Author: Daniel

FIRST ON FOX: House Main Street Caucus Chairman Mike Flood, R-Neb., will refer Democratic colleague Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., for a House Ethics Committee investigation, he first told Fox News Digital.

It is the latest move in the GOP-led fallout over Omar’s response to the assassination of Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist who was shot and killed in Utah during a college campus speaking event last week.

“I will be filing tomorrow … a complaint with the Committee on Ethics in the House of Representatives with 18 very concerning incidents and/or behaviors and/or statements that, on their face, reflect poorly on the House of Representatives,” Flood said of Omar.

The top of the list of complaints will include the progressive Democrat’s “obnoxious, insulting and dismissive comments following the assassination of Charlie Kirk,” he said.

ABC REPORTER CALLS CHARLIE KIRK ASSASSIN’S TEXT MESSAGES WITH TRANSGENDER PARTNER ‘VERY TOUCHING’

“Second, harboring illegal immigrants. I believe in February of this year that Omar hosted a workshop advising Somalians on how to avoid being deported after protecting the laws of the United States,” Flood continued of his points. “No. 3, she’s used TikTok for mixed official and campaign content, which specifically violates other House rules.”

Flood was one of four House Republicans to help Omar narrowly avoid being censured by the House on Wednesday evening.

Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., moved to force a vote on censuring Omar over her reaction to Kirk’s killing, but the move was quashed when four Republicans and all Democrats voted to table the measure.

Flood said at the time of his vote, “Ilhan Omar’s statements and social media posts are reprehensible and should be referred to the Ethics Committee. The appropriate time to consider a censure motion would be after ethics reviews her conduct.”

He told Fox News Digital on Thursday that initiating an ethics investigation would make a censure “far more credible.”

Flood pointed out that he similarly voted to table a censure threat against Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-N.J., for her conduct outside a New Jersey ICE facility before the ethics committee could issue a report on the matter.

“And so I have gathered enough information, starting yesterday, before I voted to table, understanding that this was an issue,” Flood said.

He also disagreed with the other three House Republicans who all said Omar’s comments were protected by the First Amendment.

“This isn’t a free speech issue. This is a ‘Have you demonstrated that you are behaving at all times in a manner that reflects credibly on the House?’” Flood said.

Omar specifically faced backlash over an interview with progressive news outlet Zeteo, in which she criticized Kirk’s past commentary and Republicans’ reaction to the shooting. She later accused Republicans of taking her words out of context, and she called Kirk’s death “mortifying.”

SCRUTINY INTENSIFIES OVER SECURITY LAPSES SURROUNDING THE CHARLIE KIRK SHOOTING

She previously told Zeteo days after Kirk’s assassination that he had “downplayed slavery and what Black people have gone through in this country by saying Juneteenth shouldn’t exist.”

“There are a lot of people who are out there talking about him just wanting to have a civil debate,” the “Squad” member said. “There is nothing more effed up, you know, like, than to completely pretend that, you know, his words and actions have not been recorded and in existence for the last decade or so.”

She later posted on X amid the backlash, “While I disagreed with Charlie Kirk vehemently about his rhetoric, my heart breaks for his wife and children. I don’t wish violence on anyone. My faith teaches me the power of peace, empathy, and compassion. Right-wing accounts trying to spin a false story when I condemned his murder multiple times is fitting for their agenda to villainize the left to hide from the fact that Donald Trump gins up hate on a daily basis.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Omar also reposted a video on X, where others not associated with the congresswoman said, “Don’t be fooled, these people don’t give a single s— about Charlie Kirk. They’re just using his death to further their Christo-fascist agenda.”

The Minnesota Democrat’s colleagues have vehemently defended her against Mace’s censure and Republican criticism.

Fox News Digital reached out to Omar’s office for a response to Flood but did not immediately hear back.

Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump administration, Capitol Hill and more Fox News politics content. Here’s what’s happening…

-Obama accuses Trump administration of taking ‘cancel culture’ to ‘dangerous level’ amid media threats

-Turning Point elects Erika Kirk as new CEO, chair of the board following Charlie Kirk’s assassination

-Trump renews attacks on Biden autopen pardons, claims he ‘never gave the orders’

Hillary Clinton sparks social media firestorm for promoting book warning about ‘fascists’: ‘Sick people’

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is getting blasted on social media after posting a picture supporting American Federation of Teachers (AFT) chief Randi Weingarten’s new book that suggests her political opponents are “fascists.”

“Congratulations to my friend [Weingarten] on ‘Why Fascists Fear Teachers.’ From banning books to controlling curriculum, authoritarians go after public education because it’s a cornerstone of democracy,” Clinton posted on Wednesday, along with a picture of Weingarten holding the book. 

“Randi’s new book is a critical read for this moment,” she wrote.

Clinton was criticized by conservatives for the post, which they argued continued the smear campaign against political opponents that many believe contributed to the assassination of Charlie Kirk…READ MORE.

White House

BORDER BATTLE: Federal judge blocks Trump administration from deporting hundreds of Guatemalan minors

CHOPPER ISSUE: Trump forced to transfer helicopters after Marine One suffers ‘minor hydraulic issue’ in UK

‘MODERN TUSKEGEE’: DC watchdog sues for docs on ‘modern-day Tuskegee Experiments’ giving transgender Rx to youth

WAR ON DRUGS: WATCH: Coast Guard seizes cocaine, suspected narco-terrorists in Pacific Viper raid

JOKE’S OVER: Trump says Jimmy Kimmel pulled off air due to ‘lack of talent’

GEN Z RISES: ‘We won’t cower’: Young conservatives build on Kirk legacy in nationwide speaking tour

World Stage

BAGRAM OR BUST: Trump just said he’s trying to get Bagram Airbase back in Afghanistan

NO PEACE IN SIGHT: Trump: Putin has ‘really let me down’ on Ukraine peace efforts

Capitol Hill

DOJ DILEMMA: Schiff: Patel’s FBI leadership replaced expertise with ‘rabid partisanship’

‘UN-AMERICAN’: Schumer accuses Trump of exploiting Charlie Kirk’s death to launch political ‘witch hunt’

‘MENTAL BREAKDOWN’: Omar celebrates censure vote failure, alleges ’emergency’ need to get Mace ‘help’ before she harms someone

‘CAN’T SEE STRAIGHT’: Thune pans Democrats’ shutdown stance as ‘borderline pathological,’ ‘like a disease’

SAFETY TALKS: SCOOP: Iryna Zarutska stabbing fuels transit safety overhaul talks in House

COMEDY POLICE: Eric Swalwell dons ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ hat in solidarity for CNN interview

Across America 

MURDER DEFENDER: Lawmaker who tied Kirk to ‘domestic terrorism’ facing expulsion calls amid politician blowback nationwide

RIGHTS FIGHT: Virginia boys notch court win after being labeled ‘sexual harassers’ over transgender locker room complaint

OFF TRACK: Blue city bus attack heightens commuters’ fears after Charlotte train stabbing

Get the latest updates on the Trump administration and Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.

After news broke that late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel was canceled by Disney over his comments about Charlie Kirk, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer took to social media to question the motivations behind the abrupt cancellation.    

Schumer wondered in a Thursday afternoon post on X whether “Epstein” was “the real reason” Kimmel was forcibly scrubbed from the airwaves. 

“IS EPSTEIN THE REAL REASON TRUMP HAD KIMMEL CANCELED?!” Schumer asked in the post, which also included a screenshot of a New York Times article about how all the popular late-night hosts, including Kimmel, have used the newly released Epstein documents to roast the president over his alleged association with the disgraced financier. 

Fox News Digital reached out to Schumer’s representatives for more details on what Schumer was attempting to imply but did not receive a response in time for publication.

JIMMY KIMMEL CANCELLATION SPARKS FIERCE CELEBRITY SPLIT IN HOLLYWOOD

Nexstar Media Group, which owns hundreds of television stations, announced Wednesday that it would be pulling Kimmel’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” talk show from its ABC affiliates “for the foreseeable future” and would replace it with other programming over his comments about alleged Charlie Kirk assassin Tyler Robinson.

“Mr. Kimmel’s comments about the death of Mr. Kirk are offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse, and we do not believe they reflect the spectrum of opinions, views or values of the local communities in which we are located,” Nexstar’s broadcasting chief, Andrew Alford, said in a press release.

“Continuing to give Mr. Kimmel a broadcast platform in the communities we serve is simply not in the public interest at the current time, and we have made the difficult decision to preempt his show in an effort to let cooler heads prevail as we move toward the resumption of respectful, constructive dialogue.” 

Trump spoke about the cancellation Thursday while he was in the United Kingdom, telling reporters that Kimmel “was fired” because he had bad ratings.

ABC’S ‘JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE!’ HEMORRHAGED VIEWERS OVER PAST DECADE, LOST 72% AMONG KEY DEMO

“Jimmy Kimmel was fired ’cause he had bad ratings more than anything else, and he said a horrible thing about a great gentleman known as Charlie Kirk. And Jimmy Kimmel is not a talented person, he had very bad ratings and they shoulda fired him a long time ago,” Trump said during a press conference Thursday alongside United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer in England. 

“He was fired for lack of talent,” Trump added. 

Meanwhile, in a social media post on his platform, Truth Social, on Wednesday night, Trump called the cancellation “great news for America.”  

The Kirk comments in question reportedly stem from a Monday airing of Kimmel’s show, during which he accused conservatives of reaching “new lows” in their efforts to try to pin Kirk’s assassin as connected to some form of left-wing ideology.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said.

Following news of the cancellation, Federal Communications Commissioner Brendan Carr applauded local television stations for “standing up to serve the interests of their community.”

Fox News Digital’s Joseph Wulfsohn and Alex Nitzberg contributed to this report.

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander and several other lawmakers and protesters staged a sit-in on the 10th floor of 26 Federal Plaza on September 18, 2025, sources confirmed to Fox News Digital.

The group reportedly attempted to force their way into Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) offices and holding cells, demanding access to the facility. 

ICE sources claim officers had to secure doors with locks and zip ties after protesters pushed to enter, with additional security now posted on the floor.

According to ICE officials, several “egregious criminal aliens” are currently being held in the cells at the site. 

TRUMP DOJ SUES LOS ANGELES OVER SANCTUARY CITY POLICIES

Meanwhile, a separate protest unfolded outside the building, where activists blocked ICE vans from leaving the facility. 

Protesters have been surrounding the vans, while chants echoed across the plaza.

Brad Lander himself posted about the demonstration on social media, tagging the Democratic Socialists of America in a message of solidarity.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

This is a developing story.

Democrat Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker is under fire after posing for a picture alongside a Chicago-area resident involved in the city’s “peacekeeper” program, who just days later was charged in a fatal crash-and-grab robbery that resulted in the death of a soon-to-be father.

Pritzker’s office confirmed to Fox News that it removed a photo within an official government press release of the governor and the man donning a “peacekeepers program” vest, identified as Kellen McMiller, who was charged last week in connection with the deadly burglary. The photo with Pitzker was taken as part of a week-long initiative where the governor traveled to various locations around Chicago to meet with different community leaders, such as school administrators, community violence interventionists, and local business leaders. 

Meanwhile, court records showed that at the time McMiller posed with his photo next to Illinois’ highest ranking official, he had four outstanding arrest warrants, the Chicago-Sun Times reported.

PRITZKER URGED TO AVOID PLAYING POLITICS ON CRIME ISSUE BY FORMER OBAMA ADVISOR

In response to the photo faux-pas, Pritzker’s office put out a statement indicating they were “extremely troubled” to learn of McMiller’s arrest and his alleged involvement in a fatal robbery.  

“The Governor meets hundreds of people in communities every week and is often asked to take photos,” a Pritzker spokesperson said in a statement shared with the media. “We were extremely troubled to learn that this individual was arrested for his alleged involvement in this serious crime, and we expect them to be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. The Governor will keep doing everything in his power to fight crime, keep our neighborhoods safe, and support community violence intervention, which have been proven to work. For example, the Peacekeepers Program has a strong track record reducing violent crime by 41% over the past two years and providing community members with a path towards rehabilitation.”  

McMiller, who is 35-years-old, was charged with murder, burglary and retail theft alongside six co-defendants for a Sept. 11 crash-and-grab theft at a Louis Vuitton store along Chicago’s Miracle Mile. The photo with Pritzker took place six days prior, during an event highlighting the city’s “peacekeepers” who work in community violence prevention to help reduce the ongoing violent crime in Chicago. McMiller wore the group’s uniform as he stood next to the governor. 

ICE RIPS PRITZKER FOR ‘SIDING WITH CRIMINAL ILLEGAL ALIEN’ AFTER OFFICER DRAGGED, SUSPECT SHOT DEAD

Prosecutors alleged that McMiller was part of a team that smashed a pickup truck into the Louis Vuitton store, stealing nearly $700,000 in merchandise. As police arrived, one of the getaway cars slammed into another vehicle that was driven by 40-year-old Mark Aceta. 

Aceta was subsequently killed in the crash, which occurred one day before his girlfriend gave birth to their son.

This incident with Pritzker comes as he and President Donald Trump continue to spar over whether the federal government should deploy National Guard troops into Chicago to help quell the city’s violent crime. However, Pritzker has argued back that there is no crime emergency going on in Chicago that would call for federal troops to intervene.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP 

Still, the president has threatened to send the National Guard even if Pritzker tries to stop him.

“If Pritzker was smart, he would say, ‘Please come in,’” Trump told reporters earlier this week. “If they lose less than six or seven people a week with murder, they’re doing a great job in their opinion. Chicago is a death trap, and I’m going to make it just like I did with D.C., just like I’ll do with Memphis.”

Hunter Biden was involved in discussions about pardons toward the end of his father’s White House term, a source familiar with Jeff Zients’ interview with the House Oversight Committee told Fox News Digital on Thursday.

Zients met with House investigators behind closed doors for over six hours — the final former Biden administration official to appear in House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer’s probe into ex-President Joe Biden’s use of the autopen.

Comer, R-Ky., is also investigating whether Biden’s top aides covered up signs of mental decline in the former president, and whether executive decisions signed via autopen — including myriad clemency orders Biden approved — were executed with his full awareness.

Zients told investigators that Hunter was involved in some of those pardon discussions and attended a few meetings on the subject with White House aides, the source said.

BIDEN’S AUTO-PEN PARDONS DISTURBED DOJ BRASS, DOCS SHOW, RAISING QUESTIONS WHETHER THEY ARE LEGALLY BINDING 

It’s not clear how much say Hunter had in those meetings, or if he was involved in discussions about his own controversial pardon.

The former president issued a “full and unconditional” pardon for his son in early December, just under two months before leaving office. 

That’s despite Biden and his staff denying the possibility of such a move on several occasions.

Biden approved nearly 2,500 commutations on Jan. 17, just days before leaving the White House, setting a record for most clemency orders ever granted by a U.S. president — more than 4,200 in total — and the most ever in a single day.

Weeks earlier, he issued pardons for several family members, including Hunter.

‘SHOULD BE PROSECUTED’: HOUSE REPUBLICANS ZERO IN ON BIDEN AUTOPEN PARDONS AFTER BOMBSHELL REPORT 

It had been previously reported by NBC News and other outlets that Hunter sat in on White House meetings with Biden’s aides in the wake of the former president’s disastrous June 2024 debate against then-candidate Donald Trump.

Zients is the final former Biden aide expected to appear before the House Oversight Committee in its autopen probe.

The source familiar with his sit-down told Fox News Digital that Zients “admitted that President Biden’s speech stumbles increased as he aged.”

“He also noted that the president’s difficulty remembering dates and names worsened over time, including during the administration,” the source said.

A second source familiar with Zients’ comments to the House Oversight Committee defended his comments. 

“As chief of staff, Jeff’s job was to ensure that the president met with a range of advisors to thoroughly consider issues so that the president could make the best decisions,” the second source told Fox News Digital.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“Throughout Jeff’s time working with him, while President Biden valued input from a wide variety of advisors and experts, the final decisions were made by the president and the president alone,” the second source said.

“Jeff had full confidence in President Biden’s ability to serve as president and is proud of what President Biden accomplished during his four years in office.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Zients’ attorney and the law firm of Abbe Lowell, who was known to have defended Hunter previously, for comment but did not immediately hear back.

Senate Republicans rammed through dozens of President Donald Trump’s nominees on Thursday in their first flex of the Senate’s new rules for confirmations.

Lawmakers voted along party lines to confirm 48 of Trump’s nominees, many being for undersecretary or assistant secretary positions in a variety of agencies throughout the federal government and ambassadorships.

Senate Republicans went “nuclear” last week to make the change after a last-minute deal with Democrats fell apart.

GOP TRIGGERS NUCLEAR OPTION IN SENATE TO BREAK DEM BLOCKADE OF TRUMP NOMINEES

The change ushered in by the “nuclear option” allows lawmakers to confirm an unlimited number of nominees in batches, also known as en bloc, with a simple majority vote in the upper chamber. However, the process is time-consuming, given that lawmakers must jump through procedural hoops and allow for 30 hours of debate.

“Why has not a single nominee been confirmed by voice vote or by unanimous consent? We know why,” Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., said on the Senate floor. “It’s Democrat obstruction.

DEMS DIG IN AS GOP PREPARES TO GO NUCLEAR IN TRUMP NOMINEE RACE

“The country has never seen anything like this,” he continued. “Senate Democrats are freezing the Senate floor, freezing the federal government and freezing our nation’s progress. This harms America’s safety. It hamstrings the agenda that Americans voted for.”

Among this batch of nominees were Kimberly Guilfoyle, who Trump tapped to be the U.S. ambassador to Greece, and Callista Gingrich, who was picked to be the U.S. ambassador to Switzerland.

TRUMP NOMINEES PILE UP AS GOP WEIGHS RULE SHIFT ONCE FLOATED BY DEMOCRATS

Republicans argued that the change would benefit both parties now and in the future and viewed the change as an option of last resort to break through Senate Democrats’ blockade of Trump’s picks.

Typically, subcabinet-level nominees, particularly those with bipartisan support out of committee, are sped through the Senate either by unanimous consent or through a voice vote, two fast-track procedural moves in the upper chamber. All the nominees in this first round made it out of committee on a bipartisan basis.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

However, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and his caucus wouldn’t allow either to be used and caused a backlog of nominees to lower level positions in the Trump administration to pile up. As of Thursday, the list had swollen to 173.

The only one of Trump’s nominees that easily moved through the chamber was Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was confirmed in January on a near unanimous vote. 

The prosecution in the federal trial of Ryan Routh, accused of attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump at his West Palm Beach golf club in 2024, called a series of law enforcement and forensic experts Thursday as prosecutors near the close of their case.

Jurors heard from Randy Walters, an ATF destructive device examiner, who testified that the gray box recovered at the home of one of Routh’s acquaintances contained homemade devices, including rat traps modified to trigger explosives, pipes and .50 caliber cartridges. 

“It’s limitless,” he said of how such traps can be improvised. Walters told jurors the components had no other purpose “other than being used as a weapon,” and that seven partially assembled firing mechanisms were found inside a bag in the box.

PROSECUTORS TO WRAP TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT CASE AS DEFENSE READIES WITNESSES

On cross-examination, Routh asked Walters about whether the pieces themselves were illegal to own. Walters agreed that most were not, but later noted when asked by prosecutors that it is unlawful for a convicted felon to possess ammunition.

Jurors also got their closest look yet of the Chinese-made semiautomatic rifle prosecutors say Routh carried onto Trump’s golf course during the testimony of FBI Special Agent Nicholas Schnelle. The jury leaned in to study the weapon and other exhibits as testimony ran through the afternoon.

Routh asked Schnelle: “So, you honestly don’t know it’s semiautomatic or fully?” after the agent admitted he had not test-fired the weapon.

GUN SELLER TELLS RYAN ROUTH: ‘I HEARD OF YOU THREATENING PEOPLE’ IN TENSE COURTROOM EXCHANGE

Routh, representing himself in court, highlighted documents, sighed audibly and often apologized to witnesses. Approaching one Miami-based agent during cross-examination, he said, “At least you didn’t have to drive far.” 

At other points, he told witnesses their answers should be “just common sense,” and continued speaking even after prosecutors’ objections, prompting Judge Aileen Cannon to cut him off.

FBI PHONE EXTRACTIONS, DNA TESTIMONY HEADLINE DAY 7 OF RYAN ROUTH TRIAL

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The court planned to adjourn at 4:30 p.m. ET Thursday before holding a charge conference with counsel. The prosecution is expected to rest its case Friday, with the defense told to have its witnesses ready.

This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

EXCLUSIVE: A top conservative watchdog is suing the federal health care bureaucracy alleging they are stonewalling results of a study started under the Obama administration looking into the effects of transgender therapy pharmaceuticals on youth.

Oversight Project president Mike Howell told Fox News Digital in a Wednesday interview that administering puberty blockers and other nascent drugs to teens is akin to “modern-day Tuskegee experiments” and that the National Institutes of Health and the study’s proctor should not be allowed to keep their results secret.

In 2014, NIH awarded a grant to children’s hospitals that led to a study helmed by a Los Angeles pediatrician to discern the long-term effects of puberty blockers on pediatric transgender people, Howell explained, citing his organization’s lawsuit.

In 2024, Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Mich., wrote to the Biden-led NIH questioning why “principal investigator” Dr. Johanna Olson-Kennedy was “withholding publication” of the $9.7 million study’s findings.

LEGAL GROUP SUES FDA OVER PUBERTY BLOCKER RECORDS, CITING BIDEN-ERA COVER-UP

“In light of the NIH grantee’s unwillingness to release the research project’s findings, we ask that you provide documents and information to assist the Committee’s oversight of this matter,” McClain wrote, citing her role as chair of a House Oversight subcommittee.

One year later, Howell’s group sought the files through a public request in July, and sued this week, claiming officials ignored them. 

Both McClain, in her letter, and Howell, in his interview, raised concerns over Olson-Kennedy’s remarks about critics potentially weaponizing results from the NIH-funded study.

“NIH is responsible for overseeing its extramural research projects to ensure supported researchers practice transparency, exemplify scientific integrity, and are proper stewards of taxpayer funds,” McClain wrote to the Biden NIH.

Howell said he wants the NIH, under the Trump administration, to make the results public, citing troubling hints from Olson-Kennedy in a New York Times article that quoted her saying about one-quarter of participants reported some type of depression.

FEDERAL COURT REJECTS CHALLENGE TO OKLAHOMA LAW BANNING GENDER TRANSITION TREATMENT FOR MINORS

“In light of the recent spate of transgender ideology-inspired violent extremism and domestic terrorism, Including some of the shootings at schools and churches and most recently, Charlie Kirk, the Oversight Project and I want to know what the government knows about the psychological conditions of this new and coveted population of transgender children who are now growing into adults,” Howell said.

“It seems to me, in light of recent disclosures, including the America First Legal v. FDA [suit] that the government was well aware that these types of therapies, surgeries and cultural celebration and praising of this class of people was dangerous and led to increases in suicide rates, depression and other psychological conditions which all too often are manifesting in violent tendencies.”

In 2024, America First Legal – founded by Trump confidant Stephen Miller – sued for the release of any FDA records on off-label uses for puberty blockers and “cross-sex hormones.”

Howell said there is public interest in the study’s publication because it may “map out” why or whether the government has been aware of the “massive, growing problem” but declined to publicize for “politically-correct reasons.”

DEMOCRATIC STATES SUE TRUMP ADMIN OVER ENDING SEX CHANGE SURGERIES FOR MINORS

While NIH declined comment to Fox News Digital citing ongoing litigation, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has been very critical of the types of drugs the Oversight Project is also concerned about.

Kennedy has called puberty blockers for minors “castration drugs,” and suggested young people cannot be considered prescient enough to make such life-changing medical decisions.

“Minors cannot drive, vote, join the army, get a tattoo, smoke, or drink, because we know that children do not fully understand the consequences of decisions with life-long ramifications,” he wrote on social media.

“The more I learn, the more troubled I have become about giving puberty blockers to youth,” Kennedy said in May 2024.

As secretary, Kennedy urged doctors to reconsider child sex-change operations in a formal letter obtained by the Daily Caller in May.

“HHS expects you promptly to make the necessary updates to your treatment protocols and training for care for children and adolescents with gender dysphoria to protect them from these harmful interventions,” it read.

Neal Cornett, a lead attorney in the case, told Fox News Digital he would also like to see any internal NIH reports on the physiological effects of related drugs Lupron and Supprelin.

“Imagine that you’re 14 years old – you take some kind of puberty blocker – you’re basically stunted, your bones aren’t growing, you have osteoporosis at the age of 15… that’s going to do a psychological number on you,” Cornett said.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Howell said there is an absolute connection, if allegations bear out, between the Tuskegee Experiments of the mid-20th century on African Americans and studies testing out puberty blockers on 21st century children.

“When I first read [of the study] – I was reminded of Tuskegee Experiments on African Americans [where the uniformed U.S. Public Health Service] gave them drugs… to test out treatments there; horrific events,” he said.

Fox News Digital also reached out to the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, which was listed as the affiliate medical center for Olson-Kennedy. A number listed for Olson-Kennedy’s California practice was disconnected.

She told the Times in October 2024 she intended then to publish the data but blamed delays on funding cuts — a claim the NIH denied, the paper reported.

President Donald Trump said Thursday he’s been “let down” by his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

“The one that I thought would be easiest would be because of my relationship with President Putin,” Trump said during a joint press conference in London with United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer. “But he’s let me down. He’s really let me down. Was going to be Russia and Ukraine. But we’ll see how that turns out.”

Months of U.S.-led peace negotiations — including an Alaska summit between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin — have not led to breakthroughs in ending the war in Ukraine. 

“War is a different thing,” Trump said. “Things happen that are very opposite of what you thought. You thought you’re going to have an easy time or a hard time, and it turns out to be the reverse.”

TRUMP AND ZELENSKYY TO MET AS POLAND PRESSURES NATO ON NO FLY ZONE OVER UKRAINE

Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy may meet on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly next week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday. Putin will not be in attendance — Russia will be represented by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. 

Trump said of Putin: “He’s killing many people, and he’s losing more people that he’s, you know, than he’s killing. I mean, frankly, the Russian soldiers are being killed at a higher rate than the Ukrainian soldiers, but, yeah, he’s let me down. I don’t like to see — it’s death.”

The president then mused that the war “doesn’t affect the United States.”

To Starmer, he said, “Of course, you are a lot closer to the scene than we are. We have a whole ocean separating us. But I will say this. It’s millions of people have died in that war. Millions of souls. And they’re not American soldiers, mostly soldiers. As you know, the soldiers are being killed at levels nobody’s seen since the Second World War, but they’re being, they’re being killed. And I feel I have an obligation to get it settled for that reason.”

Meanwhile, Ukraine expects $3.5 billion in U.S. weapons to soon funnel in to fund its war effort, Zelenskyy said Wednesday.

“We will definitely have Patriot and HIMARS missiles,” he said during a press conference on Wednesday.

“We have received more than $2 billion from our partners specifically for the PURL program. We will get additional funds in October. I think we will reach about $3.5–3.6 billion,” the president added. That funding came from Ukraine’s allies in Europe.

The U.S. approved the first new weapons packages for Ukraine this week. Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby signed off on two $500 million packages under the PURL program, Reuters first reported. 

“The Department of War has facilitated this first sale of weapons in line with President Trump’s America First priorities and efforts to bring this brutal war, which was brought on by Joe Biden’s incompetence, to an end,” a senior administration official told Fox News Digital, confirming the sale. 

The Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List, or PURL, was created to streamline Ukraine’s access to advanced weapons by pooling allied contributions into U.S.-managed procurement. Instead of sending cash directly to Kyiv, partners commit funds that Washington uses to acquire systems from American defense firms.

Germany, Poland, the UK, and other NATO members are believed to be leading contributors, though the exact breakdown hasn’t been made public.

TRUMP’S NATO DEAL TO ARM UKRAINE WINS OVER GOP SKEPTICS

Trump’s decision to rely on NATO allies’ money rather than seek additional congressional appropriations marks a sharp shift in U.S. policy, allowing him to sustain Ukraine’s arsenal while deflecting criticism from lawmakers wary of more taxpayer-funded aid.

In July the Pentagon halted weapons shipments to Ukraine, which had been approved under the Biden administration, citing strains on the U.S.’s own munitions stockpiles. Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered a review of U.S. stockpiles after years of depletion for the war in Ukraine, as well as operations against the Houthis in the Middle East and assistance to Israel for its war in Gaza.

The renewed weapons flow also underscores strains on the U.S. defense industrial base. The Pentagon is racing to double monthly artillery shell output, but leaders admit replenishment will take years amid competing demands from Ukraine, Israel and operations in the Middle East.

PENTAGON HALTS SOME WEAPONS SHIPMENTS TO UKRAINE OVER CONCERNS ABOUT US STOCKPILES

Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George has warned that using multimillion-dollar interceptors against cheap drones is unsustainable, urging industry to innovate toward lower-cost defenses. The imbalance between high-end U.S. systems and Russia’s mass use of inexpensive drones and artillery is now one of the war’s defining strategic challenges.

The Army’s goal is to double the monthly output of 150mm rounds by leveraging advanced automation.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP 

Gen. George said the service branch is also looking at new ways companies can produce munitions “that get us back to the cost curve,” meaning cost-equivalent or cheaper than the incoming weapons they are shooting down. “What we don’t want to do is shoot $3 million missiles at $50,000 drones or $10,000 drones.”