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Socialism’s campus appeal meets Gen Z resistance as students keep score on communism

Sat, 08 Aug 2026 08:00:51 -0400

Pro-Israel college students who have watched socialism and anti-Israel activism gain ground on campus say the same political currents are now colliding with the Democratic Party — and the backlash is pushing some young Jewish voters to the right.

"Even before the craziness of the post-October 7 campus climate, it was already an underlying sense of, 'America is bad and we're gonna learn about that,'" University of Michigan rising senior Addison Stone told Fox News Digital.

Speaking at the Israel on Campus Coalition’s national summit in Washington this week, students said political currents they have watched spread on college campuses are increasingly surfacing in Democratic politics, particularly as the party’s progressive wing gains ground and clashes deepen over Israel.

Dylan Goldman, a rising senior at UC Berkeley, identified himself as "left leaning" and told Fox News Digital that Democratic lawmakers welcoming the popular socialist candidates – who overwhelmingly hold hostile postures toward Israel – are making a "really poor move."

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

"Jewish Democrats who are not single-issue voters... now feel so alienated by our own party that it’s pushing us conservative. It’s pushing to go further right," said Goldman.

Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive whose campaign drew support from the democratic socialist movement, won Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary Tuesday, adding to a string of victories for left-wing candidates challenging the Democratic establishment as the party battles for control of Congress in November’s midterm elections.

The conference brought hundreds of pro-Israel students to Washington for advocacy training, networking and discussions on supporting Israel, combating antisemitism and strengthening the U.S.-Israel relationship on college campuses.

"The academics don't help, but they're sort of helping indoctrinate the next generation and the next generation with the combination of learning about that in classes and going on social media and seeing it and the DSA trying to make everything cool with communism," Stone said. "You're really seeing the outcome of that on college campuses where they're burning both American and Israeli flags."

JEWISH MICHIGAN DEMOCRATS ADMIT THEY WILL VOTE REPUBLICAN IF ABDUL EL-SAYED BECOMES NOMINEE

As those political divisions play out nationally, organizers at the summit said Jewish students are still confronting the campus hostility that helped bring many of them to Washington.

"What’s happening to Jewish students on American campuses should alarm every American," Israel on Campus Coalition CEO Jacob Baime told Fox News Digital. "The hostility is out in the open now: mobs on the quad, intimidation in the classroom, and harassment online. But here’s what the mob didn’t count on: this generation isn’t backing down."

"These students are the proudest, toughest, most organized pro-Israel cohort we have ever seen. This week we brought more than 1000 campus leaders to Washington to train and equip them with the skills they need to go back to campus ready to fight for what they believe in," he added.

FETTERMAN WINS PRAISE FOR 'GUTS' AFTER GOING TOE-TO-TOE WITH JON STEWART OVER ISRAEL SUPPORT

Fetterman, who spoke at the Israel on Campus Coalition’s flagship event, said the Democratic Party’s shifting posture toward Israel and the Jewish community is becoming increasingly consequential.

His support for Israel has repeatedly put him at odds with members of his own party, including over the broader conflict in the Middle East and his backing of President Donald Trump’s strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.

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"I think I was the only Democrat to support the Trump administration to bomb the Iranian nuclear facilities," Fetterman told Fox News Digital. "If you don’t want them to acquire a nuclear bomb, it’s pretty reasonable to bomb their nuclear facilities."

Fetterman argued the threat extends beyond Israel, casting the confrontation with Iran as a larger battle over American values and the West’s role in the region.

"The problem is Iran. That’s the problem," he said, later adding, "I’m proud to stand for America, civilization, democracy, and Israel is our special ally that represents all of that in that region."

BROADCAST BIAS: Networks cover for radical Hasan Piker despite ties to Senate nominee

Sat, 08 Aug 2026 08:00:48 -0400

The primary win by Abdul el-Sayed in the Michigan Senate race demonstrated that Democrats and their broadcast media allies can’t really identify a radical left-wing fringe anywhere. They ought to easily find the fringe with radical Twitch streamer and podcaster Hasan Piker, who el-Sayed campaigned with and refuses to condemn.

Now that el-Sayed faces Republican Mike Rogers in the general election, the networks are going to defend the Democrat against charges that he campaigned with Piker, who has proclaimed that America deserved 9/11 and that Chinese mass-murdering communist dictator Mao Zedong was "one of the great leaders of this world." A few weeks ago, Piker appeared as a speaker at a College Democrat meeting dressed in a Mao-style suit. But don’t call him a communist!

In a rare bit of straight reporting on el-Sayed, "NBC Nightly News" included this from reporter Shaquille Brewster on Wednesday, Aug. 5: "He’s also been criticized for campaigning with controversial left-wing podcaster Hasan Piker, who said America deserved the 9/11 terror attacks. El-Sayed said he disagrees, but would not disavow Piker’s views."

HASAN PIKER UNLOADS ON 'ISLAMOPHOBIC PIECES OF S---' DEMOCRATS AS EL-SAYED FACES PARTY UNITY TEST

Most reporting on el-Sayed was nebulous. The next morning, NBC’s Garrett Haake said Republicans are "painting him as an extremist," with a Trump quote: "The Communists want to take their ruinous and deadly ideology of misery and squalor to every state in America, but we’re not going to let them." This kind of vague quotation suggests Trump is making this "communist stuff" up.

ABC reporter Rachel Scott summarized: "The president trying to focus on el-Sayed, branding him as a communist. El-Sayed saying he’s ready for the attacks." El-Sayed gained this soundbite: "They’re going to point at me and go point at other names, like, well, he’s different. That’s the best you got?"

The PBS News website included an Associated Press dispatch that was no more specific about Piker than saying he was "a progressive and controversial influencer online."

On NPR, former Obama strategist David Axelrod advised: "What you don't want is for Mike Rogers, who has pledged his fidelity to Trump, to be able to create a distraction by using the DSA and Hasan Piker and some of the more radical elements of your coalition to change the subject." Just as you shouldn’t talk about Obama’s relationship with terrorist Bill Ayers or radical Rev. Jeremiah Wright, who said ... America deserved 9/11.

HASAN PIKER'S DEFENSE OF HAMAS HAVING 'RIGHT TO RESIST MILITARILY' DRAWS CONDEMNATION FROM HUMAN RIGHTS GROUPS

MS NOW’s Vaughn Hillyard pretended this focus on socialists and communists was totally false, fretting about how el-Sayed could counter "this sort of disinformation and this onslaught of money and type of messaging that he is bound to face." In another segment, Hillyard asked "do Democrats need to forcefully push back against this latest red scare in order to win this race?"

Red scare? Just like the last century, the left can pretend communists are non-existent while their existence is obvious.

In a softball interview with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, she at least included a soundbite of Pennsylvania Democrat Sen. John Fetterman saying he cannot unite with Piker: "I can't come together with someone if you are willing to embrace people that love Hamas or that thinks America deserved 9/11." She tossed to el-Sayed: "What's your response to Senator Fetterman?" And asked if he had any plans to renounce Piker, el-Sayed bizarrely replied: "I'm less focused on folks who are campaigning with me, more focused on the folks I'm campaigning to."

Fetterman also highlighted Piker’s hatred for Israel, such as Piker saying he "would vote for Hamas over Israel" every single time. The elitist media never find extremism in supporting Hamas terrorists.

HASAN PIKER NAMES PRO-CCP TYCOON SINGHAM AS FINANCIER OF 'POLITICAL MOVEMENTS' DESPITE NONPROFIT VENEER

While the networks have ignored Piker, he’s been repeatedly celebrated by The New York Times. Last year, a Times article hailed Piker and his muscle-bound physique under the headline, "A Progressive Mind in a Body Made for the ‘Manosphere.'" This year, Times columnist Ezra Klein penned an article titled "Hasan Piker Is Not the Enemy" — which the Times then changed to "This Is Why There’s No Liberal Joe Rogan."

In April, Piker appeared on the paper’s "Opinions" podcast under the provocative title, "The Rich Don’t Play by the Rules. So Why Should I? Why Petty Theft Might Be the New Political Protest." Piker brought out one of his communist heroes to justify shooting a healthcare CEO: Friedrich Engels wrote about the concept of social murder. And Brian Thompson, as the UnitedHealthcare CEO, was engaging in a tremendous amount of social murder."

Piker has a thing for violence. He was suspended from Twitch in 2025 for advocating a Republican senator’s murder. Don’t count on the broadcast networks to ask el-Sayed if he disavows that comment.

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The networks find things much less murderous still controversial with Republicans. In 2012, the networks all launched "news" when Republican Senate candidate Richard Mourdock stated in a debate that "life is that gift from God and I think even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape that it is something God intended to happen." Reporters hounded not just Mourdock (who lost that election), but they tried to attach these comments to all Republicans, especially presidential nominee Mitt Romney.

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In most midterm election cycles, the broadcast networks stick to general commentary about the state of the parties and avoid specific races. The exception is when they find a Republican saying something embarrassing and "extremist." But they won’t do the same for Democrats.

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America's cult-favorite grocery store cake has fans declaring it's 'worth the hype'

Sat, 08 Aug 2026 08:00:46 -0400

A cake sold by Whole Foods Market is so beloved by customers, it's served at birthdays and weddings, and some attest to eating it weekly.

The market's Berry Chantilly Cake "features layers of delicate vanilla cake, fluffy Chantilly cream frosting and fresh berries," Whole Foods' website says. "It's so irresistible, in fact, that people have been known to stand in line for it through power outages and impending natural disasters (true story)."

The cake has taken on various iterations over the years, including parfaits, a Berry Chantilly Latte and as coffee bars that experienced their own viral moment in 2025.

LINES WRAP AROUND BLOCK AS CUSTOMERS WAIT HOURS FOR VIRAL DOT CAKES THAT SELL OUT WITHIN MINUTES

Whole Foods refers to the cake as a "cult favorite," and social media posts support that claim.

A Reddit thread posted three years ago asking whether the Berry Chantilly Cake was worth trying drew overwhelmingly enthusiastic, nearly unanimous praise.

"We had this as our wedding cutting cake!" responded one Redditor. "I enjoyed it and wished I could have had more (but was full, was busy, etc.)."

"It's magic," replied another. "And there's a full cake size and half cake and 1/4 cake size, then a giant cupcake and a mini cupcake, and it's just happy cake sizes."

"I've purchased a couple times and gotta say it's worth the hype," wrote another.

"Omg it is soooooo good," another person commented. "I just came from a birthday party and had a slice. I thought I had died and gone to heaven."

"Yes it's GOATed," answered another Redditor.

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Some people chimed in to say they routinely buy the cake for birthday parties, while another person said, "We order this cake for every function!"

Other forums contain copycat recipes aimed at recreating the cake at home.

TikTok food reviewer @leiahwithdacamry described the cake as "healthy almost, but it's still sweet and good," she said. "If you have a Whole Foods near you, you need to get this."

The Whole Foods website offers a history of the beloved cake, which is sold at all its stores nationwide and is the company's top-selling cake.

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"This cake first made its debut 13 years ago at the Arabella Station store in New Orleans, where one of our talented bakery team members formulated a recipe based on her grandmother's original creation," it says. "It was an instant hit, and other stores picked up the recipe."

Multiple outlets have reported employee Chaya Conrad developed the recipe in 2002. The cakes took off across the South before being introduced nationwide, according to the Food Network.

In 2024, outraged customers took to social media accusing Whole Foods of changing the cake's recipe. One X user wrote, "You are ruining my life."

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The company acknowledged it had "recently aligned the flavor profile, size, packaging and price" of the cake.

Later, however, Whole Foods said in a statement that, "Based on feedback from our customers, we will reintroduce single slices of the Berry Chantilly Cake that are the same as the classic our customers know and love."

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Whole Foods recently launched the Next Generation Farmer Fund to support farmers under 40 with funding and technical assistance for sustainable farming practices. Throughout August, 1% of revenue from Berry Chantilly Cake sales will go toward the initiative.

Morgan Fairchild says two men once abducted her off NYC street as bystanders laughed

Sat, 08 Aug 2026 08:00:35 -0400

Morgan Fairchild believes her sense of humor may have saved her life.

The actress, whose role on "Flamingo Road" cemented her bombshell image before she became a glamorous vixen on "Falcon Crest," has a new podcast, "2 B----es From Texas," co-hosted with her sister, Cathryn Hartt. The show features never-before-heard stories from their decades in showbiz and sit-down interviews with celebrity friends.

On a recent episode, Fairchild recalled being abducted on a New York City street before fame came calling. While it was no laughing matter, Fairchild said she managed to joke her way to freedom.

MORGAN FAIRCHILD REFUSED TO ‘SELL MY SOUL’ FOR HOLLYWOOD FAME

The then-20-year-old Dallas native was visiting her sister in 1970 when the terrifying ordeal unfolded.

"I'm walking up at two o'clock in the afternoon, broad daylight, no reason to be scared," Fairchild recalled to Fox News Digital.

"And this one big guy comes up talking to me. Now, I'm from Texas, but I know you're not supposed to talk to people on the street in New York. You don't talk to gentlemen. So I'm just ignoring him. And then this other big guy comes up on the other side of me. And these guys are both over six feet tall. They just grabbed me up by the elbows and threw me in this cab that was loitering there that I hadn't noticed."

WATCH: LORENZO LAMAS SHARES HOW HE MANAGES THE PRESSURES OF FAME

Fairchild said several people were waiting at a nearby bus stop, while others were walking by. Realizing she was in danger, she screamed for help. Fairchild said they must have thought she was "a hooker or something."

"Nobody lifted a finger," she said. "In fact, some of them laughed. And that made me realize how easy it would be to totally disappear and nobody would ever know what happened to you."

"The cab has very thick plexiglass between the passengers and the driver," Fairchild recalled. "I don't think the driver spoke much English. But these guys started telling me all the things they were going to do to me. That's how I found out that one was a pimp and the other was a pusher. The one who was a pusher was telling me all the things he was going to shoot me up with. And the pimp was telling me all the things that he was going to do to my body."

"I was a shy kid, but I was damned if I was going to let them see how scared I was," Fairchild added.

Fairchild said that every time her abductors described what they were going to do to her, she responded with "a wisecrack."

"I had them laughing," Fairchild said. "At one point, unbelievably to me, one of them looked at the other and said, 'She's funny. Let's let her go.' And they did. They gave the cab driver some money and said, 'Take her wherever she wants to go.' Well, I went back to my sister's apartment."

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"I didn't come out for three days," she admitted. "Intro to New York 101. It was very, very scary."

Fairchild still wonders how she managed to think so quickly while fearing for her life.

"I have no clue," she said. "It was all intuitive because I was not going to let them see how scared I was. That's what I did. I had to talk my way out of it by being funny, just being a wise a--. It's like an improvisation class. Somebody says something, and you come up with something else and make the scene work. It's like that, only much more dangerous. I've talked my way out of things a couple of times in my life just by being a wise a--."

"My sister had been living in New York for a little bit," she said. "I was the naïve one from Texas. Although naïve doesn't really cover it because I wasn't doing anything stupid. I was just walking in broad daylight. It wasn't in a dark alley, coming out of a club drunk or any of those other things that could make you vulnerable."

Fairchild said she shared the story on her podcast to encourage women to be aware of their surroundings.

"I think what women really need to keep in mind is how easy it is for you to just disappear," said Fairchild. "People were laughing at me as they were throwing me into this car. That, to me, was one of the scariest things: the lack of feeling for your fellow man. And you don’t think something like this could really ever happen to you."

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The experience has stayed with Fairchild. To this day, she keeps watch on her surroundings.

"I always scan buildings," she said. "I keep an eye out all the time to see if I'm being followed. I do it surreptitiously, so people don't really realize, but I'm watching. I'm checking things in a rearview mirror. If I'm in a building, I check to see where the exits are. You have to be aware of your surroundings."

"I say this to women because they're always on their cell phones and that makes them so vulnerable," Fairchild continued.

"They're not paying attention to what's going on around them. They're not paying attention to who's following them, whether somebody could be hiding around a corner. I'm now very aware all the time. I never walk and text. And that's what I tell women. Never walk and text. A lot of young women tend to make that mistake. When you walk and text, you become so unaware of anything around you that's happening. You're assuming that you're safe. Never assume that you're safe."

Beyond revisiting stories from her past, Fairchild said she hopes the podcast encourages listeners to show more kindness.

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"It's been really fun getting to connect with friends again," Fairchild said. "And it's fun that our listeners are reacting to these stories. And you know, on my social media, I sign off with the hashtag #bekind. And I think that's one thing that's missing in our society these days: kindness and trying to understand other people's points of view."

Colorado's socialist surge shakes up the Democratic establishment

Sat, 08 Aug 2026 08:00:19 -0400

Democratic socialist candidate Melat Kiros shocked Colorado’s Democratic establishment when she defeated 15-term incumbent Rep. Diana DeGette in the state's June primary. The double-digit win exposed a growing rift over the party's values that has left some Democrats stunned and questioning the future of the party.

"If you had told me this woman would have won by 13 points, I would have bet my house against that," Doug Friednash, a veteran political strategist in Colorado, told Fox News Digital. "I never would have thought we would have seen a victory of that magnitude here in Denver."

Friednash has tracked Colorado's political shift from red to deep blue over the past three decades, previously serving in the state legislature representing House District 10 in Denver. He later served as Denver city attorney and chief of staff to former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, and he currently works as a partner at Brownstein, a prominent legal and lobbying firm in the region.

Kiros' victory was one of dozens of wins for far-left candidates in Democratic primary elections this cycle as socialists continue to ascend across the country. The far-left's rise in the party has alarmed seasoned Democrats like Friednash.

JEWISH COMMUNITY IN DENVER ON HIGH ALERT OVER RISE OF DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST MELAT KIROS

"It was one thing watching this happen in New York ... But when it happens in a state like Colorado, which is really the gateway to the West, it tells me that this issue is going to spread and may be a cancer to the Democratic Party if they don't figure out what our values are," Friednash said.

He noted that Kiros' victory did not happen in a vacuum, pointing out that DSA-backed candidates have successfully captured seats in the state legislature and city councils over the past few years.

While Friednash originally predicted Rep. Diana DeGette would win, he acknowledged Kiros' campaign had a strong ground game and was able to tap into anti-establishment sentiments among progressives in the region. Kiros' team reportedly knocked on more than 100,000 voters' doors and ran a phone bank reaching 500,000 people leading up to election night.

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

She also campaigned on fighting for universal healthcare, affordable housing, utilities and more.

Friednash said Kiros' message resonated with younger voters who are frustrated by the high cost of living and feel let down by the Democratic establishment.

"I think the number one issue is affordability, by far," he said. "A lot of younger people that have moved to Denver have come here wanting to buy a house. They can't buy a home, it seems unaffordable and unattainable. And I think she's tapped into a lot of voter anger and hostility over things not being better."

He believes Denver has become a microcosm of the national debate taking place within the Democratic Party over its future direction. Comparing the DSA wave to the rise of the MAGA movement within the Republican Party, Friednash warned that if party leadership refuses to call out the group's extreme policies, it will ultimately hurt Democrats in swing districts across the nation.

RAHM EMANUEL WARNS DSA AGENDA DOESN'T PLAY WELL OUTSIDE 'UPPER WEST SIDE OF MANHATTAN'

"As I look out at what's happening within the Democratic Party, you know, it's kind of like a ship without a captain," Friednash said. "A lot of the more mainstream Democrats, rather than trying to say, 'Here are the issues we should be fighting about,' are embracing the socialists, because I think they're afraid of them... much like I think we've seen with the MAGA movement."

"While some Democrats may be falling in love with socialism, you know who isn't? The rest of America," he continued. "That dog's not gonna hunt in these more competitive primaries."

Prominent centrist Democratic groups such as Third Way share that anxiety. The organization recently told The New York Times it plans to launch a $15 million campaign to combat the Democratic Socialists of America movement, which it believes poses a "mortal danger" to Democrats and will hurt the party in potential presidential swing states.

Concerns over the party's ideological turn aren't limited to establishment Democrats.

Jon Caldara, president of the Denver-based free-market think tank Independence Institute, also questions the future of his home state as democratic socialists continue to rise in prominence.

"Without a doubt, the Democratic Party in Colorado has changed," Caldara told Fox News Digital, arguing the state has abandoned its historically pro-business stance.

Caldara, a libertarian and longtime radio host and columnist, is outspoken about the challenges facing Denver and the broader state, such as affordability, homelessness and an exodus of businesses. He believes these issues will worsen, warning that establishment Democrats have lost control of their own party.

"When the state started turning left, this machine was so powerful, it really couldn't stop itself," Caldara said. "And now it's really beginning to eat their own. It's kind of a French Revolution thing that you see that the Democratic Party here in Colorado is now well out over their skis. And there is a growing fight between Democrats and socialists."

"The real telltale is that Democrats are afraid to speak the truth because they don't want to get canceled," he added. "It is vicious to go against the socialists."

SHOCKING PERCENTAGE OF DEMOCRATS IDENTIFY AS 'DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS' ACCORDING TO NEW POLL: 'TOXIC POLICIES'

Caldara believes younger voters are increasingly being drawn to democratic socialist candidates in Denver and across the country because they lack historical context for how these types of policies have fared across the world.

"Sadly, the young suffer from a terrible disease: It's called youth. And because they're young, they haven't seen failed socialism around the globe," Caldara said. "They haven't seen what happened in the Soviet Union. They haven't learned the lesson of Sweden, which looked like such a wonderful socialist paradise until it didn't work, and now they're turning into a capitalist system. They haven't seen this."

"So the idea that we can just redistribute rich guys' money sounds great," he continued. "We'll just do rent control. We'll do government funding. We all know how that's going to end up. It's going to end up poorly. And young people are going to be hurt."

"I'm sad that they want to run this experiment again," he added. "And it's even sadder that it's happening in this beautiful free state, this western state, this pro-free-enterprise state of Colorado."

Longtime Colorado residents like Gene Maine understand full well why socialist policies are appealing. But having fled the Soviet Union as a teenager in 1981, Maine sees unsettling parallels between the society he grew up in and the direction Denver is headed.

As a child, Maine said he was often told that America, Western Europe and capitalism were evil. But as he got older, he realized the utopian society he was supposedly living in wasn't all that it was cracked up to be.

REPUBLICANS SOUND ALARM OVER FAR-LEFT GROUP'S PUSH TO TRANSFORM AMERICA INTO 'CUBAN DICTATORSHIP'

"As I grew older, I started recognizing that, ‘Oh my God, I'm being lied to. We're all being lied to," Maine recalled. "This is not the freest society in the world. It's a jail."

After defecting from the USSR with his mother as a teenager, Maine lived in Los Angeles before settling in Erie, Colorado in the 1990s, where he’s lived since, raising his family and working as an engineer.

Over the past three decades, Maine has watched Denver change from a small "cow town" into a large municipality, and witnessed a corresponding political shift as the population boomed.

BERNIE SANDERS, DSA REVEAL DEMANDS FOR DEM PARTY AFTER SOCIALISTS SWEEP NEW YORK ELECTIONS

"All of a sudden, it wasn't, 'Can we have the smallest government possible and leave us alone?' It became, 'Well, we need to give you free stuff.' And that's when I started to worry a little bit," Maine said.

Maine isn't surprised that veteran Democrats are facing primary threats from the far left, noting that Kiros’ campaign benefited from a well-organized ground game and sweeping promises on healthcare and affordability that drew in younger voters.

"She is winning the primary because we have an organized group convincing people that they can have free stuff. You can have free medical care. You can have free supermarkets. You can have free transportation. And it's very appealing," Maine explained. "I like free stuff, but what they forget to tell you is that nothing is really free. As they say, there's no free lunch."

SOCIALIST HOUSE CANDIDATE SAYS HE AGREES WITH REPUBLICANS ON 'ONE ISSUE'

He believes historical lessons are being lost as generations grow further removed from the realities of the Soviet Union.

"So there is a gap that's being exploited," he continued. "And it's been exploited from internal and from external, because there's a lot of evil forces in the world that do not want America to succeed."

While critics view the rise of the DSA as a dangerous departure from American values, Kiros and other DSA candidates argue their policies are a pragmatic response to liberal voters fed up with how the Democratic Party has responded to their struggles.

Kiros recently brushed aside concerns regarding communists inside the DSA faction of the Democratic Party, telling PBS’s "Firing Line" host Margaret Hoover that there is room in the party for various viewpoints.

"Yeah. Well, some members of the Democratic Party are proudly proclaiming themselves as capitalists, and it’s a big tent, right?" Kiros said. "But again, at the end of the day, it’s up to the voters, right?"

"Until a self-proclaimed communist actually wins an election, then it’s just noise from the Republican Party. There’s no one who’s actually winning with that," she continued.

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Kiros denied being a communist herself, arguing that younger voters are embracing the DSA message because, at its core, it represents "economic populism."

Her campaign centered on Medicare for all, universal childcare, investments in public housing, higher federal taxes on the wealthy, publicly owned utilities and more. Like many other socialist campaigns across the country, she is also firmly anti-Israel.

Kiros' campaign was backed by several progressive groups, including the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), Justice Democrats, and the Working Families Party.

Republican candidate Christy Peterson, a local accountant, is also running in the Nov. 3 general election, which Kiros is widely expected to win given the district's strongly blue lean. In 2024, Kamala Harris won 77 percent of the vote in the district en route to winning Colorado.

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Kiros’s campaign and the DSA did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Socialist wave 'ripping America apart' will hit a wall with Michigan voters: Rising star House candidate

Sat, 08 Aug 2026 08:00:17 -0400

WARREN, MI - Mike Bouchard Jr., the Republican nominee for Michigan's 10th Congressional District, says Abdul El-Sayed’s narrow Senate primary victory is no sign Michigan as a whole is embracing socialism and that the progressive Democrat's message is dividing the country.

"El-Sayed was campaigning with Hasan Piker the day before the election, Hasan Piker said that America deserved 9/11, we did not deserve 9/11, tell that to the thousands of people who died in 9/11 and the thousands of American military who died abroad defending this country," Bouchard, a Bronze Star recipient who served as an infantry officer in the 101st Airborne Division and an intelligence officer in the 82nd Airborne Division, told Fox News Digital.

"The fact that that is coming to our streets, that someone says that America deserves something like that, that is ripping America apart block by block. We need to come together, build this country up, and find real solutions together. I'm done with this partisan politics and trying to bring socialism into a country that is not what we were founded on."

El-Sayed was crowned the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate in Michigan on Tuesday night, winning a razor-thin contest by less than a percentage point against the establishment-backed Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens.

EL-SAYED PALS AROUND WITH FAR-LEFT STREAMER HASAN PIKER THE DAY BEFORE CRUCIAL MICHIGAN SENATE ELECTION

Bouchard told Fox News Digital that El-Sayed’s victory shows a "split" in the Democratic Party but said that while the socialist wing is the "loudest voice" in the room, he doesn’t believe most Michigan voters are swayed by far-left politicians.

"Absolutely not," Bouchard said. "The people in Michigan are hard workers. They work hard, they love their families, and you know what? They're moderates. They go back and forth. They look at Democrats, they'll look at Republicans. They don't want partisan politics. They want someone who's going to deliver results for them. And that's why I got in this race is to deliver real, meaningful results."

Bouchard, the son of longtime Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard, reacted to the much talked-about socialist wave in the Democratic Party as far-left candidates win across the country, and now in the Midwest with candidates like El-Sayed and Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate Francesca Hong.

EL-SAYED CAMPAIGN BACKED BY OVER $100,000 FROM DOZENS OF MEMBERS OF GROUP WITH ALLEGED TERROR TIES

"When the Berlin wall came down, which way did the people run?" Bouchard said. "Did they run towards a communist Soviet union, or did they run towards freedom in America? Socialism doesn't work. It's been proven time and time again. I've fought all across the world and I've seen what socialism does to a country. We cannot allow that to come here."

"Yes, I'm running for change, but socialism is not the answer, and so Abdul El-Sayed stands for defunding the police. And it's been really interesting to see how my opponent, who's soft on crime, works with El-Sayed when he's trying to tear this country down. I want to build this country up."

Bouchard will face Democrat Christina Hines, a former county prosecutor, in November after he won Tuesday night’s GOP primary to replace Rep. John James, who is running for governor, in Congress. Bouchard told Fox News Digital that the contrast between him and Hines on crime will be a main focus of his.

Hines has faced criticism from her Republican opponents on the crime issue and Bouchard said Hines "stands for soft on crime policies and a woke agenda that I just don't align with."

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" You look across a lot of the prosecutors across the country, some enforce the rules on the books, some don't, some blame victims, and some are really kind to the offenders, I stand for protecting victims and making sure that the offenders go to prison," Bouchard said. "And so I've seen people praise my opponent for being kind and compassionate to offenders. I stand for the victims. People in this district want to be safe and if you're not safe, you can't do anything else. You can't leave your house. So from the southern border to crime across the district, I'm gonna stand up for the people of this district."

Hines pushed back on Bouchard’s criticism in a statement to Fox News Digital, contrasting her career as a prosecutor with Bouchard’s military background.

"Mike Bouchard Jr has never put a predator behind bars, and he’s never lived in Macomb a day in his life. I spent my entire career working with law enforcement to put serial rapists, child predators, murderers, and traffickers in prison. I’m running for Congress to protect the families in my community, and to fight against the corruption that’s rampant in DC."

Fox News Digital reached out to El-Sayed's campaign for comment.

Actress convicted as accessory after double murder made disturbing remark before killings, former friend says

Sat, 08 Aug 2026 08:00:11 -0400

A month before Juri "Julie" Kibuishi and Samuel Herr were murdered, Rachel Buffett was planning her bachelorette party when she encouraged a former friend to take ecstasy, according to the woman, Audrey.

"Well, if I slipped it in your drink, you wouldn’t know about it," Buffett told her, Audrey claimed.

Audrey, who also recounts the exchange in the Investigation Discovery true-crime series, "A Killer Among Friends," said it was the last straw.

SLAIN DAD'S DAUGHTER KNEW ‘BLACK SWAN’ EX-BALLERINA SHOT HIM AFTER ONE CALL: 'SHE KILLED HIM, DIDN'T SHE?'

"When Rachel and [her fiancé] would get mad at each other, and they were drunk, they’d yell at everyone," Audrey recalled to Fox News Digital. "Of course, he’s yelled at me when he was drunk before. But it wasn’t until that night that I decided to end our friendship."

Audrey said Buffett’s remark about secretly drugging her didn’t feel like an empty threat.

"I really believed Rachel would have drugged me at her bachelorette party because she thought it would be fun," she said.

Audrey walked away from the friendship. Buffett later reached out by text, inviting Audrey to be a bridesmaid and asking if she could come over.

About a month after Audrey ended the friendship, Kibuishi was found shot to death in Herr's apartment, while Herr was missing.

Buffett, an actress, was not accused of carrying out the murders or helping her then-fiancé, Daniel Wozniak, commit them. In 2018, an Orange County, California, jury found her guilty of two felony counts of being an accessory after the fact after prosecutors accused her of lying to and misleading investigators.

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Fox News Digital reached out to Buffett for comment about Audrey's allegations. The case is explored in the episode "Staging a Murder" airing Aug. 10.

"Rachel and Dan loved each other, but they also got on each other’s nerves," said Audrey. "It was fine when they were sober, but then when they got drunk, they were always more aggressive. They would argue and fight. I remember one time when he was drunk, I yelled ‘F--- you’ to him, and I threw my shoe at him, hitting him in the back."

Audrey’s friendship with the couple wasn’t always tumultuous. She met Buffett in college while they were studying theater.

"I just remember her being fun and bubbly," said Audrey. "I thought, 'That's the type of person I want to hang out with.'"

At a party, she crossed paths with mutual friends Kibuishi, a dancer, and Herr, a U.S. Army veteran.

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"I just remember them being delightful, funny, warm and loving," said Audrey. "They were good people. You could tell they were good people."

The buzz among the friend group was Buffett's engagement to Wozniak, a community theater actor. They planned to get married on May 28, 2010. A week before the wedding, Kibuishi and Herr were killed.

Herr's father, Steve Herr, became worried because his son wasn't answering his phone and had failed to show up for a planned visit. He went to his son's apartment and let himself in. Everything appeared normal until he reached the bedroom and discovered Kibuishi's body. She was partially clothed and had been shot in the head. Herr was missing.

"By then, I wasn’t invited to the wedding because I stopped being friends with Rachel and Dan," said Audrey. "I told her I didn’t want to be in the wedding. But when I heard the news, I was so confused. My brain couldn’t wrap around the idea of what happened."

"I thought, ‘What did they get themselves mixed up in?’" said Audrey. "Maybe they got drunk. Maybe they got blackout drunk."

At first, police thought Herr had killed Kibuishi before fleeing. But that theory began to unravel when investigators discovered someone was still withdrawing money from Herr's bank account.

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Police traced the transactions to teenager Wesley Freilich, who told investigators that Wozniak had given him Herr's ATM card and instructed him to withdraw money. Police arrested Wozniak at his bachelor party. After repeatedly changing his story during questioning, Wozniak confessed. Asked why he committed the murders, he replied, "Money and insanity."

"From what I found out, he was racking up tons of credit card debt," said Audrey. "That’s a poor excuse. There’s no excuse to do what he did."

Despite their falling out, Audrey said she called Buffett after Wozniak's arrest.

"Even though I had completely lost trust in her as a human, I was still expressing sorrow for the difficult hardship she must have been going through, knowing that the love of her life that she was going to marry and spend the rest of her life with did something atrocious," she said.

"It’s a life-shattering thing to have happened. But then she responded, ‘You just want to talk to me because you want your five minutes of fame. You don’t really care about me.’"

"Is that what you are thinking right now?" said Audrey. "It was mind-boggling. There was such a disconnect. I was completely taken aback by that reaction. To me, that is not the reaction of a woman who just found out her fiancé was a murderer."

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Buffett has maintained that she had no advance knowledge of the murders.

"We were close for so many years," said Audrey. "No matter what I thought, I was still going to treat her like a human being. At that point, it had only been a few months since we ended our friendship."

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Prosecutors said Wozniak killed and dismembered Herr as part of a plot to steal $62,000 he had saved from his military service. They said Wozniak then killed Kibuishi and tried to frame Herr for her murder. Hours after killing Herr, Wozniak performed in the musical "Nine" at a community theater.

"I’m innocent, and that’s what hurts me most in this whole situation is they’re trying to say I’m something I’m not," Buffett told NBC’s "Dateline."

In 2012, Buffett was arrested on suspicion of being an accessory after the fact. Prosecutors later said she lied to police and misled investigators while trying to protect Wozniak.

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Wozniak was sentenced to death in 2016. In 2018, Buffett was sentenced to 32 months in jail following her conviction on two felony counts of being an accessory after the fact.

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Audrey said she still wonders who sent the text messages she received from Buffett's phone after their friendship ended.

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"Were they really from her? Or did Dan use her phone? I don't know."

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The experience also changed how Audrey chooses her friends.

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"It's OK to be nice and respectful to people without inviting them into your life," she said. "I [remember] the quote from 'Into the Woods': 'Nice is different than good.' And I think that is something to think about when you're out there making friends. Nice is different than good."

Sports cartoons of the day

Mon, 22 Jun 2026 11:08:52 -0400

Trump pumps brakes on Senate budget plan, delaying GOP SAVE America push

Sat, 08 Aug 2026 07:25:58 -0400

Senate Republicans may have left Washington on a high note early Saturday morning, but they left one major item on the table: passing the SAVE America Act.

It’s the bill that has dominated President Donald Trump’s attention span and garnered heavy criticism against Republicans in the upper chamber for not being able to pass it.

And despite guarantees from some in the party that they would object to leaving until Sept. in order to pass the voter integrity bill, lawmakers’ suitcases were packed and ready for the airport. It’s one of several agenda items that didn’t get finished prior to the lawmakers' vacation, and one that will have to wait until next month. But its biggest proponents appear okay with that outcome.

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"We’re not dropping SAVE," Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, said. "It’s a matter of time."

Time between now and the end of this session of Congress will be an increasingly short commodity to come by.

The Senate returns the third week of September and will be tasked with moving two massive bills dealing with cryptocurrency regulations and money in college sports, both of which didn't make the cut during the upper chamber’s last week in town.

Then they’ll leave once again for nearly the entire month of October in preparation for midterm elections in early November.

SCHUMER SAID ‘DEMOCRATS SUPPORT VOTER ID’ — THEN EVERY SENATE DEMOCRAT VOTED AGAINST GOP BILL

Another priority heavily pushed by Trump and the administration, taking another crack at the party line budget reconciliation process, was detoured, too.

That process is how Republicans hope to pass the SAVE America Act without Democrats getting the chance to block it with the filibuster. Republicans were ready to vote on the $150 billion budget blueprint drafted by Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., until Trump intervened over concerns that it would fail.

The push was paused after Johnson, who just took over the Senate Budget Committee, Lee and Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., huddled in the office of Senate Majority Leader John Thune after speaking with Trump.

Johnson said Trump agreed that the best path forward was to "just work diligently through August into September to do an actually better budget reconciliation bill."

Republicans want to crank up the defense spending in their budget framework — Johnson said that War Secretary Pete Hegseth made a "very convincing case" to beef up the funding by $350 billion as the war in Iran continues and munitions dwindle.

Still, whether the gamble to incentivize states to take up portions of the SAVE America Act will work remains unknown, given that the Senate’s rules chief will ultimately decide if the provisions pass muster with reconciliation’s guardrails.

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Taking another shot at reconciliation that doesn’t include cost-of-living elements or affordability-minded provisions hasn’t been a popular subject among Senate Republicans, especially heading into midterms.

Thune acknowledged that there was an appetite among Republicans to use the legislative tool to muscle through defense funding and try to include elements of the SAVE America Act.

The top Senate Republican, unlike others in his conference, hasn’t been gung-ho about turning to reconciliation for a third time. That appeared to subtly change early Saturday morning.

"I think at some point, we’re going to need to do another reconciliation bill," Thune said.

Meanwhile, Republicans were able to accomplish several items on their to-do list Saturday morning.

They passed a short-term funding extension until early December to take away Democrats’ ability to politicize another government shutdown, advanced a bone-crushing Russia sanctions package and confirmed acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to lead the Department of Justice with the command of a Senate-confirmed cabinet member.

But Democrats blocked a voter ID bill from Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, and hurdles remained for the massive, cryptocurrency bill known as the Clarity Act, and Sen. Ted Cruz’s, R-Texas, legislation going after Name Image and Likeness (NIL) funding in college sports.

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Perhaps the most glaring omission, however, was a vote on whether to cancel the August recess.

Lee had pushed for a full vote on the Senate floor as part of the Senate’s push to reach a broader agreement on several legislative items. Instead, he accepted a voice vote, uttering a quiet "no," on the floor against the forthcoming recess.

"Would it have been better if we had passed SAVE America already? Absolutely," Lee said. "Would it be better if we had the votes right now? Yes. We, for a variety of reasons, don't have the wherewithal to pass it right now."

"No, no, no, [its] Democrats," Johnson interjected. "The reason is Democrats. Democrats refuse to vote for any kind of voter integrity measure, that’s just the reality of the situation."

Police bigwig accused of driving son's getaway car in gang shooing is sorority sisters with mayor: report

Sat, 08 Aug 2026 07:00:46 -0400

A suburban New York police official accused of driving the getaway car for her son's alleged gang shooting reportedly had connections to the mayor's office when she landed the leadership role.

Court records indicate Jennifer Lackard, 49, and her son Chase, 20, were both arrested by the New York Police Department on Tuesday in connection with a June 29 drive-by shooting at rival gang members near the Bronx Criminal Court.

Prior to her arrest, Lackard worked as the deputy commissioner of wellness for the Mount Vernon Police Department.

NEW YORK POLICE OFFICIAL ACCUSED OF DRIVING GETAWAY CAR FOR SON IN GANG-RELATED SHOOTING

Mount Vernon borders the Bronx, just north of New York City.

Lackard and Mount Vernon Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard are Delta Sigma Theta sorority sisters, according to the New York Post.

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In her former position, Lackard was tasked with police reform, civilian complaint review board implementation and officer wellness.

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When she was hired the city said, "Lackard brings a wealth of knowledge and resources to the City of Mount Vernon has worked on the community level as President of the Station of Hope prison re-entry ministry at Grace Baptist Church and organizer of the Re-Entry Meetup for Westchester County since 2015."

NEW YORK POLICE OFFICIAL ACCUSED OF DRIVING GETAWAY CAR FOR SON IN GANG-RELATED SHOOTING

In a 2020 interview with Gothamist, she "acknowledged the leap of faith it took for the department to give her the position," and she had "never worked for a police department," prior to landing the position.

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She previously held advisory roles on the Westchester County Probation Advisory Board and the NYC Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice Implementation Task Force.

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In a statement posted on social media, the City of Mount Vernon said in part, "Effective immediately, the City of Mount Vernon has terminated Jennifer Lackard’s employment. The allegations are unrelated to her duties with the Mount Vernon Police Department and do not stem from any conduct associated with the Department or the performance of her official responsibilities."

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Fox News Digital has reached out to Patterson-Howard and Delta Sigma Theta for comment.

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Attorneys for Jennifer and Chase Lackard did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

I got stage 4 cancer in my 40s. My young daughter and husband keep me fighting

Sat, 08 Aug 2026 07:00:40 -0400

When I was first diagnosed with rare metastatic appendiceal cancer in October 2023, my world blew up. It was a diagnosis with no known cure and no specific treatment protocol. Talk about shattered dreams. I had just turned 40 and had been married only three years. My daughter wasn’t even 2 years old yet. I shared the terrifying early days of my diagnosis here on Fox News and how stunned I was to be diagnosed with stage 4 cancer despite having minimal symptoms.

Later, I wrote about my fierce determination to fight for my husband and young daughter because I had "too much to lose." At the time, my entire existence shrunk to a single, desperate objective: Do everything possible to beat cancer.

So, I suited up for battle. Over the past nearly three years, I’ve lost count of the rounds of chemotherapy I’ve endured. Maybe 45? Alongside the chemo came multiple surgeries, constant scans, port placements, hernias, drains, stents, bags, a 30-pound weight loss, and lots of flights back and forth to Texas for a targeted treatment. My life is lived day to day.

And yet, the world doesn't stop turning just because you have stage 4 cancer.

I'M A 40-YEAR-OLD MOM AND WIFE WITH STAGE 4 CANCER. HERE'S WHAT I WANT YOU TO KNOW

All of this medical warfare happens while I am still mothering a spunky 4-year-old girl who is my entire world. It happens while I am trying to be a present wife, take care of a house, work as a journalist, be a supportive daughter to ailing parents, and desperately claw at whatever energy I have left to do the things I love.

The whiplash of these transitions is where the real exhaustion lives. In the span of a single week, I can fly to Texas, sit in a cold, sterile infusion room, fly back to New Jersey, spend two days with my head in a toilet bowl, and then force myself up to play dress-up with my daughter, take her to dance class, buy groceries, and run the everyday errands a healthy person takes for granted. Then, if I'm lucky, my husband, daughter, and I get a brief window to do "normal" family things before the entire brutal cycle resets.

When there is no end in sight—no definitive light at the end of the tunnel—the weight of that routine feels crushing. Factor in sudden setbacks such as unexpected hospital stays, and any remaining sense of control simply vanishes. Chasing down clinical trials feels like another full-time job.

I'M 41 WITH A HUSBAND AND CHILD. I HAVE TOO MUCH TO LOSE AND WON'T GIVE UP MY FIGHT AGAINST CANCER

This isn't about "staying positive" or "being strong." This is the grueling reality of cancer. You either choose to face it, or you quit and wither away. I refuse to quit, no matter how many roadblocks are thrown in my path. But refusing to quit doesn’t mean I don’t break. I allow myself to cry, and I allow myself to get angry.

Unfortunately, the people closest to me have to witness that raw ugliness. They see the messy tears; they bear the brunt of the moments I snap and scream. It is what it is. Luckily, the people who regularly witness my breakdowns understand the toll of this siege, and they keep showing up for me and my family anyway. I am profoundly grateful that they do.

People often ask why I don’t just take a leave of absence and step away from work, or how I manage to keep parenting through the physical wreckage of ongoing treatment. The answer is simple: These roles are the anchors keeping me tethered to who I am.

I love my job. I often work during my infusions because it is therapeutic; it forces my mind off oncology timelines. And when it comes to parenting, my husband and I are blessed with a smart, empathetic, healthy little girl. But as she gets older, the boundaries of her innocence are tested. We find ourselves having to explain more. We talk about the scars and bumps on my "Frankenstein tummy." We talk about God and angels.

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Behind closed doors, my husband and I have to navigate the terrifying conversations you hope you will never have in a lifetime. Sometimes, the heaviest things go entirely unsaid because we are both paralyzed by the exact same fears. That, too, is the reality of fighting cancer with a young child in the house.

Back in 2023, after my first few infusions, I envisioned victory as a traditional finish line: a clean scan, a final treatment, a definitive surgery that removes every cancer cell. Today, I have to accept the reality that those specific victories are unlikely.

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But I have learned that a lack of a cure does not mean a lack of victory. My definition of a "win" has simply evolved.

Now, a win looks like having enough strength to be out on the ice, at the beach or on the ski slopes with my family. It looks like making it through the afternoon without needing a nap before picking up my daughter from school. It’s finishing a workout or staying up late with my husband watching "The Sopranos" reruns. It’s completing normal, everyday tasks.

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When I was first diagnosed, a friend who was intimately familiar with cancer told me, "This is just a chapter in your life story." It has turned out to be an incredibly long, gritty, painful chapter. But the truth is, none of us truly know when our story will end.

I am still fighting, still working, and still loving with everything I have—and I am praying for many more chapters to come.

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From Iron Dome to Abraham Accords: Congressional trips helped shape 15 years of US-Israel cooperation

Sat, 08 Aug 2026 07:00:11 -0400

For 15 years, dozens of American lawmakers have had the opportunity to see one of the country's most important — and increasingly debated — alliances firsthand. Since 2011, the U.S.-Israel Education Association (USIEA) has brought members of Congress to Israel, giving them an on-the-ground look at the security, technology and geopolitical issues that often come before them in Washington.

USIEA Founder and President Heather Johnston reflected on the organization's 15th anniversary in a conversation with Fox News Digital. She recalled meeting then-Majority Leader Eric Cantor and presenting him with a list of objectives to advance educational trips to Israel for U.S. lawmakers.

"He was flabbergasted because he had been looking for somebody for two years that could lead those tours," Johnston said.

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The organization's first tour included five members of the House Armed Services Committee, and they were shown a brand-new piece of missile defense technology that Johnston said was "just barely off the ground" at the time. The system, known as the Iron Dome, was so new at the time that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had to declassify it, so American lawmakers could see the state-of-the-art tech.

Johnston said that the lawmakers were so impressed with Iron Dome's capabilities that they began the groundwork to increase funding for it. Within a matter of weeks after returning to Washington, the five members of the House Armed Services Committee met with 54 members of Congress. The result came less than three months later when the lawmakers succeeded in tripling the budget for Iron Dome.

"Our commitment to the security of Israel is rock solid. And as I've said to the Prime Minister in every single one of our meetings, the United States will always have Israel's back when it comes to Israel's security," Obama said at the time.

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In a statement to Fox News Digital, Netanyahu credited Johnston and USIEA with helping strengthen the U.S.-Israel alliance.

"For 15 years, Heather Johnston and USIEA have stood proudly for Israel and for the right of the Jewish people to live in our ancestral homeland," Netanyahu said. "USIEA helped secure support for important American-Israeli joint projects, which contributed to the benefit of the great American-Israeli alliance."

The Iron Dome funding increase would become one of the many milestones Johnston points to when firsthand exposure preceded major congressional action on U.S.-Israel cooperation. Over the course of 15 years, USIEA expanded its trips as the alliance evolved through multiple administrations, the Abraham Accords and the Hamas-led Oct. 7 massacre.

Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman described the relationship between Washington and Jerusalem over the last 15 years as an "EKG," saying that it involved "lots of ups and downs."

"I think if you sort of drew a trend line, it's gotten very strong," he told Fox News Digital.

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Friedman said he interacted with USIEA after his nomination as he worked to educate himself on the ties between the U.S. and Israel. During his interactions with the organization, he was struck by USIEA's focus on practicality.

"They were deeply schooled and understood what needed to get done," he said, citing efforts ranging from Iron Dome funding to establishing an FDA office in Israel.

Friedman argued that over time American lawmakers increasingly saw Israel as a country that delivered "real value to the United States in terms of technology, medicine, national security." He believes both sides of the aisle, outside of hot-button issues, have seen that the U.S. and Israel had much to gain from each other.

Current U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee echoed that assessment, arguing that many Americans underestimate the full extent of the U.S.-Israel relationship.

"I don't think most Americans really fully comprehend the depth of the partnership that the U.S. and Israel has," he told Fox Digital.

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Huckabee noted that this partnership played out in a variety of areas, including military cooperation, especially as both worked to stop the Iranian regime from gaining nuclear arms.

"During the two different operations against Iran both last summer — 2025 — and then this year, the six and a half weeks starting in late February, our planes were flying wingtip to wingtips and our military operations were basically a room full of people both Israeli and American whose joint operations were truly something to behold," he said.

But Huckabee said the value of organizations like USIEA extends beyond showcasing military cooperation. He argued that bringing lawmakers to Israel allows them to see realities on the ground that can be difficult to grasp from Washington alone.

"A lot of the lies about Israel are completely debunked pretty quickly," Huckabee said.

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As one example, Huckabee pointed to Israel's Arab citizens serving in senior positions throughout society, including in the Knesset, on the Supreme Court and in the Israel Defense Forces, saying those experiences often challenge preconceptions held by visitors.

Looking ahead, Johnston said she believes the organization's mission is becoming more important as the U.S.-Israel relationship expands beyond the traditional sense of cooperation.

"A lot of what we do is very pioneering. We're not just bringing on education that already exists and showing them what already exists in the collaboration, but really showing them what is to come," she said.

Former Miss North Carolina USA says conservative Christian values played role in losing crown

Sat, 08 Aug 2026 04:50:28 -0400

Former Miss North Carolina USA Brittany Boltinhouse is speaking out after being stripped of her crown weeks before the Miss USA pageant, saying she believes her conservative Christian values played a role in the decision.

The Miss USA Organization announced Aug. 5 that Boltinhouse had been stripped of her title. Chairman Thom Brodeur did not specify the conduct behind the decision but said the organization "does not tolerate racism, homophobia, transphobia nor language that strips any person of their dignity," adding that the conduct occurred "over an extended period of time."

The decision ended Boltinhouse's reign just weeks after she won the state title and less than three weeks before she was scheduled to represent North Carolina at the 75th annual Miss USA pageant on Aug. 27.

In an interview Friday with the Carolina Journal, Boltinhouse called losing the title a "blessing in disguise."

MISS NORTH CAROLINA USA LOSES CROWN AFTER ORGANIZER CONDEMNS 'RACISM, HOMOPHOBIA, TRANSPHOBIA'

"I'm very much at peace and I'm actually glad it happened to me and not some other young lady that, you know, maybe just probably wouldn't make it through what I'm going through right now," Boltinhouse said. "The scrutiny, my family behind it as well. But I will say that I'm very much at peace and I see the light at the end of the tunnel and I know who I am and I know what I can become."

Boltinhouse said a confidentiality agreement prevents her from discussing the circumstances that led to her losing the title, but she said she believes her political and religious views played a role.

"I believe and think I was stripped from my title because of my political stance and my belief system as a conservative Christian woman," she said.

"I'm proud of my faith. I'm proud of my standards. I'm a proud conservative woman, but a Christian woman. I'm a God-fearing woman," Boltinhouse added.

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Asked whether she believed being conservative was disqualifying in the pageant system, Boltinhouse said people should be free to express their political beliefs.

"I believe that everyone has a right to say what they want to say and feel the way they want to feel," she said.

Boltinhouse said she did not know whether her support for President Donald Trump played a role in the decision.

"I don't know. I don't know. All I can say from the information that I have today and what I believe and I think is honestly I don't know," Boltinhouse said. "I wasn't really given anything."

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Despite losing her crown, Boltinhouse said she forgives the organization and hopes other women will view her experience as encouragement to stand by their beliefs.

"Hopefully see me as an example," she said. "To always stand for what you believe, no matter what, no matter where, no matter what you do."

"I speak to the women that even are not conservative, that they have the right to speak the way that you feel, no matter what platform, no matter what belief system that you may have," she added.

Myla Hadley, the first runner-up in the state competition, will represent North Carolina on the national stage "with our full confidence and our support," Brodeur said in a previous statement.

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Brodeur said the decision was made in consultation with Boltinhouse, her state directors and the Miss USA Organization. He also emphasized that the organization did not view accountability as justification for personally attacking Boltinhouse.

"There is a young woman at the center of this," Brodeur said. "She has been named, examined, and judged in public in a way that most of us would not survive, and she is still a human being with a family, a future, and a life ahead of her that is longer than this part of her journey."

"I have never believed that accountability requires cruelty, or that holding a line means enjoying the fall of the person who crossed it," he continued.

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Fox News Digital has reached out to the Miss USA Organization for additional comment.

Fox News Digital's Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.

Democratic socialist Francesca Hong has former child star, OnlyFans model in senior campaign role: report

Sat, 08 Aug 2026 06:11:05 -0400

Former child actress and OnlyFans model Renee Olstead is reportedly serving in a senior role on Wisconsin state Rep. Francesca Hong's gubernatorial campaign ahead of next week's Democratic primary.

Olstead, who also goes by Renee Faust, is serving as Hong's deputy campaign manager, according to The Heartland Post. Hong, a Democratic socialist, is among the candidates competing in next week's Democratic gubernatorial primary.

The outlet reported that Olstead has worked as a paid campaign operative since at least January. Her X bio reads "HONG 4 GOV" and links to Hong's get-out-the-vote page.

Her social media account also features photos from campaign events, and The Heartland Post reported that she has coordinated logistics for high-profile surrogates, including streamer and political commentator Hasan Piker.

FRANCESCA HONG REMARKS THANKSGIVING IS HER 'FAVORITE HOLIDAY,' ANSWERS SHE DOES NOT 'WANT TO CANCEL IT'

Fox News Digital asked Hong's campaign to confirm Olstead's title and responsibilities, when she began working for the campaign, whether she is a paid employee and her qualifications for the role. The campaign responded with a statement but did not directly address each question.

"Renee Faust is a licensed mental health clinician who has spent her career providing care to trafficking survivors," the campaign said. "Since joining the campaign in December, she has helped build the largest grassroots campaign in Wisconsin history. The right-wing politicians attacking her are the same ones who want government dictating women's health care decisions."

Olstead previously founded the Coalition for American Sex Workers (CASW – LOCAL 304), which advocates for decriminalization and other policy changes affecting sex workers.

Last year, Hong and three other state representatives presented Olstead with an official Wisconsin State Assembly citation recognizing her advocacy for sex workers' rights and her selection as "Penthouse Pet of the Year" in 2024.

CONTROVERSIAL SOCIALIST CHEF FLIP-FLOPS ON ABOLISH THE POLICE, SAYS SHE’S ‘SERIOUS ABOUT PUBLIC SAFETY’

The campaign did not directly respond to a separate question from Fox News Digital asking Hong to explain her decision to participate in presenting Olstead with the citation and what she intended to recognize.

Hong has also pursued legislation that would decriminalize prostitution involving adults and establish a sex workers' bill of rights.

Wisconsin Family Action, a conservative advocacy organization based in Madison, criticized Olstead's involvement in Hong's campaign.

"Wisconsinites deserve to have serious people leading the state. It is unbelievable to see that the likely Democratic nominee for governor has an active sex worker leading her campaign," Daniel Degner, president of Wisconsin Family Action, said in a statement. "Voters deserve to know whether if Hong is elected, she will elevate a porn star to leadership in her administration."

SANDERS' ANSWER WHEN ASKED IF HE WILL ENDORSE SOCIALIST HONG IN WISCONSIN SPARKS INSTANT MOCKERY: 'SAYS A LOT'

Hong has previously expressed support on social media for progressive proposals including abolishing the U.S. Senate and defunding the police, though she has recently distanced herself from some of those positions in interviews ahead of Tuesday's gubernatorial primary.

Hong faces Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, former Wisconsin Department of Administration Secretary Joel Brennan and Democratic state Sen. Kelda Roys in the primary.

Hong also faced renewed scrutiny over a since-deleted 2020 X post calling to "cancel Thanksgiving" in order to "stop celebrating colonialism and the original superspreader event that killed Indegenous [sic] folx and women."

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She recently distanced herself from the post, telling Politico that Thanksgiving is her "favorite holiday" and that she does not want to cancel it.

"My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving," Hong told Politico Playbook. "Yep, I don't want to cancel it. I actually love it."

Fox News Digital's Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.

Charlotte career criminal records himself punching woman in unprovoked attack, posting to social media: police

Sat, 08 Aug 2026 06:00:38 -0400

A North Carolina man accused of punching a woman in a Charlotte sidewalk attack and allegedly posting video of the encounter on social media had been arrested at least nine times since 2023, records show.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said 32-year-old Di-Quan Schafar Hunt was arrested Thursday after officers responding to an attempt-to-locate call were shown a social media account containing videos detectives had already been investigating.

Officers determined one video depicted an assault reported July 30 in the 400 block of East Boulevard in the Providence Division. Police said the suspect punched a woman on a sidewalk before fleeing.

MYRTLE BEACH MAN WITH LENGTHY ARREST RECORD CHARGED WITH STABBING TWO PEOPLE IN POPULAR BEACH DESTINATION

Hunt was taken to a local medical facility for treatment, police said. After his release, he will be transferred to the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office and charged with assault with a deadly weapon.

The victim was taken to a local hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

Fox News Digital reviewed videos posted to the social media account. One appeared to show a woman being chased until she took cover behind a vehicle. A comment from the account read, "Ahhhh feels GOOD!!!"

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Another video shows the person filming confronting a woman before the camera jolts and the sound of an apparent punch can be heard. The woman is then shown on the ground as the person behind the camera continues to taunt her and appears to strike her again.

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It was not immediately clear whether either clip was the video police tied to the July 30 assault, whether the women in the footage had been identified or whether detectives are investigating the other videos as potential crimes.

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CMPD said its investigation remains active and asked anyone with information about incidents connected to the social media account or its videos to contact Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600.

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Mecklenburg County arrest records show Hunt was arrested at least nine times between October 2023 and December 2025.

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Most recently, a December 2025 arrest record lists charges of assault with a deadly weapon, communicating threats, second-degree trespass and two counts of carrying a concealed weapon. The booking entry does not describe the underlying allegations or identify an alleged victim.

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Records also list a September 2025 simple-assault charge and a March 2025 charge of assault on a female. In 2024, Hunt was arrested in cases involving alleged violations of a domestic-violence protective order, breaking or entering and injury to personal property.

Records show he is a felon with at least six additional misdemeanor convictions in Mecklenburg County.

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The records also list a felony charge of malicious conduct by a prisoner and a resisting-a-public-officer charge. The available booking records do not state the outcomes of the cases, and charges are not convictions.

Schumer said ‘Democrats support voter ID’ — then every Senate Democrat voted against GOP bill

Sat, 08 Aug 2026 05:48:13 -0400

Senate Democrats blocked a key component of the SAVE America Act that, in the past, they have supported.

During the wee hours of Saturday morning, Senate Republicans tried and failed to get Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and his colleagues to back a stripped back voter ID bill amid a spree of last-minute legislative business.

But Senate Democrats, including Schumer, have for years espoused support for identification to vote. Several states with Democratic senators have voter ID laws, too.

SCHUMER, DEMOCRATS SAY THEY SUPPORT VOTER ID, THEN BLOCK GOP AMENDMENT TO REQUIRE IT

"Democrats support voter ID," Schumer said in March. "In fact, we included it, and it is included, in our Freedom to Vote legislation several years ago."

Schumer and his entire caucus voted against the bill from Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, nonetheless. Requiring identification is already the practice in 36 states. Of those, 23 require photo ID, while 13 accept another form of identification, such as a bank statement. Nine of those states have Democratic senators.

It was the last stand of the night for the Senate, which is gearing up to leave Washington, D.C., for several weeks of valuable campaign time in vulnerable incumbents’ home states.

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And it comes as Republicans have so far tried and failed to find a path forward for the SAVE America Act, which Democrats, along with a handful from the GOP, have blocked numerous times in a variety of configurations.

Husted’s bill would have prohibited state and local election officials from providing a ballot to vote in federal elections unless a person provided a valid form of identification.

Husted’s bill teed up a plethora of options, including an unexpired driver’s license with a photo, an unexpired state-issued ID card with a photo, a valid passport, a valid military or veteran ID with a photo or an unexpired tribal ID with a photo.

It’s also not the first time Democrats have blocked it. In March, Republicans tested their support of voter ID for the first time in a vote to attach Husted’s bill to the SAVE America Act. It failed on party lines then, too.

TRUMP KEEPS CALLING THUNE DESPITE PUBLIC FIGHT OVER SAVE AMERICA ACT

After it became clear that President Donald Trump’s top legislative priority was not going to be passed nor even considered before lawmakers exit Washington, D.C., Republicans opted to take one last crack at Democrats' resolve.

"We've got many Democrats, who have said, ‘I’m just fine with voter ID,’" Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, said. "Voter ID is a major component of SAVE America, and they've said that over and over again when we had it on the floor in late February and early March."

"It was the argument that I heard from many of these people, as it was on the floor for hours and hours at a time, saying, ‘I'm okay with voter ID, don't like this,’" he continued. "So we're gonna find out where they are."

Lee has been the loudest supporter of the SAVE America Act in the Senate, pushing and prodding his colleagues on X to get on board with passing the package.

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Republicans had a chance earlier in the night to begin the work of crafting a version of the SAVE America Act with a budget blueprint that, if successful, would have teed up the partyline budget reconciliation process, but were called to stand down by Trump.

Now, they don’t return until early September, just weeks out from a midterm election that could reshape the balance of power in the Senate.

Blanche survives Republican defectors as Trump gets his new attorney general

Sat, 08 Aug 2026 04:32:06 -0400

Once thought doomed, President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Justice Department has survived the Senate and now will take the helm as the nation’s top law enforcement official.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche was confirmed early Saturday morning as part of a mad blitz by lawmakers to wrap up their work and jet from Washington, D.C. Now, he’ll officially replace Pam Bondi as attorney general.

Blanche, who is Trump’s former personal lawyer, nearly saw his confirmation hopes go up in smoke as Republicans struggled to swallow his role in rolling out the nearly $2 billion anti-weaponization and sweeping IRS audit immunity for the president and his family.

TRUMP'S AG PICK SURVIVES — FOR NOW — AS REPUBLICANS QUESTION IF WHITE HOUSE DEAL WILL HOLD

However, a last-minute ally emerged: Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., who announced on Friday that he would back Blanche’s confirmation after spending days keeping tight-lipped on his decision.

Though he was concerned about weaponization at the Department of Justice (DOJ) and just how binding an agreement to nix the anti-weaponization fund and limit Trump’s audit immunity would be, he argued that having a Senate-confirmed attorney general was a better option than a placeholder.

"Mr. Blanche is not perfect, and he will tell you this," Cassidy said on the Senate floor. "But the choice is not between perfection and Mr. Blanche. It is between Mr. Blanche and another acting attorney general, who may not run the department effectively under President Trump."

TRUMP'S PICK FOR TOP LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL GETS CRUCIAL LAST-MINUTE LIFELINE FOR CONFIRMATION

Still, Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Susan Collins, R-Maine, joined all Senate Democrats to oppose Blanche’s confirmation.

Murkowski announced her opposition hours before Cassidy’s lifeline. She contended that despite Blanche’s trek to Alaska and numerous meetings with him, she could not support him to be the next attorney general.

She was worried about his connection to the anti-weaponization fund, a weaponized Justice Department, Blanche’s role in the Epstein Files release, and the uncertain future of the fund, which several Republicans have raised concerns about over whether taxpayer dollars would flow to rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

TRUMP ADMIN PUSHES BACK ON 'SLUSH FUND' ATTACKS AGAINST ANTI-WEAPONIZATION FUND AND LAYS OUT WHO QUALIFIES

"The country needs an Attorney General who will check the worst impulses of this administration," Murkowski said. "I hope Mr. Blanche is able to achieve that, if confirmed, but I simply do not have confidence that will be the case."

Collins raised similar concerns earlier in the week, and was the first Republican out of the gate to cast doubt on Blanche’s chances of confirmation.

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"While I believe Mr. Blanche is a capable lawyer, the Department of Justice has become increasingly political," Collins said. "Mr. Blanche has taken several actions that have further eroded the Department’s independence, and that is the basis for my vote to oppose his confirmation."

MIKE DAVIS: Chuck Grassley's behind-the-scenes work proved decisive in Todd Blanche confirmation fight

Sat, 08 Aug 2026 04:36:00 -0400

By voting to confirm Todd Blanche as the 88th Attorney General of the United States, Senate Republicans delivered a major victory for President Donald Trump, the American people and the rule of law. Blanche will fulfill President Trump’s mandate to Make America Safe Again. The key cabinet confirmation provides much-needed unity and momentum for Trump and Senate Republicans — and a good opportunity for Trump to hard-reset his relationship with the Senate, so they can go on offense this fall.

Blanche’s proven track record as the deputy and acting attorney general leaves no doubt that Trump nominated the right man, at the right time, for the right job. But with full Democrat opposition, Blanche’s confirmation process was tougher than it should have been given his unmatched experience and sterling qualifications. Blanche is a longtime former federal prosecutor in the most prestigious U.S. attorney’s office and Big Law partner in New York City who put everything on the line to defend Trump against Biden’s unprecedented, republic-ending lawfare. Blanche helped Trump beat this. Trump now sits in the White House instead of a federal prison cell, running our country instead of appealing his bogus convictions.

For the last 17 months, Blanche has brought reforms and accountability to the Justice Department — so the Democrats’ politicized and weaponized injustice never happens again. These reforms and accountability must and will continue. Blanche will continue to take the Justice Department back to its most crucial basics: arresting, prosecuting and imprisoning violent criminals, government fraudsters and other real criminals — instead of hunting down parents, Christians and other political opponents like we witnessed under the Obama and Biden Justice Departments.

TRUMP'S AG PICK OFF LIFE SUPPORT AFTER KEY REPUBLICAN REBELS RELENT

Getting here wasn’t easy. There were bumps in the road and moments when the confirmation looked like it could stall. The reason it didn’t, and the reason Blanche is now America’s confirmed attorney general, is Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

When the nomination hit headwinds from Senators John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., both of whom raised good-faith concerns, it was Grassley who stepped in. He meditated. He bridged the gap. He kept all parties at the table. And he got the deal done.

Likewise, when Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., had principled objections to DOJ policy, he worked with Grassley, other Senate colleagues and the Trump administration to find a workable resolution. Susie Wiles, Trump’s highly respected White House chief of staff, is always the invaluable glue.

Blanche closed the deal with his personal diplomacy, as he demonstrated to Cassidy he is uniquely qualified. Cassidy deserves great credit for his willingness to put his country over personal differences. That’s what the Senate process looks like when it works. And it worked here because the right people were in the right roles.

No one did more to get Blanche confirmed than Grassley. Grassley works; Grassley delivers — especially for Trump. Whether it is nominations, taxes, trade or almost all the rest of Trump’s greatest Senate accomplishments, Grassley is the key. He never brags about it. Grassley just quietly works hard and gets the job done.

This is Grassley’s fourth Republican attorney general he’s confirmed as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. He brought more than four decades of institutional knowledge and experience from working on more than fifteen attorney general nominations since joining the committee. Grassley knows how to move a nomination through a committee full of competing agendas and a swamp press corps hungry for a Republican scalp.

In a town full of politicians looking to take credit for others’ work, Grassley stands out. He’s a work horse, not a show horse. Grassley exemplifies Iowa humility, so someone else has to brag for him. Blanche is now attorney general thanks to Grassley. And now Blanche can get back to work, fully Senate confirmed, continuing to help Trump Make America Safe Again.

The numbers don’t lie. The U.S. is approaching the lowest murder rate recorded since at least 1900. That’s according to the FBI’s own data, backed by the Council on Criminal Justice’s finding of a 21% drop in homicides from 2024 to 2025, with another 18% drop in the first half of 2026. We are living through a historic collapse in violent crime on President Trump’s watch.

Migrant encounters at the southern border hit their lowest level in more than 50 years, down from over two million under Biden to numbers not seen since 1970, according to Pew Research. We have control of our borders. Drug smuggling networks are being dismantled. Human traffickers are being prosecuted. Dangerous criminals — the ones Obama and Biden were too busy targeting conservatives to actually pursue — are being put away.

TODD BLANCHE EARNS ATTORNEY GENERAL BID ENDORSEMENT FROM LAW ENFORCEMENT ALLIANCE AHEAD OF CONFIRMATION

Biden and Obama treated the Department of Justice as a political weapon. And they pointed it at Trump. They pointed it at his allies. They pointed it at parents at school board meetings. They pointed it at Christians. Real criminals walked free while Democrats weaponized federal law enforcement against their political enemies for non-crimes. That ends with Todd Blanche.

Blanche is bringing real accountability — not the partisan, weaponized kind Obama and Biden practiced. He is reversing the politicization of the DOJ, not continuing it. His priorities are clear: prosecute illegal aliens, human traffickers, drug traffickers and dangerous criminals. Protect the American people. Hold bad actors accountable, including the ones in government. Never use the DOJ as a partisan sword. Ever. Again.

Trump made a bold choice in nominating Blanche. Not because Blanche isn’t qualified — he’s more qualified than anyone else for this role. But because the left was going to come at him hard, re-litigating every case and every decision. They tried. It didn’t work.

Trump’s instinct was right, as usual. He saw in Blanche what those of us in this fight have always seen: a man of genuine courage, deep experience and unshakeable commitment to the rule of law.

Blanche is the right man, for the right job, at the right moment in American history. He is a bold and fearless warrior for the Constitution who gave up millions in future earnings to stand in a courtroom and defend President Trump against the most weaponized, politically-motivated legal assault in American history. He bled for this fight and he won. That is the kind of person you want running the Department of Justice. And now the Senate has confirmed him.

America deserves a DOJ that fights for Americans, not for the political class, not for Democrat donors, not for the deep-state bureaucrats who spent decades building a machine that answers to no one. Blanche is going to change that. He already has.

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Thankfully, Trump and Grassley made sure he got the chance.

Schumer caves, hands Republicans shutdown win after months of uncertainty

Sat, 08 Aug 2026 04:01:22 -0400

The Senate advanced its solution to avert a government shutdown on Saturday, capping off several months of hand-wringing that, if given the chance, Senate Democrats would use a shutdown to score political points in November.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and his caucus relented, and stayed true to the bargain they struck with Republicans to keep the government funded well past Election Night and into early December.

The about-face, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told Fox News Digital, appeared to be a political calculation on Schumer and Democrats’ part.

SCHUMER CLAIMS VICTORY AS SENATE MOVES TO AVERT SHUTDOWN; GOP SAYS HE GOT PLAYED

"I think they didn't want to spend the next, well … three months defending attacks from Republicans about wanting to shut the government down," Thune said.

"I mean, I think there was a narrative starting to build out there based on what's happened the last 12 months, which I think, they probably — you know, these guys are political animals," Thune continued. "I'm assuming those guys are polling all the time."

DEMOCRATS BLINK AS SCHUMER HELPS GOP CLEAR KEY SHUTDOWN HURDLE

And Schumer claimed victory over the process, arguing that Democrats "for months" wanted to keep the government open, and had scored key concessions from the Trump administration on an ensuing rule change to federal grants in the bipartisan continuing resolution (CR).

"We want to reach across the aisle and hammer out a budget that delivers for the American people," Schumer said on the Senate floor. "Today, [this] CR gives us the breathing room necessary to work out a budget that helps make life more affordable to working families and reigns in Trump's rampant chaos, his rampant corruption."

However, Republicans have been messaging for months that congressional Democrats wouldn’t bat an eye at shutting the government down again. In the Senate, efforts have been made to inflict pain on lawmakers should another shutdown happen, like agreeing to forego their paychecks in the event of a closure.

SENATE TAKES MAJOR FIRST STEP TO PREVENT FUTURE SHUTDOWNS WITH PAINFUL ACCOUNTABILITY PLAY

That follows two government shutdowns that etched their way into the record books at 43 and 76 days, respectively, but the political winds didn’t appear to be in Democrats’ favor this go-round, the top Senate Republican said.

"And I think they see an issue set that works for them going into the fall election, and I think they view a government shutdown or the prospect of not funding the government as creating uncertainty that perhaps didn't help their chances," Thune said.

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While the shutdown fight is over in the Senate, for now, it will continue on in the House.

And if passed, it will give lawmakers breathing room to continue stalled negotiations to fund the government through the appropriations process. However, by then, Congress will be in the post-midterm election lame duck period. And dependent on the swing of the political pendulum, there may not be much appetite to reach a broader funding deal.

"Us having a budget done on December 11? It takes on whiffs of frozen hell, donkeys flying," Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said. "I mean, it's probably not gonna happen."

SEE IT: Dem senators rally behind El-Sayed but duck questions on progressive agenda

Sat, 08 Aug 2026 04:00:21 -0400

Senate Democrats are rallying around Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed in the race to beat Republican Mike Rogers as the party scrambles to defend its seat in an effort to win back the Senate majority.

El-Sayed narrowly defeated moderate Rep. Haley Stevens after a bruising primary that exposed the party’s progressive-moderate divide, leaving Democrats with the task of unifying behind him ahead of one of the nation’s most competitive Senate races.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., a progressive who endorsed El-Sayed, told Fox News Digital Friday that he believes El-Sayed will beat Rogers in November.

ROGERS OPENS DOOR TO DEMOCRATIC VOTERS AFTER EL-SAYED’S PRIMARY VICTORY: ‘THERE IS STILL HOPE’

Several Democratic senators approached by Fox News Digital expressed confidence in El-Sayed, even after prominent Democrats chose to back Stevens during the primary over questions of whether El-Sayed could win in November.

"I am very confident we’re going to win in Michigan," Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said.

But the same senators weren’t as quick to defend or back some of his more radical policies — like calling for defunding the police, abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Medicare for all and his strong opposition to Israel.

"You can ask him," Murray said after Fox News Digital followed up by asking for her views on his more extreme policies.

Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., also said she thinks El-Sayed will beat Rogers, but when Fox News Digital asked about her views on his policies, she walked away saying she was "looking for the ladies room."

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., said "time will tell" when asked if he could beat Rogers in the general election. He was the only lawmaker to tell Fox News Digital he actually disagreed with some of El-Sayed’s progressive policies.

"He's got 90 days," Warner said. "He brought a lot of energy. There are obviously places I don't fully agree with him either."

‘SPECIAL SAUCE OF CRAZY’ — MIDWEST DEM CANDIDATE’S POLICIES TOO EXTREME FOR VOTERS: OPPONENT

Many lawmakers and candidates with socialist views have argued that the success of like-minded candidates in primaries reflects voters’ growing disconnect with the Democratic establishment.

Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., defended El-Sayed by pointing to his medical background as an epidemiologist and former Wayne County health director, arguing that experience is needed in the upper chamber amid concerns over healthcare.

"I am going to be working very hard to get a Democratic majority in the United States Senate," Baldwin told Fox News Digital.

She continued, "To have a doctor at a time when healthcare and the cost of healthcare is top of mind — that would be a voice that's very much appreciated."

BERNIE SANDERS, DSA REVEAL DEMANDS FOR DEM PARTY AFTER SOCIALISTS SWEEP NEW YORK ELECTIONS

Sen. Deb Fisher, R-Neb., warned "regular Democrats" that the radicalization of the party and leaving behind more mainstream Democratic principles will lead them to a party they no longer connect with.

"I think it just shows how crazy Democrats are becoming," Fischer said. "Regular Democrats who are working people, who are worried about their families… worried about making ends meet, they want to own their own businesses… create that… that's an American dream."

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"They're going to realize that what they're watching that party morph into isn't them anymore."

West Virginia University researchers turn polluted mine water into critical rare earth minerals

Thu, 06 Aug 2026 13:42:00 -0400

A solution to America’s dependence on foreign rare earth minerals may be coming from an unlikely place: polluted water leaking from abandoned coal mines.

Researchers at West Virginia University (WVU) are working to transform acid mine drainage — a long-standing environmental problem in Appalachia — into a potential domestic source of critical minerals used in everything from smartphones and electric vehicles to advanced military systems.

The United States currently relies heavily on foreign suppliers, including China, for many rare earth elements that are essential to modern technology and national security. Heavy rare earth minerals, in particular, are considered especially valuable because of their role in defense applications and advanced energy technologies.

TRUMP GETS MAJOR WIN AGAINST CHINA IN AFRICAN RARE EARTH MINERALS RACE

WVU researchers discovered those valuable materials were already present in the acidic water flowing from retired coal mines.

"Originally, the entire focus of this effort was just simply cleaning up the watersheds," said Steve Dunmead, CEO of Mission Critical Materials.

Researchers were originally focused on treating acid mine drainage, using chemicals to remove contaminants and make the water cleaner. During that process, they discovered the water also contained rare earth elements.

That discovery opened the door to a new possibility: cleaning up pollution while recovering valuable minerals at the same time.

"There’s an opportunity to generate revenue out of this AMD treatment," Dunmead said.

WVU’s research found acid mine drainage can contain a much higher percentage of heavy rare earth elements compared with traditional sources.

"It may end up with 2% heavies in the overall mix," Dunmead said. "In this case, in the coal acid mine drainage, we have like 50% heavy rare earths."

The difference is significant because heavy rare earth elements are among the most valuable and difficult minerals to source.

NEW ARCTIC DISCOVERY COULD DEAL MASSIVE BLOW TO CHINESE DOMINANCE OF RARE EARTH MINERALS

The research began nearly a decade ago when WVU scientists identified rare earth elements in acid mine drainage from retired coal mines. The university is now expanding that work through the WVU Rare Earth Elements Initiative, which brings together researchers studying ways to recover critical minerals from a variety of sources.

In 2022, WVU partnered with the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection to open the A34 AMDREE Processing Facility in Mount Storm, the first integrated pilot-scale rare earth recovery facility of its kind in the country.

Researchers say the technology could eventually help reduce America’s reliance on foreign sources by creating a new domestic supply chain.

Rare earth elements are used in products Americans rely on every day, including cell phones, wind turbines, electric vehicles, fighter jets and missile defense systems.

HOW RARE EARTH ELEMENTS FACTOR INTO THE CLEAN ENERGY TRANSITION

WVU is also working to commercialize the technology through a new for-profit company called Mission Critical Materials, created to help bring the research from the lab into the marketplace.

The goal is to expand beyond coal mine pollution and explore other sources of critical minerals, including hard rock mines and other industrial waste streams.

"And in the process, [we] also figured out it is not unique to coal mines but hard rock mines as well," Dunmead said. "So copper mines, gold mines, also have acid mine drainage."

Researchers say one advantage of their approach is that it uses existing polluted sites rather than requiring new mines to be built.

"The regulatory pathway for a traditional mine can take years," Dunmead said. "This technology can go into an existing acid mine drainage site using an existing water permit."

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WVU researchers believe the process could provide an environmentally friendly way to address two challenges at once: cleaning polluted water while producing materials needed for America’s future.

The next step is building a larger-scale facility. Researchers hope that once complete, they can begin producing and selling heavy rare earth materials domestically.

Two men accused of posing as federal agents arrested after allegedly targeting 85-year-old in $200K gold scam

Fri, 07 Aug 2026 23:52:27 -0400

Two men accused of posing as federal agents were arrested after allegedly trying to scam an 85-year-old Washington, D.C., man into handing over more than $200,000 in gold bars, police said Friday.

The Metropolitan Police Department said Chu Lin, 50, of Fresh Meadows, New York, and Xiean Cheng, 42, of Cornelius, North Carolina, were arrested after allegedly showing up at the victim's home to collect the gold.

Both men were charged with second-degree financial fraud.

WOMAN EXPOSED RUNNING VISA FRAUD SCHEME SPANNING YEARS, POSING AS IMMIGRATION OFFICER

According to police, the scheme began July 8 when scammers contacted the victim by email and later by phone while posing as federal agents.

The scammers allegedly told the victim that funds in his bank account were "in jeopardy of being lost" unless he secured the money by purchasing gold bars and turning them over.

Believing the scheme was legitimate, the victim attempted to purchase more than $200,000 worth of gold bars before the gold dealer recognized the apparent scam and alerted him, police said.

EXCLUSIVE: FBI ADDS ALLEGED COVID FRAUDSTER ACCUSED OF TAKING $5M FROM KIDS' MEAL PROGRAM TO MOST WANTED LIST

The gold dealer then alerted MPD's Financial and Cyber Crimes Unit and the FBI, according to authorities.

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When Lin and Cheng later arrived at the victim's home to retrieve the gold bars, officers with MPD's Violent Crime Suppression Division arrested the alleged scammers, police said.

Trump urges Jeanine Pirro to revisit dropped Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool vandalism case

Fri, 07 Aug 2026 21:54:35 -0400

President Donald Trump on Friday urged U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro to take a second look at the recently dropped charges over vandalism at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

"Now that people are able to see it up close, they are reporting pure VANDALISM at The Reflecting Pool," Trump wrote on Truth Social, sharing photos from a freelance photographer that allegedly showed vandalism.

The president claimed that "People were on their knees with their hands in the water at the exact location of the ‘slashes.’ Additionally, there were witnesses to the VANDALISM, and the flexible areas of the material were cut with a knife.

TRUMP SAYS HE 'DISAGREES 100%' WITH U.S. ATTORNEY JEANINE PIRRO OVER REFLECTING POOL CASE

"U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro should re-visit her hastily made decision, especially since it turned out that the ‘gentleman’ involved is a big player in ActBlue, a disgraceful fundraising SCAM, and is represented by a TRUMP DERANGED SLEAZEBAG, Political Hack Lawyer, Norm Eisen, and CREW, a group that uses ‘charity’ for political purposes which is, to the best of my knowledge, ILLEGAL!"

Trump has been highly critical of Pirro’s decision to drop the felony vandalism case against former Olympian David Hearn last Friday.

Earlier this week, Trump claimed Pirro "choked" under pressure from a judge regarding the case and "folded like an umbrella."

A day after the case was dropped, Trump wrote on Truth Social "I disagree 100% with Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, on the Reflecting Pool. I don’t know what she was thinking?"

FORMER US OLYMPIAN DAVID HEARN INDICTED IN ALLEGED REFLECTING POOL VANDALISM

Hearn was indicted on July 2 on one count of felony destruction of property. U.S. Park Police alleged Hearn grabbed and tugged at a loose section of the pool’s coating on June 19, continuing after a National Park Service employee told him to stop. Officials initially claimed he caused more than $1,000 in damage.

However, Pirro’s office said the Department of the Interior initially provided prosecutors with "barebones" reports and failed to disclose records documenting extensive problems with the coating’s installation.

"Had DOI been forthcoming with the information clearly in its possession, the government would not have sought a grand jury indictment," prosecutors wrote.

"It was not until after the return of the indictment, that the DOI provided additional documents to the USAO-DC indicating that damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in June 2026 was the result of flawed installation by the contractor, Atlantic Industrial Coatings (‘AIC’), and the rush to complete the project prior to events associated with the America 250 celebration in the weeks surrounding Independence Day 2026."

OLYMPIAN CHARGED IN REFLECTING POOL VANDALISM DONATED THROUGH DEM FUNDRAISING GIANT

The DOJ said the new evidence made it difficult to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Hearn caused the damage. Prosecutors asked the court to dismiss the indictment without prejudice, which would leave open the possibility of bringing the charge again.

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"The Trump administration’s case against Davey Hearn should never have been brought," Hearn’s attorneys Norm Eisen, Mary Dohrmann and Steve Levin in a statement last Friday, according to the New York Post. "Its dismissal today does not erase the abuse of government power in arresting and charging a patriotic American who did nothing wrong. The government’s approach was ready, fire, aim. The administration owes Mr. Hearn an apology."

Fox News' Jackson Thompson and Reuters contributed to this report.

Ex-MLB pitcher gives his take on Mets reliever Jefry Yan's wild strikeout split celebration

Fri, 07 Aug 2026 21:27:09 -0400

Few sports are as steeped in tradition as baseball, and that's why it really raises some eyebrows when someone comes along and does something wildly untraditional.

Y'know, like what is basically a James Brown split after every strikeout.

That's why Mets reliever Jefry Yan has got the people talking, and why we here at OutKick reached out to former Big League pitcher Collin Balester to get his perspective on the unorthodox punch-out celebration.

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"I mean, there's guys that teeter down that line, that do a little celebration here and there," Balester said, before noting that big celebrations are common in winter leagues in Mexico and Yan's native Dominican Republic. "I don't think I've ever seen a guy jump ten feet in the air."

Balester — who played for the Nationals, Tigers and Reds — also noted that a celebration like Yan's comes with an injury concern.

"At the end of the day, if I was the team, I would be a little nervous about him blowing out his knee jumping up like that," he said. "Over time, throwing they say is bad, but I think jumping up and landing on your knee like that and doing the moonwalk up the mound, I would probably try to nip that."

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Which is why he says he was so surprised to see the 29-year-old bring the habit with him to the Majors.

"I said I don't know when this guy's getting into the big leagues, but if he gets up there, I guarantee you he's not going to do it," he said. "And hey, I mean, to his credit, he's done it."

But, of course, hitters aren't going to look kindly upon someone striking them out and then dropping a Jean-Claude Van Damme split on them for good measure.

"I know the game is a little bit different now; guys are a little bit more obviously pimping home runs and that kind of stuff," Balester — who played in the Majors between 2008 and 2015 — said. "But at the end of the day, guys are chomping at the bit to try to hit a home run to do something.

And perhaps, they'll want to do too much, and that could make Yan's over-the-top celebration his secret weapon.

"I think it's going to play in his favor, to be honest," he said. "I think people are going to be trying to do too much at first to make sure they can show him up, but at some point that's going to kind of falter.

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"Unfortunately, (getting shown up) is what he's kind of asking for."

More than 50 bodies found decomposing inside Chicago funeral home after neighbors complained of 'stench'

Fri, 07 Aug 2026 21:03:14 -0400

Chicago authorities are investigating a South Side funeral home after more than 50 bodies were discovered improperly stored and in various states of decomposition Thursday.

The discovery came months after nearby residents began complaining about a "stench" coming from the funeral home.

The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office said state and local officials alerted it to improperly stored bodies at South Chicago Chapel. Investigators and forensic pathologists who responded found remains in various states of decomposition.

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"Staff is assessing the conditions of the remains, searching for documentation regarding identification of the decedents as well as death certificates," the medical examiner's office said in a statement online. "This process could take several days to ensure proper disposition."

State officials suspended the license of one of the funeral home's directors, alleging multiple bodies were kept in an unrefrigerated area under "deplorable conditions."

The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation said the conditions included rodent and maggot infestations, adding the lack of refrigeration had caused bodies to decompose.

No arrests have been made and no charges have been filed after the discovery, but Chicago police said detectives are investigating.

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State business records show funeral director Johanna Morgan incorporated South Chicago Chapel Inc. in 2022. Her funeral director's license was temporarily suspended Wednesday.

The Department of Financial and Professional Regulation said the suspension was based on a finding that Morgan's continued practice posed "a danger to the public safety, interest and welfare."

The agency accused Morgan of "allowing multiple decedents to be kept in an unrefrigerated area with deplorable conditions, including rodent infestation, causing decomposition and maggot infestation of the bodies."

The funeral home is operated by a couple who previously ran a crematory that authorities said was also shut down over the mishandling of remains.

GIRL KNOWN AS 'CHELSEA JANE DOE' ID'D 26 YEARS AFTER MUTILATED BODY FOUND HUNDREDS OF MILES FROM HOME STATE

Business records identify Clark Morgan, whom state officials describe as Johanna Morgan's husband, as president of the funeral home. His funeral director's license was revoked in 2024 for practicing with an expired license and "unprofessional conduct."

Fox News Digital has reached out to South Chicago Chapel for comment.

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Latasha Johnson, 55, said her mother's funeral was held at South Chicago Chapel on Thursday, shortly before authorities arrived and made the discovery.

Johnson told The Associated Press that authorities informed her that her mother's body would need to undergo an autopsy and that she would have to identify the remains within the next several days.

"I'm discombobulated," Johnson said. "My heart is broken."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.