Fox News Latest Headlines
Pro-life group says mail-order abortion pills violate federal law, urges Trump admin to take action
EXCLUSIVE: A pro-life group has released a new report calling on the Trump administration to take action against mail-order abortion drugs, arguing that it can enforce a 19th-century federal law to crack down on abortion pill shipments.
In the report obtained by Fox News Digital, the Restoration of America Foundation (ROAF) said Democrat-led states' shield laws — adopted to protect providers in blue states from being prosecuted by GOP state governments — allow providers to ship, or are being used by providers to ship, the abortion pill mifepristone into red states "with no in-person exam or verification of who takes them or whether they take them willingly."
ROAF attributed the growth in mail-order abortions in part to FDA policy changes that suspended the in-person dispensing requirement during the COVID-19 pandemic before making the change permanent, allowing abortion drugs to be prescribed through telehealth and mailed to patients.
The report said nearly 15,000 medication abortions each month were provided under blue state shield laws by June 2025. It also said that by the end of 2024, about 15% of all U.S. abortions were through medication mailed to women in states with abortion restrictions.
ROAF also cited an insurance claims analysis that the organization said found serious adverse health events following 10.9% of drug-induced abortions from 2017 through 2023, roughly 22 times the rate reported on the FDA-approved label for the abortion pill regimen. The group said the rate reached 11.2% in 2023 as the drugs were used more broadly.
According to the report, ROAF estimated that mail-order drugs were "directly responsible" for more than 300,000 abortions in 2025 alone.
This comes just ahead of the 110th anniversary of Planned Parenthood in the U.S., as the nation's largest abortion provider will be commemorating its Oct. 16, 1916, founding later this month.
The ROAF report is urging Attorney General Todd Blanche to enforce the Comstock Act, an 1873 law criminalizing sending certain abortion-related materials that the pro-life group argues should be used by the Trump administration to stop shield laws from protecting mail-order medication abortions.
"As we come up with this anniversary for Planned Parenthood, we think it's a good moment to release this paper. We really want to talk about the Comstock Act and the impact it could have on abortions going forward in this country," ROAF CEO Doug Truax told Fox News Digital.
"The Comstock Act says it's illegal to put these drugs in the mail, so we're just asking them to enforce the law," he continued.
After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, which returned the power to make abortion laws to the states, the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel under the Biden administration in December 2022 issued an opinion that concluded that the Comstock Act does not prohibit mailing mifepristone or misoprostol when the sender lacks intent that the recipient use the drugs unlawfully.
The Biden administration's Office of Legal Counsel concluded in a December 2022 opinion that the Comstock Act does not prohibit mailing mifepristone or misoprostol when the sender lacks the intent that the drugs be used unlawfully.
But Blanche said during his confirmation hearings over the summer that he would review how the DOJ interprets the Comstock Act. ROAF says the department should withdraw the Biden administration’s opinion, investigate providers and organizations involved in mailing the drugs and enforce the 150-year-old federal law, which the group argues would effectively ban the mailing of abortion drugs nationwide.
"We are asking the administration to take a step back and say, okay, when Roe was the law of the land, Comstock was unenforceable. But since Roe is out, Comstock is back on the table and it is valid law and it is illegal to put abortion drugs in the mail. You have thousands of people in basically blue states mailing a ton of pills around this country ... it's resulting in the amount of deaths that we're talking about here. So this is an illegal action that they're taking. We just want you to enforce Comstock and it will save hundreds of thousands of lives going forward," Truax said.
"It's a great way to get momentum back on our side in the pro life community, which frankly, I think the president and all conservatives around the country would appreciate now, as we head into November 3rd, and then especially as we head into the next election cycle," he added.
Who is A'ja Wilson? WNBA star who confronted an Indiana Fever fan at a playoff game
A'ja Wilson didn't give a damn.
When she saw "a man" pointing at her, she approached him, pointed back and exchanged words, before teammates and arena personnel pulled her away. She received a technical foul for unsportsmanlike conduct, while the fan was initially escorted from his seat.
Arena security later interviewed the fan and nearby witnesses and determined that he had not violated the Fever’s Fan Code of Conduct. He was allowed to return to his seat, reportedly to applause and high-fives from the home crowd.
But Wilson stood behind her reaction after the game.
"If I see a man come at me, taking steps toward me and pointing at me, I don’t give a damn what you said," Wilson told reporters. "I don’t give a damn how you said it, the tone. That is unacceptable. You don’t step towards me — you never should — and point at me. I’m not for that s--- at all."
JEMELE HILL SAYS WE CAN'T BLAME A'JA WILSON FOR CHARGING AT FANS BECAUSE OF WHAT 'MEN' HAVE DONE
And just like that, the WNBA had its next dramatic episode in a long-running series of such episodes in the 2026 season.
So who exactly is the WNBA legend who didn’t give a damn on Tuesday night?
THE CRAIG CARTON SHOW–UNFILTERED, UNAPOLOGETIC AND UNMISSABLE. DOWNLOAD HIS DAILY PODCAST NOW!
A’ja Riyadh Wilson was born Aug. 8, 1996, and raised just outside Columbia, South Carolina, by Roscoe and Eva Wilson.
Her distinctive first name originated with her father’s taste in music. Roscoe, who played professional basketball in Europe, attended a Steely Dan concert overseas and decided that if he ever had a daughter, he would name her after the band’s 1977 song and album "Aja." Her middle name, Riyadh, came from the capital of Saudi Arabia, where her maternal aunt was stationed during Operation Desert Storm, per NBC Olympics.
Christianity and church life were fixtures of Wilson’s upbringing. Her paternal grandfather, Roscoe Wilson Sr., served as a minister at Saint John Baptist Church in Columbia for approximately 50 years, while her grandmother was a missionary. Wilson grew up attending the church and has credited its congregation and the surrounding community with helping raise her, per NBC Sports.
Wilson recalled that Saint John had a children’s church and that she sometimes chased other children around the pews.
Basketball was not initially part of Wilson’s plan. Despite her father’s playing career and her older brother’s interest in the sport, she gravitated toward activities such as soccer, volleyball, ballet and piano. She later joked that she "was not a girly that liked to sweat."
""I was not a girly that liked to sweat. Now, I sweat for a living, and it pays my bills," Wilson told TIME in 2025.
Wilson attended Heathwood Hall Episcopal School, a predominantly White private school where she struggled to fit in socially and academically. She has written that classmates directed racial comments at her and made her feel different because she was Black, in The Players’ Tribune.
She was also diagnosed with dyslexia during her sophomore year of high school after years of struggling to process large blocks of text. Wilson later wrote that she dreaded being asked to read a pregame Psalm aloud more than playing in front of a hostile crowd. The experience eventually inspired her foundation’s work supporting children with dyslexia and combating bullying.
Her father started taking her to the gym for early-morning and weekend workouts, setting her on the path from reluctant basketball player to the nation’s top high school recruit.
While sitting courtside with then-Las Vegas Aces teammate Kelsey Plum at the 2024 Final Four, Wilson turned a conversation about UConn star Paige Bueckers into a racial discussion.
"Us, as Black women, Paige reminds me a lot of you," Wilson told Plum. "She knows how her privilege has gotten her to that point. And also, like, she’s good at basketball. She understands her privilege. It’s like what pushes her over the top, in a sense. It reminds me a lot of you."
In 2020, Wilson became one of the players selected to lead the newly created WNBA/WNBPA Social Justice Council. The league dedicated that season to racial-justice causes following the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, placing "Black Lives Matter" on its courts and Taylor’s name on players’ jerseys as part of the "Say Her Name" campaign.
After a Kentucky grand jury declined to charge any officers directly in Taylor’s death, Wilson called the decision a "slap on the wrist, and invoked the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
"People remember exactly where they were when 9/11 happened or when other things happened. This is my 9/11. ... I was too young [for that]; I was in preschool [in 2001]. But this here is going to be something I remember all the time. I have to fear for my life as a Black woman, whether I'm asleep, I'm awake, whether I am walking down the street. Justice was not served, and that just really broke my heart." Wilson said, per ESPN. The article was published 13 days after the 19th anniversary of 9/11.
Wilson also published an essay titled "Dear Black Girls" in 2020, describing the racism and isolation she experienced while attending a predominantly White private school. She wrote that her broader purpose was to assure young Black girls that they were seen, heard and capable of making an impact.
"This isn’t just a hashtag," she wrote in the Player's Tribune essay ahead of the 2020 season. "We’re all in it and we demand change."
Her activism extended into electoral politics during the same season. WNBA players publicly opposed then-Atlanta Dream co-owner and Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler after Loeffler criticized the league’s embrace of Black Lives Matter.
Players wore "Vote Warnock" shirts supporting Democratic challenger Raphael Warnock, who later defeated Loeffler in Georgia’s Senate runoff. Wilson’s Social Justice Council also held discussions about voting rights, LGBTQ advocacy and gun control.
Wilson has continued to argue that Black women must work harder to receive the same recognition as others. In a 2024 ESPN interview, she said Black girls are often taught that they must work "10 times as hard just to get a foot in the door."
Wilson’s basketball résumé includes success at every level.
At South Carolina, she became the first three-time SEC Player of the Year and led the Gamecocks to their first national championship in 2017. She was named the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player that year before sweeping the major national player-of-the-year awards as a senior. Wilson finished her college career as South Carolina’s all-time leader in points and blocked shots.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE OUTKICK SPORTS COVERAGE
The Las Vegas Aces selected her with the first overall pick in the 2018 WNBA Draft, and she immediately won Rookie of the Year. Wilson has since captured a record four league MVP awards and four Defensive Player of the Year honors, including a share of the defensive award in 2025.
Wilson led Las Vegas to WNBA championships in 2022, 2023 and 2025, earning Finals MVP honors in the latter two title runs. Entering the 2026 season, she ranked first in WNBA history in career scoring average and first in 30-point double-doubles.
She has also won two Olympic gold medals with Team USA, starting for the Americans at both the Tokyo and Paris Games.
Wilson added another honor in September 2026 when the Associated Press named her its WNBA Player of the Year for the third consecutive season.
Wilson and the Aces will have little time to dwell on the confrontation.
Las Vegas will host Indiana in a winner-take-all Game 3 Thursday at 9 p.m. ET. The game will air on USA Network and CNBC, with the winner advancing to the WNBA semifinals and the loser’s season coming to an immediate end.
The teams have already traded decisive victories. Wilson overwhelmed Indiana with 38 points and 16 rebounds in Las Vegas’ 102-85 Game 1 win, but Caitlin Clark answered with 27 points and 15 assists as the Fever won Game 2, 99-89. Wilson finished the loss with 22 points and nine rebounds, while her fourth-quarter confrontation became the game’s defining controversy.
Now, Wilson will return to a friendly Las Vegas crowd with an opportunity to redirect the conversation. A dominant Game 3 would move the defending champions one step closer to their fourth title in five seasons. A loss would end their reign—and ensure that Wilson’s final act of the postseason included charging into the stands to confront a fan.
Ole Miss students died near drug listing newly illegal ingredient, ex-prosecutor says selling it is 'unlawful'
OXFORD, Miss. – Two Ole Miss students were found dead near tablets whose labels list an ingredient the federal government recently made illegal, and the product is nowhere to be found on the brand's website.
According to court documents, Ole Miss students Aidan Hamilton, 18, and Robert Strang, 20, were discovered dead on Sept. 21, each found near similar packages of kratom or synthetic kratom. Officials noted that Hamilton "could have died due to a Pulmonary Edema," a finding consistent with a drug overdose. When first responders reached Strang's house near campus, he was found "cold to the touch."
Packaging found near both students bears the name Modus, according to court documents. The affidavit describes the tablets as Smax Pseudo-DHM, and lists pseudoindoxyl and MGM-15(DHM) among the ingredients on the pack found near Hamilton.
The Drug Enforcement Administration temporarily placed mitragynine pseudoindoxyl in Schedule I on Aug. 26, which bars its sale. A Mississippi law enforcement agent investigating the Ole Miss students' deaths said he believes "pseudoindoxyl" refers to that compound, and lab results confirming the tablets' contents are pending, court documents say.
OXFORD MAYOR WARNS KRATOM IS 'ROLLING THE DICE ON DEATH' AS FEARS LINGER OVER OLE MISS DEATHS
Toxicology results, which are still pending, could help determine how Hamilton and Strang died, according to the affidavit.
Modus Brand, which has offices in Florida and California, doesn't list the Smax Pseudo Tablets on its website, but says the product is a "next-generation approach to botanical supplements, offering a carefully formulated, high-quality product in a convenient chewable format."
While it's unclear if the Smax Pseudo Tablets were once on the Modus website, it's not listed at the moment.
In September, Hamilton made multiple purchases at Puffs Vape, Tobacco and Beer Store in Oxford. Two employees at that store, Yahya Mohamed Mosleh, 51, and Islam Mohamed, 18, were arrested and face a charge of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, according to court documents. They were handed bonds of $100,000 each. Officials have said they do not believe there is any connection between the arrests and Hamilton's death.
SIGN UP TO GET THE LATEST TRUE CRIME NEWS
Court documents do not establish that the kratom found near Hamilton at the time of his death originated from that store. Among his purchases, at least one transaction took place the day before Hamilton was discovered dead.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE FROM THE FOX TRUE CRIME HUB
Officials said the synthetic kratom-derived product Strang had bought was purchased at a gas station about 30 minutes away from Oxford, Mississippi.
OLE MISS NAMES STUDENTS FOUND DEAD AS OFFICIAL ADDRESSES POTENTIAL FOR FOUL PLAY
The owner of that gas station told Fox News Digital that the Smax tablets found near Strang did not come from his store. He said he does not put price stickers on his packages, unlike the one on the pack by Strang's nightstand. He didn't dispute that his store sold Smax Pseudo Tablets.
He said that federal agents seized all of his kratom inventory on Friday.
Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani told Fox News Digital it's illegal for anyone to sell products containing MGM-15 after the DEA rescheduled it, but prosecuting it is trickier.
"It would be unlawful for anyone, whether it's a drug dealer or a gas station convenience store owner, to sell MGM-15 after it was categorized as Schedule I," Rahmani said. "Now, to be prosecuted, the Department of Justice would have to prove intent."
LISTEN TO THE NEW 'CRIME & JUSTICE WITH DONNA ROTUNNO' PODCAST
Kratom is a plant, but MGM-15 and related chemicals are synthetic versions of it, and the two are "certainly not an apples-to-apples comparison," he said.
Modus, the company whose name appears on the packaging, could face civil and even criminal liability if its product is found to contain a Schedule I substance, Rahmani said.
"There's no doubt that Modus and any company that distributed this drug can face civil, even criminal, liability. If you put out a dangerous product, doesn't matter if it's a pharmaceutical, street drug, or really, frankly, anything else. It could be a vehicle, it could be social media. Products liability law does hold the company responsible," Rahmani said.
"Now, in the case of something that's outright illegal in Schedule I, there's no question that criminal liability for the distributors can attach as well, and it can be the manufacturer, it can be the street level dealer, the wholesaler, anyone in the supply chain that distributes a Schedule I drug can absolutely be held responsible."
Multiple calls and emails to Modus by Fox News Digital went unanswered.
Fox News Digital reached out to the FBI, DEA, Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, Lafayette County Metro Narcotics, Yahya Mohamed Mosleh and Islam Mohamed for comment.
Texas BBQ joint takes drastic step as soaring beef prices devour restaurant
A Texas barbecue restaurant in the small town of Sinton, about a 30-minute drive from Corpus Christi, recently made the decision to remove brisket from its standard menu.
The choice wasn't made overnight, Andrew Soto, the owner and operator of Butter's BBQ, told Fox News Digital.
"We've been dealing with the price hikes, specifically in beef and briskets, for the better part of, I would say, five years," Soto said.
AMERICA'S BEEF SUPPLY SHRINKS AS CATTLE FARMER WARNS 'THE NUMBERS ARE JUST NOT HERE ANYMORE'
Soto noted that prices have fluctuated over the last five years, and, at times, they even appeared to be heading in the right direction.
But over the last eight months to a year, beef prices climbed rapidly, and it eventually became too much to keep up with, he said.
When the restaurant tried adjusting prices and cooking less brisket, its foot traffic and sales took a hit.
CHICKEN WING PRICES ARE DOWN — HERE'S WHY YOUR FAVORITE RESTAURANT MAY NOT CUT PRICES
"I guess the straw that broke the camel's back was last week. I was talking to one of my food reps, and he informed me that brisket had once again gone up in price," Soto said, noting that the price had increased by almost $1 per pound.
That might not sound like a lot, he acknowledged, but it adds up when buying hundreds of pounds of beef at once. And in a small town, it's hard to anticipate how much people will buy.
According to the USDA's Economic Research Service, beef and veal prices were 5.9% higher in August 2026 than in August 2025. In total, prices are expected to increase 9.4% in 2026, with a forecast interval of 7.4% to 11.6%.
Fox News Digital reached out to the National Cattlemen's Beef Association for comment.
It became too much of a "gamble," Soto said, to pay the steep prices for brisket and not be sure if the quantity he purchased would sell.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTER
"It was a hard one, but I made the decision to pull our brisket from the menu completely," Soto said.
The restaurant is currently experimenting with alternatives like beef cheek as a brisket alternative, but overall, pork is the priority, and Butter's BBQ is trying to encourage guests to reach for ribs and sausage.
Soto clarified that the restaurant would still sell brisket, but not in the way or quantity it had been.
"We're going to implement an online pre-order system where you'll be able to order it in advance, pay for it in advance," he said.
Guests who really want brisket can still get their fix from Butter's, but it will not be part of the everyday menu.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE LIFESTYLE NEWS
"We're in Texas. It's a big deal," Soto said about brisket's popularity in the Lone Star State.
A Facebook post in which Butter's BBQ shared the news about the menu change to its community said: "We apologize tremendously, we've done all we can to combat the constant price hikes, but we can no longer sustain our current business model with brisket eating up over 70% of our total grocery costs."
Some people were shocked, commenting that brisket was an essential at any Texas barbecue joint.
"In my opinion, not selling brisket will hurt your business," one Facebook commenter wrote. "Best move is to raise your prices to match the rising cost of beef. If your brisket is good then people will pay whatever price you set."
TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ
Another agreed, saying: "Just raise your prices, I've seen brisket sandwiches go from $10 to $12 up to $20."
Other commenters were more understanding, with one commenter saying: "Bring on the pork!!!" Another offered a suggestion: "I'd love to see some smoked pork steaks. That could be an affordable alternative to add to the menu."
Soto wants people to remember that the decision was not personal.
"We're just trying to protect our business and our livelihood," he said.
"Please come and support us. We still have some really good barbecue, despite not having the brisket on our menu."
Biden-era federal prosecutor hit with criminal investigation referral over alleged false statements to FBI
FIRST ON FOX — A former senior federal prosecutor who served in the Biden administration has been hit with a criminal investigation referral asking the Justice Department to look into whether she misled federal agents about her role in an investigation, Fox News Digital has learned.
Jina Choi joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California in late 2023, shortly after which Biden-appointed U.S. Attorney Ismail Ramsey tapped her to lead its Corporate and Securities Fraud Section, which handles major corporate and securities cases across the Bay Area, including Silicon Valley.
Before joining the office, however, Choi had represented IRL, a social-media startup co-founded by Abraham Shafi. The company was built around organizing and connecting people through events. IRL shut down in 2023 after a board-directed investigation concluded that 95% of its users were likely bots, a finding Shafi disputed. Shafi was later indicted in 2025 on federal fraud and obstruction charges.
The referral represents an unusually aggressive challenge to the conduct of a former prosecutor involved in the broader matter.
FEDERAL JUDGE REFERS PHILADELPHIA DA LARRY KRASNER TO DOJ FOR POSSIBLE CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION
Cully Stimson, acting director of the Heritage Foundation’s Legal Policy Center and himself a former federal prosecutor, told Fox News Digital that, while it is common for defense teams to attack prosecutors, resorting to a criminal investigation referral is rare.
The referral, sent on Tuesday by a lawyer Shafi retained separately from his defense, turns on whether Choi remained involved in the IRL investigation after joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office despite being screened from the matter because of her prior representation of the company. The Justice Department generally has no obligation to respond to referrals like this.
Prosecutors said Choi was walled off from the federal investigation involving IRL and Shafi. But Shafi’s lawyer now alleges that internal communications and an FBI interview report show she remained involved in the matter and later understated that involvement to federal agents.
JIM JORDAN SAYS HOUSE WEIGHING CRIMINAL REFERRAL OF JACK SMITH FOR ALLEGEDLY LYING TO CONGRESS
The FBI declined to comment when reached by Fox News Digital.
In the criminal referral sent to the Justice Department on Tuesday, Shafi’s lawyer asked federal authorities to investigate whether Choi made false statements about her role in the investigation into IRL.
The federal investigation into IRL predated Choi’s arrival at the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Prosecutors have said she was screened from the matter because of her prior representation of the company.
Shafi’s defense claims to have obtained internal emails sent by Choi as well as FBI interview memoranda recounting a conversation she had with federal agents from the prosecution. Shafi’s lawyer argues the documents contradict Choi’s account to agents.
NEW FEDERAL GRAND JURY SUBPOENA ISSUED TO FORMER JAMES COMEY ADVISOR IN LEAK INVESTIGATION: SOURCES
While Choi’s communications are quoted or described in public court filings, the government filed the underlying email exhibits under seal or as sealed exhibit slipsheets. As a result, the public cannot independently inspect the original documents or assess their full context.
Choi worked for IRL as outside counsel before joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, according to court filings. During this time, Shafi’s defense alleged in its motion to dismiss the case against him that Choi attempted to get federal authorities to target Shafi to shield other stakeholders at the firm. The government denied this characterization, acknowledging that she advocated that the firm itself not be targeted, but disputing that she wanted the government to go after Shafi.
The tech founder’s defense argues that Choi’s prior representation of IRL created a conflict of interest. Prosecutors have said she was walled off from the investigation because of that prior relationship. As of publishing, no ruling has been made finding that Choi operated under a conflict of interest that warrants dismissal.
Shafi’s lawyer argues that documents they obtained tell a different story.
ODNI SENDS CRIMINAL REFERRALS TO DOJ FOR EX-IG, WHISTLEBLOWER TIED TO TRUMP IMPEACHMENT
The FBI, which was investigating the Shafi case, interviewed Choi in July and questioned her about her role in the IRL investigation, according to the referral. Choi allegedly told agents that she did "not have any kind of role in the investigation."
An internal message purportedly obtained by the defense, however, quotes her as saying, "I talked to [her predecessor]] and I wanted to see if it would be ok to add [him] to the IRL team to help move it along."
In other instances, documents obtained by the defense allegedly show that she inquired about the name of the FBI agent working on the IRL case and that she sent press coverage of the case against Shafi to other prosecutors.
At one point during her FBI interview, Shafi's lawyer claims Choi said that she was not aware "who was assigned to the case team."
According to the criminal investigation referral, Choi "admitted keeping a written case tracker on which ‘the SHAFI investigation was listed.’" The defense claims that the U.S. Attorney’s Office refused to turn over the case tracker by describing it as a "privileged and internal work product."
Shafi was charged with wire fraud, securities fraud and obstruction a few months after Choi left the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The charges stem from allegations that he misled investors by misrepresenting user growth on his platform. Prosecutors allege that he used paid advertising to attract people to IRL, then passed off the resulting growth as organic while raising about $170 million from investors.
He also stands accused of misusing investors’ funds for clothing, home furnishings, travel, hotels and wedding-related costs. The founder’s lawyer argues that Choi’s alleged false statements to federal agents, coupled with her prior representation of IRL, taint the charges against Shafi.
JACK SMITH DOUBLES DOWN AGAINST GOP ACCUSATIONS HE LIED UNDER OATH
Shafi’s defense has a strong incentive to prove that Choi acted improperly, as doing so could seriously derail the prosecution of their client.
"Here, the defense's allegations are troubling if true, because if their allegations end up being true, there was spillage," Stimson told Fox News Digital. "And that would mean some other members of that office are therefore conflicted, and it could result in the entire office being conflicted if a judge found that the taint was so bad that it permeated the whole office."
Stimson also said that, in his experience, individual U.S. Attorneys’ Offices generally operate with significant independence on casework, cautioning against attributing Choi’s alleged conduct to the Biden administration more broadly.
As of publishing, Choi has not been charged with any crime or disciplined for any professional misconduct in connection with the Shafi prosecution.
Choi did not respond to a request for comment when reached by Fox News Digital.
Billion-dollar power link connecting Israel to Europe hits roadblock in bitter regional feud
UNITED NATIONS — Cyprus Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos accused Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of "hypocritical and provocative" rhetoric over Gaza while warning that Ankara is trying to obstruct a major energy project linking Israel, Cyprus and Europe.
"Turkey has been making threats and has been acting on threats against Cyprus, especially in the exclusive economic zone," Kombos told Fox News Digital in an on-camera interview on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly.
Kombos pointed to the Great Sea Interconnector, a planned subsea electricity cable linking Israel to Cyprus and Cyprus to Greece, connecting the island to Europe’s power grid.
TRUMP'S AMBITIOUS ENERGY BET COULD BE A WINNING HAND AS THE WORLD BURNS MORE OIL, GAS THAN EVER
"The main project of the electrical connection between Greece-Cyprus and then Cyprus-Israel has been blocked by Turkey because of illegal claims they have in terms of delimitation in the exclusive economic zone," Kombos said.
The roughly €1.9 billion Great Sea Interconnector is designed to carry up to 1,000 megawatts across more than 1,200 kilometers of subsea cable. The EU has committed €657 million to the Cyprus-Crete section, which is intended to end Cyprus’ isolation from the European electricity system and eventually connect Israel more directly to the European market.
TRUMP’S MIDDLE EAST ENERGY VICTORIES ARE A HUGE REMINDER OF AMERICA'S DOMINANCE
The project has faced financial delays and geopolitical tensions tied to competing Greek and Turkish maritime claims in the Eastern Mediterranean.
"The fact that we have someone challenging all the bases and all the norms of international law cannot be the answer to how we plan the future of our people," Kombos said.
Those tensions also framed his sharp response to Erdoğan’s speech at the U.N. General Assembly.
"We decided to stay in the room and hear Mr. Erdogan’s speech," Kombos said, referring to himself and Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides. "And we are both, at the same time, thinking that this is hypocritical and provocative."
Kombos said Erdoğan’s appeals to the U.N. Charter stood in stark contrast to Turkey’s record on the divided Mediterranean island.
"It’s an ongoing violation, an act of aggression, of invasion, of occupation," he said. "So it’s a very clear example of a distance between rhetoric and action, words and deeds."
MIDDLE EAST TAKES CENTER STAGE AT UN AS REGIONAL LEADERS CONFRONT IRAN WAR, GAZA AND HOUTHI THREAT
Erdoğan delivered a blistering attack on Israel during his Sept. 22 U.N. address, accusing the Israeli government of refusing to end its "occupation" and saying Gaza had become "the most inhumane and shameful concentration camp of our time." He also accused Israel of having a "genocidal mindset." Israel has repeatedly rejected allegations that it is committing genocide in Gaza.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when a coup backed by Greece’s then-military junta was followed by a Turkish military intervention that left the island split. The internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus controls the south, while the northern third is administered by Turkish Cypriots with Turkey’s support. The self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is recognized only by Turkey, and a U.N.-patrolled buffer zone separates the two sides.
Efforts to reunify the island have repeatedly stalled. The U.N.-backed framework has centered on a bizonal, bicommunal federation, while Turkey has in recent years backed a two-state solution.
Kombos said Cyprus wants negotiations to resume from where they broke down in 2017 but argued that progress ultimately depends on Ankara.
"We need Turkey to give the green light to the Turkish Cypriot leadership," he said, adding that a two-state approach "runs contrary to everything this very organization and the United Nations Security Council have decided."
The U.N. has recently stepped up efforts to revive the process. Secretary-General António Guterres traveled to Cyprus from July 28-29, meeting separately and jointly with Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman in an effort to advance talks toward a "comprehensive and sustainable settlement."
TRUMP COULD HAND PRIZED STEALTH JETS TO NATO ALLY ONCE SEEN AS ALLIANCE HEADACHE
Kombos also raised concern over the possibility of Turkey obtaining U.S. F-35 fighter jets.
"This is something that is of concern to us, of course, as well as to other countries in the region," he said. "We cannot just accept this as the usual day at the office. This is something that’s important. It’s upsetting regional balances."
At the same time, Cyprus has moved significantly closer to Washington.
Kombos said the U.S.-Cyprus relationship is "probably right now at the highest level we have ever been," pointing to strategic dialogue, military cooperation, joint exercises and work to make Cypriot facilities compatible with assets used by the US and NATO partners.
Earlier this month, Washington renewed Cyprus’ exemption from U.S. International Traffic in Arms Regulations restrictions for fiscal year 2027, allowing transfers of US defense articles and services. Cyprus is also eligible for US Foreign Military Sales and the Excess Defense Articles program.
"We want to make sure that we are an active, useful partner in the international system," Kombos said, arguing that Cyprus’ location and close ties with Israel, Gulf states, Europe and the US give it an increasingly important regional role.
Old men and the seams: Two moguls take their cuts at the knuckleball
In the summer of 2012 — when knuckleballer R. A. Dickey came out of nowhere to win the Cy Young award — I discovered my sons in our backyard teaching themselves the pitch. The knuck, a slow trick pitch that doesn’t spin, has a storied history of elevating longshots, retreads and dreamers to the major leagues — even the Hall of Fame.
I resolved to see how far my kids could go. On the decade-long odyssey that followed, I learned that not only baseball-crazy boys harbored knuckleball dreams. Two wealthy business moguls did too. Their intersecting lives are one of the strange but true stories in my new book, "School of Hard Knucks: My Three Sons and Baseball’s Wildest Pitch."
THE CRAIG CARTON SHOW–UNFILTERED, UNAPOLOGETIC AND UNMISSABLE. DOWNLOAD HIS DAILY PODCAST NOW!
Brooklyn real estate investor Howard Rich, a free-market guy who founded Americans for Limited Government, had Mets season tickets six rows behind home plate — the ideal place to watch Dickey’s knuckleball baffle hitters in 2012.
"If the knuckleball’s so hard to hit," Rich ’ s wife Andrea asked one game, "why does only one pitcher throw it in the major leagues?"
Great question, Rich thought. This was a market failure. He’d fix it by opening a school — the International Knuckleball Academy (IKA). He hired two minor league knucklers, Chris Nowlin and Zach Staniewicz to run it.
On the other side of the globe, a 36-year-old South Korean who made a fortune in video games had never given up on his boyhood dream of playing pro baseball.
"I thought if I could master the knuckleball," Min Hur told me, "I might still have a chance."
Hur converted the roof of his Seoul office building into a personal training facility, with a retractable dome and cutting-edge pitch tracking technology. He’d also reached out to the greatest knuckleballer of all, Phil Niekro.
"Phil invited me to his home in Atlanta and over a month taught me everything from the grip to the philosophy behind the pitch. He became my great mentor."
Hur worked with another knuckleball legend, Charlie Hough, too.
"He could take the spin off the ball pretty darn well," Hough recalled.
In 2013, Hur hired a well-connected agent who got him tryouts with the Rangers, Mariners, and Diamondbacks. They all passed on Hur. Then the Rockland Boulders, an independent minor league team in upstate New York, agreed to give him a look.
Min’s chauffeur drove him and his translator up from Manhattan every day of tryouts. He made the team and stepped away from his businesses to focus on his knuckleball career.
The Boulders promoted Hur’s pro debut as" Min-Sanity," playing off the NBA’s "Lin-Sanity" craze when point guard Jeremy Lin caught fire with the Knicks.
Min bussed up spectators from New York’s Korean neighborhoods and flew his family in from Seoul. They watched him pitch three innings and surrender five runs on five hits and four walks. He also hit three batters.
Howard Rich read all about it, and wondered if Hur would want to partner with the IKA. He called Nowlin.
" There’s a Korean billionaire in New York right now, and he loves knuckleballs," said Rich. "Set up a meting for us."
Rich, Hur, Nowlin, and Staniewicz had dinner in Koreatown, but much was lost in translation. Hur remembers talking about knuckleballs, but nothing about an academy.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE OUTKICK SPORTS COVERAGE
Rich forged ahead with the IKA, renting Dodgertown, the one-time spring training complex of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Staniewicz worried.
"It’s hard enough to find people who want to throw the knuckleball, much less pay thousands of dollars a week to try to learn it," he told me. "That cut the pool of possible clients from, like, ten to two."
Rich offered a financing plan. He told me about it last year when he took me to a Mets game.
"I hired a hot-shot attorney to draft a contract so players could come for free, but if any went on to throw, say, ten pitches in the majors, we'd get a small percentage of their pay."
Even still, the International Knuckleball Academy shut its doors before a single aspiring knuckler walked through them.
Min Hur is still at it. I recently met him at a batting cage in Lower Manhattan. He’d flown in from Australia after a stint with the Melbourne Aces and was rendezvousing with a knuckleball coach from Buffalo named Joe Gannon.
Hur’s now 50 years old. That’s ancient for most baseball players, but not too old for a knuckleballer. So the dream lives on.
"I’m better than ever," he told me.
Lindsay Clancy lawyer pushes back on claims he shifted strategy after mistrial in new interview
PLYMOUTH, Mass. — Lindsay Clancy's defense attorney Kevin Reddington is pushing back on claims that he changed strategies in court Tuesday when he raised doubts over whether prosecutors proved his client killed her three children, insisting he has attacked the strength of the Commonwealth’s case from the beginning.
Reddington, speaking with Fox News contributor Billy Bush on his "Hot Mics" podcast, called the investigation into his client "horrific" and "atrocious" after arguing in court that prosecutors hadn't presented enough evidence in their case to prove his client guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
"That’s exactly what I was saying," Reddington said in the interview — right after Clancy's return to court for the first time since her mistrial. "I’ve been arguing that from the very beginning. I argued it in a closing argument to the jury. I argued in our motions."
LINDSAY CLANCY LAWYER RAISES EXPLOSIVE DOUBT OVER WHO KILLED HER CHILDREN
Reddington was arguing a Rule 25 motion for a required finding of not guilty, in which he is seeking to convince the court that the evidence given at trial wasn’t good enough to support a conviction.
"Where’s the evidence that she did this?" Reddington asked Judge William Sullivan in court Tuesday, before running down a list of what he painted as insufficient evidence and faulty statements. "Where is the evidence she did this?"
LINDSAY CLANCY'S LAWYER REVEALS POST-MISTRIAL STRATEGY AS RETRIAL LOOMS
Although Reddington's comments on his motion for a required finding of not guilty garnered national headlines, Sullivan made no rulings and pushed oral arguments on other pending motions back to Nov. 2, leaving many following the case, including Bush, disappointed with the lack of answers.
WATCH: Kevin Reddington describes Lindsay Clancy's demeanor as she fights murder charges
"He didn't get any answers on the insufficiency of evidence," Bush told Fox News Digital Wednesday. "He wanted, immediately, her to be declared not criminally responsible because of that. I think that was a stretch. He probably knew it. He brought in his double jeopardy expert, Martin Weinberg. That was punted to Nov. 2. That wasn't immediately successful. And the alleged juror misconduct, we didn't get anything on that because Judge Sullivan, he's Reddington told us, impounded that information. We want to see the jury questionnaire. Everybody wants to see it."
LINDSAY CLANCY JUDGE INDEFINITELY IMPOUNDS JUROR NAMES, CITING SAFETY AND 'DIVISIVE' ATTENTION
Sullivan declared a mistrial on Sept. 4 after jurors could not agree on a verdict following roughly a week of deliberations.
Rule 25 motions are routine but seldom successful, according to Carol Erskine, a retired Massachusetts judge and child welfare advocate who has been following the case closely.
FOLLOW THE FOX TRUE CRIME TEAM ON X
WATCH: Clancy attorney questions ‘where is the evidence’ that she killed children
LINDSAY CLANCY PROSECUTORS FACE DILEMMA: RETRIAL OR PLEA DEAL IN CASE INVOLVING 3 STRANGLED CHILDREN
"He is arguing that [they] did not prove each and every element as required by law," she told Fox News Digital. "I understand why people don’t get this, but he had to argue sufficiency of evidence under Rule 25(b)(2) case law. He told the judge he asked for a Bowden instruction and was denied, which meant he was challenging the poor investigation/search at the home by police. It’s a very nuanced argument."
SIGN UP TO GET THE LATEST TRUE CRIME NEWS
Plymouth County prosecutors had a tougher take on Reddington, calling it "a laughable argument" and asking the judge to deny his motion.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE FROM THE FOX TRUE CRIME HUB
Clancy is due back in court on Nov. 2 for a motions hearing. A date for a potential retrial has not yet been scheduled.
While Clancy's future remains uncertain, Reddington has developed a following of his own outside the courthouse, where Bush said the well-known Massachusetts defense lawyer regularly mingles with people covering the trial and has garnered a national reputation, including nicknames like "Big Red" and "Shreddington."
"Big Red goes out to the parking lot," Bush said. "He talks to the different people who are covering this in their own way. He asks them questions about themselves. He sits there in a lawn chair, having coffee and connecting with everybody."
LISTEN TO THE NEW 'CRIME & JUSTICE WITH DONNA ROTUNNO' PODCAST
That also includes a large proportion of women watching the case play out, he said.
"They support Lindsay Clancy," he said.
"But they love Reddington because he's the man who's fighting for her," he added. "And they're all seeing him as that guy, 'Geez, I'd like that man fighting for me someday, if I needed it.'"
States leading nation on the biggest education battles gripping classrooms revealed in first-ever report
FIRST ON FOX: The escalating battle over what children should be taught in public schools continues to drive America's culture wars, and a new report ranks every state on some of the most contentious issues affecting today's classrooms.
Red states dominated the ranking, which measures all 50 states and Washington, D.C., on issues spanning parental rights, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), gender and sexuality, teacher and union policies, and foreign influence, according to Defending Education's first-ever Rankings on Integrity in State Education, released Thursday.
Tennessee claimed the top spot, followed by Alabama, Florida, North Carolina and Iowa, while Washington, D.C., ranked last, followed by Rhode Island, California, Oregon and Illinois.
The rankings do not account for test scores or graduation rates. Instead, the report said it is designed to show how states are approaching hot-button issues as parents demand greater transparency in their children's education.
"For the first time, parents have a single resource to see how their state handles the issues they've voiced concerns about over the last five years, empowering them to evaluate local schools and hold leaders accountable at the ballot box," Paul Runko, senior director of strategic initiatives at Defending Education, said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
Of the report's five categories, the parental rights category ended in a four-way tie, with North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia earning the top spot. Each was awarded points for policies that give parents more say over student gender transitions, sex education instruction and whether their children participate in those lessons.
Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina and South Carolina, all red states, received perfect scores on teacher policies. According to the report, laws governing teacher unions, strikes and collective bargaining, along with work authorization requirements, were key factors in the scoring.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION PROPOSES STRIPPING TAX-EXEMPT STATUS FROM SCHOOLS USING RACE-BASED PROGRAMS
Iowa, Missouri and West Virginia topped the report's DEI category after receiving high marks for laws restricting DEI initiatives and other policies related to restorative justice, teacher diversity and antisemitism.
Another major flashpoint in education has been a growing conversation on gender identity and transgender athletes competing in women's sports. The report examined state policies blocking LGBTQ-specific curriculum, restricting transgender athlete participation, and state nondiscrimination and anti-bullying laws related to gender identity, finding Alabama, Florida and Indiana tied for the highest scores.
But the report went further than policies shaping the classroom. Seven red states received perfect scores for laws limiting Chinese government influence in education, including Confucius Institutes, China-backed language and cultural education centers. Alabama, Florida, Indiana, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee and Texas aced the category.
In another statement to Fox News Digital, Dr. Terry Stoops, director of government affairs at Defending Education, congratulated the frontrunners.
"If your state is at the top of Defending Education's rankings, congratulations!" he said. "You live in a state with public school policies that prioritize sound academics over shameless antics."
Stoops also blamed elected leaders for the lowest-scoring states, accusing them of having "sacrificed educational excellence at the altar of social justice."
"For parents in bottom-feeder states who value rigor over ridiculousness, the choice is either fight or flight," he said.
Despite more blue states embracing DEI and social justice policies, the report said it wants parents to have a clearer picture of where their state stands on education and how those policies could impact their children and future generations.
Trump’s special strategy to deport illegals gives him another tool for enforcement
What should the president of the United States do with an illegal alien rapist or murderer who cannot be deported to his home country? Should he release him inside the United States or deport him to somewhere else?
For President Donald Trump, the choice is clear. Over the last year, he has been using a bold new strategy to send criminal aliens out of our country and keep our country safe.
Under international law, illegal aliens cannot be sent anywhere they would face persecution on the basis of their race, religion, nationality, political beliefs or membership in a particular social group. In addition, many countries don’t want us to return their criminals to them. Others don’t have diplomatic relations with the United States.
LIBERIA AGREES TO ACCEPT 1,200 THIRD-COUNTRY DEPORTEES FROM US WITHIN A YEAR
Before Trump, most presidents usually released illegal aliens in these circumstances into the United States. But under the Trump administration, this has finally changed. Advocacy groups estimate that the second Trump administration has now deported some 25,000 illegal aliens to countries other than their own, which is unprecedented. This is the result of incredible work by the Department of Homeland Security and some 30 international agreements brokered by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The left has responded, as usual, with a barrage of well-funded lawfare and judicial activism intended to halt the president’s agenda or at least delay it.
FEDERAL APPEALS COURT DEALS BLOW TO TRUMP DEPORTATION AGENDA
Shortly after the president returned to office, the Trump administration attempted to send a group of criminal illegal aliens to South Sudan. The ACLU, the National Immigration Litigation Alliance and the American Immigration Council immediately intervened and filed a class-action lawsuit to stop third-country removals.
Bear in mind that these criminals had been convicted of crimes including murder, arson, armed robbery, kidnapping, sexual assault of a mentally handicapped woman and child rape — but the left wanted them to stay in this country.
VENEZUELANS, CUBANS, COLOMBIANS ARRIVE IN AFRICAN NATION UNDER TRUMP DEPORTATION DEAL
Ultimately, the ACLU burned months of the government’s time in court, but the Trump administration successfully completed the deportations, and, in fact, doubled down. Just weeks later, the Trump administration deported another group of criminals to Eswatini, formerly Swaziland. These criminals included a Vietnamese child rapist, a Jamaican murderer, a Laotian murderer, a Yemeni murderer, and a Cuban murderer and attempted cop killer.
As the courts reaffirmed, immigration law allows deportation to a third country when deportation to the home country is "impracticable, inadvisable" or even just "inadvisable." This broad phrasing gives Trump a rock-solid legal authorization to use third-country deportations to accelerate the mass deportation agenda that the American people voted for.
Case law limits the time that the government can detain an illegal alien, with up to six months being held "presumptively reasonable" by the Supreme Court. This short window of time often forces the government’s hand. In many cases, the Trump administration then has to deport an illegal alien to a third country rather than, say, charter a private jet for him back to his homeland.
This new tool is already proving effective, and it may even serve as a deterrent for illegal immigration: If you don’t want a ticket to South Sudan, then don’t come here illegally.
The courts are still considering the question of how much notice the Trump administration must give the illegal aliens before deporting them to a third country. A Biden-appointed judge in Massachusetts held that the illegal aliens have rights under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) — a 1946 law which governs the process of issuing government regulations — and another Biden-appointed appeals judge upheld it.
Applying the APA to illegal alien murderers is absurd, but both judges affirmed the legality of third-country removals as a tool in the president’s toolbox. The Supreme Court has allowed the government to continue deportations to third countries, but arguments are scheduled for December.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINION
Third country removal is yet another example of President Trump using tools that were always available but almost never used. As the President has often said, America didn’t need new immigration laws to end the border crisis—we just needed the right President.
The American people voted for mass deportations, and the Trump Administration is delivering.