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Haley Stevens shreds Abdul El-Sayed: 'We don't need a celebrity candidate'
Rep. Haley Stevens, R-Mich., repeatedly called Abdul El-Sayed the "celebrity" candidate in the Michigan Senate race during Monday's Senate Democratic debate, arguing that El-Sayed's podcast, books and political activism pale in comparison to her time in Congress.
The race between Stevens and El-Sayed has become a microcosm of the battle over the Democratic Party's future. On Aug. 4, Democratic voters will decide whether to back Stevens, who has the support of the Democratic establishment, or El-Sayed, a socialist-supported challenger who has called for abolishing ICE and is strongly critical of the United States' support for Israel.
In her opening remarks, Stevens rattled off her qualifications as the Democratic Party's best chance of winning the Senate race, pointing to flipping her seat in 2018, being named Michigan's most effective Democratic lawmaker by the Center for Effective Lawmaking in 2025 and being endorsed by Democratic Michigan Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
"My only focus is you," Stevens said. "Abdul is running for celebrity. Republicans are propping up his campaign, and Mike Rogers, just the other day said in a secret phone call that he made it easier for him to win, that he's the one he wants to run against."
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Stevens was referring to a phone conversation Republican candidate Mike Rogers had with supporters last month in which he said his campaign would be in "good shape" if El-Sayed were the nominee.
"Look, this isn't about the D.C. or New York influencer crowd," Stevens said. "This is about putting Michigan first."
Later in the debate, Stevens said she is standing up to Trump's "abuses of powers," while taking a dig at Abdul by saying she's doing so without "shouting into a bullhorn, not getting in front of the first camera I see, but doing the hard work."
"Look, my opponent here, Abdul, he is such a talented guy," Stevens said, referring to his three books and his podcast America Dissected. "He's had all this attention, but the deal is, we don't need a celebrity candidate. We don't need a celebrity."
Stevens then pointed to her six years in the House of Representatives, saying she has been committed to "hard, unglamorous work."
"That's going to stand up to this junk that is wreaking havoc and causing chaos right before our very eyes," Stevens said.
Stevens suggested that Abdul's Senate campaign is just another "rung on the ladder" for him, pointing to his failed 2018 gubernatorial bid.
"It didn't work out, so he started the podcast, he wrote the books, and now he's running for Senate, and he's already bought the website for president," Stevens said.
In response, El-Sayed accused Stevens of "cowardice" over her past votes to increase ICE funding, saying the agency should be completely abolished.
"So yeah, I’m going to take the bullhorn and I’m going to say that I think we need to abolish ICE because I am not afraid of what they’re going to say about me," he said.
He also suggested that Stevens' focus on his public health podcast was a distraction from the issues that matter most to voters, such as affordability.
"Congresswoman, if you enjoy podcasts about public health, I welcome you to take a listen. You seem very concerned about that," El-Sayed said. "I’m more concerned about the fact that people can’t pay for their gas, they can’t pay for their groceries."
The open Senate race in Michigan has garnered national attention, with outside groups spending more than $52 million on the race through mid-July, most of it in support of Stevens, according to an OpenSecrets analysis of FEC reports.
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El-Sayed, who is backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-Vt., has painted Stevens as the candidate of large super PACs such as AIPAC, while saying he has not received a single dollar from corporate interests or super PACs. Before running for Congress, El-Sayed served as Wayne County director of Health and Human Services.
Meanwhile, the Republican party has deemed Michigan to be one of best pickup opportunities in its effort to maintain control of the Senate.
Fox News Digital reached out to El-Sayed and Stevens' campaigns for comment.
Marcus Mumford says Bible camp sparked decades-long love story with wife Carey Mulligan
Before Marcus Mumford and Carey Mulligan became one of Hollywood's most private couples, they were just two kids who met at Bible camp.
The Mumford & Sons frontman recalled on the "SmartLess" podcast how a chance childhood meeting eventually blossomed into romance years later after the pair reconnected as adults.
The future couple first crossed paths at a church Bible camp, when Mumford was 10 and Mulligan was 12, and became pen pals.
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"And she still has the journal entry from the day we met where I – my cousin was there, who was two years older, who was age appropriate for her," Mumford recalled. "And he got an eight-and-a-half out of 10. But I, who was definitely not underlined boyfriend material, got a nine out 10."
The flattering review didn't spark an instant romance, but it planted the seed for a relationship that would take years to come together.
He recalled the two "stayed in touch as kids" before reconnecting in their twenties on Facebook. Mulligan bought a ticket to Laura Marling's show years later, where Mumford & Sons was also performing.
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"We started shouting sort of an hour before Laura went on and then [Mulligan] was like, 'Oh, Mumford. I knew a kid called Mumford,'" the singer-songwriter recalled.
Mulligan left a note with Mumford's tour manager that had her email address on it and the rest is history.
After dating for roughly five months, Mumford proposed to Mulligan. The two married in front of friends and family in Somerset, England, on April 21, 2012. Mumford and Mulligan share three children together, two daughters and a son.
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The couple is notoriously private about their 14-year marriage.
"Marcus is the only thing that’s mine that I can keep totally away, so I try to," Mulligan told Vogue in 2015.
Throughout the years, Mumford and Mulligan have focused on making their marriage "the priority" in their lives.
"We said, ‘The odds are stacked against us. Let’s make that our great work and everything else can come from that, right?’" Mumford told GQ in 2022. "The reason I think people don’t stay married is because they don’t realize how much work it takes."
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Mulligan is a British actress known for her roles in "An Education," "Drive," "The Great Gatsby," "Promising Young Woman" and "Maestro," the latter earning her a third Oscar nomination.
Mumford, raised in England, is best known as the lead singer, guitarist and songwriter for Mumford & Sons, the Grammy-winning folk-rock band that helped define the early 2010s folk revival.
Wisconsin brewery that offered 'free beer' when Trump dies says alcohol permit revoked
A Wisconsin brewery known for anti-Trump social media posts, including one promising a free beer promotion upon the death of President Donald Trump, has had its permit to operate in the state revoked by state officials.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Monday that liberal activist and brewery owner Kirk Bangstad is "vowing to fight ‘tooth and nail’ after receiving a letter from the state's Department of Revenue revoking Minocqua Brewing Co.'s permit to operate in Wisconsin, according to a July 26 newsletter sent to his supporters."
"As you can imagine, I’m not taking this lying down," Bangstad wrote in a Substack post on Sunday. "We’re going to fight the state of Wisconsin tooth and nail, and once again, they’ll have to pry me out of my taprooms before I stop selling beer to thirsty progressives who come to visit us."
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He also asked readers to donate to his legal defense fund, writing, "As usual, fighting to keep my business alive means I have to pay lawyers, and that’s never cheap. Every time this [happens], I rack up $100K in legal bills before we even see a judge. If you can help chip in to the Minocqua Company’s legal defense fund, I’d really appreciate it."
The revocation of the beer license goes into effect on Aug. 4, the Sentinel reported. The business has locations in Madison and Minocqua.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, a spokesperson for the Wisconsin Department of Revenue said, "The Wisconsin Division of Alcohol Beverages is dedicated to the fair and consistent enforcement of alcohol beverages regulations in Wisconsin. The division is required to follow and implement state law, including ensuring permit holders and licensees follow all applicable laws and regulations. The division takes appropriate actions when these laws are not followed."
The spokesperson added, "We can confirm that the Department of Revenue has issued notice of a Brewer's permit revocation for two Minocqua Brewing Company locations and notice of an Alcohol Beverage Warehouse permit revocation for one location. The business has until August 4th to appeal and can operate during the appeal process. Should the business decide to appeal, the next step would be to appeal to the Secretary of the Department of Revenue, who will assign the appeal to a Department of Revenue hearing examiner for their recommendations as to proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law."
The Sentinel reported that state regulators pursued revoking Bangstad's alcohol license after authorities seized canned beer from his company in June, alleging it had been transported from Illinois without the required permits and taxes. The newspaper also reported that Bangstad criticized the proposed action as an excessive response, arguing the alleged tax violations did not warrant shutting down his business.
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On Jan. 22, the Minocqua Brewing Company appeared to suggest it would give free beer to patrons if Trump was killed, and while not explicitly using his name, posted on Facebook, "Free beer, all day long the day he dies."
The post continued, "Show us this post when it happens in a few months and we’ll make good on that promise."
The post was updated to say, "we meant the Madison Taproom because that’s open all year, if he dies in the summer, then it’s gonna be the Minocqua Taproom."
In reply to comment on the post, the company also did not refer to Trump by name but said that the post hinted at a high-profile figure when asked whether the timeline for the deal could be moved up earlier.
"Well that's up to you and your ability to act like a cia [sic] agent," the company wrote.
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Following the April shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner where Trump was present, the company wrote on Facebook, "Well, we almost got #freebeerday."
"Either a brother or sister in the Resistance needs to work on their marksmanship or he faked another assassination to get a positive news cycle," the post added. "We’ll never know. Regardless, we stand at the ready to pour free beer the day it happens."
Bangstad, the owner of the brewery, is also the founder of the Minocqua Brewing Company SuperPAC, which "aims to remove Republican federal and state elected officials who perpetuated the election lies that caused the Insurrection of January 6, 2021, and whose downplaying of the seriousness of COVID-19 caused so many unnecessary deaths in our country," according to the brewery’s website.
Reached for comment by Fox News Digital, Bangstad declined to comment directly but made jokes about the deaths of Trump and Mitch McConnell and made disparaging remarks about Fox.
Democratic Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate doesn't recall 'abolish the Senate' post in 2021, campaign says
Democratic Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate Francesca Hong's campaign told Fox News Digital Tuesday that she does not recall posting on social media in favor of abolishing the Senate in 2021 and said that was not her current position.
Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) co-chair Megan Romer went viral Sunday for confirming that the DSA supported abolishing the Senate, eliminating national borders and prisons, replacing the presidency and the Supreme Court, and more during an interview with Shannon Bream on "Fox News Sunday."
Republican candidate for Wisconsin governor Tom Tiffany said in a post to X that Hong believed in all the ideas mentioned in the viral video.
"This sounds a lot like DSA-backed @FrancescaHongWI. Does she want to abolish the police? Yep. Does she want to abolish prisons? Absolutely. Did she call for abolishing the U.S. Senate? Yes. Socialism is knocking on Wisconsin’s door. This November, we slam it shut," Tiffany wrote.
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When reached for comment, Hong's campaign said Tiffany was lying and said she never supported abolishing the Senate.
"Tom Tiffany is once again telling lies and inventing quotes, because he can't run on his record," Hong communications director Allison Geyer told Fox News Digital. "Rep. Hong has never called for abolishing the U.S. Senate. Tiffany cannot produce a single statement where she did, because it doesn't exist."
"She has spoken about police and prison abolition in the past as an aspirational goal, but it is not her current position, and it's not something she will pursue as governor," she continued. "She does not support replacing the presidency with the Supreme Court. Eliminating national borders isn't her position either, and it's not even part of the official DSA platform."
"DSA is a membership organization, not a political party. Rep. Hong is not endorsed by DSA national, and doesn't agree with everything in its national program," Geyer added.
Tiffany's campaign pointed Fox News Digital to a post on social media from February 2021, in which she wrote on X, "Abolish the Senate."
Hong was responding to a post at the time highlighting Congress' vote to acquit President Donald Trump in an impeachment trial on the charge of inciting an insurrection for the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. A majority of senators found Trump guilty in a 57-43 vote, but the number fell 10 short of the supermajority needed to convict the president.
Hong's campaign told Fox News Digital that the gubernatorial candidate did not recall posting it.
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"The post is from February 13, 2021, the day the Senate acquitted Donald Trump for inciting January 6th," the campaign said. "She quote tweeted an analysis of that vote showing the senators who voted to convict represented roughly 70 percent of the country. It was a frustrated reaction to that day. It is not her current position, and it is not something a governor has any role in. She’s running to lower costs, fund public schools, and make childcare affordable."
The campaign said Hong has made her views on the matter very clear in recent interviews. Hong's campaign did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for the specific interviews.
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Hong is not endorsed by the national chapter of the DSA, but her campaign website lists the Milwaukee, Northeast Wisconsin and Madison DSA chapters on her endorsement page.
Tiffany told Fox News Digital in a statement on Tuesday, "Democrat Socialist Francesca Hong can flip-flop all she wants, but she can’t hide who she is. She’s a card-carrying socialist who called to abolish the police, ICE, and even the U.S. Senate. Now her campaign is trying to rewrite her record because they know her ideas are too radical for Wisconsin, but they can’t rewrite her own words."
Supreme Court denies stays for two Florida death row inmates, clearing path for rare double execution
The U.S. Supreme Court denied stays for two Florida death row inmates scheduled to be executed Tuesday, clearing the way for the state to execute the 11th and 12th inmates this year.
The court denied two separate requests for stays in the planned executions.
Former police officer James Duckett, 68, had been scheduled to die at noon on Tuesday, but the execution was delayed awaiting results of the stay requests before the Supreme Court.
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Duckett, according to local media reports, was executed by lethal injection and pronounced dead at 1:19 p.m.
Duckett was convicted of raping and murdering an 11-year-old girl in 1987.
The Supreme Court also denied a separate stay for Dominick Occhicone, an 80-year-old who was convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend’s parents in 1986.
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Occhicone's execution is scheduled for 6 p.m. If executed, he would become the oldest inmate executed in Florida.
If carried out, Occhicone's execution would mark the first time Florida executed two inmates in one day since 1964. It would be just the second double execution in the U.S. in the 2000s and the first since Arkansas executed two inmates in 2007.
Florida executed 19 inmates in 2025, according to a Fox News Digital review of Florida Department of Corrections data. The 11 people the state has executed so far this year are more than double the next closest state, with Texas having executed four inmates this year, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
Trump's war on fraud expands as Treasury launches new site with whistleblower incentives
FIRST ON FOX: Americans could soon cash in on exposing fraud as President Donald Trump's Treasury Department prepares to launch a program paying whistleblowers, Fox News Digital has learned.
The Treasury Department has created an online tip line that incentivize Americans to bring allegations of fraud directly to the administration in an effort to increase transparency and crack down on abuse of taxpayer dollars. The website encourages people to "blow the whistle on fraud, money laundering and sanctions/tax violations."
And those who report explicit details of legitimate fraudulent transactions could see a pay day for their information.
"Whistleblowers play a critical role in protecting the integrity of our financial system," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News Digital.
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"Today, on National Whistleblower Day, Treasury launched a new webpage that brings our whistleblower programs together in one place, making it easier to find information and navigate the reporting process," he continued.
Awards for whistleblowers could range between 10% and 30% of the total amount in penalties recovered from successful enforcement operations carried out by the Departments of Treasury and Justice.
The rollout marks the latest step in the Trump administration's broader campaign to root out fraud across federal programs after officials argued billions in taxpayer dollars have been lost to waste, abuse and organized criminal schemes.
The program works alongside the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud — a federal initiative led by Vice President JD Vance that President Donald Trump established by executive order earlier this year. It also mirrors a similar program that was used to root out illicit money movements in Minnesota in the midst of the Feeding Our Futures fraud scandal.
The new website consolidates Treasury's existing whistleblower programs into a single public portal, allowing for fraud report submissions to go through one website that routes tips to the department's various enforcement bureaus.
It also serves as a hub for Treasury's broader anti-fraud campaign, with initiatives ranging from Internal Revenue Service (IRS) fraud investigations and sanctions enforcement to financial institution alerts, whistleblower protections and the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, led by Vance.
"Fighting fraud is a core national security and taxpayer protection mission for Treasury," a Treasury spokesperson told Fox News Digital. "Secretary Bessent has directed the Department to modernize its tools, strengthen partnerships with financial institutions and law enforcement, and aggressively pursue those who steal from the American people. Treasury is committed to preventing fraud before it occurs, disrupting criminal networks that exploit government programs, and holding bad actors accountable."
Both the new whistleblower program and anti-fraud task force were created in response to the massive fraud scandal in Minnesota that triggered investigations that later exposed taxpayer dollar abuse statewide.
The exposed fraud included allegations that the state’s Somali community was exploiting social services to send millions of dollars to those unqualified to receive financial assistance, including al Qaeda-linked terror groups.
"President Trump has been clear that Americans have a right to know that their tax dollars are not being diverted to fund acts of global terror or to fund luxury cars for fraudsters," a statement from Bessent featured on the new website reads. "At Treasury, we follow the money."
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"We did it with the mafia, we have done it with all the cartels, and we’re doing it with the Somali fraudsters," he went on in the public statement. "We are going to offer whistleblower payments to anyone who wants to tell us the who, what, when, where and how this fraud and money laundering occurred."
The portal provides direct reporting links to Treasury bureaus including the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, the IRS and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, allowing tips to be routed to the agency best equipped to investigate them.
Treasury has not yet specified how whistleblower payments will be calculated or which cases would qualify for financial rewards.
Charley Hull pulls off savage lottery prank on her caddie at Women's British Open
Charley Hull isn't one to take things too seriously, both on and off the golf course, and she's keeping things incredibly lighthearted ahead of the final major championship of the year.
Speaking with the media ahead of this week's Women's British Open at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club in England, Hull shared a quick story involving her caddie Adam Woodward. While Woodward has been on Hull's bag for over a decade and has had great success alongside her, he may have questioned calling it quits after the prank Hull pulled off on him.
As Hull went on to explain, she popped into a prank shop in town the day prior and picked up a fake scratch-off lottery ticket. She gave the ticket over to Woodward in the player's lounge at Royal Lytham on Tuesday morning. Naturally, he scratched it off right then and there and thought he had won $100,000.
Based on Hull's recounting of the story, she led him to believe he had become a big winner for quite some time.
"I went to a prank shop in Blackpool last night and got some scratch cards. We go into the player lounge this morning and I was like 'Hey, I got some scratch cards from the shop,'" Hull explained nonchalantly.
"He's scratching it, scratching it, scratching, and he's like 'Oh my gosh, I've won' and he's taken his hat off, he's taken his glasses off. He's literally running around the player's lounge saying 'I've won $100,000, I'm taking today off.'
"He was sweating, he was trembling, he couldn't believe his luck, and we had to tell him it was fake and he nearly quit the job," Hull concluded with a laugh.
While it would come as a surprise to no one to hear Hull randomly tell the story of her savage prank on her caddie, it came up amid her being completely transparent about her love for playing for such large purses at major championships.
"I'm not going to lie," Hull said. "That's why I think I play so well in the majors. Even if I'm quite a lot behind, I am like, make loads of birdies today, extra dollars, for me and him to get."
Hull, who enters the week ranked seventh in the world, has finished runner-up in three of the five major championships on the women's side in her career, and certainly wouldn't mind earning her maiden major title in her home country come Sunday.
Iowa woman with a prior conviction under her belt arrested for OWI on lawn mower
For those unaware, you can and will be arrested for driving a riding lawn mower under the influence to the local convenience store. An Iowa woman found this out on Friday night after witnesses contacted police.
Michelle Hudson "appeared to be intoxicated" as she operated a Husqvarna riding lawn mower in the parking lot of a Casey's in Tiffin, Iowa. The police, called to the scene, witnessed this and performed field sobriety tests.
According to court documents obtained by The Smoking Gun, the 36-year-old failed several field sobriety tests. She also "showed measurable signs of impairment" and had bloodshot eyes, slurred speech and very poor balance.
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Hudson reportedly refused to submit to a urine test and despite her breath test showing that she was below the legal limit, she was arrested for OWI as officers believed she was on a drug.
Why was she on a riding lawn mower in the convenience store parking lot and not in a more traditional form of transportation? It could have something to do with a prior conviction mentioned in those court documents.
She was behind the wheel of a Chevrolet Trailblazer back in 2022, the court documents from her prior arrest show. In similar fashion, she passed a breath test but showed signs of impairment.
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A drug recognition expert found that she was "impaired from a central nervous system stimulant." During that arrest she also admitted to using methamphetamine two days prior.
TSG reports that she's had several prior convictions other than the prior OWI, including theft, possession of drug paraphernalia and meth.
While she may have thought the riding lawn mower was a better option than an SUV, it doesn't matter the mode of transportation if you’re under the influence.
As we learned last summer when Kentucky's own "Cowboy Cody" was making headlines, you can be arrested for riding intoxicated on a mule.
More than 12,000 pounds of bacon recalled after USDA issues highest-risk alert
More than 12,000 pounds of imported smoked bacon have been recalled, according to an alert from the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).
The not-ready-to-eat bacon, which is sold in three states, is produced by Maple Leaf Foods, Inc., located in Lisle, Illinois. It was distributed to grocery distributors and retailers in Idaho, Oregon and Washington.
Fox News Digital reached out to Maple Leaf Foods requesting comment.
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The bacon was recalled because it was imported from Canada without undergoing a required U.S. import inspection, the USDA stated in its July 24 alert.
The issue was discovered during routine inspection activities.
The USDA classified this as a Class I recall, its most serious category of recalls.
The FSIS defines a Class I recall as a "health hazard situation where there is a reasonable probability that the use of the product will cause serious, adverse health consequences or death."
The Class I designation reflects the potential risk posed by the inspection failure, but does not indicate any confirmed illnesses linked to consumption of the bacon.
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The recalled products — produced on June 9, June 10, June 12, June 13 and June 15, 2026 — include the following, per the USDA alert.
The recalled product has the Canadian establishment number "EST. 1" printed on the side of the package, and the health certificate "2026-S732971612" on the master case boxes, the USDA's alert states.
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Anyone who has any of these products in their fridge or freezer should throw them away or return them to the place where they were purchased, health officials advised.
Consumers with food safety questions can send a question via email to MPHotline@usda.gov.
Burma approves death penalty for scammers months after FBI's $8 billion crypto crackdown
Burma's government approved the death penalty as punishment for internet scammers just months after the FBI announced a sweeping $8 billion crackdown on scam networks coming from the country, according to the country's state-backed media.
The Anti-Online Scam Law passed the country's parliament on Tuesday, green lighting the death penalty for anyone who participates in a scam in which they "commit violence, torture, unlawfully arrest or detain, or treat any person in a cruel manner," according to The Global New Light of Myanmar, a media outlet jointly operated by a private company and the country's Ministry of the Interior.
Burma, also known as Myanmar, has become ground zero for digital scams, with criminals often recruiting migrants from other Asian countries with promises of legitimate work only to imprison them and force them to conduct the scams.
In May, the FBI announced a massive crackdown on a criminal network in Burma known as the "Democratic Karen Benevolent Army." The operation resulted in the seizure of 127,000 Bitcoin, worth over $8 billion as of July.
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The scammers, who allegedly have ties to Chinese organized crime, had been specifically targeting Americans in their operations, extracting over $3 million from one elderly American, the FBI previously told Fox News Digital.
In 2025, Chinese, Thai and Burmese authorities liberated more than 7,000 people from locked compounds in Burma.
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While the new Anti-Online Scam Law only mandates the death penalty for offenses that lead to another person's death, the law mandates 10 years in prison for any instance of forced labor in relation to cybercrime.
The law's approval also comes two days before the United Nations International Organization for Migration's World Day Against Trafficking in Persons. This year the international body will commemorate the day on July 30 under the theme "Trapped Behind the Scam."
"People trapped in scam compounds are victims of trafficking, forced to commit crimes through violence, threats and coercion. They deserve protection, not punishment," IOM Director General Amy Pope said in a statement. "We must work together to support survivors, stop traffickers and close the gaps these criminal networks exploit. No country can tackle this alone."
The United Nations estimates that South Pacific scams resulted in the loss of over $114 billion in 2025.