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Bride is walked down wedding aisle by man who received her late father's heart
Even after a devastating loss, "Godwinks" can emerge in ways that no human could have planned.
Godwink — a term coined by authors SQuire Rushnell and Louise DuArt — is a sign of hope, often arriving through a divinely aligned moment so meaningful it leaves people forever changed.
The pair shared the following story with Fox News Digital just in time for Father's Day this year.
Ten years after losing her father to a senseless tragedy, bride Jeni Stepien walked toward her future husband, Paul Maenner, on the arm of the one man who could testify that her father’s heart was still beating.
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As guests rose to their feet that day at the church in Pittsburgh, there was hardly a dry eye.
Arthur Tom Thomas, the recipient of Michael Stepien’s donated heart, gently escorted the new bride — daughter of his organ donor — down the aisle.
Just moments earlier, when the two met in person for the first time, the older man leaned over and whispered something she would never forget.
"If you’d like," he said softly, "when I give you away, you can place your hand on my chest and feel the beat of your father’s heart."
Time seemed to stand still.
PASTOR AND STRANGER LINKED BY GOSPEL SONG AS MIRACULOUS KIDNEY DONATION SAVES TWO LIVES
The daughter who thought she had lost her father forever was suddenly going to be connected to him again — at her wedding — not just emotionally, but physically.
Seconds later, beneath her hand, she felt the heartbeat that had once comforted her as a little girl, cheered her on through life and loved her unconditionally.
It was a Godwink so powerful that many people in attendance that day — not just the bride and groom — described it as a life-changing experience.
Jeni Stepien was just 23 when her father, Michael, was tragically killed during a robbery in 2006.
His death devastated his close-knit family. Yet even in the midst of grief, the family chose compassion.
Michael’s wife Bernice and their daughter Jeni agreed to donate his organs, allowing their loved one's life to continue blessing others.
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Two days later, hundreds of miles away, Tom Thomas received the lifesaving heart transplant he’d been seeking in his daily prayers for nearly a decade. He was gravely ill, could hardly walk — and doctors said his life expectancy was measured in days or weeks.
Tom then began a new journey — marked by gratitude, kindness and purpose that would last for another 18 years. He would play with grandchildren not yet born and inspire other people to search for the gift of goodness in every day.
Most transplants remain anonymous, so recipients very rarely know the identity of the donor family.
But through CORE (Center for Organ Recovery and Education) — the organization in Pittsburgh that handled the donation — he was able to write a heartfelt thank-you letter to the family. That letter arrived the day before Christmas.
Over the years, letters passed between the two families.
Gratitude slowly turned into friendship.
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Tom never missed an occasion or holiday without sending flowers to the Stepien family. Jeni felt something extraordinary, as though her father’s love was still finding ways to guide her life.
That's why, when her wedding day approached, she wrote Tom a letter asking him one question: "Would you walk me down the aisle?"
Tom felt he needed the blessing of one other person before he answered the question. His own daughter was nearing the age of matrimony — and he wanted to be sure she'd be OK if he walked another bride down the aisle first.
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Without hesitation, she said yes.
This story has one more hero: Paul Maenner — who selflessly supported his new wife when she was swept into a wave of national media attention after Jeni and Tom appeared on "Fox & Friends" two mornings after the couple's August 2016 wedding.
In a world often overwhelmed by heartbreak and division, the story confirms that love has a way of continuing on.
Kindness creates ripples people may never fully understand or even know about.
On Father’s Day this year, the story is a reminder that a father’s love can still guide his daughter long after he’s gone — and sometimes, the heart finds its way to the home where it’s needed most.
SQuire Rushnell and Louise DuArt’s latest book is Godwinks for Moms. Learn more at www.Godwinks.com.
Cowboys coach says Dallas Stadium's World Cup changes rob fans of 'majestic' setting
For the past 17 seasons, the Dallas Cowboys have played their home games at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
The venue, best known for its massive video board hanging above the 50-yard line, has been temporarily renamed Dallas Stadium as it hosts several World Cup matches.
The end zones, yard markers and artificial turf are gone inside the retractable-roof stadium during soccer matches. But one change caught Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer’s attention: curtains installed to block the infamous sunlight from pouring onto the natural grass field.
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"I'm a big... actually World Cup guy. I watch a lot of the games. It's been cool for me. I've been out by The Star watching the watch parties and stuff that people have had. It sounds like they had the blinders up... the shades," Schottenheimer told reporters during a press conference earlier this week.
"So it's majestic as it is when we are playing our games. The grass and the shades, it's not as majestic. They're going to miss the experience."
Glaring natural light has been a recurring issue since the Cowboys moved into their billion-dollar home in 2009.
FOX ONE’S NEW WORLD CUP VIEWING EXPERIENCE
During a 2017 game against the Kansas City Chiefs, then-Cowboys receivers Dez Bryant and Brice Butler both blamed the sun’s glare for missed catches. A few years later, in a 2021 playoff game against the San Francisco 49ers, wideout Cedrick Wilson never appeared able to see a pass thrown his way. The following year, Michael Gallup failed to haul in what would have been a touchdown completion — again likely due to the glare.
Schottenheimer also leaned into the topic earlier in his first season as Cowboys head coach, sarcastically calling the sunlight that cuts through AT&T Stadium "majestic."
"Well, I’ve been here for a little while, and I’ve heard about it," Schottenheimer said in October 2025 via the Associated Press.
"Hey, look, if you guys could see the process and the plan we have in place to figure it out. We have satellite imaging. We have pictures of the sun, when it’s coming down. There’s a big plan and process. But I think when you look at historically at what’s happened it really hasn’t affected many situations. We plan for it. The opponents plan for it. But at the end of the day, it’s something that we’re aware of. It’s very beautiful. It’s majestic when the sun comes through there."
AT&T Stadium hosted its first World Cup match on June 14, when the Netherlands and Japan played to a 1-1 draw. The NFL venue, better known as "Jerry World" in a nod to longtime Cowboys' owner Jerry Jones, hosted its second tournament match Wednesday, when England defeated Croatia 4-2.
The curtains were up for both of those matches. They are expected to return June 22, when Lionel Messi and reigning World Cup champion Argentina face Austria.
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South Carolina fitness trainer told friends she wanted to leave her now-husband years before body was found
EXCLUSIVE: In the years before a missing South Carolina fitness trainer was found dead this week, she told several of her friends that she wanted to leave her now-husband and end the relationship.
Elena Katherine Moore, 39, was found dead Wednesday afternoon in Lexington, South Carolina, the Lexington County Coroner's Office confirmed Friday after making a positive identification. Moore was last seen leaving a Planet Fitness gym in Lexington on June 11. The body will be transferred to the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, who will conduct the autopsy Saturday.
More information is expected on Monday.
Aston Jeffcoat, a close friend of Moore's, shared a Facebook Messenger screenshot with Fox News Digital from July 13, 2017, in which Moore said she wanted to move out and leave Brannon Slice, who is now her husband.
"Hey girl not sure about ur situation ...but just from reading ur post i might be ending my almost 5 year relationship as well and might be looking for a roommate!! Let me know!" Moore wrote.
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It's unclear why Moore wanted to end the relationship or move out. No one, including her husband, has been accused of any wrongdoing or charged with a crime. Lexington Police Department Inspector Missy Silcox told Newsweek late Tuesday that Slice "is not a person of interest at the current moment."
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Lauren Beasley, a friend of Moore's, told Fox News Digital that Moore went through "cycles" of wanting to move out and end the relationship, but didn't.
"She expressed that she didn’t know what to do, and would say things like 'I love him' but then things would be good," Beasley said. "And I hoped and assumed things had changed. It was definitely a cycle."
"Cycles of wanting to leave and not," Beasley said.
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Sondra Campbell, who was close friends with Moore, told Fox News Digital that Moore tried to leave the relationship in the past.
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Campbell previously said that something felt "very different" the last time she saw her on May 31.
"She was scared for her life. She actually said those words to me," Campbell said. "Elena is one of my best friends. I've known her over probably 10 years now. We're really close like tell each other everything. She's been that person for me for a long time."
"Elena was such a good person and I think we're just all just trying to wrap our head around this, but my friend would not be alone walking at nighttime. She just wouldn't be, it's not her," Campbell added.
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According to LPD Chief Terrence Green, authorities found the body Wednesday after getting a tip that led investigators to a new search location.
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"At approximately 2:48 p.m. we found an unidentified body that fits the clothing description of our missing person. We are still waiting on the coroner to identify her," Green said.
Moore was last seen walking through the Publix parking lot at 100 Old Cherokee Road in Lexington on the night of June 11.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Slice for comment.
Fox News Digital's Bonny Chu contributed to this report.
Obama Center engineer fires back at online critics ripping architecture as 'monstrous insult'
CHICAGO — One of the people who helped design the towering Barack Obama Presidential Center in Chicago's South Side told Fox News Digital that boldness was the 44th president's goal in the construction of what has become a polarizing finished product.
"The architects knew with the client that they wanted to do something bold at the top of the tower, and the vision of the speech came to life," Chris Bird, a Washington, D.C. based structural engineer told Fox News Digital just before the site opened to the public Friday.
Specifically, Bird designed the upper quadrant of the tower comprised of quotes from various speeches delivered by Obama during his two terms in office. The 91 words wrap around a corner of the building and make for a unique look that has been both praised and ridiculed. There are 433 individual letters, which Bird said each stand at around five feet tall.
"Working with the design architects and also their graphic designers to figure out how to shape and move a speech, splice it and put it on a building is actually really unprecedented," Bird said. "There's no architectural precedent, in my opinion."
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Fox News Digital spoke with more than a dozen of the thousands of people who packed the 19.3 acre campus during its public opening Friday, who used words like "phenomenal," "breathtaking," "amazing," "futuristic" and "unique" to describe the center's design.
The center has been ripped by online detractors as a "monstrous insult to architecture, a "concrete nightmare" and a "monstrosity."
But Bird is pleased by the result and undeterred by criticism.
OBAMA CENTER OPENS AFTER YEARS-LONG SAGA AS LOCALS WARN ‘MONSTROSITY’ COULD PRICE THEM OUT
"Now that it's complete, it feels like it really anchors this site and this neighborhood," he said. "You know, it's able to blend in with the park in a way that's really nice. I mean, the landscape architecture — as well as the building — the landscape architectures is incredible."
He said it invokes emotion in the people he met during the opening festivities.
"I mean, it's nothing but smiles and some tears sometimes. I think everyone finds a bit of themselves that they knew or didn't know they needed here, which is really special," he said.
Bird certainly disagrees with the characterization that the building is a "monstrosity."
"So, the tower itself is an incredible gesture in the rest of the park," he said. "We're reaching toward the sky, it is tall, but it's not much taller — I mean it's kind of matched in size by lots of the buildings around this area."
"I think to say that it's a monstrosity is wrong. I would say that it's a really grand gesture and a bold statement."
What the left doesn’t want you to do on Father’s Day — and what you should do
Father’s Day should be — as every holiday should — nonpolitical. The trouble is, for the far-left, strong, honorable men are a problem — and not just because fewer and fewer men are voting for Democrats.
To put dilemma for the left plainly: Father’s Day is, at its essence, a celebration of what all fathers do as protectors, providers, and enforcers of codes of conduct. A father is, at his best, a benevolent but formidable mentor to his children and a strong partner to his wife.
Strong fathers know there is an actual right and wrong and they raise their children by these complex but very real values. This is why we celebrate Father’s Day. We are heralding what honorable men bring to families and then to American society as a force of strength and stability.
DADS AREN’T OPTIONAL — AND AMERICA’S KIDS ARE PAYING THE BRUTAL PRICE
That should not be controversial, but this is precisely why the left calls manliness toxic and constantly denounces what they deem to be the patriarchy. Men with principles — people who insist on due process, a clear application of our laws, and that there are biological differences between the sexes — are remedies to the left’s current politics.
They left knows that strong families in general, and strong fathers in particular, refuse to take a knee to nonsense like boys with makeup on taking over girls’ sports.
This also explains why the left has no problem with breaking apart the nuclear family. Strong fathers are, after all, an impediment to left’s zest for control via dependency on government, as good fathers demand their children be accountable, honorable, and self-reliant.
Indeed, it is no small aside to note that instead of having or even allowing a nuanced discussion about the two-parent household — along with the caveat that some small percentage of marriages are too unhealthy for anyone involved — the left treats fatherless homes as simply being a good thing. They do this even though children (boys especially) do better on every metric when they have a father in the home to help them control and properly focus their growing egos.
Of course, the political left does not mind if we only treat Father’s Day commercially. If this holiday’s depiction of manhood only runs as deep as what socks we should buy dad along with the silly card (not that there is anything wrong with socks and cards), then this holiday is not a threat to their efforts to shackle the masculinity of strong husbands, fathers, and men.
It is a problem for the left that Father’s Day is a way of saying thank you to the strength and sacrifices of hero dads — the ones who take the time to coach the team, to take their children outdoors for adventures, and to introduce them to real heroes.
Because I know my now 13-year-old son needs heroes to show him the way, I researched and wrote Cool Heroes for Boys — 20 True Tales of Adventure. It is perhaps not surprising that these 20 heroes have almost all been cancelled by the left — not that I picked them because of that reason, but when you look for strong, honorable men to write about you inevitably chose individuals the left would like to do away with.
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Indeed, the left spent 2020 literally tearing statues of many of these heroes out of the public square.
So, with all of that said, how do we teach and learn what the left doesn’t want us talking about on Father’s Day?
An important antidote to the left’s anti-strong-father prescription is to celebrate our heroes. This is particularly easy and important on our nation’s 250th bash. John Hancock was the first to sign the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, and he famously signed it with large letters knowing he could be hung as a traitor by the British for doing so — that’s manly stuff.
So, if you’re wondering what to get your father, ask yourself who your father’s heroes are or could be. Great gifts — historical biographies, prints, films — flow from this understanding. I even once bought my father an historically accurate musket for Father’s Day. (He loved it!) Or go to Boston with your father and walk the Freedom Trail. (I did that with my son last year on the anniversary of the "shot heard ‘round the world.") Or go to Gettysburg and see where so many stood up for what they believed in — my favorite place at this battlefield is Col. Joshua Chamberlain’s wall on Little Round Top at the Gettysburg National Military Park. (I once went there with my father.) Or chose any number of other meaningful destinations centered on our heroes.
As long as what you do is real, it’ll disrupt the left’s fake narratives about fathers and who we are as a nation and people — and that’s a good thing!
JD Vance reveals what drew him back to God after seeing Christians had life ‘figured out’
EXCLUSIVE: Vice President JD Vance said years spent chasing academic, professional and financial success ultimately left him searching for something deeper, leading him back to Christianity and eventually to the Catholic faith he practices today.
"I was really worried about where I went to school and what kind of job I had and what kind of money that I made. But I felt like that wasn't making me a good person, whereas the Christians in my life seem to have it figured out," Vance told Fox News Digital in an interview as his new memoir, "Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith," hit bookshelves.
Whether they were rich or poor, whatever their background or education was. They were just much better people; they were much more gracious and much more kind."
Vance’s book debuted on Tuesday, recounting the path that took him from a Protestant childhood to atheism — and ultimately to the Catholic faith he embraces today. Vance's reflections come as he is increasingly regarded as one of the Republican Party's strongest potential presidential candidates for 2028.
JD VANCE RELEASING BOOK ABOUT FAITH JOURNEY, CONVERSION TO CATHOLICISM
"There have been so many people who have been very good to me, but I just felt at home in the churches that I was going to with my Catholic friends and that's a big part of why I converted," Vance told Fox News Digital.
He came to believe that the joy, kindness and character he saw in the Christians around him stemmed from their faith.
"Some of those people call the Catholic Church their home. So I'd go to church with them or I'd talk to them about various things that were on my mind… sometimes God puts people in front of you," said Vance.
SECOND LADY USHA VANCE ON MOTHER'S DAY AND WHAT SHE STRIVES FOR AS A MOM
He shared that he loves how American Christianity is "dynamic" with the various denominations.
Vance drew headlines in October when he spoke out about his wife’s Hindu faith, sharing his desire for her to convert.
"Do I hope eventually that she is somehow moved by the same thing that I was moved by in church? Yeah, I honestly do wish that," Vance said at the time.
In his book, the vice president points out that it is his wife who helps usher the children off to Sunday Mass even though she does not practice Catholicism.
"Usha and I talk about everything. She really is my best friend, and she's the most interesting person," said Vance.
The Vances have three children, Ewan, 8, Vivek, 5, and Mirabel, 4, and are expecting a fourth child in July.
Vance said he was surprised by the backlash to his comments last year, arguing that it is "common sense" to want the people you love to share your faith.
Illinois Democratic representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, who is Indian-American himself, took aim at the vice president.
"At a time when Hindu and Indian-American communities are confronting a climate of rising prejudice, talk of mass deportations, and growing anti-Hindu sentiment—even against members of his own party—it’s deeply disappointing that the Vice President would add to that climate through his recent comments while remaining silent in the face of hate," the congressman wrote on X.
Vance shared that their family life is still centered around faith no matter what faith it is.
"She definitely participates in the rituals of the church with us, and I really love that. That's part of our family life that is very good. Whether we do church at home or whether we go out to a church, she's the person who's helping me get the kids ready, and the kids are always late, and it takes forever to get their shoes on.
"Even though she's not a Christian, she's been very much a part of my faith journey in ways big and small," said Vance.
Luigi Mangione overruled his own lawyers with a 'change of heart' on psych defense, legal expert says
Luigi Mangione withdrew a proposed psychiatric defense in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson just hours before he would have been required to provide prosecutors with additional information about his mental condition Thursday.
Lawyers for Mangione, 28, sent a one-sentence letter to the court, telling Judge Gregory Carro that they were withdrawing a notice made public just a day earlier that signaled plans to pursue a psychiatric-based defense in his state case. There was no explanation.
The about-face may have been Mangione's idea, according to Randolph Rice, a Maryland-based attorney and legal analyst who has been following the case.
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"He might have had a change of heart and said, 'Wait a second, I'm going into state court. I'm admitting that I did this. How is this going to play when I'm facing even more serious charges in federal court in January of next year?'" Rice told Fox News Digital Friday.
LUIGI MANGIONE BAILS ON PSYCHIATRIC DEFENSE IN UNITEDHEALTHCARE CEO ASSASSINATION CASE
The daring move would have required Mangione to concede that he shot Thompson, a 50-year-old father of two, at trial. If he were later convicted under New York's extreme emotional disturbance law, the murder charge would be reduced to manslaughter, and the potential sentence would be reduced from 25 years to life in prison to five to 25 years.
Speaking with Fox News Digital before Mangione's reversal, high-profile criminal defense attorney James Leonard said it would be "a very risky trial strategy for the defense.
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"They are basically telling the jury that Mangione committed the murder, but here is why he did it and, because of this, you should nullify his guilt," he said. "If the jury accepts that, it would be an epic win for the defense team. If the jury rejects that, it [would] likely mean that Mangione will spend the rest of his life behind bars."
Rice said concerns about the federal prosecution likely factored into the decision.
"I have no doubt that this weighed on Mangione's mind," he added.
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The former Ivy Leaguer is also facing a separate federal trial expected to kick off early next year, and it's unclear how such a defense in the state case would impact that one. It carries stiffer potential sentences, and there is no federal equivalent to New York's emotional disturbance law.
A spokesperson for Mangione's team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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"We knew that this was gonna be one of these cases that's gonna have a lot of twists and turns, and it is certainly living up to that," Rice said.
Legal observers previously told Fox News Digital that the psych defense would have required Mangione's attorneys to convince jurors that he experienced a profound loss of self-control stemming from an intense emotional disturbance at the time Thompson was gunned down outside a Manhattan business conference.
Prosecutors, meanwhile, have alleged that Mangione meticulously planned the killing for months, documenting his thoughts in journals and traveling across the country before shooting Thompson in the back outside a business event in New York City, where neither of them lived.
"I have no doubt that this is not the last time we're going to see something like this where either the defense says something or even the prosecution may say something and then it completely gets changed and flipped on its head moving forward," Rice said.
Man charged with attempted murder, released after allegedly forcing toddler into crocodile enclosure at zoo
A man was released from custody on Friday after he was charged with attempted murder for allegedly forcing a 3-year-old boy into a crocodile enclosure at a zoo.
Cambridgeshire police said that the man, who remains unidentified, wasn’t fit to be interviewed.
The boy suffered critical injuries in the incident at Johnsons of Old Hurst, a farm and zoo in Huntingdon, England, north of London.
The 30-year-old man will remain on bail until Sept. 30, pending further inquiries.
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"The man, who is not known to the victim, was assessed as not being fit for interview," police said in a statement.
The boy is in stable condition, after reportedly suffering a broken arm and pelvis.
He was saved from the crocodile by Tracey Johnson, the wife of the zoo’s owner.
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"I know Tracey very well and she’s a lovely lady and it’s nothing more than I’d expect from her," a local told BBC News. "She’d always put her own life at risk to save someone else. She’s an extraordinary lady and very brave.
The villager added that Johnson put herself in "immense danger" during the rescue.
The owners said their tropical house would remain closed until further notice.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the boy and his family following the incident that occurred today," the owners wrote on social media.
Huntingdonshire district councillor Charlotte Lowe said she couldn’t "fathom how it’s happened because they’ve got all the right protection and safety equipment, for want of a better word, in there," The Guardian reported.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Cambridgeshire Constabulary for comment.
Trump says vandals used chemicals to damage newly renovated reflecting pool near Lincoln Memorial
President Donald Trump on Friday said vandals damaged the recently renovated reflecting pool near the Lincoln Memorial, adding that authorities are investigating the incident.
Trump's comments come as the recently renovated reflecting pool faces scrutiny over peeling paint and algae growth just weeks after a $14.8 million restoration project was completed.
"Things are really looking good in our Nation’s Capital, and add to that the fact that when I became President, Crime was rampant, and now, Washington, D.C., is one of the Safest Cities anywhere in the United States," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
"However, we’ve had some real problems with Vandalism at the beautiful Reflecting Pool, which sits between The Washington Monument and The Lincoln Memorial," he continued.
"Just like three days ago, they destroyed the grass outside of the Pool, they’ve also done everything possible to hurt the inside surface that was just installed."
Trump accused vandals of damaging the grounds surrounding the reflecting pool and said they used chemicals to damage the pool's newly installed surface.
"No different than the chemicals that were used on the National Mall, they used something similar in the Reflecting Pool to try to destroy and demean our beautiful work," he said.
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Trump's comments come about a week after a large "86 47" message appeared to be etched into the grass near the National Mall between the Washington Monument and the World War II Memorial.
Administration officials previously characterized the message as threatening, arguing that "86" is sometimes used as slang for removing or getting rid of something, while "47" refers to Trump as the nation's 47th president.
Trump announced on June 6 that the $14.8 million restoration project at the historic reflecting pool had been completed. Days later, however, algae appeared throughout the pool, masking portions of the newly restored "American flag blue" bottom.
WATCH: TRUMP REVEALS FLASHY NEW COLOR FOR NATIONAL MALL'S REFLECTING POOL MAKEOVER
This week, the National Park Service and contractors deployed chemicals and ozone nanobubbles to help mitigate the algae growth.
Workers also used a swimming pool-style vacuum system to remove algae from the bottom of the pool.
"There are no harmful side effects to marine life or to the environment," the park service said in a statement this week.
Trump said most of the algae had been removed and that the vandalized area would be repaired by next week.
"The algae is 75% gone, and the condition will soon be completely remedied, and the area that was vandalized, fortunately, is just a small area of damage, and will be fixed early next week," Trump said.
He also said law enforcement is actively investigating the alleged vandalism. Images posted on social media Friday showed National Guard personnel and U.S. Park Police officers patrolling the area.
Videos posted on social media also appeared to show people gathered near the Reflecting Pool criticizing the renovation project and celebrating the algae growth.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
FBI captures $1.2B Medicare fraud fugitive in Philippines, second arrest from Most Wanted Fraudsters list
A fugitive accused of running a $1.2 billion Medicare fraud conspiracy has been captured overseas and returned to the United States, becoming the second suspect taken into custody from the FBI's new "Most Wanted Fraudsters" list.
Federal officials said Herbert Leon Kimble, 60, was arrested in the Philippines after allegedly evading authorities for nearly two years.
Prosecutors said Kimble operated a healthcare fraud scheme that generated more than $1.2 billion in Medicare charges and affected thousands of beneficiaries, many of them elderly. Authorities said the operation used call centers to steer patients toward medically unnecessary orthopedic braces.
Kimble pleaded guilty in 2019 to multiple federal offenses, including conspiracy to defraud the United States, healthcare fraud, wire fraud, mail fraud, making false claims and offering kickbacks and bribes.
Authorities said he failed to appear for his sentencing hearing in August 2024, prompting a federal arrest warrant and an international manhunt.
The capture came just weeks after the Justice Department unveiled its new "Most Wanted Fraudsters" list, which is intended to publicly identify individuals charged in major fraud cases.
Last week, federal officials announced the apprehension of Said Abdullahi Ereg, 47, who was wanted on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud and money laundering. He was the first person on the list to be taken into custody.
THE WAR ON FRAUD IS HERE, AND VICE PRESIDENT VANCE IS LEADING IT FROM THE FRONT
"In just over two weeks, this is the second Most Wanted Fraudster arrested on the FBI’s list led by Vice President Vance and the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud," FBI Director Kash Patel posted on X.
"Herbert Leon Kimbel was apprehended in the Philippines and is now back in the United States, on the run since 2024 after he allegedly orchestrated a $1.2 billion healthcare fraud conspiracy that targeted the Medicare system — particularly elderly victims — from 2014-2019," Patel continued.
Patel said the FBI remains committed to carrying out President Donald Trump's directive to crack down on fraud and protect taxpayer dollars.
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The arrest comes months after the Justice Department announced the creation of a National Fraud Enforcement Division to support Trump's Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, which is led by Vice President J.D. Vance.
Vance reacted to the arrest on X, crediting the creation of the Most Wanted Fraudsters list with helping investigators track down Kimble.
"Our message is simple," Vance wrote. "If you defraud the American people, we will find you and we will bring you to justice."
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"Kimble preyed on the elderly for years, costing taxpayers over a billion dollars," he continued. "The FBI catching Kimble is a direct result of the task force’s partnership with the FBI to create the Most Wanted Fraudsters list."
Vance said authorities had been unable to capture Kimble for months, but that the Philippine government helped locate him after the Justice Department published its list.
"Catching fraudsters is a priority of this Administration, and thanks to our task force’s hard work, one of the country’s most wanted fraudsters will now have to answer for his crimes," Vance added.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche also reacted to the arrest, saying that "fleeing the United States does not mean you can flee justice."
"Instead of facing accountability for his $1.2 billion Medicare fraud crimes in the United States, Kimble fled to the Philippines hoping to escape justice," Blanche wrote on X. "That plan failed. Under President Trump’s leadership, this FBI has now apprehended two fraudsters from its recently unveiled Most Wanted Fraudster list in just two weeks, with more to come."