NationalWatch

Israel formally joined the Board of Peace on Wednesday ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House.

Netanyahu signed the document in the presence of Secretary of State Marco Rubio shortly before his scheduled talk with Trump, marking a diplomatic step as the two leaders prepare to discuss regional security and ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

The prime minister said on X that while the talks would cover several issues, including Gaza, they would “first and foremost” center on negotiations with Iran.

Leaders from 17 countries participated in the initial Gaza Board of Peace charter signing ceremony in Davos, Switzerland, in late January, including presidents and other senior government officials from Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Central and Southeast Asia.

TRUMP SEEKS DAVOS SIGNING CEREMONY FOR GAZA BOARD OF PEACE

Netanyahu was not present at the ceremony, where world leaders signed the founding charter alongside Trump, who was seated at the center of the stage.

His office, however, said he would accept Trump’s invitation to join the Peace Board, following earlier concerns he had raised about the makeup of the Gaza executive board, particularly the roles of Qatar and Turkey.

ISRAELI BOBSLED TEAM APARTMENT ROBBED AHEAD OF WINTER OLYMPICS, COMPETITOR SAYS

A handful of other countries were also invited by the White House to join, including Russia, Belarus, France, Germany, Vietnam, Finland, Ukraine, Ireland, Greece and China, among others. Poland and Italy on Wednesday said they would not join.

Netanyahu’s visit to Washington comes as the U.S. expands its military presence in the Middle East while talks with Iran remain ongoing.

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Trump has deployed the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group and the USS Michael Murphy, a guided-missile destroyer, as his envoys meet with Iranian officials in Oman.

Other U.S. naval assets, including the USS Bulkeley, USS Roosevelt, USS Delbert D. Black, USS McFaul, USS Mitscher, USS Spruance and USS Frank E. Petersen Jr., are positioned across key waterways surrounding Iran, from the eastern Mediterranean and Red Sea to the Persian Gulf, and Arabian Sea.

Meta and Google returned to Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday for the second day of a landmark trial over claims their platforms were designed to addict young users — a closely watched case that could carry major consequences for hundreds of similar lawsuits nationwide.

The outcome could put the social media giants on the hook for significant damages in this case and others, should a Los Angeles jury side with the plaintiffs. The lawsuit is widely viewed as a bellwether for roughly 1,600 related cases across the country, underscoring the potential legal and financial ripple effects.

Still, much remains uncertain. Attorneys told the court the trial could stretch six to eight weeks, offering little early indication of how jurors might ultimately rule.

As day two nears a close, here’s an overview of where things stand.

SUPREME COURT APPEARS SKEPTICAL OF BLOCKING US BAN ON TIKTOK: WHAT TO KNOW
 

The lead attorney for the plaintiff, identified only as K.G.M, and for Meta presented dueling opening statements to jurors this week, offering an early preview of their most compelling arguments and points they are likely to revisit for the duration of the trial.

Mark Lanier, the attorney for the plaintiffs, told jurors that deciding in favor of his client, K.G.M. will be “as easy as ABC,” which he told the court stands for “addicting the brains of children.”

Lanier’s opening statement was neither short nor lacking in props, including a toy Ferrari, a bicycle hand brake, and eggs —introduced to the jury, one-by-one, over the course of his two-hour remarks.

He argued the selective tactics used by tech giants were the same tactics embraced by casinos, “borrowing heavily” from slot machines and tobacco companies in an attempt to “deliberately” develop design features that maximize youth engagement, target younger users — and make it difficult for them to disengage from the platforms compared to older users and adults.

“For a teenager, social validation is survival,” Lanier said, noting that Meta, Google, and others “engineered a feature that caters to a minor’s craving for social validation.” 

TRUMP SAYS FATE OF TIKTOK SHOULD BE IN HIS HANDS WHEN HE RETURNS TO WHITE HOUSE

Meta lawyer Paul Schmidt, for his part, starkly contrasted Lanier’s tactics in his own remarks to the jury. His presentation was more formal and buttoned-up, as he ticked carefully through the points denoted in a PowerPoint presentation. 

Schmidt argued that K.G.M.’s struggles existed largely independently of the platform, telling jurors that their responsibility is to determine only whether Meta played a “substantial factor” in her mental health struggles.

He cited excerpts from the plaintiff’s medical history, therapy sessions, and childhood to argue that the struggles she encountered appear to stem from other issues, including family problems, bullying, and issues with body image.

Schmidt also cited a 2025 interview in which K.G.M. said she continues to use Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok, which he said undercut the claim of substantial harm.

The outcome of the case could have a profound impact on hundreds of other cases in the U.S., including some that are slated to begin as early as this year.

It comes as parents, school districts, and other regulators have cited concerns about phone use among young people, including social media use.

Plaintiffs in the cases have argued that the companies themselves should be held liable for knowingly embracing design features that they say aim to keep children online.

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The majority of lawsuits filed to date against the companies have alleged similar harm, including addiction, depression, anxiety, or self-harm behaviors. 

Because the case is being heard in civil court, it is unclear how much a jury might award to the plaintiff, should they find in favor of K.G.M. 

But experts say these outcomes could have a far-reaching consequences beyond simply financial exposure, impacting the design and regulation standards for social media giants for years to come. 

A Senate Republican known for breaking with the Trump administration praised a grand jury’s decision not to indict several congressional Democrats who urged service members to refuse what they described as “illegal orders.”

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., applauded a Washington, D.C., grand jury’s decision to reject an indictment against six congressional Democrats who last year called on service members to refuse what they characterized as illegal orders under the Trump administration.

“Political lawfare waged by either side undermines America’s criminal justice system, which is the gold standard of the world,” Tillis said in a post on X. “Thankfully in this instance, a jury saw the attempted indictments for what they really were. Political lawfare is not normal, not acceptable, and needs to stop.”

GRAND JURY REJECTS DOJ EFFORT TO INDICT DEMOCRATIC LAWMAKERS WHO URGED MILITARY TO DEFY ILLEGAL ORDERS

It’s not the first time Tillis has bucked the administration. He has placed holds on future Department of Homeland Security nominees, pledged to block President Donald Trump’s pick to replace outgoing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, and has been a vocal critic of the president’s advisers, including White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller.

Meanwhile, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, the top federal prosecutor in the nation’s capital, sought to bring criminal charges against Sens. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., and Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., along with Reps. Maggie Goodlander, D-N.H.; Jason Crow, D-Colo.; Chris Deluzio, D-Pa.; and Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa.

The group of Democrats — all of whom previously served in the military or as intelligence officers — last year said service members could “refuse illegal orders” and “must refuse illegal orders,” arguing that troops are not required to carry out commands they believe violate the Constitution.

DEM SENATOR SAYS SHE’S UNDER FEDERAL INVESTIGATION OVER ‘UNLAWFUL ORDERS’ VIDEO

Service members are obligated to follow lawful orders from their superiors, but they may refuse orders deemed illegal, according to the Uniform Code of Military Justice, the military justice system enacted in 1951.

Their video prompted Trump to accuse the group of seditious behavior “PUNISHABLE BY DEATH” in a fiery Truth Social post. 

GRAHAM DEMANDS DEMOCRATS EXPLAIN ‘REFUSE ILLEGAL ORDERS’ MESSAGE TO TROOPS

After the grand jury declined to indict them, the lawmakers praised the decision.

“Donald Trump wants every American to be too scared to speak out against him,” Kelly said in a statement. “The most patriotic thing any of us can do is not back down.”

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Slotkin added that no matter what comes next from the administration in its pursuit of legal recourse, “tonight we can score one for the Constitution, our freedom of speech, and the rule of law.”

Fox News Digital did not immediately hear back from Pirro’s office for comment. 

Attorney General Pam Bondi is set to testify Wednesday before the House Judiciary Committee, where lawmakers are expected to confront her over the Department of Justice’s handling of Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking case files, numerous high-profile, politically charged indictments and broader structural changes at the department.

The hearing, beginning at 10 a.m., marks Bondi’s first appearance before the House panel since taking the helm of the DOJ.

While some Republicans are likely to praise Bondi for shifting the department’s focus to street crime, drug trafficking and illegal immigration, Democrats and other Republicans have signaled they will grill her on the department’s attempts to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, a law that required the DOJ to publish all unclassified files related to Epstein’s case.

LAPSED EPSTEIN DEADLINE UNDERSCORES CHALLENGE OF REVIEWING TROVES OF FILES IN 30 DAYS

Republicans on the committee may highlight the DOJ’s efforts to combat transnational drug trafficking and the opioid epidemic, as well as violent crime and immigration, which the Trump administration has made clear are its top priorities.

In the most prominent of the drug cases brought during Bondi’s tenure, the DOJ brought a superseding indictment against Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife, alleging narco-terrorism conspiracy and firearms charges. After his stunning capture last month, Maduro and his wife were brought to the Southern District of New York and are being detained there as they await trial.

Bondi could be forced to address upheaval in the U.S. attorney’s office in Minnesota, where a weeks-long surge in immigration enforcement has bogged down the federal court there and led to an exodus of prosecutors. 

TOP MINNESOTA FEDERAL PROSECUTORS OFFICIALLY TERMINATED AFTER DISPUTE OVER DOJ SHOOTING PROBE

Several recent controversial judicial developments are also likely to surface during the hearing, as the administration has faced hundreds of adverse rulings in the lower courts, including from some Trump-appointed judges.

Federal judges in Minnesota have put a spotlight on what they view as legal problems with the way the administration has detained alleged illegal immigrants. Meanwhile, other judges have rejected several of Trump’s choices to lead the country’s 94 U.S. attorney’s offices.

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A federal judge ruled, for instance, that the interim appointment of Lindsey Halligan, who was leading the U.S. attorney’s office in Eastern Virginia, was unlawful.

The move derailed the DOJ’s high-profile indictments of FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, leading a judge to toss out the cases. The DOJ is now appealing them.

Vice President JD Vance warned Iran that there is “another option on the table” if the regime does not make a nuclear deal with the U.S.

Vance made the statement while speaking to reporters before boarding Air Force Two on Tuesday. A reporter referenced President Donald Trump‘s musings about potentially deploying a second aircraft carrier strike group to the Middle East.

“How confident are you in going the diplomatic route? Do you think that is still going to be successful or are we leaning more towards a military strike?” the reporter asked.

“The president has told his entire senior team that we should be trying to cut a deal that ensures the Iranians don’t have nuclear weapons,” Vance responded.

TRUMP, NETANYAHU TO MEET AT WHITE HOUSE IN HIGH-STAKES TALKS ON IRAN, GAZA PLAN

“But if we can’t cut that deal, then there’s another option on the table. So I think the president is going to continue to preserve his options. He’s going to have a lot of options because we have the most powerful military in the world. But until the president tells us to stop, we’re going to engage in these conversations and try to reach a good outcome through negotiation,” he continued.

Vance went on to downplay pushes for regime change in Iran, saying a removal of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei‘s regime would be up to “the Iranian people.”

He said the Trump administration’s only focus is preventing the current Iranian regime from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

NIKKI HALEY URGES TRUMP TO MAKE IRAN ACTION A ‘LEGACY-DEFINING MOMENT’ BEFORE LEAVING OFFICE

Vance’s comments come a day before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to meet with Trump at the White House on Wednesday, with Iran expected to take center stage in the meeting.

In a phone interview with Axios, the president said Tehran “very much wants to reach a deal,” but warned, “Either we make a deal, or we’ll have to do something very tough — like last time.”

IRAN PUSHES FOR FRIDAY NUCLEAR TALKS IN OMAN AMID RISING TENSIONS WITH US FORCES: SOURCE

Netanyahu, speaking before departing Israel for Washington, said he intends to present Israel’s position. 

“I will present to the president our concept regarding the principles of the negotiations — the essential principles that are important not only to Israel but to anyone who wants peace and security in the Middle East,” he told reporters.

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U.S. and Iranian officials resumed talks in Oman this week for the first time since last summer’s 12-day war. The United States continues to maintain a significant military presence in the Gulf, a posture widely viewed as both deterrence and for holding leverage in negotiations with Tehran.

A video is going viral of a congressional candidate in North Carolina admitting she is truly a “progressive” even though she is running as a Republican. 

“Are you trying to trick people?” Katie Barr, who is running in North Carolina’s 14th Congressional District, was asked on a podcast called “The Hometown Holler.” 

“If you go on the campaign website, above the fold as they call it, is like, ‘I’m not a real Republican.’ Like, I am telling people the truth. I knock on a door and say, ‘I am running in the Republican primary, but I am not a Republican, I am a progressive,’” Barr responded. “I can’t claim a Democrat anymore.”

She added that her goal is not “to pull a fast one,” claiming she is just “being dead honest with people about what I would do if I win.”

SUSAN COLLINS SHRUGS OFF ATTACKS BY DEMOCRATS AND TRUMP, SAYS MAINE VOTERS ‘DON’T VOTE PARTY LINE’

On Nov. 6, Barr filed paperwork to challenge incumbent Rep. Tim Moore, R-N.C., to represent the state’s 14th Congressional District. 

Barr states on her website’s home page that she is running as a Republican because it’s “the only way to kick these corrupt cowards out of office.” She claims that Republicans have “rigged the maps” to ensure they will come out victors “every time.”

“The general election has already been decided. So – the primary is the only competition for this job,” Barr’s website explains.

FOREIGN BILLIONAIRES FUNNEL $2.6B TO US ADVOCACY GROUPS TO INFLUENCE POLICY, WATCHDOG REPORT CLAIMS       

Barr reiterated that she has been “honest” about who she is and how she plans to govern “from the start” in a statement to Fox News Digital.

“Tim Moore is terrible for the voters of district 14,” Barr continued. “He’s getting rich off of his position while voters struggle.  And Tim rigged this district to make sure he’d stay in office despite it all. That’s wrong. I’m running so voters have a real choice.”

While Barr has faced criticism online over her maneuver, with critics calling the move cheating and describing it as shameful, at least one conservative critic doesn’t think it is as big of a deal as some are making it out to be. 

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“I hate to burst the outrage bubble, but she’s not making a big secret out of this. It’s her whole schtick, and it’s front and center on her campaign website,” said Second Amendment activist Cam Edwards, on X, in response to the viral video of Barr.

Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene slammed President Donald Trump’s endorsement record again after he backed Republican Rep. María Elvira Salazar of Florida for re-election.

“She supports illegals more than most democrats. His endorsements are an insult to his base,” Greene wrote Tuesday in a post on X.

Fox News Digital reached out to Salazar’s campaign and sent a direct message to the lawmaker on X seeking comment but did not immediately receive a response. The White House also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

EX-TRUMP ALLY MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE RIPS THE PRESIDENT’S ENDORSEMENTS, SAYING THEY ‘SOLIDIFY THE SWAMP’

In a Truth Social post on Tuesday, the president praised Salazar, backing her for re-election as the GOP aims to retain its majority in both chambers of Congress during the 2026 midterms.

“Congresswoman María Elvira Salazar is doing a truly fantastic job representing the wonderful people of Florida’s 27th Congressional District!” Trump wrote in the Truth Social post. “María Elvira Salazar has my Complete and Total Endorsement for Re-Election – SHE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!”

The incumbent congresswoman, who has served in the House of Representatives since early 2021, thanked the president for his support.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION PRESSED TO CLOSE CUBA EMBARGO LOOPHOLE WITH OIL SET TO RUN OUT WITHIN DAYS

“Thank you, President Trump @POTUS, for your support. I will continue to proudly represent FL-27 in Congress and fight for what our community deserves,” she wrote in a post on X, listing five points: “Restore dignity and order to our immigration system,” “Codify strong, permanent border security,” “Drive down housing costs so Miami families can stay and thrive,” “Protect American jobs and keep our economy strong” and “Confronting socialism, communism, and dictators head-on while defending freedom across our hemisphere.”

“Miami is the ultimate melting pot, a city built by those who came here seeking liberty, opportunity, and a chance to start again. I know their story because it’s my story. In Congress, I will keep delivering results, standing firm on our values, and working to ensure opportunity and prosperity remain within reach for all,” she added.

Greene, a longtime staunch Trump ally who left office early last month after a bitter falling out with the president last year, slammed Trump’s endorsement track record in January, asserting in a post on X, “Trump’s endorsements do not drain the swamp, his endorsements solidify the swamp and ensure the swamp is never drained.”

TRUMP MAKES ENDORSEMENT IN CONTEST TO FILL HOUSE SEAT VACATED BY EX-ALLY MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE

White House spokesman Davis Ingle pushed back in a statement to Fox News Digital at the time.

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“President Trump’s unmatched coalition building ability has led to the most successful Republican Party in American history which has delivered more long-held GOP priorities under his leadership than either party has achieved for their voters in many combined decades prior. President Trump knows politics is a game of addition, and Marjorie ‘Quitter’ Greene just lives a reductive, self-defeating life of subtraction,” Ingle said. 

North Carolina Republican state Rep. Allen Chesser said he was taken by surprise when a Democratic sheriff who has long opposed cooperating with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) could not answer a basic question about how the government works.

A North Carolina House Oversight Committee hearing spurred on by the recent killing of a young Ukrainian woman, Iryna Zarutska, in Charlotte, took an unexpected turn when Chesser asked Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden, “What branch of government do you operate under?”

McFadden, who is the top law enforcement officer in the county where Zarutska was killed, simply answered, “Mecklenburg County,” prompting Chesser to repeat, “What branch of government do you operate under, sheriff?”

The sheriff answered, “The Constitution of the United States,” to which Chesser responded, “That is what establishes the branches of government; I’m asking what branch you fall under.”

After McFadden answered, “Mecklenburg County” again, Chesser remarked, “This is not where I was anticipating getting stuck. Um, are you aware of how many branches of government there are?” The sheriff quickly shot back, “No.”

CHARLOTTE LIGHT-RAIL STABBING MURDER SPURS LANDMARK CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM FROM NORTH CAROLINA REPUBLICANS

After a long pause, Chesser continued, “For the sake of debate, let’s say there are three branches of government: legislative, executive, judicial. Of those three, which do you fall under?”

The sheriff answered, “I believe I fall under the last one … judicial.”

“You are incorrect, sir. You fall under the executive,” said Chesser.

After this, Chesser continued to press McFadden about how he reconciles his responsibility as an officer under the executive branch to enforce the law with his opposition to cooperation with ICE. Chesser asked McFadden how he reconciled his responsibility with a previous statement in which the sheriff said, “We do not have a role in enforcement whatsoever, we do not have to follow the rules and the laws that are governed by our lawmakers in Raleigh.”

The sheriff said that Chesser was taking his quote out of context, saying it was strictly in reference to immigration enforcement.

Though declining to offer more context on the statement, McFadden affirmed his office is now abiding by state law requiring cooperation with ICE, saying, “We follow the law, when the law is produced, we follow the law.”

HOUSE DEM EXPLODES ON TOP TRUMP IMMIGRATION OFFICIAL, SAYS HE ‘BETTER HOPE’ FOR PARDON FROM PRESIDENT

In an interview with Fox News Digital the day after the hearing, Chesser, who is an Army veteran and former police officer, said that, “Obviously, those weren’t the cache of questions that I was thinking we were going to get him on.”

“I had several statements that he had made to the media and to the local press and in different interviews that kind of conflicted with some of the testimony that he provided yesterday about following the law. We made it to [only] one of those statements because we got held up on what I thought was baseline, just kind of setting a baseline of how we were to establish that his role is to enforce the law,” he explained, adding, “I was not expecting to have to get into a fifth-grade civics lesson with a duly elected sheriff.”

He said that McFadden has “decided to make himself kind of a centerpiece in the refusal to enforce immigration law here in North Carolina, adding, “It’s not so much the refusal to enforce immigration law, but it’s the refusal to enforce state law that says he must cooperate with ICE and ICE detainers when people are in custody in his facilities.”

WHO IS IRYNA ZARUTSKA, UKRAINIAN REFUGEE KILLED IN CHARLOTTE TRAIN ATTACK?

“Last summer, we had the unfortunate death of a young Ukrainian national that had sought refuge in our country and in our state,” Chesser went on. “I think that all North Carolinians, and all people who find themselves in North Carolina, should be able to count on one thing when it comes to public safety, and that is whether or not you are safe and whether or not the law will be enforced is not dependent on what county you find yourself in.”

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“North Carolina is a safe state for all the people who choose to come here, and that is the point of the Oversight Committee [hearing] that we were having was, making sure that the law is equally applied and fairly applied across all imaginary lines in our state,” he said.

The Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

Beef prices are soaring — and economists warn Americans shouldn’t expect relief anytime soon, as the U.S. cattle herd shrinks to its smallest size in 75 years.

The massive decrease in cattle numbers has been caused by years of drought, soaring costs and an aging ranching workforce. Agricultural economists and ranchers alike say rebuilding herds will take years, meaning beef prices aren’t likely to ease anytime soon.

“The biggest thing has been drought,” said Eric Belasco, head of the agricultural economics department at Montana State University. 

Years of dry weather have wiped out grasslands across the West and Plains, leaving ranchers without enough feed or water to sustain their herds. Many have been forced to sell cattle early, even the cows needed to produce the next generation of calves, making it difficult to rebuild America’s herds.

THE COST OF THIS GROCERY STAPLE IS NEARING RECORD HIGHS — AND AMERICANS CAN’T GET ENOUGH

Data from the Kansas City Federal Reserve found that with each incremental increase in drought severity, cattle-producing regions see about a 12% drop in hay production, a 5% rise in hay prices, a 1% reduction in herd size and a 4% decline in farm income.

That slow recovery isn’t just economic — it’s biological, according to Derrell Peel, a professor of agricultural economics at Oklahoma State University.

“The fact of the matter is there’s really nothing anybody can do to change this very quickly,” Peel said. “We’re in a tight supply situation that took several years to develop, and it’ll take several years to get out of it.”

Peel, who specializes in livestock marketing, said it takes roughly two years to bring cattle to market and several years to rebuild herds — leaving little room for short-term relief.

THE SINGLE CRUSHING PROBLEM AMERICAN CATTLE RANCHERS WISH TRUMP WOULD FIX INSTEAD

And once herds shrink, the loss is hard to reverse. 

That reality is unfolding deep in ranch country. Cole Bolton, owner of K&C Cattle Company, whose pastures stretch along the soft edge of the Texas Hill Country, said the cattle industry is still in the early stages of recovery.

“I think it’s going to take a while to fix this crisis that we’re in with the cattle shortage,” Bolton told Fox News Digital. “My message to consumers is simple: folks, be patient. We’ve got to build back our herds.”

About 1,000 miles away, Will Harris, a fourth-generation cattleman in Bluffton, Georgia, said the ripple effects of the shrinking cattle herd are now landing squarely on consumers.

“The American cattle herd is smaller than it has been since the 1950s and that contraction has pushed beef prices to historic highs. Demand is strong, but domestic supply simply isn’t meeting it and that gap is being felt most by consumers,” said Harris, owner of White Oak Pastures.

According to U.S. Department of Agriculture data, the average price of beef in grocery stores climbed from about $8.40 per pound in March to $10.10 per pound by December 2025, a roughly 20% increase.

IN TEXAS CATTLE COUNTRY, ONE RANCHER WELCOMES TRUMP’S FOCUS ON DECADES OF THIN MARGINS

Despite rising prices, Americans haven’t blinked. In 2025, shoppers spent more than $45 billion on beef, buying more than 6.2 billion pounds, according to data from Beef Research, a contractor for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.

Spending jumped about 12% from a year earlier, while the amount of beef sold rose more than 4% — a sign consumers aren’t just paying more, they’re buying more.

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The revelation comes as President Donald Trump temporarily expands beef imports from Argentina to blunt high grocery prices, while also laying out longer-term plans to bolster the U.S. cattle industry.

While imports could ease pressure at the grocery store in the short term, ranchers and economists alike say they are no substitutes for rebuilding the domestic cattle supply.

During a House Ways and Means Committee hearing Tuesday, former U.S. tech mogul Neville Roy Singham was regularly named in the discussion and debate as to how foreign adversaries help fund U.S. agitator groups through what one witness described as “foreign dark money.”

Singham, a U.S. citizen who sold his IT consulting company for $785 million before moving to Shanghai, was accused by multiple members of Congress as the man behind the “Singham [Chinese Communist Party] network,” a phrase coined by committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., during his opening remarks at the hearing.

“It’s no wonder that the People’s Forum echoes Communist Party propaganda,” Smith said. “One of their largest donors is a wealthy former U.S. tech executive living in Shanghai who is cozy, extremely cozy with the Chinese Communist Party.

“Neville Roy Singham and his wife, a co-founder of CodePink, donated over $20 million to the People’s Forum through shell companies and donor advised funds to hide the original source of the money.”

CCP-CONNECTED MILLIONAIRE ALLEGEDLY BANKROLLS MINNEAPOLIS AGITATOR GROUPS THROUGH DARK MONEY NETWORK

“This committee has worked tirelessly to unravel, to unravel, the Singam CCP network,” Smith added.

In April, Smith sent a letter with GOP committee members to then-IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel requesting information about “specific tax-exempt organizations that promote CCP propaganda and related initiatives,” including the People’s Forum.

The People’s Forum has been one of the loudest voices encouraging and facilitating agitators to take to the streets for anti-ICE demonstrations, and Fox News Digital learned that Smith also sent letters to BreakThrough BT Media Inc. and Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research ahead of Tuesday’s hearing requesting information about alleged ties to Singham.

FAR-LEFT NONPROFITS IN THE HOT SEAT AS LAWMAKER EXPOSES THEM FOR ‘SOWING CHAOS’ IN US

The groups also have reported ties to the pro-Nicolás Maduro demonstrations, which took place after the Trump administration’s arrest of the Venezuelan dictator last month. 

Singham, who shares office space in Shanghai with Maku Group, a Chinese media company associated with pro-CCP propaganda Singham has helped fund, was at the center of an often-referenced New York Times expose published in 2023. 

The report was mentioned several times during the hearing, with witnesses and members of Congress pointing to the detailed description of how Singham uses his dark money network in an attempt to erase traces of Chinese communist influence.

Singham couldn’t be subpoenaed to testify in Tuesday’s committee hearing because his Shanghai residency shields him from being legally obligated to appear before Congress.

His inability to be subpoenaed is just one example of the many loopholes that Singham utilizes to peddle money allegedly to promote the CCP. 

“We see a sophisticated, multi-layered flow of capital funds that originate in Singham and Shanghai, Rep. Darin LaHood, R-Ill., said during the hearing. “[Funds] move through his private LLCs and then are transferred to a donor-advised fund.”

FOREIGN BILLIONAIRES FUNNEL $2.6B TO US ADVOCACY GROUPS TO INFLUENCE POLICY, WATCHDOG REPORT CLAIMS 

“From there, the money is granted to Singham’s own nonprofits that act as a pass through, such as the Justice and Education Fund and the People Support Foundation, which subsequently distribute the funds to other groups in the Singham Network, like the media outlet Breakthrough News or the People’s Forum, which organizes protests that have turned violent,” LaHood added.

FAR-LEFT AGITATOR WHO ORGANIZED MN CHURCH STORMING RAKED IN OVER $1 MILLION FROM ANTI-POVERTY NONPROFIT

The New York Times reported that some of the organizations in Singham’s network had office addresses in suspicious locations like general UPS mailboxes and that tracing the Shanghai resident’s cash flow from China to U.S. protests is challenging given his extensive efforts to minimize or cover up financial footprints.

“Singham attended Chinese Communist Party propaganda trainings, shared offices with Chinese state media in Shanghai and exploited U.S. tax law to move tens of millions of dollars through donor-advised funds, primarily via Goldman Sachs,” Adam Sohn, Network Contagion Research Institute co-founder and committee witness explained during the hearing. 

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“Together, these entities form a coordinated $100 million system.”

Fox News Digital reached out to The People’s Forum, BreakThrough BT Media Inc., Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research and Singham, but did not receive responses.

Fox News’ Asra Q. Nomani contributed to this report.

Newly released FBI footage of a masked, armed person at Nancy Guthrie’s Arizona home on the morning of her disappearance drew an immediate response from the White House on Tuesday, with press secretary Karoline Leavitt saying the president reacted with “pure disgust.”

Minutes before the White House briefing, the FBI released photos and video of a masked person seemingly tampering with a Nest security camera outside the 84-year-old’s Tuscon front door on Feb. 1, the day she vanished, while armed with what appears to be a handgun.

The shocking footage was recovered Tuesday morning from residual data located in backend systems in coordination with private sector partners, according to a statement from FBI Director Kash Patel.

Leavitt said she and President Donald Trump were reviewing the new evidence immediately prior to the press briefing, giving insight into the president’s initial takeaways.

AUTHORITIES RELEASE VIDEO OF POTENTIAL SUBJECT IN NANCY GUTHRIE CASE

“His initial reaction, of course, as all Americans, is just pure disgust,” Leavitt said. “It’s heartbreaking to see now this footage really bring to life a story we’ve all been reading about. And again, we’re just praying for the safety of Nancy Guthrie and that she will return home soon. The president directed me to please encourage all Americans with any information to call the FBI, and we hope that this case will come to a positive resolution as soon as possible.”

Leavitt said she has not spoken with the president specifically about if he believes the person seen in the newly released footage acted alone.

When asked about potential federal consequences if Guthrie is not released unharmed, Leavitt said, “Anyone who was involved in this depraved crime, this abduction, of course, we want to be seen held to the fullest extent of the law possible.”

NEIGHBOR SPOTTED MYSTERIOUS WHITE VAN BEFORE SAVANNAH GUTHRIE’S MOTHER VANISHED FROM HOME: REPORT

She added the FBI, which has posted a reward of up to $50,000, continues to assist state and local authorities who are leading the investigation on the ground.

“Once again, I will reiterate that the prayers of this entire White House are with Savannah [Guthrie] and her family at this time, and we hope this person is found soon and that her mother is brought home safely,” Leavitt said.

Guthrie was last seen at her home at about 9:30 p.m. Feb. 1, and was reported missing by her family around noon the next day, according to the Pima County Sheriff’s Department.

ONLY ONE LOCAL DETECTIVE ON NANCY GUTHRIE CASE HAS OVER TWO YEARS OF EXPERIENCE ON HOMICIDE SQUAD: SOURCES

While officials did not immediately elaborate on the circumstances of her disappearance, they said they believe Guthrie was either kidnapped or abducted, and noted blood was found outside the home.

Suspected ransom notes were received by authorities, though the two deadlines officials confirmed were listed in the notes have since passed without payment.

Days after Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance, Trump said he called her daughter, NBC “Today” co-host Savannah Guthrie, to offer additional federal support.

SECOND, ‘FAR MORE CONSEQUENTIAL’ RANSOM DEADLINE EXPIRES MONDAY FOR MISSING NANCY GUTHRIE, TMZ FOUNDER SAYS

“I think it’s terrible,” the president said. “I’m going to call [Savannah Guthrie] later on. I think it’s a terrible thing.… Very unusual situation, but we’re going to find out.”

Despite the pair’s showdown in an October 2020 NBC town hall, Trump added, “I always got along very good with Savannah.”

During the Miami town hall, Savannah Guthrie pressed Trump on his administration’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, and his social media reposts questioning Usama bin Laden’s death.

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At one point, she accused Trump of “sending a lie” to his followers, comparing him to “someone’s crazy uncle.”

Nancy Guthrie, who is reportedly not in good health, turned 84 on Jan. 27, just five days before her disappearance.

Anyone with information about her disappearance is asked to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov.

A grand jury in the nation’s capital on Tuesday refused the Justice Department‘s attempt to indict a group of Democratic lawmakers who encouraged U.S. military members to ignore “illegal” orders in a video posted online.

The DOJ opened an investigation into the video featuring six Democratic lawmakers calling on troops and members of the intelligence community to defy illegal orders from the federal government. The lawmakers all served in the military or at intelligence agencies.

The lawmakers in the video were Sens. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan and Mark Kelly of Arizona, as well as Reps. Chris Deluzio and Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania, Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire and Jason Crow of Colorado.

“This administration is pitting our uniformed military and intelligence community professionals against American citizens,” the lawmakers said in the video. “Like us, you all swore an oath to protect and defend this Constitution. Right now, the threats coming to our Constitution aren’t just coming from abroad but from right here at home. Our laws are clear. You can refuse illegal orders. You must refuse illegal orders. No one has to carry out orders that violate the law or our Constitution.”

DEM SENATOR SAYS SHE’S UNDER FEDERAL INVESTIGATION OVER ‘UNLAWFUL ORDERS’ VIDEO

Grand jurors declined to sign off on charges against the lawmakers, according to The Associated Press. It was not immediately clear whether prosecutors had pursued indictments against all six lawmakers or what charges they attempted to bring.

Prosecutors could still attempt to secure an indictmentto secure an indictment against the Democrats.

President Donald Trump had accused the lawmakers of being “traitors” who engaged in “sedition at the highest level” and “should be in jail.” He even suggested they should be executed over the video, although he later attempted to walk that comment back.

Slotkin, who previously worked at the CIA and Defense Department, was targeted with a bomb threat just days after the clip and Trump’s subsequent statements suggesting the Democrats be executed.

SEN MARK KELLY DIGS IN ON ‘ILLEGAL ORDERS’ STANCE, TELLS JIMMY KIMMEL HE’S ‘NOT BACKING DOWN’

“Tonight we can score one for the Constitution, our freedom of speech, and the rule of law,” Slotkin said in a statement on Tuesday. “But today wasn’t just an embarrassing day for the Administration. It was another sad day for our country.”

Kelly, a former Navy pilot, called the attempt to bring charges an “outrageous abuse of power by Donald Trump and his lackeys.”

“Donald Trump wants every American to be too scared to speak out against him,” Kelly said on X. “The most patriotic thing any of us can do is not back down.”

In November, the Pentagon launched an investigation into Kelly, pointing to a federal law that allows retired service members to be recalled to active duty on orders of the secretary for possible court-martial or other punishment.

Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth has censured Kelly and is attempting to retroactively demote Kelly from his retired rank of captain over his participation in the video, which affirms that refusing unlawful orders is a standard part of military protocol.

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“As a retired Navy Captain who is still receiving a military pension, Captain Kelly knows he is still accountable to military justice,” Hegseth wrote in an X post on Jan. 5.

Kelly responded by suing Hegseth to block those proceedings, which he called an unconstitutional act of retribution.

During a hearing last week, a judge appeared to be skeptical of key arguments that a government attorney made in defense of Hegseth’s move last month to censure the Arizona senator.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Justice Department has installed a Missouri-based U.S. prosecutor to head the Trump administration’s election probe in Fulton County, Georgia, according to recent court records, marking the latest instance in which an out-of-state prosecutor has been tasked with a leading role in a politically charged case.

The involvement of Thomas Albus, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri, was revealed last month when he signed off on a Fulton County search warrant that authorized the FBI’s raid of a key Georgia election hub. The warrant authorized federal agents to seize a broad range of election records, voting rolls, and other data tied to the 2020 election, according to a copy reviewed by Fox News Digital.

The news, and the timing of Albus’ appointment, have sparked questions over the scope of the effort, including whether it is a one-off designed to shore up election-related vulnerabilities ahead of the midterms or part of a broader test case for expanded federal authority.

It also prompted Fulton County officials to sue the FBI earlier this month, demanding the return of the seized ballots.

COMEY SEEKS TO TOSS CRIMINAL CASE CALLING TRUMP PROSECUTOR ‘UNLAWFUL’ APPOINTEE

The FBI’s decision to order the raid remains unclear, adding further uncertainty as to why Trump may have tapped Albus.

But the scope of the case is significant. Fulton County officials told reporters this month that FBI agents were seen carrying some 700 boxes of ballots from a warehouse near the election hub and loading them into a truck.

More answers could be revealed soon. The judge assigned to rule on Fulton County’s motion ordered the Justice Department to file by 5 p.m. Tuesday the arguments it made in its effort to obtain the search warrant. 

But it’s unclear how much information will be revealed as many of the documents are widely expected to remain under seal. 

Still, the installation comes as Fulton County emerged as “ground zero” for complaints about voter fraud in the wake of the 2020 presidential elections, including from Trump, who lost the state to former President Joe Biden by a razor-thin margin.

And while it’s not the first time Trump’s Justice Department has sought to assign prosecutors to issues outside their district lines, unlike other efforts, the legality of Albus’s role in the district is likely to be upheld. 

Attorney General Pam Bondi reportedly tapped Albus last month to oversee election integrity cases nationwide, according to multiple news outlets. 

The DOJ did not immediately return Fox News Digital’s request for comment on the nature of his role in Georgia or elsewhere.

Under federal law — 28 U.S. Code § 515 — Bondi has the legal authority to appoint an individual to coordinate civil and criminal cases, including grand jury proceedings, across all federal districts nationwide. 

Albus also spent years as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Justice Department, where he helped prosecute hundreds of federal cases and jury trials, including on charges of white-collar crime, tax offenses, public corruption, and more.

WATCHDOG SOUNDS ALARM OVER POTENTIAL NONCITIZEN VOTING AND FOREIGN INFLUENCE AHEAD OF MIDTERMS

Still, his installment is not completely without criticism. 

Some have played up his role as a former deputy attorney for then-Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt in 2020. 

Schmitt, now a U.S. senator, was one of 17 Republican attorneys general who filed a brief supporting Trump’s push to invalidate the election results of four battleground states after the election. 

There are key differences between his installment and the installment of former Trump lawyer Lindsey Halligan, tapped last year to serve as interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. She was also the sole prosecutor who secured the indictments against former FBI director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

A judge ruled in November she was illegally appointed to her role, prompting the dismissals of both cases.

Legal experts have cited differences between Halligan’s role and Albus’s role, which appears to enjoy wide protection under federal law.

“Unlike Halligan, Albus’ appointment appears to be lawful under a federal statute that permits the attorney general to direct ‘any other officer of the Department of Justice’ to ‘conduct any kind of legal proceeding, civil or criminal … whether or not he is a resident of the district in which the proceeding is brought,’” Barbara McQuade, a former U.S. attorney and University of Michigan Law School professor, said in a Bloomberg op-ed.

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“But sidelining Atlanta U.S. Attorney Theodore Hertzberg in favor of Albus is concerning nonetheless — especially given his ties to Trump allies.”

Senate Democrats aren’t ready to concede in their push for stringent reforms to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and are ready to buck Senate Republicans’ plans to avert a partial shutdown. 

Their resistance comes as Senate Republicans and the White House have floated a counteroffer to Democrats’ proposed DHS and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reforms. But the two sides remain far apart on a deal to fund the agency, and they are quickly running out of time.

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., the top-ranking Senate Democrat on the Homeland Security spending panel, said he would not support another short-term DHS funding extension unless Republicans made meaningful concessions on immigration enforcement.

SCHUMER, JEFFRIES TRASH TRUMP’S DHS PROPOSAL AS ‘INCOMPLETE AND INSUFFICIENT’

Murphy also dismissed the White House’s proposal as a list of “sophomoric talking points.”

“We had plenty of time, they wasted two weeks,” Murphy said. “They still haven’t given us any meaningful answer or response.” 

His position is shared by several Senate Democrats who have unified around a push to codify a list of 10 DHS reforms. Those include requirements that ICE agents obtain judicial warrants, unmask and display identification, provisions Republicans have labeled red lines.

The standoff follows criticism late Monday from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., who rejected President Donald Trump’s counteroffer.

In a joint statement, the leaders said the proposal “is both incomplete and insufficient in terms of addressing the concerns Americans have about ICE’s lawless conduct.” Jeffries added he would not support another short-term funding patch, known as a continuing resolution (CR), Tuesday morning. 

SENATE RACES TO AVERT THIRD SHUTDOWN AS DHS DEAL TAKES SHAPE

Schumer argued that there was plenty of time to hash out a deal. 

“There’s no reason we can’t get this done by Thursday,” he said. 

With Friday’s funding deadline approaching, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., teed up a backup plan Tuesday night as the risk of a shutdown grew.

Thune and Senate Republicans have warned since Trump and Schumer finalized a broader funding agreement earlier this month that Congress did not have enough time to negotiate and pass a revised DHS funding bill in just two weeks.

“I understand that, on the other side of the Capitol, the Democrats are already objecting to that, which is no big surprise since they haven’t voted for anything yet,” Thune said.

“I think there are Democrats in both the House and the Senate who do want to see this addressed,” he added. “I’m hopeful the conversations lead to an outcome, but we probably won’t know by the time the current CR expires.”

REPUBLICANS WARN DEMOCRATS’ ICE REFORM PUSH IS COVER TO DEFUND BORDER ENFORCEMENT

As with most funding fights, both parties accuse the other of failing to negotiate in good faith.

“I’m not for putting DHS on a CR until they show us they are serious about doing something,” Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., the top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, told Fox News Digital.

Republicans counter that Democrats spent more than a week drafting their proposal, while the White House produced a counteroffer in less than two days.

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Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., told Fox News Digital Republicans didn’t expect their counterparts to accept their offer, “but we didn’t accept theirs either.” 

“Hopefully, this is a working footprint,” Mullin said. “We can start negotiating because we’re definitely not accepting their things. But the thing is, what we’re trying to do is protect the ability for ICE and our border agents to do their job. I think it’s pretty clear, though, unless the Democrats want to shut down DHS, we’re going to have to do another CR.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt brushed off a question about Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein during a press briefing Tuesday before redirecting her response and mentioning the administration’s recent wins before ending a news conference. 

“Secretary Lutnick remains a very important member of President Trump’s team, and the president fully supports the secretary,” Leavitt said Tuesday when asked if President Donald Trump and the White House still support the Commerce chief after his testimony before the Senate Appropriations subcommittee Tuesday. 

Leavitt was repeatedly questioned about Epstein during the news conference, including regarding Lutnick telling lawmakers Tuesday he visited Epstein’s notorious island while on a family vacation in 2012 but that he otherwise had no relationship with the convicted sex offender. 

“My wife was with me, as were my four children and nannies,” he said Tuesday. “I had another couple with. They were there as well with their children, and we had lunch on the island — that is true — for an hour.

TRUMP THANKED FLORIDA POLICE FOR EPSTEIN PROBE IN 2000S, FLAGGED ‘EVIL’ GHISLAINE MAXWELL: FBI DOC

“I did not have any relationship with him. I barely had anything to do with that person, OK?”

Lutnick previously said he cut off contact with Epstein in 2005, but recent document releases from the Department of Justice’s investigations into Epstein show the pair communicated years later. Democrats and other critics have increasingly called for Lutnick’s ouster amid the document release, sparking questions whether the administration continues to support the Commerce chief. 

EPSTEIN VICTIMS USE SUPER BOWL COMMERCIAL TO PRESSURE PAM BONDI OVER WITHHELD FILES

Leavitt said the administration continues to back Lutnick before launching into a series of wins notched under Trump’s watch that the media did not ask about during the press conference, including the Dow Jones Industrial Average crossing 50,000 points for the first time ever earlier in February. 

“I will just point out that there are a lot of wins in the news this week that people in this room have not asked about because you continue to ask questions about the same subject,” Leavitt said. 

“So, let me point them out for you again. On Friday, the Dow shattered 50,000 for the first time ever. This week, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons came out in opposition to gender mutilation surgeries for children. They are the first major medical group to do so.

GHISLAINE MAXWELL PLEADS FIFTH AMENDMENT, DODGES QUESTIONS IN HOUSE OVERSIGHT EPSTEIN PROBE

“A federal appeals court today — nobody asked about that — just upheld the Trump administration’s policy of detaining illegal aliens, validating the strong measures that have driven illegal crossings to historic lows and sent a crystal clear message that, under President Trump, if you enter the country illegally, you will be detained and removed” she continued. 

“Again, not a single question about this as the murder rate has plunged to a 125-year low as crime falls across the board thanks to President Trump’s crime crackdown.” 

Leavitt added that national median rent prices fell to four-year lows and that mortgage affordability surged to a four-year high as the administration hammers home affordability to ease housing and cost woes. 

“There’s a reason why Americans’ trust in mainstream media outlets is at an all-time low. They’re Fake News,” White House spokesman Kush Desai told Fox News Digital later Tuesday when asked about the exchange. “The Trump Administration will never hesitate to share the truth with the American people.”

Leavitt wrapped up the news conference after mentioning the administration’s wins, noting Trump’s busy schedule. 

The briefing started roughly 40 minutes late, and Leavitt attributed the delay to a meeting with Trump to review updates on the Nancy Guthrie missing person case. The briefing lasted a total of just over 20 minutes. 

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“We’re going to get back to business. The president is very busy today, and you will see him all tomorrow at the event in the East Room touting his administration’s energy policy,” she said.

The House of Representatives is readying to vote on a bill that would mandate photo identification for voters across the United States in the coming 2026 midterm elections.

The House Rules Committee, the final gatekeeper before most bills see a chamber-wide vote, advanced the SAVE America Act on Tuesday as conservatives continue to pressure the Senate to take up the bill after its likely House passage.

It’s a sweeping piece of legislation aimed at keeping non-citizens from participating in U.S. elections.

Democrats have attacked the bill as tantamount to voter suppression, while Republicans argue that it’s necessary after the influx of millions of illegal immigrants who came to the U.S. during the four years of the Biden administration.

TRUMP UNDERCUTS GOP PUSH TO ATTACH SAVE ACT TO SHUTDOWN BILL AS CONSERVATIVES THREATEN MUTINY

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters it would get a vote on Wednesday.

The legislation is led by Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, in the House, and Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, in the Senate.

It is an updated version of Roy’s Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which passed the House in April 2025 but was never taken up in the Senate.

Whereas the SAVE Act would create a new federal proof of citizenship mandate in the voter registration process and impose requirements for states to keep their rolls clear of ineligible voters, the updated bill would also require photo ID to vote in any federal elections.

It would also require information-sharing between state election officials and federal authorities in verifying citizenship on current voter rolls and enable the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to pursue immigration cases if non-citizens were found to be listed as eligible to vote.

The legislation is highly likely to pass the House, where the vast majority — if not virtually all — Republicans have supported similar pushes in the past.

THIS SENATE DEMOCRAT WANTS VOTER ID FOR HIS CAMPAIGN EVENTS — BUT NOT FEDERAL ELECTIONS

But in the Senate, where current rules say 60 votes are needed to overcome a filibuster and hold a final vote on a bill, at least seven Democrats would be needed even if all Republicans stuck together.

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It’s why House conservatives are pushing Senate GOP leaders to change rules in a way that would effectively do away with the 60-vote threshold, even if alternative paths mean paralyzing the upper chamber with hours of nonstop debate.

“[Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.] will take it up. The only question is, will he take it up in an environment where it can pass?” Roy posed to Fox News Digital on Tuesday. 

“My view is that the majority leader can and should. I’m not afraid of amendment votes…we should table all their amendments, force them to run through all their speaking, make them take the floor and filibuster.”

Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., lamented during a hearing on Capitol Hill Tuesday that allegations about foreign funding and coordination among anti-ICE agitators are “delegitimizing” people’s justified “anger” and “fear” caused by federal immigration officers.

Kim also called the questioning “dangerous” during the Tuesday hearing, which was about fraud and touched on concerns that foreign adversaries were financing anti-ICE efforts in the U.S. to create a strategic smokescreen meant to deter accountability away from their massive criminal fraud enterprises.      

“People all over this country are frustrated and concerned and upset. They’re scared and they’re worried about things because they just saw two American citizens get killed in the street by federal agents,” Kim said Tuesday. 

FOREIGN BILLIONAIRES FUNNEL $2.6B TO US ADVOCACY GROUPS TO INFLUENCE POLICY, WATCHDOG REPORT CLAIMS

“The idea that people would be saying that this type of anger and this type of of outrage – whether in New Jersey or in Minnesota – is being predominantly coordinated in this type of way,” he continued. “I just have to say it is delegitimizing the anger and the fear that people are facing right now … The way in which it’s been described … I just think is very dangerous right now. And I hope that we can still say and recognize that there are a lot of people, a lot of people that are furious right now and worried.”

The Senator’s arguments, such as that the violence from anti-ICE agitators stems from justified anger and that the questioning of how this violence is being organized “delegitimizes” protesting, have been frequently touted by Democrats in the past, and not just as it pertains to the ongoing anti-ICE sentiment.  

During a separate congressional hearing in December, Rep. Julie Johnson, D-Texas, described attacks against ICE agents – which are up 12,000%, according to the Trump administration – as the result of people “channeling [their] frustration.”

“You’re seeing an overwhelming frustration of the American people in this country that the lack of respect and regard for the rule of law from this administration, and in particular by this Secretary, is at a level we have never seen and violates all of the constitutional norms and all of the principles of legal fairness in this country,” Johnson said. “And you’re seeing that manifest itself in threats to law enforcement, in bubbling over, because people are frustrated, and they are channeling that frustration because the administration is not listening.”

HAWLEY TARGETS MINNESOTA FRAUD, CCP-LINKED MONEY AT SENATE HEARING: ‘TAXPAYERS ROBBED BLIND’

Meanwhile, in 2024, amid ongoing protests regarding the situation in Gaza and other civil unrest, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) described former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s calls for the FBI to investigate Gaza ceasefire protests for connections to Russia as “incredibly dangerous.”

“From Martin Luther King Jr. to Black Lives Matter protesters, the FBI has long used ‘foreign influence’ as an excuse to conduct illegal surveillance on Americans exercising free speech rights,” the ACLU said in a post on X in 2024.     

Despite claims that foreign funding accusations act as a smokescreen to “legitimize” lawful First Amendment activity, Republican-aligned witnesses during the Tuesday hearing argued billionaires, including some with ties to foreign adversaries, such as Neville Roy Singham and Hansjorg Wyss, pumped $60 million into the agitation efforts aimed at disrupting federal immigration efforts.

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“It comes in the form of a check, a six-figure check,” said Government Accountability Institute VP Seamus Bruner. “We’ve built a database that contains hundreds of thousands of rows from grants from networks like the Soros Network, the Arabella funding network – as mentioned – the Neville Roy Singham funding network, many others, Tides, the Ford Foundation network, the Rockefeller Funding network, these massive NGOs that have billions of dollars to spend on all kinds of coordinated protest, or in this case, riot activity.”

Republican Sen. Susan Collins is well aware of the tough path ahead as she officially kicks off her 2026 re-election campaign in blue-leaning Maine.

Collins is the top target for Senate Democrats as they try to win back the chamber’s majority in November’s midterm elections.

“Chuck Schumer has made me once again — this is the third time he’s done this — his number one target,” Collins said in an interview with Fox News Digital soon after she announced her re-election bid, as she pointed to the longtime top Democrat in the Senate.

Collins took to social media a couple of hours earlier to declare, “GOOD NEWS! I am ALL-IN for 2026.”

LONGTIME REPUBLICAN SENATOR MAKES A MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT

Democrats have long targeted the 73-year-old Collins, who was first elected to the Senate three decades ago, but keep coming up short.

“I will be outspent as I was in 2020, but fortunately, Maine people are famously independent. They look at the individual candidates, and they don’t just necessarily vote a party line,” the senator said.

Collins was one of the Senate Republicans who voted to convict after the House impeached President Donald Trump in 2021, following the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of the president aiming to upend congressional certification of the 2020 presidential election results.

IS THE REPUBLICAN SENATE MAJORITY AT RISK IN MIDTERM ELECTIONS?

And Collins has earned Trump’s ire with Senate votes that go against the administration’s wishes.

Trump has so far not made an endorsement in the pivotal contest, and has taken shots at Collins throughout the year for breaking ranks with him and Republicans, particularly when she voted in favor of bipartisan legislation that would have reined in his war authorities in Venezuela.

Trump declared that Collins and the handful of other Republicans that voted with Democrats to curb his war powers “should never be elected to office again.”

“Republicans should be ashamed of the Senators that just voted with Democrats in attempting to take away our Powers to fight and defend the United States of America,” Trump said in a Truth Social post at the time.

When asked if Trump should weigh in, or stay neutral in the contest, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said, “I would defer to Susan Collins on that.”

“I think she knows how to run in Maine. She’s been incredibly successful there. She is a veteran campaigner who knows her state well and knows what works,” Thune said.

“So I would, I guess, defer to her on any decisions that are made related to her campaign and what she would like to see happen or not see happen in terms of endorsements, but we will be all in trying to make sure that she gets re-elected,” he continued.

Her willingness to criticize Trump and to break with his policies may be beneficial to Collins, who needs support from independents and some Democrats to earn re-election.

“What I think the President’s criticism demonstrates is that I’m independent in the way I approach issues. I look at what the impact is on the state of Maine and what the impact is on the country and Mainers appreciate that,” she told Fox News Digital.

Collins emphasized, “I support President Trump when I think he’s right, I don’t when I think he’s wrong, and that’s the approach I’ve always taken with all of the presidents with whom I’ve worked. I’ve never agreed 100% with any of them. So, this President is more outspoken when you disagree with him than previous presidents, but I think that I can fully justify how I have voted.”

TRUMP BLASTS GOP WAR POWERS DEFECTORS, SAYS THEY ‘SHOULD NEVER BE ELECTED TO OFFICE AGAIN’

But the Maine Democratic Party charged in a statement that “Susan Collins has spent the last 30 years betraying Maine, from stripping Mainers’ affordable health care, to casting the decisive vote to confirm Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade, to voting with Donald Trump 94% of the time.”

“She now faces some of the lowest approval ratings of her career because Mainers see through her political games and fake shows of concern. In November, we will reject her at the ballot box,” added state party executive director Devon Murphy-Anderson.

National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Chair Sen. Tim Scott called Collins “a battle-tested leader whose fierce independence has led to historic wins for Maine.”

But in a closed-door NRSC briefing last week to Senate Republicans, Scott pointed to the latest Fox News national poll which showed the GOP facing a ballot box deficit, and said it could impact specific Senate races this year.

GOP sources confirmed to Fox News Digital that Scott said the toughest challenge may be in Maine.

Collins is likely to face either two-term Democratic Gov. Jane Mills, who has the tacit support of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and the DSCC, or political newcomer, veteran, and oyster farmer Graham Platner, who is backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, in November. The Democratic primary, which is expected to be competitive, is scheduled for June.

Collins charged that Democrats are working “to distort my record,” with Democratic-aligned outside groups running ads “that are provably false and that’s very disappointing. The people of Maine deserve better.”

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Asked whom she’d rather face in the general election, Collins said, “I leave that up to the Democrats to decide. I know that a ton of outside money is going to be poured into this race, regardless of who the Democratic candidate is.”

Progressive Rep. Shri Thanedar, D-Mich., exploded on U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott, calling federal immigration officers “thugs” and telling the commissioner he “better hope” for a presidential pardon during a particularly heated House hearing on Tuesday.

Thanedar, who is originally from India and immigrated to the U.S. in the 1980’s, drilled into Scott, saying, “You better hope you get pardoned because you will be held accountable for the absolute disregard of the law your agencies have shown over the past year.”

The exchange occurred during a House Homeland Security hearing on “Oversight of the Department of Homeland Security: ICE, CBP, and USCIS.” During the hearing, Thanedar grilled Scott and Acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Todd Lyons on the recent shooting of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal officers in Minnesota.

After Lyons and Scott repeatedly backed their officers through Thanedar’s questioning, the congressman said, “I have heard and seen enough. I’m just sick and tired of your agents running around in our cities, in our streets, causing illegal activities, ICE thugs attacking our communities, using our children as bait, referring to people as bodies and numbers, targeting people for their accents and the color of their skin, and killing American citizens, all while showing zero remorse for their actions.”

DEMOCRATS DEMAND KRISTI NOEM BE FIRED OR WARN IMPEACHMENT WILL FOLLOW

Going further, Thanedar asked, “Director Lyons and Commissioner Scott, do you think President Trump will pardon you and your boss, Kristi Noem, before he leaves office, just like he has for insurrectionists and his political allies? Do you believe President Trump will pardon you?”

Scott answered, “I’m not going to speak on behalf of President Trump, but I’ll tell you, I signed up for this job to protect America, and I’m very proud of the service that I provide, and I don’t need a pardon from anybody.”

“Well, you’d better hope so. You better hope you get pardoned,” Thanedar shot back. “Because you will be held accountable for the absolute disregard of the law your agencies have shown over the past year.”

ICE ARRESTS MURDERERS, PEDOPHILES DURING SUPER BOWL WEEKEND AS AGENTS SAY HALFTIME SHOW ‘DEMONIZED’ THEM

Thanedar continued, “Your agencies have lost the trust of the American people, with millions taking to the streets to protect the illegal actions of your agencies. And that’s why I introduced a bill in the United States Congress to abolish ICE. ICE must be abolished.”

The congressman added that he “also co-sponsored a bill to impeach” Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, saying, “I believe Kristi Noem must be impeached, and this Congress must do everything in its power to carry out oversight actions against these rogue departments.”

ICE ACTING DIRECTOR SAYS MINNESOTA BODYCAM FOOTAGE WILL BE RELEASED AMID TRANSPARENCY PUSH

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Before Thanedar finished, Homeland Security Committee Chair Andrew Garbarino, R-N.Y., cut in, saying, “The gentleman’s time is expired” and calling the hearing into recess.

EXCLUSIVE: Three members of Congress representing heavily-Cuban-American districts are demanding the Trump administration shut off the remaining commercial “valves” of support for the Communist Castro/Díaz-Canel regime in Havana, after effectively blockading key oil imports in recent days.

The demand from Reps. Carlos Giménez, Mario Díaz-Balart and María Elvira Salazar, all R-Fla., comes as Cuban despot Miguel Díaz-Canel warned his country is “close to failing” — according to German outlet Deutsche Welle — and that oil supplies, amid the threat of U.S. tariffs on exporters to Cuba, may run out within 15 days.

While Díaz-Canel called the U.S.-imposed oil blockade “genocidal” and “fascist,” Giménez, Díaz-Balart and Salazar saw it as a positive development and said they will demand Tuesday that the Commerce Department shut off the other remaining lifelines to the dictatorship that Washington can control.

Those valves come in the form of export licenses for more than $100 million worth of supplies they say largely go not to the Cuban people but directly to enrich the regime.

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Luxury cars, Jacuzzi tubs and other luxury items remain open to export through licenses given to several Miami-area firms, according to Giménez’s office — which provided Fox News Digital with a 50-page document detailing manifests of goods cleared by the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security to be shipped to addresses listed on the Plaza de la Revolución in Havana, as well as Marianao and elsewhere.

Giménez, Díaz-Balart and Salazar wrote to Commerce Undersecretary Jeffrey Kessler and Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control Director Bradley Smith, demanding they take action on these licenses.

“[We are] beyond concerned by U.S. businesses currently engaged in disturbing commercial activity with entities controlled by the regime in Cuba, a listed State Sponsor of Terrorism,” the lawmakers wrote.

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“Such activity risks undermining the central objectives of U.S. sanctions policy and contradicts the intent of Congress as reflected in U.S. law, including the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996.”

The act represents one of the most stringent sanctions laws imposed on the Castro regime.

The lawmakers told Commerce that the first section of the LIBERTAD Act clearly states that U.S. sanctions are meant to deny economic support to Havana until “concrete progress is made toward democratic governance, the rule of law, and respect for fundamental freedoms.”

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“Despite these mandates, a number of licenses issued by both OFAC and BIS continue to authorize transactions that ultimately benefit the Cuban regime and its military-controlled conglomerates,” they wrote.

Such licenses also disregard Congress’ explicit will that sanctions are to be “maintain[ed] until a transition government in Cuba is in place.”

Asked about the publicly available manifest document, Latin America policy analyst Andrés Martínez-Fernández said that while cutting off licensed food and medicine exports is sensitive, much of what is typically cleared for export from Miami often ends up in the hands of the regime rather than the people.

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That includes, he said, goods that seem like they would be destined for civilians.

“A lot of these categories of you know like you say expensive cars and even talking about like cement — we’re exporting building products — and everything’s crumbling in Cuba except for the houses of the government officials and their regime collaborators,” he noted.

Martinez-Fernandez added that he does not view the current export situation as any “purposeful oversight” or that the administration is ignoring any potential lever of pressure.

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“The reality is that we’re doing a lot at the moment with when it comes to sanctions and some of these tools in particular,” he said. “It’s not a press-a-button-and-cut-everything-off; you have to go through everything.”

In their demand, the lawmakers say Commerce must conduct a comprehensive review of all active licenses authorizing commercial or financial dealings with Cuban state entities.

“Revoke any licenses that directly or indirectly provide economic benefit to regime-controlled entities, consistent with the restrictions mandated by the LIBERTAD Act [and] enhance scrutiny of future requests for licensing related to Cuba to ensure full alignment with both the letter and the intent of U.S. law,” they wrote.

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While critical of that particular dynamic, the lawmakers underlined that they are fully supportive of President Donald Trump’s and Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s “decisive action” thus far against the Cuban regime.

“[We] look forward to your agencies strongly enforcing U.S. sanctions against the Cuban dictatorship and upholding the Administration’s common-sense policy against the brutal regime on the island,” they wrote.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Commerce Department for comment on the manifest of exportable goods.