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A survivor of the 2009 Fort Hood massacre says she wishes the mass shooter could be killed one time for every life he took that day – but even she is questioning the military’s decision to livestream his death.

Nidal Hasan, 56, is scheduled to face execution by firing squad on Dec. 3, 2026, and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced earlier this month that it will be made available to stream to the public.

“Why would people want to see that?” Julia Wilson, a former Defense Department civilian employee who survived the shooting 17 years ago, told Fox News Digital.

Wilson wants the mass shooter executed, and, as a victim, she wants to attend his execution and look him in the eye.

Hasan, an Army psychiatrist at the time, walked into a soldier readiness center on Nov, 5, 2009, on the Texas Army post and opened fire, killing 13 people and wounding 32 others. Following a military court-martial verdict, Hasan was sentenced to death on Aug. 28, 2013.

FORT HOOD SURVIVOR SHOT IN HEAD VOWS TO WATCH TERRORIST FACE HISTORIC FIRING SQUAD

On Oct. 2, President Donald Trump approved the death sentence, and days later Hegseth announced it would be by a public firing squad.

“Personally, I do want to be there,” Wilson told Fox News Digital. “I do want to look him in the eye to let him know, ‘Look, I may have been your victim that day, but I’m not your victim anymore. I survived you. My child survived you, a lot of us survived you. You didn’t do as much damage as you thought you were going to.'”

“You did what you did,” Wilson continued of Hasan’s attack. “Too bad we can’t kill you 13 times over.”

But Wilson has reservations about the decision to broadcast Hasan’s execution to the public.

“I’m kind of shocked that they’re going to go so far as to televise it,” Wilson said. “I don’t really know how to feel about that.”

She fears broadcasting his death could pose a risk of exposing children to the kind of violence she has spent nearly 17 years trying to forget.

“Unfortunately, some children may end up seeing that, that don’t need to see something like that,” Wilson said. “Seeing my soldiers murdered that day, that was the first time I’ve ever seen anything like that. And I can never wash it out of my mind.”

“I don’t know why anybody would want to actually see something like that happen.”

Wilson’s concerns echo objections raised by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

“Hasan should face the death penalty, but making his execution public and streaming it? Beyond disgusting,” Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., posted to X on Thursday. “Public executions are what oppressive dictatorships like Iran and Afghanistan do. It should not be happening in America.”

TEXAS EXECUTES JAMAAL HOWARD DESPITE CONCERNS OVER LETHAL INJECTION DRUG USED IN FAILED TENNESSEE EXECUTION

Trump said Saturday that he will make the decision of whether or not to livestream Hasan’s execution, acknowledging that he knows “what the military would like to do” following Hegseth’s confirmation.

Vice President J.D. Vance also said Friday that he was not sure that the federal government will be livestreaming the execution, also adding that he would not personally view the livestream.

“As far as the execution, I have a lot of mixed feelings on it, to be quite honest,” Wilson said. “Yes, I’m glad that it’s moving forward. No, I…don’t ever want to see another human being die.”

“But in the same fold, an eye for an eye.”

Wilson was working at Fort Hood’s Soldier Readiness Processing Center when Hasan opened fire. At the time, she was nine months pregnant and had reached her due date. 

She recalled the moment when she first saw soldiers down and heard the gunfire after pulling into the parking lot upon returning to the center from a lunch break with her mom.

“Before I got the chance to shut off my engine and really get out of the vehicle, that’s when the gunfire started,” Wilson said. “I had several things go through my mind. You know, they say that you have fight, flight or freeze. I kind of had all three. “

She recounted the chaos during the shooting after going into the center building for the first time since taking cover in her car, which she says her supervisor advised her to do.

“Eventually he came back for me and I figured, ‘Okay, maybe… I’m a little bit out of the chaos.’ No, absolutely not,” Wilson said.

THREE DEATH ROW INMATES EXECUTED BY LETHAL INJECTION IN RARE SAME-DAY STRING ACROSS US

She continued, “I get into my building. Desks are tossed everywhere. It’s a total wreck. There’s blood on the wall, blood on the floor, people working on people. And I just kind of locked up.”

“A wounded soldier came in the door opposite of me and said, ‘He’s in the building, he’s shooting, get the f–– out of here. “

Wilson said that Hasan receiving the death penalty will still not bring full justice to the victims of the tragedy.

 She called out the federal government for classifying the shooting as “workplace violence,” urging the shooting to be reclassified as an act of domestic terrorism.

“We’ve been betrayed by the government for 17 years,” Wilson said. “They left this as workplace violence. They never declared it domestic terrorism because it was all about, ‘Hey, we need to be politically correct and watch out for his rights.’ Well, what about my rights? And what about me? And what about my family? And what about those that were murdered? And what about those that were injured?”

Wilson has written a letter to Trump calling for the reclassification of the shooting to be recognized as domestic terrorism.

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“It’s time for healing, Wilson said. “And that healing can not start until the situation is fully rectified, until there’s full justice.”

A Biden-appointed federal judge who previously drew a formal misconduct complaint from President Donald Trump’s Justice Department for alleged bias erupted at government lawyers again Monday, in a heated showdown over rapid tree removal at a historic golf course on national parkland.

Judge Ana Reyes unleashed her latest rebuke during an emergency hearing over hundreds of trees removed from East Potomac Golf Links in Hains Point, D.C. Trump wants to transform the historic public facility into a championship-caliber golf course like his courses in the U.S., Ireland and Scotland – the latest courtroom collision between the administration and its political opponents.

Journalist Scott MacFarlane, who live-tweeted from the hearing, described Reyes as “scream[ing]” at administration attorneys over the government’s late-Friday notification that tree removal would begin Saturday. A government lawyer acknowledged that approximately 430 trees had already been cut down, according to MacFarlane.

OBAMA-APPOINTED JUDGE TORCHES TRUMP ADMIN IN LATEST COURTROOM SHOWDOWN, REFERS ATTORNEY FOR BAR REVIEW

“You’ve lost credibility!” Reyes told government attorneys, according to MacFarlane’s live courtroom reporting.

The administration maintains that the removals implement a 2019 National Park Service landscape-restoration plan predating Trump’s redesign proposal for the links, which sit on an island connected to the city proper by the Jefferson Memorial and Francis Case Bridge at its western edge.

BIDEN-APPOINTED JUDGE ORDERS TRUMP TO RESTORE SLAVERY, CLIMATE CHANGE REFERENCES AT NATIONAL PARKS

Reyes, who was born in Uruguay and nominated by Biden in 2023, previously grilled a Trump administration attorney about his religious beliefs during litigation challenging Trump’s restrictions on transgender military service — an order she called “biologically inaccurate” according to the Washington Post.

The judge questioned how Jesus Christ would respond to “telling a group of people that they are so worthless, so worthless that we’re not going to allow them into homeless shelters?” according to then-DOJ Chief of Staff Chad Mizelle’s complaint.

EXCLUSIVE: TRUMP’S DC JUDICIAL NEMESIS TARGETED IN MISCONDUCT COMPLAINT OVER ALLEGED BIDEN DOJ TIES

In a 2025 case, Reyes ruled that Trump violated federal notice requirements when he fired several inspectors general but then declined to reinstate them, according to Reuters.

Monday’s hearing brought another heated exchange, this time over when government lawyers learned of the tree-removal operation and why they waited until the end of the workweek to notify the court.

“At 4:55pm on a Friday of a holiday weekend, the plaintiffs and I get [little] notice that hundreds of trees are going to be chopped down,” Reyes reportedly fumed at the government, according to MacFarlane.

EXCAVATION SET TO BEGIN ON TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S 250-FOOT TRIUMPHAL ARCH AMID LEGAL BATTLE

When government counsel reportedly acknowledged learning of the operation on Oct. 8 or 9 and said officials were awaiting details, Reyes demanded:

“Do you have email or a cell phone?”

MacFarlane tweeted that he had never heard a judge “scream at full-voice at a lawyer before,” while the UK Independent reported Reyes excoriated federal counsel for about 15 minutes.

The uproar comes as preservationists and progressive interests challenge the administration, including former Obama ethics lawyer Norm Eisen — who has engineered a “broad legal resistance” to the president through his group Democracy Defenders Fund, according to its mission statement.

Eisen tweeted a victory lap Monday after the court agreed to hear the case in an “emergency’ setting.

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Preservationists argued the administration has not satisfied applicable environmental and historic-preservation requirements.

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The administration disputed that argument, maintaining that the tree removal is authorized NPS landscape management separate from Trump’s proposed links renovation.

Sen. Darline Graham, R-S.C., and Democratic challenger Annie Andrews clashed on Sunday night during the South Carolina U.S. Senate debate, which also included Libertarian candidate Kasie Whitener.

Graham said she is “concerned about the socialist Democrats,” asserting that after Hamas terrorists slaughtered Israelis on Oct. 7, 2023, Democrats in New York cheered “over the death of over a thousand people.”

“Annie Andrews will not stand up to the socialist Democratic Party. She’s only going to join them,” Graham declared.

DARLINE GRAHAM’S ‘EMBARRASSING AND INEXCUSABLE’ NATIONAL SECURITY STUMBLE SPOTLIGHTS BREAK FROM LATE BROTHER

Andrews fired back, claiming that she is willing to stand up to her party.

“I told you my opponent was going to call me a socialist and there she’s done it again. She’s been told to come out here and call me Bernie, Ocasio, Mamdani. That’s what’s in her script,” Andrews said, referring to Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

“But the truth is my name is Annie Andrews. And there shouldn’t be any confusion about that because unlike my opponent, I haven’t changed my name recently,” she said.

DEMOCRATS ARE CHANGING THEIR TRANSGENDER MESSAGE. REPUBLICANS SAY THEY’RE JUST FLIP-FLOPPING

“The real difference between me and Sen. Graham is that I will stand up to my own party and I will always put South Carolina first. She seems to believe the job she has right now is to be the White House’s ambassador to South Carolina. The job is to represent South Carolina. She considers the job to be to read their scripts and do their bidding. And we can do better,” Andrews asserted.

Graham fired back, saying that her “legal name is Graham” and “has always been Graham.” She explained, “I lost my parents when I was a little girl, and I kept the name Graham so that I felt connected to them. So my name, every document I have ever signed, has Graham on it.”

After the death of Sen. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster tapped the late lawmaker’s sister Darline to serve the remainder of her brother’s Senate term.

DEM SCRAMBLES TO CHANGE TUNE ON TRANS ATHLETES AS TRUMP TARGETS PAST RECORD: ‘ANNIE TRANNIE’

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President Donald Trump is backing Sen. Darline Graham for election to a full six-year Senate term.

With just over three weeks to go until Election Day, more and more red states and congressional districts appear in reach for the Democrats, as they work to win back House and Senate majorities from the Republicans in the midterms. But a massive Republican spending advantage threatens to complicate those ambitions.

Republican campaigns, committees and aligned groups have outspent their Democratic counterparts by $400 million so far this election cycle, according to AdImpact, a leading political advertising tracking firm.

The disparity is forcing Democrats to make difficult decisions about where to invest and how much to spend as the party tries to expand the electoral map.

“We are being outspent by the Republicans. That’s just a fact,” Lauren French, communications director at the Senate Majority PAC, told Fox News Digital. “In many of these states, they have really transactionalized elections, so they have monopoly money to play with, whereas we are working with real resources.”

DEMOCRATS THINK A BLUE WAVE IS FORMER – HERE ARE THREE FACTORS THAT COULD STOP IT

The latest Fox News Power Rankings shifted GOP-dominated South Carolina from Solid to Likely Republican. The Senate showdown in reliably Republican Kansas is Lean Republican, while the races in red-leaning Alaska, Iowa, Ohio and Texas are rated toss-ups.

“Senate Majority PAC has resources to compete, and we are very happy that we’re able to be in 9 battleground states,” French said.

The super PAC is the leading outside group supporting Democratic Senate candidates and incumbents and is aligned with longtime Democratic leader Sen. Chuck Schumer.

French highlighted record-setting fundraising over the past three months, but added, “of course, more recess resources would be helpful.”

With the latest polls from Fox News and other organizations showing Democrats increasingly competitive across the Senate map, the party is pleading for more money.

“Last month a pro-Trump PAC reserved $10 million in New Hampshire advertising, and we’re being outspent 3-to-1,” reads a fundraising pitch to supporters by Rep. Chris Pappas, the Democratic Senate nominee in swing state New Hampshire.

WHO’S UP AND WHO’S DOWN IN THE LATEST FOX NEWS MIDTERM POWER RANKINGS

Senate Majority PAC is rushing some of its record fundraising into the newly competitive battlegrounds. And American Bridge PAC, a Democrat-aligned group, recently pumped over $20 million into South Carolina and Kansas, as well as competitive races in two other red states, Florida and Mississippi.

But the Democratic groups are being outspent by their Republican-aligned counterparts, thanks to major expenditures by Senate Leadership Fund, the President Donald Trump-allied MAGA Inc. and a super PAC bankrolled by Elon Musk.

“The hard reality is there isn’t enough funding to protect the toss-up states and also heavily invest in the red-leaning states where we’re playing offense,” a veteran Democratic Senate operative who requested anonymity to speak candidly told Fox News Digital.”

French told Fox News Digital “This is the time in the campaign season where everyone really has to make some of those belt-tightening decisions, and that’s why we’re looking at every race really closely to make sure we have enough resources to get to the majority, but we’re also not leaving anyone shortchanged.”

House Democrats are facing a similar predicament.

A memo from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) shared with donors warned that Republicans “are now flooding districts across our battlefield with MAGA Inc. and Trump super PAC money that we simply cannot match.”

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The memo, which was obtained by Fox News Digital, requested an additional $17 million that was needed by Oct. 22 “to close the sale” in what they described as “winnable races.”

The GOP is fighting political history, which has traditionally seen the party in power in Washington lose congressional seats during midterm election years. Add to that a challenging political climate fueled by persistent inflation Americans see at the grocery store, high gas prices tied to what polls show is an unpopular war with Iran and Trump’s negative approval ratings.

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But the Republicans’ financial advantage has allowed GOP campaigns and allied groups to spend more on political advertising nationally.

“Thanks to the tireless efforts of Leader John Thune, Senate Leadership Fund has amassed a financial advantage that neither party has had before. SLF will continue to invest unprecedented resources across the map to maintain the Republican Senate majority,” Senate Leadership Fund communications director Chris Gustafson told Fox News Digital.

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Veteran GOP strategist Jesse Hunt told Fox News Digital that “Republican outside groups will have played a decisive role in positive Republican performance if they have a good election night despite what is strong headwinds working against them.”

“This is not an advantage Republicans typically have and it’s definitely a contributing factor to a lot of candidates on the ballot right now keeping their races close,” Hunt emphasized.

EXCLUSIVE: The home of Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn, was raided early Monday morning by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), a source familiar with the matter told Fox News Digital.

The raid stems from a criminal fraud investigation into the Somali-born congresswoman’s immigration paperwork, which was filled out by her late father when she was a child. 

Two sources close to the investigation confirmed the details of the probe Thursday, after border czar Tom Homan said in mid-September that the progressive congresswoman was subject to an ongoing “criminal” investigation.

“Today in the Washington, D.C., area, Homeland Security Investigations executed a judicially authorized search warrant secured by the Department of Justice. This enforcement action is part of an ongoing federal investigation,” a DOJ spokesperson told Fox News Digital.

Multiple agents with HSI jackets were seen outside Omar’s Washington, D.C. home in the early hours of Monday. 

HSI is the principal investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Its scope includes investigating cross-border crime and global threats, including human trafficking and child sexual exploitation, drug smuggling and cybercrime. HSI plays a major front-line role in America’s counterterrorism operations. 

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This story is developing. 

A wealthy Southern enclave once known as a playground for retirees and snowbirds is transforming into a growing technology and financial hub, drawing comparisons to Silicon Valley as businesses, Wall Street executives and entrepreneurs move in.

Palm Beach County, Florida, is attracting new attention as wealthy Americans seek alternatives to high-tax states like New York and California.

“Palm Beach has changed from a place where people come to retire to a place that people come to build,” luxury real estate expert Margit Brandt told Fox News Digital. “There’s been countless CEOs and major heads of companies that have moved their businesses to Palm Beach,” she said, pointing to Florida’s favorable tax climate and lifestyle as major draws.

THE RED STATES RACING AHEAD IN AMERICA’S POWERFUL WEALTH BOOM — AND THE STATES FALLING BEHIND

The region is also home to President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, often dubbed the “Southern White House,” placing the emerging business hub in the backyard of one of the country’s most recognizable political landmarks.

The shift comes amid changing migration patterns across the country, with Internal Revenue Service data for 2022–2023 showing taxpayer losses across numerous California and Northeastern counties, while much of the Southeast recorded gains.

FLOURISH MAP HERE: 30514392

Brandt believes Palm Beach County could become a major technology hub, citing its room for expansion as an advantage over more densely developed destinations.

“We have tons of room to grow,” she said, pointing to areas like Wellington and western Palm Beach County where new schools, hospitals and infrastructure could accommodate additional businesses and families.

The region is also attracting technology investment alongside its established financial services industry.

In September 2025, California-based software company ServiceNow announced plans to establish a regional innovation hub and artificial intelligence institute in West Palm Beach.

AMERICANS KEEP MOVING TO TEXAS AND FLORIDA — BUT ONE OTHER RED STATE IS GROWING EVEN FASTER

The expansion is projected to generate $1.8 billion in economic impact and create more than 850 jobs over five years, according to the company. ServiceNow also committed to occupying up to 200,000 square feet of office space at 10 CityPlace, a development by billionaire real estate investor Stephen Ross’s Related Ross.

“The tech has particularly been exciting for Palm Beach County,” Brandt said.

Meanwhile, Palm Beach County’s population reached an estimated 1.58 million residents in July 2025, an increase of 5.6% since April 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Brandt said new office developments in West Palm Beach and Palm Beach Gardens have made it easier for companies to establish a presence in the region.

“Florida has just been a really easy landing place,” she said.

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Beyond business opportunities, Brandt pointed to year-round outdoor activities, warm weather and family life as major attractions for newcomers.

For Brandt, the region’s evolution is far from complete.

“Palm Beach County, I think we’re like in beginning stages of what’s possible here,” she said.

LOS ANGELES — Surrounded by sprawling homeless encampments, drug use and trash-strewn sidewalks in the heart of Los Angeles’ Skid Row, Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton blasted California’s homelessness crisis as a “political scandal,” accusing Democratic leaders of spending billions in taxpayer dollars while allowing the streets to deteriorate.

“‘The homelessness crisis,’ as if it’s some kind of natural disaster that can’t be helped,” Hilton told Fox News Digital, referring to how politicians and others describe the conditions as he surveyed the sprawling encampments.

“No, it is not a crisis. It’s actually a scandal. It’s a political scandal because the people in charge, they’ve caused this with their policies.”

Skid Row, the epicenter of California’s homelessness crisis, is facing renewed scrutiny after a sweeping federal drug raid Thursday. The crackdown came as voting gets underway in the Nov. 3 governor’s race, with Hilton challenging Democrat Xavier Becerra in a contest where homelessness and billions in taxpayer spending have emerged, yet again, as key campaign issues.

HOUSING FIRST IS A DISASTER. I SAW SACRAMENTO’S HOMELESS CHAOS FIRSTHAND

‘A real crony game’

Fox News Digital observed sprawling homeless encampments, Narcan distribution points, human feces on sidewalks and piles of ash from what people in the neighborhood said were fires lit earlier that morning to keep warm.

Hilton accused years of Democratic leadership of failing to solve California’s homelessness problem despite billions in taxpayer spending, while taking aim at government-funded nonprofits and developers he claims have financially benefited from the crisis.

“The real estate developers, and it’s a real crony game now, which I’ve been told about many times,” he continued. “We’ve got a small number of real estate developers who are in on this, and they get all the contracts to build these apartment units for people that don’t help them at all, because the other part of it isn’t being done in terms of drug addiction or whatever.”

TAXPAYER-FUNDED ‘METH MANSION’ UNDER FIRE AS CRIME CONCERNS MOUNT AROUND HOMELESS CAMPUS

“The point about these non-profits is that they’re part of this philosophy, the ideology of harm reduction, all the things we’ve talked about, which means that they are not actually trying to solve the problem,” Hilton said. “Because if they solve the problem, they don’t get paid anymore. So they have an incentive to keep it going.”

In September, federal prosecutors charged the founder of a Los Angeles-area homelessness nonprofit with wire fraud, alleging he misused taxpayer funds, including nearly $50,000 for a trip to Tahiti, after receiving more than $118 million in public funding through government contracts.

Federal and local authorities, including the FBI, DEA and LAPD, arrested 23 of 28 defendants charged in a sweeping drug trafficking investigation Thursday, targeting alleged gang-affiliated dealers and independent operators accused of selling fentanyl, methamphetamine and other drugs in and around Skid Row.

Hilton argued that addressing homelessness begins with enforcing existing laws and removing encampments from California’s streets.

KAREN BASS GRILLED OVER BROKEN HOMELESSNESS PROMISE, BLAMES BUREAUCRACY FOR SLOWED PROGRESS

“My plan is very simple. How we get clean streets in California. Number one, enforce the law, get people off the streets,” he said.

“Letting people live like this, and not just the people who live like this, but all the people who aren’t living like this who have to experience this every single day. The collapse of civilized life in their city,” Hilton said. “It’s the opposite, it’s cruel.”

‘I like being on drugs’

As Hilton walked through Skid Row with Fox News Digital, one woman living on the streets offered a candid admission about her drug use.

LA REAL ESTATE VET COMES AT MAYOR BASS WITH RECEIPTS OVER DAMNING HOMELESSNESS REPORT: ‘SHE DOESN’T GET IT’

“I like being on drugs, but if I have to quit, then I most definitely will,” she told Hilton when he asked whether she wanted to stop using drugs.

The woman, who said she had been living on Skid Row for five years, described moving to Los Angeles from Syracuse, New York, in part because she had heard about California’s methadone clinics. She also said a former boyfriend had planned to find housing.

“I heard about the methadone clinics,” she explained, saying she wanted access to methadone treatment.

Despite her admission about drug use, the woman said she was considering entering a treatment program in Tarzana, where she had heard patients could stay for a year or longer and receive methadone twice a day.

STEVE HILTON LAUNCHES AD MOCKING XAVIER BECERRA’S ’36 YEARS’ AS A CAREER POLITICIAN IN CALIFORNIA GOV RACE

Venus, a Skid Row volunteer who helps distribute food, blasted Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass over the handling of homelessness, even as Bass joined local law enforcement officials Thursday to announce the results of a sweeping drug crackdown in the neighborhood.

“We all loved her from the beginning, but she lied about the homeless,” Venus said, pointing to the conditions surrounding her on Skid Row. “What is going on, Mayor Bass? We voted for you.”

Venus later added, “She didn’t do her job,” and said Bass’ pledge was “getting rid of the homeless. She never did nothing. Nothing, nothing at all. Shame on her.”

Hilton also took aim at his Democratic opponent, Becerra, accusing the longtime politician of taking California voters for granted while failing to offer solutions to the state’s mounting problems.

“If you can’t be bothered to earn people’s vote, then you don’t deserve people’s votes. He’s not campaigning. He’s backing out of every single debate. I mean, I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s complete contempt for the voters and for California,” said Hilton.

Hilton, a former Fox News host, argued that Californians are growing fed up with years of Democratic leadership, pointing to homelessness, high taxes and the soaring cost of living as reasons voters may be ready for a change.

“I know everyone says, well, it’s California, Republican can’t win. I don’t know. I think people are sick of all this,” Hilton said. “And they’re sick of Becerra just taking them for granted, and I think we can win this election.”

‘I’m a patriotic American communist’

On Skid Row, Fox News Digital encountered criticism of Democratic leadership from an unlikely political perspective: a man who described himself as a “patriotic American communist.”

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION YANKS FUNDING FROM LA HOMELESS AGENCY AMID EXPLOSIVE FRAUD PROBE: ‘NECESSARY STEP’

The man, who identified himself as Adrian, said he had moved from Orange County and ended up on Skid Row following a medical incident.

“I’m a patriotic American communist, part of the American Communist Party,” Adrian said.

Adrian said he belonged to the American Communist Party, distancing himself from the mainstream Democratic Party.

Asked whether California’s leaders were doing enough to address homelessness, Adrian was blunt.

“Oh, definitely not. I have to be honest, I’m a leftist, and so the Democratic Party isn’t for me. I’m more left than they are,” he said.

Adrian said he had been living on Skid Row for about a year after being evicted from a medical facility, and now volunteers at the Skid Row Care Campus, which he credited with providing therapy, medical services and community activities.

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“It gives them better things to do than just do drugs all day,” he said.

Fox News Digital reached out to Becerra’s campaign and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass’ office for comment.

Republicans are gaining ground in blue-leaning Oregon, where Fox News Power Rankings have shifted the governor’s race toward the GOP as Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek faces a competitive rematch with Republican Christine Drazan.

The shift from Likely Democrat to Lean Democrat reflects a competitive political environment in Oregon, where concerns over homelessness, housing, taxes, schools and the cost of living have created an opening for Republicans to end a more than four-decade losing streak in gubernatorial elections.

Republicans are gaining ground in Oregon even as they face a rough national political environment marked by high gas and diesel prices, what polls show is an unpopular war in Iran and President Donald Trump’s low approval ratings

“This is something historic we’re trying to pull off,” Drazan said in a Fox News Digital interview. “It’s been a long time and we’re due we win.”

CHECK OUT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS IN THE MIDTERM ELECTIONS

Then-Vice President Kamala Harris carried Oregon by 14 points in the 2024 presidential election, and Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden won his 2022 re-election by 15 points.

But gubernatorial showdowns in the northwestern state have traditionally been much closer contests.

Drazan, a former GOP leader in the Oregon House, lost to Kotek by less than four points in 2022.

After her defeat, she won a state House election in 2024 and returned to the legislature, serving again as minority leader before being appointed last year to the state Senate.

“It’s good to stay in the fight. I think Oregonians… recognized that I didn’t leave, I didn’t move to a different state, I didn’t go hide. I got engaged again, went back into the legislature to serve my community,” Drazan emphasized. “I think that that matters to people, that I am committed long-term to our state.”

The latest public opinion polls indicate a margin of error race in the Kotek-Drazan rematch.

“People are starting to get to know me a little bit more and my leadership, and they’re taking a closer look at whether or not Oregon is uniquely bad right now. It’s not a national issue, it’s here at home,” Drazan said. “We’re struggling right now locally. So, that’s making this race tight.”

While Drazan is trying to keep her focus on Oregon and local issues, the Kotek campaign is aiming to anchor the GOP challenger to Trump, who is very unpopular in the state.

DEMOCRATS THINK A BLUE WAVE IS FORMER – HERE ARE THREE FACTORS THAT COULD STOP IT

Kotek Communications Director Federico Araujo told Fox News Digital, “There are still many undecided voters ahead of November. But when the choice is clear in an election, they always show up. And the choice couldn’t be any clearer in this race: Christine Drazan is ready to open the door to Trump’s agenda and Governor Kotek is fighting every day to protect Oregonians from federal overreach and harm.”

But Drazan said that “Oregon needs change. Oregon needs to be done with one approach to the world. Single-party control has not been good for us in my home state. And we need that balance.”

“We need people to be at the table that have been ignored in the past to be able to turn our economy around, frankly, and turn our schools around and serve the people that are facing addiction and slowly dying on our streets. Those are significant challenges, and Tina Kotek doesn’t have the answers to solve them,” she charged.

Four years ago, Drazan received plenty of support from national Republicans as her party benefited from a more favorable political environment.

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This time around national Republicans are facing stiff headwinds as they work to hang on to their fragile congressional majorities and governors offices across the country. But the Drazan campaign says it’s now landing financial support from the Republican Governors Association.

“I am grateful to have the Republican Governors Association as a partner in this race. They are investing in this race now,” Drazan said.

But she noted “the sitting governor has a fundraising advantage that’s significant today,” and added “I could always use more support.”

Democratic Governors Association Spokesperson Johanna Warshaw spotlighted the competitive nature of Oregon gubernatorial showdowns, but told Fox News Digital, “Governor Kotek has the advantage and we’re confident she’ll win.

“Clearly, the RGA agrees as they’re leaving Christine Drazan’s broke campaign out to dry,” Warshaw claimed.

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Drazan highlighted that she’s “actively fundraising all the time and encouraging folks to get involved in this race right now. We have no limits in Oregon, and that allows me to be able to compete head to head.”

And pointing to her campaign, she said, “I want to achieve something extraordinary.”

U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle may soon be fired amid reports she sought a six-figure credit card bailout from a Trump donor while offering access to administration officials, adding to mounting allegations over her conduct in Athens.

President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are “extremely pissed off” by Guilfoyle’s reported conduct and are weighing her removal, The Associated Press reported Sunday, citing a senior U.S. official.

The official told the AP that a decision on what action to take would likely come this week after Monday’s Columbus Day holiday. No departure has been confirmed.

Guilfoyle, onetime fiancée of Donald Trump Jr., came under scrutiny this week after The Wall Street Journal reported that she asked Trump donor Eric Deters to pay off a $100,000 American Express bill shortly before her Senate confirmation hearing.

MARCO RUBIO ANNOUNCES SWEEPING FINANCIAL SANCTIONS AGAINST THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT

According to messages reviewed by the Journal, Guilfoyle urged Deters to wire the money directly to American Express, saying the transaction would not leave a paper trail, while offering to help him gain access to senior Trump administration officials. Deters said he never made the payment.

Guilfoyle’s attorney, Jesse Binnall, disputed the authenticity of the messages.

The allegations followed an earlier Journal investigation into Guilfoyle’s conduct in Greece, including claims that she promoted the interests of Greek construction and energy company Aktor Group and allowed its registered lobbyist, Christos Marafatsos, to accompany her to private diplomatic meetings with senior officials.

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The Journal also reported that Guilfoyle suggested at a dinner with Greek officials that the U.S. would undermine their government, citing political developments in Romania. Greece’s foreign minister has since said there was no need to summon Guilfoyle for an explanation because the country’s energy minister denied that any threat had been made.

Separately, the State Department‘s Office of Inspector General opened an investigation into allegations involving Guilfoyle’s treatment of embassy employees, private travel, acceptance of gifts and relationships with business interests, according to a report from the Daily Mail.

3 SECRET SERVICE OFFICIALS UNDER INTERNAL INVESTIGATION FOR POTENTIAL MISCONDUCT

Sources described a hostile workplace in which Guilfoyle allegedly threatened to fire employees. They also claim that she demoted members of her security detail over minor incidents, including an officer who reportedly failed to answer a 4 a.m. request for ice while she was vacationing in Mykonos.

The inspector general’s office declined to confirm or deny the existence of an investigation. Binnall told the Daily Mail that “any implication of wrongdoing by the Ambassador is unsupported.”

The allegations have drawn scrutiny from congressional Democrats, including Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., and Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., who have called for a review of Guilfoyle’s conduct. Meeks urged her removal if the allegations were substantiated.

Vice President JD Vance addressed the controversy Friday, cautioning against rushing to judgment while acknowledging that misconduct should carry consequences.

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“Let’s actually see what the facts are. Let’s see what the truth is,” Vance told reporters in Ohio. “And obviously, if there was something bad that happened, then people have to suffer consequences for it.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who visited Greece this week and delivered remarks with the backdrop of Acropolis, declined to address the allegations directly.

SEC MARCO RUBIO: THE WEST FORGOT WHAT MADE IT GREAT. WE MUST REDISCOVER OUR ROOTS BEFORE WE LOSE THEM

“You guys walk around thinking that because some source told you something and you reported it, it’s the gospel. It’s not the gospel,” Rubio told reporters Thursday.

Rubio had defended Guilfoyle’s performance a day earlier, saying, “Our ambassador has been a strong ambassador here.”

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Trump nominated Guilfoyle to the diplomatic post in December 2024. A former California prosecutor and Fox News Channel personality, she previously served as a prominent surrogate and fundraiser for the president.

DONALD TRUMP JR AND BETTINA ANDERSON CELEBRATE PRIVATE WEDDING IN BAHAMAS, SHARE SWEET PERSONAL PHOTO

Guilfoyle was almost Trump’s daughter-in-law. She was engaged to Don Jr. for four years, but the two publicly split in Dec. 2024 — the same month the president nominated her to be the ambassador to Greece.

The president’s eldest son married Palm Beach socialite Bettina Anderson in May of this year.

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She was also previously married to California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, from 2001 to 2006, when he was serving as mayor of San Francisco.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is coordinating with federal agencies to monitor travelers entering the United States from Siberia amid concerns about a possible pneumonic plague outbreak in Russia, the agency’s director revealed Wednesday.

CDC Director Dr. Erica Schwartz said the Trump administration is working across multiple agencies to identify travelers arriving from the region following the mysterious death of a Russian laboratory worker, while emphasizing that the risk to Americans remains minimal.

“We are very confident that the threat to the United States is extremely low,” Schwartz said during a Wall Street Journal health forum Wednesday.

MOTHER OF DEAD RUSSIAN ANTI-PLAGUE INSTITUTE WORKER: ‘I KNOW THE TRUTH’

The concerns stem from the Oct. 2 death of Darya Shipilova, a 28-year-old employee of the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute in Siberia, whose death has fueled speculation about a possible pneumonic plague infection.

Russian authorities have maintained that Shipilova died from pneumonia of unknown origin and have not confirmed that she was infected with Yersinia pestis, the bacteria that causes pneumonic plague.

Schwartz said the CDC is working with the departments of Homeland Security, State and War, among other federal agencies, to track potential arrivals from the region.

“There are about 200 flights that come into the United States from Siberia, that region,” Schwartz said, adding that those flights typically arrive at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport.

“We have a port health station set up in JFK so that we can do appropriate surveillance and screening if anyone from that area comes into the United States,” she continued.

The CDC director stressed that while pneumonic plague is a serious bacterial infection capable of spreading between people through respiratory droplets, early detection and treatment can prevent deaths.

TRUMP RESPONDS TO CONCERNS OVER SUSPECTED PLAGUE CASE IN RUSSIA, SAYING US ‘WILLING TO HELP’

“The one good thing, if I could say there’s a good thing, is that it’s a treatable, highly treatable bacterial disease with common antibiotics that most physicians within the United States can utilize,” Schwartz said.

The illness is caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis and is considered the most serious form of plague, according to the CDC. Symptoms can include fever, chest pain, coughing and rapidly developing pneumonia. Without prompt antibiotic treatment, the infection can be fatal, the agency warns.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has pressed Moscow for additional information about Shipilova’s death.

Russian authorities placed approximately 200 people who had contact with the deceased laboratory worker under quarantine, according to Euronews. On Thursday, Irkutsk Gov. Igor Kobzev said preventive measures had been completed and roughly 5,000 laboratory tests had detected no pathogens, according to the Associated Press.

RUSSIAN RESEARCHER’S MYSTERY DEATH COULD BE ‘FAR WORSE’ THAN THE PLAGUE, FORMER SENIOR TRUMP OFFICIAL WARNS

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However, Russian officials have not publicly identified the pathogen responsible for Shipilova’s pneumonia or definitively ruled out pneumonic plague as the cause of her death, according to The Associated Press.

Asked whether Moscow was being sufficiently transparent with American authorities, Schwartz indicated that the administration was still seeking answers.

“We are still having those conversations about what exactly happened in Siberia,” she said, adding that U.S. officials were working with information about an unconfirmed case of pneumonic plague.

The FlyDubai attempted hijacking shows the U.S. and its allies are still using outdated counterterrorism assumptions against increasingly sophisticated enemies, a U.S. rescue expert and 9/11 first responder warns.

“They’re good at chess,” Bryan Stern, chairman and CEO of Grey Bull Rescue, told Fox News Digital on Monday, saying the radical ideology behind the FlyDubai attack is a ringing “bell” for global aviation security and Western counterterrorism strategy.

“And we’re, if we’re lucky, playing checkers – if we’re lucky – and I would argue we’re not even playing checkers that well.”

TERROR CELLS INSIDE FOREIGN AIRLINES ‘CERTAINLY A POSSIBILITY,’ RETIRED PILOT WARNS

Stern, whose global nonprofit conducts evacuations from war zones and hostage situations, said the thwarted FlyDubai attack by “an angry, radicalized, Sunni bad guy” is showing just how far behind our enemies we are in this post-9/11 world.

“They understand us significantly more than we understand them,” Stern, who has been “hunting the bad guys” for 30 years, said. Stern said the U.S. has to understand the “asymmetric warfare” as well as the increasingly sophisticated enemy does.

“The reason why a football coach watches game tapes is not to watch his own team play, it’s to watch the bad guys play,” he said. “We gotta start watching some game tapes.”

AMERICA BUILT A FORTRESS AFTER 9/11. THEN THE THREAT STARTED HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT

Stern is intimately in tune with the playbook on the ground in war zones, including the Middle East and Iran.

“We conduct these operations in these places still to this very day,” he said. “We’re actually on the ground, meaning I know people in Hezbollah, I know people in the Taliban. I know people in ISIS. I know people in ISIS-K. I’ve met with radical jihadi weirdos and whack jobs personally.”

United Arab Emirates investigators have described the incident aboard FlyDubai flight FZ1073 as an attempted terror attack after the co-pilot allegedly stabbed the captain and tried to hijack the plane, which was carrying more than 170 passengers and crew, most of them Israelis. Australian authorities have also said a counterterrorism unit is investigating the co-pilot’s links to Australia.

INTEL CHIEF WARNS OF ‘EVOLVING’ THREATS AS TERROR GROUPS NOW ‘RECRUIT THEIR AGENTS ONLINE’

“The bad guys are completely not afraid. They’re completely emboldened. They have got the whole world to hate Israel, the whole world to hate us,” he said. “It’s a tough problem.”

Since the incident, there has been renewed vigilance in aviation and foreign airline security. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed his national security council to review security procedures for foreign civil aviation to Israel, while Vice President JD Vance said Monday that flight security procedures are also under review in the U.S.

IRAN COULD MOVE SHADOW WAR IN A DANGEROUS DIRECTION, EXPERTS WARN ON BACK OF TWO POSSIBLE TERROR ATTACKS

“I was asked years ago when I was still with the government,” Stern said. “A team was put together and the question before the court was, if you were al-Qaeda, what would you do?”

“What I came up with was … I would get 19 hijackers, and I would hijack four airplanes, and I would fly them into buildings in America, and then issue a communique that said: 20 years of war, you are no safer today than you were before – that for TSA, and Homeland Security, and Iraq, and Afghanistan and all the different things, you are actually no safer, America, today than you were before,” he said.

“We’re seeing, sadly,” he lamented, “that academic hypothetical situation has now become a reality, or certainly a possibility.”

Despite President Donald Trump and the War Department’s best efforts to rid the world of terrorist groups – and Iran of nuclear weapons aspirations – “you can’t bomb your way into peace,” Stern claimed.

‘CRAZY’ FLYDUBAI LANDING EXPLAINED BY ISRAELI PILOT, WHO OFFERS STEPS TO PREVENT FUTURE CRISES

“They have been in holy war against us,” he added. “We have now engaged in a holy war against them.”

“On Ramadan, the holiest month of the year in Islam, on the first day, which is the holiest day, we detonated the leader of the Shia faith, the Ayatollah,” he said, likening it to “if somebody assassinated the pope on Easter Sunday while he’s giving mass at the Vatican.”

Stern explained that rooting out ideological terror in the U.S. is more complex than ever, because even if the border is not open any longer under Trump, the terrorist networks might be infiltrating America with U.S. passport holders – making them tough to investigate, if not impossible to spot before an attack.

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Stern likened it to the release of the suspects in the RAF Fairford investigation – potential terrorist passport holders walking free.

“Until I actually squeeze the triggers, I haven’t committed a crime yet,” he said. “Now give me an airplane.”

“That’s the problem.”

Stern noted that the nature of America’s adversaries in the current conflict is unlike what the U.S. faced in places like Afghanistan.

“We need to remember we are very used to shooting people like the Taliban who don’t know what plumbing is – who literally for years lived in caves until we showed up and gave them stuff,” he continued. “The bad guys that we’re talking about today are extremely sophisticated. They are extremely resourced, extremely resourceful. They’re very intelligent, they’re very smart, and they’re very good at what they do.”

IRAN UNDER SCRUTINY AFTER PLOT FOILED NEAR UK BASE USED BY US MILITARY

“The Persian Empire is the only empire of empires who have been all the way on top and all the way defeated at the bottom – six times,” he said. “They’re looking at us going, you’re 250 years old. How adorable. You’re cute, America.”

Stern predicted that some day even 9/11 — which he survived as a first responder — is ultimately going to be dwarfed.

“What will happen, probably is we’ll get attacked – just like 9/11, we’ll get attacked,” he said. “We’ll say, ‘Oh my God, how did this happen?’ People will wake up.”

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“I promise you there will come a time, it will be, you know, June 26 or whatever, where we’re gonna read about 9/11, and we’re gonna say, ‘Wow, that wasn’t so bad, only 3,000 died,'” he warned.

“Why? Because we have created a holy war. We have now gotten into the crazy. And you cannot unring that bell.”

Minnesota’s Republican Party chairman is accusing protesters of racial intimidation after demonstrators disrupted a GOP dinner and displayed a sign invoking the Ku Klux Klan while the state’s first Black female House speaker addressed the crowd.

Minnesota GOP Chair Alex Plechash blasted the demonstrators in a statement after Friday night’s Lincoln Reagan Dinner in Eagan, where protesters held a sign reading “RepubliKKKan Party” during remarks by House Speaker and Republican gubernatorial candidate Lisa Demuth.

“Last night, radical protesters stormed the stage at our Lincoln Reagan Dinner and held up a KKK symbol while Speaker Lisa Demuth spoke,” Plechash said in a statement posted to X by the Republican Party of Minnesota.

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“Let’s be clear about what happened. Left leaning protesters aimed a symbol of racial terror at a Black woman leader, at a dinner named for the president who ended slavery,” he continued.

Sunrise Movement Twin Cities, a progressive activist organization, claimed responsibility for the disruption and said the demonstration was intended to protest Republican policies it believes harm immigrants and marginalized communities, according to local news station KTSP.

“We disrupted this fundraiser because we refuse to give a moment’s peace to the people bankrolling racial violence,” the group said in a statement cited by the outlet.

The organization also said it was not affiliated with Minnesota’s Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL).

Video of the incident shows demonstrators moving toward the front of the room holding signs, including one with the letters “KKK” highlighted in red, according to outlet.

One protester could be heard shouting, “You love Trump and you will not stand up for Minnesotans,” as Demuth stood on stage holding a microphone.

As security escorted the demonstrators away, attendees began chanting, “Lisa,” followed by chants of, “USA.”

Plechash told the outlet that protesters gained access to the dinner by purchasing tickets and passing through security checkpoints.

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The chairman said the event experienced two disruptions, the first during remarks by Republican U.S. Senate candidate Michele Tafoya and the second while Demuth was speaking.

Plechash said roughly three or four protesters pushed toward the front of the room carrying banners during Demuth’s remarks. He estimated the disruption lasted about 30 seconds and said he did not believe the demonstrators posed a physical threat.

Plechash said in his X post that Eagan police issued trespass orders and that potential charges remained under investigation.

The GOP chairman also called out Minnesota Democrats, specifically naming the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan.

“Intimidation, criminal behavior, and racist rhetoric have no place in Minnesota politics,” Plechash wrote.

“Republicans debate ideas, and we’d welcome the DFL to show up and do the same,” he added. “Every hour they stay silent says something. Their silence is deafening.”

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Demuth, who won Minnesota’s Republican gubernatorial primary in August, will face off against Klobuchar, the Democratic nominee, in November’s election to succeed Gov. Tim Walz.

President Donald Trump announced an immediate energy ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, saying both countries have agreed to halt attacks on each other’s energy infrastructure after weeks of escalating tensions over strikes on oil refineries and power plants.

“Effective immediately, there is an ENERGY CEASEFIRE in the War between Russia and Ukraine. Both parties have agreed. Do not break it!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

The announcement comes as Trump has intensified pressure on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to stop targeting Russian oil refineries, arguing that the attacks have disrupted global diesel supplies and contributed to higher fuel prices for American consumers.

The issue has become increasingly urgent as diesel prices weigh on American farmers, truckers and businesses that rely on the fuel to transport goods and operate heavy equipment.

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Trump has repeatedly criticized Ukraine’s strikes on Russian energy facilities, even as Kyiv maintains that targeting Moscow’s oil industry is a legitimate strategy to weaken Russia’s ability to finance its war.

The announcement follows a contentious week in U.S.-Ukraine relations after Trump struck a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to allow Russian diesel exports to reach American and global markets.

Under the agreement announced Friday, Russia would immediately supply more than 300,000 tons of diesel, with additional shipments expected in November and beyond. The Treasury Department also authorized temporary sanctions relief to facilitate Russian diesel supplies.

Trump argued that the agreement would help bring down fuel prices, while Zelenskyy criticized the decision as a concession to Moscow that could provide additional revenue for Russia’s war effort.

The dispute escalated Saturday when Trump suggested Ukraine should replace Zelenskyy with a leader more willing to negotiate an end to the war.

“I suggest they get a new leader who can make a deal,” Trump told reporters.

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Zelenskyy, meanwhile, has maintained that Ukraine would be willing to halt attacks on Russian oil refineries if Moscow agreed to stop targeting Ukrainian power plants and other critical infrastructure.

The two countries have increasingly targeted each other’s energy systems throughout the war, although the consequences have differed.

Russian strikes on Ukraine’s power grid have left civilians facing electricity disruptions and damaged infrastructure needed to heat homes and sustain businesses. Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries, meanwhile, have disrupted fuel production and exports, putting additional pressure on global energy markets.

The Trump administration has spent weeks attempting to negotiate a reciprocal halt to energy attacks as part of broader diplomatic efforts to bring an end to the war.

In September, Trump similarly announced that both countries had agreed to an energy ceasefire, although Moscow did not publicly confirm the agreement and attacks continued.

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The latest announcement raises the possibility of renewed diplomatic progress, but an energy ceasefire would not amount to a comprehensive agreement to end the fighting.

It was not immediately clear how the agreement would be monitored or enforced. The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Congress is scrambling to stop one of the United States’ most iconic industries from fleeing overseas and taking thousands of jobs along with it.

The U.S. TV and film industry has been hemorrhaging work for years as production companies and movie studios flee to places like Europe and Canada for friendlier tax regimes and other attractive financial policies. It prompted President Donald Trump to publicly call on Congress to pass legislation aimed at incentivizing entertainment studios to bring their production back home — and an unlikely alliance of lawmakers is heeding the call.

A new bill that could potentially end up in a bipartisan tax package at the end of this year would push film and TV studios to bring their productions back to the U.S. via new tax incentives, with extra support if they choose to bring development to rural communities.

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“Since I was a child, I was moved and inspired by the stories of America’s greatness, by living out the American dream, and by the notion that I could do and achieve anything in this world, if I set my mind to it, and most of that was driven by a whole lot of American-made movies,” Rep. Nathaniel Moran, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital. “I want this next generation to be inspired the same way, and I do not want American storytelling to go overseas, to be diluted by values from overseas.”

Moran’s East Texas congressional district is largely rural and a far cry from the Sunset Strip that was home to much of America’s filmmaking history.

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He’s one of the House lawmakers leading the Motion Picture, Television, and Entertainment Revitalization Act, a bill aimed at bringing film and TV jobs back to the U.S. by creating a federal tax credit for domestic productions. It would further incentivize studios to film in rural areas with added financial benefits in areas deemed to be federal opportunity zones.

“This bill is extremely important to send a message that American storytelling does not just happen in California or New York. It happens all over America, including rural America,” Moran said.

The bill is notably led in the Senate by Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., a top Trump foe, and Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., one of the president’s biggest supporters in the chamber.

Moran’s House colleagues who are helping to spearhead the bill include Reps. Mike Carey, R-Ohio, Brian Jack, R-Ga., Linda Sanchez, D-Calif., and Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y.

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Suozzi told Fox News Digital that his home state was “watching good-paying jobs and production move overseas,” adding, “We can’t let that happen.”

“Democrats and Republicans agree we need to keep these jobs here,” Suozzi said.

FILM PRODUCER SAYS ‘MADE IN AMERICA’ MOVIES CAN HELP REVIVE HOLLYWOOD’S STRUGGLING INDUSTRY

But some, particularly on the right, might bristle at the prospect of awarding more lenient tax policies to an industry they perceive as having a longtime liberal bias — something Moran pushed back on.

Moran said his state, for example, was home to “conservative,” “faith-based,” and “patriotic” entertainment production that was also creating jobs and stimulating local economies.

“So I would say to those that are challenging this, I would say, well, do you want to see the stories and the movies and the TV productions that we watch go overseas, and be influenced by the culture and the values of other countries, somewhere else that do not love freedom like we do in America?” he posed.

But the end of this congressional term is fast approaching, and getting anything passed after the November election will be an uphill battle.

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“I feel confident that there will be some kind of bipartisan tax package during the lame-duck session, and my hope would be that this, or a version of this bill, makes it into the final text,” Moran said.

Edward Coristine, the former DOGE engineer better known as “Big Balls,” is now helping build the Trump administration’s new digital front door to the federal government — an effort aimed at giving Americans one place to navigate information and, eventually, complete services now spread across thousands of government websites.

“I think that the fact that there’s 29,000 government websites is pretty insane,” Coristine told Fox News Digital in a sit-down interview. “And it is the citizens’ objective to have to go figure out which government website they’re supposed to use for each specific thing.”

Coristine — better known around Washington by his attention-grabbing “Big Balls” nickname — sat down with Fox News Digital at the White House to talk about his new role helping build America.gov, what he learned during his time at DOGE, the administration’s plans to make more government services fully digital, his experience being attacked in Washington, and how the nickname that helped make him famous actually came from his dad.

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Coristine is now working with the National Design Studio on the administration’s revamped America.gov, which launched Sept. 29 as an AI-powered single point of entry for information drawn from thousands of government websites. President Donald Trump singled out Coristine during the launch, identifying him as the project’s lead engineer and thanking him for his work.

Coristine said his time at DOGE gave him a firsthand look at the frustration Americans face when trying to navigate federal services and helped shape what he is working on now.

“I think we got a lot of feedback that the American government is hard to interact with because you have to navigate the maze of bureaucratic services,” Coristine said.

The software engineer had already worked in Musk’s orbit before joining DOGE, spending several months at Neuralink, Musk’s brain-computer interface company, before later joining the government efficiency effort at 19.

“What I think is really special about America.gov is it presents a single point of entry to find all the information that you need,” he added, including finding government services tailored to the user and asking questions with answers sourced from the federal government.

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Coristine pointed to Medicare as one example, saying Americans currently may have to move between Medicare.gov and the Social Security website to enroll in benefits.

“Companies, generally speaking, only have one website and everything is easy to find,” he said. “We should have the same vision for the government.”

The ambitions for America.gov also go beyond simply helping users find the right information. Coristine said the administration plans to make first-time passport applications fully digital, expanding beyond the online renewal system already available to eligible Americans.

“Specifically with passports, what we’re going to do is we’re gonna make new passports online for the first time ever,” Coristine said, describing the existing process as “very manual.”

TRUMP’S NEW HIGH-TECH GOVERNMENT HUB HOLDS SOME BIZARRE SURPRISES: ‘ENJOY FINDING THEM’

“You have to go in person, you have to get to the post office, you get your photo taken like a CVS or Walgreens,” he said.

Under the planned system, Coristine said users would be able to take their passport photo at home, preview how it would appear on the document and complete the process “without leaving the America.gov website.”

Coristine also offered a glimpse into how Trump has talked about the broader project, comparing the president’s approach to digital government with his background in hospitality.

“I think the president has been a great host for his entire career. He’s been in the hospitality business, right?” Coristine said. “So any great host knows they have to make things easy, they have to make it all feel clean.”

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

“President Trump is very focused on removing the potholes from the digital government that make it hard to get things done,” he added.

The role marks the latest chapter in a whirlwind stint in Washington that began at DOGE and quickly thrust the 20-year-old — and his now-famous “Big Balls” nickname — into the national spotlight.

Coristine told Fox News Digital the “Big Balls” moniker had a far less dramatic origin than its eventual notoriety might suggest.

“I got the nickname Big Balls from my dad,” he said, explaining that he eventually made it his LinkedIn URL AND THIS IS WHAT DROVE IT INTO THE NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT, RIGHT?

“It was actually, like, fairly underground, but I was discovered,” Coristine said. “It’s been very funny ever since.”

EXCLUSIVE: INSIDE THE SECRETIVE MINE DOGE HELPED DRAG OUT OF A DECADES-OLD BUREAUCRATIC BLACK HOLE

Coristine’s profile rose further in August 2025 after he was attacked while walking a female friend back to her car in Washington’s Logan Circle neighborhood, an incident that left him with a broken nose and concussion and drew national attention.

Coristine has said he rushed his friend into the car before the group turned on him, slamming him against the vehicle and throwing punches.

“I really thank President Trump for making D.C. safe again,” Coristine said. “Like all my friends, they’re now able to walk outside.”

“Everyone is very calmed by the National Guard because it feels like the city is so much safer,” he continued. “And the crime numbers totally represent that. The crime has been falling like a knife in D.C.”

Trump established the Make D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force in March 2025 before launching an intensified federal crime crackdown in August, with the operation delivering more than 16,000 arrests, 3,200 narcotics arrests and nearly 2,000 illegal firearms seized in its first year.

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“So I’m unbelievably grateful to the president for making the city safe and beautiful,” Coristine said.

The Justice Department has charged 64 foreign nationals across 17 states with unlawful voting, fraudulent voter registration and election-related offenses in roughly the last five weeks, according to figures provided to Fox News Digital, as federal prosecutors intensify election-integrity enforcement.

Minnesota leads the nation with 11 defendants, followed by Pennsylvania with 10 and Texas with nine. Louisiana accounts for five, while New Jersey, California and Florida each have four, according to the department’s latest tally.

The nationwide crackdown comes as federal officials intensify scrutiny of voter-registration safeguards ahead of November’s midterms, with recent elections underscoring how even a few illegal ballots can exceed the margin separating candidates. Fox News Digital mapped the states with the largest concentrations of defendants as DOJ says it has charged 104 people with voting fraud-related offenses since Trump returned to office in 2025.

SKID ROW FORGERIES, ILLEGAL VOTES AND A MAYORAL CANDIDATE: ELECTION FRAUD CASES PILE UP NATIONWIDE

“Every illegal vote cancels out the vote of a lawful American citizen. In 2020, Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District race was decided by six votes,” a DOJ spokesperson told Fox News Digital, referring to Republican Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks’ narrow victory over Democrat Rita Hart.

DOJ said federal prosecutors are bringing more than twice as many election-fraud cases each week as the six-vote margin in the Iowa race.

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The spokesperson added: “Voting by noncitizens and other ineligible voters is a federal crime, and the department will enforce the law whether a case involves one illegal ballot or hundreds.”

The cases involve allegations ranging from fraudulent registration applications to ballots cast in multiple elections.

The department is also securing guilty pleas in some cases, including against Filipino national Evelyn Miller of Emmaus, Pennsylvania.

Miller pleaded guilty to illegally voting in the 2024 presidential election and faces up to one year in prison and a $100,000 fine.

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

“We intend to prosecute anyone who corrupts our democracy by illegally voting in its elections,” U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania David Metcalf said.

Also in Pennsylvania, federal prosecutors charged Haitian national Cliff Sanon with submitting a fraudulent voter registration application in Philadelphia County. Prosecutors allege he submitted eight registration applications and voted in the November 2022 election.

BLANCHE ANNOUNCES CHARGES AGAINST 10 PERMANENT RESIDENTS ACCUSED OF MINNESOTA VOTER FRAUD

In Minnesota, Ghanaian green card holder Joshua Kofi Edzie was charged with illegally voting in the state’s August 2026 primary and falsely claiming U.S. citizenship in connection with voter registration.

The prosecutions have also reached Republican-led states, including Texas, Louisiana and Florida, which account for 18 defendants combined in the DOJ figures provided to Fox News Digital.

In Louisiana, the feds indicted an ex-mayoral candidate on a charge of voting by an alien. Bridget Johnson, who ran in 2024 to lead Cotton Valley, Louisiana, allegedly submitted a registration in the name of Jamaican national Michael Wedderburn and falsely swore he was a citizen. Wedderburn then allegedly voted illegally in 2024 for president and mayor. He was also recently indicted.

In New Jersey, Republicans have pointed to several razor-thin elections amid a separate controversy involving approximately 6,600 people who indicated they were not citizens but were erroneously registered through the state’s Motor Vehicle Commission. Fewer than 400 subsequently voted, according to Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s administration.

Former Englewood Cliffs Mayor Mario Kranjac recently highlighted municipal elections in Caldwell, Atlantic Highlands and Bogota decided by margins of four to six votes in 2023.

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The state has not established that any of the affected voters changed an election outcome. Sherrill spokesman Sean Higgins previously said the governor “moved with transparency and accountability to remediate this error from 2023.”

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The prosecutions come as federal officials continue scrutinizing voter-registration safeguards ahead of November’s midterm elections. Authorities have not established that any of the cases identified in DOJ’s nationwide tally changed the outcome of an election.

As California grapples with soaring Medi-Cal costs — including billions spent on healthcare for immigrants without legal status — Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic lawmakers have backed a revised health-plan tax in response to new federal restrictions, a move critics warn could shift more costs onto privately insured Californians.

The tax has united an unlikely coalition of doctors and health insurers against him, with critics warning it could make California even more expensive.

To preserve billions in Medi-Cal financing after Washington tightened the rules governing health-plan taxes used to draw federal matching funds, Newsom backed a redesigned tax that would raise the levy on private health plans beginning in 2027 if federally approved, potentially increasing premiums for their customers. Providing healthcare to illegal immigrants cost California an estimated $12.4 billion in 2025, the Associated Press reported.

When asked if expanding coverage to illegal immigrants created a need for California to raise taxes, Brian Blase, president of the right-of-center Paragon Health Institute, answered with a strong “yes.”

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“The One Big Beautiful Bill Act limited California’s ability to target the tax just on Medicaid insurers, so California is proposing to raise the health insurance tax on people that have private coverage … the estimates are that would increase insurance for families by $400 a year,” he told Fox News Digital. “That is just because California doesn’t want to deal with its unsustainable spending … there are many people on the program who are not eligible for the program, and that is not even accounting for the fact that California has expanded Medicaid to all unauthorized immigrants in the state.”

California’s attempt to shore up Medi-Cal’s bottom line follows federal changes that will prevent the state from continuing its existing health-plan tax structure after 2026, forcing a redesign of a financing mechanism that has generated billions of dollars for the program.

The California Medical Association and California Association of Health Plans are suing to block the tax increase, not on the grounds that it benefits illegal immigrants, but over allegations that the measure violates voter-approved limits on health-plan taxes and restrictions on how the resulting revenue can be spent. The duo uniting to challenge the tax is notable because doctors and insurance companies often find themselves on opposite sides of healthcare debates.

Proposition 35, the initiative in question, limits how much California can tax commercial health-plan enrollment, constraining the state’s options as it tries to comply with new federal rules governing the much higher tax previously imposed on Medi-Cal enrollment. The proposition was passed with overwhelming support from Californian voters.

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“California voters passed Proposition 35 and made it law. The state does not get to ignore that law simply because following the law is inconvenient,” California Medical Association CEO Dustin Corcoran said in a statement.

Health insurers warn the cost of the revised tax could be passed directly on to consumers through higher premiums, estimating an increase of about $100 per person per year. A family of four, for example, could face an additional $400 annually on top of normal rate increases.

Newsom spokeswoman Tara Gallegos said that the governor maintains that his tax increase is not rendered illegal by the proposition.

“The state disagrees with their claims, and we believe the courts will too,” she told Fox News Digital of the lawsuit.

H.D. Palmer, deputy director for external affairs at the California Department of Finance, explained to Fox News Digital that the new tax measure was designed to comply with the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. According to Palmer, the state’s current health tax regime may conflict with the bill and that the state is submitting a proposal with two tracks — one that is similar to the current taxing scheme but might run afoul of federal law and another that conforms to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act by shifting costs toward private plans.

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“If the federal government declines to approve the tax that is structured similar to the existing [health plan tax], Proposition 35 may then sunset per current law,” he added.

California has faced a mass exodus of people and businesses over the past decade, with the cost of living being one of the chief reasons individuals cite for leaving the Golden State. One analysis found that almost 10 million people moved from California to other states between 2010 and 2024, while just over 7 million moved to California from elsewhere in the country during the same period.

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The state’s exodus has raised concerns about its financial outlook, with the departure of higher-income residents potentially reducing tax revenue for a state heavily dependent on income taxes.

President Donald Trump said Saturday he had not decided whether the firing squad execution of convicted Fort Hood gunman Nidal Malik Hasan would be livestreamed, saying he will ultimately “make a decision.”

The Pentagon confirmed to Fox News Digital earlier this week that the execution of Hasan – a former Army major who was convicted of killing 13 people and wounding 32 others at Fort Hood in 2009 – was scheduled to be livestreamed on Dec. 3.

Trump, however, said he had not decided whether to allow the military’s first execution in more than six decades to be broadcast from Fort Hood.

“He was vicious, he was violent,” Trump told reporters at the White House when asked about Hasan’s execution.

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“There are two thoughts: don’t show it and show it,” he continued. “Because, you know, by showing it, maybe other people won’t be doing what he did.”

“I’ll make a decision, ultimately,” Trump added. “I know what the military would like to do, but we’ll make a decision.”

Fox News Digital previously reported that Trump approved the use of an Army firing squad following a recommendation from War Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Trump’s comments came one day after he was asked whether he had approved the decision to livestream the execution.

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“I wasn’t involved in that decision, but I understand the decision,” Trump said during an interview Friday with CNY Central following a rally in Syracuse.

Trump added that the military wanted the execution to “serve as an example, and I understand that very well.”

Vice President JD Vance said Friday that he wasn’t sure whether the execution would be livestreamed.

“If it’s ultimately livestreamed, I’m not going to be watching it,” he told reporters.

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If Hasan’s execution is carried out, it would be the first conducted by the U.S. military since 1961 and the first military execution by firing squad since 1945.

Fox News Digital’s Jasmine Baehr contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump praised Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., as a “great guy” on Saturday, saying he would welcome the Pennsylvania Democrat into the Republican Party.

Trump was asked by a reporter after stepping off Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews whether he had spoken to Fetterman — who has repeatedly broken with Democrats during the current session of Congress — about becoming a Republican and whether he would welcome such a switch.

“I’d love to see it. I think he’s great,” Trump responded.

“It’s going to be hard for him to get the nomination as a Democrat, but I’d love to have him as a Republican,” he continued.

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Trump described Fetterman as a “great guy” with “magnificent parents,” whom he said he had spoken with previously.

“He’s a very solid person,” Trump added. “He’s smart and all that, but he’s got great common sense.”

Trump also suggested that switching parties could benefit Fetterman politically.

“If you look at the polls, he does better as a Republican than he does as a Democrat,” he said.

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Trump’s comments come as Fetterman has repeatedly broken with Democrats on key issues, including the Iran war and immigration, although he continues to vote with his party the vast majority of the time.

Since joining the Senate in 2023, Fetterman has voted with Senate Democrats nearly 90% of the time. During the current session of Congress, however, that figure has fallen to just under 81%, Fox News Digital previously reported.

Fetterman’s occasional breaks with his party have fueled speculation in recent months about whether he might eventually become a Republican. He has also reportedly used Republican fundraising platforms to solicit donations and maintains a close friendship with Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala.

Last month, Fetterman recorded a video introducing Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pa., at the Republican Midterm Convention.

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He also mistakenly referred to himself as a lifelong Republican during an appearance at the Texas Tribune’s TribFest last month.

An attendee at the event asked why Fetterman did not run as an independent.

“Because I’m a lifelong Republican,” he said, before realizing his mistake. “I guarantee you that will break through. That will get clipped.”

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

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Fox News Digital’s Alex Miller and Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump touted billions of dollars in manufacturing investments and his administration’s efforts to combat crime in Tennessee on Saturday, while calling Iranian leaders “crazy” and floating the idea of a “Trump Ocean” during a wide-ranging rally featuring musician Kid Rock.

The president appeared in Clarksville ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections, campaigning for Republican Sen. Bill Hagerty and gubernatorial candidate Marsha Blackburn while mixing economic talking points, foreign policy and off-script humor.

Kid Rock opened the event with a religious-themed introduction, praising Trump’s leadership while taking aim at the news media.

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“Literally, President Trump could walk across the Cumberland River, and tomorrow the headline would say President Trump refuses to swim,” the musician joked.

The rocker also condemned Islamist extremism and defended religious freedom, arguing that Americans should not be forced to live under religious laws that override the Constitution.

“We are not, and we will never be, one nation under Mohammed, because we are, and we always will be, one nation under God,” Kid Rock told the crowd.

Trump later thanked his longtime supporter and friend by his given name, Bob, before turning to an array of domestic and international issues.

The president addressed tensions with Iran, calling the country’s leaders “crazy” while claiming that Tehran’s rhetoric had softened following U.S. military operations.

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“They don’t talk that way anymore, by the way,” Trump said after recounting previous threats from Iranian leaders.

Trump described what he characterized as extensive damage to Iran’s military capabilities, claiming 159 ships had been sunk and its air force and air-defense systems destroyed.

“They have no Navy. They have no Air force, they have no anti-aircraft equipment,” Trump said.

The president then pivoted from the Strait of Hormuz to an unexpected geography lesson, suggesting it could one day be called the “Trump Strait.”

He also revisited his decision to rename the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America before floating additional changes to the map.

“We need a river. We need an ocean,” Trump said, suggesting the Atlantic or Pacific could become the “Trump Ocean” or “Ocean of the Americas.”

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“Before I get out, I think we should have an ocean,” he added, without yet announcing any formal renaming plans.

On the economy, Trump promoted Korea Zinc’s planned investment of more than $6 billion in Tennessee, a project expected to create 740 jobs across Montgomery and Smith counties.

Tennessee officials announced the $6.6 billion project in December, describing it as the largest single private corporate investment in state history. The plans include a new critical-minerals smelter in Clarksville and the reopening of a former mine in Gordonsville.

“And your state will soon be home to the first new mineral smelter in the United States, first one built since 1979,” Trump said.

The project is intended to strengthen domestic supplies of minerals used in semiconductors, defense technology and advanced manufacturing.

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Trump also cited General Motors’ previously announced $275 million investment in its Spring Hill manufacturing facility to support production of next-generation turbocharged Cadillac engines.

The president credited his tariff policies with encouraging domestic investment, arguing that companies were expanding American manufacturing to avoid import duties.

In a Tennessee-focused fact sheet released as the rally began, the White House asserted that Republican-backed tax policies had preserved $23 billion in economic activity in the state. The administration also cited an average $3,674 tax refund for Tennesseans in 2026.

Public safety was another focal point of his address, with Trump praising federal law-enforcement operations in Memphis and claiming approximately 12,000 dangerous criminals had been removed.

The White House separately asserted that murders and overall crime in Memphis had declined approximately 36%, crediting the Memphis Safe Task Force.

The president also shared some lighter moments about first lady Melania Trump, describing her objections to his theatrical impersonations of athletes during discussions about transgender participation in women’s sports.

“She said it’s not presidential,” Trump recalled, before joking about her film career. “There is only room for one star in a family, so I don’t need this movie stuff. I don’t need it.”

Trump, who carried Tennessee in all three of his presidential campaigns, said the visit was also an opportunity to thank supporters in a state where he had enjoyed strong electoral backing.

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“Sometimes it’s nice to go to a place where you don’t have to be, but you’re there to say thank you to the great people that elected you three separate times in record time,” Trump said.

Trump repeatedly returned to the November elections, urging supporters to back Republican candidates even though his name will not appear on the ballot.

“In this election, I’m asking you to do me a favor. Pretend. Just pretend that I’m running,” Trump said.