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The Trump administration marked a full year of “zero releases” at the southern border on Friday, a milestone officials touted as evidence that the president has effectively ended the catch-and-release policies that defined the Biden-era border crisis.

“Zero releases” refers to U.S. border patrol not releasing illegal border crossers into the U.S. interior after apprehension. It does not mean zero illegal crossings or zero apprehensions.

In a news release announcing the decline in releases at the southern border, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) pointed to broader enforcement statistics showing illegal crossings and apprehensions at levels officials said have not been seen in more than three decades. CBP said Border Patrol recorded 8,943 southwestern border apprehensions in April, 94% lower than the Biden administration’s monthly average, 96% below the December 2023 peak during Biden’s tenure and fewer than the number apprehended in just three days in April 2024.

“The days of catch and release are over,” said Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin. “We are enforcing the nation’s laws and sending illegal aliens back to their home countries.” 

TRUMP ADMIN RELEASES SHOCKINGLY LOW NUMBER OF ILLEGAL ALIENS COMPARED TO BIDEN YEARS: ‘UNPRECEDENTED’

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, told Fox News Digital that the administration’s claim of “zero releases” from Border Patrol custody “does appear true,” but noted that the figure does not capture migrants transferred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody and later released on bond, parole, medical or humanitarian grounds, or after winning their cases.

“What a difference,” CBP Commissioner Rodney S. Scott said. “The U.S. Border Patrol released zero illegal aliens into our country again this month, unlike April 2024 when more than 68,000 were released under President Biden. Every minute of every day President Trump’s border security policies are making every American safer.”

DHS said the April daily average of 298 apprehensions was lower than a single hour during the height of the Biden-era surge, when officials said Border Patrol was averaging 336 apprehensions per hour in December 2023. CBP also said total encounters so far this fiscal year, 215,876, are 13% lower than the total recorded in April 2024 alone.

Beyond illegal crossings, CBP highlighted drug and trade enforcement numbers, noting that nationwide seizures of cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, fentanyl and marijuana by weight increased 60% from April 2024. The agency said it seized 463 pounds of fentanyl in April and has seized 61% more drugs so far this fiscal year than during the same period in FY 2024.

US DRUG OVERDOSE DEATHS PLUMMET 20% AS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION CRACKS DOWN ON SOUTHERN BORDER

“The specific claim of catch and release is in reference to the practice involving Border Patrol releasing migrants directly from Border Patrol custody,” Reichlin-Melnick clarified when speaking to Fox News Digital. “Some people are still crossing the border, and then eventually being released. It’s just that they’re not being released directly from the Border Patrol.”

Reichlin-Melnick acknowledged that Trump’s hardline immigration approach has produced results at the border, saying apprehensions are “down significantly” and that “the hardened tactics against migrants has produced results.” But he argued the administration’s policies have gone too far by effectively shutting off access to asylum at the southern border.

“The Trump administration has sent the message to the world that the United States is no longer a place where people can seek safety,” Reichlin-Melnick said.

Reichlin-Melnick agreed the asylum system had long needed major reform, including more asylum officers, more immigration judges and changes to screening standards. But, he said the goal should not be to end access to the system altogether, something he suggested the Trump administration has effectively done.

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“I think most Americans believe we should be a place where people can find safety,” he said, invoking Ronald Reagan’s image of America as a “shining city on a hill.” “I don’t think the answer was to shut it off completely.”

DHS officials, however, have argued the dramatic decline in border crossings shows the administration’s policies are working after years of record-setting illegal immigration under Biden.

Fox News Digital reached out to representatives for Joe Biden, but did not receive a response in time for publication.

The D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force is launching a massive “summer surge” of federal law enforcement to ensure Washington, D.C., is the safest city in America ahead of the nation’s 250th Independence Day celebrations.

During a news conference Friday, leaders touted the Trump administration’s success in driving down violent crime in the city since the D.C. task force launched last year.

The joint law enforcement operation has resulted in nearly 13,000 arrests, the seizure of more than 1,400 illegal guns, the apprehension of 32 murder suspects, and the recovery of 23 missing children.

Due to the aggressive enforcement efforts, overall crime in D.C. has plummeted 26%, with homicides dropping nearly 50% and carjackings down 60%. The U.S. Attorney’s Office added it has secured more than 7,000 convictions over the past year.

TRUMP’S ‘NO-NONSENSE’ DC CRACKDOWN TOPS 10K ARRESTS AS DOJ DECLARES ERA OF ‘UNCHECKED VIOLENCE IS OVER’

Officials said a focal point of the summer surge will be crushing the “teen takeovers” that have terrorized D.C. neighborhoods and shut down local businesses.

Blasting the D.C. Council for “refusing to deal with the problem,” U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro announced a zero-tolerance policy that shifts the legal burden onto the parents of delinquent youth.

Starting immediately, federal prosecutors will charge parents under a D.C. statute for contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Parents who drop their kids off, fail to supervise them or allow them to skip school to participate in the chaos will face fines, court-mandated classes and up to six months in jail.

DC US ATTORNEY SAYS ‘ENOUGH IS ENOUGH’ AS YOUTH CRIME PUTS SPOTLIGHT ON NATION’S CAPITAL

“Law-abiding taxpayers should no longer have to pay for parental neglect,” Pirro said. “Parents, do your jobs or we will do ours. In the end, taxpayers will no longer subsidize the chaos caused by parental neglect.”

Noting that the task force is “coming for perfection,” officials said multiple federal agencies will flood the district with personnel and advanced technology to root out remaining criminal networks.

A formal request has been made for an additional 1,500 National Guardsmen to deploy to D.C., bringing the total troop presence to 5,000.

DC POLICE OFFICIALS FACE TERMINATION AFTER FEDERAL PROBE UNCOVERS ALLEGED MANIPULATED CRIME DATA BY DEPARTMENT

The task force will also deploy high-visibility patrols, drones, tactical K-9 units and helicopters to curb crime.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) said it will ramp up resources to target out-of-state drug trafficking cartels, arguing that drug dealers should be “treated like terrorists.”

Meanwhile, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) said it will increase operations to seize illegal firearms being trafficked into the city from Maryland and Virginia.

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Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) will double its special agents on the streets to target identity theft and those who fraudulently obtain housing without paying rent.

In a stark warning to anyone planning political violence in the capital, Pirro said offenders will face “the full wrath of the law,” announcing her office filed notice to seek the death penalty against Elias Rodriguez, 31, the suspect accused of murdering two young Israeli embassy staff members at the Capitol Jewish Museum on May 21, 2025.

President Donald Trump announced plans to build a National Garden of American Heroes in Washington, D.C.’s West Potomac Park in a Friday morning post on Truth Social.

“I am proud to announce the site of the NATIONAL GARDEN OF AMERICAN HEROES. This magnificent exhibition of statues will be located in West Potomac Park, which we are transforming into one of the World’s most beautiful public spaces,” Trump wrote.

“Right now, it is a totally BARREN field of Prime Waterfront Real Estate along our Mighty Potomac River. When finished, West Potomac Park will be a World Class Masterpiece with elegant Landscaping, and adorned with Beautiful Statues, and be yet another one of my great projects to make Washington, D.C., the Safest and Most Beautiful Capital in the World,” Trump’s post continued.

“The National Garden of American Heroes will feature the MOST BEAUTIFUL collection of statues of AMERICAN HEROES, featuring our Illustrious Founding Fathers, Military Warriors, Religious Leaders, Civil Rights Champions, World Class Athletes, Artists, Entertainers, and MORE. The people of America (and the World!) will come here to learn and be inspired by the ‘Greats’. The National Garden of American Heroes is one more project we are undertaking to honor the 250th Birthday of the Greatest Nation on Earth, THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!” Trump’s post concluded.

GOP SENATORS PUSH FOR CHARLIE KIRK STATUE IN TRUMP’S NATIONAL GARDEN OF AMERICAN HEROES

The post also included an aerial photo of West Potomac Park, the planned site for the project.

The project would build upon Trump’s ongoing plans to significantly build legacy infrastructure in the nation’s capital.

The White House ballroom project, which is currently underway, is the most high-profile example of Trump’s D.C. buildout, but the president is also seeking approval for a number of other major projects.

WATCH: TRUMP REVEALS FLASHY NEW COLOR FOR NATIONAL MALL’S REFLECTING POOL MAKEOVER

For upcoming celebrations of America’s 250th birthday, Trump is renovating the reflecting pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial, addressing leaks in the pool’s structure and adding a blue liner to make the water more visually striking.

Trump said the project will cost under $2 million. “It’s so important for our country,” he said in a May 7 announcement.

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Trump is also seeking approval from Congress and the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) for a massive “Triumphal Arch” to be placed in front of the Arlington National Cemetery.

The massive undertaking would be 250 feet high, making it taller than any building in D.C., White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced in April.

Rick Jackson, a Republican billionaire running for Georgia governor on a pledge to ban DEI in state government and public education, founded a nonprofit that promoted a 2021 workplace initiative urging Georgia CEOs to invest in DEI, measure progress, examine racial pay gaps, use race-conscious hiring practices and lead workplaces “with race in mind.”

Jackson, the billionaire healthcare founder of Jackson Healthcare and its network of smaller companies, including Jackson Physician Search and Jackson Therapy Partners, has said he would be President Donald Trump’s “favorite governor,” modeled his campaign launch after the president’s and said he has never met a Trump policy he doesn’t like. Trump, meanwhile, has made ending DEI in the United States a key part of his second term, issuing an executive order shortly after he was inaugurated to remove it from public services, universities and beyond. His administration has also taken an aggressive stance against DEI in the courts.

In addition to his for-profit companies, Jackson is the founder and CEO of goBeyondProfit, a Georgia nonprofit. The philanthropic venture describes itself as a “no-cost resource for Georgia business leaders interested in evolving their corporate generosity efforts into a business strategy,” and adds that Jackson has “long shared the belief that businesses can and should be a force for good in the world.” In 2021, goBeyondProfit launched a DEI initiative focused on keeping “race in mind” in the workplace, which included a video series for CEOs to learn the “do’s and don’ts” of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). The “Telly Award-Winning video series” aimed at helping companies implement DEI initiatives remains active on the nonprofit’s website.

One of the videos promoted critical race theorist Ibram X. Kendi’s book “How To Be An Anti-Racist,” which has been characterized by critics as a leading text of modern race-conscious ideology that rejects colorblindness and defends discrimination when used to achieve equity. The initiative also featured experts who argued “doing nothing” on DEI was “cringe worthy” and framed workplace race issues through slavery and Jim Crow.

GOP GUBERNATORIAL HOPEFUL’S PRO-TRUMP PITCH TO VOTERS CLASHES WITH PAPER TRAIL INSIDE HIS OWN COMPANY

Among those experts was then-Jackson Healthcare DEI executive Matthew Harrison, who, in the DEI initiative’s videos, touted how the share of “people of color” hired into new roles at Jackson Healthcare rose from 9% to 25% after the company implemented the diversity measures discussed in the initiative’s instructional videos.

Jackson’s business orbit has a history of DEI-friendly messaging and efforts that could complicate one of his central campaign pitches: that he is the candidate best positioned to root out DEI and restore merit-based policies in Georgia. Jackson’s campaign platform says he would prohibit DEI programs in state government, public universities and classrooms, while his campaign messaging has vowed to “ban DEI insanity” and “criminalize reverse discrimination.”

“We need to ban every bit of idiotic DEI insanity and criminalize reverse discrimination,” he recently posted on social media.

Fox News Digital reached out to Jackson’s campaign, Jackson Healthcare and goBeyondProfit for comment, including questions about whether Jackson was aware of the “Race in Mind” initiative, whether he approved of the DEI materials at the time and how he squared the nonprofit’s past race-focused workplace efforts with his current anti-DEI campaign platform.

“Rick hires like the Georgia Bulldogs: only the best players hit the field, and he will prohibit reverse discrimination as governor,” a Jackson campaign spokesperson said in response to Fox News Digital’s questions. 

The campaign added that “many of Georgia’s most successful and conservative business leaders” have been “program ambassadors or members” at goBeyondProfit, citing Chick-fil-A’s involvement and the involvement of Home Depot founder Bernie Marcus until his death.

In 2021, at the height of the social justice movement following the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and others, Jackson’s goBeyondProfit launched “Leading a Thriving Workplace with Race in Mind,” a DEI initiative that included a “Telly Award-Winning video series” aimed at helping CEOs navigate the “do’s and don’ts” of DEI and make “impactful changes” in their workplaces.

NEARLY ALL FORTUNE 500 COMPANIES STILL MAINTAIN CORPORATE DEI COMMITMENTS: REPORT

The goBeyondProfit video series featured DEI experts, including Harrison, a former Jackson Healthcare executive, urging CEOs and their companies to invest in DEI, measure progress, examine racial pay gaps and use race-conscious hiring practices to increase workplace diversity.

In one video, Harrison described implementing a “Rooney Rule” hiring policy at Jackson Healthcare after he took over talent acquisition in 2019, saying the company increased the share of “people of color” hired into new roles from 9% to 25% within a year.

“Personally here at Jackson Healthcare, I took over leading talent acquisition here in June of 2019 and put that in place, and within a year, we saw our increase in the number of people of color that we hired into new roles. It went from 9% to 25% and that’s the only thing we changed,” Harrison says.

HOW TRUMP IS UPROOTING RADICAL ’60S FOUNDATIONS OF POISONOUS DEI AND CRT PROGRAMS

A separate speaker from the DEI video series discusses the importance of tying DEI metrics to employee evaluations, encourages “taking those proactive steps and being anti-racist” as discussed in Kendi’s book that CEOs were encouraged to read, implored “employers do periodic pay equity reviews for their employees,” and urged executives to financially invest in DEI work, saying companies needed to “put your money where your mouth is” on DEI efforts. 

That same speaker framed workplace race issues through slavery and Jim Crow, saying slavery was “America’s first race-based economic system” and arguing that the “vestiges of slavery” still live on “even in the American workplace.”

“Oddly, the American workplace is the one place where we should be having more of these conversations, but ironically, it’s the one place where we’re least likely to do,” Harrison adds in one of the videos. Meanwhile, at another point in one of the videos, Harrison described how Jackson Healthcare started a “race series” using an outside vendor in order to prevent it from being viewed as “this HR mandate” by employees.

US CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ACCUSED OF LEADING ‘WOKE CORPORATE AMERICA’ AS TRUMP DISMANTLES DEI AGENDA

A related goBeyondProfit blog post authored by Harrison and the other DEI expert from the video series encouraged executives to take an Implicit Association Test to measure subconscious biases and create a “Bias Breaker” list cataloguing their known biases, including those involving “gender, sexual orientation, race or skin color, weight, age, and the list goes on.”

This revelation about the DEI past of Jackson’s companies is not the first time the issue has come to haunt his campaign. Fox News Digital reported in March that Harrison, who wrote his thesis on “Colorism,” said during a 2020 podcast interview that Jackson Healthcare and its leaders “get and see the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion in our workforce.” He even credited Jackson for inspiring “a learning experience about race during the interview. Meanwhile, Fox News Digital also reported last month that one of Jackson’s companies focused on healthcare staffing produced numerous materials ridiculing Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

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The unearthed DEI efforts come as a brutal Georgia GOP gubernatorial primary nears its conclusion, with the election slated for next Tuesday, followed by the general election in November.

At times, the primary race has centered on which candidate can claim the mantle of President Donald Trump’s fiercest ally. Georgia Lt. Gov Burt Jones has Trump’s formal endorsement, and Trump recently warned voters during a tele-rally that while others were claiming his support, “I endorse a man named Burt Jones.” Jones’ campaign has branded Jackson a “Never-Trumper” and a “fraud,” often citing the fact he funded many of Trump’s political opponents, like Jeb Bush, in the past.

Jackson, meanwhile, has tried to run as a Trump-style outsider, pledging to be “Trump’s favorite governor,” donating $1 million to Trump’s MAGA Inc. as he launched his campaign, modeling his campaign launch after Trump with a celebratory elevator descent, and telling local media he can’t name a single White House policy from the Trump administration he doesn’t like.

Jackson has blasted Jones as part of the political establishment, while likening Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, another one of his main primary opponents, to the Biblical character “Judas” for being disloyal to Trump during his efforts to contest the 2020 election.

Democrat Senate candidate Mallory McMorrow accrued nearly a year’s worth of unpaid utility charges on her million-dollar home while campaigning on affordability.

Until Friday, McMorrow and her husband, former Gawker executive Ray Wert, had not paid water or sewer charges on their home in Royal Oak, Mich., since June 2025, according to records reviewed by Fox News Digital. The property had accrued $3,000.37 in unpaid bills and late fees. 

The debt was paid shortly after Fox News Digital reached out for comment. 

“The bills in question have been paid,” the spokesperson said. “We respect the commitment to covering anything other than the fact that every single American’s bills – from gas to groceries to electricity – are going way up because of Donald Trump and his enablers like Mike Rogers.”

DEM SENATE HOPEFUL RIPPED FOR TRASHING MIDDLE AMERICA IN UNEARTHED SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS: ‘TICKS ME OFF’

McMorrow, a state legislator vying for the Democratic nomination in one of the country’s top Senate races, has repeatedly fallen behind on payments in recent years. 

Records show the couple has been fined 10 times totaling more than $400 in late fees for nonpayment since late 2021, when they purchased a $1.28 million home in the Detroit suburb. A report in the Detroit Metro Times that year described the property — with a pool and outside courtyard — as a home “to marvel at.”

McMorrow and Wert also let overdue water bills pile up on the home in the latter half of 2024, when they went five months without making a payment. When the couple finally paid $917 in January 2025, records showed an unpaid balance of $45 in late fees.

Royal Oak Township sends water bills quarterly and assesses a 5% late fee on unpaid balances. If McMorrow had failed to pay the balance by June 1, another 5% penalty would have been added, according to a billing notice.

Under Royal Oak policy, unpaid water and sewer bills can eventually be added to the couple’s property tax bill and prolonged nonpayment can result in water shutoff.

The delinquent payments come as recent disclosures show McMorrow and her husband may be millionaires. 

She estimated her net worth between $588,041 and $1.87 million last year, Michigan Advance reported. Up to $1.15 million was reported under her name or as a joint asset with her husband, according to a financial disclosure filed last year.

McMorrow earned $101,554 from her state senator salary, according to the filing. She also reported just over $106,000 in royalties. 

BLUE STATE DEM CANDIDATE WHO MADE ‘AFFORDABILITY’ A KEY ISSUE IN CAMPAIGN RIPPED FOR CHARGING $13 FOR WATER

While McMorrow was falling behind on payments, she championed “affordability” legislation that would end water shutoffs for not paying city bills. 

McMorrow cosponsored a measure last year that would cap water bills for qualifying low-income residents and offer debt forgiveness for overdue balances. The program would be funded through a regular surcharge on most Michigan water customers.

She has also backed the Human Right to Water Act, which would recognize access to affordable drinking water as a right and direct the state government to develop “affordability criteria.”

In a March 2021 Facebook post, she advocated for legislation that would “end water shutoffs.”

“Let’s be clear, access to water is a human right, even when there’s not a pandemic,” she wrote.

McMorrow’s delinquent water bills come as she is running in a combative three-way Democratic primary to succeed Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., who is retiring. 

The swing seat is a must-win race for Democrats hoping to retake Senate control, but Republicans also view the contest as a top flip opportunity. Former Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., cleared the field last year with President Donald Trump’s backing while the Democratic candidates continue to duke it out ahead of the August primary.

McMorrow is campaigning on a progressive platform that includes calling on the wealthy to pay their “fair share” in taxes. Democrat Sen. Bernie Sanders-backed Abdul El-Sayed is running to her left, and Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., a candidate with support from the party’s establishment swing, has espoused more centrist views.

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Progressive Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Chris Murphy, D-Conn., have endorsed McMorrow’s campaign.

She recently faced scrutiny for deleting thousands of old social media posts prior to her Senate campaign launch that denigrated “Middle America” and associated Trump and his base with Nazi Germany. CNN first reported on the trove of since-deleted posts. 

The Senate hopeful largely defended her posts in an interview with the network, arguing she “tweeted normal things like a normal person.”

The Senate was two votes away from taking a step toward handcuffing President Donald Trump’s war authorities in Iran this week. 

It’s the closest Senate Democrats have come to trying to reassert Congress’ authority on the matter, and was nearly successful thanks to one Senate Republican known for an independent streak: Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska. 

That vote, in particular, came after Congress had sprinted past the 60-day deadline to either authorize or halt Trump’s war. Murkowski argued that she hoped the administration would give more clarity on next steps, but so far hadn’t received such information. 

SENATE DEMOCRATS FINALLY CRACK GOP UNITY ON TRUMP’S IRAN WAR AS MURKOWSKI FLIPS

“So I felt that it was now time to advance a discharge so that we can discuss our responsibilities through the War Powers Act,” Murkowski said. “So it’s — we’re in a different place than we were last time we voted on this.”

Many of her votes for or against any given piece of legislation are determined by a simple principle: how will this vote affect Alaska? 

“Senator Murkowski approaches every decision thoughtfully, always asking what is best for Alaska,” Joseph Plesha, a spokesperson for Murkowski, told Fox News Digital. “When she believes a policy advances those priorities, she supports it, regardless of party or politics.” 

That style of decision-making was on full display last year, when Murkowski cast the deciding vote for the president’s “big, beautiful bill,” his most significant legislative accomplishment of his second term to date.

But at the time, Murkowski described the decision as “agonizing,” and one that she came to only after securing a spate of wins for Alaska.

“I had to look on balance, because the people in my state are the ones that I put first,” Murkowski said. “We do not have a perfect bill by any stretch of the imagination. My hope is that the House is going to look at this and recognize that we’re not there yet.”

Murkowski had hoped that the Senate and House would go into conference to iron out a better product, but that never came. After the upper chamber advanced the package, the House passed it several hours later to adhere to Trump’s July 4 deadline.

SENATE PASSES TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ AFTER MARATHON VOTE-A-RAMA

Just a few weeks later, she bucked Trump and Republicans on a package designed to claw back billions in funding to public broadcasting and “woke” international aid programs. 

Murkowski, an appropriator, argued that instead of legislating, “what we’re getting now is a direction from the White House and being told, ‘This is the priority we want you to execute on it. We’ll be back with you with another round.’” 

“I don’t accept that,” she said at the time.

She also went against Trump’s actions in Venezuela earlier this year, joining Democrats on a successful procedural vote that was ultimately later struck down after a heavy lobbying campaign from the White House and top Trump officials flipped key votes against the war powers resolution. 

Similar to her reasoning on the Iran war powers vote, Murkowski contended that while the administration argued that the Venezuelan government was complying after the capture of Nicolás Maduro, there had been “no meaningful end state” given by Trump officials. 

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

And on the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act, Murkowski once again went against the president.

She teed up her resistance to the voter ID and citizenship verification legislation early, weeks before Republicans launched a campaign on the Senate floor to debate the doomed bill. 

Murkowski noted that when congressional Democrats “attempted to advance sweeping election reform legislation in 2021, Republicans were unanimous in opposition because it would have federalized elections, something we have long opposed.”

“Not only does the U.S. Constitution clearly provide states the authority to regulate the ‘times, places, and manner’ of holding federal elections, but one-size-fits-all mandates from Washington, D.C., seldom work in places like Alaska,” she said. 

Perhaps Murkowski’s biggest break from Trump came as he was exiting office shortly after the Jan. 6, 2021, riots on Capitol Hill.

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Murkowski was one of a handful of Republicans who voted to convict Trump. 

“If months of lies, organizing a rally of supporters in an effort to thwart the work of Congress, encouraging a crowd to march on the Capitol, and then taking no meaningful action to stop the violence once it began is not worthy of impeachment, conviction, and disqualification from holding office in the United States, I cannot imagine what is,” Murkowski said in a statement at the time.

Progressive journalist Austin Ahlman announced he is running for Congress in Nebraska’s first congressional district as a nonpartisan independent on Thursday, challenging incumbent Rep. Mike Flood, R-Neb., and Democratic nominee Chris Backemeyer.

Ahlman, a journalist for the progressive left-wing outlet The Intercept, entered the fray Thursday, two days after his opponents advanced in their respective primaries.

Flood has held his seat since winning a special election in 2022. Democratic challenger Backemeyer is a former State Department employee who worked in President Barack Obama’s administration and also served as a Special Advisor to Vice President Kamala Harris on national security and policy issues.

Ahlman criticized Backemeyer as a “creature of the establishment in D.C.” and said he didn’t see much of a difference between the Democrat and Flood.

FROM NEBRASKA TO WEST VIRGINIA TO NEW JERSEY: PRIMARY CLASHES SET STAGE FOR FIERCE MIDTERM FIGHT

“I have taken on the corporations that are actually hollowing out our state. I have uncovered the corruption among the politicians that are crushing us and selling us out. And I don’t think that either one of the two can say that,” Ahlman told the Lincoln Journal Star.

“I think that they have just been a part of the system. They are the establishment, and I am not that. I’m actually from the working class,” he said.

After winning his 2022 special election by a five-point margin, Flood won both of his general elections by a comfortable margin. He won by 15 points in the 2022 general election and by more than 20 point in 2024. Nebraska’s first district is also a solid Republican stronghold, according to the Cook Political Report.

Cook posits it would take both an “anemic” Republican turnout and a strong Democrat one to turn the tables for Democrats in Nebraska’s first district. The prospect is now made more complicated with Ahlman, as some of Nebraska’s political leader point out to local press that the progressive candidate could split the vote.

KEY HOUSE PROJECTION SPELLS TROUBLE FOR TWO REPUBLICAN LAWMAKERS

“Mike Flood has failed this district, and splitting the vote with a fringe third candidate won’t fix that,” Nebraska Democratic Party Chair Jane Kleeb said in a Thursday statement provided to the Nebraska Examiner. “Nebraska doesn’t need noise from either extreme. We need a steady, experienced leader who will fight for fairness and protect our democracy. That’s Chris Backemeyer.”

Backemeyer’s campaign told the Examiner, “After winning almost every county by a large margin in the primary, Chris is focused on defeating congressman Flood in order to stop Trump’s tariffs, devastating healthcare cuts and illegal war that are hurting Nebraskans.”

Meanwhile, Flood’s team pointed to the independent challenge as a weakness in the Democratic Party, claiming Ahlman is “trying to sabotage the campaign of a Kamala Harris adviser because the Democratic Party is in shambles.”

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“While Backemeyer and Ahlman fight over which D.C. transplant finishes second, Congressman Flood will keep getting things done for Nebraskans,” Flood spokesperson Daniel Bass told the Examiner.

Fox News Digital contacted the Ahlman, Backemeyer and Flood campaigns for additional comment.

Home foreclosures in the U.S. are up 26% from last year as inflation rates and rising costs are catching up with homeowners.

Indiana was hit hardest and logged one foreclosure filing for every 739 housing units in the first quarter of 2026, according to findings from property data firm ATTOM. This is nearly two-thirds higher than the nationwide rate of one in every 1,211 house facing foreclosure in that same period.

The latest data released in April shows that red states are being hit the hardest by the sweeping affordability crisis — and with the 2026 midterm elections approaching, economic woes are at the top of mind for many voters and policymakers.

WHITE HOUSE TEASES MAJOR HOUSING AFFORDABILITY PLAN AS PRICES SQUEEZE AMERICANS

The top three states with the worst foreclosure rates at the start of 2026 all voted for President Donald Trump in the 2024 election. South Carolina came in second behind Indiana with one in every 743 properties with foreclosure filings in the first quarter of the year, and Florida was in third with one in every 750 housing units facing the same fate.

While foreclosure activity is on the rise across the U.S., it remains well below levels seen during the 2008 housing crisis. But that isn’t stopping Democrats from pouncing on the issue, and using affordability, inflation and rising housing costs as their candidates’ leading messaging ahead of the November elections.

A total of 118,727 U.S. properties had a foreclosure filing in the first quarter of 2026, up 6% from the previous quarter and 26% from a year ago.

Foreclosure filings came in for 45,921 properties for March alone, increasing 18% from February and 28% from March of last year.

THE PRICE OF BUILDING A HOME KEEPS CLIMBING — AND UNCERTAINTY ISN’T HELPING

Looking more closely at the data, more homes are entering the foreclosure process, a potential sign of future distress. A total of 82,631 properties started foreclosure processes in the first quarter of 2026, up 20% from the year prior, while lenders repossessed 14,020 properties, marking a 45% annual increase.

Blue states like Delaware and Illinois are also facing high foreclosure rates — showcasing that the issue crosses party lines. Among major metro areas, cities like Cleveland, Ohio; Jacksonville, Florida; and Indianapolis, Indiana ranked among the highest for foreclosure rates.

The revelation of spiking foreclosure rates comes as the U.S. grapples with a slew of housing challenges that have helped contribute to today’s crisis. 

Against that backdrop, experts say rising mortgage rates, higher living costs and other homeownership expenses are putting increasing pressure on some homeowners, pushing up monthly payments and making it harder to keep up with housing costs.

THE TOP 3 REASONS HOUSING HAS BECOME SO UNAFFORDABLE IN THE US MARKET

The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage rose to 6.37% for the week ending May 7, up from 5.98% in late February.

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Rob Barber, CEO of ATTOM, said that while foreclosure levels remain below those seen during the housing crisis, the recent uptick suggests more homeowners may be coming under financial strain.

Taken together, the data points to a housing market that remains stable overall, even as affordability challenges persist for some homeowners.

The U.S. is trying to choke off Iran’s economy at sea, but a growing China-linked rail corridor is giving Tehran a workaround that Washington cannot easily shut down without risking a wider conflict.

As freight traffic between China and Iran increases along an overland route beyond the reach of American warships, the dynamic is exposing a core limitation in the U.S. strategy: maritime pressure is powerful, but it doesn’t fully extend across Eurasia.

According to Bloomberg, cargo trains running from central China to Iran have jumped from roughly one per week before the blockade to one every three or four days, highlighting a growing alternative channel as Tehran looks to blunt maritime pressure.

The corridor runs through multiple sovereign countries, including Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, making it far more complex to disrupt than shipping lanes in the Persian Gulf.

CHINA-LINKED ROUTE EXPOSED AFTER US SEIZES IRAN-BOUND SHIP WITH SUSPECTED DUAL-USE CARGO

Directly targeting that overland network would risk widening the conflict and escalating tensions with Beijing, which has spent years investing in trade routes designed to bypass maritime choke points dominated by the U.S. Navy.

That combination of geography, diplomacy and escalation risk helps explain why Washington has focused overwhelmingly on maritime interdiction rather than attempting to shut down overland trade routes.

Experts say the rail corridor remains limited in its ability to offset Iran’s main oil exports.

“There’s no substitute for a very large crude carrier,” Isaac Kardon, a senior fellow focused on Chinese strategy and maritime security, told Fox News Digital.

Kardon estimated that “maybe like 1% of the exports that Iran would typically be pushing out through Hormuz could go over land.”

Max Meizlish, a former Treasury official focused on sanctions policy, similarly described the rail corridor as “a drop in the bucket compared to Iran’s traditional oil exports over maritime transit routes.”

TRUMP WARNS CHINA OF ‘STAGGERING’ 50% TARIFF IF CAUGHT SUPPLYING MILITARY AID TO IRAN

Still, analysts warn the route carries strategic risks beyond its limited scale.

Meizlish said the rail network “provides a pathway for China to supply Iran with critical dual use goods or just military logistical infrastructure” beyond the reach of U.S. naval enforcement.

Kardon pointed to similar concerns, including the potential movement of “parts for drones” and “missile precursor chemicals.”

Even so, Kardon emphasized the corridor cannot sustain large-scale economic or military flows.

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“It’s a flow question,” he said. “Can you sustain the Iranian war-fighting effort solely with cargoes from China or from its other Eurasian neighbors? And I think the answer is really no.”

Taken together, the rail corridor is not an economic lifeline for Iran, but it underscores a broader shift as China builds trade networks designed to blunt U.S. pressure at sea and test the limits of how far Washington is willing to go to enforce its strategy.

The White House and the Pentagon did not respond to requests for comment.

President Donald Trump is leaning on Congress to tee up an affordability win ahead of November’s midterm elections, but entrenched GOP disagreement on a sweeping housing proposal threatens to derail it. 

Trump on Monday called on the House to swiftly approve Senate-passed legislation aimed at easing housing affordability that has languished in the lower chamber for several months. House Republicans, however, have balked at that request and are pitching a rival plan. 

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., teased earlier in the week that Republicans and Democrats would come together to bring a “bipartisan, bicameral bill to the president’s desk.”  

“I think everybody feels like it’s important, so we’re just working out some nuances,” Johnson said.

TRUMP-BACKED AFFORDABLE HOUSING OVERHAUL CLEARS SENATE, WHILE HOUSE GOP RAISES RED FLAGS

Senior House lawmakers on Thursday unveiled a modified version of the Senate’s 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, which is expected to receive a vote in the lower chamber as early as next week. 

Any changes to the Senate’s proposal would force the upper chamber to consider the measure again, prolonging the timeline lawmakers can send legislation to Trump’s desk.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., one of the chief architects of the Senate’s bill, declined to say whether she was speaking with her counterparts in the House about tweaks to the bill, and argued that lawmakers were running out of time to do something.

“There’s a housing crisis out there,” Warren said. “This bill can pass today if the House would just put it on the floor and vote on it.
We need to get started, and if the House has more ideas than they’d like to add, start another bill.” 

Some GOP lawmakers are not sweating the wait.

“We cannot take the Senate bill to the floor,” House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris, R-Md., told Fox News Digital in an interview earlier this week.

The political dynamics are much different in the Senate, however. And the housing bill passed with fewer than a dozen defectors in March — a rare feat in such a hyper-partisan Congress. 

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., argued that the easiest route to putting the legislation on Trump’s desk is passing the Senate’s version.

“It’s been sitting over there for a while and the president’s weighed in on it. I think, you know, the White House made it clear, they would like to see the House pick up and pass the Senate bill,” Thune said. “We’ve done what we can do. It’s in the court of the House now.”

The House product struck out a controversial provision taking aim at the build-to-rent market that drew the opposition of conservatives, who argued the language amounted to excessive government interference in the housing market.

The clause in the Senate’s proposal would have specifically required some developers to sell single-family homes built for the purpose of renting within seven years after construction. The build-to-rent industry and opponents of the provision argued their properties provide a more affordable option for some Americans priced out of the housing market and could imperil the supply of rentals across the country.

“We’ve got to make sure we do it in a right way that continues to keep free markets,” Rep. Michael Cloud, R-Texas, said, adding that the clause in the Senate bill could make it “impossible” for some people to access housing.

FOREIGNERS ARE SNAPPING UP US HOMES AND STEALING THE AMERICAN DREAM OUT FROM UNDER FAMILIES

The proposal, however, would also weaken a ban on large institutional investors from purchasing single-family homes — a priority of the Trump administration.

The House’s rival housing bill notably preserves a ban on central bank digital currencies (CBDC) through 2030 that was included in the Senate’s legislation.

House conservatives raged at the Senate bill for stopping short of enacting a permanent CBDC ban — a top priority of GOP privacy hawks, who have sought to add the language to various legislative vehicles.

“It has to be permanent,” Cloud said. “We’ve got to put the nail in the coffin on it.”

House Financial Services Chairman French Hill, R-Ark., a co-author of the House’s rival housing package, said he shared Trump’s goal of expanding access to affordable homeownership in a statement Thursday.

“It cuts unnecessary barriers to new home construction, modernizes HUD programs, and allows banks to more freely deploy funding into their communities,” Hill said regarding the lower chamber’s proposal. “We must get this right — and I am committed to working hard to do that.”

Not everyone in the Senate is upset by the House’s decision to modify the bill. 

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., was one of the few lawmakers to vote against the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, and told Fox News Digital that housing affordability isn’t something that’s dictated by the federal government.

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“If you wanted to actually reduce housing costs, it’s local governments who are gonna have to allow more houses to be built,” Scott said. 

The legislative standoff comes as a recent Fox News poll found that nearly 80% of voters said housing costs were a problem for them or their family. The same survey also found that Democrats hold a lead over Republicans on inflation and the economy.

Air Force One lifted off after U.S. President Donald Trump wrapped up his visit to China where he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping this week.

The visit between the two leaders occurred amid the ongoing U.S. conflict with Iran, as America continues to conduct a blockade against the Islamic Republic.

A White House release about a meeting between Xi and Trump read, in part, “The two sides agreed that the Strait of Hormuz must remain open to support the free flow of energy. President Xi also made clear China’s opposition to the militarization of the Strait and any effort to charge a toll for its use, and he expressed interest in purchasing more American oil to reduce China’s dependence on the Strait in the future. Both countries agreed that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon.”

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Chinese security officials allegedly blocked an armed U.S. Secret Service agent from entering an event on Thursday during President Donald Trump’s visit to the country, according to media members on the ground. 

A Secret Service agent was reportedly blocked from entering Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Beijing’s Temple of Heaven with their weapon on Thursday, according to reporters. The incident triggered an alleged “intense standoff” that delayed entry to the venue for over a half-hour due to heated discussions. 

“We’ve seen several intense confrontations since being here,” wrote a Telegraph correspondent on X of the situation. 

TRUMP GETS RED-CARPET WELCOME IN CHINA, BUT PAST BEIJING TRIP SHOWS PAGEANTRY ONLY GOES SO FAR

The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on the matter.

Trump and Xi met Thursday in Beijing as part of a two-day state visit, with the White House saying the leaders discussed Iran, energy security, fentanyl controls and market access.

CHINA ROLLS OUT RED CARPET FOR TRUMP AS XI MEETING TESTS TRADE, TAIWAN TENSIONS

Other videos posted by reporters on social media show the press having difficulties navigating following Trump during the meetings and events. 

“Several times the Chinese tried to stop US reporters and staff from leaving their positions and joining the motorcade,” the Telegraph correspondent said on X.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Secret Service for comment on Thursday. 

This is not the first time tensions have flared between the Secret Service and Chinese security officials.

During Trump’s 2017 visit, commotion was caused over the nuclear football, a briefcase that holds the tools for the president to order a nuclear strike, Axios first reported at the time.

SECRET SERVICE MUST ‘COURSE CORRECT’ AFTER ALLEGED SMUGGLING EPISODE ON TRUMP TRIP, FORMER AGENT SAYS

Reports at the time said that when the U.S. military aide carrying the briefcase entered the Great Hall, Chinese security officials blocked his entry. The then-White House Chief of Staff John Kelly was notified and rushed over to escort the aide.

“We’re moving in,” Kelly said, according to Axios. A Chinese security official then grabbed Kelly, before a U.S. Secret Service agent grabbed that Chinese security official, and allegedly tackled him to the ground.

The U.S. Secret Service later denied the reports of “tackling” issuing a statement on X.

FORMER SECRET SERVICE OFFICIALS WARN OF LOW-TECH THREATS FACING TRUMP AFTER LATEST MAR-A-LAGO BREACH

“FACT CHECK: Reports about Secret Service agents tackling a host nation official during the President’s trip to China in Nov 2017 are false,” the agency wrote.

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A source told Fox News at the time there was a bit of shoving during the incident, which then de-escalated and reiterated that the “football” was never touched.

The White House described how President Donald Trump had a “good meeting” with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Thursday, saying in its readout that the two sides discussed ways to “enhance economic cooperation,” expand market access for American business into China and “increase Chinese investment into our industries.”

“Leaders from many of the United States’ largest companies joined a portion of the meeting,” the White House noted. “The Presidents also highlighted the need to build on progress in ending the flow of fentanyl precursors into the United States, as well as increasing Chinese purchases of American agricultural products.”

The White House said the U.S. and China agreed that Iran cannot obtain a nuclear weapon.

TRUMP, XI MAKE REMARKS AT STATE BANQUET ON DAY TWO OF CRITICAL CHINA VISIT

China and the U.S. are both nuclear-armed nations.

TRUMP’S UPBEAT CHINA MESSAGE COLLIDES WITH DEEPENING BEIJING RIVALRY

“The two sides agreed that the Strait of Hormuz must remain open to support the free flow of energy. President Xi also made clear China’s opposition to the militarization of the Strait and any effort to charge a toll for its use, and he expressed interest in purchasing more American oil to reduce China’s dependence on the Strait in the future. Both countries agreed that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon,” the White House noted.

While Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. position on Taiwain remains unchanged following Trump and Xi’s meeting, China’s foreign ministry said, “Xi stressed that the Taiwan question is the most important issue in China-U.S. relations.”

TRUMP PLEDGES TO RAISE DETAINED PASTOR’S CASE WITH XI JINPING DURING BEIJING VISIT AS FAMILY PLEADS FOR HELP

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“If it is handled properly, the bilateral relationship will enjoy overall stability. Otherwise, the two countries will have clashes and even conflicts, putting the entire relationship in great jeopardy. ‘Taiwan independence’ and cross-Strait peace are as irreconcilable as fire and water. Safeguarding peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is the biggest common denominator between China and the U.S.,” China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. “The U.S. side must exercise extra caution in handling the Taiwan question.”

Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., said she has received death threats for “doing my job” and meeting with foreign ambassadors about Cuba’s fuel shortages and U.S. sanctions.

Following her trip to Cuba as part of a congressional delegation in April, conservatives are now labeling the progressive lawmaker a “traitor” who is “conspiring against the U.S.” because she met with political leaders to discuss the “crisis” on the island.

“I’ve gotten death threats as a result of this,” Jayapal told Fox News Digital on Wednesday. “People are calling for me to be shot, and it’s just a fabrication. It is what’s wrong with so much of the work that we do.”

SPATE OF HEALTH SCARES AND VIOLENT THREATS HIGHLIGHT GROWING VULNERABILITIES FOR LAWMAKERS ON CAPITOL HILL

Following her controversial visit to Cuba with Rep. Jonathan Jackson, D-Ill., Jayapal spoke at a Seattle briefing, where her comments went viral on X.

She admitted to meeting with Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, senior government officials, political dissidents, civil society groups and foreign diplomats to discuss the island’s “crisis beyond imagination.”

Jayapal justified the meetings as part of her job as a member of Congress.

“It’s ridiculous,” she said. “First of all, I had a meeting with the ambassadors of a couple of countries to hear how U.S. policy toward Cuba was affecting those countries. We meet with ambassadors all the time. That is part of our job, to assess what’s going on on the ground.”

She said U.S. sanctions have not been effective. Instead, she called for direct negotiations with Cuba.

“I’ve been very clear that the way to engage with Cuba is through a true diplomatic negotiation and that none of the embargo, that’s been the longest-standing embargo for over 60 years, or the fuel blockade is helping us to achieve any of that,” she said.

Jayapal said she is working to address the impacts of U.S. fuel restrictions, which she has slammed as “cruel collective punishment” to the citizens of the island.

“I’m working on legislation to address negative impacts of U.S. foreign policy toward Cuba,” she said. “I’m a member of Congress. I have every right to go travel and to meet with other ambassadors.”

DEM REPRESENTATIVE ADMITS TO WORKING WITH MEXICO TO SNEAK OIL INTO CUBA, DESPITE BLOCKADE

Her actions have raised questions about the Logan Act, a rarely used federal law that bars unauthorized individuals from negotiating with foreign governments in disputes involving the U.S.

The White House weighed in, blasting Jayapal’s trip as “shameful” and accused her of “suffering from [Trump Derangement Syndrome]” in a statement to Fox News Digital last week.

“The Democrats continue to show Americans who they really are, the America Last party who sip margaritas with terrorists, advocate for illegal alien criminals, and undermine the United States to aid a failed communist regime,” White House spokesperson Olivia Wales said.

Cuba’s ties to adversarial countries and actors, including Iran and Hezbollah, remain a national security concern, according to the Trump administration. The island’s economic crisis has fueled a surge in migration to the U.S. in recent years.

Jayapal told Fox News Digital that most Americans would not approve of civilians’ living conditions in Cuba if they knew how bad it is. 

“The humanitarian crisis on the ground, with babies in the NICU being unable to get care for their incubators to work,” she said. “The lack of food on the island, so many other things, is a travesty, and I actually don’t think that most Americans would want that.”

RUBIO SAYS CUBA NEEDS ‘NEW PEOPLE IN CHARGE’ AS BLACKOUTS, UNREST GRIP ISLAND

Jayapal has also called for lifting the U.S. embargo, removing Cuba from the State Sponsor of Terrorism list and supporting legislation to block potential U.S. military action.

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She has previously criticized the Cuban government, which has faced scrutiny for political repression and limits on free speech.

Fox News Digital’s Stepheny Price and Ashley J. DiMella contributed to this report.

The Justice Department is ordering sanctuary states to halt a new policy trend they say is putting Department of Homeland Security agents at risk of personal harm and can cause key operations to implode.

The federal government currently works with states to disseminate “undercover” license plates for agents and officers whose identities need to be protected and who would have their cover otherwise blown if they were to use federally-issued “U.S. Government” plates.

On Thursday, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate issued a warning to several states, including Washington, where the department says DMVs are declining or inhibiting issuance of undercover license plates for Homeland Security operations.

In a letter to Washington Attorney General Nicholas Brown, Shumate wrote that the Washington Department of Licensing is refusing to issue such plates to DHS but continues the practice for local and state police.

BONDI PUTS SANCTUARY CITIES NATIONWIDE ON NOTICE AFTER DC POLICE FEDERAL TAKEOVER

Shumate said the policy discrepancy violates the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution, in that “this discriminatory policy is not only deeply dangerous as a matter of public safety but also blatantly unlawful as a matter of constitutional law.”

“It should be immediately withdrawn; otherwise, the United States intends to seek judicial relief.”

Shumate said Washington’s policy undermines investigations and puts law enforcement officers “at risk of harm” as they pursue dangerous terrorists, drug traffickers and fraudsters.

ICE AGENTS REPORT ‘UNPRECEDENTED’ 3,200% SURGE IN CAR ATTACKS LAST YEAR

“Suspects could be alerted to officer presence and flee, destroy evidence or take countermeasures to avoid arrest, making arrests more dangerous for all involved,” he said, adding that includes the general public.

Shumate gave Brown a May 22 ultimatum to prove compliance or risk further litigation.

Earlier this year, Maine announced it would also pause granting DHS officers undercover plates, with Secretary of State Shenna Bellows telling The Hill that the state Bureau of Motor Vehicles has not revoked existing undercover plates but would pause future issuance following reports of targeted enforcement operations in the Pine Tree State.

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Oregon and Massachusetts are also reportedly in DOJ’s sights on the issue.

Fox News Digital reached out to Brown and the DOJ for comment.

President Donald Trump held his final meeting with Chinese President Xi touting a big win on one of the central focuses orf the high-stakes summit after the two leaders held a bilateral tea at the Zhongnanhai compound.

“This has been an incredible visit,” Trump said to reporters. “I think a lot of good has come of it, and we’ve made some fantastic trade deals. Great for both countries.” 

The announcement comes against the backdrop of a yearslong tariff standoff between the U.S. and China, with Trump arguing aggressive duties are needed to force fairer trade terms while Beijing has repeatedly pushed back. While it is unclear which deals were reached, it was shared that China agreed to order 200 Boeing jets.

TRUMP MEETS US AMBASSADOR TO CHINA AS TENSIONS FLARE AHEAD OF XI SHOWDOWN

U.S. Ambassador to China David Perdue, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, War Secretary Pete Hegseth, and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer were present for the meeting.

America’s top business leaders traveled with Trump to Beijing and met with Premier Li Qiang Thursday to discuss U.S.-China economic and trade cooperation.

“China is willing to work with the United States to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, strive for more positive outcomes, achieve mutual success and promote common prosperity, and better benefit the people of both countries and the world,” reads a press release about the meeting from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

TRUMP AND CHINA CLOSE IN ON TRADE DEAL AFTER PRODUCTIVE TALKS, BESSENT SAYS

The ministry stressed that both countries should “meet each other halfway” and “safeguard bilateral economic and trade relations.”

The White House and Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment on the matter.

During an interview Thursday with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, Trump said China was interested in investing “hundreds of billions of dollars” alongside the American business leaders visiting Beijing.

“Those business people are here to make deals and to bring back jobs,” Trump said.

TRUMP PUSHES XI ON TRADE AFTER SUPREME COURT RULING DENTS KEY CHINA PRESSURE TOOL

A major piece of Trump’s “America First” agenda has focused on leveling the global trade playing field by holding other countries accountable for trade deficits. One of his first moves after returning to office was rolling out the “Liberation Day” tariffs in April 2025, which were designed to serve as leverage in trade negotiations while also generating new revenue.

Tariffs have been at the center of Trump’s China strategy since his first term, when he imposed duties on Chinese imports and Beijing retaliated with tariffs of its own. The fight has remained one of the defining pressure points in the relationship between the world’s two largest economies. 

Trump’s first visit in 2017 produced more than $250 billion in announced commercial deals and cooperation pledges, but it did not prevent trade relations from deteriorating in 2018.

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Most notably, Trump announced a $12 billion deal for cellphone chips from Qualcomm and $37 billion for Boeing commercial jets, AP reported at the time.

Trump said that Xi and his wife will visit the U.S. in September. 

President Donald Trump said Chinese President Xi Jinping has said he will not provide military equipment to Iran, which has been a central focus of the high-stakes meeting marking a possible win for the Trump administration.

Xi “said he’s not going to give military equipment. That’s a big statement. He said that today. That’s a big statement. (He) said that strongly,” Trump said to Fox News host Sean Hannity Thursday. 

The pledge comes as the Trump administration increasingly has cast China not just as an economic rival, but as a key enabler of adversarial regimes, with Beijing’s economic and material support for Iran emerging as a central focus of this week’s high-stakes talks with Xi.

U.S. officials have increasingly accused China of helping prop up Iran’s military and economic strength through oil purchases, dual-use exports and intermediary networks.

TRUMP TO CONFRONT XI AT HIGH-STAKES SUMMIT OVER CHINA BACKING FOR IRAN, RUSSIA

Trump added that Xi also offered to help end the conflict. 

“He said, if I can be of any help at all, I would like to be of help,” Trump said. 

The White House and Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment on the matter.

“But at the same time, he said, you know, they buy a lot of their oil there, and they’d like to keep doing that. He’d like to see Hormuz Strait opened,” said Trump. “I said, well, we didn’t stop it. They did it.”

TRUMP HEADS TO BEIJING FOR HIGH-STAKES XI TALKS AS TAIWAN TENSIONS, TRADE DISPUTES TEST US STRENGTH

China heavily relies on Iranian oil imports purchasing around $31 billion to $32 billion of Iranian crude annually, according to Reuters.

Beijing ordered firms to ignore U.S. sanctions targeting Iranian oil in May — a direct challenge to Washington’s crackdown.

China’s Commerce Ministry invoked a 2021 “blocking statute” ahead of the summit which bars companies from complying with “illegitimate” foreign sanctions. The order targets several Chinese refiners accused by the U.S. of buying Iranian crude, including large independent processors known as “teapot” refineries.

CHINA ORDERS FIRMS TO IGNORE US IRAN SANCTIONS, DARING US TO ENFORCE CRACKDOWN

“He didn’t like the fact that they’re charging tolls,” said Trump. “I don’t know if they are or not. I don’t know who would pay him. I mean, where do they put the money to come to countries decimated, you know, they’re charging tolls where’s the money going,” said Trump.

Trump said that he believes a deal will be reached with China buying oil from the U.S. by the end of the trip, prompting a spike in oil prices.

“They’re going to go to Texas. We’re going to start sending Chinese ships to Texas and to Louisiana and to Alaska. And I think that was another thing that was agreed to it. That’s a big thing,” said Trump.

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The two leaders held a bilateral tea meeting Friday morning local time in Beijing at the Zhongnanhai compound in their final meeting before Trump’s return to the White House.

Fox News’ Morgan Phillips and Greg Wehner contributed to this report.

Progressive political commentator Larry McKelvey, better known as Charlamagne Tha God, argued the White House ballroom project is all the proof needed to show President Donald Trump intends to run for a third term.

But “The Late Show” guest host’s rhetoric is raising concerns among those who believe it could incite violence.

“Do you seriously think he’s building that for the next guy?” Charlamagne questioned during Wednesday’s episode.

“You think he likes J.D. Vance that much? You think he’s doing that level of solid for Marco Rubio?” he added, referencing the two most likely successors to the MAGA empire — the vice president and secretary of State.

BILL MAHER SAYS TRUMP’S CONSTRUCTION OF ‘GIANT BALLROOM’ MEANS ‘HE’S NOT LEAVING’ THE WHITE HOUSE

Charlamagne’s comments, couched in hyperbolic jokes, raised far-left accusations that Trump has displayed a king-like disregard for limits in his second term — and even mirror the president’s own jokes about violating constitutional limits.

“I’m not asking Trump not to run for a third term,” Charlamagne conceded. “Trump is going to Trump. What I’m asking is for the Republican Party to be honest for once and tell us whether or not you want this man to be king, okay? I’m tired of edging dictatorship.”

Hogan Gidley, a former White House deputy press secretary, believes some viewers aren’t going to take the comments as a joke.

“They have no clue what their comments actually mean to those out there who want to commit acts of violence, which is ignorant and bad enough,” Gidley told Fox News Digital, noting the multiple assassination attempts against Trump and members of his administration.

“Or — they know exactly what they’re doing, creating a permission structure for violence. Either way, it’s hurtful to our country,” he added.

HOUSE REPUBLICAN CALLS FOR THIRD TRUMP TERM OVER PASSAGE OF ‘HISTORIC’ TAX BILL

Under the 22nd Amendment, presidents of the United States are limited to two terms — a change made in 1951 after Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) served four.

While firmly noting that comedians have a right under the First Amendment to address issues of their choosing, Gidley says he doubts the White House renovations are proof that Trump wants to overcome that limit.

“Context matters,” Gidley said.

“For safety and security, it makes complete sense to have a facility that all presidents can use to entertain foreign heads of state, to entertain different guests on various occasions under the watchful eye of a controlled space.”

At the White House Correspondent’s Association dinner last month, Trump faced a third assassination attempt when a gunman charged a Secret Service security checkpoint at the event at the Washington Hilton.

Trump noted that a space like the future ballroom could be used for such events to provide a more secure venue.

MIKE DAVIS: SECURE THE WHITE HOUSE AND BUILD THE BALLROOM BEFORE SOMEONE GETS KILLED

Charlamagne, for his part, comedically painted a vision for how Trump might use the ballroom in a third term.

“On January 20th, 2029, Trump is going to go into that ballroom, with a stack of hustlers, a crate of Big Macs and lock the door from the inside,” Charlamagne said.

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Construction of the ballroom, which spans 90,000 square feet and is designed to seat 650 attendees, is scheduled to finish before the end of Trump’s second term, according to press releases from the White House.

The Daily Show did not respond to requests for comment from Fox News Digital. Neither did the White House when asked for reaction to the comedian and political commentator’s comments.

President Donald Trump turned Chinese President Xi Jinping’s reported swipe at the West during the U.S. and China’s high-stakes meetings in Beijing into a political attack on former President Joe Biden Thursday.

“When President Xi very elegantly referred to the United States as perhaps being a declining nation, he was referring to the tremendous damage we suffered during the four years of Sleepy Joe Biden and the Biden Administration, and on that score, he was 100% correct,” Trump wrote on Truth Social ahead of the second day of talks between the U.S. and China.

After the U.S. delegation was greeted with pomp and circumstance at an opening ceremony Wednesday night, Xi invoked the so-called “Thucydides Trap” during opening remarks, asking whether China and the United States could avoid the historical pattern of conflict between a rising power and an established one.

TRUMP-XI’S CHINA SUMMIT IS A DEFINING TEST FOR AMERICA IN THE NEW COLD WAR

The line echoed Beijing’s broader view of a shifting global balance of power, though it is unclear if Xi explicitly called the U.S. or the West a “declining nation.”

“President Xi was not referring to the incredible rise that the United States has displayed to the world during the 16 spectacular months of the Trump Administration, which includes all-time high stock markets and 401K’s, military victory and thriving relationship in Venezuela, the military decimation of Iran (to be continued!),” Trump added in his post.

“The United States is the hottest Nation anywhere in the world, and hopefully our relationship with China will be stronger and better than ever before!” Trump continued.

BEHIND SUMMIT SMILES, XI GIVES BLUNT WARNING TO TRUMP OF ‘CLASHES’ AND ‘CONFLICTS’

Trump went on to say that the United States “suffered immeasurably” under Biden-era policies like open borders, increased taxes, DEI, “transgender for everybody,” and sanctuary city ordinances. He agreed that “two years ago” the nation was “in decline.”

Fox News Digital reached out to China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the White House for comment. 

A White House spokesperson referred Fox News Digital back to the president’s Truth Social post, but a Chinese Embassy spokesperson said in a statement that “the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and making America great again can go hand in hand.”

However, the Chinese embassy spokesperson did not respond to inquiries asking for more context about Xi’s reported comments. 

Xi’s “Thucydides Trap” reference was not a direct statement that the United States or the West is declining, but it invoked a geopolitical theory about the danger of conflict when a rising power challenges an established one and came as the Chinese president raised the prospect of a future U.S.-China clash over Taiwan. The phrase has been used in U.S.–China policy circles to describe fears that China’s rise could put it on a collision course with Washington.

“On a welcoming banquet for President Trump, President Xi pointed out that this year marks the start of China’s 15th Five-Year Plan for economic and social development. The over 1.4 billion people of China, drawing on the rich heritage of our over-5,000-year civilization, are advancing Chinese modernization on all fronts through high-quality development. This year is also the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence. The over 300 million American people are reinvigorating the spirit of patriotism, innovation and enterprise, and ushering in a new journey for the development of the United States,” the spokesperson said in their statement to Fox News Digital.

“The peoples of China and the United States are both great peoples. Achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and making America great again can go hand in hand. We can help each other succeed and advance the well-being of the whole world. President Xi and President Trump also agreed to build a constructive China-U.S. relationship of strategic stability to promote the steady, sound and sustainable development of China-U.S. relations, and bring more peace, prosperity and progress to the world.”

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Former President Biden’s personal history with Xi dates back to both their tenures as vice presidents. 

But as president, Biden’s relationship with Xi was one that involved an ongoing strategic rivalry, with the two leaders meeting in Bali in 2022 and California in 2023 as Washington and Beijing tried to stabilize ties amid disputes over Taiwan, a spy balloon caught over the United States, fentanyl and other disputes.

Fox News Digital reached out to Biden’s representatives for comment, but did not immediately hear back in time for publication. 

“We should be partners, not rivals,” Xi told Trump during opening remarks that followed the welcome ceremony in front of Great Hall of the People in Beijing. “We should help each other succeed and prosper together and find the right way for major countries to get along well with each other in the new era.”

CIA Director John Ratcliffe met with counterparts from Cuba’s Ministry of the Interior on Thursday during a high-level visit to the island nation amid “complex bilateral relations” between the long-time adversaries.

A CIA official told Fox News correspondent David Spunt that Ratcliffe met with Cuban officials including Raulito Rodriguez Castro, Minister of Interior Lazaro Alvarez Casas and the head of Cuban intelligence services in Havana to “personally deliver President Trump’s message that the United States is prepared to seriously engage on economic and security issues, but only if Cuba makes fundamental changes.”

During the meeting, the official said Ratcliffe and Cuban officials discussed intelligence cooperation, economic stability and security issues, all against the backdrop that Cuba can no longer be a safe haven for adversaries in the Western Hemisphere.

DEM REPRESENTATIVE ADMITS TO WORKING WITH MEXICO TO SNEAK OIL INTO CUBA, DESPITE BLOCKADE

Sources told Fox News Ratcliffe emphasized that the U.S. is extending a genuine opportunity for collaboration, and as evidenced by Venezuela, President Donald Trump must be taken seriously.

The Cuban government wrote in a statement that its delegation presented evidence attempting to “categorically demonstrate that the island poses no threat to U.S. national security,” arguing Cuba should not remain on the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism.

The dialogue presents Cuba with a rare chance to stabilize its failing economy and deliver for its people, but the window of opportunity will not stay open indefinitely, sources said. The Cuban government must decide whether to seize the moment or continue down an unsustainable path that only leads to deeper isolation and instability.

RUBIO SAYS CUBA NEEDS ‘NEW PEOPLE IN CHARGE’ AS BLACKOUTS, UNREST GRIP ISLAND

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel announced on social media Thursday the country may be willing to accept $100 million in humanitarian aid offered by the U.S.

“Our country’s experience in receiving international aid, including from the United States, is extensive and constructive,” Diaz-Canel wrote on X. “Any donor can testify to that reality. If there is truly a willingness on the part of the United States government to provide aid in the amounts it announces and in full conformity with the universally recognized practices for humanitarian assistance, it will encounter no obstacles or ingratitude from Cuba, however inconsistent and paradoxical the offer may seem to a people that the United States government itself punishes collectively in a systematic and ruthless manner.”

“The priorities are more than evident: fuels, food, and medicines,” he continued. “Incidentally, the damage could be alleviated in a much easier and more expeditious way by lifting or easing the blockade, as it is well known that the humanitarian situation is coldly calculated and induced…”

While the director emphasized Trump prefers dialogue, sources said the Cubans should have no illusions that the president will not enforce redlines.

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This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.