NationalWatch

MINNEAPOLIS — Members of Minnesota’s growing Somali community, including a city council member, tore into President Donald Trump and his administration when speaking with Fox News Digital after Monday’s raid on Rep. Ilhan Omar’s Washington, D.C., residence.

“Somalis — we all feel attacked by President Trump,” Jamal Osman, the Somali-born vice president of the Minneapolis City Council, said of the impact of the raid carried out by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents.

“Our president has broken the law many times. ICE [is] terrorizing our community … and we’re not surprised such action has taken place,” Osman continued in reference to the search of Omar’s home.

FEDERAL AGENTS RAID ILHAN OMAR’S DC HOME AMID IMMIGRATION FRAUD INVESTIGATION

“We have seen the threats, the horrific language he uses against my community. It’s unacceptable, and we’re hoping this could stop,” Osman said.

A 37-year-old social worker and Minneapolis resident named Abdi, who declined to give his last name or be interviewed on camera, had even harsher words for the president. He, like Osman, said he was born in Somalia.

“I feel like raiding a congresswoman — it feels like Donald Trump and his regime wanted to use their power to dehumanize and also humiliate someone that is part of the Congress,” Abdi said.

He claimed that Trump “hates Somali people because of Ilhan Omar.”

Abdi said Trump created “hate” and a “fight” with Somalis in America and claimed that they are being followed and harassed in the streets because of the president.

TRUMP RALLY CROWD CHANTS ‘DEPORT’ AS PRESIDENT RIPS ILHAN OMAR AFTER FEDERAL RAID

“It’s personal,” he said. “And Ilhan Omar — he doesn’t treat her as a congressmember — he treats her as someone who’s below him.”

“If they take the citizenship away from her, then I will say, ‘Are we in a dictatorship?’ That’s using power to use against an American citizen, then maybe the thinking we have for the United States is completely different.”

Osman said the raid is proof of what the Trump administration is willing to do.

“We live in the United States, which is the land of the laws. I don’t expect Trump or anyone in this matter to break the U.S. Constitution,” he continued. “There’s laws. He can, of course, threaten, but there’s a court process, there’s due process. He can’t say he’s gonna deport her, he’s gonna deport me, thousands of Somalis.”

OMAR RAID OUTRAGE GOES FROM BAD TO WORSE WHEN INTERNET NOTICES HER PAST 6-WORD CLAIM: ‘COULDN’T AGREE MORE’

Osman’s message to the president was simple: “Stop it.”

“We’re American citizens like everyone else,” he said.

A third person, a 22-year-old Somali American woman who declined to be named or filmed, told Fox News Digital that she wasn’t surprised about the raid on Omar’s home.

“I thought it was bound to happen soon enough,” she said. “They’ve been talking about her in a negative manner. The government [has been] constantly questioning her immigration status and her naturalization in the country. So it was bound to happen for them to investigate her soon enough.”

When reached about the comments from the Minneapolis Somali community, the White House pointed Fox News Digital to the president’s public reaction to the raid on Monday.

“I’ve always found her to be totally crooked, personally, but that has nothing to do with me,” Trump brushed off. “I think she’s a terrible person. Just a complainer. She comes from a country that is a non-country, and then she comes over here, and she complains about our Constitution.”

“I think she’s a terrible person, but that’s really up to the DOJ. I have nothing to do with it.”

ILHAN OMAR’S HUSBAND INSISTS HE HAS ‘NO CONCERNS’ AMID FEDERAL IMMIGRATION INVESTIGATION

HSI, the principal investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), executed a search warrant at Omar’s home in the nation’s capital early Monday morning, as first reported by Fox News Digital.

Sources confirmed to Fox News Digital that the raid stems from an investigation into whether Omar or her late father, Nur Mohamed, fraudulently filled out her citizenship paperwork decades ago. The investigation, the sources note, could lead to the congresswoman’s denaturalization.

The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that Omar’s phone, passport and computers were seized in the raid — it is not clear which other items or materials were taken from her residence, if any.

Omar has not been seen since the raid, but offered her reaction to the unfolding investigation on social media Monday afternoon.

“This raid by Trump’s DHS is an outrageous abuse of power and an unprecedented escalation in the weaponization of federal law enforcement to target political enemies. For a decade, Donald Trump has relentlessly targeted Congresswoman Ilhan Omar with inflammatory rhetoric, repeatedly putting a target on her back,” she said.

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“Now, those attacks have escalated to a pointless federal raid. The Congresswoman has done nothing wrong. No president should be able to use the power of the federal government to intimidate his political enemies.”

President Donald Trump on Thursday linked Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed to the Muslim Brotherhood amid scrutiny over his alleged family ties to the Islamist organization.

“He’s a Muslim Brotherhood guy, 100%,” Trump said during a lunch in the White House Rose Garden. “He’s a Muslim Brotherhood guy. How about having him be on the Senate Intelligence Committee? How about that? The guy’s 100% Muslim Brotherhood.”

El-Sayed has come under scrutiny from Republicans over social media posts made by his half-sister, Eman Abdelhadi, alleging their mother was an active member of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt during the 1970s.

COUNTERTERRORISM EXPERT WARNS ABDUL EL-SAYED SENATE BID RAISES HOMELAND SECURITY CONCERNS

He has denied any family connections to the group. During a recent interview with NBC’s Meet the Press, El-Sayed rejected the assertions when asked to set the record straight.

“I have no ties; we have no ties,” El-Sayed said.

EL-SAYED ASKED IF HE BELIEVES AMERICA IS ‘READY FOR A MUSLIM PRESIDENT’ AHEAD OF SENATE RACE

He accused political opponents of engaging in anti-Muslim rhetoric rather than addressing his policy positions.

“[Opponent Mike Rogers’] only strategy is to point to me and my name and my faith and to say that we’re different, and that you should suspect people simply because they are different than you in how they pray,” he said.

EL-SAYED’S LIBERAL AGENDA CLASHES WITH MUSLIM VOTERS WHO BACK HIM ANYWAY: ‘MALE VERSION’ OF ILHAN OMAR

However, according to Abdelhadi, their mother was an active member of the Muslim Brotherhood.

“Had an amazing talk with my mom about her activism in the Muslim Brotherhood during the early 70s while she was in college #respect,” Abdelhadi wrote in a 2012 post on X.

In another 2012 social media post, she wrote: “My family has long been MB, but I’ve always felt that it has navigated the political sphere poorly/destructively.”

During his remarks, Trump said he looked forward to visiting Michigan to “expose this fraud that’s running.”

“He’s a fraud. He’s a con man,” Trump said.

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Fox News Digital has reached out to El-Sayed’s campaign for comment.

While Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., has not been seen publicly since federal agents raided her Washington, D.C., residence on Monday, her political consultant husband was once again spotted emerging from their shared rental home this week.

Tim Mynett was seen Wednesday stepping out in the neighborhood to walk their Golden Labrador Retriever dog Teddy, a second time later that same day to take out the trash and a third time to walk out his wife’s staffer.

“There are rumors that the congresswoman left the country, is that true?” Mynett was asked while on an evening walk with Teddy.

“You guys are annoying the hell out of all the neighbors around here, man,” he told Fox News Digital when approached about the developments this week, including President Donald Trump weighing in on the saga.

One of Omar’s congressional staffers was captured the same day bringing into the couple’s home two large bags from fast food chain Burger King. Security escorted her to the door and staked out in front of the house after she entered with the meal.

ILHAN OMAR’S EMBATTLED HUSBAND APPEARS AT SCENE OF HSI RAID IN MIDST OF CRIMINAL FRAUD INVESTIGATION

Rumors swirled that Omar fled from the country following the raid carried out by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) as part of a criminal fraud investigation looking into the Somali-born congresswoman’s immigration paperwork, as first reported by Fox News Digital.

Omar’s cellphone and passport were reportedly seized by federal authorities during the search.

The congresswoman’s staff helped to get her birth year adjusted from 1981 to 1982 in the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library, according to reporters. Omar gained citizenship automatically through her father’s naturalization since she was reportedly 17 years old at the time. If Omar was born in 1981, she would have been 18 years old, meaning the validity of her citizenship could be threatened because she was no longer a minor.

The altered birthdate was published during her entire time serving in Minnesota’s House and for months into her time serving in Congress.

When asked about the federal investigation earlier this week, Mynett told Fox News Digital he has “no concerns” about what federal authorities will find on his wife while investigating her immigration pathway.

“My wife came here when she was 12 years old as a child war refugee,” Mynett said. “No concerns.”

His comments to Fox News Digital come after Omar’s relatives were reportedly issued subpoenas as part of HSI’s investigation into the congresswoman’s immigration paperwork. At least two of Omar’s relatives were subpoenaed, one of which is reportedly Omar’s sister, Sahra Noor.

ILHAN OMAR’S HUSBAND INSISTS HE HAS ‘NO CONCERNS’ AMID FEDERAL IMMIGRATION INVESTIGATION

Fox News Digital asked Mynett about President Donald Trump publicly questioning Omar’s net worth by alleging on Truth Social that her accountant may have reported fraudulent money when her previous financial disclosure listed the couple’s shared net worth as high as $30 million.

“Why did Ilhan Omar report a Net Worth of up to 30 Million Dollars just a short time ago, and then immediately say, “Oh, I made a mistake! It’s really $100,000.” Could it be that her highly paid accountant actually reported the money that was stolen from her fraudulent activities in Minnesota? Would something like that be possible? Do you think the accountant actually gave the right number the first time, 30 Million Dollars, and then she was forced to disavow because she never would have been able to report where that much money came from? She must have freaked out when she saw that money!” Trump posted to Truth Social on Tuesday.

“Where did her house come from, where did her cars come from, and what about her lovely place in Washington, D.C.? I didn’t know that Congressmen and women made that kind of money, but I do know her husband, according to information and belief, makes almost nothing, so it couldn’t have come from him. How many people did she illegally bring into our Country from Somalia? America wants answers, and we want them, NOW!”

Mynett is at the center of yet another investigation into Omar — this time looking into her finances.

Following Monday’s HSI raid, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said Tuesday that her office is also investigating Omar’s financial disclosures about reporting of her and Mynett’s shared net worth.

OMAR FACES MOUNTING SCRUTINY AFTER FRAUD RINGLEADER SENTENCED TO 41 YEARS

Scrutiny of Omar’s finances intensified after her 2024 congressional financial disclosure listed business interests associated with Mynett valued between $6 million and $30 million. Omar’s office subsequently said the figures were incorrect and amended the filing.

The largest change in the documents was from Mynett’s assets. His reported ownership interests in both his winery and venture capital advisory firm, which were previously valued in the millions of dollars, are listed with no value now.

In Omar’s 2024 financial disclosure records, Mynett’s share in his winery was valued between $1 million and $5 million, and his share at the venture capital advisory firm was valued between $5 million and $25 million. Now, his equity interests are both listed at $0.

Omar’s office previously told Fox News Digital that Mynett has partners in both businesses and said the earlier disclosure mistakenly reflected the businesses’ total equity rather than his ownership interest. The office also said the original filing listed assets without accounting for liabilities.

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Officials noted that the investigation into Omar’s financial disclosures is unrelated to the raid on her home.

Survivors of the 2009 Fort Hood massacre praised President Donald Trump’s decision not to livestream the execution of Nidal Hasan, after warning that broadcasting his death could turn the execution into a spectacle and hand terrorist groups a propaganda tool.

Hasan is still set to be executed by firing squad on Dec. 3, 2026, and Trump said the immediate families of his victims will be permitted to witness the execution in person. But it will no longer be broadcast to the general public as previously announced by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.

Alonzo Lunsford, who was shot seven times by Hasan during the attack nearly 17 years ago, told Fox News Digital that Trump’s decision is a “positive move.”

“It proves that we are a better people, a better nation, and that we’re not barbaric,” Lunsford said in immediate reaction to the walk-back by Trump on Thursday. “We don’t glorify such actions.”

VETERAN SHOT 7 TIMES IN FORT HOOD MASSACRE HAS A WARNING FOR AMERICANS PLANNING TO WATCH EXECUTION

Lunsford said he supports Hasan’s death sentence and execution by firing squad but drew a line at broadcasting it to the public.

“For it to be made a spectacle for everyone to witness how they’re gonna do a tailgate or, ‘Hey, we’re gonna have a cookout and we’re gonna watch this man be put to death.’ No, it’s not about that,” Lunsford said. “It’s not a spectacle. It’s not a pay-per-view event or a WWE wrestling match or even a boxing match.”

He also warned that footage of Hasan’s execution could be seized upon by terrorist organizations.

“You don’t want that to be used as a tool for ISIS or al-Qaeda to recruit and say, ‘Hey, this is what happens to you if you do this against the infidel,'” Lunsford said.

Julia Wilson was a civilian employee at Fort Hood when Hasan went on his rampage. She was nine months pregnant during the attack, which was carried out on her due date.

FORT HOOD SHOOTER SHOULD BE EXECUTED ’13 TIMES OVER’ — BUT NOT ON LIVE STREAM, SURVIVOR SAYS

She was slammed against a wall amid the chaos of the shooting and has said that it was only by the grace of God that she and her then-unborn daughter survived.

Wilson was already against the livestreaming of Hasan’s execution because she didn’t want others to be traumatized like she was during the deadly attack.

“I’m ecstatic about that,” she told Fox News Digital, reacting to the news that the plan to livestream the event would not proceed.

“I’m worried about other people’s mental health,” she continued. “I don’t think the government… really put a lot of thought into how this was going to go down and how it was going to transpire until today.”

“I don’t think they really thought about how this may affect people,” said Wilson. “Seeing something like that affects your mental health. I don’t care who you are. I don’t care what you’ve seen. Seeing someone murdered in front of you or killed in front of you affects your mental health, whether they deserve it or not.”

Wilson also worried that if the livestream had proceeded, it would exist online forever, and that children might discover it while searching the web. “Once it’s on out there, it’s out there,” she said.

Trump said Wednesday that he believed publicly broadcasting Hasan’s death could have served as a deterrent, but ultimately sided with those who opposed making the execution available for anyone to watch.

“I think streaming the execution for all to see might have been a strong deterrent for the World to witness how America deals with Terrorists and SCUM like Hasan but, many very good and well meaning people would rather not watch him die, through streaming, or through any other visual device,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

“He will die, as scheduled, by firing squad, but this event will not be streamed,” Trump continued. “That said, the execution may be viewed in person by the immediate families of the victims, if they so choose. They deserve to witness JUSTICE!”

Lunsford pointed to warnings surrounding Hasan before the shooting and criticized the Army’s handling of the future attacker before he was transferred from Walter Reed to Fort Hood.

“We knew this guy had issues,” Lunsford said. “If you are privy to the ticking time bomb report, you will see what he was talking about. This guy had issues and they just passed the buck and moved him from Walter Reed to Fort Hood.”

Lunsford wondered what might have happened had Hasan deployed overseas before carrying out an attack.

“Suppose he would have did the deed once he got in country on a FOB, a forward operating base,” he said. “Imagine how many American lives would have been lost then.”

For Lunsford, allowing victims to witness Hasan’s execution remains important even without a public broadcast.

“It’s gonna be a traumatic thing for, at least for the families of the fallen,” he said. “They’ll be able to close the chapter and hopefully close the book.”

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Lunsford said survivors will continue to live with reminders of the attack long after Hasan is gone.

“Every day we get up, we come to the VA hospital or we have to take our meds in the morning or we get ready to do something that we normally would have been doing prior to 5 November ’09 that we’re no longer able to do now, that’s a constant reminder,” he said.

“I am no longer a victim of his,” Lunsford added. “I’m a survivor.”

Conservative Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch has joined forces with liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor to question the federal government’s prosecution of an illegal immigrant, marking the latest unlikely alliance between the two justices.

Gorsuch, appointed by President Donald Trump, and Sotomayor, appointed by former President Barack Obama, raised concerns about the government’s decision to prosecute a Mexican national twice for being found unlawfully in the United States — even after a federal court prohibited him from leaving the Eastern District of Oklahoma following his first conviction.

The unlikely pairing emerged Tuesday when the Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from Jesus Herrera-Salazar, who argued that his second prosecution violated the Fifth Amendment’s protection against double jeopardy. Although the justices agreed the Court should not take up the case, Sotomayor issued a separate statement, joined by Gorsuch, warning of serious constitutional problems with the government’s actions.

GORSUCH SAYS IDEOLOGICAL DIVIDES ON SUPREME COURT COME DOWN TO ‘HOW YOU READ LAW,’ NOT POLITICS

“From the moment he was released from custody after serving his first term of imprisonment, Herrera-Salazar was presented with a Hobson’s choice,” Sotomayor wrote in the statement joined by Gorsuch. “In the Government’s eyes, whether Herrera-Salazar remained in the Eastern District of Oklahoma or left the United States, he would be breaking the law.”

The two justices questioned how the government could punish someone for remaining in the country after effectively prohibiting him from leaving, with the pair’s joint statement describing the situation as a “constitutional absurdity.”

Their agreement is particularly noteworthy given their differing judicial philosophies, but it is not the first time the pair has found common ground over constitutional protections against government action.

In November 2024, Sotomayor and Gorsuch jointly questioned whether homeowners should be compensated when police destroy private property while carrying out law enforcement operations. A few months later, they again joined forces to raise concerns about warrantless misdemeanor arrests. In both cases, as in the latest immigration dispute, the Court declined to hear the appeals, but the justices issued statements highlighting constitutional questions they believed deserved attention.

The pair’s latest expression of joint public concern came after Herrera-Salazar, a Mexican national previously removed from the United States, was indicted in 2020 for being found in the country following deportation, a violation of federal immigration law.

‘UNPRECEDENTED’: JUDGES REVEAL BEHIND-THE-SCENES COORDINATION ON TRUMP IMMIGRATION CASES

He pleaded guilty and served a prison sentence before being placed on supervised release, during which he was expressly prohibited from leaving the Eastern District of Oklahoma without authorization under the terms of his release.

While still under those restrictions, Herrera-Salazar was stopped by police in Heavener, Oklahoma, and subsequently charged again under the same federal immigration statute prohibiting previously deported individuals from being found unlawfully in the United States. A jury subsequently convicted Herrera-Salazar, resulting in another prison sentence and additional supervised release.

The second prosecution prompted Herrera-Salazar to challenge his conviction on double-jeopardy grounds, arguing that the government had effectively punished him twice for the same continuous period of unlawful presence.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit rejected that argument, concluding that the offense is completed when authorities discover a person’s unlawful presence and that a subsequent discovery can support a separate prosecution without requiring another illegal entry.

Sotomayor and Gorsuch questioned that reasoning, pointing to Supreme Court precedent establishing that prosecutors cannot evade double-jeopardy protections simply by dividing one continuous crime into separate periods. Their concern was not whether Herrera-Salazar had violated immigration law in the first place, but whether the government could repeatedly prosecute him for remaining in the United States without evidence of a separate unlawful reentry.

The justices also highlighted that Herrera-Salazar’s supervised-release conditions restricted him from leaving Oklahoma, meaning the government was effectively preventing him from ending the conduct for which it later prosecuted him again. Sotomayor warned that, under the government’s interpretation, prosecutors theoretically could have brought separate charges against Herrera-Salazar for each day he remained imprisoned following his first conviction.

The statement was issued despite the justices’ agreement with the Court’s decision not to review the case. Sotomayor explained that Herrera-Salazar had already been removed from the United States and expressed hope that the unusual circumstances surrounding his prosecution would not arise again.

SUPREME COURT KICKS OFF NEW TERM WITH FRESH QUESTIONS OVER ITS LEGITIMACY AND ITS FUTURE

Rather than dissenting from the Court’s refusal to hear the appeal, Sotomayor and Gorsuch used what is formally known as a statement “respecting the denial of certiorari” to publicly identify constitutional concerns and urge lower courts to avoid similar problems in future cases.

The unusual collaboration follows two earlier cases in which Sotomayor authored statements joined by Gorsuch after the Supreme Court declined review.

In November 2024, the pair raised concerns in Baker v. City of McKinney, a Texas case involving a homeowner whose property was extensively damaged during a police operation to apprehend an armed fugitive.

Police had used tear gas, explosives and an armored vehicle during the standoff, leaving the home severely damaged. Although the justices acknowledged that officers acted properly to protect public safety, they questioned whether the Constitution permits the government to impose the financial burden of such damage on an individual homeowner without compensation.

Meanwhile, in February 2025, Sotomayor and Gorsuch again joined forces, this time questioning whether the Fourth Amendment permitted police to make warrantless arrests for misdemeanors committed outside an officer’s presence that they did not personally witness.

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That case involved a Florida man arrested for loitering and prowling after police responding to a report of suspicious activity encountered him walking through a residential neighborhood before dawn. A subsequent search uncovered stolen mail, leading to a federal criminal charge.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Supreme Court chambers for comment but did not hear back in time for publication.

The American military has largely operated on a familiar premise: combat the enemy overseas before the fight reaches home.

But as drones, cyberattacks and long-range weapons pose growing threats to U.S. military installations and critical infrastructure, Army leaders are preparing for a future in which American forces could come under attack before they ever deploy overseas.

“If we’re going against a pacing threat, power projection will be contested,” Gen. Christopher LaNeve, the Army’s acting chief of staff, told Fox News Digital on Wednesday.

He said the military is rethinking assumptions that were held during decades of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, when American forces could largely count on secure bases and supply lines at home.

FBI WARNS BATTLEFIELD-STYLE DRONE ATTACKS COULD REACH US: ‘ONLY A MATTER OF TIME’

“During the Global War on Terror, we took a lot of things for granted, because we could,” LaNeve said during a small-group roundtable at the Association of the United States Army’s annual conference in Washington this week.

In a potential conflict with China, disrupting American military bases, transportation networks and communications could delay U.S. forces from reaching the battlefield. The Pentagon’s latest report on China’s military capabilities warns that Beijing has positioned cyber capabilities inside U.S. critical infrastructure networks that could be used to disrupt American military mobilization during a conflict.

The concerns come as the Pentagon places renewed emphasis on homeland defense and military installations as they prepare to potentially confront threats closer to home. U.S. officials have previously confirmed drone incursions over installations — including Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia and Picatinny Arsenal in New Jersey. Though those incidents have not been publicly attributed to China.

The warning of a future fight on American soil comes amid the How the Army Fights rollout. The new operational framework places greater emphasis on preparing American forces to deploy, communicate and sustain operations even when military bases, supply lines and communications networks are under attack.

The guidance places greater emphasis on the Army’s ability to deploy and sustain forces under threat, including when communications, supply lines and military infrastructure are disrupted.

US MILITARY BASES ARE ‘ILL-EQUIPPED’ TO STOP DRONE SWARMS, TOP COMMANDER REVEALS AFTER RUBIO’S UAP WARNING

LaNeve said the Army is using the framework to establish clearer priorities for how its formations train, fight and incorporate new technology.

“It was important to get this document out to provide a direction for our Army, a stake in the ground in where we’re moving,” LaNeve told Fox News Digital in an interview Wednesday.

The changes are being led by an Army leadership team serving in acting capacities following the departures of former Army Secretary Dan Driscoll and Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George. LaNeve remains the Senate-confirmed vice chief of staff.

LaNeve explained how the Army is preparing to keep fighting even when an adversary disrupts military communications.

“I think what you would see inside this command and control capability is the ability to operate disconnected and then reconnect when you have that capability, but to continue to be able to maneuver,” he said.

The Army is also rethinking how it protects military installations at home. LaNeve pointed to Joint Interagency Task Force 401, which is working with federal and local law enforcement to strengthen counter-drone defenses around military bases and critical infrastructure.

CARTELS USE DRONES TO SCOUT BORDER AGENTS AND MAP SMUGGLING ROUTES, EXPERT WARNS

Acting Army Secretary Adam Telle pointed to the southern border as an example of how soldiers are already confronting drone threats closer to home. He said soldiers are using the mission to test new counter-drone technology against real-world threats, gaining experience they can bring back to their units as the Army prepares for future conflicts.

The Army is also expanding its preparations for biological threats that could disrupt military operations. Officials announced this week that biological incidents will be incorporated into routine combat training as part of a broader effort to ensure soldiers can continue carrying out their missions through disease outbreaks or deliberate biological attacks.

During a separate panel Wednesday, Air Force Secretary Troy Meink warned that advances in surveillance technology could soon make it increasingly difficult for military forces to operate anywhere without being detected.

“We are rapidly heading to a point in time where, depending on what your signature is, how fast you’re moving, the enemy is going to have some sense to where you are no matter where you are on the planet,” Meink said.

He suggested that level of surveillance could emerge within five years, potentially sooner, as China and other adversaries expand their ability to track and target military assets.

Meink said the Pentagon is working to make its forces more survivable, including through autonomous systems capable of operating in dangerous environments where commanders might hesitate to send manned platforms.

War Secretary Pete Hegseth, speaking alongside Meink and the other service secretaries, criticized what he described as the Pentagon’s failure to keep pace with technological advances under the Biden administration.

“On hypersonics, they took a nap. On space, they took a nap. On weaponization of space, they took a nap. On drones, they took a nap,” Hegseth said.

LaNeve emphasized that despite the Army’s growing reliance on advanced technology, soldiers must still be able to carry out their missions when those systems are unavailable.

“Soldiers are our number one platform. It is the Army’s platform,” he told Fox News Digital.

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The technology, he said, is intended to make troops more capable, but soldiers must remain grounded in the fundamental skills needed to fight without it.

The Clintons are back on the midterm campaign circuit — with Bill Clinton heading to Florida to stump for Democratic gubernatorial nominee David Jolly and Hillary Clinton taking to the podcast microphone as the party makes its final push toward Election Day.

The former president is scheduled to make his first public campaign appearance of the 2026 election cycle on Oct. 20 for Jolly, a former Republican congressman turned Democrat. Hillary, meanwhile, has teamed up with journalist Kara Swisher for a new midterm-focused podcast series and has been making campaign appearances of her own.

The moves bring two of the Democratic Party’s most recognizable figures into the midterm fight as the party grapples with competing visions for its future, raising questions about how much influence the Clintons still wield as progressive candidates challenge the Democratic establishment.

BIDEN CONSPICUOUSLY ABSENT FROM CAMPAIGN TRAIL AS OBAMA, HARRIS STEP UP FOR MIDTERM PUSH

While the Clintons remain prominent in Democratic politics, one party strategist says Democrats are more focused on winning elections than revisiting the party’s past.

“President Clinton remains one of the most gifted political communicators this country has ever known, particularly when it comes to connecting with working-class voters on the economic issues that matter most,” said Democratic strategist Kevin Walling. “But I don’t believe that Democrats are looking for a Clinton restoration — they’re looking for a path back to winning.”

Democratic strategist Mally Smith offered a more skeptical assessment of how much reach the Clintons have in the closing weeks of the election.

“Hillary and Bill are still relevant to some voters. However, they will mostly be useful in speaking to the Democratic base and those who are highly engaged in politics,” Mally Smith. “It is a hard media environment to breakthrough and even current elected officials, let alone former office holders, will struggle to get people’s attention.”

Clinton’s Oct. 20 appearance will take place at an interfaith event in Hollywood, Florida, alongside Jolly, who is facing Republican Rep. Byron Donalds in the race to succeed term-limited Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Jolly is campaigning on affordability, including lowering property insurance costs through a state-backed catastrophe fund, expanding Medicaid, increasing funding for public schools and protecting abortion rights.

Hillary Clinton, meanwhile, traveled to Omaha, Nebraska, on Saturday to rally support for Democratic candidates Lynne Walz and Denise Powell at a “Pumpkins, Pies, and Politics” fundraiser.

HILLARY CLINTON ISSUES ENDORSEMENT IN US MIDTERM ELECTIONS

Asked how she would address Democrats who feel their votes no longer matter, Clinton pointed to a series of national crises that have contributed to voter frustration – including her 2016 election loss.

“And you could kind of understand that, for people who feel like they’ve had a series of hard times. If you look back on the last 25 years in our country, I was a senator from New York on 9/11. That was a trauma. The terrible financial crisis of 2008 was horrific for people. We had an election in 2016 that, you know, raised a lot of questions that we’re still trying to find answers for about what, what kind of really went on, and then we had COVID,” she said during the Nebraska event.

Clinton teamed up with journalist and podcast host Kara Swisher for a six-week limited series titled “High Stakes,” which debuted Oct. 14 and will air weekly through mid-November, focusing on the 2026 midterm elections, key congressional races and issues.

The first episode, which aired Wednesday, centered on rising costs for gas, groceries and healthcare, Elon Musk’s political spending and how Democrats can make affordability a winning message, while also examining key Senate races in Michigan and Maine.

HILLARY CLINTON CONCEDES INFAMOUS 9/11 NEAR-FAINTING EPISODE IN 2016 WAS A ‘MISTAKE’ ON HER PART

“If the former president can help Democrats compete in a challenging state like Florida, and Secretary Clinton’s podcast can contribute to a substantive national conversation that motivates my party, that’s certainly a positive,” said Walling.

The Clintons’ increased visibility comes as Democratic Socialists of America-backed candidates have scored primary victories against incumbent or establishment-backed Democrats in states including Colorado, New York and Michigan.

MEET THE FAR-LEFT INSURGENTS WAGING WAR ON THE DEMOCRATIC ESTABLISHMENT IN 2026 MIDTERMS

“The challenge for Democrats is drawing on the wisdom and experience of the party’s past without overshadowing the next generation of leaders who will define its future,” he added.

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Fox News Digital reached out to the Clintons and Jolly’s campaign for comment.

FIRST ON FOX: A new White House economic report warns that immigration policies backed by the Democratic Socialists of America could cost American taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars over the next decade, as the Trump administration sounds the alarm over the potential financial consequences of mass amnesty and expanded federal benefits.

As President Donald Trump touts 16 consecutive months without illegal immigrant releases at the southern border, a Council of Economic Advisers report estimates that mass amnesty and expanded federal benefits under Democratic Socialists of America-backed immigration policies could cost taxpayers between $440 billion and $613 billion over the next decade. 

Socialist-aligned candidates have gained ground in 2026, winning key Democratic primaries and expanding their influence within the party.

“President Trump … supercharged ICE to remove criminal illegal aliens from our communities, including murderers, rapists, pedophiles, gang members and terrorists,” White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis told Fox News Digital.

‘SQUAD’ DEMOCRAT FORMALLY INTRODUCES BILL TO ABOLISH ICE, BORDER PATROL AND DISMANTLE DHS

“Meanwhile, radical Democrats want to go back to their extreme open border policies and grant amnesty to the illegal aliens they released into our communities. Not only will these radical policies make America less safe, but they will cost the American taxpayer billions of dollars.”

With the midterms approaching and Democrats campaigning heavily on affordability, the White House is casting the DSA’s immigration agenda as a potential financial and public safety threat — warning that its policies could compound the very cost-of-living pressures Democrats have used to hammer Republicans.

DEMOCRATS SAY THEY’LL MAKE LIFE AFFORDABLE. YOUR WALLET MAY DISAGREE

The council’s findings go beyond the cost of mass amnesty, examining the potential impact of expanded federal benefits and reduced immigration enforcement, policies the White House warns could impose a significant financial burden on American families.

The council estimates that the average illegal immigrant carries a lifetime net fiscal cost of $166,716, with the current illegal immigrant population projected to account for between $1.4 trillion and $1.9 trillion in taxpayer costs under its model — figures the administration is highlighting as the “true costs of extreme open borders [and] mass-amnesty socialist policies.”

CALIFORNIA FACES UNLIKELY TAX REVOLT AMID BILLIONS IN ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT HEALTHCARE COSTS

The CEA’s estimated $166,716 lifetime taxpayer cost per illegal immigrant exceeds the roughly $124,000 it would cost to put a student through four years at an average in-state public university, including tuition, housing, food and other expenses, according to College Board’s 2025–26 figures — putting the figure in perspective as American families also grapple with college affordability.

The Council added that while illegal immigrants are generally prohibited from federal benefit programs, some on the left want to reverse that standard and provide subsidized healthcare and programs like food stamps to those in the country unlawfully.

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

Beyond expanded federal benefits, the council estimates that ending Trump-backed immigration enforcement measures would wipe out between $227 billion and $287 billion in projected taxpayer savings, producing a net estimated cost of $79 billion to $139 billion over the next decade after accounting for reduced enforcement spending.

An interactive White House webpage released alongside the report allows Americans to explore the projected costs of “socialism” across several policy areas, with the council estimating that the Democratic Socialists of America’s broader agenda could cost $49 trillion over ten years — roughly $355,000 per American household. That sweeping projection extends far beyond immigration, which the council separately estimates could cost between $440 billion and $613 billion over the next decade.

DOJ THREATENS TO CUT BILLIONS IN WELFARE FUNDING FROM STATES FOR FAILING TO REPORT ILLEGAL MIGRANTS

If the immigration policies examined in the report were implemented, the White House estimates that expanded eligibility for SNAP, federal housing assistance and Medicaid would add between $361 billion and $475 billion in federal spending over the next decade.

The report estimated that expanding federal benefits under the proposed immigration policies would add $3.6 billion to $4.7 billion in annual food stamp costs, another $2.3 billion to $3 billion in federal housing assistance, and as much as $40 billion a year in additional Medicaid spending.

US STATE DEPARTMENT HAS YANKED MORE THAN 175K VISAS UNDER TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SO FAR

Along with the report, the White House highlighted a 73% uptick in drug interdictions through August 2026 compared with the same period in fiscal year 2024, while separately pointing to declining fentanyl-related deaths as evidence of its broader border enforcement strategy.

The administration also highlighted another key aspect of the immigration-cost paradigm that it changed — remarking that Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for certain foreign-national groups “returned … to its original purpose: temporary.”

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SLASHES TIME REFUGEES HAVE TO CHALLENGE LOSS OF LEGAL STATUS

The administration’s efforts to terminate TPS designations for certain countries have faced legal challenges, underscoring the ongoing dispute over the scope of federal immigration authority.

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The administration has also moved to end certain Temporary Protected Status designations and revoke more than 250,000 visas as part of its broader immigration crackdown, measures the White House has highlighted alongside its efforts to tighten enforcement and reduce what it says are substantial taxpayer costs.

Fox News Digital reached out to the DSA for general comment on the costs associated with their immigration platform.

President Donald Trump announced that the planned firing squad execution of convicted Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan will not be livestreamed, reversing an earlier Pentagon announcement that the public would be able to watch the convicted mass killer’s final moments.

Trump said in a Truth Social post that broadcasting the execution could serve as a powerful deterrent to terrorism but acknowledged that many Americans would rather not witness Hasan’s death. 

“He will die, as scheduled, by firing squad, but this event will not be streamed,” Trump wrote.

Hasan’s execution is scheduled for Dec. 3. Trump said immediate family members of the 13 people killed in Hasan’s 2009 rampage will be permitted to attend in person if they choose.

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

The Justice Department is threatening California with possible legal action after it says the state mailed ballots to noncitizens ahead of the midterm elections.

The DOJ sent a letter on Tuesday to California Secretary of State Shirley Weber informing her that federal officials provided Los Angeles County election officials with a list of names of individuals who authorities believe to be noncitizens.

Acting Deputy U.S. Attorney Trent McCotter warned that the state has 48 hours to confirm whether any of the individuals on the list were mailed ballots for the November 3 election. That deadline will expire later on Thursday.

“If you cannot implement this process by then, given the ongoing federal election, the United States will have no choice but to seek emergency relief,” the letter states.

MORE THAN A QUARTER-MILLION NONCITIZENS MAY BE REGISTERED TO VOTE IN 4 KEY STATES, DHS ALLEGES

Weber released a statement protesting the federal demands on Wednesday, connecting it to earlier efforts by the DOJ to expunge noncitizens from California’s voter rolls.

DOJ GIVES NEW JERSEY 5 DAYS TO HAND OVER VOTER DATA AFTER NONCITIZEN REGISTRATION SCANDAL

“In July of this year, President Trump and DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin made (still) unsubstantiated claims that California had 190,000 noncitizens on its voter rolls. Given the many high-profile examples of states purging U.S. citizens from their voter rolls based on DHS/SAVE data, SOS immediately requested written information about their methodology and data sources to back up their claims. They refused and provided California with nothing,” Weber said in a statement.

“Now the USDOJ, under threat of ’emergency’ litigation, demands that California blindly trust this administration without any evidence or legal authority to justify its request,” she continued.

WATCH: TRUMP DOJ VOWS TO PURSUE ‘EVERY SINGLE’ VOTING VIOLATION AFTER NJ ROLL SHOCKER

“The USDOJ’s relentless efforts to unlawfully gain access to states’ protected voter data and purge voter rolls serve only to cause chaos and fuel public distrust in our elections,” Weber added. “California has robust state law requirements that only U.S. citizens can register to vote and that any non-eligible registrants are removed from the State’s voter rolls. My office and California election officials remain committed — as always — to ensuring a fair and smooth 2026 General Election.”

President Donald Trump’s administration has heightened scrutiny on state voter rolls since gaining office, as part of the president’s wider interest in election integrity.

TRUMP SCORES SUPREME COURT WIN IN ELECTION INTEGRITY FIGHT AS STATES GAIN NEW VOTER ROLL TOOL

The administration received approval by the Supreme Court in late September to move forward with its massive voter verification system.

The September 25 emergency order allowed states, for now, to use a Department of Homeland Security program called Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) in their efforts to verify the eligibility of voters on their rolls, as the DOJ has done in the California case.

TRUMP SCORES SUPREME COURT WIN ON MAIL-IN VOTING RESTRICTIONS BEFORE MIDTERMS

The court’s order put on hold a federal judge’s June ruling that had deemed the Republican administration’s recently revamped version of SAVE illegal. U.S. District Court Judge Sparkle L. Sooknanan had blocked the use of the tool, saying it violated Americans’ privacy rights and could result in voters being wrongly removed from the rolls.

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The Trump administration moved to expand SAVE after the president signed an executive order directing the creation of a federal voter registration list and imposed new restrictions on eligibility for voting by mail as part of a broader effort to combat voter fraud.

Fox News’ Greg Norman and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump delivered “a little breaking news” to supporters at a midterm campaign rally in Montana on Wednesday, announcing that the Pentagon would establish a new military “super range” in the state to test cutting-edge weapons and warfare technology.

The president said the range would support testing of potential autonomous weapons, space and electronic warfare technology, and supersonic and hypersonic systems, positioning Montana to play a greater role in the development of America’s next-generation military capabilities.

“I’m pleased to inform you and announce that right here in Montana, the Department of War is going to establish a new super range for testing advanced weapons and technologies,” Trump told supporters gathered at Majestic Valley Arena in Kalispell.

TRUMP PENTAGON LAUNCHES COMPETITION FOR AMERICA’S NEXT GREAT MILITARY BASE

Trump suggested the project had been highly sought after elsewhere in the country.

“The rest of our country maybe won’t be thrilled because a lot of other people wanted it also,” Trump said.

The president also credited persistent lobbying from Montana’s Republican lawmakers, joking that Sen. Tim Sheehy had repeatedly pressed him to bring the project to the state.

“You’re getting it, everybody, will you please leave me alone?” Trump quipped. “Leave me alone, Tim. Tim Sheehy would drive me crazy.”

The announcement places Montana at the center of a proposed military testing initiative involving some of the Pentagon’s most sophisticated emerging technologies.

Hypersonic weapons, which can travel at least five times the speed of sound, are among the advanced military capabilities under development by the Pentagon, according to the Government Accountability Office. The War Department has also identified autonomous systems and electronic warfare capabilities as areas of strategic importance.

ELON MUSK LANDS NEW TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ROLE IN SHAPING FUTURE OF AMERICAN WARFARE

Trump did not specify where in Montana the new range would be located, how much the project would cost or when testing operations would begin.

“Montana will help ensure the American military always reigned supreme,” the president told the crowd.

Trump made the announcement during his second campaign rally of the day and third stop on a Western swing aimed at supporting Republican candidates ahead of the midterm elections.

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The president appeared in Montana’s 1st Congressional District to campaign for House candidate Aaron Flint and Senate candidate Kurt Alme, after holding a rally in Arizona earlier Wednesday. He also campaigned in Alaska on Tuesday.

A former pastor and candidate running to make history in deep-red Kansas once suggested that people should repent for their White privilege as protests against the death of George Floyd rippled through the country.

During the tumultuous summer of 2020, just days after Floyd’s killing in Minnesota, Adam Hamilton called on his congregation at the Church of the Resurrection to recognize their White privilege and repent.

“Like part of what I know is that, is that I grew up in a way that I’m blind to certain things in our society,” Hamilton said during a sermon dubbed “Jesus, Protests and Repentance.” “I just am. And I have certain benefits by virtue of being educated, White and male, right?”

KANSAS DEMOCRAT BEGS KAMALA HARRIS NOT TO CAMPAIGN WITH HIM, ‘PLEASE DO NOT COME TO MY STATE’

“And we don’t like to hear that, especially White folks don’t like to hear that. But there are benefits that come along with that,” he continued.

Hamilton is running against Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., in what has become one of the tightest races of this midterm cycle, despite Kansas’ near-century-long history of not sending a Democratic candidate to the Senate.

“Roger Marshall wants to talk about anything other than his history of suing and jailing mothers and protecting predators by voting against releasing the Epstein Files,” Tyson Brody, a spokesperson for Hamilton’s campaign, told Fox News Digital. “Once again, he’s attacking Adam for something Roger said himself. Roger’s own pastor called Adam ‘middle of the road.’ Kansans are tired of high gas and grocery prices and ready for a senator who won’t divide us by race, religion, income, or ability to pay a medical bill at 18% interest.”

Republicans acknowledge that they are facing headwinds going into November’s election, but until recently, the contest between Marshall and Hamilton wasn’t of much concern for the GOP.

SCHUMER WARNS OF REPUBLICAN ADVANTAGE THAT COULD CHANGE THE BATTLE FOR SENATE CONTROL

Now, the race has taken a turn and been rated a toss-up by the Cook Political Report as voters fume over the cost of fuel, groceries and other economic pain. In response, national Republicans are beginning to dump more resources into the contest to ensure that they maintain the seat.

Throughout the race, Marshall has largely aligned himself with President Donald Trump, only rarely breaking from the administration on certain decisions — last month he called for more advance notice and cooperation between the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Kansas government after federal immigration agents descended on the southern part of the state.

Marshall has painted Hamilton as a “woke” megachurch pastor, delivering left-leaning ideals from the pulpit.

‘JESUS WAS A RADICAL’: PROGRESSIVES INVOKE CHRIST TO SELL LEFT-WING AGENDA ON CAMPAIGN TRAIL

So has an outside group based in Massachusetts, the Main Street Fund, which ran an ad in Kansas that spliced portions of two different sermons and charged that Hamilton was “way too woke for Kansas,” shortly after Hamilton won his primary, The Kansas City Star reported.

During the sermon from June 2020 amid the Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests, Hamilton pushed back against rioting and looting, and argued that while the BLM movement was the focal point at the time, all lives matters. 

“Of course all lives matter,” Hamilton said. “Everybody understands white lives matter, blue lives matter.” 

Hamilton continued in his sermon posted on the church’s YouTube page in June 2020 amid the Black Lives Matter protests, “When I’m stopped by the police, I’m never afraid that they’re gonna pull a gun on me.”

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“But every African American man that I know is worried about what might happen when a police pull him over,” Hamilton said at the time. “It’s not that all the police are bad, they’re gonna do something like that, but there’s this fear underneath there. And so the hands go on the steering wheel at 10 and 2. They’ve been taught that from the time they were children. Right?”

“I wasn’t taught that, because I don’t have to be afraid of that. Right? And there’s a whole host of other things that are just a part of life. You know, I can … well, you get the idea. There are benefits and privileges to my place in life. I have to recognize that,” he continued. “To see that. And then I have to listen. I have to listen and understand, and finally be able to see the brokenness in myself, and my indifference. Before I can do anything to help anyone else, I have to have a conversion. I have to repent.”

And Marshall, who was running for his first term in the Senate at the time, struck a similar somber tone as Hamilton six years ago. 

In various posts to social media and interviews with local outlets, Marshall condemned Floyd’s slaying and pushed for reforms that would ensure what happened in Minnesota and to federal Protective Services Officer Patrick Underwood, who was killed in a drive-by shooting just days after Floyd’s death. 

“Additionally, Republicans called on Congressional Democrats to work across the aisle to make sure that what happened to George Floyd and Patrick Underwood never happens again, and significant bipartisan reform can be passed,” Marshall said on Facebook following a House Judiciary hearing on police practices and law enforcement accountability. 

Tensions flared on the debate stage Wednesday night, where Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., faced off against Democrat military veteran Cait Conley to represent their suburban New York district in Congress.

Lawler is vying for a third term representing the Empire State‘s 17th Congressional District.

One of the few swing seats left in Congress, the race could prove decisive for which party controls the House of Representatives for the latter half of President Donald Trump’s term.

Below are some of the most dramatic moments during their one-hour head-to-head on PIX11 News:

HOW ONE NYC SUBURB COULD DECIDE WHICH PARTY CONTROLS THE HOUSE

Lawler calls out moderator for ‘focus on gangbanger’ shot by ICE

While the debate was filled with the two political rivals criticizing each other, one tense moment came when Lawler turned his ire on moderator Dan Mannarino.

Mannarino had asked both Conley and Lawler what should be done to rein in Immigration and U.S. Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents who run afoul of their own guidelines, invoking the recent shooting of an illegal immigrant in the Bronx by federal officers while the man’s five-year-old was in the car.

Lawler pointed to the man’s rap sheet and accused Democrat state leaders of creating the situation with their sanctuary policies and Gov. Kathy Hochul’s recent bail reforms. He also accused Conley of supporting those policies.

The moderator began, “Mr. Lawler, I just want to follow up. The question was, how do you ensure if ICE agents do not follow through objectives, and what’s the discipline —”

“I understand the question,” Lawler said amid the cross-talk.

PROTESTS ERUPT IN THE BRONX AFTER ICE AGENT SHOOTS MAN DURING IMMIGRATION OPERATION

“But you didn’t answer the question,” Mannarino said.

“I understand the question. But here’s the problem, Danny,” Lawler shot back. “You guys want to focus on a gangbanger who has put people in harm’s way? I want to make sure that our communities are safe.”

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ACCUSED OF MURDERING COLLEGE STUDENT DIALS INTO HEARING FROM HOSPITAL BED

Lawler and Conley clash over Sheridan Gorman‘s killer

The GOP incumbent notably used the immigration standoff to pivot to the case of Sheridan Gorman, a teen from his district who was shot and killed near her college campus in Chicago earlier this year. The accused is an illegal immigrant who was previously arrested for shoplifting but was never turned over to ICE due to Chicago‘s sanctuary policies.

Conley called Gorman’s death an “atrocious crime,” while Lawler repeatedly said over her, “It was preventable.”

SHERIDAN GORMAN’S MOM SCORCHES DEM LAWMAKERS SHE SAYS REFUSED TO HEAR FAMILIES OF SLAIN AMERICANS

“Can I finish?” an irate Conley shot back. “It was an atrocious crime committed in Chicago. And that man should have been deported. And I do support federal agents and federal law enforcement, federal immigration enforcement, making sure that we deport violent criminals.”

Lawler then pointed out, however, that the man would only have been deported if the sanctuary laws were not in place — laws he has repeatedly accused Conley of supporting along with her fellow Democrats.

“This is important,” Lawler began as the moderator tried to regain control. “If you think he should have been deported when he was arrested for shoplifting, he should have been turned over to ICE. Under the new law that you support, he will not be turned over to ICE and he will be released under cashless bail.”

“Mr. Lawler, there’s not a cross-examination round, so thank you,” the moderator said.

Conley quipped at her GOP rival, “If you wanted to be the moderator, you should have volunteered.”

Conley accuses Lawler of ‘mansplaining’ on sexual assault

At another point, the candidates were asked whether there should be a federal definition or law for consent to help stop sexual assault.

Conley took the moment to attack Lawler for being allied with Rep. Max Miller, R-Ohio, a fellow House Republican who has been accused of domestic violence by his wife. Miller has denied the allegations.

Lawler said their matter was “tragic’ and should be dealt with in family court without blaming either side. He then accused Conley of taking money from former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, who was revealed to be a client in a 2008 federal probe into a prostitution ring. Spitzer was never criminally prosecuted and resigned from his governorship amid the scandal.

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“I’m sorry. I do not need — I do not need you to mansplain to me, domestic abuse and sexual assault against women,” Conley snapped. “Don’t start. I do not need you to mansplain to me, Mike.”

A coalition of prominent press freedom organizations that have blasted President Donald Trump’s treatment of journalists is now accusing Democratic Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, a Trump critic himself, of retaliating against news outlets scrutinizing his administration.

The accusations came in an Oct. 13 letter from the Freedom of the Press Foundation and six other journalism and civil liberties organizations. The groups raised concerns about the Moore administration’s decision to subject even routine inquiries from reporters at Sinclair-affiliated news outlets and The Baltimore Sun to additional legal review.

The additional review came amid a defamation lawsuit filed against Moore by David Smith, executive chairman of Sinclair Broadcast Group and majority owner of The Baltimore Sun. Maryland agencies have explicitly cited Smith’s lawsuit in written responses to reporters, informing journalists at Sinclair-affiliated outlets that their inquiries would be referred to legal counsel before receiving a response.

Moore himself has previously criticized Trump’s treatment of journalists. During a Sept. 20 appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union,” the Maryland governor condemned the president’s decision to bar reporters from CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House, accusing Trump of treating the Constitution “like it is a suggestion box simply because he does not like the coverage.”

WHITE HOUSE WON’T BACK DOWN AS ATTORNEY PREDICTS HOW TRUMP’S LATEST PRESS TUSSLE WILL PLAY OUT IN COURT

“It’s particularly offensive that Moore seeks to boost his national profile by slamming the Trump administration’s unconstitutional attempts to ban disfavored media outlets from the White House when he’s engaged in such similar antics himself,” Seth Stern, chief of advocacy at the Freedom of the Press Foundation, said in a statement accompanying the letter.

The press freedom groups that joined in condemning Moore, including the Committee to Protect Journalists, PEN America, Reporters Without Borders, and the Society of Professional Journalists, argued that journalists should not face different treatment from government officials because of a dispute involving their outlets’ ownership, drawing a comparison to the Trump administration’s restrictions on certain White House reporters.

Moore’s office strongly disputed the allegations in a statement to Fox News Digital on Wednesday, insisting that reporters have continued receiving responses from state agencies despite the additional legal scrutiny.

BALTIMORE SUN OWNER THREATENS MD GOV WES MOORE WITH LAWSUIT OVER WHAT HE CALLS A DEFAMATORY EPSTEIN LINK

“The central premise of this letter is completely false. There is no blanket refusal to engage,” Ammar Moussa, Moore’s senior press secretary and director of media strategy, told Fox News Digital. “In the last week alone, state agencies and the Governor’s Office have answered dozens of questions from Sinclair outlets, and we’re happy to let them share those responses.”

“David Smith chose to sue the Governor. Having our legal team look over inquiries is basic due diligence, not a blackout,” Moussa continued. “A litigant doesn’t get to dictate how the state protects itself, but that hasn’t stopped our agencies from doing their jobs for the people of Maryland.”

The dispute traces back to a defamation lawsuit Smith filed against the governor in July. Smith accused Moore of making false and damaging statements about him during a television interview, including remarks Smith interpreted as suggesting he had ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Smith, whose media holdings include The Baltimore Sun, has been a frequent target of criticism from Moore, who has accused the newspaper’s ownership of advancing a political agenda aligned with Trump. Smith maintains that the governor’s remarks crossed the line from political criticism into defamation.

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The lawsuit was filed by Smith personally, rather than the news organizations whose reporters have since faced additional legal review of their inquiries.

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“We urge you to instruct all Maryland agencies that Smith’s lawsuit against you is a personal matter and not an excuse to send media requests into a legal review black hole, and to cease any other unlawful retaliation against news outlets you personally dislike,” the coalition letter stated.

“It is particularly jarring that, while government agencies under your watch stonewall reporters based on flimsy pretexts, you take to the airwaves to condemn the Trump administration’s unconstitutional ban of news outlets the president doesn’t like from the White House,” the letter continued. “Yes, Trump frequently turns his personal grudges into censorial government policy, to the detriment of the public. But your own conduct appears not much different.”

New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul declined to directly defend socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani during Tuesday night’s gubernatorial debate after her Republican challenger accused him of being antisemitic, anti-Christian and un-American.

“With all the issues that face New York City, the first thing he did was sign an executive order to water down the definition of antisemitism, shame on you, mayor,” Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman said on the debate stage before pointing his attention at Hochul over her endorsement of the socialist New York City mayor.

“You are campaigning around the state with a guy who doesn’t believe in American values,” Blakeman said. “He talks about collectivism. That means you take personal property rights away. You take other people’s property rights. This is a guy that’s anti-Christian, couldn’t find an hour out of his day to attend the installation of a new archbishop here in New York City, the biggest religion in the city of New York. Look, if you want to campaign with him, that’s fine. But I will tell you right now, I think Zohran Mamdani is an antisemite. I believe he’s anti-Christian. And I don’t think he has American values.”

Hochul responded by turning to the moderator and deciding to answer a previous question about comments, reported by the New York Times, Blakeman made in a “secret meeting” related to whether the NYPD under Mamdani would respond if far-left protesters were causing violence against the Jewish community. Blakeman disputed her characterization of that meeting before complimenting Mamdani for selecting and keeping Jessica Tisch as NYPD commissioner.

“Let’s move on,” the moderator then said.

SCHUMER, JEFFRIES DODGE MAMDANI CONTROVERSY AS FELLOW NEW YORK DEM UNLOADS

“Antisemitism is on the rise, and it’s occurred under your watch, and Zohran Mamdani is fueling it,” Blakeman added before the conversation moved to another topic.

Republicans quickly highlighted the exchange on social media.

HOCHUL’S OFFICE MOCKS KATIE ZACHARIA WITH AARON RODGERS INJURY POST DESPITE GOVERNOR’S PRESS SECRETARY SCANDAL

“Zohran Mamdani is an antisemite, he’s anti-Christian, and he’s anti-American. And Kathy Hochul is campaigning with him,” Kristin Cianci, Northeast Comms Director for the Republican National Committee (RNC) posted on X. “What an utter disgrace. New York deserves better.”

“Zohran Mamdani is an antisemite, anti-Christian and anti-American,” the New York Republican Party posted on X. “And he’s Kathy Hochul’s best friend. “

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Hochul was asked about the exchange and why she “didn’t defend the mayor” by a reporter on Wednesday morning during a press conference on the state’s investment into the first-ever community center in Jackson Heights.

“I’m not going to take the bait from someone who’s throwing out such insane arguments,” Hochul said.

“He had a litany of things that were either false or so absurd that I’m not going to dignify them with a response from me, the governor. So, everyone knows I reject that, his description of the mayor. The mayor and I are great partners, we’re working hard together. And I’m not gonna give him the dignity of responding to those kind of crazy comments. And that’s pretty consistent how I’ve been.”

The two New York politicians clashed on a variety of issues on Tuesday night, including President Donald Trump, a recent ICE-involved shooting, energy prices, and inflation.

Democrats outnumber Republicans by a roughly two-to-one margin in blue-leaning New York state, but polling in September indicated that Blakeman has cut his deficit against Hochul to single digits.

Hochul, who is running for a second full four-year term steering the nation’s fourth most populous state, stood at 50% support among likely voters in New York, with Blakeman at 41%, according to a Siena College poll conducted Sept. 11-17.

By a 50%-30% margin, voters said Mamdani’s support for Hochul is a plus for the governor’s bid for re-election.

Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report

Former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt offered a glimpse into her relationship with President Donald Trump during a candid Instagram Q&A, praising her former boss as “kind and uplifting” while opening up about personal life decisions.

Leavitt, 29, fielded a variety of questions from her Instagram followers while traveling Wednesday, touching on everything from Trump’s personality to her career plans and life as a mother of two.

When asked whether Trump was nice or kind, Leavitt offered insight into his personality.

“Yes! He’s the best boss,” she said.

LEAVITT PULLS BACK THE CURTAIN ON TRUMP’S ‘TENSE,’ UNFILTERED PRIVATE TALKS WITH PUTIN, XI, STARMER

“People don’t see this side of him because the media doesn’t show it but he has been nothing but kind and uplifting to me, even since departing,” she continued. “He’s also hilarious. Love him!”

Leavitt, who served as press secretary from January 2025 until August 2026, also addressed a question about landing another job after her decision to leave the White House to spend more time with her children.

“As Press Sec, I was working in the office 60+ hours a week, traveling the world, and always on call 24/7,” she said. “Now, I am home with my kids every day and doing some TV hits. These things are not the same, ma’am.”

KAROLINE LEAVITT INVITED AS A GUEST ON ABC’S ‘THE VIEW’ AFTER LEAVING WHITE HOUSE ROLE

Leavitt also confirmed that she would officially begin working as a Fox News Channel contributor next month.

“I will be officially joining Fox News as a TV Contributor on November 1st, so I will continue making appearances on various shows!” she wrote.

FOX News Media CEO Suzanne Scott announced Leavitt’s new role earlier this month, and she is expected to provide commentary across the network’s programming.

Leavitt previously worked in Trump’s first administration as a presidential writer and assistant press secretary before running for Congress as a Republican in New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District in 2022. She also served as communications director for then-House Republican Conference Chair Rep. Elise Stefanik.

When asked for career advice for people hoping to succeed in public relations or politics, Leavitt encouraged them to gain practical experience before graduating.

KAROLINE LEAVITT ANNOUNCES BIRTH OF SECOND CHILD, A GIRL

“My advice to people who want to get into politics or comms is to get real world experience when you’re in college,” she said. “You’ll be taught a lot of things in the classroom, but work experience is where you’re really going to learn the game.”

Leavitt said she interned at NBC Sports Boston because she initially considered becoming a sideline sports reporter. She also worked at a local news station before securing a White House internship.

“Just try to apply for internships, say yes to every opportunity that you can and don’t spend your summers hanging out, spend your summers working and gaining that real world experience, which will help you later in your career.”

Leavitt, who made history as the youngest White House press secretary, was also asked how she spends her free time.

“I don’t have free time. As a mom of two littles, I’m lucky if I can take a shower in peace. But it’s the season of life I’m in and I wouldn’t have it any other way!!!!”

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Fox News Digital’s Brian Flood contributed to this report.

The U.S. military is deploying several hundred Army soldiers to Latin America for training and joint exercises with regional forces as the Trump administration expands its campaign against drug-trafficking networks, Fox News confirmed.

The deployment involves soldiers from the Army’s 10th Mountain Division based at Fort Drum, New York, with the first troops from a roughly 600-soldier battalion expected to deploy to Panama, according to The New York Times, which first reported the deployment.

A senior U.S. official confirmed to Fox News that the troops are being forward-staged under U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), which will determine where they are ultimately deployed.

According to The Times, the troops will first deploy to a new jungle training facility in Panama before eventually training with local forces in Colombia and Honduras.

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The troops could also support U.S. special operations personnel who are advising local militaries conducting raids against suspected drug traffickers, the outlet reported.

Separately, several hundred soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division are expected to help staff a new Western Hemisphere military command based in Miami.

The deployment comes as the Pentagon continues military operations targeting suspected drug traffickers across Latin America and the Caribbean.

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Since the campaign began more than a year ago, U.S. forces have conducted dozens of strikes, with more than 235 people killed.

Gen. Francis Donovan, commander of SOUTHCOM, previously said the military was considering operations against trafficking networks on land.

“Do I see land strikes as options? Yes. We want all options at the table,” Donovan said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.

“Those actions might be strikes, arrests, or the takedown of a safe house,” he continued. “It could even be something as routine as increasing the use of cargo scanners at border checkpoints.”

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Donovan added that the goal was to create “total systemic friction” for the cartels.

The Trump administration has pursued agreements with allied nations that could allow it to expand military operations against trafficking networks onto land in multiple Latin American countries.

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Secretary of War Pete Hegseth previously said during a visit to Panama in August that Colombia, Guatemala and Honduras had agreed to allow the U.S. to carry out joint military operations against criminal groups within their borders, although Guatemala denied reaching such an agreement.

Republicans are eyeing a rare Senate pickup opportunity in Minnesota, where GOP nominee Michele Tafoya is narrowing the gap with Democratic Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, prompting Fox News to move the race toward Republicans less than three weeks before Election Day.

It’s been nearly a quarter-century since Republicans last won a Senate election in the blue-leaning state. But Tafoya, a former longtime NFL sideline reporter, is aiming to break that losing streak by flipping the seat held by retiring Democratic Sen. Tina Smith.

A new Minnesota Star Tribune/KARE 11 poll shows Tafoya trailing Flanagan by just four percentage points. On Tuesday, the Fox News Power Rankings shifted the race to the right, from Likely Democrat to Lean Democrat.

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“The more that Minnesotans learn about me and my opponent and see what my opponent has failed to do over the last eight years alongside [Democratic Gov.] Tim Walz, they’re understanding Minnesota needs change. We need fresh ideas, we need an independent thinker and they’re jumping on board,” Tafoya said in a Fox News Digital interview.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Flanagan campaign for comment but didn’t receive a response at the time this story was published.

The race is unfolding against the backdrop of Minnesota’s massive welfare assistance fraud scandal, which has attracted national attention for nearly a year and prompted Democratic Gov. Tim Walz to abandon his 2026 re-election bid. The scandal has also become a central issue in Tafoya’s campaign against Flanagan.

Tafoya noted that “there has been historic fraud under this administration, where Peggy Flanagan, my opponent, has been the second-in-charge in this state. And not only was the money stolen, it hollowed out these programs that were supposed to be getting help, like kids’ meals or autistic kids or seniors who were supposed to be getting visits, health visits, wellness visits. And, so, that’s been hollowed out.

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“Walz understood that he was not going to win another term as governor with these conditions, but my opponent thinks she deserves a promotion. I think people are starting to realize she deserves a pink slip.”

Flanagan has said she is “incredibly angry with the fraud,” has acknowledged public frustration over the scandal and said more could have been done sooner to catch and prevent the fraud. The lieutenant governor has noted that she was not in charge of the state agencies at the center of the scandals or steering the daily state response. She has also distanced herself from Walz, who has accepted blame for the fraud.

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“It’s wall-to-wall coverage on every nightly news program here for months and months. We’re seeing it in polling,” Minnesota-based veteran national Republican strategist Kirsten Kukowski told Fox News Digital.

Pointing to Flanagan, Kukowski said she has “a lot of fraud baggage … and it’s really made the Senate race really tight here.”

Tafoya is also highlighting a recent spate of gang-related shootings in the Minneapolis-St. Paul suburbs and on Monday announced a five-point-plan to combat the violence.

“We will do more in our first eight weeks as a U.S. Senator than Peggy Flanagan has done in eight years as the second in charge,” she told Fox News Digital.

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“First of all, we’ve got to name the problem, and even Somali lawmakers and law enforcement have named this problem. We have a Somali gang violence problem. We’ve got to name it. She refuses to name it. You can’t fix it if you don’t name it,” Tafoya emphasized as she referred to Flanagan.

Flanagan, a progressive candidate backed by left-wing champions, Sens. Bernie Sanders Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Ro Khanna, topped more moderate Democratic Rep. Angie Craig by roughly 20 points in the August Senate primary.

Tafoya grabbed over 50% of the vote in the GOP Senate primary as she topped a crowded field of rivals. She was heavily recruited by national Republicans, including Sen. Tim Scott, the National Republican Senatorial Committee chair.

“We did a really good job of recruiting the most independent-minded Republican who understands why it’s important to win in Minnesota,” Scott said in an interview on Fox News’ “Hannity.”

“Michele Tafoya has a story to tell. She’s doing a really good job. This is a race that will come down to the wire.”

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Senate Majority Leader John Thune, the top Republican in the chamber, recently teamed up on the campaign trail in Minnesota with Tafoya. But the Thune-aligned Senate Leadership Fund, the top super PAC backing GOP Senate candidates, has yet to make a major investment in the race.

Asked about national Republican support, Tafoya said, “We are getting small dollar donations from all over the country. We’re getting donations from every county in this state, and I am a happy warrior. And I will deal with the circumstances I’m given. … We’re going to win this campaign on ideas.”

Democrats are hopeful that popular Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who is running for governor this year, may help push Flanagan over the finish line.

“Our latest poll has Flanagan with a strong lead, and we fully expect her to be elected to the U.S. Senate,” Lauren French, communications director for the Senate Democrat-aligned Senate Majority PAC, told Fox News Digital.

French argued that “Republicans are spending in deep red states and watching the battleground map extend around them. Their desperate last-minute attempt to push Minnesota into play is a political ploy.”

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Flanagan has repeatedly tied Tafoya to President Donald Trump, whose approval ratings are well underwater in Minnesota.

“Michele Tafoya is all in for Donald Trump — and he’s all in for her,” Flanagan reiterated Monday in a social media post.

Flanagan, who is Native American, also wrote on X, “My Ojibwe name is Gizhiiwewidamookwe, which means ‘Speaks in a Loud and Clear Voice Woman.’ I’m going to be Minnesota’s voice in the U.S. Senate — not Donald Trump’s.”

But Tafoya appears to be putting some daylight between herself and Trump, as she highlights her support for abortion rights.

“I’m a pro-choice Republican not afraid to stand up to my party,” Tafoya says in a new campaign commercial. “When Trump is right, I will work with him. When he is wrong, I will stand up for Minnesota.”

The ad was quickly criticized by leaders on the right.

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Among them was Mercedes Schlapp, a senior fellow at the Conservative Political Action Conference, who said on social media, “Pro-life Republicans will stay home after watching this ad.”

But hours later, Trump gave Tafoya a plug, telling the crowd at an Ohio rally he headlined, “You have to vote for Michele Tafoya, who’s a very respected person.”

The Trump administration scored a victory at a liberal-leaning appeals court Wednesday, which temporarily blocked a section of a California law requiring plainclothes federal law enforcement agents to show their badges and identification when carrying out operations.

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the Trump administration was “certain to succeed” in its lawsuit against California, finding that the No Vigilantes Act’s identification requirement violates the Constitution’s supremacy clause, which says federal law takes priority when it conflicts with state law.

“Section 10 explicitly overrides the federal government’s power to determine whether, how, and when to publicly identify its officers,” the panel wrote.

The preliminary injunction comes from a federal appeals court that has repeatedly clashed with the Trump administration over some of its signature immigration policies, including blocking efforts to withhold federal funding from sanctuary cities in 2018, restricting attempts to tighten asylum eligibility that same year and refusing to reinstate Trump’s travel ban targeting several predominantly Muslim countries in 2017.

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The ruling comes as a major blow to California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, widely viewed as a 2028 presidential hopeful. Newsom has positioned himself as a leading opponent of Trump’s immigration agenda, signing a series of laws aimed at protecting immigrant communities, restricting federal immigration enforcement operations and increasing oversight of federal agents in the state.

The Trump administration sued California over provisions in the No Vigilantes Act and No Secret Police Act, which restricts law enforcement officers from wearing face coverings, in November 2025. Judge Christina Snyder, a Clinton-appointed judge, initially blocked the No Secret Police Act’s mask restriction for federal officers but declined to block the No Vigilantes Act’s identification requirement.

The Trump administration appealed Snyder’s decision on the identification requirement, and the 9th Circuit temporarily blocked its enforcement in February before granting an injunction pending appeal in April.

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California argued that its identification requirement did not amount to an unconstitutional regulation of the federal government because a state law crosses that line only when it “impose[s] substantial burdens on federal operations.”

But the appeals court ruled that the state never had the authority to directly regulate federal officials.

“The burden of the regulation on federal operations, whether substantial or otherwise, is irrelevant,” the court wrote.

The liberal appeals court ruling drew praise from Trump administration officials, including Brett Shumate, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s Civil Division.

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“The Ninth Circuit agrees that California cannot regulate federal law enforcement,” Schumate wrote on X.

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“Today, the Ninth Circuit again affirms what common sense makes clear: California cannot regulate how Federal law enforcement officers carry out their jobs authorized by Congress,” Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward, Jr. wrote on X. 

“Today’s decision is a huge WIN for protecting the safety of our Nation’s law enforcement officers and ensuring @POTUS ‘s promise to enforce our Nation’s immigration laws.”

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Fox News Digital reached out to Newsom’s office for comment.

The case of a California couple recently accused of abusing children born to surrogates exposes the pitfalls of an industry one expert described as the “wild west.”

Guojun Xuan, 66, and his wife, Silvia Zhang, 39, were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit child abuse. Authorities said the couple operated their own surrogacy agency out of their home in Arcadia, California.

“I say it all the time. It’s the wild, Wild West,” Kallie Fell, executive director of the Center for Bioethics and Culture, told Fox News Digital.

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Xuan and Zhang allegedly abused more than a dozen surrogate-born children — some as young as 2 months old — inside their multimillion-dollar Arcadia residence.

Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman called the alleged abuse “appalling and revolting.”

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“This was not a home where these children were loved and nurtured,” Hochman said when announcing the charges. “This was a home where these young children were systematically beaten and punished if they did not do what they were told.”

In addition to the alleged abuse, the couple operated Future Spring Surrogacy from their home, recruiting surrogates and paying them tens of thousands of dollars. At least eight surrogates reported aggressive tactics and false statements regarding the family’s living situation, officials said.

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“The thing about the case is that I wish it was shocking for me,” said Fell, who opposes commercial surrogacy. “Because of the space I work in, I get to hear shocking stories around the globe — things that people don’t realize the surrogacy industry has grown into. It’s not just a place where couples who have been struggling with infertility go as a last resort to have a child.”

“I mean, this has really turned into, if you have enough money to pay for it, then you can, by any means necessary, really have a child in California,” she added.

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Unlike in some states, a license is not required in California to open a surrogacy agency, and there is no comprehensive regulatory framework to oversee the industry across the state.

Surrogacy is a billion-dollar global market used to help couples who are unable to conceive or carry a child. The issue, Fell noted, is that while the process is accessible to anyone who can afford it, there are no meaningful regulatory safeguards for the children born to surrogates.

“I was a foster parent,” she said. “My husband and I went through gobs of courses, gobs of home studies, background checks, everything — really under a microscope. The same is not true for surrogacy. It doesn’t apply.”

As the surrogacy boom has expanded, foreign nationals — many from China — have increasingly used American surrogates to have children, according to a 2024 report by the Heritage Foundation.

Because commercial surrogacy is completely illegal inside China, wealthy Chinese individuals and couples frequently look abroad, primarily to the U.S., to grow their families.

While banned or heavily restricted in several other countries, cross-border surrogacy is not regulated at the federal level in the U.S., opening the door for foreign clients to secure American birthright citizenship for the resulting children, according to the conservative think tank.

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“We absolutely need to close our borders to international surrogacy,” Fell said. “Why do we need folks from overseas coming, renting wombs here in the United States?”