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LIV Golf Team Championship set for Indianapolis as Michigan tournament is canceled amid league's murky future
The LIV Golf Team Championship, originally scheduled to take place in Michigan at the end of August, has officially been canceled and moved to Indianapolis. The news not only comes after weeks of speculation about whether the season finale would take place, but also after the breakaway circuit announced a new, unknown investor to keep LIV afloat into 2027 and beyond.
The Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), the sole funder of LIV Golf, announced in April that it would be cutting ties with the league. The PIF's announcement specifically noted that it would "fund LIV Golf only for the remainder of the 2026 season," but with the re-scheduling of the team championship, that doesn't appear to be the case.
"As the 2026 LIV Golf season comes to a close after incredible competition across 10 countries and five continents, we reflect on record crowds, broadcast viewership, marketing partner support and social growth, alongside historic comebacks, emerging young talent, OWGR recognition and new pathways to the majors," LIV Golf CEO Scott O'Neil said in a news release. "By concluding the season now, we can put our full resources behind what comes next and maintain the operational rigor this transition demands. We are reimagining LIV Golf as a fundamentally new League owned by the players and anchored in a sustainable business model, with an evolved fan experience built for the markets where the game is growing fastest across the globe and the support of world-class partners.
"Professional golf is more unified today than at any point since we launched, creating a genuine opportunity to grow the game together. Indianapolis will be a fitting finale for the League as fans have known it and the starting point for what we believe it can become."
Rumors of LIV's Team Championship disappearing reached a fever pitch in July when former major champion and Cleeks team captain Martin Kaymer said the event, which carried a purse of $40 million, was "highly unlikely" to go on as scheduled. LIV Indianapolis, scheduled to take place Aug. 20-23, will be the last event of the season.
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"As we concentrate on finishing the season strong and building the next chapter of LIV Golf, we’ll carry the energy and enthusiasm our fans have shown us into what comes next," O'Neil added. "The road ahead is possible because of the people who stand behind this League – our fans, players, caddies, employees, partners, and sponsors."
Recent reports also claimed that the build-out at The Cardinal at Saint John's, the course that was set to host the finale, had not yet begun. LIV Michigan is now the second event on LIV's 2026 calendar to be canceled after LIV New Orleans was scrapped in June.
While speculation about LIV's immediate future has more or less been put to bed with the Team Championship's re-scheduling, that isn't the case regarding the circuit's future in 2027.
On Aug. 5, O'Neil announced that an investor has been secured to keep the league afloat. While he did not divulge any specific details about the unknown investor, O'Neil did share an important fact about the next phase of LIV Golf and its players.
"LIV Golf has an agreement in place with a lead investor, signed by the investor and approved by the Board, to anchor the transaction and play a key role in supporting the path forward for the League’s next era, driven by and for the players," O'Neil said at the time.
"Notably, our next chapter will make our players the majority equity holders in LIV Golf, a first for a major global sports league," he continued, while stating the goal is to enter a finalized transaction in September.
It remains unclear what LIV Golf looks like, and even more unclear which players will be competing, beginning in 2027. The plan for the 2027 LIV schedule is for it to feature 10 events, with five in the United States and five across the globe.
House Democrat investigated over alleged 'inappropriate sexual contact' with staffer
The House Ethics Committee is investigating a sitting Democratic lawmaker over allegations of sexual misconduct.
The committee, which acts as the House of Representatives' internal watchdog, announced Monday that it is investigating Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-Calif., over allegations including "inappropriate sexual contact with a House staffer."
He's the latest House lawmaker to be accused of misconduct or harassment in relation to aides on Capitol Hill, an issue that's rocked Congress and forced a new reckoning over rules of engagement for lawmakers in Washington.
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Gomez, who has been in Congress since 2017, is known as a founder and chair of the Congressional Dads Caucus. According to its website, the caucus was created to "ensure that dads step up at home and in the halls of Congress."
Gomez is a married father of one.
Fox News Digital reached out to a spokesperson for the congressman for a response.
More information was not immediately provided by the Ethics Committee, which typically operates in secrecy until it releases its final findings on a given matter. It did note that the allegations are not evidence of wrongdoing.
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For example, the panel released an explosive report this summer that detailed sexual harassment accusations against Rep. Chuck Edwards, R-N.C., targeting two young staffers who worked in his office. The committee recommended censuring Edwards, a form of punishment that's largely symbolic with no practical effects.
The resulting blowback, however, pushed Edwards to drop his re-election bid despite denying any wrongdoing.
The New York Post reported earlier this year that Gomez was seen kissing a "much younger" congressional aide in the summer of 2023.
He confessed to CNN this past June, "Years ago, I made personal mistakes outside my marriage that have caused real pain to my wife and family. Although my actions were consensual in nature and haven't violated the law or House ethics rules, that doesn't diminish the impact that these mistakes have made on those I care about the most."
Italy-Spain border feud exposes Europe’s deepening immigration divide
A rift between the right-wing Italian government and Spain's leftist rulers continues to grow over immigration and border security.
It has been over a week since Italy’s conservative government, led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, enacted stricter border controls at air and seaports for any non-EU citizen traveling from Spain. The two countries do not share a land border.
Two days later, Spain’s left-wing government, led by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, enacted reciprocal measures on any non-EU citizens traveling from Italy. Even EU citizens need to show their ID to move on, causing travel delays during a month when most Europeans travel, including over 2 million between Italy and Spain.
At issue is border security. More specifically, the five-mile border between Morocco and the Spanish exclave of Ceuta. The Associated Press reported that roughly 72,000 people reportedly attempted to illegally cross the border to Ceuta during the late July surge, before Spain and Morocco could reinforce the border to prevent what the EU calls "irregular migration."
Emma Schubart of the Henry Jackson Society told Fox News Digital that Italy’s border checks and Spain’s reciprocal measures "highlight the Meloni–Sánchez divide: enforcement-first versus a regularization program that drew 1.2 million applications."
On July 31, Meloni’s government, in what she called an "extraordinary measure," decided to "temporarily suspend the free movement regime (under the Schengen agreement) in maritime and air connections with Spain, reintroducing border controls," while also offering "to support every European initiative to assist Spanish institutions as needed to restore full control of the Union's external borders." The implementation involved random checks for non-EU travelers.
Even some countries of Europe’s left are taking notice. Meloni teamed up with Denmark’s left-leaning Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen to lead a group of 22 European Union leaders, including Hungary’s new prime minister, Péter Magyar, in a letter calling for an "extraordinary" meeting of EU interior ministers to define a "coordinated European response." The letter placed blame on Spain, noting that "the recent ruling of the Spanish Supreme Court has been used to trigger this attack and abuse (of) our migration and asylum system." They added that the EU "cannot allow mass crossings, the instrumentalization of migration or other hybrid threats to create the perception that illegal entry into the European Union is possible."
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Spain’s Supreme Court issued a July 8 ruling regarding the immediate return of migrants intercepted at sea while attempting to enter Ceuta or Melilla.
Spain’s Sánchez called the letter "politically motivated," saying the situation in Ceuta was "under control" and that his government had acted in "full compliance with EU law." On his account, Sánchez posted, "Solidarity and empathy are optional. Respect for European treaties and data is not… It is the time to continue building a strong and united EU," while noting EU Frontex data that there were 470,600 "irregular entries" via Italy since 2021, compared to Spain’s 234,760.
The Spanish Foreign Ministry said, "Entering Spain irregularly through Ceuta or Melilla does not grant the right to remain in the country, to travel to mainland Spain, or to move freely within Europe."
Meloni responded on X that Ceuta "once again demonstrated how urgent it is for Europe to respond to illegal immigration.… Defending the external borders of the (European) Union is not the interest of a single Nation. It is a shared responsibility of Europe."
As soon as the Italian border controls went into effect, Spain responded, with Sánchez's administration calling the controls "unjust" and "discriminatory towards the Spanish population." The Spanish warned of "proportionate measures" to defend their interests, reciprocating with their own border controls on Italian travel on Aug. 8.
The Palazzo Chigi, the office of the Italian prime minister, said, "Italy does not accept ultimatums or impositions from abroad regarding national security and border control. Under no circumstances do we intend to review our decision… at least until 15 August… Another wave of migration is expected in Ceuta on that date, as the Spanish authorities themselves have announced."
Morocco stepped in this past Saturday, Aug. 15, ahead of that attempted rush on the border, with officials saying more than 111 were arrested trying to reach Ceuta via mountain roads in an attempt to avoid checkpoints. Morocco’s Le360 news agency said that the number was closer to 300.
After the arrests, Italian foreign ministry officials told the AGI news agency they were "closely monitoring what is happening in Morocco and reaffirm the necessity of the measures adopted," with a spokesman telling ANSA, "The checks at the border with Spain remain necessary in light of the latest developments in Morocco."
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Lorenzo Vidino, director of the program on extremism at George Washington University, told Fox News Digital that this "tit for tat" between the two countries could continue "for the foreseeable future." Vidino said EU immigration policies are "complicated" because "there is one policy, but enforcement is by the country," so politics plays a role. "Country A thinks Country B is not enforcing things correctly, so Country A closes the border to create de facto border controls." He said a contributing factor to Italy’s decision may be the large Moroccan population in Italy, especially in northern Italy, which could be a draw for illegal immigrants from Morocco.
Vidino added that these types of internal EU border controls are nothing new. "France also reintroduces these ‘routine checks’ from time to time." Austria continues sporadic checks on land crossings from Slovenia and Hungary and traffic at crossings into Germany can also be miles long due to continued controls there.
And it’s not only outside governments upset with Madrid’s response. Ceuta’s center-right mayor-president, Juan Jesús Vivas, held a press conference Friday, two weeks after the initial incursion, in the city’s Palacio de la Asamblea. He called the situation "unsustainable," saying "Ceuta cannot endure much longer like this." Despite Spanish authorities saying only 5,000 migrants remained in the city, Vivas says that number is closer to 9,000, adding, "Each passing day worsens the situation."
Vivas said he felt "misunderstood and powerless in the face of the lack of legal tools" from Madrid, adding the government is moving too slowly. "I cannot understand that if a part of our territory is invaded… there is no legal mechanism that allows for an expeditious and immediate action for the return of these people who entered this territory illegally and irregularly."
Maldita.es, an independent Spanish fact-checking platform, reports health officials have confirmed cases of scabies, impetigo and an outbreak of gastroenteritis among the migrants. Other news outlets report at least two cases of tuberculosis, but health officials say those affected were treated in Morocco before they crossed the border, and are not contagious. The National Institute of Health Management, the Spanish body responsible for managing healthcare in Ceuta, told reporters that, as of Aug. 11, there were "no confirmed cases of tuberculosis" originating in Ceuta.
Schubart said the EU should look to the U.S. "The U.S. experience is clear, over 8.7 million Southwest border encounters under weakened enforcement produced record surges and secondary pressures. Without consistent external controls, Schengen’s internal free movement erodes."
Olympic gold medalist praises Real American Freestyle for 'opportunity' ahead of highly anticipated debut
Ahead of his Real American Freestyle (RAF) debut, wrestling legend Jordan Burroughs is reflecting on his career, longevity and the sport's future.
The Olympic gold medalist joined "Fox & Friends" as RAF approaches its one-year anniversary on Fox Nation, demonstrating some of his signature moves. He praised the organization for giving older competitors a second chance in the sport they love.
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"I'm getting older, so I'm past my prime," he said. "Typically the average age of the Olympian or world championship team member is anywhere from 25 to 30. So at 38, I'm on the back side of my career, but RAF has given me an opportunity to get back into that."
Burroughs noted the success of RAF is unusual for the sport. He explained how the league is the first of its kind to have "sustainability."
"It's hard — I've seen a lot of professional wrestling leagues fail," he said. "The pinnacle of wrestling, at least freestyle wrestling, has always been the Olympic Games and the World Championship."
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Burroughs also discussed the limited options available to wrestlers after their college careers end.
"Most wrestlers start at a very young age, but post-collegiately you don't really have a lot of options," he said. "You go to the average jiu-jitsu studio, you see the average age of an athlete there is probably 30 to 40 years old. But wrestlers are all kids, right? And so we're trying to create a way to sustain excellence over a long period of time. I think RAF has done a great job."
Burroughs has compiled a lengthy list of achievements during his career. After capturing two national championships with the Nebraska Cornhuskers, he earned a gold medal in the men's 74-kilogram freestyle competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
He has also claimed six freestyle wrestling world titles, three Pan American Games gold medals and multiple Pan American Wrestling Championships titles. Burroughs holds the U.S. record for the most combined World and Olympic gold medals, with seven, according to USA Wrestling.
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To tune in to his anticipated Real American Freestyle debut in Cleveland on Aug. 22, make sure to subscribe to Fox Nation to stream RAF 12.
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Fox Nation programs are viewable on demand and from your mobile device app but only for FOX Nation subscribers. Go to Fox Nation to start a free trial and watch the extensive library of your favorite FOX Nation personalities.
Harvard professor caught using AI to condense Financial Times op-ed trashing Trump tariffs
A Harvard professor is facing criticism for using AI to condense a longer iteration of an opinion piece written for the Financial Times (FT) on Thursday.
"Trump is taxing the dark matter that pays America’s way," read the headline of the piece by Harvard professor Ricardo Hausmann. The piece was published by the FT on August 13.
"It has come to our attention that AI was used to condense a longer draft of this column prior to submission to the FT and our own editorial involvement. The FT editorial code of conduct specifically prohibits the use of AI in the writing process," an editor's note at the top of Hausmann's piece says.
The FT told Fox News Digital the publication was going to conduct an "editorial review process to look at this piece in more detail," but otherwise pointed to the editor's note.
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Harvard and Hausmann did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
"The verdict on the first full year of the largest US tariff increase in almost a century arrived quietly, in the tables of the US Bureau of Economic Analysis. America’s current account deficit in 2025 was $1.18tn — virtually identical to the year before. The most protectionist turn in living memory did not move the number it was meant to shrink," the first paragraph of Hausmann's piece read.
"That much was predictable — a matter of accounting necessity rather than economic argument," the column continued. "A current account deficit is not a scorecard of trade cheating; it is the gap between what a country invests and what it saves, and tariffs alter neither."
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The piece by Hausmann garnered reaction online, as Bloomberg's Joe Weisenthal wrote on X, "I have learned a lot from @ricardo_hausman, I'm a big appreciator of his thought, and have enjoyed talking with him. And yet I find this astonishing, both in its writing and its publication."
Dartmouth political scientist Brendan Nyhan posted an image on X showing Pangram, an AI detection software, finding that 71% of the text was "AI-generated."
A Harvard student and freelance writer, Alex Bronzini-Vender, wrote on X, "Gotta be the worst AI slop I’ve seen in a major publication."
Hausmann is a professor at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government and the director of the Harvard Growth Lab.
This comes as higher education institutions are grappling with how to approach AI with their students. While many universities have AI polices and some professors have returned to paper tests and taken other measures aimed at preventing students from improperly using AI, Harvard University senior research fellow Christopher Dede said colleges are focusing on the wrong problem and are not adequately preparing students to face a world in which AI is ubiquitous.
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"The problem is that our educational systems are geared to teaching reckoning, and their quality is measured by assessing reckoning, the GRE, the SAT, the LSAT, et cetera, et cetera," Dede told Fox News Digital.
"And, so, what we're doing is preparing human beings to lose to AI as opposed to preparing human beings with skills that complement AI," he added.
Reporter calls for more men, diversity in WNBA broadcasts: ‘Feels like a girls’ club’
Longtime NBA reporter Ric Bucher wants more men on WNBA broadcasts.
On his podcast this week, Bucher criticized networks like ESPN and NBC for using all-female panels during their WNBA coverage.
"Why are all the color analysts and studio hosts women?" Bucher asked. "Women have served in a variety of positions on national NBA broadcasts. Why shouldn’t there be diversity on national WNBA broadcasts? What are the networks afraid of?"
He elaborated, arguing that WNBA analysts tend to be like-minded.
"There are some smart, basketball-savvy women, both in the studio and the broadcast booth, but I don’t hear a whole lot of differing opinion or debate."
"It all comes off as safe and monotone and cookie cutter, especially when it comes to controversial topics. DiJonai took Sophie Cunningham’s head off, and the broadcasters were debating whether it would be elevated to a Flagrant 2. They sounded afraid to say it, even after multiple replays showed DiJonai [Carrington] made no attempt to make a play on the ball. The studio analysts were no better.
"All of it feels like a girls’ club. The media protecting the league from real scrutiny or critique. I’ll ask again: What are they afraid of? Players can’t take it? That critiquing a woman in public is no way to treat one?"
Bucher is right. There is rarely much debate among WNBA analysts, despite the polarizing nature of the topics they discuss. Whether it’s Caitlin Clark, alleged racism, transgender issues, or white privilege, the analysts sound the same.
Unsurprisingly, the consensus among WNBA analysts is that Clark is overrated, white privilege is rampant, Black players are victims of racism, and trans women are women.
For a network that markets itself around "diversity," ESPN’s lead WNBA studio panel consists of four Black women: Malika Andrews, Monica McNutt, Andraya Carter, and Chiney Ogwumike.
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That said, we don’t necessarily agree with Bucher that a male analyst would help.
Most men in sports media, especially at ESPN, aren’t going to add much diversity of thought to the conversation. They are even more afraid and concerned about fitting in with the in-crowd on Threads and Bluesky.
Case in point: ESPN writer David Dennis Jr., who claimed Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle ad left him "mortified."
What the coverage of the WNBA needs is someone who can provide balance to the conversation. It needs someone who isn’t afraid to acknowledge Clark’s record-setting stretch, that forcing females to change next to males in the name of transgenderism is wrong, that Carrington clearly committed a hard foul, and that the claims of "white privilege" are baseless, and that the Black women are aggressors.
To this point, the only analyst who has proven willing to provide this perspective, which is the majority perspective across America, is ESPN/NFL Network reporter Stacey Dales, who was a star in women’s basketball.
Earlier this summer, Dales debated and schooled Dennis Jr., who tried arguing that Caitlin Clark was not even a top-five guard in the WNBA.
ESPN could fix its WNBA studio show immensely by replacing the overly obnoxious Monica McNutt with Dales as it looks for other credible commentators, male or female.
Still, props to Ric Bucher for raising awareness that mainstream WNBA coverage is overrun by partisan, virtue-signaling, race-idolatrous mean girls.
Mike Johnson taunts Hakeem Jeffries for losing Dems' civil war 'in his own backyard'
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is capitalizing on Democrats' internal civil war as he crisscrosses the country in a bid to keep the House majority for Republicans in November.
During a campaign stop in Virginia Beach on Monday, Johnson name-checked House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., as he described the wave of socialist-linked primary wins in Jeffries' home state.
"It's a fascinating thing to see the Democrat Party, they're in the midst of, now, an open civil war. Truly, they don't know who they stand, what they stand for, or who stands with them. They don't have a leader," Johnson said.
It comes after candidates linked to the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and endorsed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani toppled establishment-backed candidates, including two sitting House Democrats.
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"Hakeem Jeffries is the top leader, the Democrat leader in the House. But he lost his slate of candidates in his own backyard," Johnson said. "Several weeks ago, you saw Mamdani endorsed a slate of radical far-left candidates, DSA-approved and endorsed candidates, and they all won. And one of those races was in the Bronx, in Hakeem Jeffries' own backyard."
The specific race Johnson was referring to saw Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairman Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y., defeated by socialist Darializa Avila Chevalier in New York's 13th Congressional District. The area spans parts of the Bronx and Upper Manhattan.
In the 10th Congressional District, encompassing part of western Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan, former DSA member Brad Lander defeated Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y.
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Both incumbents were endorsed by Jeffries, as is usually the case. Both Chevalier and Lander were backed by Mamdani, himself a DSA member.
Socialist Claire Valdez, also a Mamdani-backed candidate, won a Brooklyn- and Queens-area House seat being vacated by Rep. Nydia Velázquez. Jeffries did not endorse in that race, but it's notable that Velázquez's chosen successor lost.
Jeffries' own district sits entirely in Brooklyn. Despite that, however, neither Chevalier nor Valdez has publicly backed Jeffries to remain House Democrats' leader.
It's a microcosm of the wider fight playing out across the country between the establishment party and a far-left insurgency. The war has proved to be a boon for Republicans who are facing an uphill battle to keep their razor-thin House majority.
Johnson, who was in Virginia campaigning for endangered House Republican Rep. Jen Kiggans, R-Va., compared Democrats to a "rudderless ship."
"But the thing that is so, I think alarming — let me use that word, alarming, for the American people — is that you have open Marxists who are winning primaries in that party," Johnson said before referencing the DSA's own platform.
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"The challenge is coming from people who, you know, they put their platform out, they published it. They want to abolish the border. They want to abolish all prisons in America. They want to abolish the U.S. Senate. They want to remove the president. They want to expand the House and make it a unicameral governing body over the country. Why? Because they believe that over two or three cycles, they'll be able to bring a wave of Marxists, communists into the Congress and take it over."
When reached for a response, a spokesperson for Jeffries referred Fox News Digital to an exchange between the House Democratic leader and NBC's "Meet the Press" host Kristin Welker on Sunday.
"I expect that there will be at least 220 members of the House Democratic Caucus when we take back the majority, if not a number much greater than that," Jeffries said in response to a question about challengers from the left toppling incumbents. "We as House Democrats are committed to fighting for an affordable America every day, every week, every month until we solve this crisis."
NBA blasts ESPN report saying no evidence Ballmer funneled money to Kawhi Leonard in Clippers probe
ESPN dropped what appeared to be a major development in the Clippers-Aspiration saga on Monday. Then the NBA essentially told everyone not to believe it.
Don Van Natta Jr., Baxter Holmes and Ramona Shelburne reported that the NBA’s investigation has found no evidence Clippers owner Steve Ballmer funneled money through team sponsors to Kawhi Leonard to circumvent the salary cap. The allegation centered on Leonard’s four-year, $28 million endorsement deal with the now-bankrupt tech firm Aspiration, a partnership that Pablo Torre reported was a "no-show" arrangement designed to pay Leonard outside his Clippers contract.
According to ESPN, investigators spent months digging through internal emails, text messages, and financial records, expanding their probe beyond Aspiration to other team sponsors like Daktronics and Boingo Wireless. Yet ESPN reported the league has presented no evidence connecting Ballmer to those arrangements.
Instead, investigators are reportedly focused on narrower questions: whether the Clippers broke league rules by connecting Leonard with corporate partners or failed to properly supervise staff.
The Clippers maintain they did nothing wrong, acknowledging they connected Leonard with business partners but calling it "an ordinary practice by NBA teams." Leonard's representatives handled the negotiations, they said, while denying they "negotiated or dictated" endorsement terms, overpaid vendors or offered favorable deals to funnel money to him.
If ESPN’s account holds up, one of the biggest alleged salary-cap scandals in recent NBA history would suddenly look a whole lot less scandalous. That distinction matters.
Getting caught circumventing the salary cap isn't some slap-on-the-wrist offense. The NBA can hammer teams with multimillion-dollar fines, strip draft picks, void contracts and suspend team personnel.
Except the NBA insists ESPN got it wrong.
League spokesman Mike Bass issued a blunt statement directly challenging the report: "ESPN’s article regarding the LA Clippers investigation — for which the NBA declined to cooperate — contains numerous and significant inaccuracies. The results in this matter will be made clear once the investigation is concluded."
Well, then. The NBA didn't specify which details were inaccurate or say whether investigators have uncovered a smoking gun against Ballmer. But Bass made one thing unmistakably clear: the probe isn't over.
That leaves a jarring disconnect. ESPN reports investigators found no evidence of the alleged Ballmer-to-Kawhi financial pipeline. The NBA says ESPN's account contains "numerous and significant inaccuracies."
Until official findings are released, declaring the Clippers cleared is just as premature as declaring Steve Ballmer guilty in the first place.
Send us your thoughts: alejandro.avila@outkick.com / Follow along on X: @alejandroaveela
NYC drivers shell out $9 congestion toll. City admits it failed to improve air quality
A lofty New York City toll slapped on drivers in an effort to reduce congestion and improve air quality produced nearly no change in pollution after its first year, according to the city’s own analysis.
The New York City Health Department's report, released Friday, examined four traffic-related pollutants inside Manhattan's Congestion Relief Zone since the $9 toll was implemented last year. Researchers found that the city’s overall pollution levels remained largely unchanged, with no statistically significant improvement attributable to the toll.
Still, officials in the Big Apple touted the study as the city's most comprehensive look at congestion pricing's effect on air quality to date.
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They pointed to reduced traffic, public transit improvements, less traffic noise and other benefits as positive outcomes from the toll being implemented in January 2025. All similar things that New York Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul hailed in a June 2023 speech when she backed congestion pricing.
Despite an 11% drop in traffic since implementation, the Health Department said vehicles account for only about 10% of the city’s pollution, meaning fewer cars alone is not expected to significantly improve overall air quality. Unlike many parts of the country, where cars and trucks are a major source of air pollution, New York City's emissions come largely from other sources.
The city's dense concentration of buildings, which burn fuel for heat and hot water, along with emissions from restaurants and power plants that supply the most populated U.S. city with electricity, are reasons for its poor air quality.
Findings in the recent report could backfire and provide fresh ammunition to critics who have blasted congestion pricing as an expensive burden on commuters, small businesses and working families in America's largest city.
The New York City Health Department and Hochul’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
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New York City’s congestion pricing toll applies to passenger vehicles entering the Congestion Relief Zone in Manhattan at or below 60th Street. The lofty $9 toll applies to E-ZPass users once a day during peak hours, which are weekdays from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m., and weekends from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
All other off-peak hours require a $2.25 toll.
Those who do not have E-ZPass could face toll-by-mail rates that are about 50% more than the typical charge.
President Donald Trump and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy have been among the program's most prominent opponents, with Duffy previously calling the toll a "slap in the face to working class Americans and small business owners."
The Trump administration also attempted to withdraw federal approval for the Biden-era program, but a federal judge ruled in March that the effort was unlawful.
Following that ruling, Gov. Hochul called congestion pricing a "once-in-a-lifetime success story," saying its first year brought "reduced gridlock, faster trips, safer streets, and cleaner air" while generating funding for mass transit upgrades.
"Congestion pricing is legal, it works, and it is here to stay," Hochul said in a March 3 statement.
For now, the toll remains, traffic is down, but the city’s first-year data show no statistically significant improvement in air quality.
Some online critics pounced on the findings, dragging up a 2023 speech where Hochul promised: "With congestion pricing New Yorkers have a lot to lose. How about 15 to 20% fewer vehicles in the central business district every single day? Less noise, less honking, less gridlock."
"How about less air pollution, lower carbon emissions, lower speeds, fewer crashes?" she went on. "I don't mind losing that."
"Kathy Hochul’s congestion pricing did not significantly improve air quality in Manhattan like she promised it would. Who could’ve possibly seen this coming?" wrote the popular right-wing X account called Libs of TikTok.
Another account noted: "Hochul looked right into the camera and swore this toll would scrub the air and let kids with asthma breathe easier. When they wrap a new tax in an environmental bow, the only thing that ever improves is the government's balance sheet."
ICE calls out ‘depraved freak’ illegal immigrant deported after heinous crime in Dem-run state
The Department of Homeland Security called out a "depraved freak" sex offender and illegal immigrant whom the agency said it recently deported after he abused his own daughter in Democrat-run Virginia
Records from the Albemarle County Circuit Criminal Division show Mexican national Marcelo Vasquez Reyna was convicted in March after pleading guilty to a charge involving a parent violating a child between the ages of 15 and 17. The incident took place in 2018. He was sentenced to five years and six months in prison, with five years of the sentence suspended.
Local outlet ABC 7 reported that Vasquez Reyna was arrested in March following his conviction. The outlet said he was also charged with attempted rape and abduction.
In an X post, DHS wrote that "ICE has DEPORTED Marcelo Vasquez-Reyna, a depraved freak who sexually abused HIS OWN DAUGHTER."
The agency added that "criminals like this sicko have NO sanctuary in our nation."
The Daily Progress reported that Vasquez Reyna was repeatedly arrested on charges of groping his teenage daughter and attempting to rape her using force, causing her to live in fear of further attacks.
The deportation comes as parts of Virginia have seen a series of violent and sexual crimes involving illegal immigrants. Fairfax County, north of Albemarle County, has seen several high-profile cases.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) lodged a detainer in July asking Fairfax County officials not to release Nehemia Noel Fuentes-Banegas after DHS said he ambushed a Fairfax County police officer Tuesday.
ICE LODGES DETAINER FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ACCUSED OF TRYING TO DISARM VIRGINIA POLICE OFFICER
DHS said officers responded to a report of a man who left a home in Annandale following an argument while armed with two knives. As officers searched a wooded area, DHS said Fuentes-Banegas emerged from the brush, grabbed an officer's gun and attempted to disarm him. Fairfax County police said one officer fired his service weapon while a second officer simultaneously deployed a department-issued Taser. Police said the bullet grazed Fuentes-Banegas' shoulder.
Another high-profile case involved Israel Flores Ortiz, an illegal immigrant who was 18 at the time and was accused of groping several underage girls at a Fairfax County high school.
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Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger has faced criticism for her handling of illegal immigrant crime. On her first day in office, Spanberger rescinded an executive order by her predecessor, Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, directing state law enforcement agencies to assist federal immigration enforcement authorities. She also ordered state and local law enforcement agencies to terminate all 287(g) agreements with ICE and signed an order prohibiting ICE from using state property as a staging area, processing location or operations base for federal civil immigration enforcement activities.
Fox News Digital reached out to Spanberger’s office, the Albemarle County Police Department and the Albemarle County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office for comment.