An Obama-appointed federal judge’s attempt to rein in immigration enforcement in Chicago backfired after a federal appeals court ruled she overstepped her authority and “effectively established the district court as the supervisor of all Executive Branch activity in the city of Chicago.”

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit tossed out Judge Sara Ellis’ preliminary injunction and dismissed the appeal in a sharply worded 2-1 decision.

The panel, comprising two Trump appointees and a Reagan appointee, said the lower court’s injunction was “overbroad” and “constitutionally suspect.” It faulted the judge for applying the order not just to specific officers but “the entire Departments of Homeland Security and Justice, as well as anyone acting in concert with them.”

Ellis had issued a lengthy 233-page opinion explaining why she granted the class-wide preliminary injunction against Homeland Security and Justice Department authorities carrying out immigration enforcement in Chicago. Her order followed a string of clashes between protesters and agents during Operation Midway Blitz, the effort launched last year by the Trump administration to crack down on illegal immigration and street crime in Chicago.

JUDGE THAT ORDERED RELEASE OF 600 CHICAGO ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS SLAMMED BY DHS AS ACTIVIST PUTTING LIVES AT RISK

Ellis justified the injunction by saying it was not novel and that it only ordered federal agents to follow current DHS policies regarding use of force and body-worn cameras.

“In other words, the Court’s order should break no new ground, and indeed it tracks similar orders entered in other crowd control cases across the country,” Ellis said.

The appeals court had previously paused her injunction, warning that its “practical effect” was “to enjoin all law enforcement officers within the Executive Branch.”

The order, the panel said, required federal officers to submit “all current and future internal guidance, policies, and directives” for judicial review, which the appellate court said improperly intruded on the separation of powers.

The panel reiterated that point when vacating Ellis’ injunction, saying that “federal courts do not exercise general oversight of the Executive Branch” and that the district court “likely abused its discretion by issuing such a sweeping injunction.”

FEDERAL JUDGE RESTRICTS ICE AGENTS AMID ONGOING MINNEAPOLIS AREA PROTESTS

The panel’s order came after the plaintiffs, who included groups of protesters and journalists, had also already moved to dismiss their own lawsuit, saying that Operation Midway Blitz had largely ended. The panel said it felt it was still necessary to address Ellis’ order to prevent it from “spawning any legal consequences.”

Judge Frank Easterbrook, the Reagan appointee on the panel, dissented, arguing that only the appeal should have been dismissed since both sides had asked for that.

The majority, however, said that also throwing out the injunction was “the best way to wipe the slate clean” in what it called an “extraordinary case.”

Jonathan Turley, a George Washington University law professor, said the appellate court “delivered a haymaker” to Ellis.

In a statement, Attorney General Pam Bondi called the 7th Circuit’s decision a “huge legal win.”

“President Trump is trying to protect American citizens while local elected officials REFUSE to do so. [DOJ] attorneys were proud to argue this case,” Bondi said. “We will continue fighting and WINNING for the President’s law-and-order agenda.”

Former longtime federal prosecutor Bill Shipley said on X the panel effectively told Ellis, “You don’t get to run DHS and DOJ.”

Still, some critics found the 7th Circuit’s ruling excessive and commended Ellis for being thorough.

“Ellis was one of the only judges who did anything about the series of escalating abuses from CBP,” CATO Institute’s David Bier wrote on X. “She investigated and found numerous instances of perjury, constitutional violations, and other crimes. This unnecessary lecture from the 7th circuit amounts to: stop it.”

In a little over a year, the United States has carried out dozens of airstrikes on vessels in the Caribbean tied to alleged narco-trafficking networks, launched sustained operations against Houthi forces in the Red Sea, captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, struck Iranian nuclear facilities and now embarked on an extended military campaign aimed at degrading Tehran’s missile, drone and command infrastructure.

The tempo marks one of the most assertive stretches of American force projection in recent years, spanning Latin America, the Middle East and critical maritime corridors.

For War Secretary Pete Hegseth, it also represents a striking turn. 

HEGSETH BLASTS BRITS, SAYS IRAN’S CHAOTIC RETALIATION HAS DRIVEN ITS OWN ALLIES ‘INTO THE AMERICAN ORBIT’

Just before the 2024 presidential election, he described himself as a “recovering neocon,” expressing regret over his support for Iraq-era interventionism and warning against open-ended wars. 

Several analysts say the defining feature of the administration’s approach may be less about ideological evolution and more about alignment and execution.

“Unlike in Trump one, everyone in Trump’s cabinet now — Hegseth, Rubio, etc. — understands that the president is the boss,” said Matthew Kroenig, a defense strategist at the Atlantic Council. “In Trump 1.0 you had some Cabinet officials who thought their job was to save the Republic from Trump, the so-called adults in the room. And so I think it’s pretty clear the president wanted to go in this direction, and I think Hegseth sees himself as supporting the president’s vision.”

That cohesion has coincided with a pattern of risk-taking. 

Several of the administration’s most consequential military moves, from Venezuela to the Houthis to the current Iran campaign, carried the potential for escalation.

Some strategists say the relative absence of early blowback from those interventions may have reinforced the administration’s willingness to escalate into the Iranian theater. 

PENTAGON POLICY CHIEF GRILLED AS DEM CLAIMS TRUMP BROKE PROMISE ABOUT GOING TO WAR WITH IRAN

“I’m not sure I would have advised this,” Kroenig said of the Iran operation. “It is pretty risky, but it’s going well so far.” 

Iranian missile launches have declined in volume. Regional allies have not broken ranks. 

Whether that constitutes strategic success, however, depends on the metric.

Justin Fulcher, a former Pentagon adviser to Hegseth, argued the early phases of the campaign reflect what he described as a “return to strategic clarity.”

“Deterrence is only credible when our allies actually believe that if President Trump says something, we will back it up,” Fulcher said. “This is a validation of Secretary Hegseth and President Trump’s leadership.”

TRUMP SAYS IRAN’S SUCCESSION BENCH WIPED OUT AS ISRAELI STRIKE HITS LEADERSHIP DELIBERATIONS

Hegseth, a former Army officer who served in both Iraq and Afghanistan, has argued that the current campaign bears little resemblance to those conflicts.

“This is not Iraq. This is not endless. I was there for both,” Hegseth said at a press conference in early March. “Our generation knows better and so does this president.”

In a separate interview, he added, “This is not a remaking of Iranian society from an American perspective. We tried that. The American people have rejected that.”

Danielle Pletka, a senior fellow at the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute think tank, said the campaign has unfolded largely as expected.

“I think things have gone reasonably well,” Pletka said, pointing to degraded air defenses and what she described as repeated miscalculations by Iran. “All they’ve really done is made everybody quite mad, and that was a really bad calculation on their part.”

At the same time, she cautioned against interpreting the administration’s actions as part of a fixed doctrine.

“I don’t think that it is doctrinal,” Pletka said. “I think this is ad hoc.”

Some longtime Trump supporters have said the current conflict is not what they expected from Trump, who campaigned on ending wars and “America First.”

“It feels like the worst betrayal this time because it comes from the very man and the admin who we all believed was different and said no more,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., wrote on X. “Instead, we get a war with Iran on behalf of Israel that will succeed in regime in Iran. Another foreign war for foreign people for foreign regime change. For what?” 

In Pletka’s view, the president has shown a pattern of attempting diplomacy first and shifting to force only when he concludes negotiations are unserious. She argues that posture distinguishes the current moment from past interventions.

She also emphasized that much of the operational credit belongs to the professional military.

“The planning behind this is credit to the U.S. military and to the CENTCOM commander and to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs,” she said.

That distinction complicates efforts to attribute the current posture solely to Hegseth’s personal worldview. While the defense secretary has become a public face of the administration’s deterrence messaging, the execution of high-tempo campaigns rests heavily with career military leadership. 

Some critics argue the administration has yet to clearly articulate an end state for the Iran campaign.

“Pete Hegseth needs to check with his boss on what the objective is,” former national security advisor John Bolton recently said on CNN. “How does Hegseth explain that we’ve already changed the regime, which wasn’t our objective? I think the Pentagon top leadership, civilian top leadership, needs some attitude adjustment. I think the military’s doing fine, but I wonder about the civilian leadership.”

The White House pushed back forcefully on criticism of the campaign. 

Anna Kelly, a White House spokesperson, said Monday that Hegseth “is doing an incredible job leading the Department of War,” pointing to what she described as the “ongoing success of Operation Epic Fury” and other missions. 

Kelly said Iranian retaliatory attacks “have declined by 90 percent because the Department of War is destroying Iran’s ballistic missile capabilities,” and added that Hegseth works “in lockstep with President Trump every day” to ensure the U.S. military “continues to be the greatest, most powerful fighting force in the world.”

The Pentagon echoed that assessment. 

“Operation Epic Fury continues to advance with overwhelming success and precision,” Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell said, describing a “resolute, full-spectrum campaign” aimed at the “total dismantlement of Iran’s terrorist network or its unconditional surrender.”

Others see the moment in broader historical terms.

Peter Doran, a foreign policy analyst, described the campaign as a potential attempt to “end a 47-year war” waged by the Islamic Republic against the United States, but on Washington’s terms.

“This is a clear effort to end a 47-year war that Iran has been waging against the United States,” Doran said.

He argued that visible American military performance could reverberate beyond the Middle East, particularly in Beijing.

“They look good,” Doran said of U.S. forces. “That will serve, I hope, as a disincentive for adventurism.”

If the operation ultimately succeeds in significantly degrading Iran’s military infrastructure, Doran argued, it could reshape the Middle East and expand diplomatic opportunities such as broader Arab-Israeli normalization.

“It changes everything in the Middle East,” he said.

Yet even supporters acknowledge that long-term effects remain uncertain. In Venezuela, Maduro’s removal marked a dramatic shift in U.S. policy, but the governing apparatus he built remains largely intact. 

Degrading missile stockpiles and drone infrastructure in Iran may buy time, but whether it produces durable deterrence or simply postpones reconstitution remains to be seen.

For now, the administration’s willingness to take calculated risks and its ability to avoid immediate escalation have reinforced the perception of restored American assertiveness. Whether that assertiveness translates into lasting strategic gains will likely define Hegseth’s tenure far more than the rhetoric that preceded it.

Hegseth and the Pentagon did not respond to requests for comment. 

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is warning state health agencies about potential Chinese spying through medical technology.

Abbott directed Texas state health agencies and public university systems to address potential cybersecurity risks linked to Chinese-manufactured medical devices, citing concerns that sensitive patient data could be accessed by foreign actors.

“Governor @GregAbbott_TX released a letter directing state health agencies to mitigate data privacy concerns related to Chinese-sourced medical technologies,” Abbott’s office wrote Monday on X, releasing the letter.

“The Chinese Communist Party will not be allowed to spy on Texans.”

CONDUENT DATA BREACH HITS MILLIONS ACROSS MULTIPLE STATES

In Monday’s letter to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC), the Department of State Health Services (DSHS), the Texas Cyber Command (TXCC), and public university system chancellors, Abbott said recent federal warnings about vulnerabilities in certain patient monitoring devices underscore the need for heightened safeguards.

“Maintaining Texans’ physical security and protecting their personal privacy, especially as it relates to something as important and intimate as personal medical data, is of paramount importance,” Abbott wrote. “I will not let Communist China spy on Texans. State-owned medical facilities must ensure there are safeguards in place to protect Texans’ private medical data.”

The directive follows notices issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) warning that certain Chinese-manufactured patient monitors — including the Contec CMS8000 and Epsimed MN-120 — contain cybersecurity vulnerabilities that could allow unauthorized remote access and the exfiltration of protected health information.

HOUSE REPUBLICANS SOUND ALARM OVER CCP-LINKED FAKE RESEARCH THREATENING US TAXPAYER-FUNDED SCIENCE

“These notices confirm the warnings of experts who have elevated the proliferation of Chinese-manufactured smart medical devices across our healthcare system as a serious data privacy concern,” Abbott wrote.

Under Abbott’s order, HHSC, DSHS, and public higher education systems must review procurement policies to ensure compliance with Executive Order GA-48, catalog network-connected medical devices, and assess cybersecurity protections at state-owned medical facilities.

The Texas Cyber Command is tasked with reviewing whether certain devices should be added to the state’s prohibited technology list and recommending further safeguards.

Agencies must submit reports and recommendations to the governor’s office by April 17.

Those responses will help Abbott propose legislation next session aimed at protecting Texans’ medical data from foreign adversaries.

The top Senate Democrat wants President Donald Trump to tap the nation’s oil stockpile as fuel prices skyrocket, years after blocking his attempt to replenish the supply when prices were low.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called on Trump to unleash reserve barrels of oil from America’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) as oil prices spike amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

Schumer argued in a statement that the reserve “exists for moments exactly like this.”

TRUMP’S ENERGY DOMINANCE REWRITES THE STRATEGIC PETROLEUM RESERVE AFTER BIDEN DRAWDOWNS

“When wars and global crises disrupt energy markets, the United States has the ability to act, but President Trump and his administration are refusing to do so,” Schumer said. “Trump should release oil from the SPR now to stabilize markets, bring prices down, and stop the price shock that American families are already feeling thanks to his reckless war.”

During his first term, Trump wanted to use about $3 billion from a colossal COVID-19 stimulus package making its way through Congress to fill the reserve, but the move was promptly rejected by Schumer and congressional Democrats, who panned it as a “bailout” for the oil industry.

The price per barrel at the time was roughly $29, according to WTI Crude Oil. Now, oil has eclipsed $110 per barrel over the weekend for the first time since 2022.

Though the SPR has capacity for over 700 million barrels of crude oil, the reserve currently has far less.

TANKERS TO RESUME NORMAL MOVEMENT IN MIDDLE EAST IN ‘A FEW WEEKS’ AT WORST, ENERGY SEC SAYS, ENDING OIL SURGE

That’s because under former President Joe Biden, it was tapped twice — once to relieve soaring fuel prices as the nation still grappled with the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, and another time to combat increased energy costs at the onset of the war between Russia and Ukraine.

At the end of Biden’s term, the reserve had about 415 million barrels of crude on hand, according to data from the Department of Energy. Schumer supported both instances when Biden opened the nation’s oil reserves but, years prior, blocked Trump from building up the stockpile toward the end of his first term.

“Senator Schumer championed Joe Biden’s Green New Scam, which raised energy costs, threatened our national security, and stifled American energy independence,” White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told Fox News Digital in a statement. “President Trump has been unleashing American energy dominance since day one, and now, American oil and gas production is at record highs.” 

GAS PRICES COULD JUMP AS MIDDLE EAST TENSIONS THREATEN GLOBAL OIL SUPPLY

Schumer lauded Biden’s first move to tap into the SPR in 2021, arguing that it provided “much-needed temporary relief at the pump.”

“Of course, the only long-term solution to rising gas prices is to continue our march to eliminate our dependence on fossil fuels and create a robust green energy economy,” he said at the time.

And toward the end of Biden’s presidency, his administration did buy back barrels of oil to refill the reserves, which Schumer did not object to. 

Fast-forward, and the price per barrel of oil has launched into the stratosphere since Trump’s Operation Epic Fury and Iran’s response to put the Strait of Hormuz — a key route ferrying barrels around the globe — into a chokehold.

For now, the administration has no public plans to tap into the reserve as Americans undergo sticker shock at the pump.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright argued that the best way to lower prices was to reopen the Strait of Hormuz by neutralizing Iran’s ability to target oil tankers.

Wright told Fox News over the weekend that the disruption would last for “weeks, certainly not months.”

“We believe this is a small price to pay to get to a world where energy prices will return back to where they were,” Wright said. “Iran will finally be defanged, and now you can see more investment, more free flow of trade, and less ability to threaten energy supplies.”

FIRST ON FOX: House Republicans are pressing the Trump administration for answers over whether China is exploiting U.S. birthright citizenship and visa programs in a U.S. territory to secure long-term influence inside the United States.

In a letter sent Monday to outgoing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Reps. Chip Roy, R-Texas, and Tom Tiffany, R-Wis., and 32 other GOP members raise concerns that so-called “birth tourism” and visa-waiver policies in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands could be leveraged by Chinese nationals in ways that present national security risks.

Noem will leave her position at Homeland Security at the end of the month.

“American citizenship is a sacred trust — not a loophole to be exploited,” Roy said. “When foreign adversaries like the Chinese Communist Party can leverage birth tourism and visa-less programs to gain influence within our borders, we must restore integrity to our immigration system and defend the sovereignty of our Republic.” 

Tiffany argued that “Communist China has exploited ‘birth tourism’ by sending women to the Northern Mariana Islands solely to give birth and secure U.S. citizenship for their children,” adding that “it is time to close this loophole, end the abuse, and protect our national security.”

TRUMP SAYS SUPREME COURT RULING AGAINST BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP ORDER WOULD BENEFIT CHINA

The Northern Mariana Islands is a U.S. territory in the Pacific, and like births in any U.S. state, children born there are granted American citizenship under the 14th Amendment, even though the territory operates under certain distinct immigration rules.

The lawmakers cite reports estimating that between 750,000 and 1.5 million Chinese nationals have obtained U.S. citizenship through birthright policies and birth tourism, though federal agencies have not publicly confirmed those figures. 

In their letter, Roy and Tiffany ask the Departments of Homeland Security, State and Interior to provide data on how many children have been born since 2009 to at least one Chinese national parent, how many have reached voting age and how many are registered to vote in the United States. 

They also ask whether any such individuals have documented ties to the Chinese Communist Party and request entry figures for Chinese nationals under Northern Mariana-specific immigration programs. 

Under the 14th Amendment, individuals born on U.S. soil are generally granted citizenship at birth. The debate has centered on whether foreign nationals travel to the United States specifically to give birth so their children will obtain citizenship — a practice commonly referred to as birth tourism.

Federal prosecutors in recent years have brought criminal cases against operators of birth tourism businesses, particularly in California, where organizers were convicted of visa fraud and conspiracy for helping foreign nationals misrepresent their travel intentions in order to give birth in the United States.

The Northern Mariana Islands long have operated under distinct immigration frameworks. In 2009, the Obama administration implemented a categorical parole program allowing certain Chinese nationals to enter without obtaining a traditional U.S. tourist visa. The Biden administration in 2024 finalized a rule creating the Economic Vitality & Security Travel Authorization Program (EVS-TAP) for the Northern Mariana Islands, which allows certain Chinese nationals to enter the territory visa-free for short stays.

The lawmakers argue those policies created incentives for birth tourism in Saipan, the capital of the islands, pointing to reports that births to foreign visitors increased sharply after the 2009 changes.

NOEM BACKS SAVE AMERICA ACT, SLAMS ‘RADICAL LEFT’ OPPOSITION TO VOTER IDS AND PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP

They warn that once U.S.-born children turn 21, they can petition for lawful permanent resident status for their parents, potentially opening additional immigration pathways.

While the letter raises concerns that such individuals could eventually participate in U.S. elections, it does not cite evidence that large numbers are currently registered to vote or that the Chinese government has directed birth tourism as a coordinated strategy.

The Departments of Homeland Security and Interior did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment. The State Department referred back to Homeland Security. 

The letter comes amid heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing, with U.S. officials repeatedly warning about Chinese influence operations, intellectual property theft and espionage efforts targeting American institutions.

Roy and Tiffany urged the administration to end any parole or visa-waiver programs extended to Chinese nationals in the Northern Mariana Islands and to provide a full accounting of the scope of birth tourism involving Chinese nationals.

The Chinese embassy could not immediately be reached for comment. 

Virginia counties and several independent cities are pushing back against an April special election that could reshape nearly every Republican-held congressional district in the state before voters next head to the polls.

If approved, the referendum would trigger a mid-cycle redrawing of the state’s congressional map, potentially altering the balance of power in Virginia’s U.S. House delegation. If rejected, the existing map would remain in place and ongoing legal challenges surrounding the measure could be rendered moot.

In Patrick County — named for “Give me liberty or give me death,” Gov. Patrick Henry — local officials have mounted an early formal challenge to the vote, backed by lawmakers and attorneys from across the state. The county passed a resolution delaying early voting until just days before the April 21 election, as the redistricting amendment continues to be tested in court in Tazewell County.

Patrick County and others argue that the Virginia Constitution requires at least 90 days to pass before early voting can begin on a ballot measure. They claim Democrats improperly used a 2024 special legislative session — which was never formally closed — to fast-track the redistricting amendment onto the November ballot.

NEW DEM STAR’S QUICK HARD-LEFT TURN AFTER ‘MODERATE’ CAMPAIGN WON HER COVETED RESPONSE TO TRUMP: LAWMAKER

Following Patrick’s lead, officials in Campbell, Charlotte, Spotsylvania, Prince George, Scott, Washington, Floyd and Roanoke counties, along with the independent city of Lynchburg, are considering, pursuing or voting on similar measures, according to Del. Wren Williams, who is also an attorney and who told Fox News Digital he is both politically and legally laser-focused on the situation.

Williams, who represents Patrick, Floyd and Carroll counties and the independent city of Galax in Virginia’s deep-red, mountainous southwest, said that from an apolitical perspective, the resolutions boil down to fiscal responsibility.

“Who would vote against ‘restoring fairness’? That is where I think [Democrats] have overstepped and overplayed their hand. When I was a young attorney, an older attorney told me one time, pigs get fat and hogs get slaughtered,” he said in an exclusive interview.

Patrick County will spend about $15,000 to hold a special election, and the ongoing legal uncertainty and political gamesmanship over the issue in Richmond do not create a stable environment for municipalities to expend such resources, he said.

Tazewell County Judge Jack Hurley Jr. ruled in favor of Senate Minority Leader Ryan McDougle, R-Hanover, in the GOP’s procedural challenge, declaring the redistricting amendment “void ab initio,” or invalid from the start.

The commonwealth appealed, and the Virginia Supreme Court ruled the referendum could stand while it reviews the case. Separately, the RNC has sued the Virginia Department of Elections again via Tazewell, and Hurley again blocked the election on grounds that Virginia Democrats’ ballot question language of “[vote yes to] restore fairness” is misleading.

RNC SUES TO STOP DEMOCRATS’ VIRGINIA REDISTRICTING PUSH

Senate President L. Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, has repeatedly claimed the referendum’s mantle, responding in often profane ways to critics, including Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who took issue with the 10-1 Democratic bent of the new map.

“You all started it and we f[—]ing finished it,” Lucas said in response to Cruz calling it an abuse of power and affront to democracy.

Williams said that from both a fiscal and legal perspective, with all of the above going on, counties like his own are in the right.

The effort was publicly backed by Virginia Beach attorney Tim Anderson, a former state legislator, until the state Supreme Court threw a legal wrench in the works late last week.

Anderson has posted numerous video comments and documents on his social media, including a draft resolution for counties to use.

Rockingham County, which surrounds Harrisonburg, put forward a similarly crafted resolution last week wherein officials stated, “congressional redistricting has significant consequences for the ability of communities to elect representatives who understand and are familiar with their values, priorities and regional needs.”

However, after a Lynchburg judge reportedly ruled he could not intervene in the election process because the gears were already in motion, Anderson, who represented Lynchburg officials, told the Virginia Cardinal News he is not appealing and has pivoted to suggesting all critical counties move forward with the election.

In a video message on Thursday, Anderson warned that given the new ruling, all counties must now follow the Supreme Court.

THIS CRUCIAL STATE IS THE LATEST BATTLEGROUND IN REDISTRICTING WAR BETWEEN TRUMP AND DEMOCRATS

“If you are a local official… in a jurisdiction that entered a resolution that said you’re not going to do the elections, you need to reverse immediately. The Virginia Supreme Court has made its decision, you are bound by it,” he said.

“Go early vote. There’s nothing else to do other than to vote. If we lose, there are a ton of legal arguments that can be made [then],” Anderson added, further suggesting he will again be a part of any postmortem arguments.

Over just a few days, yards signs pleading with fellow Virginians to vote “NO” have cropped up all around, in places like Amherst, Stephenson, Buena Vista and beyond.

Rep. Ben Cline, R-Va., whose district runs from the West Virginia line at Roanoke to Botetourt County north of Roanoke, echoed those proponents’ concerns in comments to Fox News Digital.

Cline said his current district would be split into five pieces, many of which would originate in culturally disparate Arlington, saying it strips the singular voice in Washington from Virginia’s top agricultural region.

Another wrinkle was thrown in Wednesday when the Virginia Supreme Court stayed Hurley’s ruling regarding the election moving forward and said it will allow it to proceed while making clear it is not issuing a ruling on the merits of the case, which it maintains will come a few days after the election, according to the Virginia Scope.

“It is the process, not the outcome, of this effort that we may ultimately have to address. Issuing an injunction to keep Virginians from the polls is not the proper way to make this decision,” the court ruled, according to the Scope.

As early voting began Friday, Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones issued a legal opinion opposing the counties’ efforts.

REDISTRICTING FIGHT ERUPTS AS MARYLAND DEMOCRATS MOVE TO REDRAW LONE GOP HOUSE SEAT

“Local governing bodies cannot use their own independent constitutional interpretations to justify interfering with state-mandated elections,” Jones said, according to the Staunton News-Leader.

Jones claimed the counties don’t have any authority to prevent “election officials from performing their statutory duties,” alleging state supremacy and arguing that any disruptive resolutions would have “no legal effect.”

Prior to Jones’ opinion, Williams told Fox News Digital he understands the “lawfare” at play, saying he’s worked with election-law suits in the past and spoke of a “catch-me-if-you-can” dynamic of courts denying or delaying decisions until the situation is mooted so that they don’t actually have to issue a final ruling.

“If [the redistricting amendment] passes, they’re going to say, ‘the majority has spoken.’ And so that is my concern…” he said.

Looking ahead, Williams noted many of the critical counties are holding their next board meetings in the coming days, and suggested the fight may not be over just yet.

A Republican source told Fox News Digital that Democrats “bet the farm” on the redistricting amendment and that “if it fails on the notice requirement, so do their other three amendments,” including the map redraw.

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., is one of the most controversial members of Congress.

Omar and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., are the first two Muslim women ever elected to Congress. Along with Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., they form the original members of the Squad, a team of progressive women who entered Congress simultaneously in 2019.

The quartet is visible. They’re outspoken. And they, like many other lawmakers, are often the targets of threats or even violence itself.

OMAR SHOUTS ‘YOU ARE A MURDERER’ AND ‘LIAR’ AT TRUMP DURING STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS

Authorities charged a man in 2019 for threatening to kill Tlaib. Omar has received menacing voicemails — even suggesting she had something to do with 9/11. A Texas man faced charges for wanting to assassinate Ocasio-Cortez in 2021. The same year, the House voted to censure Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., for posting an animated video that depicted him killing a character resembling the New York Democrat.

A man lunged at Omar during a town hall meeting in Minneapolis a few weeks ago, spraying her with what appeared to be apple cider vinegar from a syringe.

“We must abolish ICE for good. And DHS Secretary Kristi Noem must face impeachment,” declared Omar at the meeting.

That’s when Anthony James Kazmierczak sprang at Omar, spraying her with a stinky, brown liquid.

“It smells terrible!” exclaimed someone in the crowd.

“Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! It’s all over the place!” an aide shouted. 

“We need you to get checked!” hollered someone else.

But Omar maintained her composure and continued the town hall meeting.

“Just give me ten minutes, I beg you,” said Omar, worried that her aides might cancel the rest of the meeting. “Please don’t let them have the show. Here is the reality that people like this ugly man don’t understand. We are Minnesota strong, and we will stay resilient in the face of whatever they might throw at us.”

TRUMP RIPS ‘CROOKED’ ILHAN OMAR AS HOUSE RAMPS UP INVESTIGATION INTO EXPLODING NET WORTH

Police later charged Kazmierczak with third-degree assault, arguing he “forcibly assaulted, opposed, impeded, intimidated and interfered” with Omar.

“One thing that ICE has succeeded in doing is make Minneapolis residents love Minneapolis police,” said Omar, drawing laughter.

Omar frequently catches criticism from President Donald Trump. After the attack, the president suggested that Omar “probably sprayed herself.” The president also signaled there was a DOJ probe into Omar.

“The DOJ and Congress are looking at ‘Congresswoman’ Ilhan Omar, who left Somalia with NOTHING, and is now reportedly worth more than 44 Million Dollars. Time will tell all,” the president posted to Truth Social.

“I was told that Ilhan Omar is worth $30 million. She never had a job. She’s a crooked Congressman,” said Trump during a speech.

White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt recently questioned how it’s “possible” that the congresswoman may now be worth tens of millions of dollars since coming to office in 2019.

“Is she connected to the fraud rings that we have seen taking place with her state and her own district?” asked Leavitt. “It’s a question the American people are asking, and the president believes it’s one worth answering.”

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., has now opened a formal investigation into the finances of Omar’s husband, Tim Mynett. Comer defended his move, saying the House Ethics Committee gave him the green light to do so. Comer said the Ethics panel couldn’t touch Mynett because he’s not a member. That may be true. But lawmakers must state the wealth of congressional spouses on financial disclosure reforms. Omar claims her money came from Mynett and his consulting business. The congresswoman says she did nothing wrong.

‘SORRY, TRUMP’: ILHAN OMAR FIRES BACK AFTER TRUMP TARGETS HER IN TRUTH SOCIAL POST

We don’t know much yet about Omar’s finances. But she is a lightning rod. It’s hard to lower the temperature when you have a controversial lawmaker who has said questionable things about 9/11 and faced attacks from the president and the White House.

But fellow lawmakers are worried about threats to lawmakers.

“That’s assault,” said Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., when asked about Kazmierczak spraying Omar. “You could dislike somebody’s positions. You can be vocal about that. You want to protest somebody? That’s fine. Have at it. But disrupting their meetings, their rallies, their town halls and assaulting them? No way.”

Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., noted that “the president never disappoints” when blasting Omar.

As a member of the Senate Democratic leadership, Durbin gets a U.S. Capitol Police security detail. But in this environment, the Senate’s number two Democrat says he still feels “vulnerable.”

Durbin recounted a story recently about how someone “confronted me in a situation. I thought if she had a gun in her hand, I would be dead. She was so angry and emotional. And unfortunately, that consideration is part of public life in America today.”

Durbin pointed out that even Trump has faced two threats on his life: One in Butler, Pennsylvania. The other at Mar-a-Lago. And more recently, police shot and killed Austin Tucker Martin when he tried to break into the president’s Florida compound.

This comes as U.S. Capitol Police released its recent threat report against lawmakers. For 2025, USCP says there were 14,938 bona fide threats against members of Congress that demanded an investigation. That’s up from just 9,474 the year before. And 8,008 in 2023.

Capitol Police also arrested 18-year-old Carter Camacho of Smyrna, GA, last month. Camacho charged at the Capitol, sprinting several hundred yards with a shotgun and wearing a tactical vest. Police say he had a Kevlar helmet and a gas mask inside his car. Camacho’s motive was unclear.

There will be other threats and incidents, like the man running toward the Capitol. Some reverberate for years, like when House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., and others were shot at a congressional baseball practice. And the reason the USCP numbers are so high is that lawmakers and their staff routinely field phone calls and emails that threaten harm. Sometimes to the families of lawmakers.

It’s enough to scare some people off from serving in office. Politicians have always faced threats. But what’s frightening is that it appears to grow a little worse every year. The stats bear that out. The Capitol Police do a good job. But the scariest part is that no law enforcement agency wields the capacity to protect such a large contingent of people from harm.

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., facing a re-election campaign in 2026, announced a new tax-cut bill, the Keep Your Pay Act, that would eliminate federal income taxes on the first $75,000 of income for most households and expand key tax credits for working families.

Booker’s plan increases the standard deduction to $75,000 for married couples filing jointly, with proportional relief for single filers and heads of household, reducing federal income tax on the median American family by an estimated 85%.

“New Jerseyans are working harder than ever, but they’re struggling to get by because they’re facing out of control costs and an economy that is stacked against them — so we need big ideas to start making the American Dream possible for everyone again,” Booker wrote in a statement unveiling his bill. “No income tax on the first $75,000 families earn would be a game changer for working people.”

“This tax cut would immediately put more money in your pocket every month to deal with the high price of everyday expenses, an unexpected emergency, or to plan for the future,” he added.

THUNE PROMISES ‘SAFE STREETS, MORE MONEY IN POCKETS’ AS GOP SENATORS HIT THE ROAD TO TOUT TAX CUTS

Booker, who has been rumored to be considering a 2028 presidential run, noted the pay-for in his bill would fully offset costs by generating more tax revenue from corporations and wealthy individuals. The plan includes raising the corporate tax rate, increasing taxes on stock buybacks, tightening executive compensation deductions and strengthening corporate tax enforcement.

“This plan can be fully paid for by unrigging our tax system – so that the wealthiest few and the biggest corporations that are getting rich by keeping prices high finally start paying their fair share,” Booker’s statement added. “This idea will ensure Americans who work for a living keep more of their paychecks, help restore tax fairness, and start making America a country where working people can get ahead again.”

The legislation also calls for expanding the Child Tax Credit to $3,600 per child ages 6 to 17 and $4,320 for children under 6, along with a $2,400 “baby bonus” in the year of a child’s birth. The credit would be fully refundable. In addition, the plan would expand the Earned Income Tax Credit by tripling its value and broadening eligibility to include workers ages 19 to 24 and 65 and older without children at home.

5 PIVOTAL 2026 SENATE RACES WILL DETERMINE WHETHER REPUBLICANS MAINTAIN GOVERNING TRIFECTA UNDER TRUMP

Booker also launched an online calculator to allow individuals to estimate their potential tax savings under the proposal.

The senator has previously championed expansions of the Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit, including provisions enacted temporarily under the 2021 American Rescue Plan, which studies found significantly reduced child poverty.

While Booker is in an election year, Cook Political Report has his New Jersey Senate seat as safe, rating it as one of the nine solid Democrat Senate seats on the 2026 midterm map. Republicans narrowly hold the Senate majority going into the midterms with 53 seats to 45 Democrats and two independents that caucus with them.

Democrats’ designs on flipping the Senate will come in battleground races in Alaska, Georgia, Maine, Michigan and Ohio. While Republicans could potentially target a “lean Democrat” seat in New Hampshire, where former Sen. John E. Sununu, R-N.H., has announced a run.

The New Jersey deadline for filing for the Senate primary is March 23. The primary is June 2.

The top Republican names in New Jersey include former New Jersey State Trooper Richard Tabor and former reporter Alex Zdan.

The Department of Homeland Security blamed Democrats for travelers facing long security lines amid a DHS funding lapse.

“Americans are now enduring the severe fallout from the Democrat shutdown of DHS. Today, travelers are facing TSA lines of up to nearly 3 hours long at some major airports causing missed flights and massive delays during peak travel,” DHS deputy assistant secretary for public affairs Lauren Bis said in a statement, according to Transportation Security Administration posts Sunday on X.

“This chaos is a direct result of Democrats and their refusal to fund DHS. These political stunts force patriotic TSA officers, who protect our skies from serious threats, to work without pay,” the statement asserted. “These frontline heroes received only partial paychecks earlier this month and now face their first full missed paycheck, leading to financial hardship, absences, and crippling staffing shortages.”

TSA WORKERS BRACE FOR MISSED PAYCHECKS AS DEMOCRATS HOLD FIRM ON DHS FUNDING

Bis called upon Democrats to fund the department.

“Democrats are shamelessly playing politics with national security, punishing hardworking TSA workers and their families. Enough is enough: stop holding national security and everyday Americans hostage. Democrats must fund DHS now,” she declared.

NOEM THANKS TRUMP FOR NEW SHIELD OF THE AMERICAS SPECIAL ENVOY ROLE AFTER DHS OUSTER

DHS hammered Democrats over the issue on X.

“SPRING BREAK UNDER SIEGE,” a post declared. “The Democrats’ DHS shutdown has led to HOURS long security lines at airports across the country, leading Americans to miss their spring break flights.”

“There is ZERO reason for spring break travel to be held hostage for political points — Democrats must end this DHS shutdown NOW,” the post added. 

KRISTI NOEM OUSTED FROM HOMELAND SECURITY POST AMID RECENT TURMOIL

President Donald Trump announced last week that he is tapping Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., for the role of Homeland Security secretary, and that current DHS Secretary Kristi Noem will instead serve as special envoy for an initiative called “Shield of the Americas.”

Airfares could rise in the weeks ahead as the Iran conflict disrupts energy markets and squeezes jet-fuel supplies, increasing costs for airlines and passengers.

Fuel traders are watching the Strait of Hormuz closely, because disruptions from U.S.-Israeli strikes and retaliatory Iranian drone and missile attacks could quickly ripple through global oil and gas flows.

Just about 21 miles wide at its narrowest, the Strait of Hormuz, between Iran and Oman, is a global energy choke point. Roughly 20 million barrels of oil move through the waterway each day, along with about one-fifth of global liquefied natural gas (LNG), making it a high value target when regional tensions flare.

THE UNLIKELY TOOL TRUMP IS EYEING TO TACKLE RISING OIL PRICES AMID THE IRAN CONFLICT

When that energy bottleneck tightens, crude and refined fuel markets can jump. Jet fuel is typically one of airlines’ biggest operating costs, so even a modest spike can ripple into ticket prices and fees.

Jaime Brito, an energy market analyst, said distributors and airlines value supply security enough to pay a premium, so jet fuel is typically bought in advance through long-term contracts. 

Jet fuel can be especially vulnerable to disruptions since inventories are typically thinner and storage requires specialized tanks. Unlike gasoline or diesel, there’s very little spot buying in jet fuel markets, which can amplify price swings when supply gets tight.

WATCH SHIPPING THROUGH THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ GRIND TO A HALT AMID IRAN CONFLICT

That vulnerability is especially relevant now because a sizable share of global jet fuel supply comes from the Middle East.

“According to our estimates, the Middle East exports a total of around 1.1 million barrels per day of aviation jet fuel, about 17% of what the world consumes,” explained Brito, executive director of refining and oil products at OPIS.

In the U.S., the Argus U.S. Jet Fuel Index, a daily benchmark averaging prices in Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles and New York, climbed to $3.88 a gallon on Friday, after hovering mostly in the low-to-mid $2 range for weeks.

NEW SATELLITE IMAGES SHOW FIRES, NAVAL BASE DAMAGE ACROSS IRAN AFTER US-ISRAELI STRIKES

Brito said that some airports have proportionately higher jet fuel consumption, pointing to Singapore and Frankfurt, so concentration and distance from suppliers create an additional layer of market jitters that is reflected in current prices.

Market anxiety is already showing up in Singapore, Asia’s key trading hub, where jet fuel surged 72% to a record $225.44 a barrel on Wednesday as traders worried about future supplies tied to the Strait of Hormuz.

But even if tensions ease in the coming weeks and shipping lanes remain open, fuel contracts, shipping schedules and inventory constraints can keep the disruption, and its price impact, embedded in the supply chain.

How much passengers pay will depend on how long the disruption lasts and how much fuel carriers have already locked in through hedging.