NationalWatch

More than a dozen New York sheriffs are suing over a state law prohibiting law enforcement from entering into or maintaining certain agreements with ICE for civil immigration enforcement, as Gov. Kathy Hochul dared the agency heads to “bring it on.”

A federal lawsuit led by Rensselaer County Sheriff Kyle Bourgault argues that the law is unconstitutional and unlawfully restricts elected sheriffs’ ability to enter into federally authorized immigration-enforcement agreements.

“Today, Kathy Hochul escalated her administration’s war on the police and she expanded polices to put criminals before the citizens of New York,” Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin said on Tuesday.

The Local Cops, Local Crimes Act, which Hochul signed in May, took effect on Tuesday, barring local and state law enforcement agencies from entering into partnerships with federal authorities to assist on civil immigration matters. The law also bars new agreements to house civil immigration detainees; existing detention agreements must be terminated under their applicable termination provisions within three months of the law’s effective date.

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Police may still assist ICE in cases of violent or other forms of non-immigration crime, but officers may not divert local resources to help with civil immigration enforcement as part of an effort to advance President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda.

Hochul threatened to sue localities that refuse to end cooperation agreements with ICE, setting up a confrontation between herself and her Republican challenger, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, as his county is among those with agreements with ICE.

“No county executive should think that they are above the law in the state of New York,” Hochul said at a press conference on Tuesday.

She said any police department or sheriff’s office that ignores the law and maintains an agreement with ICE will face legal action.

“And to those suing us, those trying to block the implementation of this law who’ve tried before and failed, our law has already been upheld by the courts, but if you try me again, I say, bring it on,” the governor declared.

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New York Attorney General Letitia James also issued subpoenas to law enforcement agencies that either did not confirm plans to end their agreements or failed to provide what her office viewed as a satisfactory response. The subpoenas were sent to the sheriff’s offices of Broome, Steuben, Nassau and Rensselaer counties, as well as the Nassau County Police Department.

If the agencies fail to comply, the attorney general is vowing to file a civil suit, a spokesperson for her office told CBS News.

Hochul has said law enforcement will assist ICE “only if a real crime has been committed” but officers cannot use resources to help on civil immigration matters.

“Because we need local cops hunting down criminals, not kindergartners. Breaking up drug rings, not breaking up families. Arresting gun runners, not grandmas,” Hochul said.

Blakeman, who held a press conference at the same time as Hochul’s, did not address whether he would comply with the state’s orders, but he later told the New York Post he would “probably” join the sheriffs’ lawsuit.

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He has previously defended working with ICE to remove illegal immigrants, claiming at a recent event with Trump that about 2,000 of these individuals in his county have criminal records.

“Kathy Hochul, where do you want those guns? What neighborhood do you want to destroy? Where do you want those drugs? What community do you want to destroy? Where do you want those illegal immigrants with criminal records to live? You want it back in New York? We say no,” Blakeman said at the time.

The Department of Homeland Security said Hochul “must stop putting politics above public safety.”

“This type of insanity leads to more crimes and more innocent victims,” a department spokesperson told the New York Post.

Mike Mazzei, a former Oklahoma state senator and financial planner, won a primary election runoff on Tuesday evening with the backing of President Donald Trump to secure the GOP nomination for governor in Oklahoma.

Having beaten out Genter Drummond, the current Oklahoma attorney general, Mazzei is now the heavy favorite to become the Sooner State’s next governor. His win is also a political victory for outgoing Gov. Kevin Stitt, who has opposed Drummond for years.

Stitt and Drummond have sparred over lawsuits, pointed letters and public criticisms. At one point, Stitt even described Drummond as a “longtime political enemy” in a quote to local outlets.

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The feud between them centers on Drummond’s attacks of Oklahoma poultry companies for what he sees as decades of phosphorus pollution in water supplies. Stitt has rebuffed those characterizations, calling them an overreach of Drummond’s role as attorney general and warning that litigation against the companies could threaten jobs and the agricultural industry of the state.

Stitt endorsed Mazzei, stating that “we want a pro-business governor in there to take the lead for the next four years.”

Stitt is prevented by term limits from running again. His exit prompted a crowded field of hopefuls to replace him, but after an initial primary on June 2, no candidate secured the 50% support needed to lock up the nomination outright.

Only Drummond and Mazzei advanced to a runoff.

Like Stitt, President Donald Trump also endorsed Mazzei, calling him a “MAGA warrior.”

“As a successful Businessman, and former Chairman of the State Senate Finance Committee, and later, as Oklahoma’s Secretary of Budget, Mike knows the AMERICA FIRST Policies required to Grow our Economy, Create GREAT Jobs, Cut Taxes and Regulations, Promote MADE IN THE U.S.A., and Unleash American Energy DOMINANCE,” Trump wrote in a May post to Truth Social.

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Mazzei based his campaign on promises to cut taxes, among other state-government reforms.

“I have a detailed plan to eliminate Oklahoma’s income tax in six years. I have a plan to eliminate property taxes for seniors and veterans,” Mazzei said in a campaign video posted to Instagram.

In addition to tax reforms, Mazzei highlighted preventing foreign nationals from buying up state land, bolstering the Oklahoma education system and government spending accountability.

In turn, Mazzei tried to paint Drummond as a fake Republican with a penchant for expanding government.

“His solution to every problem is to raise taxes and grow government,” Mazzei said.

“He doesn’t understand money and finance. Crunching numbers is a skill you pick up when you earn your wealth rather than inherit it.”

In his own campaign, Drummond, a multigenerational rancher and former fighter pilot, highlighted his record as attorney general. On his website, he touted having confronted Chinese criminal operations growing illegal marijuana farms, shutting down thousands of their illegal grow operations and enforcing immigration law.

“As a tough-on-crime attorney general and decorated fighter pilot, I have proven I will always fight for our freedom and defend our values,” Drummond said in a campaign video.

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“I’ll keep standing strong with President Trump to secure the border, deport illegals and stop the flow of drugs and crime,” Drummond said.

The Club for Growth, a pro-small-government group that advocates for lower taxes and free-market principles and contributed $9 million in support of Mazzei, praised his win.

“Mike Mazzei is a principled conservative who will advocate for lower taxes, fewer regulations, and for Oklahoma parents to have a voice in their children’s education,” Club for Growth PAC President David McIntosh said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

“Meanwhile, Gentner Drummond has spent his career putting radical education bureaucrats ahead of families by opposing school freedom. The message is clear, if you oppose school freedom and call yourself a Republican, expect to lose your next primary.”

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Having cleared the primary, Mazzei will face off against Democratic nominee Cyndi Munson, House minority leader in the Oklahoma House of Representatives. The general election is set for Nov. 3.

Dolly Parton spent decades singing about love, heartbreak, faith and working “9 to 5,” but there was one arena the country music legend repeatedly resisted entering: partisan politics.

“I am not political, and I refuse to get caught up in political things,” Parton told USA Today in a 2020 interview.

Parton, who died Tuesday at 80, maintained that position through the presidential elections, pointed questions about President Donald Trump, offers of the nation’s highest civilian honor and controversies involving some of her fellow entertainers.

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“I don’t like to get involved in politics, because first of all, I have as many Republican fans as I do Democrats,” Parton told USA Today. “I don’t want to offend anybody, I have a right to myself.”

“Like God gave us free will, America gave us free speech, but you’ve got to be responsible for anything you say and do,” she added.

Two years earlier, Parton was repeatedly pressed about Trump during an interview with ABC’s David Wright, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel.

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“I have a lot of fans out there, and I don’t want to offend anybody,” Parton said.

When Wright attempted to draw a parallel between Trump and the sexually abusive boss in Parton’s 1980 film “9 to 5,” she refused to bite.

“I’m not addressing that,” Parton said. “I learned a long time ago, keep your damn mouth shut if you want to stay in show business. … I’m not in politics, I’m an entertainer.”

When Wright pointed out that Parton was also a role model, she responded: “Yes I am. That’s why I don’t talk about people.”

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Parton’s determination to avoid partisan politics with one of America’s highest honors.

She revealed in 2021 that the Trump administration had twice offered her the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Parton said she declined the first offer because her husband, Carl Dean, was ill and the second because she would not travel during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the BBC.

By then, the Biden administration had also approached her about the award. “Now I feel like if I take it, it’ll be doing politics, so I’m not so sure,” Parton told NBC’s “Today.”

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Her aversion to political camps did not mean she kept quiet about everything she believed.

“I know whatever I say, people are going to listen, and they’re going to make more of it than maybe what I meant. So I have to be careful,” Parton told People in 2021. “Of course I have my opinion, but I’m not an opinionated person as a rule. You’re allowed your own beliefs and your own faith, but you don’t have to use it like a weapon when it could be a tool.”

Parton’s political neutrality was something she could joke about.

“My daddy was a Republican, my mama was a Democrat, and I’m a hypocrite!” Parton famously quipped, pronouncing ‘hypocrite’ as ‘hypo-crat’ in her iconic Tennessee drawl.

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Parton’s philosophy was tested again when she recorded a duet with Kid Rock for her 2023 album, “Rockstar.”

Parton defended working with the conservative musician after she was questioned about the collaboration, telling The Hollywood Reporter that she had recorded the song before a controversy involving Kid Rock but would likely have worked with him anyway, according to Rolling Stone.

“Hey, just because I love you don’t mean I don’t love Kid Rock. Just because I love Kid Rock don’t mean I don’t love you,” Parton said. “I don’t condemn or criticize. I just accept and love.”

Parton said she still would “probably” have recorded the duet because she considered Kid Rock talented and believed accepting someone did not require agreeing with everything they did.

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“I think that’s terrible,” Parton said, according to Rolling Stone. “We all make mistakes. We don’t all get caught at it.”

Parton tied that belief to her Christian faith, arguing that people deserved forgiveness and second chances.

“I ask God every day to let Him shine through me. He’s given me that gift to be able to talk to them, and I’m very careful with it. And people don’t really come to see me be me — they come to see me be them, the parts of me they can relate to,” she told People in 2021.

During the 2016 presidential campaign, Parton clarified that she had not endorsed Hillary Clinton after comments she made about the Democratic nominee were interpreted as an endorsement, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel.

Asked later about the race between Clinton and Trump, Parton jokingly called the campaign “the greatest show on television,” and described both candidates as “nuts.”

Even running for president herself wasn’t entertained by the iconic entertainer for a moment.

“No. I don’t think anybody could actually do a great job at that,” Parton told Metro in 2023, according to People. “I think we’ve had enough ‘boobs’ in the White House.”

Parton said she preferred trying to make a difference through music and the way she treated others.

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“I’m not smart enough to be in politics, or maybe I’m too smart,” she said. “Either way, I’m not qualified for that type of a job. But I’m pretty qualified to do what I do, which is to point people in the right direction, to write about it in songs or speak about things.”

Parton died after a “brief battle with cancer,” according to her representatives. At her request, a small, private service will be held for her immediate family, with the family asking for donations to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library rather than flowers.

A powerful name and an endorsement from President Donald Trump proved more than enough to score an unlikely candidate a win in the latest runoff election in South Carolina.

Sen. Darline Graham, R-S.C., toppled Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., in a whirlwind race to replace her brother, the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, as the GOP nominee for the Senate after his sudden death in July.

Just a little over a month after his death at 71 years old, South Carolinians opted to stick with a familiar name in Graham, who despite having little political experience prior to her appointment to finish out the remainder of her brother’s term, scored Trump’s coveted endorsement.

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Though her appointment by South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster was viewed as temporary, Trump pushed her to run beyond the five months left in her brother’s term.

“Darline is somebody I’ve known for a long time,” Trump said during a rally for her in Myrtle Beach last week. “I asked her to do this. I said, ‘Darline, you got to do it,’ because everyone loves her. Everyone respects her.”

“So I’ve known her through Lindsey — I’ve known her for so long,” he continued. “I think Lindsey respected Darline more than any other person he knows, including me.”

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And Trump sent in last-minute financial reinforcements to help her, following a gaffe during her final debate with Norman when she admitted that she had little knowledge of the strategic importance of Taiwan.

Graham has styled herself as a much different politician than her brother, focused more on domestic issues than foreign.

Trump’s mammoth, $400 million campaign war chest through MAGA Inc., which has largely been untapped this cycle despite a handful of Senate races shifting in power dynamics across the country, dumped over $800,000 into a phone campaign in support of Graham over the weekend, according to campaign finance records.

While Graham styled herself as a more home front than abroad focused candidate, she made one thing clear through debates and limited campaign time: a vote for her was a vote for the Trump agenda.

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She targeted Norman for bucking House Republican leadership, and, at times, Trump, but noted, “We already have enough problem Democrats, we don’t need a problem Republican.”

And though she’s only been in the Senate for a handful of weeks, Graham argued to voters that she’d done more than Norman had in his entire congressional career, touting the passage of the long-awaited bipartisan Russia sanctions package initially pushed by her brother, but at times slowed by the White House.

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“I was in Washington for only two weeks before I passed the Russia and Iran Sanctions Act through the Senate,” Graham said. “I then passed the deciding vote to confirm President Trump’s attorney general, Todd Blanche.”

“Simply put, I’ve done more in 20 days than Ralph Norman has done in 20 years.”

President Donald Trump ordered American flags lowered across the United States for one week Tuesday, as he mourned the death of country music icon Dolly Parton, telling the legendary singer, “The World loves you.”

Parton died peacefully Tuesday in Nashville, Tennessee, according to an announcement shared by her representatives. She was 80.

“Very sad to report that Dolly Parton, one of the greatest Country singers, and far beyond, EVER, has just passed away,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “This is a true loss for millions of people. There has never been anyone like her, and never will.”

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Trump then announced a presidential tribute to Parton.

“In her honor, I am lowering the American flag throughout the United States for a one week period beginning tonight at 6:00PM,” Trump wrote. “Rest in Peace, Dolly! The World loves you.”

Trump’s tribute came as Parton’s family and representatives remembered a woman whose influence stretched far beyond the country music stages that made her famous.

“A rhinestone life that shone bright enough for the world to see, Dolly will forever stand as an inspiration not only through her timeless music and prolific songwriting, but also her wit, warmth, and kindness that made us all feel like family,” the announcement said. “Dolly Parton’s legacy is one of love, compassion, and resilience.”

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Parton, born Jan. 19, 1946, had a seven-decade career spanning music, songwriting, acting, writing and philanthropy.

She was preceded in death by her husband of 59 years, Carl Thomas Dean, who died in 2025, as well as her mother, Avie Lee Caroline Owens, and father, Robert Lee Parton Sr., according to the announcement.

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At Parton’s request, a small, private service will be held for immediate family. Fans and friends were encouraged to pay tribute on social media or through Parton’s official website.

In lieu of flowers, the family asked for donations to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.

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Parton’s nephew and head of security, Bryan Seaver, also shared a video message following her death.

Tributes quickly poured in from Tennessee and across the country.

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“There are no words to adequately express the sorrow our family and indeed, all Tennesseans, feel in the loss of Dolly Parton,” Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., wrote on X. “An iconic leader who loved our great state and nation. Her passing leaves a void that no one can ever fill. Dolly, we will always love you.”

House Republicans called Parton “an American icon” and “a national treasure,” praising her as “a legendary artist, a generous philanthropist, and a proud daughter of Tennessee whose music and spirit touched generations of Americans.”

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Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., remembered Parton as “an incredible East Tennessean” who “never changed her accent or forgot where she came from.”

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced his state would also lower its flags in Parton’s honor.

“So sad to lose this legend,” Abbott wrote on X. “Texas will lower our flags in her honor. God Bless Dolly.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said “America has lost a true national treasure,” pointing to Parton’s Tennessee roots, worldwide success and philanthropy.

“Dolly Parton’s unmistakable voice, joyful spirit, and remarkable generosity touched generations of Americans and many others around the world,” Johnson wrote. “From the mountains of Tennessee to stages across the globe, she never forgot where she came from, and she used her extraordinary success to lift up countless others.”

The Department of the Interior paid tribute to Parton’s deep connection to her Tennessee roots and the Great Smoky Mountains.

“Dolly Parton carried the music, stories and spirit of her Tennessee mountain home wherever she went,” the department said. “She was a lifelong champion of the Great Smoky Mountains and proudly shared her love for them with the world.”

The Franklin Police Department also mourned the singer, saying her “roots and heart were always deeply connected to Tennessee.”

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Parton’s family said the music and generosity that defined her extraordinary life would endure.

“Her songs will continue to resonate with people of all ages,” the announcement said, “and her philanthropic work will have a lasting impact.”

Georgia secured a major victory Tuesday in its long-running redistricting battle after a federal appeals court overturned a lower court ruling that the state’s 2021 maps violated the Voting Rights Act, sending the case back for a complete re-evaluation.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the lower court must determine whether there was a “strong inference” that the maps were intentionally drawn to dilute Black voting power, rather than simply finding that the maps had a discriminatory effect under permissible partisan gerrymandering.

The decision follows a major Supreme Court ruling in a similar Louisiana case that significantly modified the legal framework for determining racial discrimination in redistricting. The high court said plaintiffs must provide evidence of “present-day intentional racial discrimination.”

“Plaintiffs must be able to show that voters are engaged in racial-bloc voting because of race, not partisan affiliation,” the ruling stated.

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In 2023, a federal judge ruled that Georgia’s congressional and state legislative maps drawn after the 2020 census violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and issued a permanent injunction barring Georgia from using the maps in future elections.

The lower court specifically ordered the state to create additional majority-Black districts across the state Senate, state House of Representatives and U.S. congressional districts.

Meanwhile, a similar redistricting battle was unfolding in Louisiana, where Robinson v. Ardoin challenged the state’s congressional map, which initially included just one majority-Black district out of six.

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A federal court later ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, ordering Louisiana to create a second majority-Black district after finding that the original map violated the Voting Rights Act.

However, a group of non-minority voters later challenged the new map, arguing that the newly created district amounted to racial gerrymandering and violated the 14th and 15th Amendments.

In the second lawsuit, Louisiana v. Callais, the Supreme Court ultimately upheld the constitutionality of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act while clarifying how courts should evaluate claims of racial discrimination in redistricting. The ruling emphasized the need for evidence supporting a “strong inference” of intentional discrimination, rather than relying solely on the effects of a map.

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The decision also altered the legal framework federal courts have used for decades to evaluate racial vote-dilution claims. Established in the Supreme Court’s 1986 ruling in Thornburg v. Gingles, the Gingles framework generally did not require plaintiffs to prove that lawmakers acted with racial intent and instead focused on whether a voting system had discriminatory effects.

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The Georgia case will now return to the district court for reconsideration under the Supreme Court’s framework established in Louisiana v. Callais.

A Clinton-appointed judge in Ohio is blocking the implementation of an Ohio law that requires voting registrants to provide photo ID proof of their citizenship before enrollment.

In a decision delivered on Tuesday, Judge Solomon Oliver Jr. stayed the law, citing what he saw as a conflict with federal requirements.

“The court grants plaintiff’s motion for preliminary injunction … from relying on House Bill 54’s amendment to require any driver’s license or renewal to produce documentary proof of citizenship before offering the opportunity to register to vote,” Oliver wrote.

The decision is just the latest development in the national debate over state-level voting requirements designed to prevent non-citizens from participating in U.S. elections — and how far those requirements can go without overarching federal reforms. 

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Most immediately, the decision means that voter registrants in Ohio can once again enroll without a passport, a current driver’s license, a certification of naturalization, or a birth certificate.

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose announced on Tuesday that his office plans to appeal the decision.

“We strongly disagree with that decision, and I’ve asked our legal team to file an immediate appeal. I will vigorously defend our legal authority to safeguard our voter rolls and protect the integrity of Ohio’s elections,” LaRose said in a statement.

In the case of Red Wine & Blue v. the Ohio Secretary of State, the court was asked to weigh whether requirements under the new Ohio law conflict with the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), also known as the “Motor Voter Act.”

That law, passed in 1993 under the Clinton administration, instructs states to give voters the opportunity to register to vote using the same information they use when applying for a driver’s license. The bill was originally intended to increase voter participation.

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It states that “the voter registration application portion … for a driver’s license may not require any information that duplicates information required in the driver’s license portion of the form.”

Notably, the NVRA doesn’t explicitly prohibit states from requiring proof of citizenship. But because virtually all driver’s license forms ask about citizenship status, Oliver believes further proof amounts to redundancy.

He laid out his view in Tuesday’s decision.

“As the rest of Ohio’s voter registration scheme demonstrates, election officials do not need documentary proof of citizenship to assess a voter registration applicant’s citizenship because signed attestation of citizenship is enough,” Oliver wrote.

LaRose, the secretary of state, disagreed. He cited instances of known voter fraud that have escaped detection because of the current enforcement mechanisms.

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“Earlier this year, an Ohio woman admitted to voting illegally as a lawful permanent resident in 2018 because, according to the judge in the case, ‘a [Bureau of Motor Vehicles] clerk, a government official, told her to register.’ The court found her not guilty by reason of entrapment. The judge specifically noted that the voter admitted she knew she was not a citizen when she voted, but he found that the BMV employee misled her into violating the law by implying she was eligible to vote.”

“The Franklin County case proves it’s not enough to just have a person’s attestation,” LaRose added. “Ohio has a constitutional requirement to ensure that only U.S. citizens are voting in our elections.”

California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced plans to sue the Trump administration over its push to restrict mail-in voting after the Supreme Court allowed the administration to enforce challenged provisions of President Donald Trump’s executive order for “election integrity” while litigation continues.

The announcement sets up the next phase of the legal fight after the Supreme Court (SCOTUS) ruled 6-3 in favor of the Trump administration Monday, lifting an injunction that had blocked the order in 23 states ahead of November’s midterm elections.

SCOTUS stressed that its decision addressed the injunction rather than the ultimate legality of the order, leaving the door open to additional challenges.

Newsom criticized the decision in a statement released by his office.

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“The Supreme Court just let the Trump administration move ahead (for now) with its plan to disenfranchise voters across the country,” Newsom said. “California will be suing AGAIN to block these Orwellian rules from being implemented.”

Newsom’s office also highlighted two election-related bills moving through the California Legislature that the governor says would protect the state’s elections from interference.

According to the governor’s office, AB 282 would establish new felonies involving the seizure of ballots, election records or certified voting technology before election results are certified. SB 259 would establish criminal penalties for interfering with the delivery or return of mail-in ballots, including a felony carrying up to four years in prison in certain cases.

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The governor’s office described the measures as an “Election Protection” package and said they build on election-related legislation Newsom signed earlier this summer.

The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) and Department of Justice said they would move to implement the revised mail-ballot restrictions following Monday’s ruling.

Trump’s executive order directs federal agencies to compile citizenship-based lists of eligible voters and directs the USPS to deliver mail-in ballots only to people appearing on approved lists.

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In explaining its decision, the Supreme Court concluded that the challenged provision directing the Department of Homeland Security to create and distribute state citizenship lists imposed obligations on federal agencies rather than the states themselves.

The court wrote:

“[It] directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to take appropriate action to create and distribute State Citizenship Lists. This provision is an internal directive from the President to a subordinate. It imposes no obligations on the States, so they ‘suffer no concrete harm from’ it, and without concrete harm, there is no standing.”

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Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented.

A representative for Newsom did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

The U.S. Secret Service said it was aware of a video aired on Iranian state media threatening President Trump’s youngest son, Barron Trump.

“The U.S. Secret Service is aware of the video and investigates anything that can be perceived as a threat toward our protectees,” Nate Herring, a Secret Service spokesperson, told Fox News Digital.

“Out of concern for operational security, we do not discuss matters of protective intelligence,” Herring added.

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The video depicts locations associated with the younger Trump’s whereabouts. It ends with a suggested $10 million reward for his location.

Iranian state media has aired content on multiple occasions threatening Trump and his family following the assassination of Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, which came at the start of the war between the United States and Iran, as well as the U.S. airstrike that killed Iranian General Qasem Soleimani in 2020.

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“I don’t think it’s any secret, it’s been in the media, that Iran has publicly said they want to kill President Trump,” Deputy Director of the U.S. Secret Service Matt Quinn told reporters at an event last month.

The video came amid threats from the Trump administration to nations that fail to sever their economic ties with Tehran and an ongoing naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

In July, Trump secretly switched planes from Air Force One to another aircraft in Turkey via a catering truck due to a credible Iranian surface-to-air missile threat.

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The White House referred any questions about the matter to the Secret Service.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker showed off his swagger in a tongue-in-cheek social media video Monday, prompting a wave of mockery from critics online.

The video, recorded in black and white and notching more than 1 million views, features Pritzker making a variety of model-like expressions at the camera behind a caption that reads “when you’re in an aura-farming contest and your opponent in JB.” Aura-farming is a common piece of slang used to describe the taking of certain actions with the explicit goal of acquiring swag.

Many social media users did not agree with Pritzker’s assessment of himself.

PROGRESSIVE MINNEAPOLIS MAYOR’S VIRAL HIP-HOP MOVES SPARK ‘HUMILIATION RITUAL’ MOCKERY ONLINE

“Only thing bigger than the ratio this tweet is getting is…well,” White House deputy assistant to the president Kaelan Dorr posted in response to the video.

“Pritzker is kind of a medical marvel,” conservative commentator Matt Walsh wrote. “He looks gaunt and frail from Ozempic and also still morbidly obese at the exact same time. He’s taking the concept of ‘skinny fat’ to places never thought possible.”

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

Pritzker wrote the phrase “governor-maxxing” alongside his video on X. “Maxxing” as a suffix denotes that someone is doing something in a highly optimized way. “Looks-maxxing,” for instance, refers to the act of taking one’s appearance, physical fitness, and demeanor seriously as to maximize attractiveness.

Some on social media used the governor’s phrasing to poke fun at him.

Brian Costin, who is a high-level staffer at a right-of-center advocacy group in Illinois, accused Pritzker of “property-tax-maxxing,” “state-and-local-tax-burden-maxxing,” “cell-phone-tax-maxxing,” “gas-tax-hike-maxxing,” and “blaming-everyone-else-maxxing,” among other things.

Others focused on his weight, claiming that Pritzker was “buffet-maxxing” or “waistline-maxxing.”

REPUBLICANS RIP 4 BLUE STATES FOR KEEPING TAXES ON TIPS, OVERTIME AFTER TRUMP REPRIEVE

“When you’re a grown nepo-kid and believe you’re as impressive as the people you’re paying say you are,” Fox Business anchor David Asman said of Pritzker, whose father, Donald Pritzker, helped build the Hyatt hotel chain with his brother Jay.

Pritzker has a history of making widely mocked social media posts, including his frequent attempts to spar with the president.

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“Might be the cringiest thing he’s ever posted, and that is saying a lot,” RealClearPolitics president Tom Bevan wrote.

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

Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., a self-described moderate, is facing political headwinds in the race for the newly-redrawn 25th Congressional District in South Florida, as Republican nominee Scott Singer sees a path to pick up a House seat in a narrowly divided Congress.

“We’re going to be very prepared to go flip this seat – it is a key targeted seat,” Singer told Fox News Digital in an interview Monday.

“This is a key district that may determine the balance of power in the House.”

FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS: DEMOCRATS LEAD IN THE HOUSE, BUT REDISTRICTING KEEPS THE GOP IN THE GAME

The race is drawing national attention and, potentially, big Democratic dollars to defend the seat in Democrats’ pursuit of the majority to attack what House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries just called the “cartel” of President Donald Trump.

“A lot of people in this district and beyond understand what’s at stake here,” Singer, former Boca Raton mayor, said.

Moskowitz, currently seated in the more Democratic-friendly 23rd District, is – like Singer – Jewish and pro-Israel, but he will have to navigate a tougher Republican-friendly map and fend off the “anti-Israel wing” of the Democratic Party, according to to Singer.

FLORIDA DEMOCRAT SENDS ‘CONDOLENCES’ TO HASAN PIKER AFTER DEFEATING DSA CHALLENGER IN FLORIDA PRIMARY

“His voting record speaks volumes,” Singer said. “Since he’s gotten to Congress, he’s been locked up with the Democrats on almost every issue.”

“This is not the sort of record of bipartisanship he once had. He’s been much more partisan because he has to be,” Singer claimed. “He has to appeal to a more far-left socialist led Democratic Party if he’s going to have any influence. And that’s going home to roost in November.”

When reached for comment, the two-term Moskowitz stressed he fought off the Democratic Socialists of America’s maximum pressure campaign in his primary, while keeping $2 million cash on hand for the general election and expecting “we’ll have the national resources” in the fight to keep the seat blue.

“I go after my party all the time and fight within,” Moskowitz, who was twice appointed to positions by Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in a show of bipartisanship, told Fox News Digital, noting Singer has been “awfully silent” on social media amid his own vocal defense against the “anti-Israel” political factions.

FROM WASSERMAN SCHULTZ TO GOLDMAN, DEMOCRATIC INCUMBENTS ARE FIGHTING FOR SURVIVAL

“Scott just has talking points, which is why he’s the masked singer. You hear a voice behind a mask. He says things to all sorts of people, tells people what they want to hear, but nobody really knows where he stands because he never really takes positions.”

The heated rhetoric belies a previously tighter relationship.

“Scott Singer endorsed me when I ran the first time,” Moskowitz claimed.

Singer’s campaign has denied it was anything more than a personal call to generally express support for a fellow Jewish, pro-Israel politician.

Singer, though, says he is well-positioned in the newly redrawn South Florida district, with a growing GOP voter-registration advantage and Democratic division working against the “quasi-incumbent.”

“People are abandoning the Democratic Party because the mainstream Democratic Party of even a few years ago has abandoned them,” Singer said. “It’s now a socialist-led party and it’s sad for America.”

“That’s why we need to band together and make sure independent voters understand what’s at stake,” he added. “We can’t have people talking about communism or new Democrat-incoming members of the House saying horrific things like that they would wipe their hand on the American flag if they didn’t have a napkin. That’s today’s Democratic Party, unfortunately, and it’s not something I want to see.”

MOSKOWITZ REJECTS RICK SCOTT’S CLAIMS HE’S ‘SCARED TO DEATH’ OF SOCIALISTS, BEHOLDEN TO HASAN PIKER

The race is considered to be one of 19 toss-ups in the nation (seats held by four Democrats and 15 Republicans), according to the Cook Political Report.

“It’s now about five points more Republican than Democrat, but even since redistricting, there are Republicans who are registering at a higher rate: People in Florida have seen the success of our state and seen the craziness other places, and they’re voting more conservative,” Singer said.

“And we have a great opportunity to pick off disaffected Democrats who are sick with the socialist lean, especially in our community that has a large number of residents who fled communism, like my family, like wife’s family did,” he continued. “They understand that bringing socialism and communism into the United States is a terrible idea. That’s another reason why we’re optimistic about our chances to flip this must-win seat in November.”

DESANTIS UNDER PRESSURE AS FLORIDA REDRAW COULD TIP HOUSE BALANCE IN GOP MAP FIGHT

The race also presents an unusual political dynamic: Singer and Moskowitz are both Jewish candidates competing in a district where roughly a quarter of the electorate is Jewish, one of the highest concentrations in the country.

“The anti-Israel wing, which has taken root in the Democratic Party, is doing the convincing for us,” Singer said. “Because we’ve seen a majority of House members would deny arms sales to Israel, our ally during a time of conflict.

“And that’s the party, where it is. We’ve seen three incumbents in the Democratic Party ousted in recent months solely because Israel was the key issue.

“Anti-Israel is winning. It’s become the mainstream of the Democratic Party. And longtime Democrats are leaving in droves. Another reason why it’s going to be very hard for Democrats in this district to win with 25% Jewish population and people who understand Israel’s close and long-standing alliance with the United States. We’re going to pick off more of those voters.”

5 TAKEAWAYS FROM FLORIDA SENATE PRIMARY: GOP SEN. ASHLEY MOODY WILL FACE DSA’S NIXON

Also, while GOP-leaning, the district is still largely independent. It snakes along South Florida’s Atlantic coast through portions of Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties, encompassing communities around Delray Beach, Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood and Miami Beach.

“I was already running under the prior boundaries when it leaned Democratic, but I’m thrilled with the new boundaries because it runs from Miami Beach, where I was born, through Fort Lauderdale where I grew up, through Boca Raton where I served as mayor for eight years,” Singer said.

“I have deep ties in this district. It’s my whole life. I’ve lived 40-plus years in this District in all three counties. My opponent doesn’t live in the district. I’m not sure he’s ever lived in the district. And I think those community ties help when you’re trying to represent 750,000-plus people.”

Moskowitz lives in nearby Parkland and was born and raised in Coral Springs, which is just west of the newly drawn district, which carved those towns out.

FLA DEM SEN-NOMINEE ANGIE NIXON BACKED ABOLISHING ELECTORAL COLLEGE, RANKED-CHOICE VOTING IN RESURFACED CLIPS

Trump would have carried the territory by roughly nine points in 2024 after Joe Biden would have won it by about five points in 2020, showing just how the district is turning conservative and more favorable to flip.

“Jewish voters don’t just have to vote for a Jewish candidate who may be not terrible on Israel … now you have a pro-Israel, Zionist candidate who’s a strong Republican who will vote for the common sense solutions: We need like less regulation, lower taxes, insurance reform and more.”

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“Independent voters have a choice,” he added. “Are we going to continue on tax reform, secure borders, economic improvement… or are we going to go back to what the Democrats would propose, which frankly for the next two years is just impeachment?

“Nothing will get done in Washington,” he concluded.

The Justice Department sued an Ohio court Tuesday over a new rule blocking federal immigration arrests at or near the courthouse, accusing local officials of unlawfully interfering with federal enforcement and forcing ICE agents to make arrests in potentially riskier settings.

At issue is a Franklin County Municipal Court rule, which bars civil arrests at the courthouse unless officers have a judicial warrant. The DOJ argues the rule conflicts with federal immigration law, which allows ICE agents in certain circumstances to make arrests with administrative warrants or no warrant at all.

“This type of rule obstructs federal law enforcement and facilitates evasion of federal law by dangerous criminal aliens, despite Congress’s direction that federal agents detain and remove them,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Throughout the country, and including in this courthouse specifically, federal agents have routinely and safely conducted arrests. The Department of Justice is committed to protecting that important federal prerogative.”

This is a developing news story; check back for updates.

In a 2016 interview, Latin Grammy Award-winning artist and Democratic congressional candidate Bobby Pulido defended a fellow singer against criticism for a graphic music video that depicted acts of sexual violence and murder.

In the video production of “Fuiste Mía” or “You were mine” by Gerardo Ortiz, a singer walks in on his girlfriend cheating on him. After shooting her lover, he then handcuffs her to a pole, blindfolds her, and gropes her before putting her in the trunk of his car and setting it on fire.

In response to backlash, Pulido defended Ortiz, calling the video a matter of artistic direction.

“I’ve made videos with suggestive images; some have stayed, others have been edited, and still others were never used. That’s the decision of the artist and their team,” Pulido said in response to public backlash against the production.

Pulido’s resurfaced response to the music video is the latest in a series of controversies he has tried to downplay as he pursues a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in Texas’ 15th Congressional District — one of the country’s most competitive seats.

FORMER DISNEY TEEN STAR EXPOSES CHILLING WARNING SIGNS OF PREDATORY BEHAVIOR IN HOLLYWOOD

Pulido is best known for Tejano, or Mexican–Spanish folk-style, songs like “Desvelado” and “Se Murió de Amor,” and received five nominations for a Latin Grammy Awards, winning Best Tejano Album in 2025 and 2022.

He filed to run for Congress in Texas’ 15th District, challenging Rep. Monica De La Cruz, R-Texas. A two-term incumbent, she last won election to the district in 2024 in a 57.1% to 42.9% victory over Democratic nominee Michelle Vallejo. 

Along the way, Pulido has drawn scrutiny for a resurfaced history of posting links to explicit websites on his personal X account — as well as for a social media post of what appeared to be him urinating on President Donald Trump’s Hollywood Walk of Fame star. Pulido has shrugged off criticism for both, stating in 2024 that it’s “it’s impossible to have Twitter and not watch porn,” and that he had only poured water on Trump’s star as a joke.

More notably, Pulido has also had to fend off criticisms of bringing a registered sex offender to a Texas middle school benefit concert in 2018.

DEM TIED TO CARTEL OPERATIVE SAYS ‘WHITE NATIONALISTS’ JOINING IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT TO ‘HUNT DOWN PEOPLE’

In that case, Pulido denied knowledge of his associate’s status at the time and has dismissed coverage of it as a “nothing story,” according to Axios.

Similarly, in his defense of Ortiz, Pulido downplayed the music video, arguing that viewers had become accustomed to increasingly graphic images.

“What happens when there’s a [car] accident?” Pulido asked, comparing the music video to real-life instances of tragedy.

“Traffic doesn’t flow because people slow down or even stop to see what happened; something similar happens with the regional Mexican genre when these kinds of incidents occur.”

At least one Republican onlooker is left unconvinced by the defense of the music video — and defenses of other past behaviors.

“Bobby Pulido has spent his entire adult life defending perverts and predators while lashing out at members of law enforcement who keep Texans safe. He is a truly sick individual who is morally rotten,” Zach Kraft, a spokesperson for the Republican National Committee (RNC), said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

DEM RIPPED FOR ‘DISGUSTING’ ABSENCE ON BILL TO PUNISH VIOLENT CRIMINALS AFTER GIRL STRANGLED IN GRISLY KILLING

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The Pulido campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment about his defense of the video and whether he had a track record of downplaying potentially problematic conduct.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called the Democratic Party’s current “experiment” amid the rise of democratic socialist candidates “healthy,” drawing swift conservative backlash from critics who accused her of embracing the party’s socialist wing.

“The Democratic Party right now is, I think, going through a kind of experiment, like who can actually respond particularly to young people’s very real concerns about where they are at this point in their lives and what kind of future do they have for themselves? I think that is healthy,” said Clinton.

Clinton, a matriarch of the Democratic Party, defeated democratic socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders in the 2016 presidential primary. Her remarks come as socialist candidates increasingly challenge establishment-backed Democrats in races across the country.

Clinton spoke Monday in conversation with the Hamptons Institute, weighing in on the Democratic Party’s ideological direction as it searches for ways to connect with younger voters while democratic socialist candidates have increasingly notched wins during the primary season.

SHOCKING PERCENTAGE OF DEMOCRATS IDENTIFY AS ‘DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS’ ACCORDING TO NEW POLL: ‘TOXIC POLICIES’

The moderator asked Clinton where she sees the future of the Democratic Party as it undergoes a “major upheaval between center-left and democratic socialists” during their conversation on diplomacy, national security and global leadership.

Conservative critics seized on Clintons’ remarks, accusing her of embracing the Democratic Party’s socialist wing and invoking her failed 2016 presidential campaign.

“INSANE Hillary Clinton says the Democrat Party is ‘going through an experiment’ to see if far-Left, socialist candidates — who want to abolish prisons and borders — can win over young voters,” the Republican National Committee posted on X.

“Run again in 2028. Do it,” social media influencer Jack Posobiec posted.

“Easy for her to say when she has her own security team,” said Heritage Foundation media fellow Tim Young.

“Hillary Clinton believes Democrats are “going through an experiment” to see if a new crop of further-left candidates can actually win young voters. The problem? Dems who want to abolish prisons and borders. She’s watching her own party test how far left it can push before the rest of the country walks away. It’s basically a live experiment with the electorate at this point,” X user Mario Nawfal posted. 

DEMOCRATS LURE ‘POLITICALLY HOMELESS’ GEN Z TOWARD SOCIALISM — A COUNTERATTACK IS TAKING SHAPE

“The Democrats only want to win, no matter the cost! If their actions of going far, far left send the country into ruins, they don’t care! They know that socialism has never worked, nor ever will work. Hillary may be a lot of things (a lot of which I can’t say on here), but she will pull out all stops to try and win. It doesn’t always work, like in 2016, but she will try anything to win…..no matter the consequences,” said one user.

“Say WHAT?! Hillary Clinton says the Democrat Party is ‘going through a kind of experiment’ by embracing socialist candidates to see if it will bring in younger voters – say it’s ‘healthy’ This is the definition of insanity,” the Conservative Brief posted.

During her remarks, Clinton also turned the socialism charge back on President Donald Trump, accusing his administration of practicing what she called “socialism for the rich.”

“I get very amused when I hear Trump and his people talking about socialism and communism. The way he’s behaving is socialism for the rich. It is the most ridiculous administration when it comes to doing everything possible to avoid risks and loss for people who are already doing them and to use the power of the government to benefit himself and his cronies and his allies,” said Clinton.

SOCIALIST SURGE: MAMDANI FLEXES GROWING POLITICAL MUSCLE AS HE TAKES ON DEM ESTABLISHMENT

Trump has increasingly used the rise of democratic socialists as a midterm attack line, labeling recent left-wing Democratic winners “hardcore, godless communists.”He separately warned in June that New York City Mayor and democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani‘s rent-freeze policy would cause New York apartment buildings to deteriorate into “ghettos and slums.”

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“President Trump is creating good-paying jobs, securing trillions of dollars in investments, and positioning our country to dominate the remainder of the 21st century,” White House spokesperson Davis Ingle told Fox News Digital.

“Meanwhile, Crooked Hillary Clinton is still whining about her spectacular 2016 election defeat. It’s time for Hillary to move on,” Ingle added.

An Ohio man was arrested by the FBI after allegedly making graphic threats against a Jewish Republican congressman and calling for the death of President Donald Trump.

Alex Justin Miller, 26, is accused of sending a “true threat” to Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla., and his family, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ). 

A copy of the message separately obtained by Fox News Digital shows Miller allegedly called Fine and his family “Nazi f—-s” and said he would burn their house down, pledging he would “never stop until your head is hanging from the rooftops of the White House.” His message ended with “DEATH TO RANDY FINE AND DEATH TO DONALD TRUMP.”

Miller was charged with interstate transmission of a threat to injure by the U.S. Attorney in the Middle District of Florida and faces up to five years in prison if convicted, the DOJ said.

FAA EMPLOYEE CHARGED WITH ALLEGEDLY THREATENING TO KILL PRESIDENT TRUMP IN EMAIL TO WHITE HOUSE

The incident was investigated by the FBI and the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office with assistance from the Secret Service and Capitol Police, the DOJ said.

“It was so graphic. It says, ‘I’m gonna murder you. I’m going to cut your head off. I won’t stop,'” Fine told Fox News Digital. “I reported it immediately. I unfortunately have learned what the difference is between a nasty message and a death threat, and this clearly was a death threat.”

The full message read: “Dear fat— piece of s—stain, I cannot wait to take a trip to you lovely home and light the whole place on fire and murder you and your entire family in the middle of the night while you sleep. I hope you disgusting Nazi f—s sleep with one eye open for the rest of your life because I will NEVER stop until your head is hanging from the rooftops of the White House. You deserve 10000% to be beheaded and have your body paraded through the streets. DEATH TO RANDY FINE AND DEATH TO DONALD TRUMP!!” 

Fine said he received the threat via email on the morning of primary Election Day in the Sunshine State. He also said it reinforced his belief that federal officials need more protection.

“I don’t know what this person’s motives were for writing this, but it’s someone not from Florida. So, you know, this was not a local constituent that was upset,” he said. “I do think members of Congress need more security than we oftentimes get.”

FLORIDA MAN ARRESTED FOR ALLEGEDLY THREATENING TO KILL TRUMP, RUBIO AND BONDI

He added that law enforcement found and arrested the man within 36 hours.

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“I’m incredibly grateful to the U.S. attorney, the FBI, the Capitol Police, and all the law enforcement in Florida who took this seriously. The bottom line is, don’t do this. Don’t write messages like this to elected officials, Republican or Democrat. You want to call us bad people? Be my guest, but do not do this sort of thing,” Fine said.

Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, who has repeatedly targeted President Donald Trump for impeachment, renewed his effort by filing a new impeachment resolution on Monday.

“Our country and the lives of people within it are at risk as President Donald John Trump is a great threat to the United States democratic republic, its Constitution, and democracy, violating Article II, Section 1, Clause 8 of the United States Constitution and its mandate to faithfully execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States,” the document declares.

The resolution accuses Trump of “abusing the powers of the presidency by operating United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) as his vicious, quota-driven, unaccountable paramilitary police forces, transgressing with anonymity and secrecy, assaulting people, committing and covering up unjustified killings of civilians (including Renée Good, Alex Pretti, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, and Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero) with impunity (acting as judge, jury, prosecutor, and executioner), terrorizing communities, and brazenly and wantonly devolving the United States democratic republic into an authoritarian regime, where unjustified killings and coverups by ICE and CBP are normalized.”

AL GREEN RESPONDS TO JULY 4 QUESTION WITH RENEWED CALL TO IMPEACH TRUMP

In a statement provided to Fox News Digital on Tuesday, White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis said, “This type of garbage is contributing to our law enforcement officers facing a more than 1,300% increase in assaults against them. The brave men and women of ICE and CBP put their lives on the line to arrest murderers, rapists, pedophiles, gang members, and terrorists. Al Green should be thanking President Trump and our law enforcement for delivering the largest decrease in violent crime in American history.”

Fox News Digital also reached out to the Department of Homeland Security, ICE and CBP on Tuesday.

Given that Republicans currently hold the majority in both chambers of Congress, his latest impeachment push likely won’t succeed.

REP. AL GREEN TELLS HOMELAND SECURITY SEC. MULLIN TO ‘SHUT UP’ AFTER CALLING HIM A RACIST AT HEARING

But in a letter to the president, Green said, “Mr. President, I am well aware of the fact that you will be defended by persons who will say, ‘The House won’t impeach, and if it did, the Senate won’t convict.’ Sir, my response is that articles of impeachment that are not approved by Congress can express on-the-record disapproval of presidential actions and demonstrate that there are some of us watching and willing to act.”

Green has fielded impeachment resolutions multiple times across both of Trump’s White House terms.

The congressman, who has served in the House since 2005, lost a Democratic primary runoff to Rep. Christian Menefee in May.

TRUMP COULD FACE IMPEACHMENT IF DEMOCRATS SEIZE HOUSE MAJORITY, GOP LEADER WARNS

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The House impeached Trump twice during his first term, but in both cases, the Senate vote did not meet the threshold necessary for conviction. The Senate’s vote on the second impeachment took place after Trump had already departed from office.

California’s aging infrastructure is helping fuel a clean water crisis that could have ramifications across the country, a key House Republican warned.

Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo., accused California Gov. Gavin Newsom of playing politics with the management of the Colorado River, a major body of water that millions of people in the Western United States depend on. She’s arguing that the Golden State’s bloated bureaucracy and environmental regulations are making it more reliant on the Colorado River, thus stressing its supply and affecting the other six states through which it runs.

“The system is now becoming very, very stressed because California has not kept up with the infrastructure demands and needs of its citizens,” Hageman told Fox News Digital. “Pinedale, Wyoming, may be a long way removed from Southern California, but when there are calls on the river and when there are demands that we reduce the amount of water that we are able to use in order to meet a demand downstream, that isn’t fair.”

California’s water infrastructure has largely remained unchanged since the late 20th century, despite a ballooning population.

COLORADO SMALL TOWN ABANDONED AFTER ALL ELECTED OFFICIALS RESIGN, WATER CONCERNS GROW

Hageman argued that California’s growing need paired with a lack of new infrastructure is hurting the agricultural sector in areas that rely on the Colorado River — which could have ripple effects beyond the West.

TRUMP CAN PROTECT CALIFORNIA AVOCADO FARMERS AND TAKE A BITE OUT OF MEXICAN CARTELS, TOO

“California could grow almost all the food we need in the United States, but they’ve really decimated their Ag industry because they’ve taken irrigation water away from their Ag industry to try to meet municipal demand and industrial demand elsewhere. So really it’s just, it’s a whole parade of bad decisions that are being made,” she said.

“Food independence is a national security issue. We do not want to become food dependent on Mexico or Central America or bringing all of our food in from other countries. We have the resources to grow healthy, high-quality food right here while also protecting our environment.”

Environmental groups like Tell the Dam Truth have opposed new dam builds in California, arguing they contribute to climate change while harming biodiversity.

“With its strong environmental laws, regulations, and policies, California has the opportunity to not only stop new dam construction, but also decommission dams to restore the biodiversity and carbon sequestration currently inundated in river valleys across the state,” the group’s website states.

Groups like the Sierra Club have also opposed desalination, an alternative water source that would require California to convert its abundant saltwater into a usable product.

But Hageman said that opposition was misguided.

“They’re very backwards people. I kind of look at them like flat-Earthers. They’re very backwards people in the way that they approach things. They ignore the fact that humans are also part of the natural environment, and they ignore the benefits of what we can create by building this much-needed infrastructure,” she said.

The Colorado River’s Upper Basin runs through Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico and Utah. The Lower Basin runs through California, Arizona and Nevada.

TRUMP TO SHRINK 2 UTAH NATIONAL MONUMENTS BY 90%

It has faced growing problems, in part due to climate change and increased dependence, prompting discussions about whether the seven aforementioned states could update their existing water-sharing agreement.

A failure to do so thus far has prompted the Trump administration to step in and force steep cuts to the Lower Basin states for the next two years.

NEWSOM, WALZ URGE CONGRESS TO BLOCK ANTI-CLIMATE BILL IN THEIR ‘WOKE’ CRUSADE

Newsom praised the plan while pointing out California has reduced its use in recent years, but said it was only a “short-term” solution.

“This is a necessary step to protect a river that 40 million Americans depend on, at a time when climate change is driving a regional water crisis that makes every drop of water count. California continues to lead the way forward, growing our economy while cutting our Colorado River water use to the lowest level since 1949,” he said of the Trump administration order. “Any long-term solution must share responsibility fairly across all seven states in recognition of the new reality of the Colorado River.”

California also recently made plans for a new reservoir project, projected to cost $6.8 billion, which is expected to be completed in the mid-2030s. The state is also investing in new groundwater infrastructure and other initiatives to expand availability of the critical resource.

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A spokesperson for the California Natural Resources Agency re-emphasized the state’s reduced dependency on the Colorado River when reached by Fox News Digital.

“California’s Colorado River use is at its lowest since 1949 – and our urban water agencies have reduced their demand for imports by 50% since 2000. Even with that, we continue to invest billions of dollars to increase water supply as we face changing conditions driven by climate change,” the spokesperson said.

“Suggesting we move the world’s fourth largest economy entirely to desalinated water is a deeply unserious proposal that ignores the underlying issues facing all users of the Colorado River. All Basin states must share the responsibility of caring for the Colorado River for generations to come – and that means real conservation from all seven states.”

The battle for the Democratic Party’s 2028 presidential nomination is already spilling into public view, with a top aide to California Gov. Gavin Newsom taking a swipe at fellow White House hopeful Pete Buttigieg over his effort to build support with Black voters in the South.

Newsom communications director Izzy Gardon mocked Buttigieg’s recent visit to South Carolina, which his representative Aida Ross highlighted with a post on X over the weekend that included a photo of the former Transportation secretary with members of the Orangeburg branch of the NAACP. 

“Pete returned to Orangeburg, SC! Great night with the Orangeburg Branch of the NAACP,” Ross said alongside the photo.

Meanwhile, Gardon responded to the post: “First time in SC in 3 years? Nice!”

JENNIFER SIEBEL NEWSOM DODGES QUESTION ON HUSBAND GAVIN’S PRESIDENTIAL ASPIRATIONS

The exchange garnered buzz online, as it placed two of the Democratic Party’s most closely watched potential presidential contenders at the center of a growing fight over Black voter outreach — an issue likely to be central in 2028 as South Carolina again prepares to hold the party’s first nominating contest.

It also comes amid wider Democratic tensions over whether the party is doing enough to engage Black voters and the South, with Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens accusing the DNC of “abandoning the South” and “abandoning Black voters” after Atlanta was eliminated from 2028 convention contention last week. 

Meanwhile, South Carolina Democratic Party Chair Christale Spain declared last month, amid debate over the party’s presidential primary calendar, that “the South is not the past, it is the future,” while Democratic chairs from five other southern states also previously warned the DNC against sending Black voters the message that their loyalty is “taken for granted,” according to the Associated Press.

When reached for comment, Gardon told Fox News Digital that the post was made from his personal account and in his “personal capacity,” calling it “simply my own observation.” He stressed that he was “NOT speaking for the Governor or anyone else.”

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

JASMINE CROCKETT WARNS DEMOCRATS ARE TOO FOCUSED ON WHITE VOTERS, IGNORING BLACK VOTERS

“Love to watch Gavin Newsom staffers dunk on Pete Buttigieg staffers as they all jostle to catch up to AOC in the 2028 Dem primaries,” Republican strategist Matt Whitlock wrote on X.

“We’re just dropping all pretenses huh,” quipped political polling executive Adam Carlson.

Democrat strategists also weighed in on the in-fighting.

“Staffers of potential 2028ers who denigrate other potential 2028ers at this juncture should be embarrassed. They reflect extremely poorly on their principals,” Democrat strategist Jennifer Holdsworth said in response to Gardon’s jab.

“Weird tweet to send rn – bad look,” Democratic consultant Eric Koch said.

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“Potential 2028 staffers, huddle up: you do not want to start the fighting now or on this platform,” added the Head of Digital Engagement at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Stefan Smith. “It’s too early in the cycle. The longer we play nice (and encourage the principals to play nice) the better it is for everyone.”

DEARBORN, MI – Nearly 25 years after the Sept. 11 attacks, a Smithsonian affiliate in Michigan continues to use its 9/11 exhibits and anniversary programming to focus on discrimination and government actions in the attacks’ aftermath, while giving less attention to the nearly 3,000 people killed that day, Fox News Digital found.

The Arab American National Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, features an exhibit arguing that Arab Americans “suffered two-fold as a result of the tragic events of September 11th,” both from the attacks themselves and from what the museum describes as unfair treatment by the U.S. government afterward. Since its founding, the museum has repeatedly hosted programs examining what it describes as discriminatory consequences of the U.S. response to 9/11.

Fox News Digital visited the museum earlier this month, reviewed its exhibits and gift shop, and examined years of anniversary programming and federal funding records.

The AANM has received hundreds of thousands of dollars in grant funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities and is also an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution. The Smithsonian has been under intense scrutiny from conservative lawmakers in recent months for allegedly allowing political bias to influence its presentation of history.

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One placard criticizes the government’s post-9/11 detention of immigrants investigated for possible terrorist links, noting that “virtually none were charged” in connection with terrorism.

“The Arab American community suffered two-fold as a result of the tragic events of September 11th. As with all Americans, they suffered the horror and grief. However, Arab Americans were unfairly held responsible, yet not a single Arab American was found guilty of any connection to September 11th,” it reads.

On Sept. 11, 2001, 19 al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four passenger planes, crashing two into the World Trade Center, and one into the Pentagon. Passengers and crew fought back aboard United Flight 93, the fourth plane, prompting the hijackers to crash the plane in Pennsylvania. The attacks killed 2,977 people and triggered the largest investigation in FBI history.

The museum placard also argues that Arabs faced harsher immigration enforcement after the attacks, saying some were “deported for minor visa violations or petty offenses which previously would have been overlooked.”

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In the 11 months after the attacks, immigration authorities detained 762 noncitizens on immigration charges in connection with the FBI’s terrorism investigation, including for overstaying visas or entering the country illegally, according to a Justice Department inspector general report. The watchdog found that some detainees with no terrorism ties were treated harshly and held under unnecessarily restrictive conditions.

Public opinion also showed a more complicated picture of the post-9/11 backlash. President George W. Bush publicly urged Americans not to blame Muslims for the attacks, and polling later suggested attitudes toward Muslim Americans actually improved in the immediate aftermath. The share of Americans who viewed Muslim Americans favorably rose from 45% in March 2001 to 59% in November, two months after the attacks, according to the Pew Research Center.

Beyond its permanent exhibit, AANM has repeatedly used programming around the 9/11 anniversary to examine discrimination and law-enforcement policies affecting Arab and Muslim communities.

The museum holds a “solidarity” town hall each year, where criticism of the American reaction to 9/11 is often the focus. The online description of the event does not mention the deaths connected to the attacks themselves, but rather “offers a safe space for communities to reflect and engage in dialogue about the harmful prejudices that Arab and Muslim (and anyone perceived to be Arab or Muslim) individuals face on both an individual and systemic level.”

One such town hall in 2018 examined “how communities of color have been targeted through the frame of national security and profiled as violent threats.”

A year later, the AANM’s annual town, which received support from the National Endowment for the Arts, criticized how “institutions and communities of color have been infiltrated” by law enforcement as well as how leaders of those groups have been “targeted” following 9/11.

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The AANM was founded in 2005, partially in response to the increased scrutiny directed at the Arab American community following the attack on the World Trade Center. In addition to receiving well over half a million dollars in funding from the NEH over its lifetime to support its exhibits and educational programming, the museum also benefited from a $385,000 grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development which helped it expand its physical footprint in 2013. It received further HUD funding, over half a million dollars, between 2017 and 2019 as well as at least $50,000 from the State Department between 2016 and 2017, according to annual reports published by the museum.

Dearborn, where about 54.5% of residents are of Middle Eastern or North African descent, is a key political center in Michigan ahead of one of the country’s most competitive Senate races this year. Socialist-aligned Abdul El-Sayed, who is running for the Senate, drew strong support from the city earlier this month.

The museum’s focus extends beyond its criticism of the U.S. response to 9/11.

On Sept. 10 — the eve of the 25th anniversary of the attacks — the AANM is scheduled to host a screening of “Seeds for Liberation,” a film that portrays Hamas’ Oct. 7 terrorist attack as part of a decades-long Palestinian “struggle” and places it within a broader history of “anti-imperialist and decolonial movements.”

During Fox News Digital’s visit earlier this month, a section of the museum was dedicated to art criticizing Israel’s alleged “occupation” of Palestinian land. One piece of art, the word “wall” presented in a stylized print, accuses the Israeli government of perpetuating a system of “apartheid.”

The art installation broadly accuses Israel of targeting civilians in military operations, denying basic necessities to Palestinians and unjustly occupying land.

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One placard accompanying a sculpture states that Israel has killed more than 2,000 Palestinian children since Sept. 29, 2000, citing If Americans Knew (IAK).

The placard’s sourcing is itself controversial. Some pro-Palestinian organizations have distanced themselves from IAK over allegations of antisemitism and ties to white supremacists, allegations the group has disputed. IAK also operates a news site that has published articles rejecting the designation of Hamas as a terrorist organization.

Another placard attached to a sculpture pulls a quote from Defense of Children International Palestine, which the Israeli government designated as a terrorist organization in 2021. DCIP and human rights groups have disputed the designation.

The museum gift shop also sells Palestinian-themed merchandise, including map-shaped magnets and key chains, coloring books promising to help children “explore Palestinian heritage” and keffiyehs.

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The AANM, Smithsonian, NEA and NEH did not respond to requests for comment after being reached by Fox News Digital on Friday.

Smithsonian affiliates, like the AANM, are independently operated museums that maintain formal partnerships with the Smithsonian, providing them with access to artifact loans, educational resources and consultations from institutional experts.

In recent months, the Smithsonian has faced mounting pressure from Republican lawmakers and the president over allegations that its museums advance left-of-center ideological causes through their exhibits. Officials have threatened funding cuts against the institution if it does not root out what the Trump administration characterizes as anti-American bias.

The Department of Homeland Security is calling out Boston Democratic Mayor Michelle Wu’s “unhinged” effort to dissuade business owners from leasing to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the city, equating it to “hunting down” private property owners.

After Boston banned ICE vehicles from using city-owned parking lots to stage operations, ICE issued a notice seeking to rent hundreds of parking spaces in the city for five years. In response, Wu, an outspoken opponent of President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement agenda, issued an open letter to parking garage and lot owners throughout Boston in which she revealed the city had submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request “for any local responses to ICE.”

DHS fired back in an X post, writing that “these actions by sanctuary Mayor Michelle Wu are unhinged.”

“She knows she has NO authority to block us from using private property. So, she’s hunting down private property owners and threatening them for working with ICE — because she’d rather intimidate law-abiding Bostonians than get criminal illegal aliens OFF the street,” wrote DHS.

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ICE issued a “sources sought” notice last month for “surge parking” in 14 cities across the country. The notice revealed ICE was seeking 249 contiguous parking spaces in Boston.

In response, Wu issued an official appeal from the city of Boston for garage and lot owners to “reject ICE staging facilities.” She wrote that “were ICE to procure such resources, it would constitute an unprovoked and unwarranted escalation, creating potentially significant risks to public safety and halting economic activity across our entire region.”

She boasted that she “joined together with six other cities across Greater Boston and signed Executive Orders prohibiting ICE from staging its operations on municipal property and parking lots,” adding, “Today, I ask you to join us: Reject any proposition by ICE to facilitate an attack on the people of Boston.”

Wu also noted that the same day, the city submitted a FOIA request for any local responses to ICE. She told the garage and lot owners, “We will keep you updated as we push for a response,” adding, “Thank you again for your partnership.”

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In its FOIA request, which was submitted to ICE and reviewed by Fox News Digital, the city of Boston states that it is seeking “all submissions and/or responses to ICE Sources Sought Notice with Notice ID ‘DHS-ICE-SurgeParking.’”

DHS responded to Wu’s FOIA request by calling her a “pro-criminal illegal alien politician” in another X post. The agency said the request also indicates that Wu “admits she has no authority to block ICE from utilizing private property.”

“If private citizens want to allow federal law enforcement onto their own property, they should be allowed to do so—free of threats, intimidation and coercion from their radical left-wing mayor who shamelessly compared ICE agents to a neo-Nazi group,” wrote DHS.

Fox News Digital reached out to Wu’s office and the city of Boston for comment.

Wu’s FOIA request came after the Boston City Council adopted an “emergency resolution” earlier this month urging the city to “explore all avenues to oppose” proposed parking leases for ICE in downtown Boston.

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The council said that by adopting the emergency resolution, it was calling on the city to “explore available options to prevent the proposed parking leases and expressed its opposition to an increased ICE presence in the city.”

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Besides Boston, ICE’s notice showed the agency seeking significant numbers of parking spaces in the metropolitan areas of Denver, Seattle, Philadelphia, Dallas, Phoenix, Pittsburgh and several other cities.