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President Donald Trump wants Republicans to include his long-sought voter ID and citizenship verification legislation into a party-line package, but even the bill’s strongest backers don’t think it’s possible. 

Trump last week demanded that Republicans get to work on a third budget reconciliation package, cramming $350 billion in defense spending along with the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act into one bill. 

Republicans, fresh off passing their second reconciliation package to fund immigration enforcement for the remainder of the Trump era, were lukewarm at best on doing the process again, especially with little time left before the fast-approaching midterm elections. 

TRUMP’S PUSH FOR $350 BILLION ‘ARSENAL OF FREEDOM’ HITS GOP SKEPTICISM

But some see reconciliation, which would completely cut Democrats out of the process, as the only way to pass the SAVE America Act.

“It’s our only shot.
It’s the only shot,” Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said. “I just don’t think we have enough time. We burned a lot of time, and I’m not sure that we can agree on all the stuff to put in it. Not everybody is as easy to get along with as I am.” 

The problems facing the legislation are two-pronged. Senate Democrats have vowed to block it on the floor, meaning any hope of hitting the 60-vote filibuster threshold is impossible — and not every Republican is on board with the bill. 

“I support voter ID and support only American citizens voting, but Democrats are implacably opposed to it, and we don’t have enough Republicans to fill the gap,” Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said.
”So we should move on and focus on winning the midterms instead of fighting each other.”

SCHUMER SAYS DEMS WILL FIGHT VOTER ID PUSH ‘TOOTH AND NAIL,’ BALKS AT DHS ROLE IN ELECTIONS

Republicans have tried and failed several times now to pass the bill, even launching a quasi-floor takeover earlier this year to force debate on the matter. 

Still, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., acknowledged that “we don’t have the vote.” 

“Even if you confine it to just the two issues of photo ID and, you know, citizenship, in order to register to vote on those two issues, you take 60 votes in the Senate,” Thune said. “The only way you could get there is to undo or get rid of the legislative filibuster, and there aren’t even close to the votes here in the United States Senate in order to achieve that.”

Trying to put the bill into a reconciliation package, which can pass with a simple majority of votes, has its own issues beyond a vote count. 

The process is governed by the Byrd Rule, which dictates broadly that any item in reconciliation has to have a direct budgetary impact and can’t be pure policy. If a provision is ruled as being policy, it triggers the 60-vote threshold. 

REPUBLICANS FAIL TO ATTACH SAVE AMERICA ACT TO PARTY-LINE FUNDING PACKAGE

Republicans, including Kennedy, tried three separate times to include the SAVE America Act — or versions of it — into the latest reconciliation package. All three hit the 60-vote mark, and all but one failed to hit 50 votes.

Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, is one of the top backers of the SAVE America Act in the upper chamber and said that he has “been looking for every way possible to get the SAVE America Act passed.”

“And we are currently working on some options that could meet the standard to be part of the reconciliation process,” Husted said. “
But I am in no way certain that we get it done, but we should try.” 

Those alternatives would likely be quite different than what the current bill looks like, which Trump has already asked Republicans to revamp to include policy unrelated to elections, like barring biological men from participating in women’s sports.

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, the main driver of the SAVE America Act in the Senate, acknowledged that the bill was “policy, it’s non-budgetary. Therefore, SAVE America itself is not eligible for consideration in a third reconciliation.”

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But he said a plausible pathway to getting at least an aspect of the bill through the Byrd Rule would be providing funding for states to issue an “Enhanced Real ID,” which shows proof of citizenship.

Then, lawmakers could pass a separate bill outside of reconciliation that would require proof of identity to register to vote in federal elections. But Lee, like many in the Senate GOP, was skeptical that a third reconciliation bill would even be an option. 

“The second reason is just, as a practical matter, I see no evidence that there is a viable path to a third reconciliation bill,” Lee said.
”I hope there is. I would love to be wrong on that. I want us to do that. I think we should do that. But the schedule that we’ve got, to my great disappointment, is not — It doesn’t accommodate any of it.”

Scandal-plagued Maine Democratic Senate nominee Graham Platner is facing even more scrutiny over posts he made on the online blogging platform Reddit, after a report surfaced fresh posts attributed to his old username, including one appearing to mock a teenage girl’s suicide attempt.

The New York Post reported Saturday that an account using Platner’s former Reddit handle, “P-Hustle,” responded to a 2012 post about a young girl’s failed suicide attempt. “A girl at my old high school tried jumping from a window because her cousin died the day before,” the post’s caption read. “These students saved her. I have hope.” The post showed the teenage girl hanging out a window, being held on by just her classmates from falling.

“Someone clearly isn’t trying hard enough,” the P-Hustle account responded.

TOP OFF-THE-WALL REDDIT POSTS HAUNTING GRAHAM PLATNER’S MAINE SENATE BID

The newly uncovered Reddit posts follow other inflammatory remarks Platner has made on the online blogging platform Reddit, including comments calling rural White Americans “racist and stupid,” posts pushing racial stereotypes about Black people, comments promoting political violence, and remarks blaming victims of rape, among others.

The freshly uncovered Reddit post mocking a young girl’s suicide quickly drew criticism from Republicans and conservatives, including Maine State House Minority Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham, Maine Republican Party Executive Director Jason Savage, and former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer.

“Graham Platner is clearly a person with deep and disturbing psychological issues that predate his military service and continue to this day,” Faulkingham told The New York Post.

“Yet another example of abject cruelty from Graham Platner,” Savage told Fox News Digital. 

“When someone tells you who they are, believe them,” he continued. “Platner has told us repeatedly. Sadly, this time he was mocking the pain of a young woman facing a terrible loss. If this doesn’t show you who Graham Platner is, what will?”

SEE IT: MAINE VOTERS SOUND OFF ON PLATNER’S DIVISIVE CAMPAIGN AS CRUCIAL PRIMARY NEARS: ‘HE’S A DISGRACE’

“Of all the rotten, troubling, and warped things Platner has done and said, his mocking encouragement of a young girl to commit suicide is the worst,” Fleischer reacted, questioning how “anyone” could support the Maine Senate candidate amid all the controversies he has been embroiled in.

“There is something seriously perverted and wrong with Graham Platner,” he added.

Platner’s activity on Reddit has been a focus of his campaign as far back as last year, amid his attempt to unseat GOP incumbent Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine. His controversial posts have included comments disparaging police officers and rural White Americans, remarks about rape victims needing to take more responsibility, promotions of political violence, and praise for Hamas. In one post, Platner slammed a Purple Heart recipient who Platner argued “didn’t deserve to live,” blaming his return home on “poor marksmanship on the Taliban’s part.”

In one post from Sept. 1, 2020, Platner responded in a politics subreddit declaring that “White People Aren’t as Racist or Stupid as Trump Thinks.”

“Living in white rural America, I’m afraid to tell you they actually are,” Platner wrote of the people he is now seeking to represent in the U.S. Congress.

Platner had a history of promoting armed political action on Reddit as well, including writing that “an armed working class is a requirement for economic justice.” In a separate post, he argued that if people “expect to fight fascism without a good semi-automatic rifle, they ought to do some reading of history.” 

PLATNER’S BRUTAL ATTACKS ON ARMY SOLDIERS AS ‘FAT, LAZY’ REVEALED IN RESURFACED POSTS

“There are times in this world when, for the good of tolerance and humanity, you need to kill a motherf—er,” Platner also wrote on his now-deleted Reddit account in September 2013. “Sadly most people who are true believers in tolerance and humanity find that activity repulsive. Which I suppose is morally good, but pragmatically a shortfall.”

Meanwhile, in a 2021 Reddit post, Platner wrote that all cops are “bastards” and called himself a “communist,” though Platner later disavowed the remark about law enforcement and later said he has “an immense amount of friends” who are police officers and that they are “not all” bastards.

“I was [expletive] around on the internet at a time when I felt lost and very disillusioned with our government who sent me overseas to watch my friends die,” Platner said in a statement to CNN at the time. “I made dumb jokes and picked fights. But of course I’m not a socialist. I’m a small business owner, a Marine Corps veteran, and a retired s***poster,” the 41-year-old Platner added.

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In another set of resurfaced Reddit posts, The Washington Post reported that Platner downplayed sexual assault concerns, including writing in a thread about rape-prevention underwear that “rape is a real thing,” but that people worried about assault should “take some responsibility for themselves” and not get so intoxicated that they wind up “having sex with someone they don’t mean to.”

The New York Post also reported this week that Platner praised a video recording Hamas terrorists shooting at Israeli soldiers and trying to kidnap one of them who was screaming for his life. Platner reportedly wrote in response to the 2014 combat footage on Reddit: “Looks like an all around well executed and successful small unit raid to me.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Platner and his campaign for comment but did not hear back in time for publication.

Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser and Robert Schmad contributed to this report.

Newly released Pentagon and FBI records describe a series of orb sightings reported from the same area of the northeastern United States between at least October 2024 and June 2025, including one incident in which two witnesses reported seeing a glowing red sphere containing what appeared to be a basketball-sized “white plasma sun.”

The sightings are among dozens of records published through the Trump administration’s Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) Encounters, or PURSUE, a government-wide effort to declassify files related to UAPs. 

According to records released Thursday, an eyewitness in October 2024 reported observing a “plasma-like sphere” hovering above a pond at an estimated distance of roughly 2,700 feet. Investigators said the luminous object intermittently changed shape and brightness, at times appearing to separate into smaller points of light. A second luminous point hovered above the water and did not appear consistent with a surface reflection. The object remained generally stationary for approximately 45 minutes before disappearing.

The video was captured on an iPhone and later analyzed and authenticated by the U.S. government, according to the records. The FBI assessed the eyewitness as highly credible.

The release is the latest installment of the Trump administration’s Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters, or PURSUE, a transparency initiative launched after President Donald Trump directed federal agencies in February to review and declassify records related to unidentified anomalous phenomena. The program has produced a steady stream of files ranging from cases investigators believe may have conventional explanations to incidents that remain unresolved years later.

Fox News Digital attended a briefing with senior administration officials ahead of the release.

PENTAGON UFO FILES DESCRIBE ‘MOTHER ORB’ RELEASING SMALLER OBJECTS IN 2023 INCIDENT THAT REMAINS UNEXPLAINED

A second incident from the same general area occurred in July 2025, when a witness arrived home and noticed an intense bright light hovering below the tree line behind a residence. According to FBI interviews, the witness described the object as a red sphere roughly one meter in diameter containing a bright white center resembling a basketball-sized “plasma sun.”

A second witness separately came outside and reported seeing the same object. FBI records indicate the objects were estimated to be about 30 yards away and 20 feet to 30 feet above the ground.

Both witnesses said a second identical orb later appeared nearby. The objects moved together above the trees, changed altitude and direction, traveled in tandem and eventually appeared to merge into a single object before disappearing from view. The witnesses captured video footage of the sighting, and FBI agents later obtained photographs associated with the investigation.

According to the FBI, multiple reports and videos released through the latest tranche originated from the same general area in the northeastern United States. Law enforcement officials.

Among the most significant cases included in the latest tranche was an unresolved 2023 incident near a sensitive national security site in the western United States involving six federal law enforcement agents who reported observing what they described as glowing orange “mother orbs” releasing smaller red objects into the night sky.

In a newly released assessment, the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office said roughly 40% of the reported activity remains unexplained after analysts compared witness accounts against commercial and military flight logs, radar data, spatial estimates and ADS-B records while examining a range of possible explanations, including military aircraft, drones, U.S. government programs, foreign intelligence activity and environmental phenomena.

Analysts concluded military flare activity could plausibly account for a significant portion of the reported observations and assessed foreign adversary technology as highly unlikely, but determined that no single explanation fully accounted for all the reported activity. Investigators said “unrecognized technology” remained a provisional hypothesis for the unexplained portion of the case, while cautioning that the assessment was based primarily on witness testimony rather than technical or physical evidence.

The newly released files include five witness narratives, sketches and a notional map depicting four related incidents investigators grouped under the “Western U.S. Event,” including what they labeled “Orbs Launching Orbs,” a “Fiery Orb,” a “Dark Kite” and a “Translucent Kite.” The case is among the most extensively documented unresolved incidents included in the latest tranche.

Among the most unusual incidents in the latest PURSUE tranche was a February 2022 sighting near Colorado Springs, Colorado, in which five U.S. Army personnel reported seeing a shimmering object hovering above Cheyenne Mountain for up to three minutes.

According to witness accounts, the object appeared roughly the size of a large jet and resembled an angular, nonsymmetrical “potato” composed of irregular panels that slowly shifted and changed shape while remaining stationary above the mountain.

PENTAGON’S NEW UFO FILE RELEASE LOGS NEAR-MISS AS ‘SUPER-HEATED’ ORBS APPROACH US HELICOPTER

In a separate FBI interview conducted in 2024, a former Army intelligence officer who witnessed the event described the object as a creamy white, opalescent shape made up of what appeared to be articulating fish-scale-like panels. The witness told investigators the object remained perfectly still while the individual panels appeared to move in slow waves before the object suddenly vanished.

Witnesses estimated the object hovered 300 feet to 500 feet above Cheyenne Mountain before disappearing while they were actively observing it. Pentagon investigators ultimately concluded the sighting may have been caused by sunlight reflecting off snow-covered terrain and illuminating clouds near the mountain, though AARO described that assessment as low confidence because of uncertainty surrounding witness viewing angles, cloud cover and environmental conditions.

Taken together, the Colorado, western and northeastern incidents offer a snapshot of the diverse reports now being published through the Pentagon’s PURSUE program, ranging from cases investigators believe may have conventional explanations to incidents that remain unresolved after years of analysis.

The effort has drawn mixed reactions. Transparency advocates have welcomed the publication of records that were previously difficult for the public to access, while some researchers and former officials argue that many of the releases rely heavily on witness testimony and contain limited technical data that would allow independent analysts to verify government conclusions.

Former AARO director Sean Kirkpatrick has argued that unresolved cases often remain unresolved because investigators lack sufficient information to reach high-confidence conclusions.

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At the same time, neither the Department of War nor AARO has concluded that any of the incidents released through PURSUE constitute evidence of extraterrestrial life, nonhuman intelligence or alien technology. 

Government officials have repeatedly emphasized that an unresolved case simply means investigators lack sufficient information to determine a definitive cause. The records released to date document observations, investigations and assessments, but do not establish evidence of extraterrestrial origins.

A federal judge in Georgia has apologized to a former law clerk for “harmful, offensive, and unprofessional behavior” amid allegations she had engaged in sexual activity with a high-ranking uniformed police officer in her office during working hours and within earshot of staff.

The apology comes as two House Republicans from Georgia have filed articles of impeachment for U.S. District Judge Eleanor Ross.

“You deserved better than to have your experience marred by my own offensive conflict,” Ross, who serves in the Northern District of Georgia, wrote in a letter last week, adding that her “actions were patently wrong, and there is no excuse,” and her previous letter to the clerk was “entirely deficient, as I did not take full accountability for my actions, and I failed to give you the apology that you deserve.”

“I also want to convey my deepest apologies to you for my false accusation against you,” the letter continued. “Again, I have no excuse and immensely regret my behavior.”

MARRIED FEDERAL JUDGE REPEATEDLY HAD COURTHOUSE SEX WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER, COMPLAINT ALLEGES

Ross, nominated by former President Barack Obama in 2014, was disciplined after investigators found she had sex with a police officer in her chambers and then lied about it.

Reps. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., and Clay Fuller, R-Ga., filed separate impeachment resolutions against Ross following the judicial misconduct investigation. Federal judges are appointed for life and can only be removed through impeachment by Congress.

“When judges become political activists or engage in judicial misconduct, Congress bears both the responsibility and the constitutional authority to hold them accountable,” Clyde said. “Judge Ross’ deeply disturbing actions prove she is incapable of displaying integrity or showing impartiality.”

DOJ SOLICITS EXAMPLES OF ‘JUDICIAL ACTIVISM’ FROM PROSECUTORS AS IT WEIGHS IMPEACHMENT REFERRALS

Ross provided materially false statements to senior judicial officials during the course of an internal inquiry, potentially obstructing efforts to fully assess misconduct concerns and impacting the administration of the court, according to Fuller, who said these issues represent a serious breach of judicial ethics and a serious failure to uphold the basic standards required of federal judges.

“The American people expect and deserve a judiciary system that operates with the highest level of integrity, professionalism, and accountability,” Fuller said. “Judge Ross has no place on the federal bench.”

“This behavior is unacceptable and cannot be tolerated on any level within our courts, and most certainly not in the State of Georgia,” Fuller added.

The investigation, initiated by 11th U.S. Circuit Chief Judge William Pryor, also examined allegations that Ross attended a partisan political event, failed to properly supervise clerks and yelled and cursed at staff. A special committee ultimately found that Ross had sex in the courthouse, attended a partisan event and initially lied when confronted with the allegations.

RETIRED FEDERAL JUDGE WHO WROTE ANTI-TRUMP OP-ED REPORTEDLY FACED MISCONDUCT INQUIRY BEFORE RESIGNING

Ross received a “private reprimand” that did not publicly name her. She also agreed not to seek the position of chief judge for the district when eligible and to write apology letters to six former law clerks.

Clyde filed three articles of impeachment against Ross, accusing her of improper sexual activity in chambers, attending a partisan political event and obstructing an official proceeding. Clyde’s resolution states that Ross engaged in an extramarital affair from roughly October 2023 through October 2025 with high-ranking Atlanta Police Department officer Kelley Collier, and that the relationship was not disclosed to judges, court staff or litigants.

The articles allege that Ross and Collier had sex in Ross’ chambers during business hours, and that at least three former clerks heard sounds from the judge’s chambers, creating what the resolution described as an uncomfortable workplace.

“She’s simply unfit to remain a U.S. District Court Judge for the Northern District of Georgia, which is why I’m leading the charge to impeach Judge Ross and ultimately remove her from the bench,” Clyde concluded.

Cosponsors of his articles of impeachment include Reps. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo.; Sheri Biggs, R-S.C.; Buddy Carter, R-Ga.; John Carter, R-Texas; Paul Gosar, R-Ariz.; Andy Harris, R-Md.; and Andy Ogles, R-Tenn.

JUDGE CAUGHT IN EXTRAMARITAL AFFAIR WITH AN OFFICER IN HER CHAMBERS

Fuller filed a separate impeachment article, saying Ross “engaged in extra-marital affairs with a high ranking officer of the Atlanta police department within her chambers during official court hours, while actively presiding over criminal matters.”

Clyde’s articles also accuse Ross of attending an event hosted by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ campaign the evening before she presided over a criminal revocation proceeding. The resolution says Ross told interns and staff the next morning that she had consumed “too many martinis” at the campaign event.

Ross told investigators she attended a “mixer” for former employees of a district attorney’s office where she used to work, but said it was in a separate room from the victory party.

The articles further accuse Ross of making “numerous, material false statements” to Pryor and the chief district judge when she initially responded to the allegations. The resolution says Ross denied having sexual intercourse in her office or anywhere else in the courthouse and said she was “astounded and confused” by the allegation.

FORMER PRISON GUARD WHO HAD SEX TAPE WITH INMATE GO VIRAL IS FILLED WITH REGRET & NOW FOCUSING ON BEING A MOM

Ross did not recant those statements until Oct. 10, 2025, after the special committee had gathered corroborating evidence. The resolution says the committee declined to treat the recantation as absolution because it came only after Ross likely knew her false statements had been, or were about to be, exposed.

Pryor first asked Ross to respond to the allegations last fall. Ross replied the same day and “specifically denied” them, then suggested in a follow-up email that the law clerk might have invented the claims in retaliation for being required to work in the office.

The special committee reviewed logs and security footage showing that an officer had frequently visited Ross’ chambers in uniform around lunchtime. Six clerks recalled seeing someone matching the officer’s description, and three remembered overhearing what might have been sexual activity in the judge’s office.

The committee found that clerks described an “eggshell culture,” but it did not find evidence of abusive behavior.

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The House Judiciary Committee will decide whether to open impeachment proceedings against Ross. If the House were to impeach her, the Senate would decide whether to remove her from the federal bench.

“Though I can never fully undo the harm that I have caused you, I hope that my acknowledgment of these failures is a small first step,” Ross wrote in her apology letter to the former clerk. “I will be taking further steps to ensure that this never happens again.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Democratic House candidate George Conway is pledging to pursue President Donald Trump’s third impeachment and put him “away for good” if elected to Congress. 

Conway, a longtime conservative lawyer turned vocal Trump critic, is vying for the Democratic nomination in a crowded primary to represent a deep-blue district in central Manhattan. He is promising to push for Trump’s third impeachment and his potential criminal prosecution if chosen by voters to represent New York’s 12th Congressional District ahead of the June 23 primary.

“Hi, Donald. It’s me, George Conway. I cost you 88 f—— million dollars, and I’ve only just gotten started,” Conway said in a 60-second spot overlooking the U.S. Capitol that was rolled out on Monday. “I know you like putting your name on everything from your plane to the Kennedy Center.”

“But the only thing your name is going to be left on when I’m done with you is the orange jumpsuit you’re going to have to wear in prison,” Conway continued.

GEORGE CONWAY LOOKS DRAMATICALLY DIFFERENT IN CAMPAIGN ANNOUNCEMENT VIDEO

“And you see that building back there,” Conway added, pointing to the Capitol building. “That’s where we’re going to hold your third and final impeachment trial, the one that’s going to put you away for good, and I’m going to enjoy every minute of that.”

The White House argued Conway is suffering from “Trump Derangement Syndrome” in a statement to Fox News Digital. 

“Lightweight George Conway is a stupid person’s idea of a smart person,” the spokesperson said. “His severe and debilitating disease known as Trump Derangement syndrome has melted his brain and made him crazy in the head.”

The ad does not specify what conduct Conway believes warrants impeachment. The Conway campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment seeking clarification.

Conway’s impeachment warning comes as Democratic leadership has yet to back another effort to oust Trump if the party retakes control of the House in November, though a number of Democratic lawmakers have already called for his removal. Democrats impeached Trump twice, in 2020 and 2021, but the Republican-controlled Senate acquitted him on both occasions.

Conway, who previously lived in Bethesda, Md., before launching his congressional campaign, faces an uphill battle in the race for the heavily Democratic seat vacated by longtime Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., who is retiring.

FROM CAMELOT TO ‘OUTSIDER’: JFK’S GRANDSON SHAKES UP NYC HOUSE RACE TAKING AIM AT GATEKEEPING DEM ‘MACHINE’

He trails state Assembly members Micah Lasher and Alex Bores, D-N.Y., and Jack Schlossberg, a social media provocateur and grandson of former President John F. Kennedy, according to an Emerson College poll released in May.

The survey of 425 likely Democratic primary voters found Lasher and Bores in a near dead heat at 22% and 20% of the vote, followed by Schlossberg registering 11% support and Conway clocking in at 10%. Lasher, who previously served as a Nadler aide, has the retiring congressman’s endorsement as well as those of Gov. Kathy Hochul, D-N.Y., and former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg.

The primary winner is likely to cruise to the general election given the district’s overwhelming Democratic voter advantage. 

Conway became a regular anti-Trump fixture on cable news during the president’s first term and co-founded the anti-Trump organization the Lincoln Project, which opposed the president’s 2020 re-election campaign.

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He was previously married to former Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway for more than two decades. The couple divorced in 2023.

Members of Congress are calling for increased oversight and reform after a Haitian national in Florida was convicted in a healthcare fraud conspiracy that prosecutors said involved more than $58 million in false claims targeting Medicare, Medicaid and private insurers using a federal drug discount program.

Prosecutors accused Jean Jethro Alexandre and his co-conspirators in 2025 of recruiting fake patients and offering them financial kickbacks if they accepted fraudulent prescriptions — primarily for HIV and AIDS medication — written by nurse practitioners involved in the operation, according to court documents reviewed by Fox News Digital. Alexandre would then cash in on the scheme through insurance reimbursements for filling the fake prescriptions.

He used the proceeds from his scheme to bankroll a life of luxury, including a fleet of top-end cars, a mansion near Miami and a slate of investment properties.

The case is drawing renewed scrutiny to the 340B Drug Pricing Program, a decades-old federal initiative designed to help safety-net providers serve low-income patients that is increasingly being criticized by lawmakers and industry groups who say weak oversight has allowed bad actors to exploit the system. Advocates for reform may point to Alexandre’s case as evidence that the program is in need of tweaks to reduce the risk of fraud.

MULTIBILLION-DOLLAR HEALTHCARE FRAUD SCHEME INCLUDED GIVING PEOPLE ‘UNNECESSARY’ SKIN GRAFTS: DOJ

“The 340B program was created with good intentions to help vulnerable and underserved patients access care, but unfortunately, it has evolved into a massive, poorly supervised program with weak transparency and accountability safeguards,” Rep. Diana Harshbarger, herself a pharmacist, told Fox News Digital. “Cases like this demonstrate how the current structure can create opportunities for bad actors to exploit deeply discounted drugs, questionable contract pharmacy arrangements and opaque reimbursement practices for personal profit.”

“When there is limited federal oversight, little transparency into how 340B revenues are used, and enormous financial spreads between discounted acquisition costs and insurer reimbursements, it should not surprise anyone that fraudsters see the program as a target,” she said.

Alexandre used a nonprofit health clinic that he secretly co-owned to purchase drugs at a discounted rate using the federal 340B Drug Pricing Program and had the prescriptions filled by pharmacies, who provided Alexandre’s clinic with reimbursements paid by insurers, including Medicare and Medicaid. The arrangement allowed Alexandre and his colleagues to pocket the difference between what he was paid in reimbursements and what the drugs cost him through the discount program.

While this is a legitimate way for healthcare providers to generate revenue generally, according to the Government Accountability Office, Alexandre’s conduct was illegal because the underlying prescriptions were fake. Prosecutors allege, for instance, that in some cases the drugs were simply destroyed after being dispensed to fraudulent patients. 

“Alexandre’s blatantly setting up a fraudulent medical clinic and disregarding important safety net programs, as well as finite taxpayer dollars, shows the need for the Committee to continue its important work in cracking down on harmful schemes like this one,” Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Va., who sits on the health subcommittee of the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee, told Fox News Digital.

“Although I am supportive of the 340B Drug Pricing Program, this instance of fraud is yet another example of how the program has strayed far from its initial intent and is something my Health Subcommittee will continue to monitor closely,” the congressman added.

FBI LAUNCHES ‘MOST WANTED FRAUDSTERS’ LIST AS DOJ CHARGES OHIO DEFENDANTS IN $30M MEDICAID SCHEME FOR KIDS

Prosecutors said Alexandre used proceeds from the healthcare fraud conspiracy for personal benefit and traced assets from the scheme to a luxury-car collection that included a 2024 Mercedes-Benz S-Class, a 2023 Bentley Flying Spur, a Mercedes-Benz G-Class AMG and a six-passenger golf cart-style vehicle.

Additionally, he purchased a $2.5 million 4,452-square-foot mansion on the southern coast of Florida equipped with a custom pool and spa. 

The Trump administration has mounted a series of fraud investigations across federal programs, including Medicaid and Medicare, framing them as part of a broader push to root out waste, abuse and improper payments. That effort intensified in December 2025, shortly after Alexandre was initially indicted, signaling a more aggressive enforcement posture.

Alexandre, a native and citizen of Haiti, is to be handed over to ICE and processed for removal after serving his sentence of just under 10 years in prison. He will be barred from reentering the United States without written permission from the relevant authorities.

DR. OZ SAYS TAXPAYERS FOOTING $14 BILLION BILL FOR MEDICAID FRAUD WHILE ELIGIBLE PATIENTS STRUGGLE FOR CARE

“Anyone who comes to the United States to steal from American taxpayers should be denaturalized and deported, which is why I introduced the Fraud Accountability Act earlier this year,” Sen. Marsha Blackburn told Fox News Digital. “We’re grateful President Trump is laser-focused on rooting out fraud across the federal government, including in the 340B Program. The Trump DOJ and HHS are working hand in hand to eliminate health care fraud and hold every fraudster accountable.”

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In addition to prison time, Alexandre is on the hook for paying roughly $14.3 million in restitution, per the terms of his plea agreement. Alexandre’s lawyer did not respond to a request for comment.

“Every dollar stolen from these programs is a dollar taken from families who need it most,” Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., told Fox News Digital. “The 340B Program was created to help patients access affordable health care, not enrich criminals and fraudsters. I am working to strengthen transparency and accountability in 340B to ensure the program lowers costs and improves care for American families.”

FIRST ON FOX: Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested a Brazilian illegal immigrant, who authorities say previously served as the commander of two designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations, after allegedly attempting to flee a North Carolina traffic stop while preparing to escape to Mexico.

Felipe Linares de Oliveira Dell Aquilla, known as “Don,” was arrested June 5 in Mooresville, North Carolina, after allegedly leading law enforcement on a vehicle pursuit that ended in a crash before his arrest, according to a Department of Homeland Security press release obtained by Fox News Digital.

Federal authorities say Dell Aquilla was wanted in Brazil on charges of criminal association and extortion and had been preparing to leave the United States for Mexico.

Dell Aquilla previously served as a commander within the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) and Comando Vermelho (CV), two Brazil-based criminal organizations that were recently designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations by the Trump administration, according to DHS.

ICE ARRESTS ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT WITH ALLEGED TERROR TIES IN CALIFORNIA, ONE OF THE MOST WANTED MEN IN INDIA

“This arrest demonstrates the unwavering commitment of HSI to protect our communities from dangerous international criminals,” Mark M. Zito, special agent in charge of HSI in North and South Carolina, said in an exclusive statement to Fox News Digital.

“By removing a known leader of violent foreign terrorist organizations — wanted for serious crimes including criminal association and extortion — we have prevented further harm to innocent people here and abroad,” Zito said.

EXCLUSIVE: ICE NABS MULTIPLE CONVICTED KILLERS IN SINGLE DAY AMID NATIONWIDE IMMIGRATION SWEEP

Law enforcement intelligence indicated Dell Aquilla was holding his wife against her will as he plotted his escape to Mexico. Authorities said investigators later interviewed his wife, who confirmed she had been held against her will.

Investigators said Dell Aquilla led authorities on a pursuit after officers initiated a traffic stop. The chase ended when he crashed into stopped traffic and allegedly attempted to flee on foot before being taken into custody.

A search of the vehicle resulted in the seizure of multiple cellphones, laptops, cash and a 9 mm handgun, according to DHS.

FIVE ANTI-ICE AGITATORS ARRESTED DURING CHAOTIC DELANEY HALL CONFRONTATIONS CAUGHT ON VIDEO

“Our agents, working alongside dedicated state and local law enforcement partners, acted swiftly and decisively to ensure this individual will no longer threaten the safety of our neighborhoods,” Zito said.

“HSI will continue to pursue those who endanger our communities and bring them to justice.”

Dell Aquilla was transported to a county jail and faces a state felony charge of fleeing to elude arrest. HSI is pursuing additional charges of kidnapping and being an alien in possession of a firearm, according to DHS. ICE has also lodged a detainer on him.

Dell Aquilla illegally entered the United States “at an unknown date and location,” according to federal authorities.

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HSI Greensboro and HSI Charlotte worked alongside HSI New England, the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office and the Mooresville Police Department in the operation.

Comedian Shane Gillis said he “didn’t like” UFC heavyweight Josh Hokit’s crude post-fight remark about former first lady Michelle Obama after Hokit defeated Derrick Lewis at Sunday’s UFC Freedom 250 event at the White House.

Hokit made the comment inside the Octagon during a post-fight interview with UFC commentator Joe Rogan, claiming without evidence that Michelle Obama is a man.

“Michelle Obama is a man. Am I right, America?” Hokit said to the crowd at the end of the interview.

DANA WHITE DENIES AMERICA 250 UFC FIGHT AT WHITE HOUSE WILL BE ‘POLITICAL,’ ‘NOT AT ALL’ ABOUT POLITICS

The comment drew a mixed reaction from the crowd, with some attendees laughing while others appeared less amused.

Gillis, one of many celebrities who attended the spectacle, told reporters he “didn’t love it” when asked what he thought about Hokit’s remark.

“I didn’t like that sh–,” he reiterated.

A-LIST COMEDIAN SHANE GILLIS RETURNING TO HOST ‘SNL’ FOR SECOND TIME SINCE BEING FIRED FROM SKETCH SHOW

Gillis has faced criticism over controversial jokes and past remarks throughout his career as a stand-up comedian.

He was fired from “Saturday Night Live” in 2019 before appearing as a new cast member in season 45, after clips surfaced of him using a slur aimed at Asian people on his podcast.

The comedian was fired from Saturday Night Live in 2019 before appearing in his debut as a new cast member in season 45 for making racist remarks — a viral clip showing him using a slur aimed at Asian people on his podcast. More clips continued to circulate of him making racist jokes and using offensive language online.

Gillis initially took to X to apologize for what he said on the podcast, but later deleted the tweet. He went on to build a successful career for himself in the comedy sphere, continuing to insert what can be viewed as racially insensitive jokes into his skits.

But despite his own history of controversial comedy, Gillis repeatedly said he didn’t like Hokit’s remark.

“Yeah I didn’t like that,” Gillis said. “But whatever, he was funny.”

Gillis was also asked by Fox News Digital for his opinion on President Donald Trump’s job performance in office as he was leaving the White House event put together by the administration on Trump’s 80th birthday.

TRUMP WHITE HOUSE UNLOADS ON KIMMEL, CALLING HIM ‘DERANGED’ AND FOR HIM TO BE FIRED

“Nothing,” he said.

Gillis interrupted a follow-up question regarding cancel culture, an issue that continues to impact public figures’ careers, particularly comedians like Gillis who are often scrutinized for crossing lines in their comedic routines.

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“You guys got me on a couple brewskis,” Gillis told Fox News Digital in the middle of being asked about cancel culture.

The event marked the first UFC event ever hosted at the White House, and what will be the last in history, according to UFC President and CEO Dana White, referring to the event as a one-time spectacle.

The Trump administration is using visa enforcement to target “birth tourism,” an alleged scheme utilized by foreign nationals to obtain visitor visas for the primary purpose of giving birth in the U.S. and securing American citizenship for their children.

The Trump administration recently announced that it disrupted “a sophisticated birth tourism network” in West Africa involving more than 100 foreign nationals utilizing false documents and, what the State Department described as “fixers,” to get themselves visas to go to the United States to give birth so their children would be born on U.S. soil and treated as American citizens.

But that was just one of the networks the State Department indicated it had uncovered. The agency’s announcement said U.S. officials identified more than 400 suspected birth tourism cases emanating from Europe since 2024, and tied to at least six companies that helped coach applicants on what to say during their visa interview, arranged housing and set-up delivery plans.

“We shut it down, revoked these foreign nationals’ visas, and are coordinating with local authorities to systematically identify and cut off any similar operations,” the State Department said in its announcement. “A U.S. visa is a privilege, not a right. The State Department is taking action around the world to stop this abuse, dismantle birth tourism networks, and hold accountable those who try to scam our system.”

SEN. BLACKBURN TARGETS BIRTH TOURISM, ‘BUYING AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP’ IN SUPPORT OF TRUMP’S IMMIGRATION AGENDA

The effort comes as Trump has renewed his long-running criticism of birthright citizenship, including through a 2025 executive order seeking to narrow who is automatically treated as a U.S. citizen at birth. It also builds on a first-term Trump administration rule from 2020 that instructed consular officers to deny visitor visas to foreign nationals believed to be traveling to the U.S. primarily to give birth and obtain American citizenship for their children.

“President Trump will always put the American people first. Uninhibited birth tourism poses a tremendous cost to taxpayers and threatens our national security,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told Fox News Digital. “The Trump administration is effectively ending this practice, which brings the United States in line with the policy of most countries around the world.”

TRUMP LOCKS IN ICE FUNDING THROUGH END OF PRESIDENCY AFTER HOUSE PASSES $70B PACKAGE

Federation for American Immigration Reform’s Ira Mehlman noted to Fox News Digital that visa fraud is “a significant issue,” pointing out it is a problem even outside the framework of birth tourism. 

“The prospect of birthright citizenship is undeniably an inducement for people to commit visa fraud,” Mehlman said. “Birth tourism would not exist otherwise.”

“Obviously, any woman who does not disclose her intention to have her baby in the U.S. when she applies for a visa is committing fraud. Remove the incentive of automatic birthright citizenship for people who are not citizens and legal permanent residents, and the reason for committing this sort of fraud goes away,” he continued.

Birth tourism has surfaced repeatedly in the U.S. in recent years, particularly through operations accused of coaching foreign nationals to obscure the purpose of their travel.

In California, federal prosecutors secured convictions against the operators of USA Happy Baby, a company accused of helping Chinese women travel to the U.S. to give birth to American-citizen children, while a separate operator from a business called You Win USA pleaded guilty in another case stemming from a broader federal crackdown.

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More recently, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued a Houston-area postpartum center accused of facilitating more than 1,000 births for primarily Chinese clients, while House Oversight Republicans launched an inquiry into several U.S.-based companies allegedly advertising birth-tourism services.

Mehlman urged Congress to do more to enhance vetting of visa applicants, prosecute those who commit fraud and put an end to birth tourism. He said there were avenues for legal action against the entities allegedly facilitating the scheme.

“To the extent that we can take legal action against companies that are outside the United States, we should, much like we prosecute other types of transnational crime and fraud operations,” Mehlman told Fox News Digital. “But each one of these companies works with service providers here in the U.S., including hospitals.”

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday said that the Justice Department is investigating him and his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, under orders from President Donald Trump.

“After calling for my arrest last year, Donald Trump directed his Department of Justice to investigate me,” he said in a video statement. “And just in the last week, I’ve learned his campaign has reached my own home: to get me, he’s coming after my wife, Jen.”

The governor also claimed the investigation is intended to undermine any potential White House bid he may pursue in the future.

Sources familiar told Fox News that the investigation has been ongoing since 2025 and that the probe is based on whistleblower complaints related to Newsom and his wife’s personal finances. The case is being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Sacramento. 

CNN PANELIST COMPARES HUNTER BIDEN, GAVIN NEWSOM MASH UP TO ‘WEIRD TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES’

“Donald Trump isn’t just coming after me because of my mean Tweets. He’s coming after me because I am considering running for President,” he said. “Because he hates that I’ve consistently called him out – over and over again – for his lies and deceit. Donald Trump is simply the most corrupt President in American history.” 

Newsom’s wife, Jennifer, is a documentary filmmaker who runs The Representation Project, a nonprofit organization that seeks to advance feminism through media production. The charity has attracted “pay-for-play” allegations, with critics claiming that corporations with business interests in California donate to the organization to gain influence over Newsom.

“There are clearly no boundaries to what Donald Trump will do to get his way or to challenge those who get in his way. This is not presidential behavior, and the Governor and I will continue to speak truth to power because the American people deserve so much more,” Jennifer Siebel Newsom said in a statement to Fox News.

″One by one, anyone who has challenged Donald Trump has ended up on his hit list,” Newsom said in a video statement. “And today, I proudly join that list.”

Since Trump took office, the DOJ has set its sights on a number of Trump’s foes. Among them are former FBI Director James Comey, former National Security Advisor John Bolton, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Sen. Adam Schiff, and former Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

Trump and Newsom have engaged in a number of high-profile clashes in recent years. 

RUBIO, NEWSOM SHARE WORLD CUP SPOTLIGHT AT US OPENER AS 2028 PRESIDENTIAL SPECULATION SWIRLS

In November 2025, for instance, Trump nationalized the California National Guard to address anti-immigration enforcement protests in Los Angeles, prompting Newsom to sue to regain control of the forces. The two have repeatedly traded blows over issues such as crime, homelessness and environmental issues.

The California governor’s office referred Fox News Digital to a fact sheet claiming that federal investigators spent months trying to indict Newsom and, upon failing, widened their search for criminal activity. The fact sheet also asserts that federal agents have subpoenaed records and conducted interviews covering years of activity.  

CNN PANELIST COMPARES HUNTER BIDEN, GAVIN NEWSOM MASH UP TO ‘WEIRD TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES’

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Sources familiar told Fox News that there have been grand jury subpoenas, though did not specify who was subpoenaed nor their relation to the investigation into Newsom. 

The DOJ did not respond to a request for comment when reached by Fox News Digital on Monday.

Fox News’ David Spunt, Jake Gibson and Olivia Palombo contributed to this story.

There’s the World Cup. America’s 250th birthday. And the conflict with Iran.

It’s all a nightmare national security hat trick.

“It’s the highest we’ve ever seen,” said Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin on Fox News Sunday about the terrorism threat level. “When I say we arrest terrorists every single week, I’m not exaggerating. Those aren’t the individuals that are coming across our border, those are individuals that are still inside this country.”

But lawmakers are scared now that the nation’s premier anti-terrorism tool — called FISA Section 702 — expired over the weekend.

EXPIRING SPY LAW SPARKS WARNINGS OF ‘FATAL’ CONSEQUENCES AHEAD OF WORLD CUP

“I hope and pray to God that nothing happens in this country where an American is killed,” said Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio.

“We want to prevent the next 9/11 from happening,” said Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., on Fox.

“This program goes dark at a time when there are literally hundreds of thousands of people coming to this country for the World Cup,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.

Well, not quite.

“FISA is operative until next March. That’s the legislation,” said Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Confused? You’re not the only one. Let me explain.

SPY PROGRAM CREDITED WITH STOPPING TAYLOR SWIFT TERROR PLOT BARRELS TOWARD EXPIRATION

Legal authority sanctioned by Congress for this powerful intelligence-gathering weapon to foil terrorism expired at 11:59:59 p.m. ET Friday night. If nearly any other statute other than FISA Section 702 expired, the government couldn’t continue to rely on the program.

“It’s a very inopportune time to allow the authorizing statute for 702 to lapse,” conceded George Croner, a former National Security Agency counsel. “It has proven to be the most useful by far of any of the intelligence programs that the community has available to it.”

That’s why there’s worry about unprecedented vulnerabilities with the program expiring. Especially right now.

“I think that it’s completely irresponsible to have FISA go dark at the beginning of the World Cup,” said Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., on FOX Business.

A bipartisan coalition tanked an emergency FISA extension in both bodies of Congress last week.

“It should have been voted down,” said Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo. “And I don’t say that lightly.”

“We don’t have the guts to fix it. And I’m tired of hearing people are going to die,” said Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., scoffing at potential consequences from a program which ran its statutory course.

The House rejected a three-week patch to paper over an imminent lapse in the program on Thursday.

“Anybody who votes no on this bill is voting to undermine America’s national security,” said House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La.

CONSERVATIVE FISA REVOLT POSES FRESH TEST FOR SPEAKER JOHNSON

But the GOP House majority failed to muster even 200 yeas for the bill. Nineteen Republicans bolted. They have privacy concerns and raised questions about illegal searches and seizures.

“The Fourth Amendment is not a suggestion. We have to have a warrant,” said Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas.

Still, Republican leaders claimed that it was Democratic resistance which put the country at risk.

“(Democrats) are willing to jeopardize the safety and the security of the American people to make a cheap political point,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.

But there was a reason Democrats balked.

Congress punted renewing FISA Section 702 on multiple occasions over the past few months, repeatedly approving stopgap measures. Finally, Democrats and Republicans painstakingly negotiated a compromise which would install reforms. But Democrats withdrew their support for the deal once President Trump announced that housing czar Bill Pulte would take over on a temporary basis for Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.

Democrats noted that Pulte lacked any national security or intelligence experience. Moreover, they believed he could weaponize intelligence programs like Section 702 against political opponents.

TULSI GABBARD CHANGES TUNE ON CONTROVERSIAL INTELLIGENCE TOOL FOLLOWING GOP LOBBYING

Ironically, both sides thought this was ironed out before Memorial Day. But Senate Democrats pulled their votes to advance the FISA measure in a pre-dawn vote late last month.

Still, there’s concern about the consequences of not having FISA Section 702 fully in place.

“Do Democrats not sleep at night if, God forbid, there’s something that happens with FISA turned off?” yours truly asked House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.

“Donald Trump should lose sleep,” countered Jeffries. “Because Donald Trump decided he wants to elevate Bill Pulte, who is nothing more than a malignant political hack.”

Here’s how the program works:

FISA siphons the calls, emails and texts of foreign intelligence targets that the U.S. tracks. A special, secret court oversees FISA. But it ruled that the intelligence services can still track suspect communications through well into 2026 – despite a break in the law.

“Data can still be collected for a year after it expires. So I don’t think it’s as dire as some think it is,” said Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo.

She’s not the only one.

“(FISA) will not lapse. I try to make this clear. The statute makes it clear that the authorities of FISA are going to be positive and enforceable for the remainder of this year. We think, until March of next year,” said Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill.

TRUMP SIGNS STOPGAP FISA EXTENSION AFTER SENATE BLOCKS LONG-TERM RENEWAL

However, it’s unclear if telecommunications companies will provide digital breadcrumbs to the government, lacking a Congressional safeguard.

“That is a gray area and it’s one of the things that we’re going to have to work through,” said Jeffries.

Croner, the former NSA counsel, says people shouldn’t worry about the government lacking a FISA Section 702 law. But he offered a caveat.

“The carriers are going to become, in my view, increasingly uncomfortable with not having statutory protection for their part in 702 collection,” said Croner.

When reporting on Congress, you’re only as good as your sources. And the same can be said in spy craft. The government’s digital spooks can’t track possible terrorists if the telecom data vanishes.

It was believed a path emerged to re-up FISA late last week. Just as the Senate departed for the week, the President nominated Jay Clayton as the permanent DNI. Clayton’s confirmation hearing is Wednesday before the Senate Intelligence Committee. It’s possible the Senate could step on the gas and try to confirm Clayton on the floor as early as this week. That could clear the path to reauthorize FISA.

“The only factor was Bill Pulte,” said Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., about Democrats dropping their support for a FISA renewal. “And that factor is now, I think, set on the sideline. It should pave the way.”

Republicans will likely vote to confirm Clayton. But Democrats aren’t so sure.

“We have to look very clearly at Jay Clayton,” said Reed. “He’s a very accomplished lawyer. But the statute requires someone taking this job to have significant national security experience. That has to be measured. I don’t think he does.”

So the Senate may confirm Clayton. But does that guarantee passage of FISA? Not necessarily. President Trump altered the playing field again over the weekend.

He’s now demanding that lawmakers connect an extension of FISA Section 702 to the SAVE America Act. That bill is the touchstone of the President’s 2026 agenda. It requires proof of citizenship to vote. While popular among Republicans, the SAVE America Act didn’t even command a simple majority on two test votes in the Senate this spring.

REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: TRUMP’S SAVE ACT ULTIMATUM RUNS INTO SENATE REALITY

A mix of Democrats and Republicans are necessary to pass FISA. There’s too much internal GOP opposition. Latching the SAVE America Act to FISA Section 702 is a poison pill to Democrats. The measure would never command 60 votes and break a filibuster in the Senate.

So where does this land?

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As Croner suggests, things are likely OK for now, despite the threats. However, a long statuary breach for FISA isn’t good.

You’re only as good as your sources in journalism. And perhaps to prevent a terrorist attack, you’re only as good as the law.

The Trump administration will keep its military buildup in the Middle East in place despite signing a new agreement with Iran, underscoring Washington’s continued distrust of Iran as the two sides enter a 60-day negotiating period.

“The plan is to keep the current force posture during the 60-day negotiations,” a senior U.S. official told reporters on a call Monday. “We hope to draw them down, but we’re not doing that yet.”

“The agreement contemplates the reduction of military forces in the region upon the agreement of a final deal,” the official added.

Officials said President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf already have signed the memorandum, and that the details of the agreement will be released publicly within the next 24 to 48 hours. A formal signing ceremony is expected later in the week. 

BUILT FOR WEEKS OF WAR: INSIDE THE FIREPOWER THE US HAS POSITIONED IN THE MIDDLE EAST

The decision means the Pentagon will maintain a military posture that recently included roughly 50,000 troops deployed across the Middle East, one of the largest U.S. force concentrations in the region in more than two decades. Publicly available fleet tracking data indicate at least two carrier strike groups remain in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility.

Officials repeatedly stressed that any sanctions relief, asset releases or future concessions would be tied to verification and Iranian performance, not promises alone, with one senior official acknowledging the two sides remain in the early stages of “building trust.”

That lack of trust was evident in the administration’s description of the agreement, which differs in key respects from accounts published by Iranian officials and state-linked media.

VANCE SAYS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S KEY OBJECTIVES HAVE BEEN REACHED IN US-IRAN DEAL

White House officials insisted Monday that no frozen Iranian assets have been released and said any sanctions relief would be conditioned on Iranian performance during the upcoming negotiations.

“The very simple fact is, $0 of unfrozen assets have been released by the United States or any other country,” one official said.

Iranian officials and state-linked media, meanwhile, have described the framework as paving the way for the release of roughly $24 billion in frozen Iranian funds and broader economic relief during the negotiation period. 

White House officials disputed reports that any funds have already been released and repeatedly emphasized that future economic concessions would be earned through compliance rather than granted upfront.

IRAN’S REGIME SPINS NUCLEAR AND STRAIT OF HORMUZ DEAL WITH TRUMP AS VICTORY OVER US, ISRAEL

“We’ll do some small gestures of that in the beginning, if they make some small gestures to us,” an official said.

While Trump has portrayed the agreement as a potential turning point in U.S.–Iran relations, the memorandum itself is narrower in scope. The framework extends the ceasefire, establishes a 60-day negotiating window and seeks to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic waterway through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas shipments normally pass.

The reopening of the Strait may prove to be the agreement’s most immediate and economically significant effect. White House officials said the memorandum provides for the opening of the waterway and the lifting of the naval blockade, though they cautioned that commercial shipping could take days or weeks to return to normal levels as mines are cleared and shipping companies regain confidence in the route.

Officials also said the agreement requires the Strait to remain open toll-free during the 60-day negotiating period. The administration expects shipping traffic to increase significantly over the coming days, easing pressure on global energy markets.

The deal, officials said, creates a framework under which Iran could eventually receive sanctions relief and broader access to the global economy in exchange for verifiable steps to ensure it does not rebuild its nuclear program and curbs support for terrorism and regional instability.

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“If they’re willing to behave like a normal country, then we’re willing to treat them like a normal country,” one official said.

The prospect of renewed traffic through the Strait has already reverberated through global markets. Oil prices fell following news of the agreement as traders bet that one of the world’s most important energy choke points could soon return to normal operations.

Former UFC champion Daniel Cormier told Fox News Digital that he did not post viral screenshots alleging an exchange with Eric Trump in which the president’s son asked for inside intel about fighter injuries and whether any fights were “rigged” ahead of UFC Freedom 250 at the White House.

The now-deleted post from Cormier showed screenshots of what appeared to be direct messages between himself and Eric Trump, with Trump reaching out to Cormier ahead of Sunday’s spectacle asking who he had winning, if any fighters were injured and “cutting to the chase” if any of the fights are rigged.

“They’re not real,” Cormier told Fox News Digital when asked what happened with the posts showing the alleged messages with Trump.

“I can’t believe you guys believed that. Like, who believes that?” he said.

JAKE PAUL’S MOST VALUABLE PRODUCTIONS RIPS RIGGED FIGHT CLAIMS IN MIKE TYSON BOUT: ‘ILLOGICAL AND INANE’

The conversation caught national attention as a potential cheating scandal as it appears to show Trump trying to leverage inside information that could be used toward advancing his own bets. 

The account that is labeled as Trump in the screenshots shows a message saying, “I’ll just cut to the chase…are any of the fights tomorrow rigged? I’ve been eyeing the Lopes fight and I think an upset wouldn’t be too unrealistic. $$.”

The exchange ends with an alleged reply from Cormier to Trump saying, “No none of our fights rigged and honestly I am appalled you would even ask me something like that.”

DANA WHITE DENIES AMERICA 250 UFC FIGHT AT WHITE HOUSE WILL BE ‘POLITICAL,’ ‘NOT AT ALL’ ABOUT POLITICS

Both Cormier and Trump posted on X Sunday evening, leading up to the main event of the night, claiming the post was fake. Cormier asked if “people were really that dumb,” while Trump posted that the whole thing was “completely fake.” 

In another post, Trump referred to the screenshots as “fake, AI-generated screenshots” and said he has never even spoken to Cormier.

UFC’S DANA WHITE CONFIRMS FBI TALKS OVER UNUSUAL BETTING ACTIVITY ON FIGHTER ISAAC DULGARIAN MATCH

Cormier told Fox News Digital that he was hacked and he was not the one to post the alleged interaction to social media.

“I got hacked or something,” he said when asked if he was denying posting it to his social media.

He continued, “Who believes stuff like that? That’s crazy.”

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Cormier also told Fox News Digital that the reporting that he posted this is wrong.

“Yeah, absolutely,” he said when asked if the journalists claiming he posted it to social media are wrong.

The political left’s attempt to counter-program President Donald Trump’s UFC event on the White House lawn Sunday night ended in widespread online mockery as celebrities and media personalities who have publicly complained for a decade about President Donald Trump offered more of the same.

The event, called “Rise Up, Sing Out: A Concert for the First Amendment,” was hosted by far-left activist and actress Jane Fonda, nicknamed “Hanoi Jane,” and the Committee for the First Amendment in New York City. Participants spent three hours railing against Trump, recycling talking points about “fascism” and “authoritarianism” that have been repeatedly levied against the president since he first took office in 2016.

The event was streamed on numerous left-wing YouTube channels, and also aired on C-SPAN.

Bette Midler, an 80-year-old actress and activist, took center stage to perform her own rendition of Woody Guthrie’s “All You Fascists Bound to Lose,” backed by four other singers. She changed some of the lyrics to the song to make it anti-ICE themed.

PARTY POOPERS’ FIGHT CARD: JANE FONDA, ‘NO KINGS,’ COMMUNISTS ROLL OUT RIVAL SPECTACLE TO TRUMP’S 250TH

“All you fascists bound to lose,” the song began. “Lose, you fascists bound to lose.”

“We’ll battle ICE together, until they cut and run, just like in Minneapolis, and when the midterms come you’re bound to lose, you fascists bound to lose,” it continued.

The song also made reference to the Jeffrey Epstein files and claims that Republicans are “protecting pedophiles.”

BETTE MIDLER LATEST TO ASSAULT PEOPLE’S EARS WITH TERRIBLE PROTEST SONG

Midler was mocked for her performance.

“Shew! I just saw a bunch of literal fascists getting ready to take down the country, BUT LUCKILY, Bette Midler and her super powerful squad stopped them at the gate… lol,” one popular X user needled.

Another post criticized Midler as another one of the “dusty relics who peaked decades ago” who performed at the anti-Trump show.

DEMOCRATIC PROTESTS DURING PRESIDENT TRUMP’S SPEECH MOCKED BY LIBERAL MEDIA FIGURES

“These people aren’t just out of touch. They’re clinically insane,” the post added.

Ex-MSNBC host Joe Reid used her platform at the event to blame the Trump administration for her own firing and the firings of other former television personalities.

“The threat is not coming, friends. It is here,” she warned. “Brendan Carr, the man who wrote the blueprint to dismantle the FCC and Project 2025 is now running it. He is weaponizing the agency to bully and control the press and suppress the wider televised media.”

WHITE HOUSE FIRES BACK AFTER ROBERT DE NIRO, BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN TAKE TRUMP SWIPES AMID COLBERT’S FAREWELL WEEK

“Don Lemon arrested, Georgia Fort arrested, Terry Moran fired from ABC, Scott Pelley fired from CBS by the clack of far-right ideologues who bought it and handed it over to a zealot named Bari Weiss who may soon also control CNN. Jim Acosta out at CNN. Karen Attiah fired from the Washington Post and me, more than a year ago,” she listed.

“All of us shown the door for just doing our jobs, standing up to the administration and in my case, also for speaking out against the genocide.”

Right-wing commentator Stephen Miller, not to be confused with the top Trump aide of the same name, didn’t take kindly to Reid’s comments.

“Nothing she says here is true but she has the right friends in media so they will all applaud. Joy Reid is a bat s— crazy conspiracy theorist who they all accept because of the right politics,” he said on X.

GREEN DAY FRONTMAN TELLS ICE AGENTS TO ‘QUIT THAT S—-Y JOB’ AT SUPER BOWL PARTY PERFORMANCE

Soon thereafter, children’s singer and entertainer known as Ms. Rachel, who has been protesting outside the ICE detention facility Delaney Hall in Newark, New Jersey, joined several children on stage to complain about federal officers enforcing U.S. law.

Later, about 40 people in a group called Singing Resistance New York performed an amateurish jingle while screaming: “No one is getting left behind this time.”

TURNING POINT USA’S PATRIOTIC SUPER BOWL ALTERNATIVE EARNS PRAISE AS MILLIONS TUNE IN OVER BAD BUNNY

“It is impossible to describe how much worse this is than Kid Rock doing an alternative Super Bowl halftime show,” said Ian Miller, a writer at Outkick.

“‘No one is getting left behind this time’ from what?” conservative personality Libby Emmons asked. “And who are they singing about? And how are they so off-key? Rise Up Sing Out looks like a total bust.”

Actor Robert De Niro also took the stage over the weekend to say he couldn’t love America while it’s led by Trump, and compared supporters to those in an abusive relationship.

“I hate to say it, but loving our country is starting to sound like an abused spouse saying they love their abuser,” he said. “I can’t love a country that’s led by a racist, misogynist, xenophobic tyrant.”

DE NIRO GETS EMOTIONAL, TEARY-EYED AS HE CALLS ON PEOPLE TO ‘RESIST, RESIST, RESIST’ TRUMP DURING INTERVIEW

The multi-millionaire film star then started a “Go f–k yourself” chant with the crowd, aimed at the 47th president.

He, too, drew heat from observers.

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“Oh no, I’m being abused by the country that made me rich and famous beyond my wildest dreams! Help, help! I’m being oppressed!” one commentator said in response.

“‘I only love America when we’re in charge'” great message Bob,” said another.

Federal investigators raided a Soros-funded voter mobilization group on Thursday as part of a reported ongoing fraud investigation.

FBI agents raided the headquarters of the Ohio Organizing Collaborative (OOC) on June 11 and deployed across the state to question members of the organization, sometimes bearing subpoenas or demanding to seize electronic devices, MS Now reported. A day later, multiple sources familiar with the events told CBS News that the operations were part of a fraud-related investigation. 

The raid marks the latest flashpoint in the Trump administration’s expanded use of federal law enforcement to scrutinize alleged voter fraud and election-related misconduct, a push cheered by conservatives who have long argued such cases were under-enforced and condemned by Democrats and voting rights groups who say the effort risks turning the FBI into a political weapon against liberal voter registration operations.

OOC is a nonprofit organization that works closely with the Democratic Party in Ohio on voter mobilization and registration efforts. It is especially active in ballot referendums, tapping its vast donor network that includes the Soros family’s philanthropies, to do so.

STACEY ABRAMS HIT WITH SUBPOENA IN ALLEGED CAMPAIGN FINANCE VIOLATIONS SAGA: ‘NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW’

The Department of Justice has declined to comment on the specifics of the purported investigation.

“Search warrants are authorized by a judge and anything said by any organization or others in the media is unfounded speculation, as the target of any investigation is not privy to the search warrant affidavit until after indictment,” a DOJ official told Fox News Digital. 

The group previously spent $250,000 in 2023 to oppose a GOP-led effort to block the right to an abortion from being enshrined in Ohio’s constitution and spent a further $300,000 against a Republican redistricting effort a year later. 

OOC finances these expenditures by tapping a deep network of top-level liberal donors. 

Recent tax documents show that the organization had over $10 million in revenue during 2024. OOC’s considerable financial resources are provided by a variety of high-profile Democratic-aligned donor organizations, including the Soros family’s philanthropies, New Venture Fund and the Tides Foundation as well as unions such as the American Federation of Teachers and the Service Employees International Union.

The Soros family’s Foundation to Promote Open Society gave OOC roughly $1.9 million between 2019 and 2020. In 2021, Open Society Action Fund gave an additional $1 million to OOC’s sister organization, the Ohio Organizing Campaign, followed by another $1 million donation in 2023.

GEORGE SOROS, BETO O’ROURKE BEHIND FUNDING FOR DEMS FLEEING TEXAS OVER GOP CONGRESSIONAL MAP

OOC has characterized the federal scrutiny as an example of the Trump administration politicizing the justice system.

“How can they distract and intimidate civil rights leaders and voters and community leaders who are helping people get registered to vote, and create a national spectacle about it?” Prentiss Haney, an OOC board member authorized to discuss the matter on behalf of the group, told MS Now. “That is the only reason why they would choose to do that, do it now, in the middle of a contested political election in the state. There’s no other reason. They have no evidence of that.”

OOC previously came under fire in 2017 when a paid canvasser working with the group pleaded guilty over his involvement in a fraudulent voter registration operation. Republicans, however, have yet to produce conclusive evidence of widespread voter fraud in recent election cycles.

ELECTION INVESTIGATION UNCOVERS ALLEGED ILLEGAL VOTING BY NONCITIZENS AND DOUBLE VOTERS IN MULTIPLE STATES

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OOC did not respond to a request for comment when reached by Fox News Digital on Monday.

Hillary Clinton’s criticism of President Donald Trump’s White House UFC event drew swift backlash from conservatives, who accused the former first lady of selective outrage by invoking scandals from her and her husband’s time at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Clinton, who lost to Trump in 2016, first slammed the UFC idea last month before posting Sunday that the White House is “not his house” but “our house,” while promoting merchandise benefiting groups and candidates she said would “respect the form AND the function of the people’s house.”

“Remember, during today’s literal cage match on the White House grounds: No matter what, it’s not his house. It’s our house. Get a hat, coaster, or sticker to support groups and candidates who will respect the form and the function of the people’s house,” she wrote in a post that had a disclaimer blocking most replies.

Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., was one of many critics who sounded off by retweeting Clinton’s post — making light of President Bill Clinton’s salacious behavior with intern Monica Lewinsky in that same People’s House.

JUSTIN GAETHJE TARGETS ILIA TOPURIA’S DIVORCE, IGNITING FEUD BEFORE WHITE HOUSE SHOWDOWN

“They literally rented out the Lincoln Bedroom and don’t forget Bill’s activity in the Oval Office,” Burchett said. “The vandalism that went on when you left was also well-documented.”

Clinton’s husband famously denied having “sexual relations with that woman, Ms. Lewinsky,” at a January 1998 press conference during the heat of his independent counsel probe over the largely unrelated Whitewater real estate matter.

Retired Lt. Col. Buzz Patterson, who said he carried Bill Clinton’s nuclear football, sharply criticized Hillary Clinton over her UFC comments.

MONICA LEWINSKY SAYS ‘RIGHT WAY’ FOR BILL CLINTON TO HANDLE AFFAIR WOULD HAVE BEEN TO ‘RESIGN’

“I was the Air Force [lieutenant colonel] who carried the nuclear football for your husband inside that ‘people’s house’ you’re suddenly so precious about. I saw it all up close for two years,” Patterson said.

“While Bill was getting b— j— in the Oval Office from an intern and groping female Air Force enlisted crew on Air Force One. You lecture about ‘respect for the institution’ while your husband lost the nuclear codes. And when you finally slinked out in 2001? You and your crew trashed the place—vandalism, theft, the GAO confirmed it. Sit down, b—–, the adults are back in charge.”

“Woman who stole White House furniture has something to say about ‘our house’,” remarked conservative watchdog Judicial Watch’s Tom Fitton.

DEMOCRATS, LIBERAL MEDIA FIGURES FUME OVER TRUMP DEMOLISHING WHITE HOUSE EAST WING FOR BALLROOM

The official Republican Party account simply suggested Clinton “sit this one out.”

As for claims lodged by Patterson and others against the former first lady, a Government Accountability Office investigation requested by then-Rep. Bob Barr, R-Ga., estimated $15,000 in damage to the White House, according to news reports at the time.

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Barr had claimed that the administration treated the building “worse than college freshmen checking out of their dorm rooms.” The GAO concluded that some “pranks” were clearly intentional, which would constitute a criminal act, while Clinton’s supporters said the damage was commensurate with that of prior administrations, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Bill and Hillary Clinton Foundation and Bill Clinton’s office for comment.

A former CNN anchor turned YouTube content creator live-streamed for nearly 11 hours from Friday afternoon into early Saturday morning awaiting the removal of President Donald Trump’s name from the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., only to make an absurd comparison that ended in widespread mockery.

Jim Acosta, a known anti-Trump media figurehead, was CNN’s chief domestic correspondent and anchored “CNN Newsroom” from 2021 until early 2025. He worked for the network for 18 years in total, but left unceremoniously when executives proposed moving his morning show into the midnight to 2 a.m. slot.

Acosta hosted the marathon coverage, which he dubbed a live watch party, on “The Jim Acosta Show” on YouTube. The coverage mostly featured a live shot of scaffolding, obscured by a tarp, behind which workers toiled to remove Trump’s name from the building.

“This is very much like watching the Berlin Wall coming down,” Acosta said in a strange comparison made around 3:30 a.m.

“It is a sign that mankind, that human kind can stand up against tyranny,” he continued. “As long as it took, we pledged to continue to have this coverage going, and by golly, we did, because we knew how much this meant to a lot of people out there, and we know how important this was.”

FROM LEGACY NEWS TO LIBERAL PUNDITRY: THE JOURNALISTS WHO DROPPED THE PRETENSE AFTER LEAVING CORPORATE MEDIA

In December 2025, the board of the Kennedy Center voted to rename the performing arts complex to the “Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts,” which drew backlash from the political left.

A Democratic congresswoman sued to have the change nullified, and a federal judge last week ruled that the center’s original name, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, must be restored.

Before the climax of Acosta’s evening, he had given up on the stream and retired to bed, leaving his producer behind to keep watch. He missed the removal of the letters, but was alerted to the goings on by his producer.

“It looks like they are potentially touching the letters,” the producer said at 10 hours and 18 minutes into the stream. “I can’t say whether or not they’re removing them. But it looks like there might be progress.”

WORKERS RIP TRUMP NAME FROM KENNEDY CENTER FACADE MONTHS AFTER IT GOES ON, HOURS AFTER FAILED APPEAL

“So yes, it appears they are moving the letters,” he said. “I don’t know if you guys can see it but they are loosening the letters. The letters are coming down officially. So this means I’m probably gonna have to give Jim Acosta a call and he’s not gonna be very happy because he will be woken up.”

Acosta rushed to the scene to deliver his report.

“I had just gotten home, and we thought this might take place later in the morning, and of course they did this in the dead of the night,” Acosta said upon his return to the scene. “They did this at three in the morning, and to make it — the icing on the cake, the chef’s kiss in all of this for Donald Trump — is that they had to put up a giant white tarp to shield Trump and his feelings from the humiliation of seeing this all come down in front of the cameras.”

ROSIE O’DONNELL DEMANDS TRUMP’S REMOVAL FROM OFFICE OVER KENNEDY CENTER HONOR IN LATEST TIRADE

He went on a tirade against the president for several minutes upon his return to the scene in Northwest Washington, D.C., and continued moaning about the injustice of the tarp that blocked the project from public view.

Acosta said Trump “slapped his name illegally and obnoxiously on the exterior of the Kennedy Center,” later adding that the president “operates like a small child [who] doesn’t wanna give his toy away, doesn’t want to hand over his toy after his mommy and daddy have told him it’s time to go to bed.”

The newly minted social media influencer was relentlessly mocked for the performance, which was posted on X and quickly went viral.

CNN’S JIM ACOSTA SAYS ‘WE ARE NOT THE ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE’ IN SHOT AT TRUMP AS HE RETURNS TO OFFICE

“Ah yes. The Berlin Wall famously came down to a crowd of one guy talking to himself and not throngs of elated prisoners. Jim Acosta is wild,” said one popular X user.

“This is wild. I can’t imagine having so little going on in my life that I would sit outside a building all day waiting for a name to get removed from it,” said Matt Whitlock, a conservative commentator. “Jim Acosta is making an aggressive play to take over as angry blueanon wine mom final boss. Watch out Jennifer Welch.”

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“Decades of Communist oppression V. a sign on a building,” one user said after watching the clip. “The similarities are striking.”

“Give that man a Pulitzer. What a dipsht [sic],” another person sarcastically said.

Fox News Digital reached out to Acosta.

The Supreme Court on Monday declined to revive a lawsuit brought by former Trump campaign advisor Carter Page challenging FBI surveillance conducted during the bureau’s investigation into alleged ties between Russia and Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.

The justices denied Page’s appeal, leaving lower court rulings in place and effectively ending his effort to hold former FBI Director James Comey and other former government officials personally liable for what he alleged was unlawful surveillance. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson did not participate in the case.

Page, who served as a foreign policy advisor to Trump’s 2016 campaign, was the subject of secret surveillance warrants approved by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court in 2016 and 2017 as part of the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane investigation.

He was never charged with a crime and has long denied allegations that he acted as an agent of Russia.

TRUMP ORDERS FBI TO DECLASSIFY DOCUMENTS FROM ‘CROSSFIRE HURRICANE’ RUSSIA INVESTIGATION

The case became one of the most controversial chapters of the Trump-Russia investigation after a Justice Department inspector general report identified significant errors and omissions in the FBI’s applications to surveil Page. Former FBI and Justice Department officials involved in approving the warrants later said they would not have signed off on the applications had they known the full extent of the problems identified by investigators.

In response to the watchdog findings, the FBI implemented dozens of corrective measures aimed at improving the accuracy and completeness of future surveillance applications.

Page sued Comey and other former officials, alleging they violated his constitutional rights by submitting flawed applications to obtain surveillance authority. Lower courts dismissed the case, finding, among other things, that Page had not sued the officials who directly carried out the surveillance.

Page recently reached a $1.25 million settlement with the federal government related to the surveillance claims but sought to continue pursuing claims against individual former officials.

FBI LAUNCHES CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS OF JOHN BRENNAN, JAMES COMEY: DOJ SOURCES

The Supreme Court offered no explanation for declining review, as is customary when turning away appeals.

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The decision marks the latest legal chapter stemming from the Russia investigation, which examined whether members of Trump’s 2016 campaign coordinated with Moscow’s efforts to influence the election. Special counsel Robert Mueller ultimately concluded that Russia interfered in the election but did not establish that members of the Trump campaign criminally conspired with Russia.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump traveled to France for the G7 summit after announcing a deal with Iran, setting up high-stakes meetings Monday with world leaders over the Middle East, trade, Ukraine and artificial intelligence.

Trump jetted off to Évian-les-Bains following the UFC Freedom Fight that took place on the South Lawn at the White House Sunday.

President Trump will be joined by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and a U.S. delegation as leaders from France, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan and the European Union gather from Monday through Wednesday as part of the annual meeting. Discussions are expected to focus on trade, artificial intelligence, supply chain resilience, critical minerals, and illegal immigration.

“President Trump has effectively restored America’s standing on the world stage and strengthened relationships abroad and the president looks forward to a productive G7 summit on shared issues of importance next week,” said a senior administration officials during a call with reporters Saturday.

RUBIO MEETS G7 MINISTERS IN FRANCE AS US LEADS ON IRAN — ALLIES UNDER FIRE FOR TEPID RESPONSE

Trump’s trip to Europe follows his announcement on Sunday that the U.S. and Iran had finalized a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to end the war following months of negotiations.

“The Deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete. Congratulations to all! I hereby fully authorize the toll free opening of the Strait of Hormuz, and, simultaneously herewith, authorize the immediate removal of the United States Naval blockade. Ships of the World, start your engines. Let the oil flow,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

European leaders backed the announcement, including the leaders of France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom saying in a joint statement on Sunday: “We are prepared to lift relevant sanctions in response to clear, verifiable steps by Iran on its nuclear program.”

Last year’s G7 was held in Alberta, Canada, with President Trump leaving the talks sooner than expected as the Israel-Iran conflict intensified. The summit did not produce any major trade breakthroughs.

Trump, this year, is expected to join bilateral meetings with French President Emmanuel Macron, Emir of the State of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, a senior administration officials told reporters.

Although Ukraine is expected to feature prominently in discussions, Trump has no formal meeting scheduled with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but will join him in working sessions.

Trump will attend broader multilateral sessions on economic growth and working lunches with global tech CEOs and Middle East leaders.

Heading into the G7 meetings, Trump’s objective is to gauge whether other leaders are willing to participate in efforts to clear mines and help restore normal shipping through the Strait, a senior administration official said.

Trump will face allies as tensions loom over his “America First” tariff policies which are aimed at leveling the global trade playing field by holding other countries accountable for trade deficits.

Trump aims to secure a “very good” U.S.-India trade deal that expands American exports and reduces barriers for U.S. businesses operating in India, a senior administration official said.

The summit comes weeks before the July 1 deadline for the first joint review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which replaced NAFTA and entered into force in 2020.

US ALLIES EDGE CLOSER TO BEIJING AS CRITICS WARN CHINA IS GAINING LEVERAGE OVER WASHINGTON

After attending a U.S.-China summit in Beijing last month, Trump praised what he called “fantastic trade deals,” including agreements for China to buy Boeing planes and soybeans.

TRUMP TOUTS ‘FANTASTIC TRADE DEALS’ IN FINAL XI MEETING AMID TARIFF STANDOFF

Dependency on China will be a focus of the group of seven with discussions expected on Chinese supply chains, excess production capacity and clean technologies.

Leaders are closely watching China as the global race to develop and dominate artificial intelligence intensifies, with concerns over technological leadership, economic competitiveness and national security shaping the agenda.

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At the time, U.S. officials said China continues to weigh whether to buy advanced U.S. chips or accelerate domestic alternatives, while Trump said the two sides discussed the possibility of AI guardrails.

AI executives from large tech companies such as OpenAI, Meta and Anthropic are expected to attend the G7 to discuss regulation and AI infrastructure, Reuters reported.

EXCLUSIVE — President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs promise is facing challenges from a new analysis that argues the sweeping trade policy failed to revive manufacturing and instead slowed job creation in the U.S.

The report, obtained first by Fox News Digital, lands months after Trump’s signature economic policies was handed a blow when the Supreme Court struck down sweeping tariffs, and businesses are now seeking billions of dollars in tariff refunds.

Trump’s April 2025 global tariff rollout marked the largest U.S. tariff hike in decades, delivering on a signature economic promise that higher duties would spark a manufacturing renaissance, bring factory jobs back to the United States and reduce Americans’ reliance on foreign goods.

Researchers at the Advancing American Freedom Foundation argue those goals never materialized, and estimate in their report that the tariffs resulted in up to 1 million fewer jobs nationwide than would have been expected under pre-tariff trends.

TRUMP SAYS US WOULD BE ‘DESTROYED’ WITHOUT TARIFF REVENUE

Manufacturing — the industry the tariffs were intended to help — fared particularly poorly, according to the damning report. Researchers estimate the sector lost roughly 75,000 positions during the policy’s first year, or about 6,250 jobs per month.

“We can say with an over 90% confidence level that manufacturing lost jobs because of the tariffs,” Richard Stern, vice president of the Plymouth Institute for Free Enterprise at Advancing American Freedom, told Fox News Digital.

Stern argued the tariffs backfired because many American manufacturers rely on imported components and equipment.

“Most of the Americans that are importing are American businesses, especially American manufacturers and producers,” he said. “So the tariffs really ended up being a tax on high-end American manufacturing.”

‘WE WERE RIGHT’: HE TOOK TRUMP’S TARIFFS TO THE SUPREME COURT AND WON

If nothing else, the tariffs proved to be a windfall for Washington.

Duties climbed from $9.6 billion in March 2025 to $23.9 billion by May, according to Treasury data. By the end of the 2025 fiscal year, tariff collections reached $215.2 billion, roughly triple pre-tariff levels.

In January alone, duties totaled $30.4 billion, up about 242% from $8.9 billion a year earlier. Tariff revenue for the current fiscal year has already reached roughly $230 billion, more than four times the amount collected during the same period last year.

ONE YEAR LATER, TRUMP TARIFFS GENERATED BILLIONS AS REFUNDS TAKE SHAPE

FLOURISH CHART SHOWING TARIFF REVENUE: 29325373

But the report from AAFF, which was founded by former Vice President Mike Pence in 2021, contends the tariffs’ revenue success came at a cost.

Researchers found employment growth weakened across most sectors after the tariffs took effect, with manufacturing and trade-related industries among the hardest hit. Their analysis found a 99.9% probability that job growth slowed following the policy change.

When reached for comment about the report’s findings, White House spokesman Kush Desai did not address the claims, but instead took a swipe at the group, telling Fox News Digital: “Another useless memo is still not going to make Mike Pence relevant again.” 

AFTER SUPREME COURT BLOW, TRUMP ADMIN LAUNCHES $166B TARIFF REFUND PORTAL

Beyond employment, the report points to higher costs for American households and businesses.

According to the report, about 90% of the tariff burden fell on U.S. importers rather than foreign producers. The authors estimate the average American family paid about $1,000 more in tariff-related costs during 2025.

While businesses are seeking refunds following the Supreme Court’s ruling, Stern argued that repayment cannot reverse broader economic damage caused during the tariff period.

“You can’t undo the damage. You can’t undo a factory,” Stern said. “There are many that closed in America because they couldn’t get their hands on products used for manufacturing.”

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The report concludes that the tariffs “unlawfully taxed American families, wiped out nearly a million jobs, and were ultimately ruled illegal.”

The findings add a new dimension to the ongoing debate over Trump’s trade agenda, challenging the argument that higher tariffs would revive domestic manufacturing and create American jobs.

Read the full report: