Author: NOVA Corp

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass, is throwing her weight behind newcomer Graham Platner in Maine’s high-stakes Democratic primary in June, a pivotal showdown that will determine who will face incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins in November.

Warren’s endorsement, announced Wednesday in a video statement posted by Platner’s campaign, is a significant boost for Platner as he continues to gain traction in the race against his chief rival, Gov. Janet Mills, who has the full backing of party leadership.

Citing his roots as an oyster farmer and his service as a combat veteran, Warren framed Platner as a hard-working outsider who would be a natural disruptor in Washington. 

By emphasizing that he will not simply “go along to get along,” she drew a sharp contrast with Mills, whom progressives have increasingly labeled a creature of the party establishment.

WHAT SUSAN COLLINS TOLD FOX NEWS AS SHE LAUNCHED HER RE-ELECTION BID

“I endorse Graham Platner because I know he is a fighter on behalf of working families and because he doesn’t take any corporate PAC money, and we need more people here in Washington who are less about go along to get along and more about fighting to make the kind of changes that families need,” Warren said.

“Graham knows the consequences of Donald Trump sending our service members to fight endless wars in the Middle East,” she added. “He’s a combat veteran who was deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

DEM PRIMARY TURNS UGLY: MILLS UNLEASHES BRUTAL ATTACK ON SANDERS-BACKED PLATNER IN CRUCIAL SENATE SHOWDOWN

Warren’s endorsement comes at a critical moment for Platner’s populist, progressive campaign after a series of controversies that surfaced in recent weeks and added new scrutiny to his bid.

The Mills campaign recently launched a massive ad buy highlighting controversial comments Platner allegedly made on Reddit over a decade ago, including crude remarks about sexual assault, and a tattoo on his chest that resembled a Nazi symbol. 

Platner has since apologized and addressed the tattoo, while also firing back at Mills, calling her ad a “desperate” reach from a governor “who is trailing an oyster farmer in every recent poll.”

Warren also acknowledged Platner’s Reddit posts during an interview with HuffPost Thursday, noting she believes his apology was sincere.  

“Look, he has apologized for that, and he’s out there talking to the people of Maine every single day,” Warren said.

The victor of the June 9 primary will challenge Collins, a Republican senator in a state that did not vote for Donald Trump in any of his three presidential campaigns.

With Republicans holding a narrow Senate majority, Democrats view Maine as one of their best opportunities to flip a seat, prompting national groups to pour millions into the race and turn the contest into a proxy battle for control of the U.S. Senate.

Amid broader concerns about the current political climate in Maine and the state’s ranked-choice voting system, Collins faces a significant challenge in her bid to secure a sixth term.

Democrats are facing a reckoning after casting César Chavez as a near-sacred figure of the American left for decades— honoring him in DNC statements, White House proclamations and annual public tributes — but that long-running celebration is now colliding with newly surfaced abuse allegations serious enough that even the United Farm Workers and the Cesar Chavez Foundation have backed away from holding events honoring the late labor and civil rights leader. 

Allegations that a 45-year-old Chavez sexually abused and groomed minors and adults, including one girl who was as young as 13 at the time of the abuse and another who became pregnant twice following their encounters, broke Wednesday after the New York Times published allegations from Chavez’s victims who largely remained silent for decades. 

After the news, the labor union César Chavez helped found, United Farm Workers, called the allegations “profoundly shocking” and decided to cancel its upcoming annual celebrations honoring him. Meanwhile, the César Chavez Foundation opted to do the same, describing the allegations as “disturbing” and noting they were “deeply shocked and saddened.” 

CESAR CHAVEZ DAY CANCELED BY UNIONS AFTER ‘TROUBLING’ SEXUAL ALLEGATIONS AGAINST CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER

In 2010, President Barack Obama issued a presidential proclamation declaring March 31 César Chavez Day. You would have to go back to Bill Clinton, before César Chavez Day even existed, to find a Democratic Party president who did not honor him during the month of March. Obama began the tradition in 2009, issuing an official White House statement explicitly commemorating “César Chavez’s birthday” and praising his legacy as a civil rights and labor leader. 

The following year, he announced the first official César Chavez Day to be held March 31 every year, and then subsequently, every year thereafter, put out a statement in honor of him. The tradition was then picked up when former President Joe Biden took office in 2021.

“The hypocrisy is rich, and Democrats’ praise for an abuser and rapist has-been is now exposed,” a national GOP strategist told Fox News Digital. “Any refusal to apologize or retract statements will be taken as Democrats supporting his disgusting behavior.”

After the allegations broke Wednsday, Fox News Digital reached out to a slew of Democrats, as well as the Democrat National Committee (DNC), all of whom recently professed public praise and support for Chavez.   

“A movement is about the people—not any one person—and its strength lies in the values it upholds. We can honor the farmworker movement—and the generations who sacrificed to build it—while also confronting painful truths,” said Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, who touted Chavez as a “champion for justice and dignity” on César Chavez Day in 2024. “No legacy is above accountability.”

“The farm workers movement and a labor movement are much bigger than one man — and we celebrate that and that will be our focus as we process what the next steps are,” said California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who, alongside his wife Jennifer, posted a video tribute to Chavez on March 31 of last year praising him as “a leader who fought for justice, dignity and fairness.” 

However, in light of the new allegations, a source familiar with Newsom’s thinking said the governor was open to conversations with California lawmakers about proposed statutory changes in response. 

SCALISE ACCUSES DEMOCRATS OF REVIVING ‘DEFUND THE POLICE’ PUSH WITH DHS FUNDING GAMBIT

“I am keeping Dolores Huerta, Ana Murguia, and Debra Rojas in my heart, and I honor their strength and that of every woman and girl horrifically harmed by those in power,” said Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who posted a photo of herself with the late civil rights and labor union leader last year on his March 31 day of remembrance instituted by Obama. 

“The sickening reality is that what Dolores, Ana, and Debra endured is not isolated, nor is it of the past. Real progress requires more than moments of reckoning – it demands sustained action to dismantle social, cultural, economic, and political structures that have hurt women throughout our history,” Bass continued.  “Dolores and leaders like her inspired so many of us to activism. Mr. Chavez’s crimes do not diminish the courage of farm workers and workers everywhere who fight for their rights, equality for Latinos, and a stronger nation for everyone.”

On Thursday, Bass signed a proclamation of her own to rename César Chavez Day to “Farm Workers Day.” Meanwhile, Colorado Democrat Gov. Jared Polis, who also praised the activist on March 31 last year, said his state would not be celebrating the honorary holiday for Chavez “this year.” 

“Nor does he plan to direct state agencies to take action to celebrate Cesar Chavez in light of these heinous allegations,” a Polis spokesperson added. “Further, he would encourage the legislature to consider drafting legislation to change the optional state holiday, which is in law.”  

Other Democrats scrambled to put out statements after news of the accusations broke, with many mirroring the language from top Democrats that the movement Chavez helped create is bigger than just him. 

The allegations against Chavez remained out of the public’s eye for many years, although, per the New York Times, there were earlier signs. According to their reporting, the victims they spoke to were not only embarrassed but also scared of tarnishing the reputation of someone so important to so many others and to the labor union and civil rights movements.

On Wednesday afternoon, Republican Governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, said that Texas will no longer be observing César Chavez Day on March 31, and that he was instructing all state agencies to comply. The Texas governor added that he plans to work in the upcoming legislative session to remove the day of remembrance from state law completely.

“Reports of the horrific and widely acknowledged sexual assault allegations against Cesar Chavez rightfully dismantle the myth of this progressive hero and undermine the narrative that elevated Chavez as a figure worthy of official state celebration,” Abbot said. 

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard was not aware that former National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent was under FBI investigation for allegedly leaking classified information prior to his resignation, a senior intelligence official told Fox News Digital Thursday. 

Kent stepped down Tuesday after publicly breaking with President Donald Trump over the war in Iran, writing in his resignation letter that Tehran posed “no imminent threat” to the United States.

Two sources briefed on the matter told Fox News that the FBI investigation into Kent had been underway for weeks before his departure.

FBI leak investigations are often tightly held in the early stages to avoid tipping off the subject. But the fact that the probe into Kent had been underway for weeks before his resignation — and that the director of national intelligence was not aware of it — raises questions about why the nation’s top intelligence official was not informed.

GABBARD SIDESTEPS IRAN ‘IMMINENT THREAT’ CLAIM UNDER SENATE GRILLING

The lack of awareness also raises questions about how decisions regarding Kent’s access to sensitive information were managed in the weeks leading up to his resignation, as administration officials have said he had been cut out of planning meetings related to the current Iran mission, known as Operation Epic Fury, as well as the president’s daily briefings.

One senior administration official described Kent as a “known leaker” and said Gabbard had been asked to fire Kent and had not done so. 

Another official said the White House had complained to Gabbard about Kent, but had not asked her to fire him. 

An official at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) said the president never asked Gabbard to fire Kent, or she would have done so. 

INSIDE JOE KENT’S ABRUPT FALL AS GOP BACKLASH GROWS OVER ANTISEMITISM ACCUSATIONS, FBI PROBE

As director of the National Counterterrorism Center, Kent typically would oversee the integration and analysis of intelligence related to terrorist threats, a role that typically involves access to some of the government’s most sensitive information.

During a series of recent congressional hearings, Gabbard has been pressed on Kent’s claims.

In a recent exchange with Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., Gabbard was asked whether she agreed with Kent’s resignation statement after Stefanik read portions of it aloud. “He said a lot of things in that letter,” Gabbard responded, adding that the president “makes his own decisions based on the information that’s available to him.”

When pressed on whether Kent’s comments concerned her, she gave a one-word answer: “Yes.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Gabbard, Kent and the FBI for comment. 

Fox News’ David Spunt contributed to this report. 

FIRST ON FOX: Beijing’s growing influence inside the United Nations is raising alarms after a new report from the House Select Committee on China warns the Chinese Communist Party is allegedly leveraging money, personnel and peacekeeping deployments to advance its strategic interests.

The report, obtained by Fox News Digital ahead of its release, outlines what lawmakers describe as a “systematic campaign” by China to reshape the U.N. from within — using expanded financial contributions, placement of Chinese nationals in key roles, and state-linked organizations to steer outcomes in Beijing’s favor.

One of the report’s most concrete findings centers on China’s use of U.N. peacekeeping operations.

Chinese troops increasingly are deployed to regions tied to Beijing’s economic and strategic priorities, the report claims, particularly in Africa, as part of a “sophisticated strategy” to convert influence into hard power.

US SEEKS UN AUTHORIZATION FOR GAZA INTERNATIONAL FORCE LASTING THROUGH 2027 UNDER TRUMP PLAN

Lawmakers point to South Sudan as a key example, where a significant share of oil production is exported to China and Chinese state-backed firms maintain major investments.

The report highlights a concentration of Chinese peacekeepers in the U.N. mission in South Sudan and argues these deployments allow China to “secure its national interests” while operating under the legitimacy of the U.N.

The committee does not allege China is violating U.N. rules. Instead, the report finds Beijing is “exploiting” its participation in the U.N. system to shape outcomes in its favor.

The bipartisan committee is led by Chairman John Moolenaar, R-Mich., and Ranking Member Ro Khanna, D-Calif.,, and has spent months investigating China’s influence across international institutions. Moolenaar previously has warned China is working to “reshape the international system to serve its interests.”

The findings are based on a review of Chinese government documents, U.N. data, academic research and open-source reporting, according to the committee.

TRUMP ADMIN WARNED TO TAKE FRONT SEAT AS UN CHIEF RACE SHIFTS LEFT, BOOSTING ANTI-US CONTENDERS

Beyond troop deployments, the report details how China’s financial contributions to the U.N. have surged throughout the past two decades, increasing from roughly 2% to more than 20% of the U.N. budget. That growing share gives Beijing more influence in budget negotiations and agency priorities, particularly as the U.N. faces periodic funding shortfalls.

The report states China uses its financial weight to “redefine UN norms to advance its own national interests” and influence budget discussions and mandates.

In one example cited, delays in Chinese funding during a budget dispute were linked to disruptions that slowed human rights investigations, illustrating how financial pressure can affect U.N. operations.

The report also raises concerns about China placing nationals in senior U.N. roles, arguing Beijing “captures key bodies” by securing influential positions that allow it to shape decision-making from within.

U.N. hiring rules allow member states to nominate candidates and compete for senior roles across agencies, creating openings for countries like China to expand their presence through standard selection processes.

Another focus is the role of so-called “GONGOs” — government-organized nongovernmental organizations — which the report says are used to “inject” political influence into U.N. processes while presenting as independent civil society groups.

The findings come as U.S. officials increasingly focus on countering China’s influence in international institutions.

The committee calls for greater transparency, stronger U.S. leadership, and coordination with allies to counter what it describes as China’s expanding influence inside the U.N. system.

The report also lands amid broader questions about the U.S. role at the United Nations under President Donald Trump.

“What is the purpose of the United Nations?” Trump asked during an address to the U.N. General Assembly in September 2025. 

He argued that the organization is prone to writing “very strongly worded letters” that never lead to action, famously stating that “empty words don’t solve war.”

The U.S. remains the UN’s biggest financial backer — paying roughly 22% of its budget — while also owing billions in unpaid contributions. 

The dynamic has effectively turned Washington into both the U.N.’s top funder and one of its biggest debtors, a position that shapes everything from budget fights to influence battles with China.

Fox News Digital reached out to the United Nations and China’s mission to the U.N. for comment.

Chinese officials previously have defended their role at the United Nations, describing China as a supporter of multilateralism and international cooperation.

EXCLUSIVE — Former Vice President Mike Pence says that the move by congressional Democrats to hold up Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding amid American military strikes on Iran and twin terror-style attacks in the U.S. is indefensible.

“At a time that American armed forces are taking the fight to the leading state sponsor of terrorism, it is unconscionable that Democrats in Washington, D.C., continue to refuse to fund the Department of Homeland Security,” Pence said this week in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital.

Pence spoke as congressional Democrats and Republicans remain unmoved in their political fight over President Donald Trump‘s unprecedented crackdown on illegal immigration. The policy standoff triggered a shutdown at the Department of Homeland Security over a month ago.

FIRST ON FOX: HOUSE REPUBLICANS TO HOLD HEARING ON DHS SHUTDOWN RISKS

Democrats, who are demanding a significant overhaul of the crackdown by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), have repeatedly tried to force Trump and Republicans to fund DHS’ other key functions, including the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the Coast Guard and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). But Republicans have stood firm against slicing up DHS funding and argue that Democrats are the ones blocking the funding.

CORNYN BLASTS ‘DEFUND THE POLICE’ DEMOCRAT FOR HOLDING TSA AGENTS ‘HOSTAGE’ DURING AIRPORT CLASH

The partial shutdown has forced critical staff, including TSA agents, to work without pay, and has sparked significant travel delays and staff resignations.

Heightening tensions were last week’s twin terror incidents, the attack on a Michigan synagogue and the fatal shooting of an ROTC instructor at Virginia’s Old Dominion University.

LATEST EFFORT TO END DHS FUNDING STANDOFF GOES NOWHERE 

“I must tell you, during my years in the Congress and my years as vice president, it’s very clear to me, having been in Washington, D.C., on September the 11th, having had innumerable briefings about threats facing this country, that our enemies are not just abroad. We have enemies within,” Pence emphasized.

And the former vice president, pointing to the ongoing funding battle, said, “It is incumbent on the Department of Homeland Security, on our domestic law enforcement forces and our entire security apparatus to have the means necessary to protect the American people.”

“I think, with American forces in harm’s way, taking the fight to the enemy in Iran, it’s never been more important for us to ensure that those that are charged with protecting the homeland have the resources they need and have those resources today,” he added.

A staffer for Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, allegedly lied about being an attorney at least 11 times for detainees at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in an effort to meet with them and sneak in cell phones. 

Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons informed Escobar in a letter dated Thursday about Benito Torres, a senior caseworker on the congresswoman’s staff.

Lyons said Torres lied about being a lawyer for detainees in ICE custody at the Camp East Montana facility at Fort Bliss in El Paso. 

FEDERAL JUDGE TEMPORARILY LIFTS DHS RESTRICTIONS ON LAWMAKER VISITS TO DETENTION FACILITIES

“The available evidence demonstrates your staffer, a senior caseworker named Benito Torres, misrepresented himself as counsel for detainees in ICE custody, violated clear detention standards and security protocols prohibiting the use of cellphones inside ICE facilities, improperly met with multiple detainees, and falsely claimed to ICE personnel such use had been approved by the agency,” Lyons wrote. 

“As a result of bringing a cell phone into the Camp East Montana facility, contrary to facility visitation policy, Mr. Torres’ misrepresentation that he is a licensed attorney to gain access to detainees, his improper meetings with groups of detainees, and his assertions to ICE personnel about the origins of his visit, Mr. Torres is herby [sic] prohibited from accessing any ICE facility.”

An image of a sign-in log shows Torres allegedly claiming to be a “lawyer” visiting a “client.” ICE records show that Torres first misrepresented himself as a legal professional in September 2025, Lyons said. The most recent incident happened on Jan. 30. 

DHS TORCHES ‘BAMBOOZLED’ DEMS FOR CALLING ICE CRACKDOWN ‘VICIOUS LIES’

During that visit, Torres was confronted by a facility administrator and admitted that he was not an attorney and was visiting as a private person. The confrontation happened after officials in the facility became aware of someone passing a phone to multiple detainees, the letter states. 

Lyons has requested that Escobar provide written responses to several questions, including whether Torres was employed by the legislator on the dates he visited the ICE facility, if he is a licensed attorney and if she was aware of his alleged actions. 

Lyons also asked Escobar if she condones such behavior and whether she will hold Torres accountable. 

Fox News Digital has reached out to Escobar’s office. Escobar has called Camp East Montana “disastrous and inhumane” and has demanded that it be shut down. 

“The United States already has the largest immigration detention network in the world, and these added facilities serve only as tools for the administration’s inhumanity,” she wrote in a March X post on X, in which she criticized the “chronic substandard conditions” at the migrant facility. 

Other congressional staffers have tried similar ploys to access ICE facilities in the past. In November, Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., fired a staffer who claimed to be an attorney for an illegal immigrant in an effort to facilitate his release. 

Edward York claimed he was legally representing Jose Ismeal Ayuzo Sandoval. Sandoval, a Mexican citizen, had a DUI conviction and was previously deported four times to Mexico. 

A Virginia state bill passed along party lines directing state agencies to consider the race and sex of small businesses’ ownership when distributing discretionary funds for procurement and contracts is likely to face major legal headwinds, experts told Fox News Digital.

The Small SWAM Business Procurement Enhancement Program Act “provides that executive branch agencies and covered institutions are required to increase their small SWAM business utilization rates by three percent per year until reaching the 42-percent target or, if unable to do so, to implement achievable goals to increase their utilization rates,” according to its text. 

SWAM stands for small, women-owned and minority-owned.

Purchases between $10,000 and $200,000 must be set aside to be awarded to SWAM businesses as well, according to the text of the bill drafted by Delegate Jeion Ward, D-Hampton.

INVESTIGATION OF NIKE’S DEI PRACTICES COULD HAVE MAJOR NATIONWIDE IMPACT ON HIRING, SAYS ALAN DERSHOWITZ

As the bill approaches Democrat Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s desk, Oversight Project Vice President of Legal Kyle Brosnan told Fox News Digital it appears par for the course for the way Richmond is moving.

Brosnan said the bill constitutes “clearly intentional discrimination against White men.”

“Since reclaiming total control of state government, Virginia Democrats have shown their true colors as nothing short of radical ideologues,” Brosnan said.

“By setting race and sex quotas for 42% of the state discretionary spending on government contracts, Gov. Spanberger and her far left enablers in Richmond are showing their true colors as radicals.”

Zach Smith, a former federal prosecutor for the Northern District of Florida, added that whenever the government proposes to treat people differently based on race and gender, it is unconstitutional.

“I think we saw the Supreme Court speak explicitly to this with its Harvard and UNC decisions banning the use of race in admissions in higher education,” he said.

VIRGINIA DEMS INTRODUCE CLASSROOM DEI CURRICULUM LAW ON DAY 1 OF LEGISLATIVE SESSION

“As a result of that Students for Fair Admissions decision, we’ve seen some federal courts apply that same logic to other federal government programs that seek to prioritize minority-owned businesses (that) are treating people differently based on their race, and so I would certainly think the same logic would apply to this state law action as well.”

Chief Justice John Roberts authored the majority opinion in that Supreme Court case, and Justice Clarence Thomas wrote a concurrence in a historic decision ending affirmative action in college admissions.

“While I am painfully aware of the social and economic ravages which have befallen my race and all who suffer discrimination, I hold our enduring hope that this country will live up to its principles [that] all men are created equal … and must be treated equally before the law,” Thomas said at the time.

DEM GOVERNOR-ELECT TAPS CROCKETT’S FORMER ‘CHIEF BRAND STRATEGIST’ FOR TOP DEI ROLE

Smith said that, even prior to this, the Supreme Court found quotas “impermissible” and that if Spanberger signs the bill there will be business owners who are outraged and will demand accountability.

“I do think there is likely going to be litigation surrounding this because this would involve a federal constitutional issue in addition to other legal claims that may be raised,” Smith said Wednesday.

“This could be brought in federal court,” he said, suggesting arguments against it will fall on 14th Amendment grounds.

CORPORATE AMERICA HAS DECIDED THAT DEI NEEDS TO DIE

Brosnan agreed, criticizing the bill’s section requiring Virginia taxpayers to fund $1 million for system updates, staffing and reporting to “institutionalize discrimination” in his words.

“It also ‘sets aside’ government contracts of up to $200,000 for women- and minority-owned businesses so long as their bids are no more than 5% higher than the lowest “noncertified” — read ‘White male-owned’— business.

“Did Virginians expect to get this institutionalized wokeism when they voted for the ‘moderate’ governor?” 

The conservative outlet The Federalist said the bill instituted “racial rigging” and reported a section of the bill authorizes the director of the Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity to conduct a “disparity study” every five years, which the outlet said translated to determining how to reduce the number of White males winning government contracts.

Fox News Digital reached out to Spanberger for an indication whether she will sign the bill. Fox News Digital also reached out to Ward, who is also the chairwoman of the Labor & Commerce Committee on Capitol Square.

A trio of progressive Democrats backed by members of “The Squad” suffered blistering rebukes on Tuesday as Illinois voters rejected them in favor of more moderate candidates, prompting questions from onlookers about whether the party’s core, and momentum, should be entrusted to the far-left wing of its base.

To James Carville, a longtime Democratic strategist, the answer has been “no” for a long time. Talking to Fox News Digital in response to several progressive candidates losing in Tuesday’s Democratic primary in deep blue Illinois, he questioned the narrative that Squad-aligned progressives are gaining momentum.

“What momentum? About 15% of the Democratic Party identifies themselves as progressive. And what’s unique, they win about 15% in the primaries at most,” Carville said. “This was something I’ve dealt with all my life.”

“In New York, [Zohran] Mamdami got 50.5% — which is not overwhelming. That’s hardly the basis for some national movement,” Carville said, referring to the socialist mayor of New York City.

AIPAC-BACKED CHICAGO DEMOCRAT LOSES PRIMARY DESPITE OUTSIDE SPENDING BLITZ

The progressive losses all came despite high-profile support from some of the most progressive figures in Congress.

Kat Abughazaleh, the 26-year-old Palestinian American running on an anti-establishment platform and promises to implement a “wealth tax,” attracted support from the likes of Rep. Rashida Talib, D-Mich., and Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn, but lost on Tuesday.

Defeated technology entrepreneur Junaid Ahmed told voters he would push for the self-determination of Gaza and implement healthcare for all, earning the support of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.

And Robert Peters, a state senator who raised $1.1 million on his track record of helping to end cash bail and raising the minimum wage at the state level, garnered backing from Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-Vt, and Warren, but lost his bid for Congress to Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller.

BILLIONAIRE JB PRITZKER SAYS HE’S HAD TO OVERCOME HIS WEALTH, WHICH WOULD BE ‘OBSTACLE’ IN 2028

Between them, they raised $5.7 million.

Anthony Driver Jr., widely regarded as a progressive candidate in Illinois’ 7th District Democratic primary, lost to the more moderate, establishment-aligned Democrat, La Shawn Ford.

Driver was endorsed by Jayapal and the Congressional Progressive Caucus. 

Liam Kerr, co-founder of the Welcome PAC, a group that supports moderate Democrats, believes their losses should give the party a clear takeaway.

“Illinois is just the latest reminder that the noise machine around far-left candidates rarely translates into actual votes,” Kerr said.

“There’s a real hunger in this party to win, and the candidates who keep losing are the ones more focused on ideological performance than tried and true economic concerns. The blueprint is simple: ditch the clout-chasing ideologues and invest in hard-working candidates who know their communities.”

Kerr’s framing was echoed by Jim Kessler, vice president of policy at Third Way, a Democrat think-tank focused on moderate platforms.

“Illinois delivered a cold shower to the progressive fringe in the Democratic Party. Every winner was a mainstream Democrat. A lesson Democrats always have to relearn is that mainstream beats extreme,” Kessler said.

But to other onlookers, the results aren’t so definitive. Even as figures like Carville argue far-left policies aren’t a recipe for national success, others see the Illinois losses as far less decisive for progressives than critics suggest.

Michael Ceraso, a veteran of the 2016 Sanders presidential campaign, pointed out that some of Tuesday’s winners can’t be swept neatly into the “moderate” camp. He doesn’t believe progressives really even lost the night at all.

“Daniel Biss is a progressive. The dude pushed climate and building regulations in Evanston,” Ceraso said, referring to the winner for Illinois’ 9th Congressional District — the candidate that beat out Abughazaleh.

Ceraso also noted that several candidates backed by Illinois governor J.B. Pritzker won out.

“The Illinois governor is a progressive. He backed [Juliana] Stratton,” Ceraso said, referring to the lieutenant governor-turned Senate candidate who won the Democratic nomination in a high-profile, competitive, contentious, and expensive primary showdown.

“[They] increased the minimum wage, ended the sub-minimum wage for disabled people and protected reproductive care. That’s what progress means: moving toward a goal that lifts others, not protecting the status quo.”

Still, other voices, like that of Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, noted that outside groups like the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) had focused their attention on defeating the most progressive voices in the election. Green is the co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee.

“The real debate inside the Democratic Party is not whether progressive economic policies appeal to voters,” Green argued.

“It is whether candidates who genuinely believe in those ideas can compete against industries willing to spend millions to co-opt that message in support of candidates who will never actually challenge power,” Green said.

Having now cleared the primaries, Illinois will hold its general elections on Nov. 3.

FIRST ON FOX: A road rage incident in a Philadelphia suburb led to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arresting an illegal alien with a massive and violent criminal history.

Fox News Digital learned that ICE apprehended Christopher Leon Bailey, a 27-year-old Jamaican national, Monday in Ridley Township, Pennsylvania, following his arrest by local authorities for a road rage incident Jan. 23.

Bailey was the aggressor in the incident, according to the Department of Homeland Security, which took place late January after a near collision. The agency said Bailey pulled a knife and attempted to stab the other individual, before jumping back into his car to chase down and ultimately ran over the victim. 

IMMIGRATION JUDGE ORDERS DEPORTATION OF NYC COUNCIL EMPLOYEE AFTER ICE ARREST; CITY LEADERS PUSH BACK

The department does not know the status of the victim and the Ridley Township, Pennsylvania, Police Department did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s inquiry.

Bailey then fled the scene following the incident, the Department of Homeland Security said. 

Bailey was arrested by local authorities and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, recklessly endangering another person, possessing an instrument of crime, simple assault, disorderly conduct and reckless driving. 

The charges were later increased to attempted murder. The charges are currently pending. 

ICE arrested Bailey Monday as he was set to post bail.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Ridley Township, Pennsylvania, Police Department to inquire whether it had cooperated with ICE in Bailey’s arrest, but did not immediately receive a response.

“This serial criminal illegal alien’s crime spree in our country is OVER,” Department of Homeland Security Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis told Fox News Digital in an emailed statement. 

Bailey overstayed his tourist visa in 2009, according to the agency. 

He previously was arrested in 2023 by ICE in Philadelphia for violating immigration laws. However, an immigration judge under the administration of former President Joe Biden declared Bailey not a public danger and ordered him released on bond.

Bailey’s lengthy criminal history includes convictions in New York City, including robbery, larceny, disorderly conduct and possession of stolen property.

DHS NABS AFGHAN MAN ADMITTED UNDER BIDEN AFTER CONVICTION FOR EXPOSING HIMSELF TO MINOR

In 2020, Bailey was arrested in New York for criminal possession of a loaded firearm and criminal possession of a weapon with a previous conviction. Two years later, in 2022, Bailey was convicted in Kings County, New York, Criminal Court for criminal possession of a firearm.  

Bis called it “outrageous” that “this repeat criminal was released by an immigration judge in 2023 and allowed to victimize more innocent Americans, including this individual he intentionally ran over and threatened with a knife.”

She noted that “thanks to our law enforcement, this public safety threat is off our streets.”

WHITE HOUSE SAYS ‘NO ONE’ CHANGING TRUMP ENFORCEMENT AGENDA IN RESPONSE TO ANGEL MOM APPEAL TO MULLIN

“Under President Trump, DHS has unleashed ICE to target dangerous criminal illegal aliens, like Christopher Leon Bailey, and restore LAW and ORDER to our communities,” Bis added.

Fox News Digital reached out to spokespeople for Biden for comment. 

Congressional Republicans are urging the Trump administration to make illegal Chinese-made e-cigarettes a bigger trade and law-enforcement priority, framing the issue as both a public health concern and a politically advantageous one for the 2026 midterms.

“As trade discussions with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) advance, it is critical that the United States Trade Representative (USTR) and the Department of the Treasury confront the ongoing exploitation of our trade system,” Rep. Mike Carey, R-Ohio, wrote in a joint letter from 70 House Republicans to USTR Jamieson Greer and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

“Any new trade agreement with China should require the Chinese government, through its oversight of e-cigarette exports, to take decisive action to curb the influx of illegal, youth-oriented e-cigarettes that openly flout U.S. and Chinese law.”

A crackdown on unauthorized imported vapes allows Republicans to combine anti-China messaging, child-protection rhetoric and law-and-order enforcement in one issue, a GOP operative working on the 2026 midterms told Fox News Digital on Thursday.

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That makes it especially attractive in battleground districts, where candidates often look for broad, cross-pressured themes that can win over independents and soft partisans on an 80-20 issue in battleground districts.

“Cracking down on illegal Chinese vapes is not only smart policy – it’s what voters want, and members of Congress are right to act on it,” the operative wrote in a statement.

Rep. Zach Nunn, R-Iowa, warned this week that unapproved devices from China were appearing in Iowa communities.

“Illegal Chinese vapes designed to hook kids on nicotine are showing up in Iowa communities, and the FDA never approved any of them,” Nunn wrote on X. “As a dad of six, I’m fighting back.”

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Federal and state authorities under President Donald Trump have built a long list of enforcement actions.

In one of the largest operations, Health and Human Services, through the Food and Drug Administration and Customs and Border Protection, said they seized 4.7 million unauthorized e-cigarette units in Chicago with an estimated retail value of $86.5 million, calling it the largest-ever seizure of its kind.

Separately, the FDA and CBP announced another Chicago operation involving nearly 2 million unauthorized e-cigarettes valued at roughly $33.8 million.

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The broader administration crackdown has extended beyond ports of entry. In September 2025, the DEA said its “Operation Vape Trail” seized more than 2.3 million vape devices and cartridges and more than 100 weapons during a nationwide enforcement action targeting illegal substances in vape shops.

And, in Virginia, “Operation Magic Dragon” targeted vape retail establishments tied to broader alleged criminal activity, with authorities reporting seizures that included drugs and firearms.

That enforcement record helps explain why Republican strategists see the issue as unusually strong politics.

“Any candidate not making this issue a priority is leaving votes on the table that could be helping President Trump secure his trifecta once again,” the GOP operative concluded.

“When 80% of voters in swing districts are behind an issue, it’s a signal to prioritize it.”