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Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., a self-described moderate, is facing political headwinds in the race for the newly-redrawn 25th Congressional District in South Florida, as Republican nominee Scott Singer sees a path to pick up a House seat in a narrowly divided Congress.

“We’re going to be very prepared to go flip this seat – it is a key targeted seat,” Singer told Fox News Digital in an interview Monday.

“This is a key district that may determine the balance of power in the House.”

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The race is drawing national attention and, potentially, big Democratic dollars to defend the seat in Democrats’ pursuit of the majority to attack what House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries just called the “cartel” of President Donald Trump.

“A lot of people in this district and beyond understand what’s at stake here,” Singer, former Boca Raton mayor, said.

Moskowitz, currently seated in the more Democratic-friendly 23rd District, is – like Singer – Jewish and pro-Israel, but he will have to navigate a tougher Republican-friendly map and fend off the “anti-Israel wing” of the Democratic Party, according to to Singer.

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“His voting record speaks volumes,” Singer said. “Since he’s gotten to Congress, he’s been locked up with the Democrats on almost every issue.”

“This is not the sort of record of bipartisanship he once had. He’s been much more partisan because he has to be,” Singer claimed. “He has to appeal to a more far-left socialist led Democratic Party if he’s going to have any influence. And that’s going home to roost in November.”

When reached for comment, the two-term Moskowitz stressed he fought off the Democratic Socialists of America’s maximum pressure campaign in his primary, while keeping $2 million cash on hand for the general election and expecting “we’ll have the national resources” in the fight to keep the seat blue.

“I go after my party all the time and fight within,” Moskowitz, who was twice appointed to positions by Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in a show of bipartisanship, told Fox News Digital, noting Singer has been “awfully silent” on social media amid his own vocal defense against the “anti-Israel” political factions.

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“Scott just has talking points, which is why he’s the masked singer. You hear a voice behind a mask. He says things to all sorts of people, tells people what they want to hear, but nobody really knows where he stands because he never really takes positions.”

The heated rhetoric belies a previously tighter relationship.

“Scott Singer endorsed me when I ran the first time,” Moskowitz claimed.

Singer’s campaign has denied it was anything more than a personal call to generally express support for a fellow Jewish, pro-Israel politician.

Singer, though, says he is well-positioned in the newly redrawn South Florida district, with a growing GOP voter-registration advantage and Democratic division working against the “quasi-incumbent.”

“People are abandoning the Democratic Party because the mainstream Democratic Party of even a few years ago has abandoned them,” Singer said. “It’s now a socialist-led party and it’s sad for America.”

“That’s why we need to band together and make sure independent voters understand what’s at stake,” he added. “We can’t have people talking about communism or new Democrat-incoming members of the House saying horrific things like that they would wipe their hand on the American flag if they didn’t have a napkin. That’s today’s Democratic Party, unfortunately, and it’s not something I want to see.”

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The race is considered to be one of 19 toss-ups in the nation (seats held by four Democrats and 15 Republicans), according to the Cook Political Report.

“It’s now about five points more Republican than Democrat, but even since redistricting, there are Republicans who are registering at a higher rate: People in Florida have seen the success of our state and seen the craziness other places, and they’re voting more conservative,” Singer said.

“And we have a great opportunity to pick off disaffected Democrats who are sick with the socialist lean, especially in our community that has a large number of residents who fled communism, like my family, like wife’s family did,” he continued. “They understand that bringing socialism and communism into the United States is a terrible idea. That’s another reason why we’re optimistic about our chances to flip this must-win seat in November.”

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The race also presents an unusual political dynamic: Singer and Moskowitz are both Jewish candidates competing in a district where roughly a quarter of the electorate is Jewish, one of the highest concentrations in the country.

“The anti-Israel wing, which has taken root in the Democratic Party, is doing the convincing for us,” Singer said. “Because we’ve seen a majority of House members would deny arms sales to Israel, our ally during a time of conflict.

“And that’s the party, where it is. We’ve seen three incumbents in the Democratic Party ousted in recent months solely because Israel was the key issue.

“Anti-Israel is winning. It’s become the mainstream of the Democratic Party. And longtime Democrats are leaving in droves. Another reason why it’s going to be very hard for Democrats in this district to win with 25% Jewish population and people who understand Israel’s close and long-standing alliance with the United States. We’re going to pick off more of those voters.”

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Also, while GOP-leaning, the district is still largely independent. It snakes along South Florida’s Atlantic coast through portions of Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties, encompassing communities around Delray Beach, Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood and Miami Beach.

“I was already running under the prior boundaries when it leaned Democratic, but I’m thrilled with the new boundaries because it runs from Miami Beach, where I was born, through Fort Lauderdale where I grew up, through Boca Raton where I served as mayor for eight years,” Singer said.

“I have deep ties in this district. It’s my whole life. I’ve lived 40-plus years in this District in all three counties. My opponent doesn’t live in the district. I’m not sure he’s ever lived in the district. And I think those community ties help when you’re trying to represent 750,000-plus people.”

Moskowitz lives in nearby Parkland and was born and raised in Coral Springs, which is just west of the newly drawn district, which carved those towns out.

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Trump would have carried the territory by roughly nine points in 2024 after Joe Biden would have won it by about five points in 2020, showing just how the district is turning conservative and more favorable to flip.

“Jewish voters don’t just have to vote for a Jewish candidate who may be not terrible on Israel … now you have a pro-Israel, Zionist candidate who’s a strong Republican who will vote for the common sense solutions: We need like less regulation, lower taxes, insurance reform and more.”

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“Independent voters have a choice,” he added. “Are we going to continue on tax reform, secure borders, economic improvement… or are we going to go back to what the Democrats would propose, which frankly for the next two years is just impeachment?

“Nothing will get done in Washington,” he concluded.

The Justice Department sued an Ohio court Tuesday over a new rule blocking federal immigration arrests at or near the courthouse, accusing local officials of unlawfully interfering with federal enforcement and forcing ICE agents to make arrests in potentially riskier settings.

At issue is a Franklin County Municipal Court rule, which bars civil arrests at the courthouse unless officers have a judicial warrant. The DOJ argues the rule conflicts with federal immigration law, which allows ICE agents in certain circumstances to make arrests with administrative warrants or no warrant at all.

“This type of rule obstructs federal law enforcement and facilitates evasion of federal law by dangerous criminal aliens, despite Congress’s direction that federal agents detain and remove them,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Throughout the country, and including in this courthouse specifically, federal agents have routinely and safely conducted arrests. The Department of Justice is committed to protecting that important federal prerogative.”

This is a developing news story; check back for updates.

In a 2016 interview, Latin Grammy Award-winning artist and Democratic congressional candidate Bobby Pulido defended a fellow singer against criticism for a graphic music video that depicted acts of sexual violence and murder.

In the video production of “Fuiste Mía” or “You were mine” by Gerardo Ortiz, a singer walks in on his girlfriend cheating on him. After shooting her lover, he then handcuffs her to a pole, blindfolds her, and gropes her before putting her in the trunk of his car and setting it on fire.

In response to backlash, Pulido defended Ortiz, calling the video a matter of artistic direction.

“I’ve made videos with suggestive images; some have stayed, others have been edited, and still others were never used. That’s the decision of the artist and their team,” Pulido said in response to public backlash against the production.

Pulido’s resurfaced response to the music video is the latest in a series of controversies he has tried to downplay as he pursues a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in Texas’ 15th Congressional District — one of the country’s most competitive seats.

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Pulido is best known for Tejano, or Mexican–Spanish folk-style, songs like “Desvelado” and “Se Murió de Amor,” and received five nominations for a Latin Grammy Awards, winning Best Tejano Album in 2025 and 2022.

He filed to run for Congress in Texas’ 15th District, challenging Rep. Monica De La Cruz, R-Texas. A two-term incumbent, she last won election to the district in 2024 in a 57.1% to 42.9% victory over Democratic nominee Michelle Vallejo. 

Along the way, Pulido has drawn scrutiny for a resurfaced history of posting links to explicit websites on his personal X account — as well as for a social media post of what appeared to be him urinating on President Donald Trump’s Hollywood Walk of Fame star. Pulido has shrugged off criticism for both, stating in 2024 that it’s “it’s impossible to have Twitter and not watch porn,” and that he had only poured water on Trump’s star as a joke.

More notably, Pulido has also had to fend off criticisms of bringing a registered sex offender to a Texas middle school benefit concert in 2018.

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In that case, Pulido denied knowledge of his associate’s status at the time and has dismissed coverage of it as a “nothing story,” according to Axios.

Similarly, in his defense of Ortiz, Pulido downplayed the music video, arguing that viewers had become accustomed to increasingly graphic images.

“What happens when there’s a [car] accident?” Pulido asked, comparing the music video to real-life instances of tragedy.

“Traffic doesn’t flow because people slow down or even stop to see what happened; something similar happens with the regional Mexican genre when these kinds of incidents occur.”

At least one Republican onlooker is left unconvinced by the defense of the music video — and defenses of other past behaviors.

“Bobby Pulido has spent his entire adult life defending perverts and predators while lashing out at members of law enforcement who keep Texans safe. He is a truly sick individual who is morally rotten,” Zach Kraft, a spokesperson for the Republican National Committee (RNC), said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

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The Pulido campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment about his defense of the video and whether he had a track record of downplaying potentially problematic conduct.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called the Democratic Party’s current “experiment” amid the rise of democratic socialist candidates “healthy,” drawing swift conservative backlash from critics who accused her of embracing the party’s socialist wing.

“The Democratic Party right now is, I think, going through a kind of experiment, like who can actually respond particularly to young people’s very real concerns about where they are at this point in their lives and what kind of future do they have for themselves? I think that is healthy,” said Clinton.

Clinton, a matriarch of the Democratic Party, defeated democratic socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders in the 2016 presidential primary. Her remarks come as socialist candidates increasingly challenge establishment-backed Democrats in races across the country.

Clinton spoke Monday in conversation with the Hamptons Institute, weighing in on the Democratic Party’s ideological direction as it searches for ways to connect with younger voters while democratic socialist candidates have increasingly notched wins during the primary season.

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The moderator asked Clinton where she sees the future of the Democratic Party as it undergoes a “major upheaval between center-left and democratic socialists” during their conversation on diplomacy, national security and global leadership.

Conservative critics seized on Clintons’ remarks, accusing her of embracing the Democratic Party’s socialist wing and invoking her failed 2016 presidential campaign.

“INSANE Hillary Clinton says the Democrat Party is ‘going through an experiment’ to see if far-Left, socialist candidates — who want to abolish prisons and borders — can win over young voters,” the Republican National Committee posted on X.

“Run again in 2028. Do it,” social media influencer Jack Posobiec posted.

“Easy for her to say when she has her own security team,” said Heritage Foundation media fellow Tim Young.

“Hillary Clinton believes Democrats are “going through an experiment” to see if a new crop of further-left candidates can actually win young voters. The problem? Dems who want to abolish prisons and borders. She’s watching her own party test how far left it can push before the rest of the country walks away. It’s basically a live experiment with the electorate at this point,” X user Mario Nawfal posted. 

DEMOCRATS LURE ‘POLITICALLY HOMELESS’ GEN Z TOWARD SOCIALISM — A COUNTERATTACK IS TAKING SHAPE

“The Democrats only want to win, no matter the cost! If their actions of going far, far left send the country into ruins, they don’t care! They know that socialism has never worked, nor ever will work. Hillary may be a lot of things (a lot of which I can’t say on here), but she will pull out all stops to try and win. It doesn’t always work, like in 2016, but she will try anything to win…..no matter the consequences,” said one user.

“Say WHAT?! Hillary Clinton says the Democrat Party is ‘going through a kind of experiment’ by embracing socialist candidates to see if it will bring in younger voters – say it’s ‘healthy’ This is the definition of insanity,” the Conservative Brief posted.

During her remarks, Clinton also turned the socialism charge back on President Donald Trump, accusing his administration of practicing what she called “socialism for the rich.”

“I get very amused when I hear Trump and his people talking about socialism and communism. The way he’s behaving is socialism for the rich. It is the most ridiculous administration when it comes to doing everything possible to avoid risks and loss for people who are already doing them and to use the power of the government to benefit himself and his cronies and his allies,” said Clinton.

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Trump has increasingly used the rise of democratic socialists as a midterm attack line, labeling recent left-wing Democratic winners “hardcore, godless communists.”He separately warned in June that New York City Mayor and democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani‘s rent-freeze policy would cause New York apartment buildings to deteriorate into “ghettos and slums.”

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“President Trump is creating good-paying jobs, securing trillions of dollars in investments, and positioning our country to dominate the remainder of the 21st century,” White House spokesperson Davis Ingle told Fox News Digital.

“Meanwhile, Crooked Hillary Clinton is still whining about her spectacular 2016 election defeat. It’s time for Hillary to move on,” Ingle added.

An Ohio man was arrested by the FBI after allegedly making graphic threats against a Jewish Republican congressman and calling for the death of President Donald Trump.

Alex Justin Miller, 26, is accused of sending a “true threat” to Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla., and his family, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ). 

A copy of the message separately obtained by Fox News Digital shows Miller allegedly called Fine and his family “Nazi f—-s” and said he would burn their house down, pledging he would “never stop until your head is hanging from the rooftops of the White House.” His message ended with “DEATH TO RANDY FINE AND DEATH TO DONALD TRUMP.”

Miller was charged with interstate transmission of a threat to injure by the U.S. Attorney in the Middle District of Florida and faces up to five years in prison if convicted, the DOJ said.

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The incident was investigated by the FBI and the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office with assistance from the Secret Service and Capitol Police, the DOJ said.

“It was so graphic. It says, ‘I’m gonna murder you. I’m going to cut your head off. I won’t stop,'” Fine told Fox News Digital. “I reported it immediately. I unfortunately have learned what the difference is between a nasty message and a death threat, and this clearly was a death threat.”

The full message read: “Dear fat— piece of s—stain, I cannot wait to take a trip to you lovely home and light the whole place on fire and murder you and your entire family in the middle of the night while you sleep. I hope you disgusting Nazi f—s sleep with one eye open for the rest of your life because I will NEVER stop until your head is hanging from the rooftops of the White House. You deserve 10000% to be beheaded and have your body paraded through the streets. DEATH TO RANDY FINE AND DEATH TO DONALD TRUMP!!” 

Fine said he received the threat via email on the morning of primary Election Day in the Sunshine State. He also said it reinforced his belief that federal officials need more protection.

“I don’t know what this person’s motives were for writing this, but it’s someone not from Florida. So, you know, this was not a local constituent that was upset,” he said. “I do think members of Congress need more security than we oftentimes get.”

FLORIDA MAN ARRESTED FOR ALLEGEDLY THREATENING TO KILL TRUMP, RUBIO AND BONDI

He added that law enforcement found and arrested the man within 36 hours.

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“I’m incredibly grateful to the U.S. attorney, the FBI, the Capitol Police, and all the law enforcement in Florida who took this seriously. The bottom line is, don’t do this. Don’t write messages like this to elected officials, Republican or Democrat. You want to call us bad people? Be my guest, but do not do this sort of thing,” Fine said.

Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, who has repeatedly targeted President Donald Trump for impeachment, renewed his effort by filing a new impeachment resolution on Monday.

“Our country and the lives of people within it are at risk as President Donald John Trump is a great threat to the United States democratic republic, its Constitution, and democracy, violating Article II, Section 1, Clause 8 of the United States Constitution and its mandate to faithfully execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States,” the document declares.

The resolution accuses Trump of “abusing the powers of the presidency by operating United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) as his vicious, quota-driven, unaccountable paramilitary police forces, transgressing with anonymity and secrecy, assaulting people, committing and covering up unjustified killings of civilians (including Renée Good, Alex Pretti, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, and Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero) with impunity (acting as judge, jury, prosecutor, and executioner), terrorizing communities, and brazenly and wantonly devolving the United States democratic republic into an authoritarian regime, where unjustified killings and coverups by ICE and CBP are normalized.”

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In a statement provided to Fox News Digital on Tuesday, White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis said, “This type of garbage is contributing to our law enforcement officers facing a more than 1,300% increase in assaults against them. The brave men and women of ICE and CBP put their lives on the line to arrest murderers, rapists, pedophiles, gang members, and terrorists. Al Green should be thanking President Trump and our law enforcement for delivering the largest decrease in violent crime in American history.”

Fox News Digital also reached out to the Department of Homeland Security, ICE and CBP on Tuesday.

Given that Republicans currently hold the majority in both chambers of Congress, his latest impeachment push likely won’t succeed.

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But in a letter to the president, Green said, “Mr. President, I am well aware of the fact that you will be defended by persons who will say, ‘The House won’t impeach, and if it did, the Senate won’t convict.’ Sir, my response is that articles of impeachment that are not approved by Congress can express on-the-record disapproval of presidential actions and demonstrate that there are some of us watching and willing to act.”

Green has fielded impeachment resolutions multiple times across both of Trump’s White House terms.

The congressman, who has served in the House since 2005, lost a Democratic primary runoff to Rep. Christian Menefee in May.

TRUMP COULD FACE IMPEACHMENT IF DEMOCRATS SEIZE HOUSE MAJORITY, GOP LEADER WARNS

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The House impeached Trump twice during his first term, but in both cases, the Senate vote did not meet the threshold necessary for conviction. The Senate’s vote on the second impeachment took place after Trump had already departed from office.

California’s aging infrastructure is helping fuel a clean water crisis that could have ramifications across the country, a key House Republican warned.

Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo., accused California Gov. Gavin Newsom of playing politics with the management of the Colorado River, a major body of water that millions of people in the Western United States depend on. She’s arguing that the Golden State’s bloated bureaucracy and environmental regulations are making it more reliant on the Colorado River, thus stressing its supply and affecting the other six states through which it runs.

“The system is now becoming very, very stressed because California has not kept up with the infrastructure demands and needs of its citizens,” Hageman told Fox News Digital. “Pinedale, Wyoming, may be a long way removed from Southern California, but when there are calls on the river and when there are demands that we reduce the amount of water that we are able to use in order to meet a demand downstream, that isn’t fair.”

California’s water infrastructure has largely remained unchanged since the late 20th century, despite a ballooning population.

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Hageman argued that California’s growing need paired with a lack of new infrastructure is hurting the agricultural sector in areas that rely on the Colorado River — which could have ripple effects beyond the West.

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“California could grow almost all the food we need in the United States, but they’ve really decimated their Ag industry because they’ve taken irrigation water away from their Ag industry to try to meet municipal demand and industrial demand elsewhere. So really it’s just, it’s a whole parade of bad decisions that are being made,” she said.

“Food independence is a national security issue. We do not want to become food dependent on Mexico or Central America or bringing all of our food in from other countries. We have the resources to grow healthy, high-quality food right here while also protecting our environment.”

Environmental groups like Tell the Dam Truth have opposed new dam builds in California, arguing they contribute to climate change while harming biodiversity.

“With its strong environmental laws, regulations, and policies, California has the opportunity to not only stop new dam construction, but also decommission dams to restore the biodiversity and carbon sequestration currently inundated in river valleys across the state,” the group’s website states.

Groups like the Sierra Club have also opposed desalination, an alternative water source that would require California to convert its abundant saltwater into a usable product.

But Hageman said that opposition was misguided.

“They’re very backwards people. I kind of look at them like flat-Earthers. They’re very backwards people in the way that they approach things. They ignore the fact that humans are also part of the natural environment, and they ignore the benefits of what we can create by building this much-needed infrastructure,” she said.

The Colorado River’s Upper Basin runs through Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico and Utah. The Lower Basin runs through California, Arizona and Nevada.

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It has faced growing problems, in part due to climate change and increased dependence, prompting discussions about whether the seven aforementioned states could update their existing water-sharing agreement.

A failure to do so thus far has prompted the Trump administration to step in and force steep cuts to the Lower Basin states for the next two years.

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Newsom praised the plan while pointing out California has reduced its use in recent years, but said it was only a “short-term” solution.

“This is a necessary step to protect a river that 40 million Americans depend on, at a time when climate change is driving a regional water crisis that makes every drop of water count. California continues to lead the way forward, growing our economy while cutting our Colorado River water use to the lowest level since 1949,” he said of the Trump administration order. “Any long-term solution must share responsibility fairly across all seven states in recognition of the new reality of the Colorado River.”

California also recently made plans for a new reservoir project, projected to cost $6.8 billion, which is expected to be completed in the mid-2030s. The state is also investing in new groundwater infrastructure and other initiatives to expand availability of the critical resource.

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A spokesperson for the California Natural Resources Agency re-emphasized the state’s reduced dependency on the Colorado River when reached by Fox News Digital.

“California’s Colorado River use is at its lowest since 1949 – and our urban water agencies have reduced their demand for imports by 50% since 2000. Even with that, we continue to invest billions of dollars to increase water supply as we face changing conditions driven by climate change,” the spokesperson said.

“Suggesting we move the world’s fourth largest economy entirely to desalinated water is a deeply unserious proposal that ignores the underlying issues facing all users of the Colorado River. All Basin states must share the responsibility of caring for the Colorado River for generations to come – and that means real conservation from all seven states.”

The battle for the Democratic Party’s 2028 presidential nomination is already spilling into public view, with a top aide to California Gov. Gavin Newsom taking a swipe at fellow White House hopeful Pete Buttigieg over his effort to build support with Black voters in the South.

Newsom communications director Izzy Gardon mocked Buttigieg’s recent visit to South Carolina, which his representative Aida Ross highlighted with a post on X over the weekend that included a photo of the former Transportation secretary with members of the Orangeburg branch of the NAACP. 

“Pete returned to Orangeburg, SC! Great night with the Orangeburg Branch of the NAACP,” Ross said alongside the photo.

Meanwhile, Gardon responded to the post: “First time in SC in 3 years? Nice!”

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The exchange garnered buzz online, as it placed two of the Democratic Party’s most closely watched potential presidential contenders at the center of a growing fight over Black voter outreach — an issue likely to be central in 2028 as South Carolina again prepares to hold the party’s first nominating contest.

It also comes amid wider Democratic tensions over whether the party is doing enough to engage Black voters and the South, with Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens accusing the DNC of “abandoning the South” and “abandoning Black voters” after Atlanta was eliminated from 2028 convention contention last week. 

Meanwhile, South Carolina Democratic Party Chair Christale Spain declared last month, amid debate over the party’s presidential primary calendar, that “the South is not the past, it is the future,” while Democratic chairs from five other southern states also previously warned the DNC against sending Black voters the message that their loyalty is “taken for granted,” according to the Associated Press.

When reached for comment, Gardon told Fox News Digital that the post was made from his personal account and in his “personal capacity,” calling it “simply my own observation.” He stressed that he was “NOT speaking for the Governor or anyone else.”

Ross did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

JASMINE CROCKETT WARNS DEMOCRATS ARE TOO FOCUSED ON WHITE VOTERS, IGNORING BLACK VOTERS

“Love to watch Gavin Newsom staffers dunk on Pete Buttigieg staffers as they all jostle to catch up to AOC in the 2028 Dem primaries,” Republican strategist Matt Whitlock wrote on X.

“We’re just dropping all pretenses huh,” quipped political polling executive Adam Carlson.

Democrat strategists also weighed in on the in-fighting.

“Staffers of potential 2028ers who denigrate other potential 2028ers at this juncture should be embarrassed. They reflect extremely poorly on their principals,” Democrat strategist Jennifer Holdsworth said in response to Gardon’s jab.

“Weird tweet to send rn – bad look,” Democratic consultant Eric Koch said.

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“Potential 2028 staffers, huddle up: you do not want to start the fighting now or on this platform,” added the Head of Digital Engagement at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Stefan Smith. “It’s too early in the cycle. The longer we play nice (and encourage the principals to play nice) the better it is for everyone.”

DEARBORN, MI – Nearly 25 years after the Sept. 11 attacks, a Smithsonian affiliate in Michigan continues to use its 9/11 exhibits and anniversary programming to focus on discrimination and government actions in the attacks’ aftermath, while giving less attention to the nearly 3,000 people killed that day, Fox News Digital found.

The Arab American National Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, features an exhibit arguing that Arab Americans “suffered two-fold as a result of the tragic events of September 11th,” both from the attacks themselves and from what the museum describes as unfair treatment by the U.S. government afterward. Since its founding, the museum has repeatedly hosted programs examining what it describes as discriminatory consequences of the U.S. response to 9/11.

Fox News Digital visited the museum earlier this month, reviewed its exhibits and gift shop, and examined years of anniversary programming and federal funding records.

The AANM has received hundreds of thousands of dollars in grant funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities and is also an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution. The Smithsonian has been under intense scrutiny from conservative lawmakers in recent months for allegedly allowing political bias to influence its presentation of history.

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One placard criticizes the government’s post-9/11 detention of immigrants investigated for possible terrorist links, noting that “virtually none were charged” in connection with terrorism.

“The Arab American community suffered two-fold as a result of the tragic events of September 11th. As with all Americans, they suffered the horror and grief. However, Arab Americans were unfairly held responsible, yet not a single Arab American was found guilty of any connection to September 11th,” it reads.

On Sept. 11, 2001, 19 al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four passenger planes, crashing two into the World Trade Center, and one into the Pentagon. Passengers and crew fought back aboard United Flight 93, the fourth plane, prompting the hijackers to crash the plane in Pennsylvania. The attacks killed 2,977 people and triggered the largest investigation in FBI history.

The museum placard also argues that Arabs faced harsher immigration enforcement after the attacks, saying some were “deported for minor visa violations or petty offenses which previously would have been overlooked.”

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In the 11 months after the attacks, immigration authorities detained 762 noncitizens on immigration charges in connection with the FBI’s terrorism investigation, including for overstaying visas or entering the country illegally, according to a Justice Department inspector general report. The watchdog found that some detainees with no terrorism ties were treated harshly and held under unnecessarily restrictive conditions.

Public opinion also showed a more complicated picture of the post-9/11 backlash. President George W. Bush publicly urged Americans not to blame Muslims for the attacks, and polling later suggested attitudes toward Muslim Americans actually improved in the immediate aftermath. The share of Americans who viewed Muslim Americans favorably rose from 45% in March 2001 to 59% in November, two months after the attacks, according to the Pew Research Center.

Beyond its permanent exhibit, AANM has repeatedly used programming around the 9/11 anniversary to examine discrimination and law-enforcement policies affecting Arab and Muslim communities.

The museum holds a “solidarity” town hall each year, where criticism of the American reaction to 9/11 is often the focus. The online description of the event does not mention the deaths connected to the attacks themselves, but rather “offers a safe space for communities to reflect and engage in dialogue about the harmful prejudices that Arab and Muslim (and anyone perceived to be Arab or Muslim) individuals face on both an individual and systemic level.”

One such town hall in 2018 examined “how communities of color have been targeted through the frame of national security and profiled as violent threats.”

A year later, the AANM’s annual town, which received support from the National Endowment for the Arts, criticized how “institutions and communities of color have been infiltrated” by law enforcement as well as how leaders of those groups have been “targeted” following 9/11.

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The AANM was founded in 2005, partially in response to the increased scrutiny directed at the Arab American community following the attack on the World Trade Center. In addition to receiving well over half a million dollars in funding from the NEH over its lifetime to support its exhibits and educational programming, the museum also benefited from a $385,000 grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development which helped it expand its physical footprint in 2013. It received further HUD funding, over half a million dollars, between 2017 and 2019 as well as at least $50,000 from the State Department between 2016 and 2017, according to annual reports published by the museum.

Dearborn, where about 54.5% of residents are of Middle Eastern or North African descent, is a key political center in Michigan ahead of one of the country’s most competitive Senate races this year. Socialist-aligned Abdul El-Sayed, who is running for the Senate, drew strong support from the city earlier this month.

The museum’s focus extends beyond its criticism of the U.S. response to 9/11.

On Sept. 10 — the eve of the 25th anniversary of the attacks — the AANM is scheduled to host a screening of “Seeds for Liberation,” a film that portrays Hamas’ Oct. 7 terrorist attack as part of a decades-long Palestinian “struggle” and places it within a broader history of “anti-imperialist and decolonial movements.”

During Fox News Digital’s visit earlier this month, a section of the museum was dedicated to art criticizing Israel’s alleged “occupation” of Palestinian land. One piece of art, the word “wall” presented in a stylized print, accuses the Israeli government of perpetuating a system of “apartheid.”

The art installation broadly accuses Israel of targeting civilians in military operations, denying basic necessities to Palestinians and unjustly occupying land.

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One placard accompanying a sculpture states that Israel has killed more than 2,000 Palestinian children since Sept. 29, 2000, citing If Americans Knew (IAK).

The placard’s sourcing is itself controversial. Some pro-Palestinian organizations have distanced themselves from IAK over allegations of antisemitism and ties to white supremacists, allegations the group has disputed. IAK also operates a news site that has published articles rejecting the designation of Hamas as a terrorist organization.

Another placard attached to a sculpture pulls a quote from Defense of Children International Palestine, which the Israeli government designated as a terrorist organization in 2021. DCIP and human rights groups have disputed the designation.

The museum gift shop also sells Palestinian-themed merchandise, including map-shaped magnets and key chains, coloring books promising to help children “explore Palestinian heritage” and keffiyehs.

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The AANM, Smithsonian, NEA and NEH did not respond to requests for comment after being reached by Fox News Digital on Friday.

Smithsonian affiliates, like the AANM, are independently operated museums that maintain formal partnerships with the Smithsonian, providing them with access to artifact loans, educational resources and consultations from institutional experts.

In recent months, the Smithsonian has faced mounting pressure from Republican lawmakers and the president over allegations that its museums advance left-of-center ideological causes through their exhibits. Officials have threatened funding cuts against the institution if it does not root out what the Trump administration characterizes as anti-American bias.

The Department of Homeland Security is calling out Boston Democratic Mayor Michelle Wu’s “unhinged” effort to dissuade business owners from leasing to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the city, equating it to “hunting down” private property owners.

After Boston banned ICE vehicles from using city-owned parking lots to stage operations, ICE issued a notice seeking to rent hundreds of parking spaces in the city for five years. In response, Wu, an outspoken opponent of President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement agenda, issued an open letter to parking garage and lot owners throughout Boston in which she revealed the city had submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request “for any local responses to ICE.”

DHS fired back in an X post, writing that “these actions by sanctuary Mayor Michelle Wu are unhinged.”

“She knows she has NO authority to block us from using private property. So, she’s hunting down private property owners and threatening them for working with ICE — because she’d rather intimidate law-abiding Bostonians than get criminal illegal aliens OFF the street,” wrote DHS.

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ICE issued a “sources sought” notice last month for “surge parking” in 14 cities across the country. The notice revealed ICE was seeking 249 contiguous parking spaces in Boston.

In response, Wu issued an official appeal from the city of Boston for garage and lot owners to “reject ICE staging facilities.” She wrote that “were ICE to procure such resources, it would constitute an unprovoked and unwarranted escalation, creating potentially significant risks to public safety and halting economic activity across our entire region.”

She boasted that she “joined together with six other cities across Greater Boston and signed Executive Orders prohibiting ICE from staging its operations on municipal property and parking lots,” adding, “Today, I ask you to join us: Reject any proposition by ICE to facilitate an attack on the people of Boston.”

Wu also noted that the same day, the city submitted a FOIA request for any local responses to ICE. She told the garage and lot owners, “We will keep you updated as we push for a response,” adding, “Thank you again for your partnership.”

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In its FOIA request, which was submitted to ICE and reviewed by Fox News Digital, the city of Boston states that it is seeking “all submissions and/or responses to ICE Sources Sought Notice with Notice ID ‘DHS-ICE-SurgeParking.’”

DHS responded to Wu’s FOIA request by calling her a “pro-criminal illegal alien politician” in another X post. The agency said the request also indicates that Wu “admits she has no authority to block ICE from utilizing private property.”

“If private citizens want to allow federal law enforcement onto their own property, they should be allowed to do so—free of threats, intimidation and coercion from their radical left-wing mayor who shamelessly compared ICE agents to a neo-Nazi group,” wrote DHS.

Fox News Digital reached out to Wu’s office and the city of Boston for comment.

Wu’s FOIA request came after the Boston City Council adopted an “emergency resolution” earlier this month urging the city to “explore all avenues to oppose” proposed parking leases for ICE in downtown Boston.

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The council said that by adopting the emergency resolution, it was calling on the city to “explore available options to prevent the proposed parking leases and expressed its opposition to an increased ICE presence in the city.”

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Besides Boston, ICE’s notice showed the agency seeking significant numbers of parking spaces in the metropolitan areas of Denver, Seattle, Philadelphia, Dallas, Phoenix, Pittsburgh and several other cities.

Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, a moderate Republican seeking re-election in a blue-leaning state, is not joining Vice President JD Vance on Monday as he stops in her home state of Maine.

Collins, who at times has opposed President Donald Trump’s legislative priorities, is a top target for Democrats this year as she runs in a midterm race that’s among roughly a dozen that will determine if the GOP holds onto its slim Senate majority.

Vance’s stop in Maine comes as Collins opposes Trump’s move this past weekend to impose 50% tariffs on a range of goods from Canada, which shares a long border with Maine. And the senator is also opposed to new U.S. Postal Service rules that, if implemented, could rein in mail-in voting.

The vice president on Monday delivered remarks in Brewer, Maine, at Compotech, a defense technology manufacturer. It’s the second stop this year by Vance in Maine and the second time that Collins has not teamed up with the vice president.

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“I am already scheduled on Monday, so I will not be able to join the vice president,” Collins told reporters on Saturday.

The Senate was in session when Vance held an event in Bangor, Maine, in May, and Collins stayed in Washington. The senator holds a historic attendance record of casting over 10,000 consecutive roll call votes in the Senate dating back three decades.

But Collins, speaking to reporters as she marched in the annual Madison-Anson Days parade, her seventh parade this summer, highlighted that she teamed up last week with Energy Secretary Chris Wright when he stopped in Maine to tour a federally funded battery storage project in Lincoln built on the site of a closed paper mill.

“I really appreciated Secretary Wright’s presence,” Collins said.

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Collins, who was one of a small group of Republicans who voted to convict Trump in a 2021 Senate trial after the House impeached him following the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, has at times voted against the Trump administration’s wishes.

“I still think imposing new tariffs on Canada is a mistake,” Collins said on Saturday.

Collins also referred to the proposed U.S. Post Office rule to implement a Trump executive order to rein in mail-in voting by refusing to deliver absentee ballots in states that have not turned over their raw voter rolls to the Justice Department or Department of Homeland Security.

“Mail-in ballots are very important to the people of Maine,” Collins said. “I do not support restrictions that make it more difficult for seniors to cast votes on Election Day via the mail.”

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Collins says she supports the House version of the federal SAVE America Act (Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act), which mandates documentary proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote and a photo ID for federal elections. But she joined three other Republicans and all Democrats to vote against advancing a Senate version of the bill, which is a top Trump priority.

Collins has also taken issue with the Trump administration over its crackdown on illegal immigration, and its aggressive deportation efforts. The administration received backlash following the fatal shootings by federal enforcement agents of two U.S. citizens in Minnesota who were protesting immigration operations. And the issue flared again this summer, after a fatal ICE shooting in Biddeford, Maine.

Democrats, including her Senate challenger, former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson, have repeatedly linked her to Trump, and heavily criticized her for her past funding for ICE.

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Collins is the only Republican senator running for re-election in a state then-Vice President Kamala Harris carried in the 2024 election. And highlighting her differences with the president and his administration may be beneficial to Collins as she woos independent voters and even some Democrats.

Vance, during his May stop in Maine, said, “Sometimes I get frustrated with Susan Collins.”

“I almost wish that she was more partisan. But the thing I love about Susan is she is independent, because Maine is an independent state. And, frankly, if she was as partisan as I sometimes wish that she was, she would not be a good fit for the people of Maine,” Vance continued.

Vance added, “Let’s give a shoutout to Susan Collins, who’s doing a great job.”

Jackson’s campaign, in a social media post ahead of Vance’s visit, called the vice president “Susan’s pal.”

The vice president reiterated those sentiments in his Monday address in Brewer, Maine, calling Collins his “dear friend.”

“As you know, Susan is the most independent member of the United States Senate and, as the president of the United States Senate, she sometimes makes my job a little bit harder. But she makes it harder because she’s coming to work every single day and fighting not for a political party… she comes to work every single day and fights for the great people of Maine and I’ve seen it,” Vance said.

Jackson, in a social media post and video ahead of Vance’s visit, took aim at Vance and Collins.

“I’m sure JD Vance loves her because she’s doing everything that he wants for her, but she’s not doing it for Maine people,” Jackson argued in an accompanying video.

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Vance was joined in Brewer by former two-term Republican Gov. Paul LePage, who is the GOP nominee in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District.

The most rural district, the largest in the eastern U.S., is a top flip opportunity for the GOP, with moderate Democratic Rep. Jared Golden declining to seek re-election this year.

The college football season kicks off this Saturday with North Carolina playing Texas Christian University in Dublin, Ireland.

This marks the start of a sprint until early April when college football and basketball practically compete on a near-daily basis with MLB, the NFL, the NBA and NHL.

This college football season begins with lawmakers falling short of a goal to pass a bill to alter the flow of money in college sports. And despite recent momentum, lawmakers may be lucky to pass the bill when the clock shows zeroes on April 5 in Detroit and the NCAA crowns its next basketball Final Four champion.

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President Trump demanded that the Senate stay in session this month to pass a bipartisan college sports measure. That wasn’t going to happen simply because the bill’s not ready yet. The measure didn’t even secure a specific agreement for a test vote when the Senate returns in September. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said there was a deal for a vote at some point. However, an unrelated bill to regulate cryptocurrency marshaled a concrete time for a test vote on the afternoon of Tuesday, Sept. 15. The college sports measure didn’t head into the August recess with that level of certainty.

But the one thing that is certain? Intercollegiate athletics face myriad problems.

“College sports right now is in crisis. It is chaos that is ripping college sports apart,” said Cruz.

“I think that the arms race that exists now where people are just paying any amount of money from a system is not the right way to get this done,” said Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash. She’s the top Democrat on the Senate Commerce Committee and helped craft the bipartisan legislation with Cruz.

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The measure establishes a national standard for athlete compensation — including NIL — for the use of name, image and likeness of athletes. It also limits them to one transfer without losing eligibility within a five-year window.

But understanding the bill’s remedies is challenging.

“[The bill] seemed pretty dense when I read it,” yours truly observed to Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., one afternoon in a hallway of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

“It’s dense as hell,” replied Kennedy. “And that’s a legal term.”

The measure raises the ceiling of money schools can use to compensate athletes. It essentially allows “third-party entities,” like athletic footwear or equipment manufacturers like Under Armour or Nike, to pipeline additional money to schools.

Naturally, football and men’s basketball score most of the money under the current system. But lawmakers worry that women’s athletics and smaller sports like volleyball, lacrosse and soccer could evaporate unless Congress intervenes.

“It’s the revenue from football and maybe basketball, but mostly football that funds everything else,” said Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del.

The college sports bill seemed to gain traction in late July when the Big Ten and SEC — the most muscular of all college athletic conferences — announced their support of the legislation. Lawmakers could try to write a bill all they wanted, but with all due respect to the Mid-American Conference and Mountain West, the measure wouldn’t go anywhere unless the Big Ten and SEC were on board.

It was thought that the college sports package might get a test vote before the August recess, but a band of conservatives claimed the legislation fell short when it came to protecting women from competing against men.

“It looks like a bunch of trial lawyers drew this thing up,” said Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., a former Division I football coach who ran programs at Ole Miss, Auburn, Texas Tech and Cincinnati.

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Tuberville teamed up with Sens. Jim Banks, R-Ind., and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., to craft an amendment going further in the legislation. Banks believed that the bill could undercut Indiana state law, which extends prohibitions on biological males competing in K-12 sports to college athletics. Banks expressed concern that the Cruz/Cantwell bill “would preempt Indiana’s law.” The Indiana Republican asserted that he couldn’t support the legislation as written.

However, President Donald Trump torched those who said the bill failed to bar men from playing women’s sports at any level.

“Nobody has done more to protect Women Athletes than me — and this Bill CLEARLY protects the Laws in 27 States protecting Women’s Sports, and banning Men from Women’s Sports. Anyone who tells you differently is LYING!” thundered the president on Truth Social.

Trump worried that without adoption of this legislation, “Programs will be canceled, Women’s and Olympic Sports will go away, the fans will be robbed, and Universities will go broke.” He then asked the Senate to “stay in D.C. until it passes.”

Despite the president’s advocacy, that wasn’t going to happen. However, the legislation does have a new set of downs — thanks to the Big Ten and SEC.

The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) opposes the bill. In a statement, the CBC said the package fails to incorporate “perspectives of Black athletes.”

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., is the only former Division I football player in the Senate, competing as a tight end for Stanford. He opposes the bill.

“There are a lot of people who have substantive objections with that bill that should give us all pause,” said Booker.

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So the Senate essentially took a timeout on the bill with the August recess. As any fan knows, timeouts are essential in sports. They allow teams to regroup. Rehydrate with water or Gatorade. Players to catch their breath. Coaches to draw up a special play to bring the team to victory.

It’s not known what the play call might be from Cruz, Cantwell or even Trump. Or if anything would work. Some skeptics believe the Senate’s decision to leave Washington without the locked-in test vote could cost the bill momentum — compared to the deal dictating the test vote on the cryptocurrency legislation.

The University of Oklahoma led the nation in red-zone efficiency last season. The Sooners scored touchdowns more than 97% of the time when moving the ball within 20 yards of the end zone.

Ninety-seven percent is a ridiculously efficient figure. The Philadelphia Eagles were the NFL’s best red zone team last season, scoring touchdowns around 70% of the time.

The U.S. Senate is not the gridiron. But it’s clear that the bill to regulate college sports has now entered the legislative red zone. A lot of legislation gets this close to the goal line, but senators rarely enjoy the success of the Sooners or Eagles when it comes to punching it in.

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That’s why it’s possible that this legislative drive could stall — despite a steady march down the field.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner met in recent weeks and spoke about possible issues of common ground, according to reports, landing the top House Democrat in hot water with some on the political left who have taken issue with the reported get-together.

The men talked about housing, immigration and high living costs as possible categories of common ground, the New York Times reported. Kushner, the husband of Trump’s daughter Ivanka, suggested that the lawmaker should meet with White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, two individuals with knowledge of the meet-up noted, according to the outlet.

Fox News Digital reached out to Jeffries’ offices and the White House on Monday.

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“Throughout this Congress, Republicans have adopted a my-way-or-the-highway approach to governing that has failed the American people. To stop the madness, we have repeatedly made clear that an extremist approach will not work and will be met with forceful opposition,” Jeffries said in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital.

“The American people want bold change and that’s what House Democrats will deliver. In every conversation that we have with the Trump administration, we will continue to make it explicitly clear that the affordability crisis is not a hoax and nothing short of transformational policy change is acceptable. We are fighting for an affordable America. The question is whether Republicans will join us,” he said in the statement.

Some on the left have objected to the reported meeting between the congressman and Kushner.

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Zeteo founder, CEO and editor-in-chief Mehdi Hasan declared in a post on X, “The only meeting Hakeem Jeffries should be having with Jared Kushner is to tell him he’ll be subpoenaed by the House for a corruption investigation on day one of Democratic control of the House. This is just pathetic stuff from the House Dem leader.”

Michelle Kinney, co-founder of The Mayday Network, wrote on X, “They should be f[—]ing hauling Jared Kushner in front of a committee, not MEETING with him. What in the absolute f— WE ARE ALL SO SICK OF THIS S— — ENOUGH!!!!”

Dean Obeidallah wrote on “The Dean’s Report”: “How could Jeffries not know the meeting would get leaked and it was the wrong thing to do?! This meeting doesn’t help Democrats win in November. In fact, now that we know about it, the result has been many Democrats slamming Jeffries online while some still defend him—causing a distraction to our real goal.”

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While Republicans currently hold a slight majority in the House of Representatives, Democrats have the opportunity to win the majority in the upcoming midterm elections.

If Democrats manage to flip control of the House, Jeffries would be a prime candidate for speaker.

Senate Republicans racing to keep their grip on power have beef with President Donald Trump’s latest affordability push.

A handful of Republicans in the upper chamber aren’t happy with Trump’s directive to allow hundreds of thousands of tons of foreign beef into the U.S. in a bid to lower grocery bills. It comes as Americans’ struggles with everyday affordability have erupted as a key issue for voters across the country.

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., who is up for re-election this cycle and is one of Trump’s top allies in the Senate, argued that beef prices are high “for a simple reason: Our cattle herd is too small.”

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“Imported beef below market prices will only put more pressure on our cattlemen,” Cotton said on X. “I have advised the President against this ill-advised action in the past and I now urge him to reconsider. We need to support our cattlemen, grow the herd, and let the market work.”

Trump last week announced on Truth Social his intent to flood the market with 300,000 metric tons of imported ground beef with a commitment that the product would be sold at 25% below current market prices over a 90-day span.

It comes as ground beef prices have soared to roughly $7 per pound, while the nation’s cattle herd earlier this year hit historic lows not seen since the 1950s, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

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Trump defended his import plan as he headed to South Carolina to stump for Sen. Darline Graham, R-S.C., arguing “that’s what the people want.”

“That’s what the voters want, and that’s what I want. The ranchers are great. They’re my people. I love the ranchers,” Trump said. “They’ve done a fantastic job, but they admit that we need a little help in order to get the prices down, so that’s what we’re doing.”

Neither Trump, nor the administration, has so far said which countries the ground beef would come from. But earlier this year, he signed an executive order similarly aimed at lowering beef prices by allowing an influx of 80,000 metric tons of beef trimmings from Argentina.

Republicans at the time privately fumed over the directive in a closed-door meeting in the Senate with Vice President JD Vance.

And now, Republicans running for office in America’s heartland again disagree.

“I want to lower prices, but this is a bad idea,” Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, said on X.

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Hinson is running in one of the tightest races in the country to replace retiring Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa. Cook Political Report rated the race a toss-up last week.

Other in-cycle incumbents aren’t thrilled with Trump’s push, either. Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., charged, “This Hurts!,” while Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., contended that he appreciated the work to “lower grocery prices,” but warned that “short-term policy shifts do not equal long-term solutions.”

“Flooding the market with lower quality beef compromises Nebraska farmers and ranchers,” Ricketts said.

Trump’s other key Senate allies aren’t thrilled with the plan either.

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Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., said he’s advised Trump not to do this for the last year because it would harm American ranchers, “most of whom are MAGA Republicans.”

“The president’s heart is in the right place on wanting lower prices for the American people, and beef prices have been impacted by the Mexican screwworm,” Sheehy said.

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

Iran-linked hackers are suspected of forcing a small British power generator offline for four days last month, the latest sign that Tehran-linked cyber activity may be moving from probing vulnerable systems to causing disruptions U.S. officials have long warned about.

Iran-linked hackers were behind the outage, according to British security officials who spoke with multiple news outlets.

“To be clear: there was no threat to the wider grid and nobody lost power. We have one of the most resilient energy systems in the world,” UK Energy Minister Michael Shanks said in a statement.

He described the generator as “tiny” but said his department had briefed CEOs following the intrusion on “steps they should take to stay secure.”

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The British shutdown came weeks after hackers struck more than 30 community water systems in Minnesota, accessing technology used to remotely monitor and control pumps and other equipment. Minnesota officials have not publicly attributed the attacks. Several news outlets, citing U.S. officials and a leaked industry threat-sharing memo, reported that Iran was the likely culprit. President Donald Trump has publicly rejected that assessment, saying he did not believe Iran was to blame.

Together, the incidents are putting civilian infrastructure at the center of another front in the conflict between the U.S. and Iran. As the military confrontation stretches into its sixth month, relatively small and often lightly defended water and energy facilities offer hackers a way to cause physical disruption without penetrating a major power grid or striking a military target.

Those facilities can be especially vulnerable because many rely on internet-connected industrial control systems that allow operators to monitor and manage physical equipment remotely. Once inside, hackers can interrupt operations, lock out operators or manipulate controls for pumps and other machinery.

In a July alert, the FBI and Environmental Protection Agency said malicious actors had targeted water and wastewater utilities in at least seven states by accessing exposed programmable logic controllers and changing their internet addresses and passwords. Some incidents disrupted water operations, causing reported pressure loss and flooding.

Federal agencies have also warned that Iranian-affiliated actors have targeted similar industrial devices across water, energy and government sectors, seeking access to the software used to control them. That activity has already caused operational disruptions and financial losses.

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Iranian hackers have pursued U.S. infrastructure before.

The threat extends beyond industrial systems. On Aug. 18, the Justice Department charged 17 members of an Iran-based company with carrying out a sweeping cyber theft campaign targeting hundreds of universities, private companies and government agencies. Prosecutors said many of the intrusions were conducted on behalf of the IRGC and other Iranian entities and resulted in the theft of more than 31 terabytes of academic data and intellectual property.

In 2016, the Justice Department charged an Iranian hacker with gaining access to the control system for a dam in Rye, New York. The dam’s sluice gate had been disconnected for maintenance at the time, preventing him from manipulating water levels and flow rates.

More recently, U.S. agencies linked an IRGC-affiliated campaign known as CyberAv3ngers to compromises of Israeli-made industrial controllers at dozens of U.S. facilities in late 2023 and early 2024, including water and wastewater systems, energy companies, food manufacturers and healthcare organizations. The campaign exploited devices exposed to the public internet that were still using default passwords.

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The more recent attacks underscore how little access may be required to produce a physical effect. In Minnesota, compromised controllers affected systems used to track water levels, pressure, pump operations and equipment alarms; in some communities, equipment was temporarily taken offline while operators restored systems.

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Whether Tehran intends a wider campaign against Western infrastructure remains unclear. But the four-day shutdown in Britain illustrates what hackers can do once they gain access to a small industrial system: disrupt physical operations without breaching a major grid operator or triggering a blackout large enough to invite an immediate military response.

FIRST ON FOX: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) quietly arrested more than 1,000 illegal immigrants in the Washington, D.C., region in what federal sources said was one of the agency’s most successful operations to date.

Multiple ICE sources told Fox News that the agency arrested 1,328 illegal immigrants over 14 days in the Washington, D.C., suburbs. The arrests took place in Virginia and Maryland, both of which have sanctuary-type policies in place.

Of those arrested, almost 400 illegal immigrants had criminal convictions or pending criminal charges, including a Salvadoran national wanted in Richmond, Virginia, on a murder warrant. Other crimes included rape, sexual assault, kidnapping, DUI, robbery and attempted murder.

Additionally, ICE officers arrested members of the foreign terrorist organizations MS-13 and Tren de Aragua and the 18th Street Gang. 

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The operation comes as Maryland and Virginia, particularly Fairfax County, Virginia, have seen significant crime involving illegal immigrants, including violent and sexual offenses.

The operation, titled “Operation Safe Community — Washington, D.C.,” took place from Aug. 1-14.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told Fox News that “the brave men and women of ICE are hard at work every single day getting these dangerous illegal aliens out of our country.”

“Over the course of just two weeks in Virginia and Maryland, they arrested sexual assailants, kidnappers, drunk drivers, robbers, and gang members,” Mullin said.

Mullin added that “while sanctuary politicians in Virginia and Maryland keep putting the needs of illegal aliens over the safety of the American people, the Trump Administration will always put American citizens first.”

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S IMMIGRATION PUSH FUELS ICE’S BIGGEST ARREST MONTH IN AGENCY HISTORY

“By arresting and removing illegal aliens from our communities, we will make America safe again,” Mullin said.

Among those arrested during the operation was Jamaican illegal immigrant Rowan Andrew Brown, whose criminal history includes convictions for identity theft, kidnapping and illegal reentry and an arrest for fraud. ICE officers arrested Brown in Alexandria, Virginia, a particularly affluent suburb of D.C. 

Also in Alexandria, ICE arrested Angel Gabriel Ortiz-Hernandez, from Guatemala, whose criminal history includes arrests for rape of a mentally incapacitated victim and two counts of aggravated sexual battery of an incapacitated victim. 

While much of the operation was focused on arresting illegal immigrants in the Washington, D.C. suburbs, the ICE sources said officers also conducted targeted immigration enforcement actions throughout the entirety of both Virginia and Maryland. 

In Harrisonburg, Virginia, ICE arrested a Honduran woman named Estrella Reyes-Funez, whose criminal history includes a conviction for felony hit-and-run and arrests for making a threat to bomb or burn, assault and battery on a family member and violating a protective order. 

Meanwhile, in Richmond, ICE arrested Eygner Wilfredo Huezo-Moran, from El Salvador, who has a warrant for murder and use of a firearm in the commission of murder. 

ICE arrested another Salvadoran national and MS-13 member named German Mejia-Baires in Manassas, Virginia. His criminal history includes an arrest for felony malicious wounding and convictions for driving while intoxicated, driving on a suspended license and illegal reentry. 

DHS said that all these individuals arrested will remain in ICE custody pending removal from the U.S. 

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ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Acting Assistant Director Patricia Hyde commented that “our officers are the best in the world at finding people who do not want to be located.”

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“That’s exactly what we did throughout the course of this operation,” said Hyde. “Removing these criminal alien offenders from Virginia and Maryland neighborhoods makes for much safer communities, and that is exactly what the men and women of ICE work to accomplish every day across our great nation.”

The Trump administration unveiled a proposal on Monday to codify an unprecedented fee of more than $100,000 for cap-subject H-1B petitions for highly skilled foreign workers, replacing a charge first imposed by presidential proclamation last year that has thus far been blocked by a federal court.

The Department of Homeland Security’s proposed rule would charge $103,265 as an additional fee for every H-1B petition subject to the annual statutory cap, including petitions eligible for the advanced-degree exemption.

The worker visas are heavily relied on in the tech, education and research industries.

The fee would be used to cover the federal government’s costs of administering the legal immigration system, including actions carried out by DHS and the Department of Justice, Department of State and Department of Labor.

FEDERAL JUDGE STRIKES DOWN TRUMP’S $100K H-1B VISA FEE, RULING IT AN UNCONSTITUTIONAL TAX

“The proposed H‑1B fee is intended to recover the costs incurred across the federal government to adjudicate, vet, and support lawful immigration programs that otherwise must be funded by taxpayers,” U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services spokesperson Zach Kahler said in a news release.

The fee, which was first temporarily imposed by President Donald Trump’s administration last year, was blocked by a federal judge in June in an order that barred the federal government from collecting the money.

An appeals court is reviewing the judge’s decision while a different court considers whether a challenge to the fee by a major business group was properly rejected.

The temporary fee increase expires next month, one year after it was issued. The proposed rule by DHS was posted for public inspection Monday and is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on Tuesday. It would make the $103,265 fee permanent.

The charge could be finalized by the end of the year.

The H-1B program allows U.S. employers to hire foreign workers with training in specialty occupations, with 65,000 of these visas offered annually under the regular cap.

Another 20,000 are offered for workers with a master’s degree or higher from a U.S. institution, generally granted for up to three years but typically extendable to a total of six years. Those visas typically came with fees between $2,000 and $5,000 before Trump’s order, according to Reuters.

The proposed fee would apply to all cap-subject H-1B petitions, including petitions filed for some foreign students already in the United States seeking to change to H-1B status. It would not apply to cap-exempt H-1B petitions; routine extensions for current H-1B holders generally are not subject to the annual cap.

Trump has argued that the H-1B program is abused by many companies who replace American workers with cheaper foreign labor. But business groups and many U.S. companies have contended that the program is needed to address a lack of qualified American workers for certain jobs and to allow American firms to bring in the most skilled workers to support the U.S. economy.

According to court filings, about 70 employers had paid the $100,000 fee on a total of 85 visa applications as of late February.

FEDERAL JUDGE BLASTS RUBIO’S 75-COUNTRY VISA FREEZE AS ‘ORWELLIAN,’ STRIKES DOWN POLICY

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The fee is being challenged by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce of Democratic-led states and a coalition of labor unions and employers.

Those complaints could be altered to challenge the rule proposed this week once it is finalized.

The Trump administration has also ordered increased vetting of H-1B applicants and proposed a new visa selection process that would favor higher-skilled and better-paid workers.

Earlier this month, DHS added fees of up to $4,500 to applications to extend the stay of H-1B workers or to transfer employees based in other countries to the U.S.

Reuters contributed to this report.

The Trump administration is reportedly preparing to revoke business and tourist visas held by as many as 200,000 foreigners who have applied for asylum in the U.S.

The State Department is expected to announce the sweeping action in the coming weeks, The Associated Press reported, citing internal documents and two U.S. officials.

The effort would target B1 and B2 visas issued between 2016 and 2026 to foreigners who later sought asylum. If carried out, the move would mark the largest mass visa revocation in U.S. history and could face legal challenges, according to the outlet.

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“We are coordinating with DHS to identify and revoke the nonimmigrant visas of foreigners who have come to the United States claiming to be short-term visitors, but then file for asylum to stay here permanently,” State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said in a statement.

Pigott did not confirm how many people could be affected, saying the revocations would occur on a “rolling basis” and the total remained “dynamic,” according to the AP.

The move would not automatically lead to immediate deportations.

Foreigners with pending asylum cases would generally be reclassified but would lose their status as business or tourist travelers, officials told the AP.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ORDERS GREEN CARD APPLICANTS TO LEAVE THE US, APPLY FROM THEIR HOME COUNTRIES

Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said Monday that asylum should not be used to bypass immigration laws.

“People in the US and all over the world are fed up with bogus asylum claims,” Landau wrote on X. “Asylum isn’t supposed to be a loophole to circumvent immigration law.”

TRUMP TELLS FOREIGN STUDENTS: OVERSTAY YOUR VISA, FACE THE CONSEQUENCES

B1 visas are typically issued for business travel, while B2 visas cover tourism, family visits and medical care. Currently, applicants must demonstrate that they plan to return to their home countries.

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The potential revocations come as the Trump administration cracks down on what it considers abuse of the immigration system. The State Department has revoked roughly 175,000 visas over the past 18 months, according to The Associated Press.

The State Department could not immediately be reached by Fox News Digital for comment.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A decade before Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed appeared to question how JD Vance’s grandfather would have regarded Usha Vance, the vice president wrote that one of his “great regrets” was that his grandparents never got to meet his wife.

“Last, but certainly not least, is my darling wife, Usha,” Vance wrote in 2016 in the acknowledgments of his memoir “Hillbilly Elegy.” He added, “… though it is one of the great regrets of my life that Mamaw and Papaw never met her, it is the source of my greatest joy that I did.”

The passage was cited repeatedly on social media over the weekend as conservatives dragged the Michigan Senate candidate over his swipe at second lady Usha Vance. The controversy comes as El-Sayed fights for Michigan’s open U.S. Senate seat against Republican Mike Rogers, putting the Democrat’s rhetoric under a brighter spotlight as the high-stakes general election takes shape.

VANCE UNLOADS ON EL-SAYED OVER SHARIA REMARKS: ‘THAT’S NOT MY GRANDPA’S DEMOCRATIC PARTY’

El-Sayed invoked Vance’s family after the vice president criticized his past comments about Sharia law at an Ohio rally this month, arguing that the Michigan Democrat represented a version of the party his grandfather — whom Vance called “Papaw” — would not have recognized.

“So do we think JD is taking Usha with him back in time to meet Papaw, or no…” El-Sayed said, a remark critics called racist and interpreted as an insinuation that Papaw would not have accepted Usha because of her Indian heritage.

Critics were quick to call out El-Sayed, with many questioning his attitude toward women and others pointing to Vance’s book.

“Why does Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed just assume that all White midwestern grandparents are racist?” asked Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas.

EL-SAYED UNDER FIRE ONLINE AFTER TAKING AIM AT USHA VANCE, FEMALE TRUMP AIDE IN WEEKEND SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS

“El-Sayed is an absolute vile, abhorrent, PIG. Usha Vance is a beloved figure in our country and in my opinion Vice President Vance’s most powerful secret weapon,” said Meghan McCain. “Women in America truly love her – attack her at your own peril democrat psychopaths. It will backfire.”

“If you’re a rural White American living in Michigan, just remember El-Sayed believes you’re a racist,” said commentator Ryan Girdusky.

“You are a racist creep,” said journalist Emily Schrader in response to El-Sayed’s post.

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Fox News Digital reached out to El-Sayed and the Vance family for comment.

“Hillbilly Elegy,” published in 2016, chronicled Vance’s upbringing in Middletown, Ohio, and his family’s Appalachian roots in Kentucky, with his grandparents — whom he called “Mamaw” and “Papaw” — playing central roles in the memoir and his childhood.

Fox News Digital’s Peter D’Abrosca contributed to this report.

Sen. Adam Schiff’s latest attack on President Donald Trump was challenged by an IndyCar veteran who pushed back on the California Democrat’s charge that the commander-in-chief was wasting taxpayer funds for his own “self-aggrandizing.”

Schiff criticized Trump for ordering the Washington race by executive order and accused the president of using the motorsports “spectacle” to distract Americans from higher costs and policy failures.

“While you struggle with the cost of gas, Trump offers you the spectacle of an IndyCar race hoping you will not notice,” Schiff said Sunday.

START YOUR ENGINES: HERE IS YOUR CRASH COURSE ON THE INDYCAR FREEDOM 250 GRAND PRIX WEEKEND

“More taxpayer money spent on his self-aggrandizing distractions. And you get higher taxes and higher costs,” he added, although major automotive firm Penske said it bankrolled the event.

Schiff posted the criticism on X alongside video of Trump waving the green flag as FOX Sports announcer Leigh Diffey got the race underway.

PRESIDENT TRUMP REPORTEDLY WILL GO ON A LAP OF HONOR AROUND THE FREEDOM 250 GRAND PRIX STREET CIRCUIT

Race fans and other critics lambasted Schiff’s comments, including IndyCar driver Graham Rahal, who reminded the California Democrat that the race was privately funded and argued it benefited government coffers because thousands of spectators traveled to Washington and spent money.

“No, no, Adam. He wanted you to notice and bask in the pride of being American, watch great racing and patriotism on display,” Rahal responded on X.

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“Not only that, this was privately funded, not government although it drove thousands of folks to the DC area that have never been. That’s economic impact for you,” said Rahal, who finished 13th in the event. His father, Bobby Rahal, is a well-known motorsports driver and executive.

Rahal also argued that the event brought visitors to Washington who might not otherwise have seen the nation’s capital.

WORLD CUP ENERGY CARRIES INTO FREEDOM 250 GRAND PRIX AS GLOBAL FANS CELEBRATE AMERICA’S HISTORIC BIRTHDAY

“And guess what, hundreds of thousands of Americans, blue & red, as well as fans from all over the world loved the Freedom250.”

“What kind of loser posts this?” added Breitbart editor Joel Pollak. “People had fun.”

KYLE KIRKWOOD HANGS ON TO WIN FREEDOM 250 GRAND PRIX IN WASHINGTON

As Rahal noted, Penske Corporation picked up most of the race tab. The automotive and logistics company, based in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and Reading, Pennsylvania, is led by Roger Penske, who also owns the Team Penske racing organization with drivers in NASCAR and IndyCar.

When Washington’s NBC affiliate interviewed Penske President Bud Denker at the track and asked who was paying for the Freedom250, Denker responded: “We are.”

TRUMP SHOWCASES RAW AMERICAN MUSCLE IN PREVIEW OF FIRST-OF-ITS KIND AMERICA 250 GRAND PRIX

“When I say vast, the only part we’re not paying is, we’re raising some revenue by having sponsors with the suites I’m building [along the course],” Denker told the outlet, adding it was not intended to be a “break-even” venture.

Penske did not cover every expense. Security was handled by local and federal law enforcement, including through federal funding provided to Washington for major events, according to the NBC station.

RACER STING RAY ROBB GEARS UP FOR FREEDOM 250 GRAND PRIX: ‘THIS IS MORE THAN JUST AN INDYCAR EVENT’

The White House also fired back at Schiff, saying the Democrat put his personal animus ahead of the American people.

“It’s a complete disgrace that Pencil-Neck Adam Schiff is willing to trash the United States of America during its historic 250th birthday celebrations simply because he hates President Trump,” said White House spokesman Davis Ingle.

“The great people of California deserve better,” Ingle said.

Former electronics executive Sam Antar also responded to the senator, saying the lawmaker “apparently didn’t bother checking who actually paid for the race before blaming Trump for ‘more taxpayer money spent’.”

“Schiff saw Trump, started typing, and skipped the part where you check the facts first. That’s how you end up volunteering for your own Community Note,” Antar said.

Conservative commentator “Bad Hombre” replied by posting an image of then-President Joe Biden posing with attendees at a White House lawn gala featuring transgender and LGBT activists.

“The race was privately funded by Penske/IndyCar, pencil neck,” Hombre said.

“But now that we’re on the topic of taxpayer-funded events, why were you cool with forcing taxpayers to spend $1.3 million on this?”

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Trump has shown support for American motorsports, praising his friendship with Penske, becoming the first president since Ronald Reagan to attend a Daytona 500 and hosting several NASCAR drivers and the circuit’s former CEO, Brian France, at campaign rallies.

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Fox News Digital reached out to Rahal and Schiff for further comment.