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President Donald Trump honored deceased volunteer firefighter Welles Crowther – also known as the “man in the red bandana” – with the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Tuesday. 

Speaking during Tunnel to Towers’ “Steel Across America” event in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, President Donald Trump praised Crowther, whose actions during 9/11 saved up to 18 people’s lives, sparking nationwide admiration and a series of documentary features on his bravery. 

“Today we also remember another hero of 9/11. After the plane hit the south tower, a group of people on the 78th floor were trapped with broken bones, charred skin and eyes and lungs filled with black smoke. Death was all about them. It was certain they were sure they were going to die. Then suddenly a rescuer appeared. They call him the man in the red bandana. Have you heard that term? The man in the red bandana has become more famous than me. I don’t like it. Very unhappy. But he’s become much more famous than me,” Trump joked. 

“He’s the man in the red bandana. He had found the only stairwell that barely survived. The stairwells were all knocked down. You couldn’t get by. Impassable. He found an opening in one of the stairwells, and the impact was so great there was no other way down but this one little opening, this one little hole. And [he] traveled down from the 104th floor to look for those trapped and dying,” Trump continued. 

“When he heard cries for help on the 78th floor, he began extinguishing the fires, blocking the exit, directing survivors who could walk, of which there weren’t that many. He helped them out physically. They literally pulled him out toward the only working stairwell and carried those who couldn’t walk. And he just did things that people said were not even imaginable because they knew they were dead. They said, ‘we’re goners.’ One guy was screaming, ‘we’re goners! We’re goners!’ He didn’t know those he helped and, nor who would have known, but he willingly made all of these trips up and down, up and down, up and down, over and over again, saving life after life,” Trump added.

“That rescuer was a 24-year-old equities trader and volunteer firefighter from Rockland County named Welles Crowther. And Welles’ father, also a firefighter, great firefighter, had given him that bandana as a very special tribute when he was a boy. He probably knew something about his son. When asked why he always kept it, Welles replied ‘with this red bandana, I’m going to change the world. I’m going to change the world with this bandana.’ Little did he know, on September 11th Welles saved many, many people before losing his own life in the South Tower lobby. When the building came down, he was in the lobby and that building came down, thousands of tons of steel,” Trump said.

“Today, in honor of his incredible bravery and all of the other countless unknown acts of heroism that day, it is my privilege to award the very special, the highest honor that we give, the highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. We want to award that to Welles and the Welles family. Welles is up there looking down at his mom and his sister, his family,” Trump said. 

Trump was speaking during the Tunnel to Towers’ “Steel Across America” event, in which the organization takes a 16,900 lb steel beam that came from the World Trade Center’s South Tower across the country. 

The president also invited Crowther’s mother on stage to speak about her son after revealing he had promised her years earlier to award the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, to her son. 

“That Welles’ light still shines brilliantly today, even after 25 years, is testament to his legacy of courage, compassion and love for humanity that continues to inspire and uplift others,” Alison Crowther said. 

“Wells, however, would not have been able to do what he did as effectively on 9/11 if it had not been for the training and experience he gained as a member of Empire Hook and Ladder Company Number one of Upper Nyack. Empire is a volunteer company and the members are fully trained firefighters. They have other jobs and responsibilities, businesses to run and their own families. But when the alarm goes off at any time, day or night, they respond to the call to save life and property. This is a calling. And Welles – following in the footsteps of his father, Jefferson – joined Empire at the age of 16. He was no longer an equities trader on 9/11, he was a firefighter,” she said.

MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Democratic and Republican Senate nominations are up for grabs on Tuesday in swing state New Hampshire, in a race that may determine if Republicans keep control of the chamber in the midterm elections.

Socialist-aligned candidate Karishma Manzur is on the move as she tries to pull off a major upset and defeat establishment-backed four-term Rep. Chris Pappas in the Democratic Senate primary.

Once a longshot, Manzur gained momentum in recent weeks as the national spotlight turned to New Hampshire after a six-month primary season that saw the far-left score a slew of high-profile victories over centrists in what’s been framed as a battle for the Democrats’ ideological future.

The winner of the Democratic primary will take on either John E. Sununu or Scott Brown, two former senators who are battling for the GOP Senate nomination in the race to succeed retiring longtime Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the first woman in the nation’s history elected governor and senator.

THESE 12 MIDTERM RACES WILL DECIDE WHICH PARTY CONTROLS THE SENATE

Republicans haven’t won a Senate election in New Hampshire in 16 years, but they view the open Democrat-held seat as a top flip opportunity in the fight to hold their slim majority in the midterm elections.

In the Democratic primary, Manzur is taking the fight to Pappas.

“All he wants to do is just get his little cushy job and go to D.C., go to all these parties and these restaurants and just do whatever the bare minimum is,” she charged in a Fox News Digital interview.

The first-time candidate, scientist with a Ph.D. in biochemistry and nonprofit leader who is a member of a local Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) group, is pushing for universal healthcare, raising the minimum wage to at least $20 per hour, abolishing ICE and ending all military aid to Israel for what she argues is the Israeli government’s “genocide” against the Palestinian people in their war against Hamas in Gaza.

Manzur charged that Pappas, who has been supported over the years by the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC, is a “genocide enabler.”

“Chris Pappas has had his turn and has not been able to serve this state honorably. He hasn’t done a good job in serving his corporate donors, his AIPAC foreign-aligned lobbies,” she claimed.

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Pappas, in an interview with Fox News Digital, said, “Israel’s a historic ally of the United States, the only democracy in the region. And you can say that while you have vehement disagreements with the Netanyahu government as I’ve expressed.”

Referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Pappas said, “I think Netanyahu’s being incredibly reckless right now. He faces voters in a matter of weeks and could lose his election. And I think that would be important to set a new tone for the U.S.-Israel relationship.”

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Pappas, who has been the frontrunner for his party’s nomination ever since Shaheen announced early last year that she wouldn’t seek re-election, enjoys strong establishment and union backing. And for over a year, as he runs for the Senate, Pappas also takes aim at what he calls a political system “rigged for billionaires.”

Regardless, Manzur charges that Pappas is taking a page from her playbook.

“It’s really embarrassing and insulting to the people of New Hampshire. He’s been there for eight years. He has not provided any of that sort of populist messages, and now he’s realizing, wait, he’s dropping in the polls, and now he has to catch up,” Manzur argued. 

Pappas defended his record, noting, “I’ve been fighting to change Washington to get big money out of our political system since I got elected to Congress in 2018.”

And Pappas emphasized he’s “appealing to those voters between the 20- and 80-yard line on the political playing field, and there are a lot of them in New Hampshire. This is not a left wing or a right wing state. It’s a state of voters who are pragmatic.”

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While Democrats wage an ideological battle, Republicans are fighting over Trump’s influence in their own primary.

The president in February endorsed Sununu, a longtime GOP Trump critic, over Brown, one of his first-term ambassadors. Sununu is also backed by Senate Majority Leader John Thune and the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

Brown charged in a Fox News Digital interview that Sununu’s “got 70 endorsements on his website, but he doesn’t have the president’s. He never talks about it. He’s embarrassed by it.”

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“I’ve had the MAGA base and a lot of those so-called traditional Republicans for almost over a year,” Brown highlighted. “Johnny came lately, and he’s here, and now he thinks everyone’s going to just vote for him. That’s not how it works. You got to go earn it.”

Brown claimed that Sununu is “beholden” to Trump, Thune, the Senate leadership, and outside groups.

“He owes them everything. He doesn’t work for the people of New Hampshire,” Brown charged.

But Sununu emphasized, “I’ll have one job: stand up for the people of New Hampshire every single day… I don’t need to make anyone in Washington happy. It’s all about our state, our communities, our economy, and our small businesses.”

Asked by Fox News Digital about Trump’s endorsement, Sununu didn’t mention the president’s name but highlighted his local endorsements, saying, “We’ve received tremendous support in New Hampshire … we’ve got great momentum at the grassroots level.”

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Trump last week said he’d be heading out on the campaign trail to help fellow Republicans running in the midterms.

Asked if he’d like Trump to join him on the Granite State campaign trail, Sununu answered, “I don’t need anyone from outside New Hampshire to campaign for me. I’ve said that from the very beginning.”

The former senator also disagreed with the Trump administration’s trade war with neighboring Canada, saying, “I don’t think it’s the right thing to pick a trade war with Canada. They’re a great trading partner for New Hampshire.”

In the race to replace Pappas in New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District, Shaheen’s daughter Stefany Shaheen, a former Portsmouth city councilor, is in a heated battle for the Democratic nomination against Maura Sullivan, a U.S. Marine combat veteran who later served in the Defense Department during then-President Barack Obama’s administration. Gaining strength in the final weeks of the campaign is progressive contender Carleigh Beriont, a Hampton selectwoman.

Businessman and auto dealership owner Anthony DiLorenzo, who is backed by Trump, and Hollie Noveletsky, a businesswoman and former state party vice chair who’s running a second straight time for Congress, are the frontrunners for the GOP nomination. State Rep. Brian Cole is also bidding for the Republican nomination.

In the state’s 2nd Congressional District, first-term Democratic Rep. Maggie Goodlander is facing a primary challenge from the left from state Rep. Paige Beauchemin.

Lily Tang Williams, a former Colorado Libertarian Party chair who is running a third straight time for Congress in New Hampshire, is the frontrunner in the Republican primary.

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Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte, a former U.S. senator and former state attorney general, faces no serious opposition as she seeks a second two-year term as New Hampshire governor.

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Cinde Warmington, a former New Hampshire Executive Councilor and 2024 candidate for governor, is unopposed for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination.

Eight weeks from today, millions of Americans will choose their next congressperson. Poll after poll tells us that the state of the economy will shape their choice: it’s the top issue for voters by a wide margin and most Americans are in a sour mood about it.

That’s not the end of the story.

We’ve learned from previous elections that voters consider a wide range of issues when they vote. The “economy” has different meanings to voters. Optimism doesn’t win over voters on pocketbook issues. And this year, while voters aren’t happy with President Trump’s economy, that hasn’t yet made them enthusiastic about the Democratic alternative.

These are the four rules to think about as we inch closer to the midterms.

Meantime, Democrats inch closer to victory as the Power Rankings takes a fresh look at congressional races in Missouri and Ohio.

1. The economy is central to elections, but watch for related issues

The importance of the economy to elections has been a golden rule since the early ’90s, when Democratic strategist James Carville famously cited “the economy, stupid” as the most important focus for a campaign.

Did you know it was only one of three orders he gave to candidates that cycle?

The economy has been a top-three issue throughout the Trump era, including the last two midterm elections, where it was the most important issue for 47% of voters (2022) and 18% of voters (2018).

If that 2018 figure feels low, it’s because health care (26%) and immigration (23%) finished ahead. That year, Republicans lost 42 seats.

No wonder another of Carville’s three rules for candidates was “don’t forget health care.” (The third was “change vs more of the same.”)

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The state of the economy bleeds into other major concerns, including health care. But even a strong economy wasn’t enough to get the GOP out of that election unscathed. And health care looms as another important issue this year: it’s ranked close behind the economy in most surveys this year.

2. The economy means different things to voters

When pollsters ask about voters’ views on the economy, they usually ask how important “the economy” or “the state of the economy” is, or whether they’re satisfied with Trump’s performance on that issue.

In some important ways, Trump has a strong economic record. Just last week, the U.S. added 162,000 jobs, about triple what economists had expected. The unemployment rate was steady at 4.1%. The stock market also continues to grow, even as Iran and tariffs drive volatility.

These have helped keep Trump’s overall economic approval rating in the low-to-mid 30s in multiple polls this summer.

When pollsters ask only about Americans’ personal economic situation, things look tougher.

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In a Reuters/Ipsos poll released last week, 32% of voters said they approved of Trump on the economy. But only a quarter approved of his performance on cost of living and 24% approved of him on inflation and prices.

The cost of gas, food, and other basic goods are the major factors driving this discrepancy. If Democrats deliver a strong result in November, it will come down to a presidential approval rating in the mid-20s on these issues.

3. Voters see through economic optimism

In 2022, President Biden faced similar headwinds: the economy was rebounding, especially if you looked at unemployment, but inflation hovered around the 8% mark all year. Gas prices came in around $3.75.

The Biden administration kept selling the positives. First, inflation was “transitory.” Then the president argued that “zero percent inflation” from one month to another was a win, despite the high annualized rate. Senior officials took victory laps on the unemployment rate.

Voters rejected this messaging at the ballot box, delivering the House to the GOP after a net loss of nine Democratic seats and handing Biden a net approval rating of -23 points on the economy.

Today, headline inflation is less than half that at 3.4%, while gas prices are a little higher at $4.15. Trump’s net approval on the economy currently sits at -33 points.

The Trump administration is running a familiar playbook. Vice President Vance said last week that gas prices could be worse if not for the Trump administration. As Fox’s Gillian Turner noted on Special Report, there are similarities between a comment like that and the statements Biden officials made four years earlier.

These optimistic visions are likely to remain a tough sell to voters.

4. Economic dissatisfaction doesn’t make voters any happier about the alternative

It’s easy to look at all this and think the Democrats are in for a big night in November. That’s certainly a possibility.

But polls keep showing that voters are just as discouraged by the left’s economic messaging.

FOX NEWS POLL: MOST RATE THE ECONOMY NEGATIVELY, INCLUDING HALF OF REPUBLICANS

Right now, Democrats are offering voters competing economic visions. Some, like Abdul El-Sayed and Troy Jackson, want a revolution that starts with Medicare for All and higher taxes on the wealthy. Others say they want to undo Trump’s agenda while keeping the core of America’s economic system in place.

It’s not yet clear whether these visions are unappealing to voters or whether the contrast between them is the problem.

Either way, in the Reuters/Ipsos survey, 36% of voters say Republicans are the better party to handle the economy, while 37% prefer the Democrats. The poll has a ±3.3pt margin of error.

That’s not encouraging for Team Blue.

If the Republicans hold relatively steady in November – also a possibility in this forecast – those results will explain why.

House: Democrats remain in the lead as two seats fall away from the GOP

Democrats are still the favorites to take the House this November, with 212 seats in their columns to the GOP’s 206. There are seventeen seats that are so close they could go either way.

Those seats tend to swing in one direction as votes get counted. On a good night for Democrats, that means 229 seats, while a good night for the GOP would still see them hold onto their current House majority.

(A “great” night for either party would mean winning some of the seats that lean towards the opponent in this forecast. The Power Rankings puts seats in the ‘lean’ category when they’re highly competitive, but one party has an edge.)

The changes in this forecast, which see two seats fall out of the GOP’s columns, all come from Missouri and Ohio.

Missouri: redistricting ruling flips one seat back to the Democrats and keeps another in contention

Republicans picked up redistricting wins across the southeast after the Supreme Court’s ruling narrowing the scope of the Voting Rights Act this year.

That includes Missouri, where Republican lawmakers redrew the Kansas City-based 5th District, currently held by Democrat Emanuel Cleaver, who won reelection there by 24 points, to include more White, rural areas.

That put the district into the Solid R column in the initial Power Rankings this year.

Last Thursday, the Missouri Supreme Court unanimously blocked the new districts from being used unless voters approve them in a referendum. The order restores the state’s existing map, flipping Cleaver’s district back to Solid D.

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(It also makes Missouri’s 2nd District more competitive. The rankings already had that district at Likely R; we’re keeping it there for now.)

Missouri has appealed the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, which could rule on the state ruling quickly. For now, Cleaver holds on to the 5th District.

Ohio: Sherrod and scandal make the state more competitive

Three races in Ohio are heading leftward.

First, Ohio’s 7th District, held by Republican Max Miller. The congressman’s ex-wife, Emily Moreno, has accused Miller of physically abusing both her and their young daughter. Miller denies the allegations and has suggested Moreno has mental health issues.

Moreno is the daughter of Ohio Sen. Bernie Moreno, who Miller says is trying to take down his political career.

The 7th District was already close for the ‘likely’ column, and after these headlines and some prodding from Republicans to drop out, it’s become highly competitive. It moves from Likely R to Toss Up.

Meanwhile, in the southwest of the state, watch the 10th and 15th Districts, held by Republicans Mike Turner and Mike Carey, respectively.

These shouldn’t be part of the Democratic playbook in a regular election year: they’re predominantly White and middle-class.

Turner’s 10th District contains Dayton and some suburban areas; Carey’s 15th includes some suburban and exurban parts around Columbus and stretches to the rural south.

As the Fox News Poll has shown twice now, Democrat Sherrod Brown is running a strong race for Senate; up eight points at 53% in May and August. That kind of performance could create a closer race than Republicans would like.

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The “Mikes” have the clear advantage, but victory isn’t a sure thing. The 10th and 15th Districts move from Solid R to Likely R.

The U.S. has for years been the top weapons supplier in the world. Over the past five years, arms exports have gone to nearly 100 countries.

“These weapons are sought after around the world because we have the best weapons,” said War Department Under Secretary for Acquisition and Sustainment Michael Duffey.

The Trump administration says some of the U.S. stockpile depletion is because of the weapons given to Ukraine. The Center for Strategic and International Studies assesses those transfers have been a minor factor in the shrinking U.S. inventories except for one important tool – the Patriot Missile Defense System.

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“We’ve maxed out the production lines now, and that process began during the Ukraine War when it was clear that modern conflict was going to require a lot more munitions than we had been planning on,” said Mark Cancian, a retired U.S. Marine colonel and senior advisor with the CSIS Defense and Security Department.

Between 2021 and 2025, Ukraine was the largest recipient of major arms around the world, with at least 36 countries supplying weapons. The U.S. was the top supplier over the five-year time period, accounting for 41% of Ukrainian arms imports.

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Before Russia’s war in Ukraine began in 2022, CSIS estimates the U.S. had around 2,200 Patriot missiles in its inventory. Estimates show around 600 missiles were given to Ukraine, with a few of those possibly coming from U.S. allies. Deliveries of new production outpaced the number given to Ukraine, with an estimated 2,300 missiles in the U.S. Patriot inventory before the Iran conflict began. It’s estimated that around 36% of Patriot Interceptors remain from the pre-Iran war inventory.

“As chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, my job is to sign off on all foreign military weapons and sales to countries like Israel, to countries, like Taiwan and Ukraine, for that matter. And when we can’t deliver on that promise because we can’t make those weapons fast enough, it hurts our alliances, it hurts allies’ ability to protect themselves,” said Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas.

Publicly available government reports show at least four countries, including the U.S., have provided full Patriot missile systems to Ukraine. The U.S. is the only country that manufactures the Patriot battery, and one of two countries along with Japan to publicly show it produces Patriot missiles.

“If we take all of the Patriots for ourselves, and of course, that’s 600 a year, we can refill the inventory much more quickly, but we have frozen out our allies and partners,” Cancian said.

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Patriot producer Raytheon says, “Patriot is the foundation of integrated air and missile defense for 19 nations.” But as the U.S. prioritizes rebuilding its weapons inventory, deliveries for some countries are already delayed.

“Unfortunately, the world we live in is an increasing threat, and that means that we need a bigger military force, and we need a stronger defense industrial base to be able to equip the warfighter and supply all that we need to win the fight,” Duffey said.

Patriot batteries and Tomahawk missiles were first used in Operation Desert Storm. At least two other countries have Tomahawks and while the stockpile remains large compared to other systems, at around two-thirds of its prewar inventory, new orders from Japan and the Netherlands could face delays.

“With Tomahawk, we have the same situation with the Japanese. They bought 400. They’re told they’re being pushed back in the queue. On the other hand, they’re facing China. They’ve reconfigured one of their ships to take the Tomahawks. So, there’s again going to be a diplomatic discussion there,” Cancian said.

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Just the U.S., the UAE and Saudi Arabia have THAAD systems. Their first confirmed use was in 2022 after a UAE system intercepted missiles launched by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. No official delays have been reported for THAAD orders, but the U.S. has 52%-62% of its inventor remaining and outstanding deliveries for Saudi Arabia, expected to be completed by April 2028.

“This military competition we’re in with China and Russia and Iran is real. And we have to win that competition,” McCaul said.

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The ground-launched PrSm, or Precision Strike Missile, developed by Lockheed Martin, was first used in Operation Epic Fury. CSIS says just 10-22% of those weapons remain from pre-Iran conflict levels, following the ceasefire expenditures and revised estimates from the beginning of the conflict in late February.

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“It’s important to keep in mind that the level of intensity in those 14 days of renewed conflict were not as high as they were during the first 39 days of the air war,” Cancian said about the July strikes after the ceasefire ended. “During the 14 days the U.S. was launching maybe 80 to 100 strikes according to the Pentagon per day. During the 39 days of the major air war, we were launching about 350 strikes a day, plus Israel was launching another 200 to 250. So, the intensity wasn’t quite as high, but we were still going through these Munitions.”

James Talarico, the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Texas, once framed disciplinary practices in schools as an outflow of the ideas behind criminal justice reforms he hoped lawmakers would implement in Texas.

“I’m recently excited about the formation of a bipartisan criminal justice reform caucus in the Texas House with prominent Democrats and prominent Republicans who understand that we have to move away from a tough-on-crime approach to a smart-on-crime approach, and that, I think, filters down to our schools,” Talarico said in a 2020 interview on school disciplinary practices and their effect on minorities.

Talarico’s train of thought from criminal reform laws to changes in educational discipline demonstrates his underlying beliefs about moving away from punitive corrections.

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Talarico fleshed out his view, detailing how the changes would affect the educational system.

“[We are] starting in elementary school, where we really pursue restorative practices that are going to rehabilitate our students who are suffering from trauma, our students who are feeling unsafe in school and our students who harm a classroom community.”

Talarico was referring to “restorative justice,” a view that links misbehavior to past personal and emotional experiences. In the words of Texas Appleseed, a group that promotes “social, economic and racial justice,” restorative justice in education emphasizes the relational cost of conflict as a way to deter future bad behavior. “Restorative Justice, when applied to a school setting, focuses on how student behavior has harmed others and how to make amends. Schools use it to build community and strengthen student–school connections,” the group wrote in a definition submitted to lawmakers.

The approach is often mentioned as an alternative to “zero tolerance” policies that focus on punishments that deter discouraged conduct.

To Talarico, its adoption could deemphasize other forms of punishments.

“What that means is really allowing students to repair the harms that they’ve caused in a classroom community. It’s a lot more rigorous and a lot more effective than just expelling a student or suspending a student or removing them from a classroom community,” Talarico said.

While in the Texas legislature in 2021, Talarico introduced a bill, HB 62, which would have sought to move schools away from in-school suspension, out-of-school suspension and removing kids to alternative educational programs.

The bill stalled in committee and never became law.

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In the wake of the Uvalde school shooting in 2022, Republican lawmakers pushed back against Talarico’s line of reasoning, arguing that, despite some calls for leniency, repercussions for problematic behavior are sometimes unavoidable.

“Look, I don’t want to see a kid go to jail for being caught with some pot. I don’t want to see a kid go to jail because he gets into a fight with another kid,” Texas state Rep. Steve Toth, a Republican, told interviewers.

“That’s clearly not the intent here. But if you’ve got a kid that is violent and is consistently violent, and they’ve been violent toward other children and teachers, then we either have to reach that kid or we have to remove that kid. They shouldn’t be in the classroom. Period.”

Talarico’s statements are consistent with past calls to step away from law enforcement and prisons and towards social programs — calls that also show his beliefs about the best ways to deter criminal behavior.

“If we took just half of what we spent on wars, prisons, and policing and spent it on education, health care, and jobs, we could make prisons obsolete,” Talarico said in a 2022 speech to a graduation ceremony for incarcerated students.

A little later on in that same speech, Talarico went further, calling the idea of prisons themselves a kind of violence.

“My experience as a teacher, a legislator, and a Christian tells me that birds don’t belong in cages; children don’t belong in cages; people don’t belong in cages. Poverty is violence. Pollution is violence. And yes, prison is violence,” Talarico said.

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“I’m not asking you to join the system; I’m asking you to change the system. Dismantle this system of violence.”

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When asked about his views on criminal justice and how they link to education, Talarico’s campaign said he has always prioritized both safety and smart-on-crime approaches, noting that he had been a member of the state’s criminal reform caucus.

“James joined his Republican colleagues on this caucus because as a former public school teacher, James cares about keeping Texas students safe. James agrees with most Texans that we government should be smart-on-crime, and our students deserve all the support possible,” JT Ennis, a campaign spokesperson said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

“While James has passed bills in the legislature to deny bail for violent criminals, crack down on violent felons and send billions of dollars to support law enforcement, Ken Paxton has abused his office to benefit his wealthy donors and the well-connected — allowing criminals back on the street even as it made Texans less safe. Even Ken Paxton’s fellow Republicans have blasted his public safety record: more murders, soft on human trafficking, and pedophiles walking free,” he added, referring to Talarico’s Republican challenger, former Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

Having cleared the primary and secured his party’s nomination, Talarico will face off against Paxton in the Nov. 3 general election.

A former member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) who lives in Michigan issued a dire warning against extremism in American politics, and ripped far-left, progressive Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed as dishonest and “sanctimonious.”

“So, I think that it’s up to everyone to not sit on their hands, Democrats, Republicans, Independents, we all need to be out there,” Jake Altman told Fox News Digital. “We all need to be supporting candidates who love this country, who want to deliver for Michiganders. We should not be leaning into this sectarian politics. My fear is we’ve seen the left wing of the Democratic Party import the politics of Hezbollah into the United States, and now we’re living with the sectarian aftermath of that.”

Altman, who formerly worked for several labor unions, said the DSA began adding fanatical far-left factions, including Marxists and Leninists, around 2014 and 2015. 

He claimed that at the time, similar far-left actors were taking control of labor unions, intending to use well-meaning workers as pawns in a much larger political battle to push the Democratic Party further left. That was about the time he left the movement, which he said has become “very susceptible to extremist takeover.”

FORMER DSA MEMBER ALLEGES COMMUNISTS HAVE ‘CAPTURED’ SOCIALIST GROUP, WARNS DEMOCRATIC PARTY IS NEXT

“That’s not America,” he said. “We want… a broad, tolerant America. We want pluralism here. We don’t want to be at each other’s throats. I’m just — we have to stand up and say ‘no’ to this.”

Tensions between the DSA and Democratic Party have reached a boiling point — nowhere more evident than in Michigan — where El-Sayed, who has palled around with socialist streamer Hasan Piker on the campaign trail, is facing difficulty rallying the party’s moderates in support of his candidacy.

DEMOCRATS’ CIVIL WAR HEADS TO MICHIGAN WHERE PROGRESSIVES FACE BIGGEST TEST YET IN HIGH-STAKES SENATE SHOWDOWN

“So, I’ve met Abdul several times,” said Altman. “I worked very closely with his dad when his dad was union president of the AAUP local I worked for. So I have, you know, I think I have a pretty good read on the guy.”

Mohamed El-Sayed, Abdul’s father, is an engineering professor at Eastern Michigan University, where he served as president of the school’s AAUP chapter and led a faculty strike in 2022.

“When I was at the Democratic Party convention, the recent Democratic Party nominating convention, [Abdul El-Sayed] recognized me,” Altman continued, clarifying that he was referring to April’s contentious Michigan Democratic Party endorsement convention. “He was working a line that I was standing in, and he recognized me, and he asked me, ‘why all the hate?’ ’cause I had been critical of the campaign up to that point.”

Altman said Abdul El-Sayed told him that his campaign “doesn’t do that,” apparently claiming that his campaign wasn’t engaged in political mudslinging.

EL-SAYED’S HASAN PIKER PROBLEM FOLLOWS HIM TO DEM CONVENTION AS JEWISH VOTERS BREAK RANKS

“We see that the guy is not a straight shooter, he’s not an honest broker,” said Altman. “He, himself, said that his primary opponent, who I was supporting, couldn’t string two coherent sentences together. I mean, the idea that he is somehow above it all is just not true. He’s the most sanctimonious man in Democratic Party politics, and that’s going a long way because there’s a lot of sanctimony in that party.”

As for the DSA, according to Altman, it is unrecognizable compared to just a decade ago.

“So, you had this older generation that was very tolerant, part of a broader liberal tradition, engaged in a productive way with the Democratic Party, not a destructive way as we see today,” Altman explained.

Part of that tradition, he said, was a total rejection of communism. But recently, the party voted to lift its ban on Leninists, allowing the proliferation of extremism among the party ranks.

“We’ve seen in August 2025 that DSA at the convention voted to remove its prohibition on having Leninists operating within the organization,” he said. “I mean, it doesn’t get any clearer than this.”

He bemoaned current DSA co-chair Megan Romer, whom he described as a “Marxist-Leninist” and “fan of the Cuban regime.”

HOW THE ‘LONG MARCH’ THROUGH THE INSTITUTIONS LED TO SOCIALIST TAKEOVER OF DEM PARTY: ‘NEED TO WAKE UP’

Romer traveled to Cuba last year with a group of 40 far-leftists, where she hyped the communist country as “care-focused vs. production-focused,” blamed the United States’ blockade for the country’s food shortages and mass emigration and said the country has “the most LGBTQ-friendly constitution in the world.”

Meanwhile, Abdul El-Sayed continues his attempts to try to win over moderate Democrats while also campaigning against Republican former congressman Mike Rogers ahead of the crucial 2026 midterms that will determine whether Democrats regain control of either or both chambers of Congress.

Abdul El-Sayed has been dogged by questions about his affiliation with Piker, whom he invited on the campaign trail during primary season. He has refused to condemn Piker, choosing instead to brush him off as a “streamer from California” who has little connection with the Michigan race.

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Piker said in 2019 that “America deserved 9/11,” and has also praised Mao Zedong and Communist China, said capitalists should be murdered in the streets and spewed a litany of antisemitic comments.

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

DALLAS — With less than two months to go until the midterm elections, President Donald Trump and Republicans gather in Texas this week for the first ever GOP midterm convention, as they aim to energize the party’s base to turn out in key races that will determine if Republicans keep control of Congress.

Democrats and Republicans traditionally hold large nominating conventions during presidential election years. But Trump a year ago floated the idea of a similar gathering ahead of the midterms, to showcase the signature policy achievements he and the Republicans in Congress produced the past two years.

The president called the convention “a truly Historic Event” and “a RALLY like none other!” when he announced it earlier this summer.

Trump will be at the American Airlines Center in downtown Dallas for the convention’s Wednesday and Thursday evening sessions. Trump will speak on both nights, and will deliver the keynote address on the first night, with Vice President JD Vance headlining the second night.

SPEAKER JOHNSON’S MIDTERM PREDICTION TO BUCK HISTORY

The convention comes as Republicans face energized Democrats and stiff political headwinds as they defend their slim House and Senate majorities. There are concerns that the two-day confab that’s been described by GOP leaders as a “Trumpapalooza” may not be the best approach with the president’s approval ratings deep underwater.

But Republicans are expected to paint a contrast, as they use the convention to spotlight the Democrats’ leftward lurch and tie the entire Democratic Party to far-left and socialist proposals.

“This is not a midterm like any other, because we actually have a competition against communism now, and that’s a very serious thing. It’s going to animate voters coast to coast,” House Speaker Mike Johnson emphasized in a Fox News Digital campaign trail interview last month.

Democrats, as they try to win back congressional majorities, were already battling a brand that public opinion polling indicates is extremely unpopular. Making matters worse, the high-profile victories this spring and summer by left-wing and socialist candidates over establishment rivals in Democratic primaries, which gave Republicans extra ammunition to portray all Democrats as extremists.

THESE 12 MIDTERM RACES WILL DECIDE WHICH PARTY CONTROLS THE SENATE

“What we’re going to highlight at that convention is the fact that this is not your father’s Democrat Party,” Johnson said. “It’s a contrast election, and people are making a contrast between common-sense solutions and candidates, and really crazy, which is represented by the other side.”

But Republicans have their own issues.

As the party currently in power, the GOP was already up against traditional political headwinds that have historically led to a loss of congressional seats during midterm election years. Add to that the challenging climate fueled by persistent inflation Americans see daily at the grocery store, high gas prices tied to what polls show is an unpopular war with Iran and Trump’s negative numbers.

“Democrats are going to win back power,” Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Ken Martin predicted last month at the party’s summer meeting as he looked towards the midterms.

But his counterpart, Republican National Committee (RNC) Chair Joe Gruters, told Fox News Digital this summer, “We have a chance to defy history and win the midterms.”

DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUB

The victories by Trump and Republicans two years ago in winning back the White House and Senate and holding the House were fueled by Americans fed up with the high cost of living. Two years later, inflation is the Republicans’ biggest liability.

Three out of four voters questioned in the most recent Fox News national poll said inflation had caused financial hardship, while 54% expected the economy to worsen.

“Donald Trump started a war that no one wanted, and now Americans are paying the price. Gas prices are soaring and families who were already struggling in Trump’s economy are forced to stretch their budgets even further while footing the bill for this war,” the DNC’s Martin charged.

But Gruters and other GOP leaders are spotlighting the major tax cuts on tips, overtime and Social Security that congressional Republicans passed and Trump signed into law last year.

“This midterm convention gives us a chance, an opportunity to showcase all the great things this president has done, and this administration, to the American people in a direct way,” he said.

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But Republicans are facing a low-propensity problem: MAGA voters who don’t always go to the polls when Trump’s name isn’t on the ballot.

Gruters called Trump the “best showman that’s ever existed in politics, bar none… He knows how to deliver these low-propensity voters. He knows how to get people up, motivated, excited about the midterms, and that’s what we’re going to need.”

Johnson, painting a preview of the convention, told Fox News Digital: “Two nights of earned media on every station in America. We’ll parade all of our stars across the stage, talk about our extraordinary record of achievement. The president will look into the camera at the end and say, ‘I am on the ballot,’ because we need his base to turn out.”

The DNC, which remains in debt and decided against holding a similar convention, sees the GOP confab as a chance to blast Republicans.

“While everyday Americans struggle to pay their bills, fill up their tanks, or put food on the table, Republicans are hosting a multi-million dollar celebration to satisfy an aging and erratic Trump and tie vulnerable Republican candidates closer to his failed agenda,” DNC Rapid Response Director Kendall Witmer charged.

Witmer argued that “Americans don’t want a ‘Trumpapalooza’ — they want lower costs and affordable healthcare.”

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Veteran Republican strategist Doug Heye said the GOP convention isn’t a bad idea.

But Heye, a former RNC communications director, said “the implementation is important. If it’s Trumpapalooza and ‘America has never been hotter or richer,’ it will fall flat. If they can be focused on what they’ve done and are doing to lower prices, that, along with fundraising, could have some success.”

But he cautioned, “everything we’ve seen thus far suggests the focus will be on Trump, not on the issues voters are screaming about.”

In the midterm battle, Republicans come into the convention with a major campaign cash advantage over the Democrats.

“We have a ton of money to spend,” Gruters told Fox Business last week. “We have the cash, and we’re going to deploy it in a way to make sure that we hold the majority.”

And Republicans aim to pad their war chest, as they plan to raise millions of dollars this week during the convention.

That includes asking donors to fork more than $88,000 for a photo with the president at a private roundtable, according to an invitation first reported by the Wall Street Journal and confirmed by Fox News Digital.

Among the other major speakers at the convention: Attorney General Todd Blanche, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Medicaid and Medicare Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner, former White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, and Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son who’s popular among MAGA supporters.

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Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) will be addressing the convention, but his Senate counterpart, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-South Dakota), is notably absent from the list of speakers released by the RNC.

But a source familiar tells Fox News Digital that Thune will be in Dallas, with a full schedule that includes helping Senate candidates fundraise.

Sen. Jim Justice, R-W.Va., found a way to get something passed unanimously, despite what he rebukes as “romper-room behavior” of political polarization in the Senate.

In an interview Saturday with Fox News Digital, Justice detailed how he worked around the Senate’s bitter partisan divide to get a monument honoring late World War II Medal of Honor hero Hershel “Woody” Williams onto the National Mall.

“I’ve never seen anything like this, never in my life seen anything to where it is, it is so preposterous,” Justice lamented. “You know, no one could make any sense out of what in the world is going on a lot of times.”

“I don’t know why we don’t talk to one another,” he added. “I don’t know why we’re disrespectful to one other.”

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Using good, old-fashioned dialogue, Justice’s effort ultimately succeeded in getting his first Senate law passed for his late friend. The Williams National Medal of Honor Monument Location Act directs the National Medal of Honor monument to a prominent location within the Reserve on the National Mall.

The legislation is Justice’s first bill as a senator. It honors Williams, a West Virginia native who received the Medal of Honor for extraordinary heroism during the Battle of Iwo Jima and who was the last surviving World War II Medal of Honor recipient before his death in 2022 at age 98. The monument will honor Williams by name while commemorating Medal of Honor recipients as a whole.

The House approved the measure on Aug. 31 after the Senate passed it unanimously in March. The legislation is now awaiting Trump’s signature.

“We’re really hopeful he’s going to sign it this coming week,” Justice said. “There’s been a lot to make all that happen and everything, and I can’t be more proud.”

Justice, describing the partisan fight in the interview, said the path to unanimous approval was anything but smooth.

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“I mean, we had it shot down,” he said, adding, but “I just wouldn’t turn it loose.”

“And the reason I wouldn’t turn loose is because it was just real simple: I mean Woody’s unbelievable, or was unbelievable, that’s for sure. But all these Medal of Honor recipients and everything, the ones we’ve lost and all those that are still living, they are so deserving.”

Justice described how the measure initially had become caught up in the same divisiveness that has locked up the Senate on a much broader range of issues.

“All we managed to do is keep a food fight going to where – because it was a Republican thing or Republican Jim Justice introducing – well, I’m telling you, if I’m a Democrat, by God, we’re not gonna let that happen and everything,” he lamented. “And then it’s just, it’s the same thing on both sides. Way, way, way too much for a guy that’s got white hair and wants to try to get things done.”

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

Justice said the breakthrough came just before he was preparing to take the matter to the Senate floor with four Medal of Honor recipients present.

“I was about three feet from going into the Senate chambers,” Justice recalled. “And we sat down right there, you know, kind of on the steps and really just started talking.”

The senator was Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M. The two serve together on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and Justice said he had developed a personal relationship with Heinrich over the years, including through Justice’s well-known bulldog, Babydog.

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“I said, Martin, I don’t understand. I mean, how in the world can we do this?” Justice said. “And I said, Martin, you know, I’m getting ready to go on the floor and it’s not going to be good. It’s not gonna be good for you. It’s not going to good for a lot of folks and everything. A lot of people are going to be upset. A lot of people are going to be really sad.”

Justice said he appealed directly to Heinrich to find a way forward.

“And I just said, Martin, I don’t know any way to tell it other than just to tell you the truth. And you’re a good guy. And I don’t know why in the world we just can’t talk with one another.”

Heinrich responded with a blunt explanation of the broader problem, Justice said.

MEDAL OF HONOR RECIPIENT JAMES CAPERS JR. SAYS RECOGNITION IS BITTERSWEET AFTER LOSING ‘SO MUCH’

“And he looked right at me and he said, you know, people here don’t talk to one another,” Justice said. “And I really appreciate you doing that and I’m not going to object.”

Justice said the measure then moved “in three minutes, boom, boom, boom, done.”

“It was an amazing moment really, and like I said Martin’s a good guy, and I just think that maybe we could all learn from that just a little bit,” he said.

“Now we’re going to honor, you know, another great, unbelievable, courageous group of people and it’s way, way, way overdue.”

HOUSE REPUBLICANS DID WHAT VOTERS ASKED AND WE HAVE THE RECEIPTS. IT’S UP TO THE SENATE

On other issues in the Senate still in gridlock, Justice urged dialogue like that above and for everyone to “grow up.”

“Why in the world would you carry on with just childishness, and in all fairness, that’s what it is,” Justice said. “You can’t make sense of it. There’s no point in us trying to do that. This is Romper Room behavior. And if there’s anything in the world I could do, I wish to goodness that I could tell everybody, you know let’s grow up a lot. Let’s absolutely grow up and let’s behave.”

Justice said he does not expect the Senate’s structural problems to be fixed easily, pointing to the 60-vote threshold associated with overcoming a filibuster and arguing that lawmakers have little incentive to change a system that protects the political status quo.

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“You’ve got a lot of people there that have never had a job,” Justice said. “They’ve been there forever, and they’ve never made a payroll.”

He said his former chief of staff Brian Abraham once gave him an even simpler explanation for the paralysis.

“I said, guys, we’re really missing something here because we can really get stuff done here and everything,” Justice recalled. “And he looked right at me and he said, you don’t understand, do you?

“People here don’t wanna get something done. All they want to do is just keep it going. Round and round it goes. Fundraiser, fundraiser, fundraiser. Round and around it goes, get reelected, get reelected.”

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Justice said the monument fight was especially important because Williams himself embodied the opposite of that kind of self-interest.

“Woody Williams was all about us,” he said. “Woody Williams was never about Woody Williams. And he just was an amazing man. I got to know him really well, and we became really good friends.”

Williams’ Medal of Honor citation stems from his actions on Iwo Jima, where, under intense enemy fire, he used a flamethrower to destroy Japanese positions and help clear a path for advancing Marines.

Justice said the symbolism of the monument extends beyond Williams and into future generations.

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“Now, I’m going to take them there,” Justice said of his future descendants. “I’m going to show them this and tell them, maybe I was only a grain of sand, but I had something to do with this. And I really stood up hard for it and everything. We got it done.”

President Donald Trump appeared to debut a darker hair color Friday, sparking widespread speculation online after stepping off Air Force One in New Jersey ahead of a weekend at his Bedminster golf club.

Known for his signature blond hairstyle, Trump was photographed arriving at Morristown Municipal Airport with what appeared to be a noticeably darker, more brunette look —prompting a flood of reactions across social media.

“Trump becoming a brunette was definitely not on my 2026 bingo card,” one user wrote on X.

“This was Donald Trump yesterday while departing to New Jersey for the weekend! Look at the appearance of his hair! Is he getting a new hair color?” another user wrote.

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“Seems brown is the new blonde …,” a third user added.

“Trump is now a brunette!” another post read.

Photos shared on Instagram by internet personality Michael Solakiewicz showed Trump golfing Saturday in a red hat that covered most of his hair, making it difficult to tell whether the darker look remained.

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The online speculation comes just days after Trump pushed back on allegations that he wears a wig, pointing to a windy 2024 campaign rally in Ohio, according to The Hill.

“I don’t wear a wig. But that night, they found out I did not wear a wig because if you did, it was not going to be on your head very long,” Trump said Wednesday.

Trump has rarely made noticeable changes to his appearance while in office.

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In 2019, he sparked similar speculation after appearing with what looked like a slicked-back hairstyle during a surprise visit to a Virginia church.

That hairstyle was short-lived. Trump spoke to reporters later in the day wearing his usual hairdo.

The White House could not immediately be reached by Fox News Digital for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Bradford Betz contributed to this report.

An armed individual lunged at Ohio gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton and injured multiple people Sunday in a burst of violence at the Canfield Fair, her campaign said.

“While attending the Canfield Fair, an armed individual lunged at Dr. Acton, injuring multiple people,” Acton campaign communications director Addie Bullock said in a statement.

“Dr. Acton and Eric are grateful for the swift and decisive action of law enforcement and are praying for the recovery of those injured,” Bullock added. “This kind of violence has no place in Ohio. Dr. Acton will always stand up to the chaos, hate and vitriol that pits us against one another.”

The campaign did not say if Acton was injured.

TRUMP’S DECADE OF ASSASSINATION THREATS RUNS FROM BUTLER SHOOTING TO LATEST GOLF CLUB BREACH

Authorities did not immediately release details about the alleged attacker, the weapon involved or the conditions of those injured. It was also unclear what prompted the confrontation and whether anyone had been arrested.

The incident came as Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin warned that candidates and other public figures continue to face threats as campaign season kicks into high gear.

“You’re never safe in the public eye,” Mullin told Fox News’ Peter Doocy during an interview on “The Sunday Briefing.”

WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS’ DINNER SHOOTING LATEST IN YEARS OF ATTACKS TARGETING TRUMP, CONSERVATIVES

Doocy asked Mullin whether candidates were safe heading into the traditional Labor Day weekend kickoff to campaign season, citing the political assassinations and assassination attempts that have rocked the country in recent years.

“If you read any of the social media posts, which I choose not to, but you see the type of rhetoric and the hatefulness that’s out there,” Mullin said.

DEM SENATE HOPEFULS UNDER SCRUTINY FOR ‘CHOKE THEM OUT’ RHETORIC AFTER TRUMP ATTACK SCARE

“The threats to our elected officials, they don’t go away,” he continued. “We’ve got to bring down the temperature, but the temperature is not going to go down on itself.”

Mullin said Americans must accept that political disagreements are part of the country’s system of government while drawing a firm line at violence.

WEST VIRGINIA MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO MAKING VIOLENT THREATS AGAINST TRUMP, ICE

“The American people have to realize that we do have a republic, and the republic has different opinions, and it’s OK to have different opinions,” he said.

“When you cross a line and say that that different opinion needs to be silenced — it needs to be silenced through violence — that’s where Homeland comes into place,” Mullin added. “Free speech is something we all protect, but there’s a line that you can cross that goes from free speech to inciting dangerous behavior.”

Mullin was speaking broadly about political threats and was not responding directly to the reported confrontation involving Acton.

Republican gubernatorial nominee Vivek Ramaswamy and his running mate, Ohio Senate President Rob McColley, condemned the Canfield Fair incident.

“Candidates should be able to meet with voters without having to worry about threats or violence,” Ramaswamy campaign communications director Connie Luck said in a statement.

“What happened today is completely unacceptable and has no place in politics, and we hope that no one was hurt,” she added.

RAMASWAMY OUTLINES KEY CONTRASTS WITH DEM OPPONENT LESS THAN 100 DAYS OUT FROM KEY GUBERNATORIAL ELECTION

Acton and Ramaswamy are facing off in November’s closely watched race to replace term-limited Republican Gov. Mike DeWine.

Acton, a physician, became a household name in Ohio while serving as director of the Ohio Department of Health during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to The Associated Press. She appeared alongside DeWine during televised briefings as the state imposed shutdowns and other public-health restrictions.

Her handling of the pandemic has since become a central campaign issue, The AP reported. Ramaswamy and other Republicans have criticized Acton over the restrictions, while her campaign has defended her work with DeWine as necessary to protect Ohioans.

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Fox News Digital reached out to the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office for additional information.

Fox News’ Peter Doocy contributed to this report.

The White House on Sunday amplified President Donald Trump‘s call to rebrand New Mexico as “New America,” reposting an image from the president’s Truth Social account showing the state’s name crossed out and replaced with “America.”

Trump’s original post featured a map of the Southwestern state with the word “Mexico” crossed out in bright red and replaced with “America,” effectively depicting it as “New America.”

TRUMP RENAMES LAKE ONTARIO ‘LAKE AMERICA’ AMID INTENSIFYING US-CANADA TRADE DISPUTE

The White House later shared the image on its verified X account. Neither post included an explanation or indicated whether it reflected an actual policy proposal.

The post comes just days after Trump signed an executive order renaming Lake Ontario “Lake America” for U.S. federal use. The executive order followed a series of tariff disputes between Washington and Ottawa.

Trump said he directed Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and the department to update the Geographic Names Information System to reflect the name change. Google and Apple later updated their maps for U.S. users to reflect the change.

MAJORITY OF AMERICANS REJECT TRUMP’S RENAMING OF LAKE ONTARIO TO ‘LAKE AMERICA,’ POLL FINDS

Trump also signed an executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America” early in his second term.

Unlike lakes and other geographic features that can be renamed for federal use through executive action, a president cannot unilaterally rename a U.S. state. Trump and the White House have not announced any formal effort to change New Mexico’s name.

The name “New Mexico” predates the state by centuries. Spanish explorers began using “Nuevo México” in the late 1500s. The territory kept the name after becoming part of the United States in 1848 and later achieved statehood on Jan. 6, 1912.

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The White House and the Office of New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.

The Trump administration filed a new appeal with the Supreme Court on Sunday seeking to enforce restrictions on mail ballots, as the ballots begin entering states across the country ahead of the midterm elections.

The filing asks the high court to stay a preliminary injunction issued Friday by U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani that prevents the U.S. Postal Service from enforcing several requirements for ballot mail in the November elections.

“Ballots have already begun to be mailed in North Carolina, and more States will begin the mailing process as the injunction remains in place — including Alabama on September 9 and at least five States the week of September 13,” Solicitor General John Sauer wrote.

FEDERAL JUDGE AGAIN BLOCKS TRUMP’S MAIL BALLOT ORDER JUST BEFORE MIDTERMS

“Once those ballot envelopes enter the mailstream, there is no retrieving them,” he added.

Sauer argued that allowing the injunction to remain in place risks “sowing confusion and chaos” as more states begin mailing ballots because preparations to comply with the Postal Service rule remain voluntary rather than mandatory.

The administration maintains the rule is “a lawful and modest exercise of rulemaking authority delegated by Congress to the Postal Service” and “regulates the U.S. Mail, not federal elections.”

The rule requires federal election ballots sent through the mail to use envelopes that include the official Election Mail logo, meet automation requirements and carry unique barcodes, according to the filing. State election officials would also have to submit envelope designs for review and provide the Postal Service with information about intended ballot recipients.

The administration says the requirements are intended to improve the handling and delivery of ballot mail and protect the mail system from being used to facilitate voter fraud.

MAIL-VOTING CRACKDOWN MOVES AHEAD AS TRUMP COURT WIN OPENS DOOR TO FEDERAL ACTION

The rule would not give the Postal Service authority to determine who is eligible to vote by mail or whether ballots should be counted, responsibilities that would remain with state and local election officials.

Democratic-led states and voting rights groups challenging the restrictions contend the changes are unconstitutional, while election officials have argued there is not enough time to revise their systems to comply before November.

The administration disputes those arguments, saying Congress gave the Postal Service broad authority to regulate the handling and delivery of mail and that the rule does not dictate ballot content, determine voter eligibility, establish election deadlines or govern how ballots are counted.

The filing marks the third time the administration has asked the Supreme Court to intervene in the dispute. The high court previously allowed the administration’s plan to move forward but has not ruled on whether the restrictions themselves are legal.

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The battle could have major ramifications for the November elections, when control of Congress is at stake. Nearly one-third of U.S. voters cast ballots by mail.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, introduced legislation Thursday seeking to hit American artificial intelligence developers with a “corporate death penalty” and up to 20 years in prison— a move critics warn will hand a crucial edge in the global AI arms race to Beijing and Moscow.

The Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act would temporarily halt advanced AI development and establish a Cabinet-level federal agency authorized to oversee the physical destruction of non-compliant tech systems, likening advanced AI creation to the unlawful development of nuclear weapons. The measure explicitly targets systems capable of matching or exceeding human cognitive performance—specifically outlawing any AI model that exhibits the capacity to subvert shutdown commands, execute unauthorized cyberattacks, or undermine the U.S. government.

But while progressives frame the measure as an urgent check on “AI oligarchs,” experts are warning that imposing sweeping criminal penalties on U.S. firms will severely handicap domestic innovation, while foreign adversaries will be able to continue expanding their capabilities unchecked.

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“If the United States stops developing advanced AI, China is unlikely to follow. Surrendering the lead in a potentially transformative technology would carry serious economic and national security costs,” Daniel Castro, president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), a leading nonpartisan tech-innovation policy think tank, said in response to Sanders’ proposal.

“A permanent, unilateral ban on all research into superhuman AI is too broad,” added Gary Marcus, an AI expert who has testified on the matter before the U.S. Senate. He added that the proposed law was “a guarantee” the U.S. would be left behind when it comes to artificial intelligence advancements, describing it as “not the right approach,” even though he said there were some aspects of the proposed bill that were “defensible.”

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Under the provisions of the legislation, the proposed criminal and corporate penalties are modeled directly after existing federal statutes governing the unlawful development of nuclear weapons.

Tech companies found attempting to circumvent the federal prohibition would face a “corporate death penalty”—an unprecedented enforcement mechanism that strips a firm’s legal authority to conduct business in the United States. Individual software engineers, researchers or executives found in violation could face up to 20 years in federal prison.

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To enforce the ban, the legislation creates a new Cabinet-level federal AI agency tasked with monitoring frontier systems. The agency would be granted sweeping authority to intervene in tech operations, including physically supervising the removal of dangerous code and overseeing the physical destruction of non-compliant superintelligent hardware and infrastructure.

The bill also establishes criteria for what constitutes a banned system, specifically outlawing any AI model capable of planning or executing the “disempowerment of humanity.” That includes software that exhibits the capacity to overthrow the U.S. government, carry out unauthorized cyberattacks or ignore human shutdown commands.

CRACKDOWN ON CRITICAL TECH COULD OPEN AMERICANS TO A NEW NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT

Industry advocates, however, argue that resorting to extreme criminal sanctions ignores the practical realities of tech infrastructure and risk management.

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“Knee-jerk policymaking is never a good thing, and I think that’s exactly what this proposal boils down to,” said Aden Hizkias, associate policy director at Chamber of Progress, a tech industry coalition. “AI is an incredible tool that can improve millions of lives, but as AI skepticism grows, it’s on companies to earn trust and prove they are good neighbors. That means transparent construction agreements, bringing their own power generation, and making sure they’re meeting environmental standards.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Sanders’ office for comment regarding concerns that the legislation would hand an AI edge to foreign adversaries like China and Russia, but did not receive a response in time for publication. 

New York Attorney General Letitia James is facing scrutiny after opening up a legally required investigation into the police shooting of a woman who fatally stabbed Erin Piacenti, Bank of America executive and a new mother in her first week back to work from maternity leave, in Times Square.

James’ office announced on Wednesday that it will be investigating Pamela Cisneros’ death, who was wielding two large knives in each hand when officers confronted her following the fatal stabbing. She was ordered to drop the weapons but did not comply and was shot when she moved toward the officers.

Under state law, the Attorney General’s Office of Special Investigation is mandated to investigate all deaths that were caused by police officers. However, Attorney General Republican candidate Saritha Komatireddy is pushing that the Attorney General’s office take more concrete steps to ensure that another tragic killing or attack caused by a mentally unstable person doesn’t happen again. She argued that an investigation into police conduct fails to address the real problem at hand.

“The problem is that we have people who are known dangerous individuals, people with documented mental illness,” Komatireddy told Fox News Digital. “They’ve been in the courts before, or they’ve been to the hospitals before. The police know exactly who they are, but we have no ability to take care of them.”

REPUBLICANS GET ‘AGGRESSIVE’ IN FIGHT TO WIN TOP COP SPOTS IN BATTLEGROUND STATES

A campaign spokesperson for James accused Komatireddy of seeking to “score cheap political points off of a tragedy.”

“Saritha Komatireddy wants to be Attorney General but doesn’t understand the law,” a spokesperson said in an email to Fox News Digital. “Under New York’s Executive Law, the Office of the Attorney General’s Office of Special Investigation is required to investigate any incident where a police officer’s actions may have caused a death, including this one.”

However, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who has a history of anti-police rhetoric, applauded the officers who stopped Cisneros.

“I want to thank the NYPD officers who stepped in and prevented a horrific attack from becoming even worse,” Mamdani said at a news conference.

PARENTS IN BRONX NEIGHBORHOOD PLEAD FOR NYPD GUARD AS MAMDANI CUTS COPS, HALTS HIRES: ‘HORRIBLE SITUATION’

New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch shared that while Cisneros, who lived in Queens, didn’t have an arrest record in the city, there were two times police responded to calls concerning her suffering a mental health crisis.

In March 2019, Cisneros attempted suicide by jumping onto the tracks of the E train and was removed and later hospitalized. In March 2018, police found her in Midtown, where she was screaming, acting belligerent and intoxicated.

If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

Under the state’s Mental Hygiene Law, police and doctors can take a person to the hospital for a psychological hold if they are deemed to be a risk to themselves or others, or they can not meet their basic needs — but often times those with severe mental illnesses are released by the hospital back onto the streets hours after being brought in.

LETITIA JAMES FACES SCRUTINY AFTER NEW YORK CITY SPENDS $81,700 PER HOMELESS PERSON AMID SHELTER SCANDALS

“I was there in Times Square — just a couple of days after this fatal stabbing — and I was walking around and saw severely mentally ill people on the street,” Komatireddy told Fox News Digital. “It’s still happening every day, and we need someone who’s actually going to propose a real solution and way forward.”

TRUMP WANTS TO HELP 146,000 MENTALLY ILL WHO ARE HOMELESS. DEMOCRATS WANT TO STOP HIM

The New York State Office of Mental Health is tasked with overseeing the state’s mental health system, which includes 23 psychiatric centers and 6,500 programs overseen by local governments and nonprofits, but Komatireddy said, if elected, she’d create a new office known as the Office of Civil Commitment which would target and keep tabs on people who are at most risk.

“The Office of Civil Commitment that I’m going to launch will be staffed with both law enforcement personnel and also physicians, and you need both because, under state law, the law requires that physicians certify that someone has the mental state required for involuntary civil commitment,” Komatireddy told Fox News Digital. “So there’s nothing like that right now in New York State. There’s no office that has both law enforcement and physicians who can work together to get these people off the streets.”

Greene County Sheriff Peter Kusminsky told Fox News Digital that his deputies are not trained to handle psychiatric crises — and that the county has nowhere to send people who need real care. Deputies are constantly pulled off patrol for mental-health calls, he said, then left to put those in crisis in hotels because there aren’t enough hospital beds available.

“Additionally, we really struggle when we have people in custody who we aren’t equipped to handle, and secure beds are even harder to find,” Kusminsky said. “It sometimes takes weeks or months to locate once and when we do, they are maybe on the other side of the state and at an exorbitant cost.”

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“Hotels and motels don’t have doctors, don’t have medicine, don’t have therapy,” Komatireddy said. “The state needs to step in.”

U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Kyiv on Sunday for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a day after meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow as part of efforts to end the war between the two countries.

Zelenskyy said Sunday morning that he had met with his negotiating team ahead of the Americans’ arrival and that Kyiv was prepared for the discussions.

“Ukraine has always been and will remain constructive,” Zelenskyy wrote on X. “We are interested in bringing the end of the war closer. Peace is needed. Security guarantees are needed. A dignified character of the postwar peace is needed.”

“Our proposals are ready,” he added. “It is important to work in a coordinated, substantive, and realistic manner.”

CIA DIRECTOR JOHN RATCLIFFE MET WITH RUSSIAN INTELLIGENCE OFFICIALS IN VISIT TO MOSCOW, KREMLIN SAYS

Witkoff and Kushner met with Putin for more than three hours behind closed doors Saturday, though the talks ended without any announced breakthroughs.

Putin’s foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov described the meeting as “constructive, frank and useful,” but did not disclose specific outcomes.

A White House official said following the meeting that the two sides discussed “substantive plans for next steps,” which are expected to be announced in the coming weeks. The official added that the U.S. delegation looked forward to “equally productive meetings” in Ukraine.

The Kyiv meeting comes as Washington seeks to revive efforts to reach a settlement in a war that began with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Those efforts had lost momentum over the past six months as U.S. attention shifted to the war with Iran.

PUTIN AND IRAN ‘NEED EACH OTHER DESPERATELY,’ EXPERT SAYS, AS RUSSIA VOICES SUPPORT FOR REGIME

Significant differences between Moscow and Kyiv remain, including over territory. Kyiv has rejected Russia’s demand that Ukraine withdraw from portions of the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions that remain under Ukrainian control.

Ushakov said Moscow provided the U.S. delegation with its “comprehensive assessment” of the battlefield during Saturday’s meeting, though the discussions extended beyond the war.

“Economic issues and potentially large, mutually beneficial joint projects for Russia and America were discussed in considerable detail,” Ushakov said.

President Donald Trump said Friday that he dispatched Witkoff and Kushner, his son-in-law and adviser, to determine whether progress toward a peace agreement could be made.

“We have an idea for peace. I sent Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, two great negotiators,” Trump told reporters. “They’ve done a great job, and we sent them over to see whether or not we can get something done. And there may be a good chance that we’ll do it.”

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The diplomatic push comes as Russia and Ukraine continue to exchange drone and missile attacks. Both sides reported strikes overnight into Sunday despite agreeing to pause attacks on each other’s capitals during the negotiations.

Fox News Digital’s Robert McGreevy and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Democrats have made summer pilgrimages to Nantucket, tapping the wealthy Massachusetts island’s donor class as candidates and party leaders stockpile campaign cash ahead of November.

Nantucket and neighboring Martha’s Vineyard have long been magnets for political fundraising, and Democrats are again tapping the islands’ deep-pocketed donor networks as candidates and party leaders build their war chests ahead of November’s midterm elections.

As of June 30, the Democratic National Committee, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee had about $136 million in combined cash on hand, compared with roughly $277 million held by their Republican counterparts, according to federal filings.

This summer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., Texas Senate candidate James Talarico, Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., and others have been spotted on the island for fundraising events. 

FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS: AS DEMOCRATS TURN LEFT, BLACK VOTERS TAP THE BRAKES

Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., reportedly went to Nantucket for an Aug. 29 fundraiser hosted by Democratic heavyweight Elizabeth Frawley Bagley, a Biden-appointed U.S. ambassador to Brazil who previously served as ambassador to Portugal under President Bill Clinton, according to the Boston Globe.

The Democratic fundraising circuit extends to neighboring Martha’s Vineyard, another exclusive Massachusetts vacation destination.

Former President Barack Obama visited Martha’s Vineyard on Aug. 31 for an event hosted by former Attorney General Eric Holder benefiting the National Democratic Redistricting Committee.

Wes Moore, a possible 2028 presidential contender, was on Martha’s Vineyard the weekend of Aug. 8 for a DNC fundraiser with DNC Chair Ken Martin.

“Where was Wes Moore last weekend? Not campaigning in Maryland or solving our problems in Annapolis, but speaking at a national Democrat event in Martha’s Vineyard. Wes Moore’s priority isn’t Maryland, and it will never be Maryland. His only focus is growing his national profile and running for President in 2028. Elect Dan Cox for a Governor who will put Maryland and the needs of Marylanders first,” wrote Maryland GOP at the time. 

Iowa state Rep. Josh Turek, a Democratic nominee for the open Senate seat held by retiring Republican Sen. Joni Ernst, was spotted on Nantucket while the Iowa State Fair was still underway. Turek, had appeared at the fair earlier in the week, did not answer a reporter’s questions about his fundraising stop, according to videos on social media.

Democratic donors Frank Herron and Sandra Urie, who previously hosted then-first lady Jill Biden for a 2022 Democratic National Committee fundraiser at their Nantucket home, hosted Moulton for a Nantucket fundraising brunch on August 2, according to local paper Nantucket Current.

JON OSSOFF DODGES ON WHY HE INVOKED TRUMP AIDE’S NAME DURING GEORGIA CAMPAIGN RALLY

Michelle Obama was also on the island, on Aug. 23, but was there to promote her book, “The Look,” at two sold-out conversations at the Performing Arts Center in Oak Bluffs. The Obama’s have had a vacation house on the Vineyard since 2019. 

Nantucket has long been a destination for prominent Democrats as well as celebrities, millionaires and billionaires.

Former President Joe Biden and his family have traveled to the island for decades to celebrate Thanksgiving.

Former first lady Jill Biden was also spotted on the island in July to promote her new book, “View From the East Wing: A Memoir.”

DEM ATTORNEY BACKS GOP HOPEFUL IN MICHIGAN RACE AGAINST EL-SAYED, ‘JUMPING SHIP’ FROM HIS PARTY’S ‘LUNATICS’

Republicans have also tapped Nantucket’s deep-pocketed donor circuit. Back in 2022, when Vice President JD Vance was running for Senate, he appeared alongside Florida Senator Rick Scott and fellow Senate candidates Ted Budd, Dr. Mehmet Oz and Herschel Walker for another fundraising jaunt on the affluent island.

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The NDRC is focusing on key battlegrounds including Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin.

House Democrats are planning for a slew of investigations targeting President Donald Trump, his Cabinet, and his family if they win the midterm elections.

In just two months, voters across the country will decide which party controls Congress for the second half of President Donald Trump’s final term. Historical trends dictate that the party in power in the White House — in this case, Republicans — usually loses one or both chambers.

Democrats in the House of Representatives are already planning for that eventuality, key left-wing leaders told Fox News Digital.

SEN CHUCK SCHUMER UNVEILS ANTI-CORRUPTION AGENCY AIMED AT TRUMP AND FUTURE PRESIDENTS

“I’m going to start on the Department of Defense. Our service members are being put at tremendous risk. There is corruption, there’s incompetence, there is nepotism at the DoD,” Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., told Fox News Digital.

“There are very disturbing reports about ties between defense money and appropriations programs, and requests by the White House to funnel defense spending to certain companies linked to the Trump family. So we’re going to take a hard look at all of that.”

2026 MIDTERMS STATE OF PLAY: KEY RACES UNFOLD AS STEVENS, EL-SAYED BATTLE IN MICHIGAN

Crow sits on the House Armed Services and Intelligence committees, in addition to co-chairing the House Anti-Corruption Caucus. He was also notably one of the impeachment managers who helped lead one of two pushes by Democrats to keep Trump out of power.

Asked if impeachment could pop up again — whether for Trump or his appointees — Crow did not rule it out.

GOP LAWMAKER UNVEILS HISTORIC MOVE TO ‘EXPUNGE’ BOTH ‘MALICIOUSLY FALSE’ IMPEACHMENTS AGAINST TRUMP

“It’s one of several tools that Congress has to pursue accountability, to get information, and to attack corruption,” Crow said. “I won’t hesitate to use that tool if that’s the right one. But there are other tools available to us, too.”

Several impeachment resolutions have been introduced over the last two years targeting both Trump and his officials, but none have gained steam within the wider Democratic Caucus.

HOUSE DEMS UNVEIL BILL TO EXAMINE REMOVING TRUMP USING 25TH AMENDMENT

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., has demurred on multiple occasions when asked about impeachment.

And it likely won’t be the first tool in Democrats’ arsenal that they’d wield if they win in November, two of their presumptive chairmen suggested. The most likely first approach will be tackling what Democrats see as corruption and mismanagement of federal agencies.

JEFFRIES’ REPORTED MEETING WITH KUSHNER ABOUT POSSIBLE TRUMP COOPERATION DRAWS LEFT-WING BACKLASH

Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., who is poised to take over the House Oversight Committee if the chamber flips, told reporters he was already working closely with presumptive House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jamie Raskin, D-Md., on potential investigations.

Garcia told Fox News Digital there were “a few key investigations” he was already looking at.

MISSOURI HIGH COURT BLOCKS GOP-BACKED CONGRESSIONAL MAPS AHEAD OF MIDTERMS; TRUMP BLASTS ‘RIDICULOUS’ RULING

“One is going to be the Trump family corruption. The second will be the Jeffrey Epstein investigation. Third will be ICE and DHS and the corruption happening there,” Garcia said. “We’ll also go into anyone that’s ripping off the American public from a corporate perspective or CEO perspective. And then lastly, there’s a lot of interest in the committee on taking on what’s happening to the destruction of our vaccination process and [Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr.].”

Raskin, meanwhile, has already previewed what his panel’s investigations would look like. He’s sent a flurry of requests for information targeting the business dealings of Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, as well as Donald Trump Jr. and FBI Director Kash Patel, among others.

TODD BLANCHE SAYS ‘NO CLOSED INVESTIGATIONS’ IN EPSTEIN CASE, VOWS DOJ WILL PURSUE NEW SUSPECTS

“The Trump family has turned the entire executive branch into a money-making enterprise, so there’s more than enough corruption and lawlessness to keep Democrats across the House busy for years. Judiciary Democrats are already following the evidence wherever it leads, from the Trump family’s astonishing self-dealing and conflicts of interest to the corporations and law firms that have colluded with this administration for profit, advantage and protection,” Raskin told Fox News Digital when asked about his plans.

“We will continue to work together across committees and use every investigative and legislative tool we have to uncover the facts, expose the wrongdoing and its costs for the public, hold the perpetrators and profiteers accountable, and pass legislative cures.”

Republicans have long feared that Democrats winning either the House or Senate will grind the GOP’s agenda to a halt in Washington.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., previously told Fox News Digital that he believed Democrats would try to impeach Trump “on Day 1” if they win.

Trump, meanwhile, has maintained his innocence amid an array of accusations from the left.

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

An MS-13 gang member convicted in a savage execution-style murder is out of federal custody in California after a federal judge ordered his immediate release, igniting fury from the Trump administration.

U.S. District Judge Jinsook Ohta ordered the release of David Antonio Aviles Perez, 35, aka “the witch,” after finding that immigration officials held him for five months without giving him a bond hearing or determining whether he posed a danger to the public or a flight risk.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin accused the Biden-appointed judge of putting the public in danger by ordering Aviles Perez’s release.

DHS EVISCERATES MEDIA FOR ‘ABSOLUTE ABSURDITY’ OVER CONCERN ABOUT ‘WORST OF THE WORST’ ACTIVIST JUDGES LIST

“This radical activist judge has put American lives at risk by releasing a wanted murderer,” Mullin said in a statement Saturday.

“This is now the SECOND time this dangerous illegal has been released back onto the streets in California,” he added. “Because sanctuary politicians want to play politics from the bench, innocent Americans are in danger.”

SANCTUARY LAWS COULD STOP POLICE FROM PROTECTING KIDS. SO WE’RE SUING CALIFORNIA

The case centers on a brutal 2014 gang killing in El Salvador and a legal fight over the Trump administration’s authority to detain immigrants while removal proceedings unfold.

Alvise Perez, identified by Salvadoran prosecutors as an active MS-13 member also known as “La Bruja,” or “The Witch,” was convicted while outside El Salvador in December 2025 and sentenced to 20 years in prison for aggravated murder.

ICE NABS ACCUSED MS-13 KILLER HIDING IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA SUBURB

Prosecutors said Aviles Perez and another MS-13 member chased a man through a mountainous area in La Unión before fellow gang members forced the victim to stop and kneel.

The victim was held by the shoulders as Aviles Perez and his accomplice approached, prosecutors said.

The gang members then shot the man in the chest, back and face before fleeing. Both defendants were tried and convicted while outside the country.

Aviles Perez entered the U.S. at an unknown date and location, according to DHS.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CHARGED WITH BRUTAL SLAYING ONE DAY AFTER CALIFORNIA JUDGE RELEASED HIM: DHS

He was arrested in Monterey, California, in 2023, after allegedly swinging a machete at a homeless man at Laguna Grande Park near Monterey State Beach. He allegedly hid the weapon before officers recovered it from a nearby Holiday Inn parking lot.

Aviles Perez was charged and convicted after the incident but later released from custody. DHS blamed California’s sanctuary policies, which limit cooperation between local authorities and federal immigration officials.

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ICE agents arrested him again in San Diego on March 26 and took him into custody pending his removal to El Salvador.

He was held at the Otay Mesa Detention Center pending removal to El Salvador until Ohta ordered his immediate release Aug. 26, federal court records show.

After nearly five months in immigration custody, Aviles Perez filed a petition challenging his detention and seeking his immediate release.

Ohta ruled that immigration officials violated his Fifth Amendment due process rights by holding him without an individualized assessment of whether he was dangerous or likely to flee.

“Although Petitioner appears to have previously been convicted following a fight with another individual in May 2023, the government has offered no evidence that it detained him after considering those facts and making an individualized determination of his danger to the public or flight risk,” Ohta wrote.

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The judge said federal officials gave Aviles Perez “no process before or after his detention” and had not shown that providing a hearing would place an undue burden on the government.

Ohta ordered his immediate release and barred ICE from detaining him again unless an immigration judge first holds a bond hearing and determines that renewed detention is warranted.

A status report was filed in the case Aug. 27, one day after the release order. DHS said Aviles Perez was subsequently released from federal custody.

The ruling did not clear Aviles Perez of wrongdoing or find that he posed no danger. It focused on whether immigration officials followed the required process to justify keeping him detained.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed Ohta to the San Diego County Superior Court in December 2020, according to the governor’s office.

BIDEN JUDGE TORCHES TRUMP ICE CRACKDOWN AS ‘DEVOID OF RATIONAL EXPLANATION,’ NUKES COURTHOUSE ARREST POLICY

President Joe Biden nominated her to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California in September 2021. The Senate confirmed her that December, and her judicial commission was issued later that month, according to the Federal Judicial Center.

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Mullin vowed that the ruling would not derail the administration’s immigration crackdown.

“DHS and ICE will not be deterred by these partisan games,” he said. “If California’s leaders won’t protect Americans, DHS will.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Ohta’s office for additional comment and confirmation surrounding Aviles Perez’s release.

The Kennedy Center shared photos on Saturday that showed a partial ceiling collapse that happened during a rainstorm in the main hallway of the over 50-year-old performing arts building.

Roma Daravi, vice president of public relations for the Kennedy Center, said the collapse underscored the need to close the building for renovations.

“Another example of the urgent need to close for renovation and revitalization, as our Chairman President [Donald] Trump has championed,” Daravi said in a statement shared with Fox News Digital, adding, “This structural failure stems from decades of neglect and deferred maintenance by the previous leadership, and there’s no justification for further delays in restoring America’s cultural center.”

VIDEO EXPOSES DISREPAIR LURKING BENEATH TRUMP KENNEDY CENTER AS $257M RENOVATION LOOMS

The center’s board, which is led by Trump, voted in August to close the building for two years.

This came after a judge ruled in May that Trump’s name must come off the building months after the board voted to name it: “The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.”

“Unless I am free to do what I do better than anyone else, bring this Institution back, physically, financially, and artistically, I have no interest in continuing what could only be a hopeless journey into ‘NEVER NEVER LAND,'” Trump wrote on Truth Social at the time. “Therefore, based on the fact that the Radical Left Democrats care more about opposing your favorite President, ME, than saving a dying Performing Arts Center, almost all of which lose large amounts of money throughout the Country, we are going to be working with Congress to transfer this failing Institution back to them so they can make a determination as to what to do with it.”

TRUMP’S NAME TO BE REMOVED FROM KENNEDY CENTER AS APPEALS COURT DENIES BOARD’S REQUEST FOR ADMINISTRATIVE STAY

Last month, the board voted to rename the institution’s grounds “President Donald J. Trump Plaza” and to put lettering on the building that says “The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump.”

The board remains in court fighting to move forward with the name changes, as well as the closure and $250 million in renovations.

Grace Terpstra, founder of the community group Keep the KC, which is fighting the closure, said she thinks the board will use the collapse “to make the point that the whole thing needs to be shut down, that it’s going to fall on everybody.”

KENNEDY CENTER DISPUTES ALLEGATIONS ON CONTRACTOR BIDS DESPITE DEMOCRAT SENATOR’S CLAIMS

She added, “I think they’ll try to make it into a bigger thing and show that they’ve found a lot of other things.”

A tarp and scaffolding has covered the front of the building since the bronze letters that made up Trump’s name were removed in June.

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Last week, the center did remove a piece of modern artwork called “Blue” that has been outside the building since 2019, saying in a statement, “we are honored to have been stewards” of the late sculptor Joel Shapiro’s work.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

MAGA, Inc., the super PAC linked to President Donald Trump, has made its first major midterm buy with $10 million in ad spending to support Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in his Senate race, according to a new filing with the Federal Election Commission.

Paxton and Democrat state Rep. James Talarico are locked in a tight race in which polls continually show the two candidates neck and neck.

The $10 million will go toward digital and TV ads across the state.

FOX NEWS POLL: GOP DIVISIONS SHAPE TEXAS SENATE RACE

Trump’s endorsement earlier this year already helped Paxton beat incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in the Republican primary.

“While James Talarico has a record of raising taxes on working families, my Protecting the Texas Promise Agenda cuts costs and makes life more affordable. Thank you, President @realDonaldTrump, for your support,” Paxton wrote on X on Saturday while sharing a post about the ad buy. “Together we will win for Texas and America.”

The decision comes after weeks of speculation over whether the super PAC would put money into the hotly contested race.

Talarico’s campaign also responded to the move, telling Fox News Digital, “Billionaire-backed dark money groups are lying about James Talarico because they’re scared of the people-powered movement we’re building to fix this broken, corrupt political system.”

BERNIE SANDERS DEMANDS DEMOCRATS BAN SUPER PACS FROM PRIMARIES, BLASTS AIPAC, ‘CORRUPT SYSTEM’

Talarico, who has called for higher taxes on the wealthy, called out billionaires heading to the Republican midterm convention starting Wednesday.

“Next week, billionaire mega-donors and their puppet politicians will gather at a convention in Dallas to clink champagne glasses and toast their own corruption,” he said. 

“They’re paying $20,000 for entry to a Billionaire Ball celebrating corrupt tariffs, billionaire tax breaks, and a new forever war that are all driving grocery costs through the roof. We’ll be doing something different. We’re bringing Republicans, Democrats and independents together to collect groceries for our neighbors who have been screwed over by corrupt politicians.”

Calling him “High Tax Talarico,” MAGA Inc. spokesperson Alex Pfeiffer told Fox News Digital the Democrat “wants to take money out of Texans’ pockets. MAGA Inc. is going to ensure Texas knows about Talarico’s radical policies and elects Ken Paxton to the U.S. Senate.”

TALARICO’S ‘PROUD CAPITALIST’ ABOUT-FACE COLLIDES WITH RESURFACED CALL TO ‘DISMANTLE’ CAPITALISM

Talarico’s campaign has raised $72 million since the campaign began, mostly from small donors, compared to $16.8 million by Paxton’s campaign, according to the Texas Tribune.

The two anti-Talarico ads slam his policies on taxes and rural hospitals while touting Paxton’s support for doubling the child tax credit, allowing tax breaks for medical expenses and a $50,000 deduction for first-time homebuyers.

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MAGA, Inc. has around $400 million in campaign funds, which Trump called “my money” while speaking to reporters this week, adding, “I’m going to spend whatever amount of money necessary to try and help us.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.