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U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., cruised to victory in a GOP primary on Thursday evening in a race to replace outgoing Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee.

With the nomination in tow, Blackburn is likely to become the next governor in the Volunteer State — a state that hasn’t elected a Democrat to its top executive role since 2006. 

Lee, who has served in the role since 2019, is term-limited and cannot seek re-election. He last won reelection in a 64.9% to 32.9% victory over Democratic challenger Jason Martin, a businessman and doctor.

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Notably, Lee did not endorse anyone in the three-way Republican race for the 2026 nomination but noted that he had a close relationship with Blackburn when she announced her candidacy.

“I’ve been friends with Marsha for a long time, and she served as my congressman and representative in the General Assembly. I’m proud we have really good people running for governor in this state,” Lee told local outlets.

Blackburn, for her own part, promised to continue focusing on issues that Republicans have made centerpieces to the GOP platform in Washington, D.C.

She highlighted immigration as one such issue.

“As governor, I’ll deport illegals, stop the flow of drugs and drug money. We will crack down on Cartels, restrict cash transfers to drug havens and hit criminals and illegals where it hurts — in their wallets,” Blackburn said in a campaign video.

Blackburn also promised to prevent China from buying up Tennessee land, punctuating her commitment with a viral ad where she crushed a fortune cookie.

“It doesn’t take a fortune cookie to figure it out. Here in Tennessee we’re going to stop communist China and protect Tennessee land,” she remarked.

President Donald Trump also did not issue an endorsement in the race, saying that he had ties to one of Blackburn’s challengers: Rep. John Rose, R-Tenn.

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Rose, an 8th-generation farmer and the millionaire founder of Transcender Corp., an IT certification company, has served in the Tennessee legislature since 2019. In his gubernatorial campaign, he pitched himself as a homegrown candidate focused on local solutions to local problems.

“I know that anything is achievable in Tennessee because I have lived it. Now, I’m asking for you to give me the chance to bring opportunity to all Tennesseans,” Rose said in a campaign video.

On his website, Rose highlighted five key areas of focus, including education, infrastructure, healthcare, energy and economic and community development.

A third candidate, State Rep. Monty Fritts, had run on a more aggressive, small-government platform.

“My number one priority is leaving more money in your pockets, in your purses and in your country bankrolls rather than sending it to Nashville,” Fritts said in a campaign video.

On his website, Fritts touted positions like shrinking the size of Tennessee’s budget, protecting citizen rights against encroaching government power and increasing parent input in education.

Fritts attracted controversy earlier this year when, as part of his campaign, he called for a ban on mosques and other “pagan religions.”

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“Islam is a little different story than perhaps other religions are, in that it’s not necessarily a religion; it’s a political movement,” Fritts said. “It’s that movement that, if you don’t submit, perhaps you are executed. I feel that Islam is incongruent with both our U.S. and Tennessee Constitution,” Fritts told local outlets.

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Having cleared the primary, Blackburn will run in the state’s general election on Nov. 3 against her Democratic opponent, Memphis City Councilwoman and Chief Public Defender Jerri Green.

Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., was defeated in a primary challenge on Thursday evening by Republican challenger Charlie Hatcher, a farmer and the state’s former commissioner of agriculture.

Although the primary was far from a top-watched contest coming into the 2026 primaries, it served as a microcosm of larger forces at play in the Republican Party. From a break in endorsements between President Donald Trump and Tennessee’s Republican Governor Bill Lee to millions being pumped into the district over environmental policy, the race attracted attention well beyond its borders.

The Invest in Tomorrow Coalition super PAC had spent roughly $2 million opposing Ogles and supporting Hatcher. The group has raised $6.7 million this year, making Ogles a sizable portion of their spending this cycle.

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The way that Ogles sees it, it’s an attempt to show Republicans what happens when lawmakers attempt to claw back government funding for renewable energy sources.

Like many other Republicans, Ogles has called to scale back renewable energy investments made under the Biden Administration.

“When you have a group spending roughly $2 million in a Republican primary, that tells you how much money they’re making off of government subsidies, and they’re upset that the government welfare has been taken away from them,” Ogles told Fox News Digital in an interview.

A Fox News Digital review of FEC filings discovered that the super PAC is bankrolled by Chris Larsen, the California-based billionaire chairman of Ripple, a financial technology company that, according to its website, offers crypto solutions for businesses.

Larsen is also a frequent Democratic donor, having contributed $5,444,975 to support Kamala Harris’s failed presidential campaign.

More than just his opposition to government-backed renewable energy initiatives, Ogles thinks it’s his proximity to Trump that has made him a target.

“It’s because I’m close to the president. It is because I am outspoken. And quite frankly, it is because I speak plainly on these issues,” Ogles said.

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For his own part, Hatcher, a fifth-generation Tennessee dairy farmer, has pitched himself as someone unencumbered by the political scene and ensnaring interests.

“I think there’s something missing in Washington. There’s a lack of farmer common sense. There’s a lack of work ethic. One of my strengths is problem-solving, looking for solutions, looking for collaborations and supporting the Trump Administration and Speaker Johnson on their agenda,” Hatcher said in a campaign video.

Notably, Tennessee’s Republican governor put his weight behind Hatcher late on Tuesday evening, citing a personal relationship between them.

“He served as my commissioner of agriculture; I know Charlie. I know his conservative values and how much he loves our country. Charlie has stood with President Trump since day one,” Lee said in a video.

Trump, who has endorsed Ogles, reaffirmed his support for the conservative firebrand ahead of the primary.

“Andy will be really enshrined as one of the best congressmen that you’ll ever see. He’s just fantastic,” Trump said. “Andy has always been there when we needed him and when I needed him. He’s been a great help. He’s been a source of inspiration to a lot of people in Congress,” Trump said in a post to Truth Social earlier this year.

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Having captured the Republican nomination, Hatcher now advances to a general election he’s heavily favored to win on Nov. 3. He won re-election in 2024 in a 56.9% to 39.5% victory over Maryam Abolfazli.

Squad-backed Tennessee state Rep. Justin Pearson, District 86, part of the trio of lawmakers in his state referred to as the “Tennessee Three,” won the Democratic primary Thursday in Tennessee’s newly redrawn 9th Congressional District.

Pearson defeated state Sen. London Lamar, District 33, community activist Marion LaTroy Alexandria-Williams and attorney Jim Torino. He will face [REPUBLICAN NOMINEE] in November with his campaign warchest of millions of dollars he has raised throughout his campaign, significantly outpacing his Democratic opponents.

The Memphis-area state lawmaker entered the primary with the backing of prominent Democrats who are part of the progressive group of lawmakers called “the Squad,” including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., and Summer Lee, D-Pa., who all joined Pearson at a campaign rally in Memphis last month.

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Known for his fiery, preacher-style speeches, Pearson has also received support from national left-wing groups including Justice Democrats, the Working Families Party, MoveOn and Indivisible.

Pearson rose to national prominence in 2023 as one of the “Tennessee Three” lawmakers who participated in a gun-control protest on the state House floor following the Covenant School shooting in Nashville that killed three young kids and three adults.

Republican lawmakers subsequently expelled Pearson and fellow state Rep. Justin Jones over the protest, though they later regained their seats. 

A third Democrat, Gloria Johnson of Knoxville, avoided expulsion by a single vote, according to local media reporting.

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The open-seat primary won by Pearson on Thursday followed a redrawing of Tennessee’s congressional map that divided Memphis among three Republican-leaning districts and prompted longtime Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., to retire.

Before the new map, heavily Democratic Memphis was largely kept together in the 9th District, giving Tennessee Democrats one reliable congressional seat in an otherwise deeply Republican state.

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Cohen has been the lone Democrat in Tennessee’s nine-member House delegation alongside eight Republicans since 2023, but the new map favors the GOP in all nine districts.

The Republican leader of Michigan’s House says a state-funded maternal health initiative has become something far different than lawmakers were promised, accusing Democrats of using more than $300 million in taxpayer funding to advance a broader guaranteed-income agenda.

Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall made the remarks in an interview with Fox News Digital as House Republicans continue scrutinizing Rx Kids, a taxpayer-funded program that provides unrestricted cash payments to pregnant women and new mothers.

Hall argued lawmakers believed they were funding a maternal and prenatal health initiative, not what he described as a broader experiment in guaranteed income.

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“I think the Democrats kind of slipped this in here under the idea that it was for prenatal care,” Hall told Fox News Digital. “Lawmakers did not have the complete picture.”

Rx Kids launched in Flint in 2024 and provides expectant mothers with a $1,500 lump-sum payment during pregnancy, followed by $500 monthly payments after the child is born.

According to materials provided to Fox News Digital by Hall’s office, the program has expanded to communities across Michigan with more than $300 million in taxpayer funding.

Rx Kids has promoted the initiative as a maternal and infant health program designed to reduce financial stress for new families. According to podcast interviews and program materials, its leaders have also discussed expanding the model to communities across Michigan and beyond.

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Hall argued the program lacks the eligibility requirements found in traditional public assistance programs.

“We have a lot of social safety net programs in our country that are working very well,” Hall said. “They have eligibility checks. They look at citizenship. They look at income verification.

“Rx Kids, by design, is given to anyone that has a child,” he continued. “They don’t look for citizenship. They just pay out anyone that has a child.”

Hall’s office also provided Fox News Digital with video of legislative committee testimony in which program officials acknowledged payments had been made to individuals who were not legally present in the United States.

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Hall argued taxpayer-funded cash assistance should include income and legal status requirements similar to those used by existing public assistance programs.

“What we prefer are the traditional welfare programs like Medicaid, the food stamp program and the WIC program,” Hall said. “They make sure you’re here legally, they make sure you’re not making a lot of money and then they give you the benefit. That’s not what Rx Kids is.”

Hall also criticized the program’s unrestricted cash payments, noting recipients are not required to spend the money on diapers, formula, housing or other expenses related to pregnancy or caring for a newborn.

“They give you this free cash and there are no strings attached by definition,” Hall said.

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Hall said caseworkers had told him they had seen recipients use the money for alcohol, drugs and gambling. Fox News Digital has not independently verified those claims.

The speaker also pointed to public comments from Rx Kids leaders that he said reinforced Republican concerns that the initiative is intended to become something larger than a maternal health program.

Hall’s office also shared podcast interviews in which Rx Kids co-founder Luke Shaefer discussed the expanded Child Tax Credit and the role he believes Rx Kids can play following the expiration of those federal payments.

In a separate interview, Dr. Mona Hanna, the leader of Rx Kids, discussed her vision of expanding the initiative into a government-scale public program.

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Hall said those remarks aligned with his assessment of Rx Kids.

“This is a progressive left-wing experiment toward basically a universal income,” Hall said. “They’re trying to move the welfare state down that lane.”

Hall also questioned the program’s advisory network.

Hall’s office also shared archived versions of the Rx Kids website that listed Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, Michigan Secretary of State and Democratic gubernatorial nominee Jocelyn Benson’s husband Ryan Friedrichs and Community Change official Dorian Warren as members of the program’s advisory circle.

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The advisory circle page was removed from the organization’s website days after lawmakers questioned program leaders during a June 2 Michigan House Oversight Committee hearing.

The timing of the removal does not establish why the page was taken down.

“Our secretary of state’s husband is on the advisory board. Abdul El-Sayed is on the board,” Hall said. “It’s like a who’s who of radical left Democrats.”

Hall’s office also pointed to an Rx Kids white paper examining voter turnout among recipients and the program’s promotion of Vot-ER, a physician-backed voter registration organization powered by TurboVote.

Materials provided by Hall’s office also identified Hanna as an adviser to Vot-ER.

Hall said those connections and the program’s research into voting behavior deserved additional scrutiny.

“We’re trying to understand why are you so interested in the voting pattern of the people that are receiving your no-strings-attached welfare,” Hall said. “We aren’t getting good answers.”

Hall said House Republicans did not include additional funding for Rx Kids in Michigan’s newly signed budget, though the program still has access to previously appropriated funds.

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“The good news is that we cut off funding to this program in the new budget,” Hall said. “In the future, we’re going to try to put guardrails around it so that it goes to the people that truly need it.”

Rather than eliminating assistance for struggling families, Hall said he wants taxpayer dollars directed toward existing programs that assess financial need and place restrictions on how certain benefits can be spent.

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“I think people support those programs,” Hall said. “They have eligibility requirements to ensure that you’re not taking advantage of the system.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s office, Rx Kids and Michigan State University for comment.

It may be summer. But fall is consuming the United States Senate.

Bipartisan lawmakers are trying to avoid a government shutdown.

“The fiscal year begins Oct. 1 each year,” said Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa. “This resolution keeps the government open for business.”

The House approved an interim spending bill in July to keep the government funded through Dec. 4. But bipartisan senators are trying to duck yet another protracted government shutdown odyssey, like last year’s 43-day exercise.

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“I look forward to passing this bill in the next few days,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.

The measure funds the government with a fiscal Band-Aid through Dec. 11 – well after the midterms. But Democratic buy-in is paramount. The main reason the government closed last fall was because Senate Democrats refused to provide votes to break a filibuster on the GOP plan. Democrats protested a lapse in Obamacare subsidies – and hoped to underscore to voters that Republicans were vulnerable on healthcare. Now Democrats are on board. The Senate curbed a filibuster on the bill with a vote tally of 89-4. The question is when the Senate will pass the bill. And what happens when senators send this to the House.

“We want to fund the government and avoid a shutdown,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

Ironically, funding the government may be the easiest thing before the Senate right now.

There are all sorts of lists out there. Santa’s list. Hollywood’s blacklist. Craigslist. And bucket lists. But no list is more daunting than what the Senate is trying to accomplish over the next few days. And truth be told, the Senate might not check much off its list at all.

Senators are bewildered about what the plan is over the next few days. Many hope to escape Washington. Those running for re-election are anxious to head home and campaign as control of the Senate swings in the balance.

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., emerged from the Senate Republican weekly luncheon on Tuesday, mystified about what the legislative traffic may look like.

“If there is a plan, they are doing a good job of hiding it,” said Kennedy. “I learned nothing in that meeting.”

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Kennedy posited that “maybe it’s because our leadership doesn’t know.”

In no particular order, here are some of the big ticket items the Senate hopes to rifle through over the coming days: A bill to sanction Russia, named after the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. Confirm Todd Blanche as attorney general. Handle a budget resolution so the GOP can prep a filibuster-free bill to restock military munitions because of the war in Iran and maybe approve parts of the SAVE America Act. Fund the government. Greenlight a slate of nominations unrelated to Blanche. Advance a bill to regulate college sports and the use of NIL (for name, image and likeness). Perhaps reauthorize FISA, the nation’s top terrorism prevention program. And finally, establish a framework for cryptocurrency. The last one is the least likely.

“I feel like we’re trying to put 20 pounds of potatoes in a 10-pound bag,” said Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., on Fox.

Confirming Blanche is probably the biggest priority for Republicans. But it’s unclear if Blanche has the votes. Sens. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and John Cornyn, R-Texas, came around over the weekend after they received assurances from Blanche that the anti-weaponization fund was dead. Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Bill Cassidy, R-La., huddled with Blanche late Wednesday. With former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., out and Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, a nay on Blanche, Republicans can only lose one more of their own and still confirm him.

Ironically, the hallmark of President Donald Trump’s legislative agenda, the SAVE America Act — which requires proof of citizenship to vote — is the one thing the Senate might not tackle. But GOP senators could present the president half a loaf with some voter ID mandates and election security. In short, the Senate won’t cancel its summer recess to pass the SAVE America Act.

“I think there’s nothing more important than the Save America Act. I think they should stay,” said Trump.

Even the Senate’s newest member wants to stay in Washington — even though she faces a primary next week.

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“What’s up with recess, anyway? Who gets a month off from work? I think we should stay up there and work and get it done,” said Sen. Darline Graham, R-S.C.

Some Republicans dared their colleagues to thwart the bill.

“If you’re going to oppose something, you’ve got to earn it on the floor as opposed to this kind of kabuki theater we do right now where you just give a thumbs up or a thumbs down,” said Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo.

Thune – who often doesn’t see eye-to-eye with the president – dismissed the push for the SAVE America Act. It’s about the math. Thune lacks votes to pass it. In fact, the Senate’s already blocked that bill twice.

“It seems to me some days that I’m the only one here who can count to 50 in this town. But we don’t have the votes to get rid of the filibuster. And we aren’t flipping 10 Democrats to vote for the SAVE America Act,” said Thune.

But even if they won’t vote yes, some Democrats commiserate with Thune.

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“The votes don’t exist and some of our colleagues just don’t know how to count sometimes,” said Sen. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M.

Political observers wonder if it was risky for Senate Republicans to promise the SAVE America Act to party loyalists – but fail to deliver.

But Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., disagreed with that argument.

“I don’t think we overpromised. I think we wished it would work,” said Tuberville.

“There wasn’t a plan? This was a wish?” I inquired.

“There’s nothing certain up here. I’ve learned that in six years,” replied Tuberville. “I wish we could get this done for the people of Alabama.”

“There’s that word, again: wish,” I said to Tuberville.

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There’s a possible breakthrough on a bill to regulate college sports and fundamentally alter compensation structures for student-athletes. President Trump is pushing lawmakers to vote on the plan after the SEC and Big 10 signed off on the legislation.

“NIL or whatever it is, is very close to getting solved. And we have a bipartisan deal as of right now,” said the president.

At best, the college sports bill could score a procedural vote – which is significant. But there’s still much to hash out.

“It’s not ready,” said Kennedy. “I think many senators still have questions.”

Yours truly told Kennedy that the bill “seemed pretty dense when I read it.”

The Louisiana Republican agreed.

“It’s dense as hell,” said Kennedy. “That’s a legal term.”

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This Senate agenda is pretty dense. And maybe getting it all done now is a wish. Especially in such a short period.

No matter what, summer is winding down in the Senate. It will soon be fall. Both on the calendar and on Capitol Hill.

And many senators are just wishing they could go home.

The Trump administration is framing visa revocations as a national security measure, arguing that removing foreign nationals who commit crimes, including under the influence driving, is essential to protecting the American public.

“Every visa decision is a national security decision,” State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott told Fox News Digital. “Of course, when we think of border security, we think about the Southwest border, but visa security is border security. It’s who we’re allowing into the country legally, and if they operate in a way that is grounds for revocation, we’re going to protect the American people.”

The Trump administration has taken an aggressive approach to revoking visas, announcing in January that more than 100,000 foreign nationals’ visas were revoked in 2025 — more than double the number revoked during President Joe Biden’s final year in office.

While a majority of those visas were revoked because travelers overstayed their visas, Pigott said many others lost their visas because of criminal activity, with drunk driving arrests accounting for many of those revocations.

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“Fundamentally, if you break the law, that is grounds for revocation,” Pigott said. “If you break law, you break terms of your visa, or you undermine the national security of the United States, that’s grounds for a revocation of your visas.”

Pigott cited recent examples of visa revocations involving DUI offenses, including a foreign national who injured someone while driving drunk and another who showed up intoxicated to a court-mandated DUI program.

“Driving drunk on streets is incredibly dangerous,” Pigott continued. “It’s part of a broader initiative from the Trump administration to make sure that our streets are safe. And that includes illegal immigrant drivers, that includes foreigners here on visas that are driving drunk on our streets. We’re not going to tolerate that. We are going to protect the Americans.”

In May, Oklahoma authorities charged 27-year-old Michael Rosario-Cruz, who was living in the U.S. under DACA protections, with four counts of second-degree murder, alleging he drove drunk the wrong way and crashed into another vehicle, killing four young people. Authorities reported finding empty beer bottles inside Rosario-Cruz’s car. He also faces multiple DUI, firearm and other charges.

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The four victims were all between the ages of 18 and 20.

“These young men and women had their whole lives ahead of them. This tragedy was completely preventable,” DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in a statement. “This illegal alien should has never been in our country. Join me in praying for the families, friends, and loved ones of these victims.”

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has placed a detainer on Rosario-Cruz, who is currently being held at the Canadian County jail in Oklahoma.

The State Department revoking visas is just the first step in the process to remove a foreign national, according to Pigott.

“When that visa is revoked, there’s a couple different elements that can happen,” Pigott told Fox News Digital, explaining that whether a foreign national is deported depends on whether the Justice Department pursues criminal prosecution.

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“You could see someone leave the country after serving a prison sentence, for example,” Pigott said. “Ultimately, DHS then makes the termination about the next step of appropriate action, whether that’s deportation, whether that is deportation after serving prison sentence, so it really is a case-by-case basis.”

“But what the revoking of the visa does is that allows us to take appropriate action as a government to remove an individual from our nation based off of the conditions that they may be in currently and taking into other considerations such as the playing out of the judicial process,” Pigott continued.

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Pigott said the administration’s visa policy is centered on continuous vetting and enforcement even after the visa is first issued.

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“We’re going to do what’s necessary to protect the American people, we’re going to enforce our immigration law and we’re gonna make clear when it comes to this visa process we are going to continuously vet people here on visas — we’re going to have an America first visa policy,” Pigott said.

President Donald Trump on Thursday signed two executive orders targeting birthright citizenship and birth tourism, saying his administration is taking a new approach after what he called a “very unfortunate” Supreme Court ruling.

“We’re making adjustments because it’s very unfair,” Trump said. “They’re building businesses around birthright citizenship. That’s not the way it was supposed to work. It’s a disgrace. They’re buying their way in, and we’re not going to let it happen.”

The moves come after the Supreme Court blocked Trump’s earlier executive order seeking to limit automatic birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment.

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White House officials said the new directives rely on existing executive and immigration authorities and are intended to narrow eligibility for automatic citizenship in certain cases while cracking down on foreigners who travel to the United States to give birth.

White House deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller said the first order expands the categories of people the administration considers ineligible for birthright citizenship, including “alien enemies of the United States, members of foreign terrorist organizations, and large categories of people who lobby and act on behalf of foreign governments.”

Miller said the second order was issued “for the first time ever in American history to ban birth tourism.” He said the administration will deny visas to people who seek to enter the United States “to have a child, to make that child an automatic citizen” as well as those who organize such trips. 

Citing Section 215(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, Miller called birth tourism “by definition, a fraud on the American system” and “a fraud against the American government.”

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Asked how the administration plans to enforce the order, Trump said, “We’re cracking down very big, very big, big crackdowns. … This will give us the right to do it in a much more forceful manner.” 

When asked whether the orders would survive court challenges, Trump replied, “I think it will.”

Will Scharf, White House staff secretary, said the orders target organized birth tourism operations through visa denials and law enforcement, arguing the administration was relying on “legally validated means” that do not conflict with the Supreme Court’s ruling.

The White House had not yet released the text of the executive orders as of publication time.

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

The battle between the left-wing and the center-left establishment for the ideological future of the Democratic Party is staying put in the Midwest.

After far-left candidate Abdul El-Sayed narrowly edged out more moderate Rep. Haley Stevens this week in battleground Michigan’s high-stakes Democratic Senate primary, the spotlight now shifts to nomination showdowns next week in Wisconsin and Minnesota.

At stake: a top-tier Senate showdown in Minnesota that’s among a dozen races nationwide that will determine if the Democrats can win back control of the chamber from the GOP, and a gubernatorial face-off in crucial swing-state Wisconsin where Republicans are aiming to flip the governor’s mansion.

“Michigan proved that working people are ready for something different, and Wisconsin is next,” Democratic candidate for governor Francesca Hong wrote following El-Sayed’s victory.

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Hong, a state representative and Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) member, is the polling frontrunner in a Democratic gubernatorial nomination showdown that’s been rocked this summer after two major contenders dropped out and another candidate re-entered the race.

The primary winner will likely face off in the general election with Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany, the overwhelming polling and fundraising frontrunner for the GOP gubernatorial nomination, in the race to succeed Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who decided against running for a third term.

Hong, a former chef, is backed by top nationally known progressives, including Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Ro Khanna of California, a potential 2028 Democratic presidential contender.

She is running on a platform that includes guaranteed paid leave and a one-year moratorium in Wisconsin on building AI data centers. Hong has faced scrutiny over years-old social media posts calling for defunding and abolishing the police. Hong says she no longer supports cutting police budgets or abolishing police departments.

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But Hong’s made national headlines in recent days over a resurfaced 2020 social media post that the country should “cancel Thanksgiving” in order to “stop celebrating colonialism and the original superspreader event that killed Indegenous folx [sic.] and women.” It’s a comment she has since walked back amid backlash, and now says that Thanksgiving is her “favorite holiday.”

There’s a growing number of moderate Democrats who worry that if Hong captures the gubernatorial nomination, as many expect, it will give Tiffany a big boost in his bid to flip the governor’s office.

A Wisconsin-based Democratic strategist who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely argued with Hong at the top of the ticket, “it will hurt Democrats down ballot, in key congressional and legislative races” in the Midwestern battleground.

In Minnesota, which also holds primaries next Tuesday, the Democratic Party’s civil war is also on display as progressive Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and more moderate Rep. Angie Craig are the top two contenders battling for the party’s nomination. The current senator, Democrat Tina Smith, is retiring at the end of this year.

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A primary victory by Flanagan, who is backed by progressive champions Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, may boost the GOP hopes of flipping the seat in a blue-leaning but competitive state.

Michigan’s primary came in the wake of left-wing victories in Democratic primaries this spring and earlier this summer in deep blue congressional districts across the country, including in New York City and Denver, and in the extended race for Maine’s Democratic Senate nomination.

More than $80 million was spent on the Michigan Senate primary, making it the most expensive Democratic Senate nomination contest in history. Much of the money came from outside groups supporting Stevens or opposing El-Sayed. The largest spender was United Democracy Project, a political action committee aligned with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which is best known by its acronym AIPAC.

Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC), a leading group on the left, referred to El-Sayed’s narrow margin over Stevens and told Fox News Digital that “any win against $60 million dollars of outside spending by AIPAC and corporate interests is a giant win and sets us on a path of proving our case in November to shake up the system.”

El-Sayed’s razor-thin win was accompanied by two other progressive victories.

William Lawrence, a co-founder of the Sunrise Movement climate advocacy group, edged out two more moderate Democrats in Michigan’s 7th Congressional District, a Republican-controlled swing seat that is among roughly two dozen races expected to help determine control of the House.

Lawrence, who was backed by Sanders and El-Sayed as well as several prominent progressive groups, will face Republican Rep. Tom Barrett in the general election.

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And in Michigan’s heavily Democratic 13th Congressional District, Rep. Shri Thanedar, who was supported by top House Democratic leaders, was narrowly defeated by state Rep. Donovan McKinney. McKinney was backed by Sanders, El-Sayed and “Squad” members Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Summer Lee of Pennsylvania.

There was a setback for the far-left: DSA member and former Squad member former Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri was crushed by Democratic Rep. Wesley Bell in their rematch, as she unsuccessfully tried to win back her old seat in Congress representing St. Louis.

But El-Sayed’s victory and the potential wins by the left next week are further fueling the ongoing Republican push to characterize all Democrats on the ballot in the midterms as far left radicals, or as President Donald Trump calls them, “communists.”

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Vice President JD Vance, in an interview Wednesday on Fox News “The Ingraham Angle,” argued that “the base of the Democratic Party just wants radicals. It wants these DSA types, it wants people who hate even the idea of private property ownership.”

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Whether the GOP messaging is effective will be answered on Election Night, in November’s midterms.

FIRST ON FOX: Just as the Trump administration has refunded billions in tariffs to companies in the U.S., a push is growing in the Senate to give the president sharper, more focused tariff powers across the globe.

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., is leading the charge to give President Donald Trump congressional approval for his tariffs, specifically against countries that have longstanding trade deficits with the U.S. after his universal duties were nixed by the Supreme Court.

“Previous generations of Americans gave us an economic superpower; it’s our job to preserve what they built and to leave America better than we found it for our children and grandchildren,” Scott told Fox News Digital in a statement. 

“That means we can’t let other countries rip us off.”

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Scott’s bill, the Trade Deficit Elimination Act, would effectively create a congressional framework that allows Trump to authorize tariffs where there are trade deficits with the nation’s trade partners that are a detriment to America’s national security, foreign policy interests and economic interests.

It would require the creation of an annual watch list for countries with trade deficits that are identified and compiled by U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. That list would deem each country identified as having “trade deficit economies.”

From there, Scott’s bill would allow Trump to impose, increase, decrease, suspend or modify tariffs on imports from the listed countries in a bid to eliminate bilateral goods trade deficits.

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Trump and Greer would still need to seek consultation from Congress, specifically from the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance committees, but aren’t required to get congressional approval for applying duties to listed countries.

It also exempts certain products considered critical to U.S. supply chains, U.S. supply chains, national security or where alternative sources are unavailable.

“In recent years, our trading partners have taken advantage of access to American markets while unfairly crowding American products out of their own countries,” Scott said. “Decline is a choice, and President Trump is taking action to restore American prosperity.”

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Scott’s announcement of the bill comes just a day after the Trump administration refunded $100 billion in tariff revenue collected during the president’s “liberation day” explosion of duties across the globe.

Trump issued those tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). But the Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that he didn’t have the authority to do so.

Scott’s bill has so far picked up senators Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., and Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., as co-sponsors, and is a separate authority entirely from the IEEPA. It creates a new power, with congressional teeth, under Article 1, Section 3 directly targeting foreign commerce.

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“Trade should be fair, not one-sided, and it’s refreshing to have a president who isn’t afraid to hold our trading partners accountable,” Cramer said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “This bill gives President Trump and Ambassador Greer tools to address trade deficits, keep critical supply chains intact, and achieve better trade agreements for American farmers, ranchers, manufacturers and workers.”

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) announced 12 additional red U.S. House districts the organization intends to target in November, on top of the 46 it had already designated as possible flips.

The DCCC identified seats held by Reps. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, French Hill of Arkansas, Mike Flood of Nebraska and several other Republicans as being “in play” for Democrats in the midterm elections.

“House Democrats are expanding the battlefield deep into Trump terrain because we have a winning message focused on fighting for an Affordable America,” DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene said in a statement on Wednesday.

“At the same time, MAGA Republicans who historically have considered themselves ‘safe’ have let down the people they were elected to represent, passing disastrous policies that are crushing working families and our communities,” DelBene added. “Democrats are going to win in November and make Hakeem Jeffries the next Speaker of the House.”

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Fox News Digital reached out to the DCCC for more insight into why certain candidates were listed as vulnerable.

Many of the Republicans the DCCC have previously targeted for ousters are candidates that have been embroiled in scandals in recent months.

One such example is Rep. Max Miller of Ohio’s 7th district, whose ex-wife Emily Moreno has accused him of physically abusing both her and their young daughter.

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Another Republican congressman seen by the DCC as ripe for removal is Rep. Tom Kean Jr. of New Jersey’s 7th district.

Kean Jr. was absent from Congress for nearly four months and in that time, he missed 140 roll call votes in the House. He returned on June 30 and announced that he had been diagnosed with depression.

Rep. Mike Lawler of New York’s 17th district is also named on the DCCC’s list of vulnerable Republicans.

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Lawler has been in the crosshairs of Democrats since he narrowly defeated centrist Democrat Sean Patrick Maloney in 2022. In 2024, Lawler handily fended off a challenge from Mondaire Jones, the ex-congressman who used to represent the 17th district.

The district includes all of Rockland and Putnam counties, which President Donald Trump won by double digits in the 2024 election. However, it also includes parts of Westchester County, which overwhelmingly voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris.

EXCLUSIVE: As Democrats salivate over an elusive statewide victory in Texas, Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton says he is undeterred by recent polling showing his Democratic opponent James Talarico holding a slim lead.

Democrats believe this is their moment to finally flip Texas blue after decades of frustrated efforts. Such an upset would be devastating for the GOP’s chances of retaining a Senate majority. Speaking with Fox News Digital after a rally in Houston, Paxton said Talarico’s current lead is “not surprising” given “we were three months behind” after his primary runoff with incumbent Sen. John Cornyn.

“He had three months to fundraise. So, he’s been spending $2 million a week to gain that advance,” Paxton said. Despite this, Paxton, who currently serves as Texas’ attorney general, said that, come Election Day, he is confident Texans will reject the “real James Talarico” when they hear about his record. Talarico, a state Democratic lawmaker, has a history of controversial statements, including previously asserting that “God is nonbinary,” that there are six sexes, and calling it “existential” to reduce meat consumption to fight climate change.

“I do not believe a poll that tells me that, ‘We don’t care what he believes. We don’t care that he voted for a state income tax. We don’t care that he wanted to trans children. We don’t care that he’s against the oil and gas industry. We don’t care that he voted against every border security bill,’” Paxton continued. “I don’t believe a poll that says Texans don’t care about those issues. I’ve done enough polling; I’ve been in this long enough that that’s just not true.”

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This comes as both candidates continue to crisscross the Lone Star State to get their message out to voters.

A recent Fox News poll of Texas voters showed Talarico with a within-margin-of-error lead in the race, 51% to 48%. Talarico held a slightly wider lead among extremely motivated and extremely interested voters, 53% to 47%, according to the poll. Critically, the Fox News poll found that 59% of Texas voters indicated they are concerned about Paxton’s character while just 47% indicated they are concerned about Talarico being “too extreme” for Texas.

Paxton accused Talarico of “trying to mislead people about who he is” by masking a far-left “socialist” agenda while running as a moderate. He said Talarico has “changed all his positions on pick an issue, whether it’s boys in girls’ sports, or meat, or trans-ing kids.”

“All of his positions suddenly changed for the general election [but] we have his votes, and we have his words, and those will be out,” he said.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Talarico campaign for comment and did not receive a response before publication.

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While he acknowledged that many Texas voters have not heard his messaging on Talarico’s controversial views, he pointed out during his rally that Talarico has been aided by an influx of cash from out of state, particularly California.

Fox News Digital reported in June that donors from outside Texas accounted for roughly 50% of the funds Talarico received during the final stretch of the first quarter of 2026. During the same time period, Paxton, meanwhile, received about 25% of his cash from outside the state.

Still, the fundraising difference is stark. The Texas Tribune reported in late July that the latest quarterly Federal Election Commission filings show Talarico outraised Paxton by a more than three-to-one margin, $31.6 million to $9.3 million.

Paxton, however, appeared unbothered by all of this, pointing to how Talarico has had the advantage of several months to focus his attacks. While polling suggests the Texas GOP remains divided after the particularly messy Senate primary, Paxton said, “Primaries are like that for Democrats and Republicans” and “we are coming together.”

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As he travels the state, he said he will continue highlighting the “stark difference” between him and Talarico. Meanwhile, the attorney general said he will be keeping his pitch focused on affordability and cutting regulations.

“We know that Texans need help; we know that Americans need help. That’s why I’m suggesting, and what I’m proposing is a first-time homebuyers’ $50,000 tax deduction, I’m proposing a $25,000 a year deduction for medical expenses including insurance premiums for everyone in the family. The child tax credit being doubled, the Trump accounts being continued. And then a $5,000 healthy living deduction so that you can pay for gym expenses and nutrition programs, sports activities, and even doctor-prescribed GLP-1,” he said.

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“We’re still three months out,” Paxton continued. “And I know that when we put our resources together, when we get there, we will be able to highlight things and once the voters know the real James Talarico, not the fake one that’s running right now … people will get to decide for themselves.”

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“Do we want a socialist Democrat in Texas?” he asked. “I think the answer is going to be absolutely not.”

FIRST ON FOX: The Republican-led House Committee on Education and Workforce is demanding financial records from five of the nation’s largest labor unions over allegations that union leaders used funds to support Democratic candidates and progressive causes while spending millions on lavish perks.

In letters obtained by Fox News Digital and sent Thursday, the lawmakers on the committee requested financial records dating back to January 2023 from the United Auto Workers (UAW), United Steelworkers (USW), SMART Transportation Division (SMART-TD), Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET), and Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division (BMWED).

“Unions are supposed to be representing workers for their best interests on the job site, for their future goals that they have, and to work together in a commonality that speaks for, I think, in general, all of the workers combined and not just select portions of it,” Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Mich., who also serves as the chairman of the House Committee on Education and Workforce, told Fox News Digital.

“When we see funds that have been used by multiple unions for highly political purposes, and you begin to see that the rank and file aren’t following along with the same political funding purposes of union leadership, common sense says you ought to take a look at it.”

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Multiple reports cited in the letters, including previous Fox News Digital reporting on BMWED’s political spending, allege union leaders spent millions supporting Democratic candidates and progressive causes while also spending heavily on conferences, travel, entertainment and other expenses.

The UAW had the highest reported totals, with nearly $95 million in political spending and nearly $146 million spent on travel and entertainment.

The requests also seek records on lobbying, executive pay, travel, entertainment and conference expenses, along with member complaints, ethics and audit policies, transfers to larger labor organizations, and the use of union funds to cover expenses for spouses, family members, guests or political allies.

The lawmakers argue there is a growing disconnect between union leadership and members, saying many rank-and-file workers have “increasingly supported President Trump and other Republican candidates in recent election cycles.”

“I think it comes down to the leader’s own self-interest,” Walberg said. “That could be political interest, or that could be self-aggrandizement, or in certain cases looks like for monetary purposes, for their own personal benefit.”

In the letters, the lawmakers said that workers “deserve transparency regarding how their dues are spent, the extent to which union leadership consults members before endorsing candidates or engaging in political activities, and whether differing viewpoints within the union are being respected.”

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Walberg said the committee is examining how some unions spend dues collected under “mandatory membership policies.”

“We have responsibility in our committee for oversight on what goes on in the workplace, what goes in those that represent workers in the work place on both sides of the equation, whether it’s the employer or the union,” he said.

But Walberg said union leaders still face questions about serving workers’ best interests.

“There have been union leaders who have gone to jail and certainly been prosecuted over misuse of funds,” he said. “There seems to be indication that that still is going on in certain major unions.”

Insisting “this is not to be a partisan political motivated effort,” Walberg said the committee’s role is oversight and that evidence uncovered during the investigation could still be referred to the Justice Department.

“We do not have prosecutorial powers,” he said. “We can’t put anybody in jail. We can call for information, and ultimately call for union leadership to come before our committee and answer questions.”

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The unions were asked to respond by Aug. 17, with the UAW receiving a separate Aug. 18 deadline.

“The committee will continue examining whether current labor law adequately protects workers from political coercion and whether additional transparency requirements are warranted,” according to the letters.

The letters added that the unions’ responses will assist “in determining whether any legislative changes are warranted,” arguing unions have a legal duty to fairly represent members and that workers “should not be compelled to subsidize political advocacy fundamentally at odds with their beliefs or interests.”

Walberg said the investigation is “for a purpose,” one he hopes will hold union leaders accountable.

“I hope that will be very apparent and transparent that we are concerned about the rank-and-file union member who in most cases had no choice about their contributions but should have a clear understanding and the ability to react to that understanding about how their funds are being used for political, cultural, you name it, purposes and have their union leadership brought to light,” he said.

In response to Fox News Digital’s request for comment, SMART-TD spokesperson Dan Banks said that regarding the union’s finances, labor organizations already face “extensive federal reporting and disclosure requirements” and urged the committee to “focus its efforts on legislation that meaningfully improves the lives and working conditions of American workers.”

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Fox News Digital also reached out to the UAW, USW, BLET and BMWED for comment. BMWED declined to comment, while the other unions did not respond by publication.

President Donald Trump declared Thursday that the U.S. has a “massive” munitions stockpile and “treasonous” leakers are “being hunted down” after reports emerged claiming the U.S. Army has burned through nearly all of its stockpiles of two of its primary long-range precision weapons.

The Army has used “virtually all” of its inventories of Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) and Precision Strike Missiles (PrSM) during the five-month conflict with Iran, Reuters reported Tuesday, citing people familiar with internal U.S. military data.

“The U.S. has massive amounts of ‘munitions,’ especially of certain types. Additionally, large amounts are being manufactured and shipped to the U.S. as needed. Defense companies are building the largest number of plants and factories in our country’s history,” Trump wrote on Truth Social early Thursday.

“The ‘leakers’ of these treasonous statements are being hunted down. Long term jail sentences will be sought!” the president added.

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Trump’s message was reposted on X by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.

If accurate, the Reuters report underscores a long-standing Pentagon concern: America’s most sophisticated precision weapons can be expended in months but often take years to replace.

Officials fear the drawdown could complicate the military’s ability to respond to future crises involving adversaries such as China and Russia, according to the report.

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Reuters also reported that the conflict significantly reduced inventories of Patriot and THAAD missile interceptors, along with Tomahawk cruise missiles, though the Pentagon has maintained the U.S. military retains the capabilities needed to carry out operations worldwide.

Exact U.S. weapons stockpile figures remain classified for national security reasons.

Some estimates show the U.S. has used more than half of its stockpiles of some weapons systems in the war with Iran. The Center for Strategic and International Studies found the U.S. has enough missiles to continue fighting in Iran under any plausible scenario, but the group says the true issue with the shrinking stockpiles is future wars.

“The depletion of munitions was a major topic and a major reason for the suspension of air attacks,” Mark Cancian, a retired U.S. Marine colonel and senior advisor with the CSIS Defense and Security Department, told Fox News’ Bret Baier. “Our inventories were getting way below what the war planners wanted. That might encourage China to do something.”

CSIS notes many munition stockpiles are substantial but focused its analysis on seven key weapons that have been effective in Iran and would also be valuable in a possible Pacific conflict.

Trump said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital on Wednesday, “We have far more munitions than anyone in the world, and far more than we need, despite the fact that an unprecedented amount was given away by Crooked Joe Biden and the Biden Administration to Ukraine and Europe at no cost, in one of many of their extremely dumb moves.”

The Pentagon has also pushed back on the reporting.

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“America’s military is the most powerful in the world and has everything it needs to execute at the time and place of the President’s choosing. We have executed multiple successful operations across combatant commands while ensuring the U.S. military possesses a deep arsenal of capabilities to protect our people and our interests,” chief spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement.

Fox News’ Bret Baier and Amy Munneke and Fox News Digital’s Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.

Manny Rutinel, Democratic candidate for Congress in Colorado’s 8th Congressional District, once co-authored a paper that argued that livestock — not fossil fuels — should be more of a focus to combat global warming.

“Simply put, achieving the Paris Agreement goals will be nearly impossible without ambitious policies that reform our food system,” Rutinel wrote in a 2022 paper with the Environmental Law Institute.

“Despite the growing awareness of animal agriculture’s climate impact, climate policy and action have historically focused on electricity and fuel use.”

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The resurfaced paper is just the most recent resurfaced content complicating the political calculus for Rutinel as he strives to convince voters that his past rhetoric on climate and farming is not fully representative of his views now.

Four years since the publication of his work, Rutinel’s election very well could depend on the heavy ranching presence in his district.

Colorado’s 8th district is Colorado’s leading producer of beef cattle and dairy, accounting for 26% of the state’s output, according to Upstate Colorado Economic Development. Of its 2.5 million acres, 75% are devoted to farming and raising livestock.

In recent months, Rutinel has worked to convince voters that he recognizes the industry’s importance.

“Like all industry, there are bad apples, and I’ve spoken out against those bad apples that cause extreme and unnecessary animal cruelty in parts of the food industry and against the environmental cost of unsustainable food practices,” he said.

“They’re good stewards of the land, they care for their animals, and they are the backbone of our economy and our communities. Colorado ranchers are my friends and neighbors, and I’ve gotten to know them,” he added.

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But through advocacy in college, testimony made before local government and a climate group he started, Rutinel has pressed the case that many climate advocates have articulated in the past: that livestock contribute to global emissions as a byproduct through their digestive systems.

The resurfaced paper brings a government-led approach to many of his vocalized positions.

In it, Rutinel argued that ranchers and animal farmers should be incentivized through government initiatives to transition to plant-based farming with either a carrot or a stick.

“Governments can require that agribusiness internalize the environmental, public health, and animal welfare costs of animal farms through regulations, mandates or taxes,” Rutinel wrote, suggesting penalties for companies to make up for their production.

“But one food system policy idea has not received sufficient attention: the direct funding of farm transitions from concentrated animal feeding operations to plant-based operations,” he added.

Rutinel also argued state and local governments could finance offsetting projects that would reduce emissions.

“For example, a manufacturing facility in California can decrease its net emissions by purchasing offset credits that finance a reforestation project in Brazil. Offset credits can be purchased voluntarily or to exceed emission allowances within a compliance market.”

To some onlookers who have cast doubt on Rutinel’s positions in the past, the statements appear to confirm that his position is further left on energy than many Democrats pushing aggressive climate initiatives through legislation like the Green New Deal.

“You have to be legitimately insane to look at the Green New Deal and think it doesn’t go far enough. Meatless Manny’s vision to ban ranching would not only lead to catastrophic job losses in Colorado but also cause a beef shortage across America,” Zach Kraft, a spokesperson for the Republican National Committee, said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

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Rutinel’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether he continues to believe that climate reform must, on some level, mean change for farming industries.

Having cleared the Democratic primary, Rutinel will face off against Rep. Gabe Evans in the state’s Nov. 3, 2026, general election.

For decades, laser weapons have represented one of the Pentagon’s most ambitious technological goals — promising to shoot down enemy drones and missiles at the speed of light without expending costly interceptors.

Now, after years of testing and false starts, the Army appears poised to take its biggest step yet toward making that vision a battlefield reality.

The Army is nearing a contract award for the Enduring High Energy Laser (E-HEL), a system that, if fielded as expected, would represent the service’s first laser weapon to transition into a permanent operational capability.

The development comes as the Pentagon races to adapt to a new era of warfare in which inexpensive drones can overwhelm traditional air defenses and force militaries to expend missile interceptors costing hundreds of thousands — or even millions — of dollars. If fielded, the E-HEL would mark a significant step toward giving U.S. forces a new way to counter those threats without relying solely on costly kinetic weapons.

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In July, Army acquisition chief Lt. Gen. Frank Lozano said the service was negotiating a contract with AeroVironment for the E-HEL, describing it as the Army’s first program of record for a family of high-energy laser systems. He said the technology had shown “a lot of recent promise and capability” during testing at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.

A source with knowledge of the program told Fox News Digital the Army is nearing a contract award, though negotiations are continuing and nothing has been finalized.

The Army’s move is not happening in isolation.

In July, the Air Force disclosed it is using the compact laser weapon system at multiple locations overseas to defend against drones. The Navy, meanwhile, has spent years testing its high-energy laser with integrated optical-dazzler and surveillance (HELIOS) aboard destroyers, gradually integrating directed-energy weapons into fleet operations.

Together, the developments suggest the Pentagon may be entering a new phase for directed-energy weapons after decades of research and billions of dollars in investment.

The U.S. is not alone in pursuing the technology. Israel has begun deploying its Iron Beam laser air defense system — developed with significant U.S. support — to counter rockets, mortars and drones, while China has publicly showcased a growing range of military laser systems and counter-drone weapons as it expands its own directed-energy capabilities.

Even so, the War Department has spent decades pursuing laser weapons, with many early U.S. programs struggling with technical hurdles ranging from power generation and beam control to thermal management and reliability in operational environments.

“It’s not about the laser anymore,” Tom Karako, director of the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told Fox News Digital. “It’s all these other things that make it workable as a weapon system” — from ensuring it can withstand dust, heat and bad weather to developing doctrine, training operators and maintaining the systems in the field.

And because laser beams can continue traveling well beyond their intended target, the military also must ensure they do not inadvertently illuminate satellites or other aircraft, one reason integrating the technology into everyday operations has proven more complicated than simply building a powerful laser.

The shift has been driven in large part by the rapid proliferation of inexpensive drones across battlefields in Ukraine, the Middle East and the Red Sea, forcing militaries to rethink how they defend against increasingly cheap aerial threats.

Even as lasers move closer to operational use, they are unlikely to replace traditional missile defenses.

Unlike missiles, which can travel over the horizon to engage distant threats, lasers are largely line-of-sight weapons, meaning they can only strike targets they can directly “see.”

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“It’s great for when that drone is coming in on top of you,” Karako said. “But it’s more difficult to be able to get past the horizon.”

That means lasers are expected to become another layer of the Pentagon’s air defense architecture rather than a replacement for kinetic interceptors. Missiles will still be needed to engage threats at long distances and in adverse conditions, while lasers are likely to be most effective against drones and other aerial threats that have already entered a defended area.

The Army is also pursuing a next-generation counter-drone missile expected to cost less than $150,000 per interceptor, part of a broader effort to expand lower-cost options for defeating unmanned aircraft.

Lasers are only one piece of the Pentagon’s broader directed-energy push. The military also is testing high-powered microwave systems such as Epirus’ Leonidas, which are designed to defend against one of the battlefield’s fastest-growing threats: swarms of inexpensive drones.

Rather than relying on a kinetic interceptor, high-powered microwaves use bursts of electromagnetic energy to disrupt the electronics of multiple nearby unmanned aircraft simultaneously.

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The Pentagon also is investing in radio-frequency technologies capable of jamming communications between drones and their operators or interfering with satellite navigation signals, potentially causing unmanned aircraft to lose control.

A key congressional primary race will serve as a test of President Donald Trump’s political weight on Thursday night.

Voters in Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District are headed to the polls to decide between Trump-backed Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., and Republican Charlie Hatcher, the former state agriculture commissioner, who scored an 11th-hour endorsement from Gov. Bill Lee on Tuesday evening.

Ogles, one of Trump’s most vocal allies in Congress, is seeking a third term representing the Middle Tennessee district, which includes part of the Nashville suburbs. Hatcher is the state’s former Agriculture commissioner under Lee, and served as Tennessee State Veterinarian before that under both Democrat and Republican administrations.

“I’m not really surprised at all. You know, they’re friends,” Ogles said of Lee endorsing his rival.

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He argued that his endorsements, including Trump and House GOP leaders, prove that he’s the more conservative choice in the race.

“The golden endorsement that anyone wants is that of President Trump’s, which I have. And I think Trump has really done a good job of making sure that he’s choosing conservatives in races, which is also why I have the endorsement of [House Speaker] Mike Johnson, you know, conservative stalwart. [House Judiciary Committee Chair] Jim Jordan has endorsed me,” Ogles said.

“And so you just go down the list of my endorsements, it’s that of the conservatives, whereas my opponent has less conservative folks, shall we say, endorsing him.”

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And having Trump’s backing is not a small edge in deep red Tennessee, which Trump won by double digits in 2024. He bested Vice President Kamala Harris by roughly 18 points in Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District that year.

But despite that and his incumbency advantage, Ogles has still faced a tough race this year with a clean energy super PAC spending more than $1 million to unseat him.

The Invest in Tomorrow Coalition super PAC spent roughly $1.3 million against Ogles and in favor of Hatcher. The group boasts billionaire Chris Larsen as a top donor, who also previously donated to Harris’ presidential campaign.

Ogles is a member of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus, whose members have built a reputation as being thorns in the side of House GOP leaders.

TRUMP-BACKED REPUBLICAN ADVANCES TO FACE VULNERABLE DEMOCRAT IN KEY HOUSE BATTLEGROUND

But Ogles, for the most part, has avoided that label. He instead acted as a key liaison between Johnson and his right flank on several pieces of legislation, which has apparently earned the Louisiana Republican’s loyalty in response.

Johnson spoke in support of Ogles at a tele-rally on Tuesday night, warning that he was the best choice against Democrats who would take the country down a “dark, dangerous, deadly road to communism” should they win in November.

“I think everybody who’s listening to our voices tonight understands we have a fateful midterm election coming up,” Johnson said. “We have to keep and maintain and grow the republican majority in the House, and Andy Ogles is a key part of this majority.”

The House speaker also lauded Ogles as one of his top negotiators on extending Trump’s tax cuts in the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act earlier this year, as well as other measures.

“We’re working with a one or two vote margin, and at the end of the day, when things are tight, Andy Ogles is one of the members who’s a small handful of guys who helps deliver the vote,” Johnson said. “He helps me, he’s my agent on the floor, you know, he’s making sure that we corral the votes and get these things done. So he has an outsized influence in Congress, and he’s a critical member of this team.”

Lee said in a video released Tuesday night that he and Hatcher have been friends for 25 years and that he’s “stood with President Trump since day one,” touting him as a conservative with strong right-wing values.

Hatcher thanked Lee for his endorsement on Facebook and added, “In Congress, I will work hard, serve people, and get the job done by pursuing sensible, problem-solving solutions. I will defend our conservative values, support President Trump’s agenda, and fight to lower the cost of living for Tennessee families.”

But despite Lee invoking Trump in his endorsement, the pair have notably split on a Republican primary race once before. Trump endorsed Republican Bobby Harshbarger for a state Senate seat over a Lee-backed incumbent in 2024. Harshbarger ultimately won, and Trump denounced Lee as a “RINO” in a Truth Social post afterward.

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Fox News Digital reached out to Hatcher’s campaign for comment.

The U.S. State Department said a “threat against American interests” forced the United States to suspend all of its government activities in a Mexican state where visitors face a risk of violence “from terrorist groups, cartels, gangs and criminal organizations.”

The warning from the U.S. Embassy & Consulates in Mexico about the state of Michoacan, which is located west of Mexico City, includes a halt to the inspections of avocados required for their export, according to The Associated Press.

“Due to a threat against American interests, U.S. government activities in Michoacan State have been suspended as of August 5,” the message read. “Reminder that the U.S. travel advisory designates Michoacan as a Level 4 ‘Do Not Travel’ area.”

While the U.S. embassy did not specify the nature of the threat in its security alert, Michoacan Gov. Alfredo Ramírez Bedolla said on social media that a temporary halt to avocado inspections was intended to safeguard workers following recent arrests linked to alleged extortion, the AP reported.

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The western state of Michoacan is the leading exporter of avocados to the U.S. and has a high level of organized crime activity with at least four cartels — designated as terrorist organizations by the Trump administration — operating in the region. Besides trafficking drugs, cartels also make money through extortion, including of the avocado industry.

The State Department warns Americans to “exercise increased caution” throughout Mexico due to “terrorism, crime, and kidnapping.”

For Michoacan state, it said, “There is a risk of violence in the state from terrorist groups, cartels, gangs and criminal organizations.”

Michoacan State Security Secretary Antonio Cruz told the AP that one of the arrests mentioned by the governor was of “El Poncho,” the alias of Alfonso Fernández Magallón, leader of a local cartel operating in the avocado-growing region around Los Reyes.

SINALOA CARTEL BOSS ‘EL MAYO’ SENTENCED TO LIFE, ORDERED TO PAY $15B IN DRUG TRAFFICKING PROFITS

U.S. ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson welcomed the arrest, which came over the weekend. The U.S. government had offered a $5 million reward.

Cruz said his department was unaware of any direct incidents involving the avocado inspectors. However, 300 security personnel were deployed to the Los Reyes area as a preventive measure.

The governor said the priority was to “ensure the security conditions necessary for these operations to resume normally,” as has happened in the past.

In 2025, Mexico sold $3.65 billion worth of avocados to the United States, and in the first four months of this year, those exports rose by 35% compared to the same period in the previous year.

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The U.S. Department of Agriculture sends inspectors in Mexico to monitor plantations and packing houses to ensure that exported produce is free of pests. Threats and violence against the inspectors have caused the U.S. to suspend inspections in the past.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Conservative firebrand Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee is aiming to change her work address from Washington D.C. to Nashville.

The former longtime congresswoman and two-term senator with a robust national profile thanks to her regular cable news appearances is the front-runner in Thursday’s Republican gubernatorial primary, in the race to succeed term-limited GOP Gov. Bill Lee.

The Republican face-off for governor of Tennessee, where Democrats haven’t won a gubernatorial election in two decades, takes top billing as the red-leaning southeastern state holds nominating contests for state and federal offices.

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Blackburn is considered the frontrunner in a race that also includes four-term Rep. John Rose, who like Blackburn is a staunch Capitol Hill supporter of President Donald Trump, and state Rep. Monty Fritts.

Even though the president handed out endorsements in other GOP gubernatorial primaries this cycle, Trump remained neutral in the Tennessee contest.

“Unfortunately, she’s running for governor. She’s running for governor of Tennessee. I’d love her not to, I begged her,” Trump said in January. “‘I said, ‘Marsha, don’t. We don’t want to lose you in the Senate.’”

But the president has said Blackburn would be a good governor, and also noted that Rose has been a staunch loyalist.

Even though she didn’t land Trump’s endorsement, Blackburn has showcased her support for him.

“As President Trump sends power and authority back to the states, I’m ready to deliver for the people of the Volunteer State and make our state America’s conservative leader,” she wrote on the eve of the primary in a social media post that included a photo of her and Trump.

Five Democrats, including Memphis City Councilwoman Jerri Green, are bidding for their party’s gubernatorial nomination.

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Tennessee’s other U.S. senator, Republican Bill Hagerty, is unopposed in the GOP primary as he seeks a second six-year term in the Senate.

Five Democrats are vying to challenge Hagerty in the general election. Then-Sen. Al Gore’s re-election 36 years ago was the last time a Democrat won a Senate contest in Tennessee.

In U.S. House battles, Memphis voters will cast ballots for their Democratic and Republican nominees using a new GOP-drawn congressional district map that created an extra right-leaning seat and forced longtime Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen to not seek re-election.

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Meanwhile, two-term Republican Rep. Andy Ogles, a major Trump ally in the House who is backed by the president, is facing a stiff primary challenge from Tennessee Agriculture Commissioner Charlie Hatcher, who was endorsed earlier this week by Lee. The race has seen a large infusion of money from outside groups.

The White House released newly declassified FBI memos showing that the bureau opened a 2017 counterintelligence investigation into whether President Donald Trump’s firing of James Comey was connected to Russia.

The investigation, codenamed “Oxferd Comma,” opened after Trump fired FBI Director James Comey in May 2017, according to the White House’s release. It is unclear as to why the word “Oxford” was seemingly misspelled.

The probe was launched due to national security concerns about whether Trump himself was a Russian asset, the documents allege.

Investigators sought to determine whether Trump was “directed by, controlled by, and/or coordinated activities with, the Russian Federation in a manner constituting a threat to the national security of the United States and/or a violation of federal criminal statutes,” according an FBI memo on May 16, 2017, jump-starting the investigation.

“In addition, this investigation will also seek to determine whether President Trump and others yet to be named obstructed and/or conspiracy to obstruct any associated FBI investigation,” the same memo added.

Comey was appointed by then-President Barack Obama, serving as FBI Director from 2013 to 2017.

He oversaw the launch of the “Crossfire Hurricane” investigation in July 2016 after receiving information that Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos had suggested Russia possessed damaging information about Hillary Clinton.

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Comey also ran an investigation into Clinton about the use of her private email servers and sent a letter to Congress days before the 2016 election saying the FBI had discovered emails that “appear to be pertinent.” 

Trump fired Comey after taking office, with the administration initially citing his handling of the Clinton email investigation as reason for losing his job.

COMEY LEARNS FATE OF BID TO DELAY TRIAL OVER ‘86 47’ SEASHELL POST AT CENTER OF TRUMP THREAT CASE

A week after Comey’s firing, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed Robert Mueller as Special Counsel to take over and broaden the existing FBI “Crossfire Hurricane” investigation. 

Mueller found in April 2019 that the Russian government sought to influence the election through a social media disinformation campaign and by hacking and releasing Democratic Party emails. His report stated that the investigation did not establish that members of the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government.

After Mueller’s probe was set to be finalized, memos on the “Oxferd Comma” investigation were closed on April 9, 2019.

Subsequently, Attorney General William Barr appointed John Durham to review how the FBI had initiated the Russia investigation, which in 2023 concluded that the Bureau lacked sufficient factual basis to open the full Crossfire Hurricane investigation and exhibited bias by departing from its usual standards.

New documents on a declassified annex to Durham’s final report show that officials had concerns rgarding Clinton’s campaign plan to smear then-candidate Trump by connecting him to Russia.

“Raising the theme of “Putin’s support for Trump” to the level of the Olympics scandal would divert the constituents’ attention from the investigation of Clinton’s compromised electronic correspondence,” reads the annex.

Included in the annex is a 2016 letter from Leonard Benardo, who worked for the Soros-founded philanthropic network Open Society Foundations and had business in Moscow in the 1980s.

“Julie says it will be a long-term affair to demonize Putin and Trump. Now it is good for a post-convention bounce. Later the FBI will put more oil into the fire,” wrote Benardo. 

The ‘Julie’ that Benardo references appears to be Clinton foreign policy advisor Julianne Smith, according to the report appendix.

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Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for additional comment on Wednesday. 

This is a breaking news story and will be updated. 

Douglas Ollivant decisively beat two fellow political newcomers in the Republican primary contest to take on incumbent Rep. Eugene Vindman, D-Va., in November.

Vindman, whose twin brother is a high-profile foe of President Donald Trump, currently represents Virginia’s 7th Congressional district, a seat previously held by the state’s Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger.

The Republican primary race between Ollivant, Rick Smithers and Philip Harding was unique in that none of the candidates had held elected office before, though two have government experience. The lack of reliable polling made it difficult to foretell who would emerge triumphant — but Ollivant ran away with victory, earning 56.6% of the vote compared to Harding’s 30.7% and Smithers’ 12.8%. 

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Ollivant is a retired Army officer who served as the National Security Council director for Iraq during the George W. Bush administration. He worked as a national security analyst and consultant after that.

Smithers is a pastor and construction business owner who branded himself as the biggest outsider in the race.

Harding is a businessman with a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University. He also earned his graduate degree from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

All three candidates have generally aligned themselves with Donald Trump, though the president did not endorse anyone in the race.

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According to FEC data, Ollivant had the cash advantage, raising $251,134. Harding raised $125,916 before primary Election Day, and there was no reported fundraising data for Smithers.

Virginia’s 7th Congressional District, located in the northeastern part of the state and encompassing Culpeper and Fredericksburg east into Stafford, Spotsylvania, Caroline and parts of Prince William County, is considered a true swing state.

Vindman, who ran unopposed this time around, won the vacant seat by only three points.

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As Democrats hope to retain the seat in November, Republicans are eyeing it as a potential flip, which would be a welcome pickup as the GOP fights tooth-and-nail to keep control of Congress, a historically difficult feat for the party in power during a midterm election year.

Vindman’s twin brother Alexander is a longtime foe of Trump. Alexander Vindman is a former military official, and the then-National Security Council director for European affairs testified against Trump during the first failed impeachment attempt in 2019.

Alexander is an ardent defender of Ukraine, and became a central figure of the impeachment attempt, claiming that in a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Trump attempted to make military aid for the embattled European nation contingent on an investigation into the Biden family’s involvement in Ukrainian business activities.

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Ultimately, the impeachment failed, and both Alexander and Eugene Vindman were removed from the National Security Council.

Alexander Vindman later became a frequent anti-Trump guest on CNN and MSNBC, as well as on the left-wing podcast circuit.