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FIRST ON FOX: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued more than 100,000 civil fines totaling roughly $84 billion to illegal immigrants under the Trump administration while collecting more than $1 billion in payments, Fox News Digital has learned.

Since President Donald Trump returned to the White House about 18 months ago, DHS has issued 103,000 civil fines totaling approximately $84 billion, a DHS official told Fox News Digital.

As of July, the agency had collected about $1.2 billion in fine payments.

TRUMP PUTS ASYLUM LAWYERS ‘ON NOTICE’ WITH NEW FRONT IN WAR ON FRAUD

Shortly after Trump’s return to office, the administration announced it would begin fining illegal immigrants subject to final removal orders $998 per day if they failed to voluntarily leave the United States or otherwise comply with their removal orders. Illegal immigrants are required to pay the fines before they are deported, and DHS has said it may seize assets from those who fail to pay.

The Trump administration has unveiled a series of measures designed to encourage illegal immigrants to leave the country, including DHS’ announcement that those who refuse to self-deport could face “significant financial penalty.”

DHS has argued the program costs significantly less than traditional deportation proceedings and is designed to encourage illegal immigrants to voluntarily leave the United States.

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

U.S. Customs and Border Protection released a flyer outlining the “benefits” and “consequences” for illegal immigrants who self-deport using the CBP Home app.

“Self-deportation is safe,” the flyer stated. “Leave on your own terms by picking your departure flight.”

According to DHS, non-criminal illegal immigrants who voluntarily leave the United States may keep money they earned while in the country and preserve eligibility to pursue legal immigration in the future. Some may also qualify for subsidized flights if they cannot afford travel home.

TOM HOMAN WARNS ICE SURGE COMING TO NEW YORK CITY AS MAMDANI BOASTS ABOUT SANCTUARY STATUS

Meanwhile, the flyer warns that those who fail to self-deport will be “apprehended by DHS with no opportunity to get your affairs in order beforehand.”

In May, Fox News Digital reported that more than 3 million illegal immigrants had left the United States during Trump’s first year back in office, according to figures provided by DHS. The department said an estimated 2.2 million of those migrants self-deported.

DHS also said the administration had deported nearly 900,000 illegal immigrants and arrested more than 900,000 others as of May 17.

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The department said the figures demonstrate that Trump’s immigration crackdown has reshaped migration patterns following a record number of illegal crossings during former President Joe Biden’s administration.

Fox News Digital’s Brittany Miller and Landon Mion contributed to this report.

Two Democratic candidates remained locked in a battle as of early Wednesday morning to claim their party’s nomination in Arizona’s 1st Congressional District for a chance to face former NFL kicker Jay Feely.

Former television news anchor Marlene Galán-Woods and former state Rep. Amish Shah, the two frontrunners, fell shy of capturing enough of the vote to win the nomination outright by early Wednesday morning.

The winner of the primary will go on to have a rare opportunity to flip a seat in the Canyon State and, more broadly, potentially decide the balance of power in Washington, D.C. Feely, who received President Donald Trump’s “complete and total endorsement” in the final stretch of the race, won his GOP primary late Tuesday night.

TRUMP-BACKED FIREBRAND WINS ARIZONA GOP GOVERNOR PRIMARY, SETTING UP HIGH-STAKES SHOWDOWN

The seat could very well decide whether Republicans hold on to a slim majority in the House of Representatives or whether Democrats break a Republican governing trifecta come the November midterms.

Although the district has favored Republicans since 2020, incumbent Rep. David Schweikert, R-Ariz., has only narrowly hung on to the seat in the past two cycles, beating out Shah in a 51.9% to 48.1% victory in 2024.

Schweikert announced that he would not pursue reelection last year, announcing that he would instead pursue a gubernatorial bid. Trump-backed Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., won his primary and was ahead of Schweikert by over 50 points early Wednesday.

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“I’ve grown to believe Washington is unsavable. I do believe Arizona is savable,” Schweikert told Axios.

This isn’t the first time Amish Shah and Marlene Galán-Woods have competed against each other for their party’s nomination, having clashed in the Democratic 2024 primary for the district.

At that time, Shah narrowly defeated Galán-Woods before advancing to the 2024 general election, where he lost to Republican Rep. David Schweikert, who has represented the Phoenix-area seat since 2013 despite Democrats investing heavily to flip the district blue.

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He is seeking a second consecutive nomination after arguing he remains the strongest candidate to challenge Feely in the general election. Galán-Woods, meanwhile, is expected to emphasize her background as a longtime Arizona television journalist and her ability to appeal to independent and suburban voters.

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Galán-Woods is making another bid for the nomination with support from several national Democratic organizations, which view Arizona’s 1st District as one of the party’s best pickup opportunities in 2026.

The winner will go on to the general election on Nov. 3.

After socialists won a series of Democratic primaries in New York, Colorado and Washington, D.C., the party’s moderate wing has secured what appears to be an increasingly rare victory in Arizona’s 4th Congressional District.

Incumbent Rep. Greg Stanton fended off progressive challenger Kai Newkirk on Tuesday night after months of bitter primary sparring. On the campaign trail, Newkirk accused Stanton of being too pro-business and too pro-Israel — accusations similar to those leveraged by socialists in New York who went on to dethrone establishment Democrats.

While those angles worked in New York, they fell flat in Arizona, allowing Stanton to advance to November’s general election, where he is a strong favorite to win a fifth term in the House of Representatives.

Stanton’s long-running support for Israel was a major flashpoint in the campaign.

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“He has refused to do anything to try to hold the extremist Israeli government accountable for its genocide in Gaza, for the war crimes around the region,” Newkirk said of Stanton.

The progressive specifically criticized Stanton for voting to send aid to Israel, for opposing the Biden administration’s efforts to restrict arms sales to the country and for voting to sanction the International Criminal Court for pursuing cases against Israeli leaders.

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Stanton, who receives support from AIPAC, has called for ceasefires and backed a two-state solution to end the war.

The incumbent congressman’s relationship with business interests was another sore spot for Newkirk.

“It’s always been clear to me that he’s a corporate Democrat who’s never going to fight for the kinds of changes that we need to really shift from oligarchy in our country to a real democracy that puts working-class people first,” Newkirk told Axios early in the campaign.

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Stanton is a member of the New Democrat Coalition, a center-left caucus within the House of Representatives that takes relatively pro-business stances when crafting policy. Newkirk, meanwhile, is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America.

Newkirk became a DSA member just days after requesting their endorsement, a local DSA member told the Arizona Republic earlier in July. 

Newkirk also went after Stanton for his stances on immigration, specifically his support for the Laken Riley Act.

According to Newkirk, Stanton’s support for the Laken Riley Act “gave Trump a green light for his authoritarian mass deportation campaign and began this erosion of due process.”

The law, which was passed in 2025 after 46 House Democrats crossed party lines to support it, requires that federal immigration enforcement detain illegal immigrants who have been charged with serious crimes.

While Stanton voted for the Laken Riley Act and criticized the Biden administration for its handling of the border, he has also called for greater oversight of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and criticized the Trump administration’s immigration agenda.

The final stretch of the election was marred by controversy for Newkirk as a number of local activists and party organizations retracted their endorsements in July after former Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner was accused of sexual assault, ultimately dooming his campaign.

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A blog post from 2019, which Newkirk has called defamatory, accused him of “grooming” young female political activists. One of the post’s authors later denounced it, saying that it fell short of journalistic standards.

Despite this, the Young Democrats of Arizona pulled their endorsement of Newkirk on July 9, claiming that they were “recently made aware of some concerning patterns of behavior” from the candidate. A leader within the Democratic Socialists of America’s Phoenix chapter also rescinded his endorsement of Newkirk around that time, though declined to comment on the specific reasoning behind the decision.

The House voted 215-214 Tuesday night to make approval the default when qualified service members and Pentagon civilian employees ask commanders for permission to carry personal firearms on military installations.

Three Democrats joined most Republicans to approve the measure, while three Republicans and independent Rep. Kevin Kiley of California opposed it.

The amendment from Rep. Jeff Crank, R-Colo., would not automatically authorize personnel to carry firearms on military property. It would establish a presumption that installation commanders approve requests from qualified service members and civilian employees.

The vote came less than a year after an Army sergeant allegedly used a personal handgun to shoot five fellow soldiers at Fort Stewart, Georgia, in August 2025. Other soldiers tackled and disarmed him, and all five victims survived. Personal firearms were prohibited on post at the time, military officials said.

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The National Defense Authorization Act has become law every year for more than six decades and is traditionally one of Congress’ most bipartisan major bills, but the firearms and transgender-policy provisions adopted Tuesday threatened to erode Democratic support, potentially forcing Republican leaders to rely on their narrow majority for final passage and creating new sticking points in eventual negotiations with the Senate.

Lawmakers approved an amendment from Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., prohibiting TRICARE from covering transition-related hormones, puberty blockers and surgeries for service members and military dependents.

The provision passed 219-208, with five Democrats voting yes and one Republican voting no. It would broaden existing Trump administration restrictions and write the prohibition into federal law.

SENATE REPUBLICAN PUSHES MERIT-BASED MILITARY PROMOTIONS, TARGETS BIDEN-ERA DEI POLICIES

The House also voted 221-203 to approve a second Mace amendment barring transgender girls from participating in girls’ sports at Department of Defense Education Activity schools serving military families.

But lawmakers rejected a separate amendment from Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., that would have codified President Donald Trump’s 2025 executive order barring transgender troops from military service and requiring personnel to serve according to their biological sex.

The amendment failed 217-212, with four Republicans joining all voting Democrats in opposition.

Lawmakers also rejected an effort from Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., to largely eliminate funding for the Pentagon’s Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative. The amendment would have permitted funding only for security at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv.

Seventy-six Republicans supported the proposal, highlighting continued opposition within the GOP conference to military assistance for Ukraine.

The House rejected another proposal that would have barred foreign nationals from attending U.S. military academies in a 360-61 vote. The amendment would have ended longstanding programs that train officers from allied and partner nations at institutions including West Point, the Naval Academy and the Air Force Academy.

Among other amendments, lawmakers voted to eliminate a proposed pilot program that would have used voice-based risk-assessment technology to identify service members for drug testing.

The House also narrowly approved language intended to ensure the continued operation of California’s Santa Ynez Pipeline System, which transports crude oil to refineries supplying military installations. That measure passed 215-214.

The votes came as lawmakers began working through amendments to the fiscal year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act. The House made 320 amendments eligible for consideration, eight more than were included in the procedural package that collapsed last month amid a Republican revolt over the SAVE America Act.

Amendment debate is expected to resume Wednesday, with a vote on final passage after lawmakers finish considering the remaining proposals.

The underlying bill would authorize roughly $1.15 trillion for national defense, about $252 billion more than Congress appropriated for defense programs in fiscal year 2026. It would provide pay raises ranging from 5% to 7% for service members, expand weapons and munitions production and accelerate investment in missile defense, autonomous systems, hypersonics and other emerging technologies.

The NDAA sets defense policy and authorizes spending levels, but it does not provide the money itself. Congress must separately pass defense appropriations legislation to fund the programs and priorities included in the bill.

The legislation would also formally change the Department of Defense’s name to the Department of War, deeming references to the defense secretary and department in federal law to mean the secretary and Department of War.

Consideration of the legislation had been delayed for three weeks by a separate Republican fight over the SAVE America Act, Trump’s election legislation requiring documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote and identification to cast a ballot in federal elections.

The House approved the SAVE America Act in February by a 218-213 vote, but the measure stalled in the Senate, where Republicans lacked the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster.

Republican leaders initially sought to revive the election legislation by directing the House clerk to merge it with the NDAA after the defense bill passed but before the combined package was sent to the Senate. That approach would transmit the two measures as a single bill without making the SAVE America Act part of the NDAA text debated on the floor.

But the procedural rule authorizing that plan failed 198-224 on June 30, when 13 Republican holdouts joined Democrats in opposition. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., also voted against the rule for procedural reasons.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., argued that attaching the election measure through the procedural maneuver would make it easier for the Senate to remove and demanded that lawmakers add it directly to the NDAA.

Luna later accepted the original approach after Speaker Mike Johnson committed to attaching the SAVE America Act to appropriations and other must-pass legislation.

The House approved a replacement rule Tuesday that again directed the clerk to merge the election legislation with the NDAA before sending it to the Senate while expanding the number of defense amendments eligible for consideration from 312 to 320.

The SAVE America Act was still expected to face opposition in the Senate and could be removed when lawmakers reconcile the House and Senate versions of the defense bill.

The Senate’s NDAA has faced problems of its own. Senate Democrats blocked consideration of their chamber’s defense bill last week in protest of the Trump administration’s war with Iran, leaving both chambers with work to do before they can negotiate a final package.

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The debate comes as the Pentagon seeks additional money to cover the Iran war and replenish weapons stockpiles. The White House has requested an $87.6 billion supplemental package, including $67.1 billion for defense needs.

House Republicans are also considering a new reconciliation package that could provide $60 billion through the Armed Services Committee and $13 billion for intelligence programs. Reconciliation would allow the package to bypass a Senate filibuster and pass without Democratic support, but the proposal still faces resistance from GOP fiscal hawks and an uncertain path through Congress.

Rep. Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz., clinched the GOP primary nomination in a battleground district Democrats see as key to retaking the House.

Ciscomani, a moderate Republican seeking a third House term, ran unopposed with President Donald Trump’s endorsement.

The southeastern Arizona district, which spans Tucson’s suburbs and stretches to the U.S.-Mexico border, is one of the most hotly contested House races in the country. Trump carried the swing seat by less than 1 percentage point in 2024 after losing it by roughly the same margin in 2020.

JoAnna Mendoza, a Marine veteran and political consultant, also ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. She has faced several scandals that could undermine her House bid heading into November.

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The Democrat hopeful has come under recent scrutiny for following several OnlyFans models and self-described witches on her official campaign Instagram account.

The sexually explicit accounts included one belonging to a transgender socialist activist who posted pictures in BDSM gear, the New York Post first reported.

Mendoza, who is openly bisexual, has also faced GOP attacks after remarks resurfaced from 2020 in which she said she would decriminalize prostitution in response to a question from Equality Arizona, an LGBTQ advocacy group, about the struggles of “trans women of color.”

“It’s important to ensure that there’s access to the resources, the support networks, the social services, access to healthcare,” Mendoza said in the interview, adding, “We need to stop criminalizing people for their situations.”

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“Far-left lobbyist Mendoza is a risk working Arizonans literally cannot afford,” NRCC spokesman Ben Petersen said in a statement.

Democrats view Mendoza as a strong recruit and have added the political newcomer to their flagship “Red to Blue” candidate program.

The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates Ciscomani’s re-election bid as a “toss-up.”

Ciscomani, who previously served as a senior advisor to former Gov. Doug Ducey, R-Ariz., and the Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, is likely to highlight his bipartisan credentials as he seeks a third House term.

He is a member of the centrist Problem Solvers Caucus and the Main Street Caucus, which identifies as “pragmatic” conservatives.

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Ciscomani defeated former state Sen. Kirsten Engel, D-Ariz., by more than 3 percentage points in a 2024 rematch. He first won the seat in 2022, defeating Engel by fewer than 6,000 votes and becoming the first naturalized citizen from Mexico elected to Congress.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani acknowledged Tuesday that he can’t have Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrested, despite promising to do so during his mayoral campaign, but called on the federal government to execute the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant if the Israeli leader visits New York.

In a video posted on X, Mamdani called Netanyahu a “war criminal” while conceding that New York City could not enforce the ICC warrant on its own.

“As I’ve said, I agree with the ICC that Benjamin Netanyahu should be arrested and tried for his crimes, as I do for anyone else charged by the ICC,” Mamdani said.

NETANYAHU FIRES BACK AT NYC MAYOR MAMDANI’S VOW TO ENFORCE ‘BOGUS ARREST WARRANT’

“My administration has reviewed every avenue available under applicable law to determine whether New York City could execute the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant if Benjamin Netanyahu came here,” he continued. “It is clear that we do not have the independent legal authority to enforce this warrant. The federal government, however, does, and I call on them to join the ICC and execute this warrant.”

Mamdani’s comments underscored that a New York City mayor lacks the authority to enforce an International Criminal Court warrant or create a New York arrest warrant by executive order.

Mamdani nonetheless said Netanyahu would not be welcome in New York City.

MAMDANI’S ‘DERANGED’ ISRAEL TAKE RESURFACES AS HE TARGETS NETANYAHU

“I want to be equally clear: Benjamin Netanyahu is not welcome in New York City, nor is any other war criminal at large,” he said.

The remarks marked a reversal from Mamdani’s 2025 campaign pledge that New York City would arrest Netanyahu if the Israeli prime minister came to New York.

Mamdani’s comments came two days after he told The New York Times that the city’s Law Department was reviewing whether New York had the legal authority to arrest Netanyahu if he visited the city.

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Netanyahu is expected to travel to New York in September for the United Nations General Assembly.

“I believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu belongs in The Hague,” Mamdani told the Times. “He’s a war criminal who has been charged by the International Criminal Court.”

Netanyahu’s office dismissed the comments Sunday, calling the ICC a “kangaroo court” with “no jurisdiction over Americans or Israelis.”

“Instead of backing Khan’s criminal behaviour, Mr. Mamdani should focus on fixing the damage his policies have caused New York,” Netanyahu’s office said.

The ICC issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in November 2024 over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity tied to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.

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Fox News Digital has reached out to the Justice Department and Netanyahu’s office for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Ashley J. DiMella, Eric Mack and Jasmine Baehr contributed to this report.

As reigning 2026 FIFA World Cup champions, Spain won $50 million in prize money, but a large portion of that could be subject to federal taxes in the United States — potentially up to 30%.

“I think it’s a rip-off,” Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., told Fox News Digital.

“I’m not a fan of it, but Americans have to do it. American professional athletes do it, so they knew that when they came over here.”

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Income earned from activities performed in America is generally, in almost all instances, taxable by the IRS. Under tax law in the U.S., certain payments to nonresident foreign athletes are generally subject to a 30% federal withholding unless reduced by a tax treaty or a different exception.

“It’s wrong, and that kind of highlights something bigger,” Rep. Jonathan Jackson, D-Ill., said about the potential high tax rate on Spain’s prize.

Burchett argued the potential tax burden sends the wrong message as the U.S. prepares to host more major international sporting events, saying the country should be encouraging foreign athletes and visitors to spend money domestically rather than subjecting them to steep tax obligations.

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“I’m not a big fan of the IRS,” Burchett said. “They made that money over here, I guess, but I don’t like all that. We want to encourage these people to come over here and spend their money, and then we take a big chunk of it.

“We’ve got to get a better tax system.”

The World Cup’s prize pool totaled $871 million, with $655 million of that total relying on performance in the tournament. All teams that participated in games in the U.S., even if the only payment received was for participation, will have the earnings taxed at some amount.

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Jackson also criticized the broader U.S. tax code, arguing that corporations should be paying more in taxes rather than workers. He referred to it as a “classic example of what’s wrong with our taxation system.”

“They should be paying the taxes as opposed to having tax loopholes,” Jackson said. “The people, the laborers that are working, they should not have to pay 30% of their income on taxes.”

Rep. Burgess Owens, R-Utah, agreed with his colleagues that the potential 30% tax on the prize is “too much,” but he used the opportunity to touch on the importance of hosting the World Cup in America. As a retired NFL player, he shared how the experience drew him to soccer, a sport he never had any interest in prior to the World Cup.

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“I have such an appreciation for soccer now,” Owens told Fox News Digital. “I think it’s going to be a game changer for so many of our kids. And, so, I want to congratulate the president, everyone who made this happen.

“It is what it is here, unfortunately, in our country of taxes.”

Nick Shirley never planned to become one of the nation’s best known independent journalists, making videos that would dominate the national conversation and be retweeted by vice presidents and CEOs.

Yet in the wake of his Minnesota fraud investigation, Shirley has exploded onto the national scene as a one-man journalism machine. 

Recently, he sat down with Fox News Digital at Freedom Fest in Las Vegas to discuss his unconventional rise, his reporting philosophy, and the stories the mainstream media is still ignoring.

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“Well, when I was younger, I’d make vlog pranks, and then I started to get a little bit older and wanted to see what was happening in the world. And it turned into journalism,” Shirley said about his start in reporting. “I didn’t know it was journalism at the time. I thought I was just making YouTube videos on more interesting topics. 

“And now I’m one of the biggest and most well-known journalists in America, in the world, actually.”

Shirley conceded that his particular style is hard to define.

“I think that’s a good mix, like an…independent YouTube journalist, like it’s journalism with a bit of documentary style as well, so it’s kind of different than what anyone has ever done before as far as this new realm of YouTube journalism,” he said.

Shirley said he realized that he had an explosive story as the Minnesota fraud video “Feeding Our Future” scandal cracked nine-digit views on X.

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“When I saw it hit 100 million views, I had never seen a video get to 100 million views on X before. And then it became shared by some of the biggest voices in the world as well,” said Shirley, who boasts 1.7 million followers on the platform, and nearly 2 million subscribers on YouTube.

Among them were Vice President J.D. Vance, Elon Musk and FBI Director Kash Patel.

Shirley said he believes in zeroing in his investigation on primary sources when he is devoting time and resources to new stories.

“I take all the information that’s public from the government and I go straight to the source,” he said.

Despite the massive success Shirley has seen, he still comes across stories that do not get the exposure he feels is warranted.

“On a national level, I think the fentanyl crisis in the United States is really bad,” Shirley said. “I’ve done a few videos on that, but people seem to not want to stop the fentanyl crisis from happening.”

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Unsurprisingly, from time to time, Shirley said his journalistic work takes him to the limits of his comfort zone.

“In the favelas of Brazil, I thought I was going to die. That was a little scary,” he said. “In Kenya and Philadelphia as well, that was pretty dangerous.”

Shirley cited his Spanish language skills as a motivating factor in his coverage of the Biden administration border crisis, which he witnessed firsthand.

“I had heard about what was happening. I was living in Chile at the time. And I started to see what was happening with Venezuelan migrants coming into Chile,” Shirley said. “When I came back to the United States, I started looking into what was going on at the southern border. 

“And since I could speak Spanish, I started to reveal what was actually happening. And people didn’t know that children were being smuggled. 17-year-old girls were coming over all by themselves. 12-year-old girls were all coming over all by themselves. And I kind of started to showcase what was happening from the border all the way to the shelters in New York City.”

Shirley did a two-year mission with the LDS Church, and credits his faith as a motivation for his work.

“Well, I think our faith invites us to look for the truth and expose evil,” he said. “Like, the scriptures, the Bible, everything, it’s a bunch of strong men exposing what’s happening as well, and I think that’s kind of lost.”

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Shirley said the recent guilty plea of Fahima Egeh Mahamud — the woman tied to Minnesota’s massive “Feeding Our Future” scandal and daycare fraud scheme — as evidence of the veracity of his work, as the mainstream media and Democratic establishment have worked hard to discredit his investigations.

“Well, numbers don’t lie, and convictions don’t lie either,” he said. “The largest daycare in Minnesota, government funded, just pleaded guilty today.”

Elite American universities have accepted millions of dollars from foreign sources on federal watchlists, including some with ties to the Chinese military, according to government data.

State and Education Department officials said dozens of universities reported receiving $27.6 million from foreign entities on at least one federal watchlist during the second half of 2025, according to CBS News. The universities include Northwestern University; the University of California, Irvine; the University of Connecticut; Bryant University and the University of California, Berkeley.

“American universities have received nearly $405 million from counterparties of concern — entities that pose a very real risk to our national security and that of our allies,” an Education Department spokeswoman told Fox News Digital. 

“While previous administrations often looked the other way or kept this data hidden, that policy changes now. Through our updated Section 117 Dashboard, the Trump Administration is bringing this cash out of the shadows so every student, family and taxpayer knows exactly who is signing the checks, while equipping the State Department to use that data to protect our nation.”

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If these institutions, among them some of America’s top research universities, continue their relationships with these entities, they could see their access to federal grant funding restricted, according to a letter Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy Sarah B. Rogers sent them last week.

“In light of the above, I urge you, as board members, to ensure heightened diligence on this matter which has important national security implications for our country,” the letter, obtained by CBS News, reads.

CBS News was the first to report on the payments to universities from watchlisted foreign entities.

The Aero Engine Corporation of China, which is on the Treasury Department’s Foreign Assets Control List due to its relationship with the Chinese military, paid $7.8 million spread across Northwestern University, UC Irvine and the University of Connecticut over the past several years.

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Documents filed with the Department of Education do not disclose how the funding was used.

Previously, the records did not even show the specific origin of the funds, simply their country of origin. President Donald Trump issued an executive order in April 2025 directing the Department of Education to collect more information from universities about the sources of their foreign funding.

In addition to appearing on the Treasury Department’s Foreign Assets Control List, the Aero Engine Corporation of China is also considered a “military end-user entity” by the Department of Commerce. The company develops engines for fighter jets and attack helicopters used by China’s People’s Liberation Army.

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“This has been a conversation going on for years now in research security circles,” LJ Eads, the founder of Data Abyss and director of research intelligence at Parallax Advanced Research, told CBS News. “It’s been a huge policy fail in terms of implementing restrictions without follow-through over the years. I relate it to having kids and not parenting well. Or giving your teenager a cellphone and having no restrictions on cellphone use.”

UC Berkeley, a leading research institution in several technology-related areas where the United States and China are direct competitors, has also received funds from Chinese entities that appear on federal watchlists. Included among these was a $7.6 million grant from Sun Yat-sen University, which hosts China’s National Supercomputing Center.

Sun Yat-sen University is on the Pentagon’s “1286 List,” which enumerates research institutions it believes to be engaged in “problematic activities.”

“We wish to state, unequivocally, that UC Berkeley complies with all of the statues and regulations that apply to contracts and gifts from foreign sources,” a spokesman for the university told Fox News Digital on Tuesday. 

“Second, we are still in the process of analyzing and fact-checking the characterization of the government’s data and the referenced CBS reporting.”

The spokesman said that CBS’ report erroneously claimed that UC Berkeley manages the Department of Energy’s primary high-performance computing facility at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. 

“In this instance, ‘Berkeley’ refers to its geographical location, and not to any form of institutional management or oversight on the part of UC Berkeley,” the spokesman added.

Bryant University had a $22.6 million contract with the Beijing Institute of Technology to maintain “a jointly operated academic program in China.” The Beijing Institute of Technology appears on two federal watchlists.

“The reporting reflects payments associated for a now-terminated accounting program whose contract was originally established in 2014 with the independent Beijing Institute of Technology, Zhuhai and terminated ten years later in 2024,” a university spokesman told Fox News Digital. “The program was educational instruction only and never included research activities, federally funded research, defense-related work, technology transfer or intellectual property development.

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“After learning that Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT) had fully acquired the Zhuhai institution and following BIT’s addition to the Department of Defense’s 1286 list, Bryant initiated termination of the relationship, stopped enrolling new students and is completing a teach-out period for existing students in accordance with accreditation requirements, with completion on June 30, 2027.”

Northwestern University, UC Berkeley, UC Irvine and the University of Connecticut did not respond to requests for comment when reached by Fox News Digital Tuesday. Fox News Digital additionally reached out to the Department of Education on Tuesday.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced he is directing his administration to allow all U.S. airlines to fly to Lebanon after a White House meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, saying the move will make it easier for Americans to visit the country.

In a Truth Social post after the meeting, Trump praised Aoun for “working to transform his Country” and said he was directing his administration to allow all U.S. airline carriers to “fly directly to Lebanon so that Americans can easily visit this beautiful land.”

“After meeting with the President of Lebanon, Joseph Aoun, who has done a remarkable job working to transform his Country, I am hereby directing my Administration to allow all U.S. airline carriers to fly directly to Lebanon so that Americans can easily visit this beautiful land,” Trump wrote. “Hopefully, other Countries will do the same. Enjoy!”

IRAN-BACKED PROXIES SABOTAGING LEBANON PEACE AS JD VANCE LEADS US DELEGATION TO SWITZERLAND, HERZOG SAYS

Speaking alongside Aoun in the Oval Office earlier Tuesday, Trump called Lebanon “a country of great intellect” and vowed the U.S. would “help it a lot,” while hinting at additional moves beyond his announcement on direct flights. 

“We’ve already solved some of them for Lebanon,” Trump said. “As you know, there’s a Hezbollah problem. But we’ve done some things that I think the world will take notice.”

The announcement marks another step in the Trump administration’s efforts to strengthen ties with Lebanon after months of U.S.-backed diplomacy aimed at reducing Hezbollah’s influence and increasing regional stability.

Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy took to social media after the president’s announcement, writing on X, “You got it, Mr. President.”

The announcement comes after months of U.S.-backed diplomacy between Lebanon and Israel as the Trump administration has sought to reduce Hezbollah’s influence and bolster regional stability.

ISRAEL–HEZBOLLAH CEASEFIRE BECOMES FIRST TEST OF TRUMP IRAN FRAMEWORK AFTER TALKS DELAY

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the agreement “a severe blow to Iran,” while U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee described it as a “historic opportunity,” adding that disarming Hezbollah remained essential to any lasting peace.

Aoun thanked the Trump administration for helping facilitate negotiations and supporting Lebanon during the talks.

The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for additional comment, including on the timeline for implementing the policy.

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Fox News Digital’s Benjamin Weinthal contributed to this reporting.

Smithsonian National Museum of American History Director Anthea Hartig appeared stumped by a basic question on sex and gender from Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C.

During a House hearing on alleged “extreme political activism” on display at the Smithsonian, Mace asked Hartig, “Do you believe that men can become women?”

Hartig hesitated before answering, “Ma’am, as the director of the museum, that’s not relevant in this case.”

“It’s very relevant,” Mace shot back. Motioning to images of Smithsonian displays featuring drag queens, Mace continued, “You’ve got men dressed up as women, and you have them on displays in front of kids. Do you think men can become women? Yes or no?”

DISCRIMINATORY ‘SHADOW’ REVIEW PROCESS LOCKS WHITE, ASIAN STUDENTS OUT OF CALIFORNIA MED SCHOOL, DOJ ALLEGES

Hartig did not answer the question but instead began to discuss one of the drag queen displays pictured on the board behind Mace. The congresswoman interrupted her.

“What is a woman, Dr. Hartig?” Mace demanded.

Hartig began to answer that “as a director and as a historian, it’s not my-” before Mace cut her off again, saying, “You sexualized the American History Museum. So, this is a fair question. What is a woman?”

Looking down for a moment, Hartig responded, “We strive to represent and not categorize all Americans.”

“Okay, I have another question for you,” Mace continued. “There’s a glossary at the museum that informs visitors that while American culture traditionally recognizes two genders, other countries recognize three or more.”

“So, enlighten me this morning: how many genders are there?” Mace asked.

Hartig hesitated again before asking, “Ma’am, which glossary?”

“This is a display, and it has a glossary that says other countries recognize three or more genders. So, I would like you to enlighten me today; you’re the director of the American History Museum, who’s sexualized things in front of kids. I want to know, I want to ask you, how many genders are there?”

Finally, Hartig responded, “I’m not sure which glossary you’re speaking,” before adding, “I’m happy to get back to you about that glossary.”

ANTI-ICE WALKOUT EXPOSES HOW SCHOOL DISTRICT ‘FAILED’ PARENTS, RISKED STUDENT SAFETY: ‘BROKEN MY TRUST’

Mace pressed further, saying, “One of your exhibits at the American History Museum says sometimes gender isn’t revealed at birth. So, when is gender revealed?”

“When was your gender revealed to you, Dr. Hartig?” she added.

Smiling, Hartig simply answered, “I don’t really think that’s relevant to the conversation.”

“It is relevant. You have a display at the American History Museum talking about, ‘Gender isn’t always revealed at birth.’ So, when was your gender revealed?” insisted Mace.

Hartig began to answer by saying, “So, since I am a PhD-” before Mace yielded the floor back to the committee chair.

Earlier this month, a sweeping new White House report concluded that the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History has become a taxpayer-backed institution of “ideological capture” and “extreme political activism.”

According to the 162-page “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History” report, delivered on July 4, 2026, the National Museum of American History treats the American story as a political tool rather than a shared national inheritance.

“The report concludes that the Smithsonian Institution, and the National Museum of American History in particular, under its current leadership and current interpretive ideology, cannot be trusted to tell America’s story honestly and in a way that is inspiring, unifying, and worthy of our great republic,” the White House Domestic Policy Council wrote in its July 4 report following up on President Donald Trump’s March 27 executive order. “By the intention and at the direction of current Museum and Smithsonian leadership, NMAH has become subject to institutional capture by a radical, activist ideology that is fundamentally opposed to telling the noble, honest story of the great country we know and love.”

FAR-LEFT ACTIVIST CONFERENCE AT TEACHERS UNION HQ RAISES CLASSROOM CONCERNS

“At the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, visitors young and old should encounter the story of the United States told with honesty, seriousness, and pride,” the report’s executive summary began. “In particular, it should help the American people understand where America came from, what makes it distinctive, and why it is worth preserving.”

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Hartig said in her opening statement that “the Smithsonian takes the concerns raised in the White House Domestic Policy Council’s report seriously, and as we continue to fact-check the report, we unwaveringly attest that it does not fairly or accurately characterize the full body of work at the museum.”

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She asserted that “the museum does not take sides in America’s political debates,” but instead, “We preserve and document the evidence of American life in all of its breadth, so that the public can encounter the past and draw their own conclusions.”

“There is always room for improvement, but I also know the beauty and the inspiration and the expertise that lies in our collections, our exhibits, and our programming,” said Hartig.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Smithsonian Institution for additional comment.

Fox News Digital’s Eric Mack contributed to this report.

Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner’s Republican challengers are seizing on the Virginia Democrat’s on-air exchange over his opposition to the SAVE Act, after the anchor corrected him on his own state’s election laws.

Warner argued the SAVE Act — part of conservatives’ election security push — could disenfranchise married women and others, while pointing to Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s, R-Alaska, opposition as evidence of bipartisan concern.

“It’s astonishing that a man who has spent nearly two decades representing Virginia in the United States Senate doesn’t even know Virginia’s own voter ID laws,” Marine Reserves Lt. Col. David Williams exclusively told Fox News Digital on Tuesday.

“If Senator Mark Warner can’t get a basic fact about our elections right on national television, how can Virginians trust him to protect the integrity of those elections?”

TRUMP INTERVENES AS HOUSE GOP REVOLT PUTS SAVE AMERICA ACT AT CENTER OF SPENDING SHOWDOWN

Williams, an Iraq War veteran and former diplomat, said the SAVE Act is the “common-sense” move to secure America’s elections without disenfranchising “legal vote[s].”

“If Senator Warner believes only American citizens should vote in American elections, he should join me in demanding an immediate vote on the SAVE America Act. If he won’t, Virginians deserve to know why.”

On Sunday, ABC News anchor Jon Karl told Warner 80% of Americans including 71% of Democrats support nationwide voter ID, to which Warner replied that “in Virginia we have voter ID and photo ID – I have to show my…” trailing off as Karl cut in:

“That’s actually not the case. I’m a Virginia voter,” Karl said. “You don’t need to show voter-ID in Virginia — There are a wide range of things you can show for it.”

MARINE VETERAN DAVID WILLIAMS LAUNCHES SENATE BID

Karl added that voters can still provisionally vote if they sign an affidavit.

Warner replied there are a variety of ways Virginians can legally vote, adding he found irony in some states purportedly accepting “NRA gun licenses” while rejecting student IDs.

The Virginia Department of Elections’ list of acceptable forms of identification includes some that do not require photographs, such as a water bill.

Under Virginia law, election officers must ask in-person voters for identification, but acceptable forms include voter confirmation documents, utility bills, bank statements, government checks and paychecks, which do not need to include a photograph. A voter without acceptable identification can sign an ID Confirmation Statement under felony penalties and cast a regular ballot. Voters who provide neither must cast a provisional ballot.

“[C]ertain states will say we’re going to let you show your NRA gun license but you can’t show your student ID if you’re going have a set of IDs let’s have it across the board as long as it comes from some official point,” Warner said.

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Maj. Gen. Bert Mizusawa [Ret.], who is also seeking the Republican nomination to challenge Warner, echoed Williams’ criticism.

“The biggest takeaway is that Mark Warner opposes the SAVE America Act, which is required to secure America’s defining democratic process: honest elections that reflect the will of legitimate voters,” Mizusawa said in a statement.

“The question is why? He either knows that our current flawed elections are rife with fraud and likes it that way or chooses to stay ignorant, both to the detriment of the American people.”

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

Mizusawa said that if elected, he also would join fellow Republicans in supporting the SAVE Act and “finally secure our federal elections.”

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Tech executive Kim Farington, the other candidate in the race, replied to coverage of Warner’s interview on X.

“You either still don’t know Virginia’s voter ID requirements after serving three terms or you’re not telling Virginians the truth,” Farington said.

The SAVE Act would require documentary proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote in federal elections, a proposal Republicans say is needed to secure elections and Democrats argue could create new barriers for eligible voters.

Fox News Digital’s Brian Flood contributed to this report.

Speaker Mike Johnson’s bid to end run Democrats’ opposition to an election integrity bill backed by President Donald Trump survived a key House-wide vote on Tuesday.

It’s a major victory for Republicans in a fight that Democrats have argued is about suppressing Americans’ right to vote, while the GOP argues it is about enhancing Americans’ confidence in the electoral process.

The Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act has faced significant headwinds in Congress despite having Trump’s full-throated support. While it passed the House, the legislation has struggled in the Senate, where at least several Democratic votes are needed to break a filibuster and advance to final passage.

JOHNSON’S STRATEGY TO BYPASS DEMOCRATS’ SAVE ACT BLOCKADE SURVIVES KEY VOTE, HANDING GOP BIG WIN

But the new plan by Johnson, R-La., which would allow key parts of the bill to skirt Democrats entirely, survived a key test vote on the House floor Tuesday.

The House voted largely along party lines to allow for debate on a $95 billion budget bill that includes some $10 billion for states to implement voter ID laws and a proof-of-citizenship requirement in the voter registration process — both key points in the SAVE America Act.

It’s part of a wider measure being passed via the budget reconciliation process.

GOP’S $95B DEFENSE PACKAGE SURVIVES CRITICAL HURDLE AMID FISCAL HAWK REVOLT

The reconciliation process allows the party in power to pass sweeping fiscal policy reforms without input from their opposition by lowering the Senate’s threshold for passage to line up with the House’s simple majority requirement.

But there are strict guidelines for what can be in a reconciliation bill. Such legislation must deal with yearly federal spending and revenues, meaning issues that do not directly affect fiscal policy are generally excluded.

The remainder of the budget bill includes $73 billion for the U.S. war against Iran and $12 billion in aid for American farmers.

GOP CIVIL WAR ERUPTS OVER TRUMP’S LATEST AGENDA PUSH AS KEY REPUBLICANS THREATEN TO SINK MEGABILL

The second chamber-wide step in the reconciliation process after Tuesday’s successful vote is to pass a framework that directs the relevant committees to then craft details dealing with their allocated budgets. Those details are then put back into a single sweeping bill that must pass the House and Senate before getting to Trump’s desk for his signature.

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That framework is set to get a vote on Wednesday afternoon.

Whether it passes, however, is unclear. In addition to Democratic opposition, some GOP fiscal hawks are wary of the legislation’s lack of spending cuts to offset the increase in the federal budget.

The American Federation of Teachers conference in Washington turned into an anti-Trump spectacle as union boss Rhonda “Randi” Weingarten repeatedly leaped on stage during her keynote speech and later quipped that President Donald Trump has her reaching for vodka.

Weingarten, a longtime foe of the president and top Republicans, opened her keynote speech by mocking the White House’s Independence Day cage match and later suggested that the president is an authoritarian whose daily stream of political actions drives her to drink.

In welcoming teachers and activists from around the country, Weingarten quipped: “While you missed the UFC cage fight on the White House lawn, it’s not too late to check out the tire marks in the Reflecting Pool.”

TRUMP’S BOLD PREDICTION FOR HISTORIC UFC WHITE HOUSE FIGHT REVEALED IN NEW FOX NATION DOCUMENTARY

During a panel discussion that included former Obama Attorney General Eric Holder, Weingarten asked the panelists what keeps them up at night with many things “confronting the country.”

“Because part of what authoritarians do — and also part of what Donald Trump does, whether you consider him an authoritarian or not — is the throwing out of so much stuff that people just throw up their hands and say: ‘Oh no, what are we going to do? All I want to do is stay home and’ — for those of us who drink — ‘have a glass of wine’ — or for me, some vodka.”

The Clarkstown, New York, native went on to recount a conference speech by Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., who referenced a snake convulsing as it neared its death.

FAR-LEFT GROUPS PIVOT FROM MAY DAY PROTESTS TO MOBILIZE VOTERS FOR 2026 MIDTERMS, PUSHING DEMS LEFTWARD

“It looks really scary, but that is a convulsion nearing death. And it’s been something I thought about this morning waking up, because if you think about how Trump looked yesterday,” Weingarten said, going on to note the volume of union members living in swing states ahead of the midterms.

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

During the keynote, Weingarten name-checked several conservative entities focused on school choice, from reporter Christopher Rufo to the Heritage Foundation.

FAR-LEFT ACTIVIST CONFERENCE AT TEACHERS UNION HQ RAISES CLASSROOM CONCERNS

Weingarten grew increasingly animated as she pivoted from Trump and purported “oligarchs” like Elon Musk to her confidence that the AFT would come out in force and bring about a leftward policy shift at the polls.

“Yes,” she boomed. “The other side has power.”

“But this is what they don’t have: the power of the people,” she said as she began to jump.

“That is not a mere slogan. It is the potential to work together, to bargain together, to protest together, to vote together, to act together, to bring about change — real, lasting, life-improving change.

That is the power and potential of our movement and of the A – F – T,” she shouted, elongating her organization’s acronym.

Weingarten later said she wanted to see an America built where “the trans nurse, the Palestinian teacher, the Jewish student and every person, regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, gender or place of origin, feel welcome, safe and valued.”

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She said the AFT can use its power for “good” against “corruption” and said that when they fight they bring a better life for all.

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“And one more thing: We get s— done,” she said, before footnoting: “My apologies to the children.”

Fox News Digital reached out to AFT for additional comment.

Fox News Digital’s Hannah Brennan contributed to this report.

Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., remained silent when repeatedly pressed about her husband’s newly filed misdemeanor hit-and-run charge, declining to answer whether she believed the charge was fair.

“Can you tell us if you think the misdemeanor charge against Paul was fair?” Fox News Digital asked Pelosi as she walked to her car, refusing to respond.

Paul Pelosi faces a maximum sentence of up to six months in county jail, a fine of up to $1,000 or both. In addition to the misdemeanor filed Friday, Pelosi was also charged with an infraction for making an unsafe turn in the incident on July 3.

PAUL PELOSI, 86, FACES A HIT-AND-RUN CHARGE AFTER STRIKING A PARKED CAR IN NAPA COUNTY: SHERIFF’S OFFICE

The charge filed by the Napa County District Attorney’s Office come after the 86-year-old broke California law by allegedly not making any attempt to contact or identify the owner of a parked Tesla that he damaged.

As Pelosi drove away in his Maserati convertible, his car broke down after driving about a half mile. Deputies found Pelosi, and he claimed that he had known he hit something, but was unsure of what and had planned to return to the crash scene.

The incident prompted authorities to request Pelosi undergo a behind-the-wheel driving evaluation to ensure he is able to safely operate a vehicle.

PELOSI STAFFER PUMPS THE BRAKES WHEN PRESSED ON HUSBAND’S HIT-AND-RUN: ‘THAT’S ENOUGH’

This is not the first time Pelosi has gained national attention for an unlawful driving incident. In 2022, he pleaded guilty to driving under the influence and crashing into an oncoming Jeep, injuring the driver and was charged with a misdemeanor.

It was also reported by The New York Times that Pelosi was behind the wheel in the 1957 incident that killed his 19-year-old brother, though he was cleared by a jury for any wrongdoing in the case.

HOUSE DEMOCRATS FRACTURE BADLY OVER MASSIE AMENDMENT TO CUT $3.3B IN U.S. AID TO ISRAEL

Fox News Digital also asked the Democratic former speaker about her recent vote — alongside over 100 House Democrats — for an amendment introduced by Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., to cut $3.3 billion in aid to Israel.

The amendment failed 314-104, with Massie being the only Republican to vote in its favor, but it showed the pressure on the Democratic Party to take a stance against Israel and its handling of the war in Gaza.

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It also represents the changing view of Democrats’ stance on Israel, particularly under the Trump administration and as Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has been under fire for his actions toward Gaza.

Primary elections have also reflected American voters’ outrage with Israel, as the nation has seen progressive candidates who have spoken out against Israel and in favor of Palestinians sweep victories over incumbents and mainstream Democrats as the elected nominees for the November midterms.

The Trump administration is freezing more than $1 billion in federal Medicaid funding to California and Minnesota over suspected fraud, with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. warning Tuesday that states won’t receive another taxpayer dollar until they prove the payments were legitimate.

“If Governor Gavin Newsom or Governor Tim Walz wants this funding released, all they have to do is provide basic documentation showing that these services are legitimate and not fraudulent. And that’s common sense,” Kennedy said during a news conference on Tuesday.

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

New York State is drawing mockery after the chief judge of its highest court appointed “Sex and the City” actress Cynthia Nixon to a commission that screens and recommends candidates for the state’s top judicial posts.

Nixon, who played attorney Miranda Hobbes on the 2000s hit series, will be one of four members of the 12-seat Commission on Judicial Nomination that are required to not be licensed members of the New York State Bar to practice law in the Empire State.

She was appointed Thursday by Chief Judge Rowan Wilson.

“Only in Kathy Hochul’s New York could playing a lawyer on HBO qualify you to pick the judges on our state’s highest court,” Rep. Michael Lawler, R-N.Y., told Fox News Digital on Monday.

DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST ACTRESS CYNTHIA NIXON HANDED POWERFUL ROLE IN HELPING CHOOSE NEW YORK TOP JUDGES

“Selecting far-left activist actress Cynthia Nixon to help select New York’s top judges will not bring ‘Justice In The City,’” remarked the National Review’s John Fund in a tweet.

George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley added on X that the move is the latest in a pattern wherein the “New York legal system continues to make a parody of itself.”

SOCIALISM’S RISE INSIDE THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY NOW THREATENS THE AMERICAN DREAM

Other online critics mocked the fact Nixon’s character was a lawyer but that she is not one in real life.

One posted an image of “ER” actor Noah Wyle – who played a doctor — riffing that he could be the next Surgeon General. “I played the part of an astronaut in a school play when I was maybe 10 years old. Should I prepare my resume for NASA?” another wrote.

Saritha Komatireddy, the Republican challenging state Attorney General Letitia James, said that appointing a “celebrity activist with zero legal background to help shape the future of our judiciary sends the wrong message entirely.”

SOCIALIST SURGE: MAMDANI FLEXES GROWING POLITICAL MUSCLE AS HE TAKES ON DEM ESTABLISHMENT

“This is part of a broader trend in New York: politics increasingly taking precedence over public safety and common sense,” Komatireddy told the New York Post.

Nixon is aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America and unsuccessfully ran for governor in 2018 in a primary against Andrew Cuomo.

She campaigned for former Mayor Bill de Blasio in 2013 and current Mayor Zohran Mamdani in 2025.

At least one Democrat also sounded off against Nixon’s appointment, appearing to blame farther-left members of his party for dispensing with Gov. Kathy Hochul’s original nominee to Rowan’s seat.

“The price New Yorkers will pay for the bigots and haters who took out the immensely qualified Justice LaSalle is that Cynthia Nixon now gets to vet the judiciary. Excelsior!” tweeted Assemb. Kalman Yeger, D-Borough Park, riffing on the state’s “Ever Upward” slogan at the end.

Hochul settled on Wilson after New York State Senate Democrats torpedoed her nomination of fellow Democrat Hector LaSalle to lead the court’s highest bench for appearing too conservative and amid opposition from activist and labor groups.

Republicans will also get their shot at appointing a member to the commission alongside Nixon.

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State Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt, R-Niagara Falls, has been allotted one appointment following a recent retirement vacancy, according to the Albany Times-Union.

Fox News Digital reached out to Nixon via the Commission and the Senate Republicans’ office for comment.

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The top Republican on the New York Senate Judiciary Committee told Fox News Digital that Nixon’s pick should “alarm every New Yorker” that political activism appears to be “a requirement for consideration to serve on the bench.”

“The appointment of a far-left, non-lawyer, Hollywood actress to the Commission on Judicial Nomination further reinforces the fact that the courts of New York have become entirely partisan,” said Sen. Anthony Palumbo of Suffolk.

“We should all be outraged by the abuse of this branch of government that is supposed to be immune from politics.”

With Nixon now serving on the commission, she will help evaluate and recommend future Court of Appeals nominees to the governor, a role that could allow progressive critics’ objections to LaSalle to continue influencing the state’s highest court long after that confirmation fight ended.

One red county is emerging as America’s biggest winner in the race for people and prosperity, attracting more wealth from migrating taxpayers than any other county in the nation.

The latest IRS migration data show President Donald Trump’s hometown of Palm Beach County, Florida, attracted more than $3 billion in taxable income from households moving in from other states, the largest gain of any county in the nation.

Already one of the nation’s wealthiest areas, Palm Beach is also home to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, which has been dubbed the Southern White House. The sunny Florida enclave has become an increasingly high-profile destination for political donors, business leaders and affluent residents, alongside Florida’s broader influx of high-income households.

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

The latest IRS figures suggest that trend continues to favor lower-tax, fast-growing Sun Belt states over many of the nation’s largest coastal counties.

The findings offer one of the clearest snapshots yet of where Americans, and their money, are moving. That’s important because the migration of higher-income households can have an outsized economic impact. They contribute more than just new neighbors, bringing paychecks, investments, businesses and spending power that can strengthen local economies while leaving behind smaller tax bases in the places they leave.

The migration wasn’t limited to Palm Beach. 

Neighboring Collier County recorded the nation’s second-largest net gain in adjusted gross income at roughly $2.25 billion, with nearly all of that growth also driven by newcomers from outside Florida. Adjusted gross income, or AGI, measures the taxable income reported on federal tax returns, making it one of the clearest indicators of how much earning power is moving from one place to another.

Because higher-income households pay a disproportionate share of federal income taxes, changes in adjusted gross income can have an outsized effect on local tax bases, consumer spending and economic growth.

BILLIONS IN TAXPAYER INCOME ARE LEAVING TWO ICONIC STATES — AS A NEW ECONOMIC MAP EMERGES

Meanwhile, some of the nation’s largest metropolitan counties continued to lose both taxpayers and wealth through interstate migration.

Los Angeles County, home to Hollywood and one of the nation’s largest economic engines, recorded the nation’s largest net loss of tax filers, shedding 17,496 returns. Those departing taxpayers took nearly $1.9 billion in adjusted gross income with them as they relocated to other states.

Other major counties in California and New York also recorded significant taxpayer losses. Queens County, New York, lost 17,109 tax filers, followed by the Bronx (-16,319), Orange County, California (-11,618) and Suffolk County, New York (-10,434), highlighting the continued outflow from some of the nation’s largest coastal population centers.

One county, however, stood out for a different reason.

Manhattan recorded the nation’s largest net gain in interstate tax filers while simultaneously losing about $922 million in adjusted gross income, suggesting many of the households arriving earned less than the higher-income taxpayers who departed.

AMERICA’S TOP DESTINATION FOR NEW TAXPAYERS IS QUIETLY GETTING POORER, IRS DATA REVEALS

The contrast underscores that population growth and wealth growth are not always the same thing.

While Manhattan added more new tax filers than any other county, Palm Beach and Collier captured billions more in taxable income, illustrating how the migration of affluent households can reshape local economies even when fewer people move.

Trump officially moved his main residence from his longtime home of Manhattan to his estate in Palm Beach in 2019, while he was serving his first term in office. At the time of the move, he slammed New York City’s liberal policies and claimed he was “treated very badly” by political leaders in the state despite paying millions in taxes.

In the years after his move, many of Trump’s wealthy inner circle also relocated to Palm Beach and some surrounding Florida counties. The Sunshine State has no state income tax and levies neither estate nor inheritance taxes, while New York’s top state income tax rate exceeds 10%.

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Taken together, the IRS figures suggest America’s economic center of gravity continues to shift south.

As billions of dollars in taxable income flow toward Florida, Texas and other Sun Belt states, many of the nation’s traditional coastal economic powerhouses are losing not just residents — but some of their highest-earning taxpayers.

EXCLUSIVE: A conservative super PAC focused on policy involving artificial intelligence is making its first campaign investments, throwing its support behind two Republican candidates in House races it views as critical to the GOP’s hopes of keeping control of the chamber.

Fox News Digital has learned from a person familiar that Defending Our Values PAC is backing Rhett Marques in Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District and Scott Singer in Florida’s 25th Congressional District.

Republicans hold only a slim majority in the House, meaning a small number of competitive races could determine which party controls Congress after the 2026 midterm elections. According to the person familiar with the super PAC’s plans, Defending Our Values views both contests as key opportunities to help Republicans preserve their House majority.

FOX NEWS POLL: MOVE OVER BIG BROTHER, VOTERS SEE BIG TECH AS GREATER THREAT TO US

The group’s political push comes as artificial intelligence has rapidly emerged as one of Capitol Hill’s biggest policy debates, with lawmakers weighing how to regulate fast-moving technology while preserving American innovation and maintaining the country’s technological edge over China. Defending Our Values argues conservatives, rather than Silicon Valley executives, should play a leading role in shaping those policies.

While Defending Our Values announced a $15 million election effort last week, the group had not previously disclosed which candidates would receive its support.

Marques and Singer are the first candidates to become beneficiaries of that effort, according to the person with knowledge of the investments. The organization selected the pair because it believes they would be among Congress’ strongest advocates for taking on Big Tech, strengthening online protections for children and families, and advancing policies aimed at helping the United States outpace China in artificial intelligence innovation.

CHINA IS BUILDING AN AI WAR MACHINE. WASHINGTON MUST WAKE UP BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE

Both candidates are navigating crowded Republican primaries before what are expected to be competitive general election contests.

Marques is facing multiple candidates in the Republican primary in Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District, and has been endorsed by President Donald Trump and Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala.

Alabama is scheduled to hold a special Republican primary on Aug. 11 following redistricting.

Singer, similarly, is competing in his own crowded Republican primary in Florida’s 25th Congressional District. He has been endorsed by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, among other Republicans, ahead of the Aug. 18 primary election.

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According to the person familiar with the super PAC’s plans, the group’s spending is intended not only to help Marques and Singer emerge from crowded Republican primaries but also to boost their name recognition heading into November’s general election.

If he secures the nomination, Marques would face incumbent Rep. Shomari Figures, D-Ala.

Singer, if he wins, would likely face Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., one of Trump’s most outspoken Democrat critics in Congress.

President Donald Trump’s immense clout over the GOP and the power of his endorsements in Republican nomination races face their latest test Tuesday, as Arizona holds primary elections.

Trump’s endorsements in a handful of key races, including in a top swing congressional district, could impact the midterm battles for the House majority and control of governors’ offices.

Trump is backing Rep. Andy Biggs, a former House Freedom Caucus chairman, for the GOP gubernatorial nomination and the chance to challenge Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs in November.

Biggs, who is also backed by the political wing of the conservative powerhouse Turning Point USA, is considered the frontrunner in a race that also includes longtime Republican Rep. David Schweikert. Also on the ballot are concrete pumping contractor Scott Neely, who’s making his second straight run for governor, and business owner Ken Miceli.

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The winner will face off in the general election with Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs, a former Arizona Secretary of State who narrowly defeated then-GOP nominee Kari Lake four years ago. Hobbs was unopposed for re-nomination.

Down-ballot, the statewide race for the Republican attorney general nomination has become combustible as state Senate President Warren Petersen and military attorney Rodney Glassman have traded fire. The winner will challenge Democratic incumbent Kris Mayes in the general election.

In the race to succeed Schweikert in Arizona’s 1st Congressional District, which is anchored in the northeastern Phoenix suburbs, Trump is backing former Arizona Cardinals professional football player and former CBS Sports NFL analyst Jay Feely.

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Former state lawmaker Joseph Chaplik and businessman John Trobough are also running for the GOP nomination in the key swing district.

Former TV anchor Marlene Galán-Woods and former state Rep. Amish Shah are facing off in a rematch for the Democratic congressional nomination. Shah, an emergency room physician, won the 2024 faceoff.

Galán-Woods, a former Republican, has the backing of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which has big bucks to support her, as well as top Democrats Sen. Mark Kelly and former Gov. Janet Napolitano.

Rick McCartney, president and CEO of InMedia Company, and Jonathan Treble, founder of WithMe, are also on the ballot.

The midterm race in Arizona’s 1st District is one of two or three dozen across the country that will determine whether the GOP holds onto its razor-thin House majority.

In the race to replace Biggs in Arizona’s 5th District, which is located in the southeastern Phoenix suburbs, including parts of Mesa, Trump is backing former Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb, who is facing off with construction contractor Daniel Keenan for the GOP nomination.

Keenan has made the sexual misconduct and abuse-of-power allegations against Lamb a key part of his campaign. The Pinal County attorney last month cleared Lamb of criminal wrongdoing as it closed its investigation. And Trump, despite the controversy, reaffirmed his endorsement of Lamb earlier this month.

The winner of the Republican primary will be considered the clear favorite to succeed Biggs in the solidly red district.

The brute force of the president’s endorsement power has been on display in GOP primaries this spring and summer, with his candidates ousting incumbents he targeted in showdowns in Indiana, Kentucky and Texas, as well as the Louisiana primary.

But Trump’s endorsement streak in statewide and congressional Republican primaries was snapped in early June when his last-minute endorsement of Republican Rep. Randy Feenstra of Iowa in the race to succeed retiring GOP Gov. Kim Reynolds wasn’t enough to propel the three-term congressman to victory.

Feenstra was narrowly edged by Zach Lahn, a businessman, farmer and former political strategist who was backed by the political wings of MAHA — the acronym for the Make America Healthy Again movement aligned with Trump’s Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — and Turning Point USA, the powerful conservative organization co-founded by the late Charlie Kirk.

Trump-backed candidates won two of the three top races in key GOP primary runoff elections in Georgia and Alabama last month, with the one setback coming against a billionaire businessman who shelled out over $100 million of his own money to boost his campaign.

A week later, Trump-backed first-time candidate Anthony Constantino, a businessman and former boxer, defeated Robert Smullen, a retired Marine Corps colonel and New York assemblyman who had the backing of the state party, in the upstate New York race to succeed retiring GOP Rep. Elise Stefanik.

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Meanwhile, in South Carolina’s Republican gubernatorial runoff, Trump couldn’t lose.

That’s because, besides backing Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette a few weeks earlier, he also gave a last-minute endorsement to state Attorney General Alan Wilson, who ended up winning the late June showdown in a landslide.

The president also enjoyed victory in Louisiana, where Sen. Bill Cassidy, who voted to convict Trump in his 2021 impeachment trial, was ousted as he sought re-nomination. Trump-backed Rep. Julia Letlow ended up winning the nomination in last month’s runoff election.