measure after the House formally transmitted the legislation to the White House in late June. The president ultimately chose neither option, allowing the measure to become law without his signature.

Though Trump declined to veto the legislation, he sharply criticized elements of the bill and argued it should not have been a legislative priority in recent weeks.

“It’s so unimportant … compared to the SAVE America Act,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office in late June. “I think the SAVE America Act is exactly what it says. It’s saving America from crooked elections.”

Trump went on to call the housing bill “a yawn,” adding, “compared to the SAVE America Act, just about everything is a big yawn.”

It would have taken a two-thirds majority in both chambers to override a veto — a margin the House and Senate exceeded when they passed the legislation. However, it remains unclear whether so many Republicans would have defied the president had he vetoed the bill.

Trump also appeared to criticize the bill over a provision restricting Wall Street investors from purchasing single-family homes — a policy he first proposed during his January State of the Union address and later urged Congress to pass. Trump previously argued the investor ban would give individual homebuyers a leg up against private equity firms in the housing market.

“I don’t want to hurt people that own houses, too,” Trump later told reporters, appearing to reference the provision. “These people, for the first time in their lives, they have valuable houses. They’ve become rich. I don’t want to hurt them either. What you want to do is what’s good for everyone, get the interest rates down.”

The law also aims to boost housing supply by streamlining federal environmental reviews, loosening rules around the construction of factory-built homes, and incentivizing local governments to modify their zoning laws to allow more housing, among roughly 60 provisions.

Trump’s souring on the legislation created headaches for Republicans, who touted the bill as an affordability win as voters grapple with high housing costs.

“It’s irresponsible to postpone signing the Housing bill due to the SAVE Act,” Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., a retiring lawmaker who lost re-election to a Trump-backed challenger, wrote on social media. “We need to start delivering relief to people for the high cost of housing ASAP!!”

WARREN TELLS TRUMP TO ‘SIGN THE DAMN BILL’ AS BIPARTISAN HOUSING PACKAGE REMAINS STALLED IN WASHINGTON

Trump abruptly canceled a signing ceremony for the legislation at the U.S. Capitol in June with GOP leaders. The stage had already been set, with at least one senior Republican arriving unaware the president had called off the event shortly before it was scheduled to begin.

The president then declared he would not sign the legislation until Congress passed the SAVE America Act, despite Senate GOP leaders insisting the votes do not exist to advance the measure.

Trump has also expressed frustration with the Republican-controlled Senate for declining to weaken the legislative filibuster, which requires 60 votes to advance most legislation in the upper chamber.

“GET SMART REPUBLICANS, IF YOU DON’T, YOU WON’T BE IN OFFICE FOR LONG!” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Sunday.

Before Trump came out against the bill, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called it “one of the most significant pieces of housing affordability legislation in American history” and said it included an array of policies “long championed” by Trump.

Meanwhile, Trump political operative James Blair touted the legislation for including the president’s Wall Street investor ban, which he referred to as a “signature commitment.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has argued that Republicans will still promote the landmark housing bill ahead of November.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

“We’ll still celebrate it, but he’s trying to make a point, and I think he’s making it very effectively,” the speaker recently told reporters, referring to Trump. “And the fact that you all ask me every three steps down the hallway illustrates that he has achieved the desired objective, and that is to make SAVE America the number one thing, because if we don’t get that right, everybody’s concerned about what happens next.”

Crews began draining the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on Friday as the Trump administration launched another round of repairs following the nation’s 250th anniversary celebration.

The latest repairs come after problems emerged shortly after the initial restoration project was completed last month, which President Donald Trump largely blamed on vandals.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, whose department oversees the National Park Service (NPS), told conservative podcaster Katie Miller this week that the latest round of work had been planned and that crews also needed to remove debris left behind after the July Fourth fireworks celebration on the National Mall.

BURGUM CLASHES WITH CNN HOST, BLASTS MEDIA FOR QUESTIONING VANDALISM OF LINCOLN MEMORIAL REFLECTING POOL

“Drain the water, clean up the fireworks stuff,” Burgum said. “Repair the vandalism that was done. Fill it back up again.”

Trump ordered the restoration project earlier this year as part of his effort to refurbish the landmark ahead of the nation’s 250th anniversary.

The project was later beset by an algae bloom, and sections of the new blue coating began peeling from the bottom of the pool.

FORMER US OLYMPIAN DAVID HEARN PLEADS NOT GUILTY IN REFLECTING POOL VANDALISM CASE

Trump declared victory over the algae last Sunday, sharing photos on Truth Social showing the Reflecting Pool and its reflection appearing clear and blue.

Court records previously indicated the National Park Service planned to drain the pool again after the July Fourth celebrations to repair damage authorities attributed to vandalism.

According to court documents, U.S. Park Police responded to a report of damage at the Reflecting Pool on June 9. Investigators said caulk had been spread over foam sealant that had been cut with a “sharp knife or razor,” the newly applied surface coating had been damaged, and approximately 70 fence post caps had been thrown into the pool.

JIM ACOSTA CLAIMS DONALD TRUMP VANITY PROJECTS LOOK LIKE ‘END DAYS OF SADDAM HUSSEIN’

Former U.S. Olympic canoeist David Hearn pleaded not guilty Thursday to damaging the recently renovated Reflecting Pool.

Hearn was indicted last week on a felony destruction of property charge following his arrest on charges related to a June 19 incident at the pool. He has denied damaging the Reflecting Pool, saying he stopped during a bike ride and touched a loose piece of the peeling blue coating “to satisfy my curiosity as a citizen.”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

At least three other people have also been charged with misdemeanors on allegations they removed pieces of the Reflecting Pool’s coating, according to online court records. All three pleaded not guilty during their initial court appearances Wednesday.

Fox News Digital’s Peter Pinedo, Ryan Canfield, Eric Mack and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The CEO of a popular U.S. gaming brand on Thursday was appointed to a high-level Federal Reserve task force despite ongoing fury over her company’s recent firing of 1,600 workers while being approved to hire thousands of foreign visa workers.

Asha Sharma, who heads Microsoft’s Xbox division, announced the layoffs earlier this week. Microsoft said that it will lay off 4,800 people in total, while it had been approved earlier this year to hire 2,273 foreign H-1B visa employees, according to data from U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS).

At the height of the wrath over the layoffs this week, the Federal Reserve moved forward with appointing Sharma to a newly-created advisory role within the central bank.

FURY ERUPTS AS US BRAND FIRES 1,600 EMPLOYEES AFTER SECURING THOUSANDS OF FOREIGN WORKER VISAS

Sharma will serve on a task force on “Productivity and Jobs” alongside Andreessen Horowitz co-founder Marc Andreessen and Stanford University economics professor Charles I. Jones.

“The Federal Reserve’s commitment to price stability and maximum employment is unwavering. As is our resolve to pursue our mandate with rigor,” said new Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh in a statement on the appointments.

“Each task force will carefully consider whether policymakers’ means and methods, analytical tools and policy approaches can be improved upon,” he continued. “I am honored that the best minds from a range of disciplines have agreed to work with us to sharpen our performance as an institution.”

Many of the same critics who raged at Sharma, Xbox and Microsoft over the perceived replacement of American employees with foreign visa workers continued their tirades after the announcement.

Microsoft said that 740 of this year’s visas were to hire employees already in the U.S. from other companies, while the other 1,533 were renewals of existing visas. 

TRUMP TAPS ACTING LABOR SECRETARY KEITH SONDERLING FOR PERMANENT ROLE PENDING SENATE CONFIRMATION

“It’s like asking El Chapo to lead the DEA,” one person said online.

Another critic said the Federal Reserve is trying to “incentivize” mass layoff of American workers in favor of foreign ones with their hiring of the XBOX executive.

“The Federal Reserve needs help firing Americans,” another person quipped.

A fourth person called the move “totally unexplainable”

FTC CHIEF ACCUSES DEMOCRATS OF ‘TRYING TO PROTECT THE FRAUDSTERS’ BY WITHHOLDING DATA FROM TRUMP ADMIN

Some have claimed a racial component to the importation of H-1B visa workers, the vast majority of whom come from India. Sharma has Indian heritage but was born in Wisconsin.

“Reminder that she had zero gaming experience when she was promoted to run Xbox, and she has zero finance or economic experience now that she’s promoted to advise the Federal Reserve, said one X user. “Her one function is to purge white Americans and replace them with Indian cheap foreign labor.”

The Federal Reserve did not return Fox News Digital’s requests for comment. 

Meanwhile, Vice President JD Vance announced on Tuesday a large-scale investigation into H-1B visa fraud.

“Today, I’m proud to announce that the federal Department of Labor has started dozens of subpoenas and investigations into foreign fraudsters who are trying to take advantage of the H-1B visa program,” he said during a press conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

“American jobs ought to go to American workers and not foreign fraudsters and the Department of Labor is fighting back against it.”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

In response to a request for comment, Microsoft directed Fox News Digital to a post on X by a company spokesperson.

“The H-1B figures being referenced are Microsoft-wide visa renewals and new hire applications. They are not specific to XBOX and represent a small percentage of Microsoft’s overall workforce. And the majority of roles impacted were not American roles,” Frank Shaw said on X, adding that XBOX is the largest employer of American workers in the gaming industry. 

President Donald Trump on Friday warned Iran that the United States would “decimate and destroy” the country if Tehran carried out an assassination attempt against him.

“1000 Missiles are Locked and Loaded and aimed at the Islamic Republic of Iran, with thousands of more to immediately follow, should the Iranian Government act on its threat, pronounced in many corners of the Globe, to assassinate, or attempt to assassinate, the sitting President of the United States of America, in this case, ME!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

The president said he had already directed the U.S. military to be prepared to retaliate if Iran carried out an assassination attempt against him.

ISRAEL SHARES INTELLIGENCE WARNING IRAN PLOTTED NEW ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT AGAINST TRUMP: REPORT

“Orders have already been given, and the U.S. Military is ready, willing, and able, for a one year period of time, subject to extension, to completely decimate and destroy all areas of Iran – PRAISE BE TO ALLAH!” Trump said.

Trump’s comments came one day after The Wall Street Journal reported that Israeli intelligence recently shared information with U.S. officials indicating Iran was considering a new plot to assassinate the president.

Earlier this week, Trump told reporters at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, that he remains Iran’s top target.

TRUMP SAYS HE’S IRAN’S ‘NO. 1’ TARGET AS RENEWED CONFLICT RAISES ASSASSINATION FEARS

“I’m No. 1 on the kill list for Iran,” the president said.

Earlier Friday, Trump also told the New York Post he had left standing instructions to strike Iran if an assassination attempt against him succeeded.

“I’ve been on their list for a long time. That’s what we’re dealing with,” Trump said. “… The only thing is, I’ve left instructions — if anything happens, to just literally bomb them at levels that they’ve never seen before.”

TRUMP SAYS HE LEFT INSTRUCTIONS TO ‘BOMB’ IRAN ‘AT LEVELS’ NEVER SEEN IF HE IS ASSASSINATED

Trump also dismissed reports that Israeli intelligence had uncovered a new Iranian assassination plot against him.

“No, no, Israel came up with nothing,” Trump told the newspaper. “I’ve been No. 1 [on Iran’s kill list] for a long time, and it’s the way life is, you know.”

The New York Times reported that following Trump’s trip to Turkey, the U.S. Secret Service recommended he travel aboard the older Air Force One rather than the newly retrofitted Boeing 747 donated by Qatar as a security precaution amid renewed hostilities with Iran.

The White House has not said whether the aircraft change was related to specific security concerns, but said the new Air Force One is equipped with advanced security features.

“The new Air Force One is a state-of-the-art aircraft that has been fitted with high-level security protocols that ensure the safety of the President and his staff,” White House Communications Director Steven Cheung previously told Fox News Digital. “As the President has said recently, there are many enemies of America who have their sights on him, and we use every tool at our disposal to address those threats.”

Iran has sought Trump’s assassination since he ordered the 2020 military strike that killed Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani.

This week, mourners repeatedly called for Trump’s death during the funeral for Iran’s former supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

The comments also come as a U.S.-Iran ceasefire has unraveled in recent days.

Iran attacked commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz this week, prompting renewed U.S. military action, including a new round of strikes targeting Iranian military infrastructure tied to maritime operations and other military sites.

Trump has since declared the ceasefire “over” and warned of further action if Iran continues its attacks.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House and the U.S. Secret Service for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Morgan Phillips and Louis Casiano contributed to this report.

The Department of Justice sued Maryland over its sanctuary policies, accusing the state of engaging in an “active and deliberate effort” to obstruct federal immigration enforcement.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in Maryland federal court, comes after the U.S. attorney general in February 2025 ordered the DOJ’s civil division to identify state and local policies that provide sanctuary to illegal migrants. Since then, 20 other lawsuits have been brought, including against Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois and New York.

The DOJ’s suit against Maryland argues that the state’s Community Trust Act, passed this year, “jeopardizes the public safety for all Americans” by purposely thwarting immigration-related arrests and deportations.

“Federal immigration officers merely enforce the laws that our Nation’s elected representatives in Congress passed, reflecting the will of We the People,” Associate U.S. Attorney General Stanley Woodward said in a statement. “Today’s suit proves that this Department will never stand for such lawless action from blue state leaders.”

EXCLUSIVE: DHS BLASTS SANCTUARY LEADERS AFTER ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ACCUSED OF BAT ATTACK FREED FROM JAIL

The lawsuit also said that Maryland’s law violates the supremacy clause of the Constitution, which says state laws must be compliant with federal law.

DOJ lawyers argued that the Community Trust Act has led to local authorities not cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other immigration officers.

They pointed to an incident on May 29, 2026, when a warden of a Worcester County Jail told a detention and deportation officer that as a result of the Community Trust Act, his facility “would no longer honor ICE detainers, release individuals to ICE custody, or notify ICE when individuals are in custody and ready for release.”

“The facility denied a scheduled ICE pickup that morning and did not release the individual in question to ICE custody,” DOJ lawyers wrote.

DOJ ESCALATES BLUE-STATE ICE STANDOFF AFTER STATES REFUSE KEY FEDERAL REQUEST

The text of the law says Maryland correctional facilities may not transfer individuals into federal custody without a “valid judicial warrant.”

The DOJ argued that immigration law allows arrests through administrative warrants, not just through warrants signed by a judge.

Most local law enforcement officers in Maryland agree with the federal government’s assessment of the Community Trust Act.

WATCH: ANGEL MOM TURNS TABLES ON SANCTUARY POLITICIANS WITH BASIC QUESTION ABOUT THEIR PRIORITIES

In late May, 17 of Maryland’s 24 sheriffs sued the state, saying the law “interferes with the ability of sheriffs and local detention centers to coordinate with [ICE] regarding individuals in custody who may pose threats to public safety.”

The sheriffs claimed in a statement that Gov. Wes Moore, who was named in the lawsuit, told them during a phone call that he “was aware of the unintended public safety consequences this legislation could have on our communities.”

Moore did not sign the Community Trust Act, but under Maryland law, a bill approved by both chambers becomes law if the governor does not sign or veto it within 10 days.

Moore’s office confirmed to Fox News Digital that this phone call took place and that Moore “explained his rationale for letting the bill go into law without his signature.”

Moore previously said that despite the implementation challenges, the Community Trust Act keeps “local law enforcement focused on the work that has helped drive Maryland’s historic reductions in violent crime.”

A representative from Moore’s office also told Fox News Digital that the Community Trust Act allows local authorities to coordinate with federal immigration officers “when it comes to people convicted of serious crimes.”

Moore’s office declined to comment on the DOJ lawsuit but offered a statement attacking President Donald Trump’s approach to immigration enforcement.

“Maryland will work with the federal government when that coordination makes our people safer – but we will not let Donald Trump’s untrained, unqualified, and unaccountable ICE agents deputize our law enforcement officers to do immigration work,” the statement read.

The office of Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown — who was named in both the federal lawsuit and the complaint filed by the collection of sheriffs — declined to comment.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) condemned Maryland’s so-called sanctuary policies and claimed that seven of the 10 safest cities cooperate with ICE.

“When politicians bar local law enforcement from working with DHS, our law enforcement officers have to have a more visible presence so that we can find and apprehend the criminals let out of jails and back into communities,” DHS said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

DHS also said ICE officers “are held to the highest professional standard and officers regularly receive ongoing training.”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

DHS offered the names of five illegal migrants who were arrested in Maryland by ICE agents on suspicion of crimes such as homicide, sexual assault, incest, and drug trafficking. The agency did not specify when the men were arrested or their current statuses.

A senior official in New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration planned to meet with Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations before the State Department reportedly intervened, and the meeting was canceled.

Commissioner Ana María Archila, leader of the Mamdani administration’s Office of International Affairs, was scheduled to meet with Iran’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Amir-Saeid Iravani, Tuesday, the City Journal first reported.

A U.S. official familiar with the matter confirmed to Fox News Digital that the meeting had been scheduled. 

TRUMP SAYS HE’S IRAN’S ‘NO. 1’ TARGET AS RENEWED CONFLICT RAISES ASSASSINATION FEARS

The reported intervention marks the second known instance in recent weeks in which the Trump administration has stepped in over the Mamdani administration’s contacts with foreign leaders, highlighting growing federal scrutiny of New York City’s international outreach under its new socialist mayor. 

The Office for International Affairs coordinates closely with the State Department on many diplomatic matters because of New York City’s role as host to the United Nations. 

Once the State Department became aware of the planned meeting, it was called off and State Department officials met with Mamdani officials to clarify acceptable conduct, a State Department official told the City Journal.

The Iranian mission declined to comment on the meeting to Fox News Digital. “That meeting did not take place, it will not take place and I did not know about it until there was a press inquiry regarding it,” Mamdani said during a press conference on Friday. 

Pressed on whether he supported such a meeting, he added: “I’ve said that that meeting will not be taking place. Thank you all very much.”

A State Department official told Fox News Digital in a statement: “We appreciate the mayor understanding the value of diplomacy, and for his decision to cancel this meeting. It is unconscionable that a New York City official would even consider meeting with the Iranian Ambassador to the U.N., a man who consistently works to undermine U.S. interests and whitewash his regime’s crimes against the United States, our allies, and Iran’s own citizens.”

Trump has repeatedly said he is “No. 1” on Iran’s “kill list,” and Israel recently shared intelligence with the U.S. president about an Iranian plot to assassinate him, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

The reported Iran meeting would mark the second known instance in recent weeks in which the Trump administration intervened over the Mamdani administration’s contacts with foreign officials.

TRUMP SAYS IRAN CEASEFIRE IS ‘OVER’ AFTER IRANIAN ATTACKS TRIGGER MASSIVE US RESPONSE

In June, the Washington Post reported that a planned meeting between Mamdani and Colombian President Gustavo Petro was scrapped after State Department objections. Fox News Digital has asked the State Department to confirm that account.

Archila, the official who planned to meet with the Iranian representative, served as the co-director of New York’s progressive Working Families party prior to her appointment as commissioner. She had no prior diplomatic experience before taking the role, and in 2022 ran for lieutenant governor of New York.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Archila made headlines in 2018 when she confronted former Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., outside a Senate elevator after he announced he would vote to confirm Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

She identified herself as a sexual assault victim and asked him why he would vote to confirm Kavanaugh after hearing the account of Christine Blasey Ford, who claimed Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when they were teenagers. Kavanaugh denied the allegation.

EXCLUSIVE: The Interior and Commerce Departments are scrapping a sweeping Endangered Species Act (ESA) rule that officials say past administrations “weaponized” to block energy production, logging, infrastructure projects and private citizens’ land use.

Officials pointed to several ESA-listed species they say triggered undue or burdensome restrictions by treating habitat modification as potential “harm” to protected species, purportedly expanding the ESA’s “harm” provision.

“For years, federal agencies abused the ESA to obstruct lawful land use and burden American families and businesses,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told Fox News Digital.

“That approach turned routine activity into a regulatory trap, drove up costs that impacted people’s lives, and expanded federal authority beyond what Congress intended.”

BIDEN-ERA ENVIRO RULE ACCUSED OF STRANGLING TRUCKERS, SQUEEZING AMERICANS LANDS ON TRUMP CHOPPING BLOCK

On Friday, the Interior and Commerce Departments announced they are rescinding the ‘outdated’ regulatory definition of ‘harm’ and returning the Endangered Species Act’s interpretation to its original intent to end years of federal overreach.

The administration is relying in part on the Supreme Court’s 2024 decision in Loper Bright v. Raimondo, which overturned “Chevron deference” and held that courts must use independent judgment when interpreting federal statutes rather than deferring to an agency’s preferred reading of ambiguous law.

The rule change therefore aims to align regulations with the “single best” meaning of a statute rather than letting it be “contort[ed] to fit a political agenda,” officials said.

LEGAL WAR ON TRUMP’S AGENDA GAINS FIREPOWER AS FEDERAL LAWYERS DEFECT TO DEMOCRATS

Officials pointed to the dunes sagebrush lizard, which the Biden administration listed as endangered in 2024, as an example of what they view as speculative habitat-based restrictions.

Officials argued the change led to unnecessary restrictions on energy projects in Texas’ lucrative Permian Basin, most recently depicted in the acclaimed Billy Bob Thornton series “Landman.”

Under Section 9 of the ESA, it is unlawful to “take” endangered wildlife, a term Congress defined to include actions such as harming, harassing, wounding or killing protected species.

TRUMP’S ENERGY INITIATIVES MAY FINALLY EXTRACT AMERICA FROM MIDEAST CHAOS

Federal materials tied the species’ decline to surface-disturbing activities, including energy development and sand mining, which officials and industry representatives say can trigger costly permitting and compliance burdens.

Officials also cited the lesser prairie-chicken, a grassland bird whose federal protections have drawn opposition from farmers, ranchers and energy developers across New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Colorado.

The fight over habitat-based “harm” dates back decades, including the northern spotted owl, whose 1990 ESA listing fueled a long-running battle over timber harvesting in the Pacific Northwest and was blamed for job losses.

A 2021 study in the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management estimated the owl’s ESA listing reduced timber employment by roughly 16,000 to 32,000 jobs in the Pacific Northwest and northern California.

Timber interests and landowners challenged the federal definition, arguing that “harm” should cover direct injury to wildlife, not habitat modification that indirectly affects a species.

The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Clinton Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt in 1995, upholding a definition of “harm” that included significant habitat modification when it actually kills or injures protected wildlife.

Officials say the change is designed to narrow the regulation after Loper Bright and prevent agencies from using habitat-based theories to block lawful activity far beyond what Congress authorized.

The agencies argued the previously broadened definition of “harm” became an unlawful intrusion on private property rights.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick added that fishermen in particular have been burdened by the regulation for “too long.”

Returning the ESA to its original purpose protects both the environment and economic development, Lutnick said.

SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER

“This administration is committed to protecting wildlife using Gold Standard Science, the law and the tools Congress actually gave us,” added U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Brian Nesvik. “We can protect species and respect communities at the same time.”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Administration officials stressed that core ESA protections remain in place, including prohibitions on directly injuring or killing protected wildlife.

The administration said the change is intended to reduce permitting and compliance costs while providing greater legal clarity for landowners, energy producers and developers, advancing President Donald Trump’s vision of domestic energy dominance and a regulatory state that works for, not against, the average American.

Graham Platner’s political collapse did more than derail a scandal-plagued Senate campaign in Maine. It also completed Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman’s public transformation from a Bernie Sanders-backed progressive populist to one of the left’s most aggressive internal critics.

Fetterman was among the first prominent Democrats to call out Platner’s mounting controversies, even as many party leaders continued backing the scandal-plagued candidate until a former girlfriend publicly accused Platner of rape, an allegation he denies. The accusation prompted the remaining pillars of Democratic support to collapse.

By Wednesday night, Fetterman laid into his onetime political ally Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., in an interview with Fox News’ Charles Hurt on “Jesse Watters Primetime.”

“The trash took itself out,” Fetterman said of Platner’s withdrawal, as Hurt asked who should be held most responsible for the Platner chaos.

KINGMAKER MAMDANI CALLS ON PLATNER TO ‘DROP OUT OF THE RACE’ AFTER RAPE ALLEGATION

“Absolutely, Bernie Sanders needs to apologize to the voters of Maine and to everyone that donated to that train wreck of a campaign,” Fetterman said.

Sanders ultimately called on Platner to end his candidacy after the allegation surfaced, but Fetterman argued the Vermont progressive owed voters an apology for helping elevate him in the first place.

“More than anyone, he pushed ‘P. Hustle’ into the election. And now he keeps pushing these Communists and these kinds of awful, anti-American people.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Sanders, Fetterman and Platner’s campaign for comment.

JOHN FETTERMAN’S FALL FROM HERO TO HERETIC EXPOSES DEMOCRATS’ HARD LEFT TURN

The comments cap a remarkable political evolution for Fetterman, who recently acknowledged he is more popular with some Republicans than his own party.

“For some strange [reason], I am more popular with Republicans, which is confusing because I vote in the 90-[percentile] Dem-line,” Fetterman told NewsNation in March, adding that he supports Israel and President Donald Trump’s “Operation: Epic Fury” against Iran.

Chris Borick, a professor at Lehigh University and former president of the Pennsylvania Political Science Association, called Fetterman’s change in relationship with Sanders and the Democrats’ progressive wing “dramatic.”

“As someone that follows Pennsylvania politics, I can’t find anything even close in comparison to the shifts that we’ve seen in Fetterman’s positions on an array of matters over a short period of time,” Borick said. “We’ve seen people switch parties, like Arlen Specter… but in terms of a quick departure on the most significant levels, Fetterman’s changes are without precedent in the state.”

Fetterman’s break with the left has not been limited to Sanders-world. In Pennsylvania, his increasingly independent posture has also put distance between him and parts of the state Democratic establishment, including breaking some partisan norms.

State Sen. Doug Mastriano, R-Gettysburg, who served in the Pennsylvania Senate while Fetterman was lieutenant governor and presided over the chamber, said the Democrat had “political differences” with him but was typically “gracious and respectful.”

He spoke of an interaction on the Harrisburg Senate floor when Fetterman learned Mastriano accrued a record number of ballot signatures to qualify to run for governor against then-Attorney General Josh Shapiro.

“Senator Fetterman came down from the rostrum, congratulated me, and said, ‘Doug, 30,000. That’s really impressive. Great job.’ It wasn’t something he had to do,” Mastriano told Fox News Digital.

“I can’t speak for Sen. Fetterman’s political evolution — that’s something only he can explain. But I do respect anyone who is willing to speak their mind, think independently, and put what they believe to be America’s interests first, even when doing so may not be popular within their own party,” said Mastriano, who said Fetterman appears to be “put[ting] Pennsylvania ahead of politics.”

Fetterman recently upstaged his home state’s Democratic standard-bearer, Gov. Josh Shapiro, by teaming up with Republican Sen. David McCormick to help secure a booth on the National Mall for the Great American State Fair after the governor’s office said there was too little time and too little vendor interest to assemble one.

Shapiro’s predecessor, Gov. Tom Wolf, with whom Fetterman served as lieutenant governor during Wolf’s second term, also appeared to have no love lost for his party’s new maverick.

“I have thoughts, but I don’t have to share them anymore,” Wolf, who has largely retired from public life, said in March of Fetterman’s job performance.

When the two were in office in Harrisburg, Fetterman was closely aligned with Sanders and rode a wave of progressive populism to the lieutenant governor’s office — which is a separate primary-ballot line from the governorship.

Sam Chen, a Pennsylvania political analyst and chief strategist at the Allentown-based Liddell Group, told Fox News Digital that Fetterman’s evolution from Sanders ally to critic is a significant one while questioning whether the Democratic Party’s political environment helped cause the break.

“Fetterman was really helped by Sanders — even in Fetterman’s first Senate run … and then against who we really thought was probably the frontrunner in Conor Lamb.”

“Sanders really helped put Fetterman on the map and helped get him over the top,” Chen said, calling the senator’s recent condemnation of Sanders his “biggest break” with the progressive wing.

However, Chen questioned whether Fetterman’s break with Sanders over Platner was less about policy than about judgment, character and candidate quality.

“I wonder if Fetterman would have had this position if Platner had all his policy views that he has now but there was no Totenkopf tattoo or allegations from women.”

During his 2018 lieutenant governor campaign, Fetterman touted Sanders’ endorsement as proof of his progressive bona fides, describing the Vermont senator as one of the few national politicians who had the “little guy’s” back. Fetterman was then still mayor of postindustrial Braddock, a working-class suburb outside Pittsburgh, but his populist profile was already drawing national attention.

Sanders in turn came to Pennsylvania to endorse Fetterman: “What John’s campaign is about … is that we are going to transform this country and create a government that works for all of us, not just wealthy campaign contributors,” he said, according to PBS’ Philadelphia affiliate.

SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER

Since his election to the Senate, Pennsylvania Democratic groups, including the Monroe County Democratic Party in the Poconos, have branded him a “traitor,” while Punchbowl described his current political standing as “tenuous” and reported that no member of the Keystone State’s House delegation would confirm support for a 2028 reelection bid.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

“Squad” member Rep. Summer Lee, who represents Fetterman’s hometown and is more ideologically aligned with Sanders, told the outlet the increasingly isolated senator would run “at his own peril.”

Chen said Fetterman’s progressive “bona fides” remain, noting he still is reliably liberal on LGBTQ rights, marijuana and abortion — adding that as mayor or lieutenant governor, foreign policy positions were a nonfactor. Still, he argued, the fight over Platner shows how far Fetterman has moved from the progressive coalition that launched him into national politics.

A federal appeals court upheld a controversial Illinois gun control law that largely bans assault weapons.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit decision issued on Thursday slapped down a district court decision that declared the ban unconstitutional.

“Among other things, the Act criminalizes the manufacture, sale, delivery, purchase, and possession of assault weapons and large-capacity magazines. A grandfather clause permits preexisting lawful owners of the regulated items to continue possessing them,” the Thursday decision noted.

US JUDGE TOSSES ILLINOIS’ BAN ON SEMIAUTOMATIC WEAPONS, GOVERNOR PLEDGES SWIFT APPEAL

“For reasons that follow, we focus on the Act’s application to AR-15s and thirty-round rifle magazines. The Act’s restrictions on these items, we hold, are consistent with the principles that underpin our Nation’s tradition of firearm regulation. Whether to adopt them is thus a decision reposed in our elected representatives, and we reverse,” the decision declared.

Chief Judge Michael Brennan dissented from the panel’s decision.

“Our Nation’s enduring traditions forbid governments from prohibiting firearms commonly owned for self-defense. Because the people have overwhelmingly chosen the AR-15 rifle and its magazine as their weapon of choice, they are protected by the Second Amendment,” Brennan wrote.

“Illinois’s ban goes too far and should be enjoined as unconstitutional. I respectfully dissent,” he noted.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat who signed the controversial law in early 2023, hailed the court’s decision.

DOJ TARGETS SPANBERGER, NEWSOM GUN LAWS WITH TWIN LAWSUITS AFTER SCOTUS AFFIRMS SECOND AMENDMENT RIGHTS

“BREAKING: The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the Protect IL Communities Act. Illinois will continue banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines capable of inflicting mass casualties. A victory in the fight to end gun violence that helps keep our communities safe,” the governor said in a Thursday post on X.

State Attorney General Kwame Raoul also celebrated the decision.

“This is a win that enhances public safety in Illinois. We have seen the damage that assault weapons and large-capacity magazines can inflict, and these weapons of war have no place in our communities,” he said in a Thursday statement. “My office has successfully defended the state’s prohibition on these weapons in both state and federal court, and I am immensely proud of the hardworking attorneys in my office who have worked diligently to preserve this critical public safety measure.”

INSIDE TRUMP’S UNPRECEDENTED BATTLE PLAN TO EXPAND SECOND AMENDMENT RIGHTS THROUGH JUSTICE DEPARTMENT

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) was displeased by the decision.

“NSSF is a plaintiff in this case and plans on filing a cert petition with the U.S. Supreme Court,” the group noted in a statement on Thursday.

FIRST ON FOX: Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers made a $10 million drug bust on Monday during an inspection of a commercial tractor trailer transporting cabbage at the Pharr Port of Entry, a bridge near the southernmost part of Texas.

A canine inspection and nonintrusive imaging scan led officers to a hidden load inside the trailer, CBP said. A physical search uncovered 477 packages containing 1,173 pounds of cocaine with an estimated street value of $10,787,500.

“This interception is a powerful reminder that our CBP officers are on duty 24/7, employing every resource to detect and deter those who attempt to exploit our borders,” Carlos Rodriguez, Port Director for the Hidalgo Port of Entry, said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

CBP seized the narcotics and commercial truck. 

COCAINE WORTH OVER $1.1M SEIZED FROM ‘EMPTY’ TRUCK AT TEXAS BORDER

The haul continues to illustrate the smuggling threat faced by the country even amid historic investments in border security and record-breaking staffing levels at CBP.

Republicans in Congress have flooded the agency with cash through President Donald Trump’s signature Big Beautiful Bill as well as recent efforts to fund the Department of Homeland Security through the end of the administration. The two bills included $64 billion and $26 billion for CBP, respectively. A large portion of the second bill is set aside for agency manpower.

SENATE REPUBLICANS UNVEIL IMMIGRATION FUNDING PLAN WITH $140 BILLION PRICE TAG AS GOP AIMS TO SPEND LESS

Earlier this year, CBP announced it had broken staffing records, reaching 21,471 officers — the most in the agency’s 102-year history.

At the same time, since the end of 2024, border crossings have fallen dramatically, going from over 144,000 encounters in December 2024 to just 13,500 in May — a 90% reduction.

Despite the heavy investments, CBP and other federal agencies remain engaged in intercepting more organized smuggling operations that threaten to bring drugs, weapons and people illegally into the country.

BORDER AGENTS UNCOVER $3.7M IN COCAINE MASQUERADING AS A CUCUMBER DELIVERY

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

In April, for example, CBP announced it had prevented a car carrying a rocket-propelled grenade launcher, 16 AK rifles, 24 rifle magazines, 16 rifle stocks, 20 pistol grips, and other weapon parts from crossing the border.

“The threat of illicit narcotics is constant, but so is our vigilance,” Rodriguez said.

The Trump administration released its fourth tranche of declassified unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) records Friday, including newly released military infrared videos and additional details about a 2015 unidentified object reported near the nation’s primary nuclear weapons assembly facility.

Officials said the latest release is part of the administration’s effort to expand public access to UAP records while protecting information that could reveal sensitive military capabilities, eyewitness identities or national security operations.

Among the newly released files is an 18-second infrared video submitted by U.S. Indo-Pacific Command in 2025 showing an object officials described as resembling a six-pointed star.

UFO EXPERT WARNS MYSTERY CRAFT ARE OUTMANEUVERING US MILITARY IN RESTRICTED AIRSPACE

The footage, captured by an infrared sensor aboard a U.S. military platform over the Yellow Sea, shows the sensor tracking what the government described as an “area of contrast” while cautioning that the video’s description should not be interpreted as an official conclusion about the object’s identity or significance.

The latest release also includes a newly declassified Department of Energy report detailing a 2015 incident involving an unidentified object over the Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas — the nation’s primary facility for assembling, maintaining and dismantling nuclear weapons. Portions of the report previously had been released in a more heavily redacted form, but Friday’s tranche includes additional details and imagery.

The release also includes a 1-minute, 46-second infrared video submitted by U.S. Indo-Pacific Command in 2024 that shows a military sensor tracking an elongated area of contrast. As the sensor zooms in, the object appears as a line of several points moving across the field of view before becoming less distinct as it recedes into the distance. Officials cautioned that the video’s description should not be interpreted as an official conclusion about the object’s identity or significance.

Another newly released Navy “Range Fouler Debrief” — a standardized report used to document unauthorized intrusions into military training airspace — describes a military operator observing a “quite small” object with a metallic appearance and reflective underside that continued traveling in a constant direction. The report cautions that the descriptions reflect the observer’s impressions at the time and are not definitive assessments of the object’s characteristics.

PENTAGON FILES REVEAL AGENTS’ REPORTS OF ‘ORBS LAUNCHING ORBS’ NEAR SENSITIVE US SECURITY SITE

The release also features additional infrared videos submitted by U.S. Central Command, the Air Force and Indo-Pacific Command. One 2024 video shows what appears to be an elongated area of contrast that later resembles a line of multiple bright points as the military sensor tracks it. Another 2023 video captures two areas of contrast crossing the sensor’s field of view in opposite directions.

In at least one case, the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office included technical context alongside the footage, noting that apparent flickering in a 2019 Air Force infrared video could result from the sensor’s automatic contrast adjustments when tracking an object whose temperature closely matched its background.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Congress established the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office in 2022 to investigate reports of unidentified objects across air, sea, space and other domains, with a focus on determining whether incidents could pose flight safety or national security risks. The office is tasked with assessing whether sightings can be attributed to foreign adversaries, classified U.S. programs or conventional explanations before labeling them unresolved.

The latest release is the fourth tranche in a series that is part of President Donald Trump‘s directive to expand public access to UAP records, adding that redactions were limited to protecting eyewitness identities, sensitive military locations and unrelated government facilities.

Graham Platner the embattled Democratic Senate nominee in Maine, on Friday publicly released the letter formally withdrawing from the U.S. Senate race, thanking supporters before signing off with, “F**k ICE. Free Palestine. Up the Hearts.”

Platner posted the July 10 letter on X after submitting it to the Maine Department of the Secretary of State’s Division of Elections.

“I write to formally withdraw my candidacy for United States Senate,” Platner wrote.

THE DOZEN RACES THAT WILL DETERMINE THE SENATE’S BALANCE OF POWER

The letter thanked the 156,084 Mainers who voted for him in last month’s Democratic primary and argued they had backed “a new kind of politics” focused on issues including Medicare for All, stronger unions and limiting the influence of billionaires in politics.

“My name may have been on the ballot, but that ballot line belongs to the people of Maine,” Platner wrote. “As such, please consider this notice as my official withdrawal from consideration for this office.”

Platner concluded the letter by writing, “F**k ICE. Free Palestine. Up the Hearts.”

The letter comes two days after Platner announced he was suspending his campaign amid mounting controversies and allegations of sexual misconduct that he has repeatedly denied, and a chorus of calls from top Democrats in Maine, the nation’s capital, and across the country to drop out of the race immediately.

It also came three days before a crucial 5 p.m. Monday deadline. Missing it would have prevented Maine Democrats from replacing Platner with a new nominee on the general election ballot.

A populist Democrat who was backed last September by progressive champion Sen. Bernie Sanders, Platner was challenging longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins in a high-profile, combustible and expensive race in Maine, which is one of a handful that will determine if the GOP holds onto its slim Senate majority in November’s midterm elections.

“For the movement to continue, it can’t be me. For that reason, we are suspending campaign operations,” Platner said on Wednesday in a video posted to social media.

The end of his campaign came a month after Platner won a landslide victory in Maine’s June 9 Democratic Senate primary, but just days after an explosive report contained an allegation of rape from a woman he previously dated.

Maine resident Jenny Racicot told CNN “by dictionary definition” Platner “raped” her. She also said over the course of three interviews with Politico that Platner forced her to have sex five years ago against her will, a claim that he denied.

Platner this week was hit with a second explosive allegation of sexual misconduct. In a report published by The Washington Post, Platner was accused of removing condoms during sex with his ex-girlfriend Lyndsey Fifield after she explicitly directed him to wear them.

Fifield had previously accused Platner in a New York Times report of physical misconduct during their relationship, saying that he sometimes grabbed her hard enough to leave marks on her body and that one time he twisted her arm around her back, pushed her into a bedroom and held the door shut until she “calmed down.”

The Platner campaign responded that Fifield’s latest allegations were “categorically false and politically motivated,” pointing to her previous work for the conservative Heritage Foundation.

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

Addressing the multiple allegations in his video announcement, a visibly angry Platner charged, “This is all false. The things that have been claimed did not happen. It is not real.”

The Marine Corps combat veteran and oyster farmer became the all-but-certain party nominee in the spring after two-term Gov. Janet Mills, who was backed by Democratic Senate Leader Chuck Schumer and the party establishment, suspended her bid after significantly trailing Platner in fundraising and polling.

But as he moved towards capturing the nomination, Platner was forced to play defense amid multiple controversies that muddied the final days of his primary campaign and overshadowed his victory.

Past inflammatory online comments made on a now-deleted Reddit account came back to haunt him at the same time he was reeling from revelations of a now covered-up tattoo on his chest that resembled a Nazi symbol. Then reports that Platner exchanged sexually explicit messages with several women while married came right before allegations from ex-girlfriends of a history of rape fantasies, heavy drinking and violent episodes.

Platner repeatedly called the allegations of violence untrue.

The mounting controversy drew plenty of attention, gave Republicans more ammunition to use against him and triggered some Democrats in the nation’s capital to question whether Platner was damaged goods.

But the allegations didn’t stop him from riding a populist wave to capture the nomination in a landslide.

SCANDAL-PLAGUED PLATNER CAPTURES DEMOCRATIC SENATE NOMINATION DESPITE MOUNTING CONTROVERSIES

Platner, who struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from his three tours in the war in Iraq with the Marines and one tour with the Army National Guard in Afghanistan, apologized for his controversial Reddit posts after some of them made headlines after he launched his Senate campaign.

In his primary night victory speech last month, Platner emphasized that he was a changed man.

“If you believe, as I do, that we can change our politics and change our country, then you must also believe that people can change,” Platner told the crowd. “And the reason I believe that is because I have lived it.”

After the latest allegations went viral last week, a growing chorus of Democrats called on Platner to quit the race, from establishment figures like Schumer to progressives among his biggest backers, including Sanders, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Mass., and Rep. Ro Khanna, Calif., who campaigned with Platner in Maine in June.

The Maine Democratic Party announced earlier this week that officials were working “around the clock” to determine a replacement process, but claimed Platner’s team was trying “to put their thumb on the scale of what this process looks like.”

Platner’s team, responding, said they had reached out to the party but denied they were trying to put any “finger on the scale.”

A day later, the state party announced it would hold a nominating convention, which Fox News Digital confirmed would likely consist of 600 voting delegates, to choose a new Senate nominee.

That didn’t appear to sit well with Platner, who in his video said, “What comes next needs to come from the people. Needs to come from the people of Maine. Needs to come from the voters who on June 9….said no to this kind of politics. Voted for a politics that would actually represent them. Vote against the political system. Against the donor class. Against the entrenched forces.”

Platner, who ran an outsider campaign, said that if he had continued his bid, he’d lose the ability to raise money and access crucial voter data, essential elements to any campaign.

“Those in power who have the ability to do so are using these allegations as an excuse to take away all the things that we need to run a campaign,” he charged.

Since Wednesday’s announcement, a slew of Democrats have jumped into the race to succeed Platner as the party’s Senate nominee.

The list includes three gubernatorial contenders who came up short in last month’s primary: progressive Troy Jackson, a former state Senate president who was also backed by Sanders; Nirav Shah, the former director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention; and Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows.

SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Collins, a moderate Republican who at times votes against President Donald Trump’s agenda, is running for a sixth six-year term in the Senate.

Republicans currently control the chamber 53-47 and flipping the Senate seat in left-leaning Maine is a key part of the Democrats’ path to retake the majority.

In a series of sweeping nationwide operations, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on Thursday arrested some of the “worst of the worst” criminal illegal aliens convicted of heinous crimes.

Among those captured was Jose Solorzano-Felix, of Mexico, who was apprehended in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Solorzano-Felix was previously convicted for the attempted murder of a federal law enforcement officer, use of a firearm during and in the commission of a felony, and being an illegal immigrant in possession of a handgun.

ICE NABS ILLEGAL ALIENS CONVICTED OF CHILD SEX CRIMES AND METH TRAFFICKING IN NATIONWIDE ENFORCEMENT SWEEP

In Santa Clara, California, ICE agents took Paulino Lugos-Perez, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, into custody following his conviction for lewd or lascivious acts with a child.

Meanwhile, in Forsyth County, North Carolina, authorities arrested Adrian Valdez-Lopez, a Mexican national convicted of second-degree forcible rape.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT SOCCER COACH WHO USED ALCOHOL AND DRUGS TO SEXUALLY ABUSE KIDS LEARNS FATE

The crackdown also targeted violent gang affiliates, resulting in the Pasadena, California, arrest of Edgar Josue Centeno, a Honduran national and member of the Latin Kings gang convicted of assault with a deadly weapon.

In Mineola, New York, agents arrested Rodolfo Umana, an illegal immigrant from El Salvador who had been convicted of burglary.

“Yesterday, the brave men and women of ICE risked their lives to arrest illegal criminal aliens convicted for attempted murder of a federal law enforcement officer, lewd or lascivious acts with a child, rape, assault with a deadly weapon, and burglary,” Department of Homeland Security (DHS) acting assistant Secretary Lauren Bis wrote in a statement.

SEE IT: ICE AGENTS PAUSE ARREST OPERATION TO SAVE WOMAN IN ROLLOVER CRASH

The arrests represent a targeted effort to remove dangerous illegal immigrants from the country, with Bis emphasizing that under President Donald Trump and DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, “ICE will continue to arrest and remove these public safety threats from our communities.”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

DHS said nearly 70% of ICE arrests are those of illegal immigrants who have already been charged or convicted of a crime in the U.S.

“Thanks to our ICE law enforcement, our communities are safer,” Bis wrote.

President Donald Trump said he has left behind instructions to strike Iran should Tehran succeed in its attempts to assassinate him.

“I’ve been on their list for a long time. That’s what we’re dealing with,” he told the New York Post on Friday. “… The only thing is, I’ve left instructions — if anything happens, to just literally bomb them at levels that they’ve never seen before.”

Trump said that Tehran has wanted him dead for some time, noting that there were no new plans to kill him amid recent reports that Israel flagged an Iranian plot to take him out, the newspaper reported.

ISRAEL SHARES INTELLIGENCE WARNING IRAN PLOTTED NEW ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT AGAINST TRUMP: REPORT

“No, no, Israel came up with nothing,” Trump said. “I’ve been No. 1 [on Iran’s kill list] for a long time, and it’s the way life is, you know.”

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

Iran has sought Trump’s assassination after he ordered a 2020 strike that took out Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani. Most recently, mourners called for his death during the funeral for Iran’s former supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

TRUMP CALLS TERRORIST IRANIAN A ‘CANCER.’ IS HE FINALLY THE ONE TO REMOVE IT?

“I swear by the blood of the Supreme Leader, Trump, we will kill you!” they shouted, with women holding up placards reading “Kill Trump.”

Domestically, Trump has been the target of assassination plots in the United States. In July 2024, a bullet grazed his ear when a shooter opened fire on him during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Meanwhile, tensions between Washington and Tehran continue to escalate after Trump called off a ceasefire after Iran fired on three ships in the Strait of Hormuz this week.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran has asked us to continue ‘talks,'” Trump wrote Friday on Truth Social. “We have agreed to do so, but the United States has stated to them, in no uncertain terms, that the Cease Fire is OVER! Thank you for your attention to this matter.”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Trump noted Iran’s ambitions to target him during a press conference this week at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey.

“They had leaders, they’re gone. Then they had another set of leaders, they’re gone,” he said. “Now they have another set of leaders — they may be gone, who knows? And you know what? I may be gone too. Because I’m their No. 1 target — it’s out all over the place. Because they’re scum.”

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum vowed to pursue “significant legal measures” against the United States after a Mexican national was fatally shot during an ICE operation in Texas.

Mexican officials counted 17 cases of Mexican nationals who have died in U.S. immigration custody, while Sheinbaum focused on Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, an illegal migrant who has lived in the United States for decades.

DHS officials claimed Araujo was the subject of an ICE arrest operation when an agent shot him in self-defense because he allegedly ignored orders and allegedly attempted to ram the agent.

ICE SAYS OFFICER SHOT AND KILLED ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT WHO TRIED TO RAM HIM WITH CAR IN HOUSTON

During Sheinbaum’s daily “Mañanera del Pueblo” press availability in Mexico City, she laid out her planned escalation of objections against U.S. immigration enforcement’s behavior.

“Our goal is to go beyond diplomatic notes and the representations we made to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. We cannot tolerate the mistreatment of our fellow citizens, our brothers and sisters, in the United States. So, we are proposing further measures,” Sheinbaum said in Spanish.

Sheinbaum said the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs will present the measures to Washington, and commented on Araujo’s death.

ICE AGENTS IN FATAL HOUSTON SHOOTING WERE NOT WEARING BODY CAMERAS, SOURCES SAY

“This occurred in the context of detention, even though their only offense was lacking documentation — and this despite having been hired by a U.S. company.”

She said the U.S. has no reason to hold people like Araujo in detention or allegedly “subject [them] to violence.”

“We are therefore preparing, obviously, more significant legal measures.”

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION PLANS NEW ICE HOLDING FACILITY NEAR LOUISIANA DEPORTATION FLIGHT HUB

On Thursday, Mexican Foreign Minister Roberto Velasco said he is requesting criminal charges be brought in connection with the 17 Mexican nationals who died in U.S. custody, according to the AP, which reported the requests will be sent to the Justice Department and various state attorneys general.

Multiple reports suggested Sheinbaum’s demands would have no legal effect in U.S. courts.

Mexico City has claimed 14 of the 17 died in custody while three have been killed during active DHS operations, according to the outlet.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Justice Department and DHS for comment. The White House directed Fox News Digital to DHS.

Araujo, 52, was reportedly transporting workers to a jobsite for a homebuilding company in the Magnolia Park section of Houston.

As critics disputed the government’s recounting of events, objections arose over the lack of bodycams on the agents on-scene.

A DHS spokesperson defended the agents, telling Fox News they had not been issued body-worn cameras because of the repercussions of the Democrat-backed agency shutdown earlier this year.

“The process of purchasing and issuing body-worn cameras to all of our ICE field offices was interrupted by the Democrats multiple government shutdowns. Body cameras have been deployed to more than half the field offices, with the remaining half to receive them in the next 60 days,” a spokesperson said, while noting a 1,300% increase in assaults against agents during the same period.

Meanwhile, advocacy group Voto Latino condemned the Araujo incident, saying that the Mexican national should still be alive.

SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER

“His story is the embodiment of what it means to seek the American Dream — the same dream that drives so many of us to call this nation home. Lorenzo called the United States home for nearly 35 years, and his family deserves immediate answers that come from a completely independent process, not from the very agency that upended their lives,” Voto Latino executive director Beatriz Lopez said in a statement, which also called for Secretary Markwayne Mullin’s resignation.

Asked about Sheinbaum’s warning, an ICE spokesperson defended the agency and the accounting of events depicting Araujo as trying to hit an agent.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

“[He] refused to follow multiple verbal commands, and weaponized his vehicle in an attempt to run over an ICE law enforcement officer resulting in our officer firing his weapon in self-defense,” the spokesperson said.

“DHS-OIG is leading an investigation into the agent-involved shooting. FBI Houston is leading an investigation into the potential assault on a federal law enforcement officer. This is a developing situation, and we will update the public when more information is available.”

Fox News’ Brooke Taylor and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

An intelligence expert warned that far-left sugar daddy Neville Roy Singham’s dark money network is a threat to national security, and said an ongoing federal grand jury probe into the China-based tech tycoon’s funding of socialist, communist and Marxist organizations is warranted.

Adam Sohn, co-founder and CEO of the Network Contagion Research Institute, said Singham’s network is funneling hundreds of millions of dollars into nonprofit political advocacy organizations, including the People’s Forum, Breakthrough news, Tri-Continental, the Party for Socialism and Liberation. Those groups are mounting highly choreographed protests across the nation over a variety of left-wing causes and issues.

“Without his money, these nonprofits have no reason for existence,” Sohn said. “I think Americans are seeing what this ecosystem looks like in the streets of our country. These aren’t protests, it’s coordinated chaos and attacks on infrastructure.”

CRUZ PUSHES BILL TO HOLD TAX-EXEMPT SPONSORS ACCOUNTABLE AS DOJ PROBES SINGHAM NETWORK

Singham, a 72-year-old Marxist who sold his tech company for $800 million in 2017 and now lives in Shanghai, is known to fund pro-Chinese Communist Party groups that operate in the U.S. He has funneled $278 million into the broad network of nonprofits since 2017, according to a Fox News Digital investigation. These groups regularly organize and participate in anti-ICE, anti-Israel and pro-Iran demonstrations.

Fox News Digital reported last week that Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche authorized a grand jury in Manhattan to issue subpoenas as part of a probe of Singham’s financial network. The investigation was launched by U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton for the Southern District of New York, one of the country’s most powerful districts for federal prosecutions.

Singham hasn’t responded to repeated requests for comment from Fox News Digital.

Nonprofits in Singham’s network mobilize agitators across the country to engage in demonstrations, including some which have resulted in clashes between federal and local law enforcement.

PROBE INTO ‘SUBVERSIVE’ ANTI-AI SINGHAM NETWORK IS ‘ENORMOUS,’ FORMER TREASURY ADVISOR SAYS

Sohn said Singham’s network has also fought against the building of data centers and the advancement of artificial intelligence in the U.S. While environmental concerns are usually cited by opponents of the data centers, proponents say blocking them could put the U.S. behind China in the AI race.

Researchers at the Bitcoin Policy Institute released a report last week that said an estimated $23.6 billion in proposed AI and data center investment has been delayed, scaled back or blocked in campaigns where the Party for Socialism and Liberation served as “a critical mobilizer.”

Sohn said his organization has provided information to the Southern District of New York surrounding the foreign-backed influence on U.S. AI policy.

CHINA’S IRAN TIES COMPLICATE TRUMP-XI SUMMIT AS TENSIONS TEST US LEVERAGE

“They’re functioning as unregistered foreign agents, [with] ties to Venezuela, ties to Iran, North Korea, Russia, Cuba,” Sohn said. “This same organizing muscle that’s been shutting down bridges, shutting down airports, attacking police officers, they’re now redeployed onto the artificial intelligence the United States is trying to engage in with China and other countries.”

Sohn alleged that his organization “had some recent data that shows that Iranian operatives are formally partnered with the Singham networks,” though Fox News Digital was unable to independently verify the claim.

The federal grand jury probe of Singham is part of a slew of investigations that includes ones launched by Congressional committees and top lawmakers in Washington D.C.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent met with Goldman Sachs Chairman and CEO David Solomon in New York earlier this year, where, according to sources familiar with the meeting, he pressed the bank to assist the Justice Department’s investigation into Singham’s financial network.

During the meeting, Bessent warned that Goldman Sachs itself could come under scrutiny over its alleged role in facilitating the movement of Singham’s funds and encouraged Solomon to fully cooperate with federal investigators.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

A source familiar with the meeting told Fox News Digital that the discussion was cordial, not contentious, and that Solomon expressed a willingness to aid the Justice Department’s investigation.

“All distributions from Mr. Singham’s donor-advised fund were made to legally recognized nonprofit organizations, as determined by the IRS, a Goldman Sachs spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “No distributions have been made from the account since August 2023, and it was closed in early 2024.”

President Donald Trump on Friday said he will not sign a bipartisan housing bill passed by Congress in protest over the failure of lawmakers to bring the SAVE Act over the finish line.

Meanwhile, the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, which is intended to lower the costs of housing and spur more home construction, is slated to become law Saturday unless Trump vetoes the legislation.

“I will not sign the Housing Bill, which has been fully approved by Congress and sent to the White House, in PROTEST over the fact that the United States Senate is not capable of passing THE SAVE AMERICA ACT,” Trump posted on social media.

TRUMP HOLDS WASHINGTON HOSTAGE OVER SAVE ACT AS MIDTERM CLOCK TICKS ON GOP CONTROL

The SAVE America Act, which would introduce new measures to prevent noncitizens from voting in federal elections, doesn’t have enough Republican support to pass.

Trump has repeatedly pushed Republicans to make it a top legislative priority ahead of the midterm elections in November.

“THE SAVE AMERICA ACT’S non-passage is CRAZY, and a serious threat to any politician who votes against it!” Trump wrote. He also said the non-passage of the bill is a “serious threat” to any politician who opposes it.

CONGRESS EYES RARE BIPARTISAN HOUSING WIN WITH OR WITHOUT TRUMP’S HELP

Under the U.S. Constitution, a president has 10 days to sign a bill upon receiving it, so it becomes law as if the legislation is signed.

Trump’s post came a week after he canceled plans to sign the bipartisan legislation, announcing he was using it as leverage in his push for the strict voter ID bill.

Last month, he called the housing bill “a yawn” and “so unimportant” compared to legislation that would require proof of citizenship for all voters.

AMERICA’S HOUSING MARKET COULD RUN OUT OF SOMETHING MORE IMPORTANT THAN HOMES

“Millions of Americans are being crushed by housing costs,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., posted Friday on X. “Donald Trump called their crisis ‘a big yawn’ — then refused to sign the most significant bipartisan housing bill in decades. His priorities couldn’t be clearer: higher costs for families and more power for himself.”

“Republicans would rather make it harder to vote than easier to afford a home. When people show you who they are, believe them,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., wrote in an X post in response to Trump.

Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., wrote on X that “the rising cost of mortgages and rent are hitting Americans hard. Yet Trump refuses to act.”

The White House referred Fox News Digital to Trump’s social media post when asked for comment.

Trump’s remarks came a day after the National Association of Realtors reported that the median price for a home has reached an all-time high.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

The median price for a home sold in June was $440,600, a 1.8% increase from a year ago, the report states.

“Even so, affordability is better than a year ago because wage growth is outpacing home price growth,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun.

“However, progress on long-term housing affordability could be hampered if inventory growth continues to stall,” Yun added. “Without consistent gains in inventory, home prices can accelerate. It is critical to introduce more supply to the market to widen the opportunity for homeownership.”

Mitt Romney, a former Massachusetts governor and former U.S. senator from Utah who will turn 80 years old next year, opined that he thinks individuals 80 and older should not be at the nation’s helm.

He made the comments during an interview on “Deseret Voices” after host McKay Coppins jokingly asked Romney whether he will run for president in 2028.

Romney indicated he “would love” to run again, adding “and this time I might get it right. You know, third time’s a charm.”

CASSIDY PRIMARY DEFEAT IS A ‘LOSS FOR THE COUNTRY,’ ROMNEY SAYS

Coppins said “80 isn’t what it used to be.”

Romney referred to “The Body,” saying the book’s author Bill Bryson “points out that the human brain shrinks by 20% by the time you’re 80 years of age.”

Romney noted, “I basically think people who are 80 and above really should not be, uh, running the world or running the country.”

WHITE HOUSE FIRES BACK AFTER ‘SLOB’ JB PRITZKER SAYS TRUMP IS SUFFERING FROM ‘DEMENTIA’

Romney sought the GOP presidential nod in 2008, but ultimately dropped out. He later clinched the Republican presidential nomination in 2012, but lost the general election that year to incumbent Democratic President Barack Obama.

President Donald Trump just turned 80 last month.

Former President Joe Biden, who was 82 when he left office last year, was the oldest person ever to serve in the U.S. presidency.

DONALD TRUMP’S AGE IS NOT RECEIVING THE SAME ‘SCRUTINY’ AS BIDEN’S DID, ATLANTIC WRITER COMPLAINS

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Trump, who would also be an even older 82 by the end of his current term, is on track to become the oldest man ever to serve in the presidency.

FIRST ON FOX — The Trump administration announced on Friday that 10 additional companies will put a “Product of USA” label on their meat and poultry products that originate from farms and ranches in the United States.

This push began earlier this year as a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) initiative aimed at making it easier for consumers to know whether they are supporting American meat producers at the grocery store.

“President Trump has made it clear that when American families buy American products, they should know exactly what they’re getting,” Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said in a statement first obtained by Fox News Digital. “The Product of USA label gives consumers confidence that the meat, poultry, and egg products they purchase come from animals born, raised, harvested, and processed right here in the United States.”

STEVE MOORE: POLITICIANS ARE BLAMING THE WRONG VILLAIN FOR AMERICA’S RISING FOOD PRICES

The USDA finalized the updated standard of what qualifies as American meat in 2024, marking a shift from past labeling rules that critics said allowed some imported meat to say it was U.S.-made as long as it was merely processed domestically.

Rollins added that as more companies adopt the voluntary label, independent ranchers, family farmers, and small- and mid-sized meat processors will begin to reap the benefits.

“USDA will continue working every day to strengthen domestic food production and ensure American agriculture remains the strongest in the world,” Rollins added.

The 10 new companies adopting the “Product of USA” label include Harris Ranch and One World Beef, both based in California; Upper Iowa Beef; American Foods Group; Agri Beef in Idaho; FPL Food in Georgia; Hadrick Farms in South Dakota; Fort Worth Meat Packers in Texas; Wholestone Farms in Nebraska; and Harrison’s Poultry in Illinois.

STEVE FORBES: CHUCK SCHUMER HAS A BEEF WITH BEEF, BUT DOESN’T EVEN KNOW HOW TO GRILL IT

Juan Ramos, founder and CEO of Fort Worth Meats, said in a statement that the origin of food “should never be a mystery.”

“Consumers deserve labels they can trust, U.S. producers deserve recognition for what they produce, and every meat product should be represented honestly for what it is,” Ramos said.

Eric Brandt, the president of One World Beef, thanked the USDA for strengthening transparency and “helping preserve the future of independent ranching for generations to come.”

SECRETARY ROLLINS DISCUSSES US AGRICULTURE’S ROLE IN IRAN PLAN

“Working from pasture to package gives us a unique appreciation for the responsibility behind every label. Honest representation honors the work of producers and gives consumers the confidence to know exactly what they’re buying,” Kyle Zimmerman, co-president and co-owner of Harrisons Poultry, said.

According to the USDA website, thousands of American producers already display the “Product of USA” label.

Last month, the USDA announced another new initiative called the Strengthening Processing for U.S. Ranchers Program.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

The program will provide up to $500 million to help eligible small- and mid-sized beef processors to expand their domestic operations.

To be eligible, companies need to be U.S.-owned firms under federal inspection, according to the USDA. They also cannot hold a dominant position in the beef processing market.

Fox News Digital’s Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.