President Biden doesn’t appear to be resting during his final weekend in the White House. Instead, he’s pushing for a new amendment to the Constitution that would make the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) "the law of the land."
In a statement released by the White House, Biden demanded that the United States "affirm and protect women’s full equality once and for all."
While his point is clear in the statement, a post on his official X account had users mocking the president. The post references the 28th Amendment to the Constitution. However, the US Constitution only has 27 amendments, the last of which was ratified in 1992.
In a post on X calling the ERA the "law of the land," implying that it is already part of the Constitution, which is not the case. Social media users were quick to point this out, with some calling the president a "dictator."
Others online also brought up Biden’s past rhetoric about Trump being a "threat to democracy," accusing the president of trying to "declare" an amendment into existence.
Citing the American Bar Association in the statement, Biden argued that the ERA has "cleared all necessary hurdles to formally be added to the Constitution." Biden added that he agreed with "the ABA and with leading constitutional scholars that the Equal Rights Amendment has become part of our Constitution." However, despite Biden’s argument, the National Archives disagreed.
In its own December statement on the ERA, the National Archives said that "at this time, the Equal Rights Amendment cannot be certified as part of the Constitution due to established legal, judicial, and procedural decisions."
The ERA, a proposed amendment to the constitution that would guarantee "equal rights under the law" to all Americans regardless of sex. Its latest iteration was a rapid response by New York Democrats to the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson’s Women’s Health Organization decision in June 2022.
"It is long past time to recognize the will of the American people. In keeping with my oath and duty to Constitution and country, I affirm what I believe and what three-fourths of the states have ratified: the 28th Amendment is the law of the land, guaranteeing all Americans equal rights and protections under the law regardless of their sex," Biden said in the White House statement.
The assertion triggered a community note, which read, "Readers added context they thought people might want to know. The Archivist of the United States, charged with officially publishing ratified amendments, has confirmed that the ERA was not ratified and based that analysis on binding legal precedent. There is no 28th Amendment."
A spokesperson for the Biden administration did not respond to a request for comment.
Over the last few years, America’s divide over women’s rights has grown larger. Some celebrated the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, while others saw it as a fundamental attack on freedom. Additionally, the inclusion of transgender athletes in women’s sports has turned into a heated debate about fairness and equality.
Kelly Osbourne slammed celebrities who she thinks are using the California fires as a "photo op."
"Is it just me being my normal overthinking, cynical self or is it really disturbing to see all of these celebrities using other people’s pain and suffering as a photo op to say, ‘Look, I’m helping, I’m doing this, I’m doing that?’" she asked in a TikTok video earlier this week.
"I don’t believe you help because you get attention for helping, I believe you just help because you want to. I’m so confused, I think it’s so wrong," Osbourne, 40, added. "No one asked you to come out and give hugs, go home."
The daughter of Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne did not specifically call out any celebrities.
Her comments come after Hollywood actress Justine Bateman accused Prince Harry and wife Meghan Markle of using the Palisades Fire as a "photo op."
"Meghan Markle and Harry are no better than ambulance chasers," Bateman, 58, wrote to X on Saturday evening. "What a repulsive 'photo op' they achieved."
"They are ‘touring the damage’?" she asked, referring to media footage she had reposted on the social platform. "Are they politicians now? They don't live here; they are tourists. Disaster Tourists."
Video captured by Fox 11 Los Angeles showed Harry and Markle in Pasadena, mingling with the city's mayor, Victor Gordo.
Fox News Digital additionally learned that Prince Harry and Markle had opened their home to friends and family forced to evacuate, also donating clothing, children's items and other essentials to help the affected community.
WATCH: PRINCE HARRY AND MEGHAN MARKLE APPEAR AT PASADENA EVACUATION SITE
Meanwhile, other celebrities, including Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee, criticized artists who have engaged in self-promotion during the fires.
Lee, 62, took to social media earlier this week to slam celebrities who are promoting albums and tours as Los Angeles has been severely damaged by the fires.
"Makes me f---ing sick to see most people just [carrying] on posting on lame ass social media!" Lee wrote on Instagram.
"Guys right now nobody gives a flying f--- when your record drops or the next concert is when so many people are in the middle of one of the biggest disasters of all time!"
He concluded his post with, "I get that some comic relief is always [needed], but Jesus Christ leave it all alone and maybe just stop and see who needs help if you can."
Mötley Crüe paid tribute to those heavily impacted by the Los Angeles fires, as Lee’s band shared their sentiments on social media on Jan. 9.
The massive and deadly fires broke out in the Los Angeles area on Jan. 7, forcing tens of thousands of residents to flee for safety as their homes and businesses were destroyed. Officials on Thursday said more than 30 people remain missing while two additional deaths brought the number of those dead to 27.
In a report released Thursday evening, the County of Los Angeles Department of Medical Examiner confirmed that 10 people were killed in the Palisades Fire, and 17 people were killed in the Eaton Fire.
"We continue to work with multiple partners, not only in the recovery of remains, but then ultimately the identification of the deceased and then the notification to the next of kin," Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna told reporters during a news conference earlier in the day.
Luna said it was likely that more remains would be discovered in these areas, which is why officials are keeping evacuation orders in place around those sites.
Fox News Digital's Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.
Legal experts, privacy groups and parents alike applauded the Supreme Court's Friday ruling upholding a federal law banning TikTok unless it is divested from its Chinese parent company ByteDance, while others deemed it as "anti-democratic."
The ban is set to go into effect on Sunday.
"There is no doubt that, for more than 170 million Americans, TikTok offers a distinctive and expansive outlet for expression, means of engagement, and source of community," the court wrote in the unsigned ruling. "But Congress has determined that divestiture is necessary to address its well-supported national security concerns regarding TikTok’s data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary."
Former Vice President Mike Pence turned to X and called the decision "a victory for the privacy and security of the American people."
"This law was the result of a bipartisan cooperation and I commend it's authors and supporters in Congress for enacting this vital law for our national security," he continued. The CCP has been put on notice that the American people’s data is no longer for the taking. The incoming Trump administration must be prepared to uphold this TikTok divestment law and put the privacy and security of America first."
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., likewise said the Supreme Court "correctly rejected TikTok’s lies and propaganda masquerading as legal arguments" in a post on X.
"ByteDance and its Chinese Communist masters had nine months to sell TikTok before the Sunday deadline," the senator wrote. "The very fact that Communist China refuses to permit its sale reveals exactly what TikTok is: a communist spy app. The Supreme Court correctly rejected TikTok’s lies and propaganda masquerading as legal arguments."
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Tex., said the decision was "unsurprising,and the answer is that the Chinese government needs to give up control of TikTok."
Carrie Severino, President of Judicial Crisis Network, echoed Cotton's sentiments, also saying in a statement that the high court "rightly recognizes the danger of the Chinese Communist Party being able to access and maliciously deploy the data of hundreds of millions of Americans."
President Biden notably maintained his stance that he would enforce the law banning the social media app and would instead punt the implementation to President-elect Donald Trump and his incoming administration.
Severino stated she hopes "that President Trump's incoming administration vigorously enforces this important national security law."
Executive Director of American Parents Coalition Alleigh Marré also posted on X reacting to the holding. "This is a huge win for parents! Kids will be free from TikTok’s poison, its powerful, dangerous algorithm and compromising influences."
"I am incredibly proud to see that the highest court in the land has agreed that our elected officials hold the power to protect our national security from our most powerful foreign adversaries," said Michael Lucci, Founder and CEO of State Arumor, in a statement. "This decision is a vindication of the tireless work of so many patriotic groups, including State Armor, have done over the last year to make the public and lawmakers aware of the dangers that TikTok poses."
Lucci continued on to call for TikTok's sale to an American company "or immediately cease all operations within the United States, per the Supreme Court’s decision."
Others reacted to the Supreme Court's decision with disappointment, including Electronic Frontier Foundation Civil Liberties Director David Greene who called the holding "anti-democratic."
"Shutting down communications platforms or forcing their reorganization based on concerns of foreign propaganda and anti-national manipulation is an eminently anti-democratic tactic, one that the U.S. has previously condemned globally," he said in a statement released.
Likewise, Dean of UC Berkeley School of Law Erwin Chemerinsky told Fox News Digital in a statement that he believes the Court was "wrong" in its decision.
"Although unanimous, I think the Court was wrong," Chemerinsky said. "It accepted uncritically the government’s argument that China being able to gather information would harm national security; it never explained what kind of information is likely to be gathered to what effect.
"The impact on speech is staggering to ban a platform used by 173 million people in this country," he continued.
Just last year, Congress required that TikTok's China-based parent company ByteDance divest the company by Jan. 19. The law was subsequently signed by Biden.
When the law was passed, Congress specifically noted concerns over the app's Chinese ownership, which members said meant the app had the potential to be weaponized or used to amass vast amounts of user data, including from the roughly 170 million Americans who use TikTok.
Fox News Digital's Breanne Deppisch contributed to this report.
Kristi Noem, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Homeland Security, told lawmakers that she will end the controversial CBP One app, and a related migrant parole program that has allowed nearly 1.5 million immigrants into the US.
"Yes, Senator, if confirmed and I have the opportunity to be secretary, on day one CBP One will be shut down," Noem told Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., at her confirmation hearing before the Senate Homeland Security Committee.
Noem was first asked by Hawley if the southern border was secure.
"Senator, no, the southern border is not secure today. But in just three days, we will have a new president in this country, President Donald J. Trump. And he will secure our border," she said.
She was then asked about the use of the CBP One app, which allows immigrants to be paroled into the U.S. The app was created during the first Trump administration to assist with scheduling cargo inspections. However, it was controversially expanded in 2023 to allow migrants to make an appointment at a port of entry to be allowed in, initially due to an exception from the Title 42 public health order and then, since May, to be paroled into the U.S. as part of the Biden administration’s expansion of "lawful pathways."
As of the end of December, more than 936,500 individuals had made appointments to be paroled through the app, according to Customs and Border Protection.
Connecting to that was a parole process for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans (CHNV), which allows up to 30,000 nationals a month from those countries to receive travel authorization to enter the U.S. after a vetting process. As of the end of December, about 531,000 nationals had been allowed in through the program. It was first applied to Venezuelans in October 2022 and expanded to the other three nationalities in January 2023.
While the Biden administration said it was a part of an effort to encourage legal, rather than illegal, immigration and had been part of a slowing down of nationals entering illegally from those groups, opponents condemned it as a "concierge service" for otherwise illegal mass migration.
Noem said she would end CBP One on the first day in office, although the agency will keep some information.
"There's data and information in there that we will preserve so that we can ensure we know who's coming into this country and who's already here, that we need to go find," she clarified.
She then pointed to CHNV, "where our federal government actually paid to fly people into this country directly from other countries without any vetting or knowing who they are."
"So there's several of these programs that need to be eliminated, and we need to ensure that we're following legal immigration laws," she said.
Hawley followed up, asking if she would put an end to "abuse" in the parole system.
"We will go back to case by case evaluation of these parole cases and ensure that we have more resources, if you will partner with us, to make sure that our legal immigration system is fully utilized, that we have more judges, more immigration courts, so that we can process people legally and make sure that they are, going through that process rather than, like Joe Biden has done, use this as an excuse to allow people to come into our country with no consequences," she said.
Noem, if confirmed, will oversee DHS at a time when the agency is expected to launch a historic mass deportation operation targeting illegal immigrants within the U.S., while also attempting to expand border security at the southern and northern borders.
She will work with "border czar" Tom Homan, who was picked by Trump in November to head the operation and border security efforts.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken's final press conference shortly devolved into chaos Thursday after reporters had to be forcibly removed from the event, including one, an activist, who was physically carried out.
The men were upset that a ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel had not been reached sooner, accusing Blinken of "genocide" and being a "criminal."
Writer and activist Sam Husseini had to be dragged out of the event by security. Another reporter, Grayzone News' Max Blumenthal, left more peacefully, but still had to be escorted out after shouting questions at Blinken about why he kept "the bombs flowing when we had a deal in May?"
"You pontificate about a free press?" Husseini erupted. "I'm asking questions after being told by Matt Miller that he will not answer my questions, and so I ask them. Wasn't – wasn’t the point of the May 31st statement to block the ICJ orders? You blocked the ICJ orders!"
Blumenthal questioned Blinken on why he allowed "the Holocaust of our time" as he was escorted out, but that didn't stop the uproar. Blinken kept trying to get back on course amid the interruption, at one point asking people to "respect the process," but Husseini refused.
"Oh, respect the process?" Husseini yelled as he was being carried away. "Respect the process while everybody – everybody from the International – from Amnesty International to the ICJ’s saying that Israel’s doing genocide and extermination, and you’re telling me to respect the process. Criminal! Why aren’t you in The Hague?"
Three security guards ultimately had to grab Husseini in an attempt to remove him from the room. Husseini shouted as he clasped the table he was sitting at while he continued shouting at Blinken: "You are hurting me. You are hurting me!"
The United States, Egypt, Qatar, Israel and Hamas agreed this week to a ceasefire deal – the basis of which was proposed by President Joe Biden in May. Israel still has to fully ratify the agreement, but it is a three-phase process that is expected to potentially commence as early as Sunday. The deal marks the first reprieve in fighting since a short truce took place in November 2023, but fighting resumed several days later with both sides arguing violations of the agreed upon deal.
"Three hundred reporters in Gaza were on the receiving end of your bombs. Why did you keep the bombs flowing when we had a deal?" Blumenthal shouted at Blinken, after the Secretary of State thanked members for their "hard questions" during the past four years of his tenure. "You all knew we had a deal. Everyone in this room knows we had a deal, Tony, and you kept the bombs flowing."
A spokesperson for the State Department told Fox News Digital that it is committed to advancing press freedom and values the opportunity to regularly communicate with members of the press. But, the agency spokesperson said the State Department also follows agency norms, which posit that anyone attending department press briefings must act in a professional manner, observe restrictions that may be laid out in advance and not impede other speakers.
Blinken defended the Biden administration's policy approach to the fighting in Gaza during his final press conference as Secretary of State on Thursday. He did acknowledge that the war in Gaza posed a "uniquely challenging situation" due to the humanitarian issues Palestinians faced after Hamas launched their attack on Oct. 7, 2023. He also acknowledged that the U.S. had "real differences with Israel on the way it’s gone about the necessary defense of its people and its country."
But, according to President Joe Biden's National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, the Biden administration does "not believe what is happening in Gaza is a genocide," he said earlier this year.
The deal reached this week hit a quick snag when Hamas sought to push last-minute demands into the deal. Additionally, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has faced pressure from far-right politicians not to go through with the deal. Still, on Friday morning, Netanyahu said that, pending approval by Israel's security cabinet and government, the proposed ceasefire and hostage deal was still on and expected to commence Sunday.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has announced a new $77 million plan to clamp down on subway crime, while the MTA has also begun installing "spikes" on some of its turnstiles to stop fare evaders who cost the transit agency hundreds of millions of dollars a year in lost revenue.
The new spike features consist of metal sheets with sharp edges installed on guardrails between turnstiles that are intended to stop fare beaters from using the gate handrails for leverage when jumping.
However, the spikes are not very sharp, and evaders are still able to place their hands on top of the spikes and jump over them — or simply duck underneath the bars. The spikes have so far been installed in Manhattan's Lexington Avenue 59th Street Station, which services the N, R, W, 4, 5 and 6 trains.
Skipping payment is notoriously easy, particularly at subway stations that do not have high turnstiles. One rider told the New York Post the new spikes were "silly and foolish" and a waste of money.
Additionally, the MTA also spends around $1 million a month on private unarmed security guards to deter fare beaters, per Fox 5, but the guards have no authority to apprehend those who dodge payment.
Hochul’s fare evader plan focuses on installing more modern high-rise turnstiles at 40 stations, and it is unclear if the spike rollout at 59th Street is part of this plan.
Hochul said fare evaders cost the MTA around $700 million per year in lost revenue. About $500 million of that is via the subway system, while the remainder is attributed to the bus system.
"I say it's time to crack down on the shameless, fare evaders who are just so brazen they just walk through and others who are paying, they feel like, why should I bother," Hochul said at a Grand Central press conference on Thursday announcing her $77 million plan.
Overall crime in the city is down, Hochul said, but recent high-profile incidents on the transit system have struck fear into everyday strangers.
A Guatemalan illegal immigrant has been charged with setting a woman on fire and burning her to death on a subway train last month, while on New Year’s Eve, a man was pushed in front of a moving train but miraculously survived.
There has been a surge of violence on subways in recent weeks, and Hochul said 750 more police officers will patrol the subway system on top of the 2,500 already assigned. An additional 300 will be assigned to the trains onboard between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. Those figures are on top of the estimated 1,000 National Guard troops who have been assigned to the subway system.
"So basically, this means we've doubled the number of law enforcement personnel on the New York City subway system in one year," Hochul said.
New subway edge barriers will also be installed on platforms at more than 100 additional stations by the end of 2025 to stop straphangers from falling or being pushed onto tracks.
The governor also announced funding to install LED lighting in all subway stations throughout the system in order to increase visibility throughout the stations.
"Let's just get back to basics, they served their purpose," Hochil said of the barriers. "They're there. If someone wants to stand behind them while the train is approaching and it gives you that sense of security that every New Yorker deserves to have."
Hochul also said a 24/7 "Welcome Center" near end-of-line stations will be expanded to create spaces for homeless people.
The FBI assistant special agent in charge who told the media and the public the New Orleans attack was "not a terrorist event" has been reassigned, Fox News has learned.
Multiple sources tell Fox News that FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Alethea Duncan has been temporarily reassigned following her initial press conference in which she stated: "This is not a terrorist event."
It was terrorism.
After the original presser, the FBI put out a statement using the word "terrorism." Attorney General Merrick Garland and President Biden also used the word "terrorism" in their statements.
No other details were offered about Duncan’s new position, but she is still with the FBI.
The FBI declined to comment.
Authorities say that Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42,had an ISIS flag in his truck when he drove it into a crowd full of New Year's revelers on Bourbon Street, killing 14 and injuring dozens of others. After plowing through the crowd, he jumped out of his truck and began shooting at local police officers, who returned fire and killed him.
The FBI said Jabbar bought two coolers that he later used to conceal IEDs on Bourbon Street and that he drove from his native Houston to New Orleans on Dec. 31 to carryout his planned attack.
In the hours after the chaos unfolded on Bourbon Street on New Year's Day, Duncan spoke at a press conference and declared the attack was not connected to terrorism.
"We'll be taking over the investigative lead for this event. This is not a terrorist event," Duncan said during the presser.
During that same press conference, however, the mayor of New Orleans told the media and public that the city did in fact suffer a terror attack.
"Know that the city of New Orleans was impacted by a terrorist attack. It's all still under investigation," Mayor LaToya Cantrell, a Democrat who has served in the role since 2018, said at the presser.
Duncan also said in subsequent press conferences that the attack is being investigated as an act of terror.
President-elect Trump's inauguration will now take place inside the U.S. Capitol due to cold weather forecast for Monday, the first indoor inauguration since President Ronald Reagan's second inauguration in January 1985.
On that frigid January 20th 40 years ago, the air temperature was 7 degrees, with a windchill of -40.
Monday's forecast is a high of 23 degrees and a low of 10, but brutal winds are expected to whip across the city, making the temperature feel more like single-digits.
President Thomas Jefferson was inaugurated inside the Capitol in 1801, as was custom in the nation's early history. Organizers moved President James Monroe's inauguration outside, because the Capitol was so badly damaged after the War of 1812 when the British burned it, which kicked off the custom of swearing in a president outside in front of the National Mall.
President John F. Kennedy's inauguration in 1961 had similar temperatures — a high of 26 and a low of 19. It was held outside, even after a storm dumped 8 inches of snow the previous day.
"The weather forecast for Washington, D.C., with the windchill factor, could take temperatures into severe record lows," Trump posted on Truth Social, addressing the expected cold.
"There is an Arctic blast sweeping the Country. I don’t want to see people hurt, or injured, in any way. It is dangerous conditions for the tens of thousands of Law Enforcement, First Responders, Police K9s and even horses, and hundreds of thousands of supporters that will be outside for many hours on the 20th (In any event, if you decide to come, dress warmly!)."
Trump said D.C.'s Capital One Arena will be open Monday for live viewing of his inauguration "and to host the Presidential Parade."
"I will join the crowd at Capital One, after my Swearing in," he wrote.
TikTok influencers are mourning the impending shutdown of the popular Chinese-owned social media platform after the Supreme Court upheld a law to ban the application if it is not sold in the United States.
A popular voice on the app, Emily Senn, broke down in tears after hearing the news and said she would "never forgive" the U.S. government for its actions against TikTok.
"I'm never going to trust you ever again because you just, like that, took away millions of people's income and livelihood and who does that?" she asked Friday morning.
Senn, who lost her job as a cruise ship singer during the pandemic, said TikTok has helped support her financially and gave her a sense of community over the last three years.
Madilynn Cameron, who has amassed over 1 million followers on TikTok and signed a petition to save the platform, asked her followers to remain "calm and hopeful" that President Biden or President-elect Donald Trump would intervene.
"We are a laughingstock to other countries," she said. "Do you understand that? Everyone mocks us."
Many other popular accounts were devastated and angry about the news.
Popular social media star and content creator Kelsey Pumel released a video on Friday titled "Goodbye freedom of speech," in which she questioned the government's priorities.
"I just still can't get over the fact that the government literally cares more about an app that hasn't proven to pose any of the threats that our country claims it does over kids literally being unalived [sic] at school, the healthcare epidemic, not being able to afford housing, the homeless population. You know, whatever. F--- this country," she said.
"Y'all can't agree that kids shouldn't be shot in school. Y'all can't agree that women should have healthcare," he shouted. ‘Y’all can't agree that we should have healthcare. Y'all can't agree on f---ing cops not being allowed to just f---ing kill people with impunity. But a TikTok ban? Y'all lined up and said, what's this about? The Chinese? Yo f--- them mother---ers."
The Supreme Court on Friday upheld a federal law that would ban TikTok if it is not sold just two days before the bipartisan divestiture law is slated to take effect.
"There is no doubt that, for more than 170 million Americans, TikTok offers a distinctive and expansive outlet for expression, means of engagement, and source of community," the court wrote in the unsigned ruling. "But Congress has determined that divestiture is necessary to address its well-supported national security concerns regarding TikTok's data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary."
"For the foregoing reasons, we conclude that the challenged provisions do not violate petitioners' First Amendment rights. The judgment of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is affirmed."
There were no noted dissents.
The decision comes at a time when President-elect Trump has signaled apparent support for the app in recent months.
Fox News’ Breanne Deppisch contributed to this report.
A Texas truck driver charged in the deaths of 53 migrants who rode in a sweltering tractor-trailer with no air conditioning pleaded guilty Thursday over the 2022 tragedy that became the nation's deadliest smuggling attempt across the U.S.-Mexico border.
Homero Zamorano Jr. pleaded guilty in federal court in San Antonio to one count of conspiracy to transport aliens resulting in death, causing serious bodily injury, and placing lives in jeopardy; one count of transportation of aliens resulting in death; and one count of transportation of aliens resulting in serious bodily injury and placing lives in jeopardy.
The 48-year-old could face a maximum sentence of life in prison, the Justice Department announced. Zamorano is scheduled to be sentenced on April 24.
Mark Stevens, Zamorano’s attorney, said in an email that he was unable to comment on a pending case.
Authorities say Zamorano, who drove the truck, and other men charged in the smuggling attempt were aware that the trailer’s air-conditioning unit was malfunctioning and would not blow cool air to the migrants trapped inside during the sweltering, three-hour ride from the border city of Laredo to San Antonio.
Temperatures reached 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 Celsius) while migrants screamed and banged the walls of the trailer for help or tried to claw their way out, investigators said.
The truck had been packed with 67 people, and the dead included 27 from Mexico, 14 from Honduras, seven from Guatemala and two from El Salvador, according to Mexican authorities. Prosecutors have said migrants paid up to $15,000 each to be taken across the U.S. border.
The incident happened on a remote San Antonio back road on June 27, 2022. Police officers detained Zamorano after spotting him hiding in nearby brush, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. A search of Zamorano’s cellphone showed calls concerning the smuggling run.
Surveillance video of the 18-wheeler passing through a Border Patrol checkpoint showed the driver matched Zamorano’s description, according to the indictment.
Also charged previously in the tragedy was Christian Martinez, also of Texas, who with Zamorano was arrested shortly after the migrants were found. Martinez has since pleaded guilty to smuggling-related charges.
Four Mexican nationals were also arrested in the case in 2023. And in August, a suspect arrested in Guatemala was charged with helping coordinate the smuggling attempt. U.S. authorities said they would seek the extradition of Rigoberto Román Miranda Orozco, who is charged with six counts of migrant smuggling resulting in death or serious injury. Authorities alleged he is connected to four Guatemalan migrants in the trailer, three of whom died, and faces up to life in prison if convicted.
According to the indictment against Miranda Orozco, the smugglers had forced the migrants to give up their cellphones before getting inside the trailer, leaving them no way to call for help. An unknown powder was spread around the trailer to prevent the smell of human cargo from being detected by patrol dogs at border inspection stations.
When the trailer was opened in San Antonio, 48 migrants were already dead. Another 16 were taken to hospitals, where five more died. President Joe Biden called the tragedy "horrifying and heartbreaking."
Those who died were seeking better lives. News of the trailer full of bodies was met with horror in cities and villages accustomed to seeing their young people leave, trying to flee poverty or violence in Central America and Mexico.
Authorities allege that the men worked with human smuggling operations in Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico, and shared routes, guides, stash houses, trucks and trailers, some of which were stored at a private parking lot in San Antonio.
Migrants paid the organization up to $15,000 each to be taken across the border. The fee would cover up to three attempts to get into the U.S.
The incident is the deadliest among tragedies that have claimed thousands of lives in recent decades as people attempt to cross the U.S. border from Mexico. Ten migrants died in 2017 after they were trapped inside a truck parked at a Walmart in San Antonio. In 2003, the bodies of 19 migrants were found in a sweltering truck southeast of San Antonio.
PANAMA CITY, Fla. – A jury found that CNN committed defamation against U.S. Navy veteran Zachary Young and is responsible for punitive damages on Friday after more than eight hours of deliberation.
The jury ruled Young is awarded $4 million in lost earnings, $1 in personal damages such as pain and suffering and said that punitive damages are warranted against CNN.
The jury will now proceed to phase two of the trial to determine punitive damages. Lawyers on each side will have a chance to present evidence to determine punitive damages.
Young alleged that CNN smeared him by implying he illegally profited when helping people flee Afghanistan on the "black market" during the Biden administration's military withdrawal from the country in 2021. Young believes CNN "destroyed his reputation and business" by branding him an illegal profiteer" who exploited "desperate Afghans" during a November 11, 2021, report by Alex Marquardt that first aired on CNN’s "The Lead with Jake Tapper."
The decision comes after 3-plus years of litigation and a wild, sometimes chaotic, 8-day trial. 14th Judicial Circuit Court Judge William S. Henry, who presided over the trial in Bay County, Florida, previously ruled that Young "did not act illegally or criminally," despite what the network reported on air.
After the verdict sent shock waves through the courtroom, Judge Henry read instructions to the jury as they prepared to determine punitive damages.
"You should consider this additional evidence, along with the evidence presented, and you should decide any disputed factual issues by the greater weight of the evidence. The greater weight of the evidence means the more persuasive and convincing force and effect of the entire evidence in the case," Judge Henry said.
"In order to decide the amount of punitive damages, if any, to be assessed as punishment against the defendant," he continued. "This amount would be in addition to the compensatory damages you have previously awarded."
Judge Henry instructed jurors to consider "the nature, extent and degree of misconduct and the related circumstances" including, "whether the wrongful conduct was motivated solely by unreasonable financial gain," "whether the unreasonably dangerous nature of the conduct together with the high likelihood of injury resulting from the conduct was actually known by the defendant," "whether at the time… the defendant had a specific intent to harm the plaintiff," and if the conduct "did, in fact, harm plaintiff."
Judge Henry also said the "financial resources" of CNN should be taken into consideration.
"You may not award an amount that would financially destroy the defendant," Judge Henry said.
"You may, in your discretion, decline to award punitive damages. When determining the amount, if any, punitive damages to be awarded, you may impose punitive damages to punish the defendant only for the specific conduct you have concluded caused plaintiff hard," Judge Henry said. "You may not award punitive damages to punish defendant for anything other than the conduct that injured plaintiff."
Young’s lead counsel Vel Freedman urged jurors to punish CNN during a powerful closing statement on Thursday.
"It was a calculated attack by CNN on his character that has inflicted deep and lasting wounds," Freedman said.
CNN's Jake Tapper first teased the 2021 segment at the center of the suit by warning CNN viewers of "desperate Afghans still trying to escape the country being preyed on by folks demanding that they pay up big time to get out."
Later in the show, Tapper reminded viewers that the story about "desperate Afghans" being "preyed upon" was up next.
Tapper’s teasers ended up being a key part of the trial, as jurors asked to take another look at them during the deliberation process.
Once the much-hyped segment began, Tapper said Marquardt found "Afghans trying to get out of the country face a black market full of promises, demands of exorbitant fees, and no guarantee of safety or success."
Tapper tossed to Marquardt, who said "desperate Afghans are being exploited" and need to pay "exorbitant, often impossible amounts" to flee the country.
Marquardt then singled out Young, putting a picture of his face on the screen and saying his company was asking for $75,000 to transport a vehicle of passengers to Pakistan or $14,500 per person to end up in the United Arab Emirates.
"Prices well beyond the reach of most Afghans," Marquardt told viewers.
CNN then aired Marquardt allegedly attempting to call Young, who did not answer the phone.
"In a text message, he told CNN that Afghans trying to leave are expected to have sponsors pay for them," Marquardt said, adding that Young told the network evacuation costs are "highly volatile and based on environmental realities."
Marquardt then said Young "repeatedly declined to break down the cost or say if he’s making money," before playing a clip of an anonymous sympathetic man who couldn’t afford to have his family evacuated from Afghanistan.
Marquardt went back to Young, saying he received another text message.
"In another message, that person offering those evacuations, Zachary Young, he wrote, ‘Availability is extremely limited, and demand is high’… he goes on to say, ‘That’s how economics works, unfortunately,’" Marquardt told viewers.
Tapper responded, "Unfortunately, hmm," before thanking Marquardt for the report.
No other people or companies were named other than Young.
The phone call became a point of contention during the trial, as the plaintiff suggested Marquardt didn’t really place a call to Young and behind-the-scenes footage of the segment showed Marquardt joking it was "theater" to colleagues. But Marquardt testified that he called the number he believed to belong to Young and dismissed the "theater" joke as a reference to "Saturday Night Live."
The segment was shared on social media and also repackaged for CNN's website. The Marquardt report was re-aired Nov. 13 on Jim Acosta’s CNN show and multiple times on CNN International.
Every second of the segment was picked apart during the trial, with CNN’s legal team insisting Young was not a major element of the story and the plaintiff’s team suggesting the "black market" implication essentially ruined Young’s career as a defense contractor, where that language was specifically mentioned as grounds for termination in a contract he signed.
Young's legal team obtained damning CNN internal messages through discovery repeatedly showing staffers expressing overt hostility towards the Navy veteran. Among those presented to the jury included one calling him a "s--tbag" and an "a--hole," one saying he has a "punchable face."
Marquardt's own message telling a colleague "we're gonna nail this Zachary Young mf---er" was often cited throughout the trial.
At one point, CNN senior national security editor Thomas Lumley was grilled in court after internal messages showed he was highly skeptical of the "pretty flawed" report. Lumley was called as a witness after internal messages showed he felt the report was "full of holes like Swiss cheese."
Young, who became emotional on the witness stand when discussing the segment’s impact on his marriage, also testified that he rescued at least 22 women from Afghanistan, but that information was never reported by CNN.
CNN issued an on-air apology on March 25, 2022, when substitute anchor Pamela Brown was sitting in Tapper’s chair. However, several CNN staffers who took the witness stand said he didn’t feel the apology was necessary and Adam Levine testified that the apology was only issued for legal purposes.
Freedman also reminded jurors that many CNN staffers testified that the "black market" term was accurate, and others said the network’s on-air apology was not necessary.
"None of them are sorry. All of them said they would do it again," Freedman told jurors on Thursday.
The trial also included Judge Henry scolding CNN lead counsel David Axelrod, who is not the on-air pundit with the same name, several times and forcing him to apologize to Young on the spot for calling him a "liar" when evidence proved he didn’t lie about failing to earn work in his field on the heels of the CNN segment airing.
Axelrod had insisted a document showing Young still had a security clearance was proof he was able to find work after the CNN segment aired, but it ultimately came out that the security clearance was dropped in 2022.
Tiffany Williams Brewer, who resigned from the New Jersey State Commission of Investigation shortly after the watchdog agency announced her appointment to the role of CEO, made the abrupt move after the Asbury Park Press reported that she had claimed a Maryland property as her principal residence last year, but voted in the Garden State in the November election.
The outlet, which published an owner occupancy affidavit dated March 13, 2024, reported that the document indicated Williams Brewer would occupy the Maryland residence for at least seven of the next 12 months.
Williams Brewer voted in Tinton Falls during last year's presidential contest, the Asbury Park Press reported, citing the Monmouth County Board of Elections.
"The Monmouth County election officials take the integrity of the election process very seriously," Monmouth County Clerk Christine Giordano Hanlon said in a statement. "Upon referral by the County Clerk, the Superintendent/Registrar of Elections investigated the matter and has made the determination to make a referral to the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office for review and will proceed to remove this individual from the voter rolls in Monmouth."
Monmouth County Superintendent of Elections Christopher P. Siciliano told Fox News Digital that he had removed Williams Brewer from the voter rolls, but noted that she could be reinstated if she furnishes evidence that she meets the requirements to register in New Jersey.
The New Jersey State Commission of Investigation's objective is to probe "waste, fraud and abuse of government tax dollars," according to the state's website. Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, appointed Williams Brewer to the commission in 2022.
"Ms. Brewer previously served as the Chair of the four-member Commission from 2022 through 2024. She also has been serving on an interim basis in the day-to-day leadership role of the SCI following the death of former Executive Director Chadd W. Lackey in a July traffic accident," the agency noted in a Jan. 6 press release announcing her appointment as CEO.
Williams Brewer is an assistant professor of law at Howard University's School of Law, the school's website indicates.
An individual at the school indicated that they shared Fox News Digital's comment request with Williams Brewer. But Williams Brewer did not respond in time for publication.
In a statement posted on LinkedIn regarding her resignation from the state agency, Williams Brewer addressed her residency status and work in academia.
"My dual residency in Maryland and New Jersey has always been transparent and in full compliance with all relevant regulations. It has never interfered with my duties at the SCI or constituted an ethical lapse. Let me be clear — my residency status has never run afoul of the NJ First Act," she asserted.
"While I remain dedicated to public service, the recent events, including the revelation of employee-driven mischaracterizations of my actions to the media, have created a toxic climate that dissuades me from continuing in this role. I am disappointed that this environment, which undermines the integrity of the SCI, has necessitated my resignation," she noted in another part of her lengthy statement.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, New Jersey State Commission of Investigation chair John P. Lacey noted that the agency is seeking a new executive director.
"For nearly 60 years, the State Commission of Investigation has stood as the sole independent fact-finding agency in New Jersey with the legal responsibility to investigate and issue reports concerning organized crime, as well as waste, fraud and abuse of taxpayer dollars. SCI has a proud history of impactful work and a relentless dedication to serving the public interest. Following the recent resignation of the now-former Executive Director, we remain steadfast in serving as vigilant guardians of accountability and good governance in New Jersey," Lacey said in the statement.
"The Commission is actively working to find a new Executive Director and has posted the job on the SCI’s website and on several other public websites. Additionally, with the new appointments recently issued by Governor Murphy, the Commission is now at its full complement with four Commissioners and newly-named Chair John P. Lacey. We remain committed to our core values and are confident that with renewed leadership, we will continue to serve the residents of New Jersey with the highest level of integrity."
Video captured a New York City bus teetering on the edge of an overpass after a bus driver lost control and skidded into a wall, according to officials.
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Fire Department of New York confirmed to Fox News Digital the driver missed a turn at 8:40 a.m. Friday and careened into a stone wall.
Video footage captured the passenger bus dangling over a roadway on the Henry Hudson Parkway and Kappock Street in the Bronx. The bus, identified as a BXM1 bus, runs to and from Manhattan.
No passengers were riding the bus and the driver was not injured, officials said. Firefighters were able to help the bus driver without injury.
Only days after Indiana Gov. Mike Braun was sworn-in in Indianapolis, the former Republican senator officially rid the state government of its Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) apparatus.
Instead, Braun – who grew a small Jasper truck-body business called Meyer Distributing into a major player with 700 product lines – said on Friday it takes a politician who "signed the front side of a paycheck" to understand what economic priorities actually matter, and DEI is not one of them.
"At the [Indiana] inaugural, which was over the weekend for me, there was so much excitement knowing something is afoot even in a good red state like Indiana, mostly because of what's going to happen out in D.C. and the partnership that can happen between enterprising states like ours has always been," Braun said on "Fox & Friends."
"We’ve never really had somebody from Main Street… be our own governor here."
Braun contrasted the conservative economic vision with that of President Biden and other Democrats, whose platform is "built on big government."
"Rahm Emanuel said ‘never let a crisis go to waste’," he said in that respect, referring to the former President Barack Obama confidant’s motto during the 2008 financial crisis. The line was seen as a suggestion to use tough moments to force through tenets of one’s personal agenda.
In comments to Fox News Digital, Braun said that in nearly 40 years of running a business, he knows what works and what does not.
Instead of DEI, Indiana needs "MEI" – or Merit, Excellence and Innovation – to be a priority, he said.
"Government should be laser-focused on one thing: getting results for the people they serve. We’re replacing the divisive DEI ideology with a level playing field of MEI -- the same reason we’re eliminating college degree requirements where they’re not essential and adding key performance metrics for accountability," Braun said.
"[That is] because everyone should be judged on what they do, not who they are."
Braun noted his business background and reiterated how his guiding principle of growing Meyer into the expansive business it is today has been "results – above everything else."
"That’s exactly what we’re putting first in my administration."
In his order, Braun cited the Supreme Court’s ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard – which found affirmative action programs violate the Equal Protection Clause – and said state resources would not be used to "support [DEI] positions, departments, activities, procedures or programs if they grant preferential treatment based upon one person's particular race..."
It also bans requirements of Indianans to have to disclose their personal pronouns or for employers to mandate job applicants to provide a DEI-related statement.
"We've grown the federal government to a place that I hope DOGE… brings it down because you’ve got a lot of anxious governors that want to double down on [DOGE] – we’re going to do it anyway," Braun said separately on Fox News Channel.
Braun said that since COVID-19, too many Indiana bureaucrats are still teleworking and that the DEI-nixing effort is also another way to streamline government to be more effective, just like Meyer.
The state’s DEI office had been established by Braun’s predecessor, Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb.
After the George Floyd incident in Minnesota, Holcomb addressed Indianans on the issue of "getting to the root causes of inequities and not just reacting to the symptoms."
Holcomb, who first ascended to the governorship when Mike Pence became vice president in 2017, appointed then-University of Notre Dame public affairs director Karrah Herring to lead the new DEI department.
Braun also received some pushback on his decision:
The Indiana legislature’s minority leader said he respects Braun’s right to position his new administration how he wants but questioned his chosen hierarchy.
"Thinking of the myriad issues Hoosiers are facing, though, I can’t understand why this is a top priority," State Rep. Phil GiaQuinta, D-Fort Wayne, said in a statement.
GiaQuinta added a recent caucus meeting with the DEI office was "insightful and helpful" to their work addressing Indianans’ needs, and called the department’s sunset a "distraction from the real issues."
The members of the Republican National Committee, in a vote that was never in doubt, on Friday re-elected chair Michael Whatley to continue steering the national party committee.
"This organization has got to be the tip of the spear. And as your chairman, I promise this organization will be the tip of the spear to protect Donald Trump," Whatley said, as he spoke after the unanimous voice vote at the RNC's annual meeting, which was held this year in the nation's capital ahead of Monday's inauguration of President-elect Trump.
Whatley, a longtime Trump ally and a major supporter of Trump's election integrity efforts, who was serving as RNC general counsel and chair of the North Carolina Republican Party, was named by Trump last March as chair as the former president clinched the 2024 GOP presidential nomination. Whatley succeeded longtime RNC chair Ronna McDaniel, whom Trump no longer supported.
In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital on the sidelines of the RNC's winter meeting, Whatley says his job going forward in the 2025 elections and 2026 midterms is straight forward.
"It's really critical for us to make sure that the Trump voters become Republican voters," Whatley told Fox News Digital on the sidelines of the RNCs' winter meeting, which is being held in the nation's capital.
Republicans enjoyed major victories in November's elections, with President-elect Trump defeatingVice President Kamala Harris to win back the White House, the GOP flipping control of the Senate from the Democrats, and holding on to their razor-thin majority in the House.
Whatley, who was interviewed on Thursday on the eve of the formal RNC chair vote, said the GOP needs "to cement those gains" made in the 2024 elections.
"We're going to go right back to the building blocks that we had during this election cycle, which is to get out the vote and protect the ballot," Whatley emphasized.
The RNC chair pointed to "the lessons that we learned" in the 2024 cycle "about going after low propensity voters, about making sure that we're reaching out to every voter and bringing in new communities," which he said helped Republicans make "historic gains among African American voters, among Asian American voters, among Hispanic voters, young voters and women voters."
Speaking a couple of days before the president-elect's inauguration, Whatley emphasized that once Trump's in the White House, "we're going to go right back to the RNC. We're going to roll up our sleeves and get to work. We've got a couple of governor's races…that we're going to be working on in ‘25."
But Whatley said "everything is focused on ‘26," when the party will be defending its majorities in the House and Senate, "because that is going to determine, from an agenda perspective, whether we have two years to work with or four. And America needs us to have a four-year agenda."
"What we're going to be doing is making sure that we are registering voters," Whatley said. "We're going to be…communicating with the folks that we need to turn out."
Pointing to the 2024 presidential election, he said "it's the same fundamentals."
But he noted that "it's not just seven battleground states" and that the 2026 contests are "definitely going to be a very intense midterm election cycle."
While Democrats would disagree, Whatley described today's GOP as "a common sense party…this is a party that's going to fight for every American family and for every American community."
Referring to former Democrats Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, whom Trump has nominated to serve in his second administration's cabinet, Whatley touted "the fact that we have two former Democratic presidential candidates who are going to be serving in the president's cabinet. That shows you that this is a commonsense agenda, a commonsense team, that we're going to be moving forward with."
In December, Trump asked Whatley to continue during the 2026 cycle as RNC chair.
"I think we will be able to talk when we need to talk," Whatley said when asked if his lines of communication with Trump will be limited now that the president-elect is returning to the White House. "We're going to support the president and his agenda. That does not change. What changes is his ability from the White House to actually implement the agenda that he's been campaigning on."
The winter meeting included the last appearance at the RNC by co-chair Lara Trump. The president-elect's daughter-in-law is stepping down from her post.
She stressed that it's crucial the RNC takes "the opportunity the voters have given us" to "continue to expand the Republican brand."
The elder Trump is term-limited and won't be able to seek election again in 2028. Vice President-elect Sen. JD Vance will likely be considered the front-runner for the 2028 GOP nomination.
Whatley reiterated what he told Fox News Digital in December, that the RNC will stay neutral in the next race for the GOP nomination and that the party's "got an amazing bench."
"You think about the talent on the Republican side of the aisle right now, our governors, our senators, our members of Congress, people that are going to be serving in this administration. I love the fact that the Republican Party is going to be set up to have a fantastic candidate going into '28," he highlighted.
Unlike the DNC, which in the 2024 cycle upended the traditional presidential nominating calendar, the RNC made no major changes to their primary lineup, and kept the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary as their first two contests.
Asked about the 2028 calendar, Whatley reiterated to Fox News that "I have not had any conversations with anybody who wants to change the calendar, so we will wait and see what that looks like as we're going forward. We're at the RNC meetings this week and having a number of conversations with folks, but that is not a huge push."
"I don't think that changing the calendar really helped the Democrats at all," Whatley argued. "And I think that us, making sure that we are working our system the way that we always have, is going to be critical."
The swearing-in ceremony for President-elect Trump's inauguration will be moved inside because of cold temperatures forecast for Washington, D.C., Fox News has learned.
Trump announced Friday that he had ordered that his inaugural address and other ceremonial prayers and speeches be held in the United States Capitol Rotunda due to expected winter conditions.
"The weather forecast for Washington, D.C., with the windchill factor, could take temperatures into severe record lows," Trump posted on Truth Social, addressing the expected cold.
"There is an Arctic blast sweeping the Country. I don’t want to see people hurt, or injured, in any way. It is dangerous conditions for the tens of thousands of Law Enforcement, First Responders, Police K9s and even horses, and hundreds of thousands of supporters that will be outside for many hours on the 20th (In any event, if you decide to come, dress warmly!)."
Brutal cold and ferocious winds are expected for the D.C. region on Monday, with temperatures expected to fall to the upper 20s, FOX Weather reported.
With the wind chill, it will feel more like single digit temperatures. There is also a possibility of snow from a storm forecast on Sunday.
"The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies will honor the request of the President-elect and his Presidential Inaugural Committee to move the 60th Inaugural Ceremonies inside the U.S. Capitol to the Rotunda," a committee spokesperson said.
The last time inauguration ceremonies were moved indoors was in January 1985, for President Ronald Reagan's second inauguration. Regan had taken the oath of office the day before at the White House, but public ceremonies the next day took place inside while the temperature was 7 degrees with a windchill of -40.
President Thomas Jefferson was also inaugurated inside the Capitol, as was the custom early in the republic's history.
President James Monroe’s inauguration was moved outside because the Capitol was so badly damaged after the War of 1812 when the British burned the building. That started the outdoors custom.
Fox News' Chad Pergram contributed to this report.
A Green Bay Packers fan that shared a video of his fiancée getting berated by a Philadelphia Eagles fan during the NFC wild-card game at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on Sunday has now found himself at the center of controversy over accusations that he sought out the interaction in order to record content for social media.
Alexander Basara and his fiancée, Ally Keller, attended Sunday’s game in Philadelphia, but their experience supporting their team was soured when an Eagles fan, identified as Ryan Caldwell, lashed out at Keller and Basara in a vile tirade.
Caldwell was heard calling the woman an "ugly dumb c---" while Basara recorded the interaction. He also taunted Basara with other disgusting gestures as Basara attempted to defend Keller.
The interaction led Caldwell to being fired from his job at a New Jersey consulting firm. He was also reportedly banned from attending games at Lincoln Financial Field.
Social media praised the move by Caldwell’s former employer and sympathized with Basara and Keller. However, as the story continued to unfold this week, several people on social media began to accuse Basara of seeking out such an interaction in order to record content.
In a GoFundMe campaign set up by Basara, he asks supporters to help send him to the game.
"If you didn't know, I'm born and raised in PA, and actually 1 hour from the Eagles stadium. So I ask of you, the fans... send me to Philly. Send me into the belly of the beast. I've done it multiple times repping the Packers proud, and I am fully ready to do it again," he wrote.
"I've been cursed at, stuff thrown at me, and even my first ever cheesehead ripped off my head and thrown into a fire bin while supporting my team in Philly. But I'm sure as hell not scared to do it again."
According to Basara’s account on X, he describes himself as a "daily Packers content creator" and runs a YouTube account.
In response to the video and GoFundMe campaign, social media users called Basara out.
"Influencers do things on purpose to go viral," former "America's Next Top Model" winner Adrianne Curry said in a post on X. "He knew this would happen so allowed his girl to be a piñata for aggressive drunk men at a sporting event to film....all to go viral for clicks and likes. Read the last paragraph."
Basara responded to Curry’s post denying the allegation, saying he was vlogging a normal game-day experience.
"You should maybe try and not speak on things you have no idea about. I was there and making a NORMAL GameDay vlog, just as I did in Green Bay last month. I wanted to showcase the NORMAL banter of Eagles fans, which 99% of the time, we got," his post read. "Then this guy wouldn't stop, and it only got worse and worse. Way to defend a PoS for whatever your point here is…"
The two exchanged in a back-and-forth, and Basara accused Curry of "victim blaming."
However, Curry was not alone.
"Grow up bro YOU KNEW what it was going to be like," one person wrote on X.
"You’re a packers ‘Content Creator’ who went into the stadium with a full body cam. Me thinks you were looking for something like this to happen," another posted. "Your wife didn’t deserve this and didn’t deserve not being stuck up for either."
Basara denied the accusation on social media. He did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
A Pakistani court on Friday sentenced the country’s already-imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife to 14 and seven years in jail after finding them guilty of corruption, officials and his lawyer said.
It's yet another blow for the former premier who has been behind the bars since 2023.
The couple are accused of accepting a gift of land from a real estate tycoon in exchange for laundered money when Khan was in power.
Prosecutors say the businessman, Malik Riaz, was then allowed by Khan to pay fines that were imposed on him in another case from the same laundered money of 190 million British pounds ($240 million) that was returned to Pakistan by British authorities in 2022 to deposit with the national exchequer.
Khan has denied wrongdoing and insisted since his arrest in 2023 that all the charges against him are a plot by rivals to keep him from returning to office.
According to Khan’s legal team, Khan laughed and his wife, Bushra Bibi, smiled when judge Nasir Javed read the verdict.
Later, Khan and Bibi were taken into custody by prison officials after the announcement of the verdict, according to officials. She had earlier served a prison sentence in another graft case until she was freed on bail by a court in October. She recently led a rally to demand her husband’s release.
Later, a post from Khan’s account on the X platform urged his supporters not to panic over the verdict, under which the al-Qadir University built by his wife's charity will also be taken over by authorities in the Punjab province.
"I will never accept this dictatorship and I will stay in the prison cell for as long as I have to in the struggle against this dictatorship, but I will not compromise on my principles and the struggle for the true freedom of the nation," Khan wrote. Khan’s family has said such posts are shared with his consent.
Faisal Chaudhry, a defense lawyer, said the court verdict could be challenged in the superior courts.
Shortly after the announcement of the verdict, lawmakers from Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or PTI, party rallied outside the parliament in the capital, Islamabad, saying the former premier had been wrongly punished.
"This is a bogus case, and we will approach an appeals court against this decision," said Omar Ayub Khan, a senior party leader who is not related to the former premier.
Imran Khan was ousted in a no-confidence vote in parliament in April 2022, had previously been convicted on charges of corruption, revealing official secrets and violating marriage laws in three separate verdicts and sentenced to 10, 14 and seven years respectively. Under Pakistani law, he is to serve the terms concurrently — meaning, the length of the longest of the sentences.
Some of Khan’s supporters were also present outside the Adiala prison in the city of Rawalpindi, and they chanted slogans against the government, demanding the release of their leader.
On Thursday, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar told reporters in Islamabad that there was "irrefutable evidence" against Khan and his wife in the "mega corruption scandal." Tarar said that Khan even did not tell his own Cabinet members about the money that was returned to Pakistan by Britain.
Tarar also claimed that Khan built a new sprawling house in the eastern city of Lahore after giving benefits to the business tycoon, and that he was unable to prove that from where he got the money from to build it.
The latest development came a day after Khan's PTI party held a crucial round of talks with representatives of the government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to demand the release of all political detainees, including Khan and other party leaders.
Sharif became prime minister following the February 2024 election, which PTI claims was rigged.
American tennis star Taylor Fritz is the latest athlete to contribute to the relief funds for the wildfires in the greater Los Angeles area.
Fritz, 27, said on Thursday that he is donating the prize money he earned for his first-round victory at the Australian Open – about $82,000 – toward the relief funds.
"I mean, I feel like it’s really the least I can do," Fritz said.
Fritz was born in Rancho Santa Fe, California, and is still based in the state.
"Obviously, ‘SoCal’ has been my home forever. I still spend a lot of time in LA, but I lived in LA for quite a while. I have friends impacted, family not so much. I had some family have to evacuate. The house that my brothers grew up in burnt down. Obviously, they’re not living there anymore," Fritz said after reaching the third round at Melbourne Park with a 6-2, 6-1, 6-0 victory over qualifier Cristian Garín of Chile.
"A lot of people are affected by it. I feel like if you’re in a place to help, then you should."
Authorities have not determined a cause for the major blazes in what is on track to become the nation’s costliest fire disaster, with at least 27 people dead and thousands of homes destroyed.
Fritz is not the only tennis player with connections to the Los Angeles area who is competing at the Australian Open.
Naomi Osaka, a four-time major champion, said she sent someone to retrieve her 1 ½ year-old daughter’s birth certificate from their California home in case it got caught up in the fires.
Tristan Boyer, a 23-year-old from California, who had a first-round win but lost Thursday, said his father had to evacuate their house in Altadena.
"We have friends and family who are homeless now. It’s really, really devastating to see," Boyer said. "Obviously, trying to do what I need to do to prep and play tennis, but control what I can control in this moment. But it’s hard for sure."
Fritz, the No. 4 ranked player in the tournament, will take on Gaël Monfils on Saturday for a berth in the fourth round, but his mind will still be on what is happening back home.
"I just want everyone to obviously stay safe," Fritz said.
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy’s newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is eying a proposal that would slash federal diversity and inclusion programs, according to a new report.
DOGE is tasked with eliminating government spending, waste and streamlining efficiency and operations, and is expected to influence White House policy on budget matters.
The proposal circulating among DOGE advisors is a 19-page report from the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, a conservative and libertarian nonprofit organization, the Washington Post reports.
Specifically, the document claims that there is more than $120 billion annually spent on "diversity, equity and inclusion" initiatives like Agriculture Department grants and loans for minority farmers and ranchers – efforts the organization claims are unconstitutional.
Although it’s unlikely that the entirety of those funds will face complete elimination, sources told the Post that these diversity efforts will likely face cuts to free up spending. DOGE advisors have viewed the document, and it is making its rounds through the committee, the Post reports.
"That’s been sent down from on high, that all this DEI stuff has to go," someone familiar with DOGE’s early plans told the Post. "Once all these guys get confirmed, and he’s the president on Jan. 20, this is going to happen fast and furious."
Musk is expected to occupy space in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building which is directly beside the West Wing and where the majority of office space for White House staffers exists, the New York Times reported this week.
While Musk and transition officials have discussed the nature of the billionaire's access to Trump post-inauguration, solidified plans are pending, according to the Times, which noted that special passes are usually required in order to freely visit the West Wing.
DOGE is not part of the federal government, but the committee is expected to suggest executive orders for the Trump administration and partner with the Office of Management and Budget on new initiatives.
Altogether, DOGE seeks to slash $2 trillion from the federal government budget through cuts to spending, government programs and the federal workforce.
Even so, that plan may be a bit ambitious. Musk recently said that eliminating $2 trillion from the federal budget might not be realistic, and cutting $1 trillion was a more likely outcome.
"I think we’ll try for $2 trillion. I think that’s like the best-case outcome," Musk said during tech trade show CES this month in Las Vegas. "But I do think that you kind of have to have some overage. I think if we try for $2 trillion, we’ve got a good shot at getting $1 [trillion]."
President-elect Donald Trump said on Friday that he needs "time to review" the Supreme Court's decision to uphold a federal law banning TikTok unless it divests from its Chinese parent company before Jan. 19 – the day before Trump is set to be sworn in.
Trump added that "everyone must respect" the high court's decision.
"The Supreme Court decision was expected, and everyone must respect it," Trump said in a statement posted to Truth Social. "My decision on TikTok will be made in the not too distant future, but I must have time to review the situation. Stay tuned!"
The statement came moments after Trump reportedly told a small group of journalists by phone that the law banning TikTok "ultimately goes up to me, so you're going to see what I'm going to do" after taking office.
"Congress has given me the decision, so I'll be making the decision," Trump said, according to CNN, which first reported the remarks.
Trump's Truth Social post appears to take a more deferential tone towards the nation's highest court, including its decision to uphold the bipartisan divestiture law passed last April with wide bipartisan support.
"There is no doubt that, for more than 170 million Americans, TikTok offers a distinctive and expansive outlet for expression, means of engagement, and source of community," the court wrote in the unsigned ruling. "But Congress has determined that divestiture is necessary to address its well-supported national security concerns regarding TikTok’s data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary.
"For the foregoing reasons, we conclude that the challenged provisions do not violate petitioners’ First Amendment rights. The judgment of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is affirmed."
Trump has sought to delay the law from taking force. Attorneys for the president-elect filed a brief with the Supreme Court last month, asking justices to delay any decision until after Trump's inauguration Jan. 20.
But lawmakers disagreed.
Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., told the Supreme Court in a filing of his own that Congress explicitly set the Jan. 19 date for the divestiture clause to take force since it "very clearly removes any possible political uncertainty in the execution of the law by cabining it to an administration that was deeply supportive of the bill’s goals."
This is a breaking news story. Check back shortly for updates.
FIRST ON FOX — A coalition of more than 400 U.S. farm, agriculture and growers groups sent a letter to Senate leaders this week urging the swift confirmation of President-elect Donald Trump nominee Brooke Rollins to head up the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), praising her as a strong voice they see as well-positioned to speak to the interests of rural America.
The signatories included a whopping 417 national and state growers groups representing the interests of farmers, growers, hunters, ranchers, forest owners, renewable fuel associations and state departments of agriculture across the country — encompassing what they said is virtually "all aspects of American agriculture, food, nutrition and rural America."
The USDA is the agency that oversees the nation's agriculture and its practices. Its sprawling portfolio includes providing support for farmers, setting the standards for school meals and overseeing the safety of meat, poultry and eggs.
The letter was previewed exclusively to Fox News Digital and sent to Sens. John Boozman, R-La., and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn. — the chair and ranking member of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, respectively — just one week before Rollins was slated to appear before the panel for her confirmation hearing.
In the letter, signatories praised what they described as Rollins’ foundational knowledge of agriculture, combined with her policy and business bona fides that they said made her uniquely qualified for the role of U.S. agriculture secretary.
Rollins "has been engaged in American agriculture since an early age," they said, noting Rollins’ childhood spent baling hay and growing livestock in Glen Rose, Texas — a small town some 70 miles outside of Dallas — as well as the summers she spent working on her family’s farm in Minnesota.
Later, Rollins majored in agricultural development at Texas A&M on a scholarship, before completing law school at the University of Texas. She went on to work for former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and then later served as director of the United States Domestic Policy Council during Trump’s first term as president. She then became president and CEO of the America First Policy Institute, whose mission is to "advance policies that put the American people first."
In the letter, the groups said Rollins’ agriculture and farming bona fides, policy expertise and her business experience make her uniquely prepared to "provide effective executive leadership for USDA’s important, wide-ranging activities and large workforce."
The timing of the letter and Rollins' pending confirmation hearing, slated for Thursday, comes at a crucial time for U.S. growers groups and agribusinesses across the country.
It comes as lawmakers have stalled on a new farm bill, and on other key priorities for farmers and industry groups across the country.
The 11th-hour passage of a government spending bill in late December helped narrowly avert a government shutdown, but it failed to provide the full extent of farm aid and other agriculture subsidies in the amounts considered necessary for many in the U.S.
In the letter, the groups cited Rollins’ "close working relationship" with the incoming president, which they said will "ensure that agriculture and rural America have a prominent and influential voice at the table when critical decisions are made in the White House."
In sum, the letter said, Rollins’ leadership at USDA is necessary to help "advocate for a new farm bill, stabilize an agricultural economy in decline, support the full food and agriculture and forestry value chain, and continue American agriculture’s long history of providing the most secure, affordable and nutritious food supply in the world."
Rollins is not expected to face staunch opposition to her nomination to head up the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and lawmakers who have spoken out to date have praised both her experience and strong knowledge of the agriculture sector.
Vice President Kamala Harris, with just days left in office, assured staff that she would not "go quietly into the night" as she added her signature to a desk drawer in her ceremonial office.
"And I’m not going to go through the laundry list of all of our accomplishments. We know what they are. But I will tell you that everyone here has so much to be proud of, and our work is not done," Harris said. "And as you all know me, because we have spent long hours, long days, and months and years together, it is not my nature to go quietly into the night."
Harris is the first woman to take part in the decadeslong tradition of signing the drawer. The VP noted that she had met everyone who signed the desk, with the exceptions of Presidents Eisenhower and Truman.
Once Harris signed the desk, the crowd of current and former staffers in attendance began chanting "MVP!"
"We have each taken on a life and a calling that is about doing work in the service of others and doing it in a way that is fueled, yes, with ambition; yes, with a sense of almost stubbornness about not hearing no; and knowing we can make a difference," Harris told her staff.
While Harris was taking part in a long-held tradition, her journey to that point was anything but traditional.
After becoming America’s first female vice president in the middle of a pandemic, Harris, along with President Biden, oversaw years filled with crises from COVID-19 to crime, inflation and the border. In addition to the challenges of the Biden-Harris administration, the VP also faced frequent mocking for her "word salads."
Harris’ road to becoming the Democratic presidential nominee was also historic, as she took President Biden's place after he abruptly exited the 2024 race. Furthermore, the election cycle itself was full of controversies and multiple assassination attempts against now-President-elect Trump.
Following her crushing loss to Trump in November, Harris’ political future became murky. Some have speculated that she will run for California governor in 2026, as Gov. Gavin Newsom will not be able to seek a third term due to term limits. Others wonder if she’ll skip the gubernatorial bid and try again for the presidency in 2028.
Harris has not spoken publicly about her future, making Thursday’s comment the first on what she could be planning after Trump takes office.
Login
