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Olympic gold medalist Alysa Liu says she was 'chased' to her car at airport
Olympic gold medalist Alysa Liu shared a terrifying experience she had at an airport on social media early Thursday.
Liu wrote on her Instagram Stories that she was mobbed by people with cameras and for things to sign before someone "chased" her to her car. She asked fans to refrain from doing that.
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"So I land at the airport, & there’s a crowd waiting at the exit with cameras & things for me to sign," she wrote. "All up in my personal space. Someone chased me to my car bruh.
"Please do not do that to me."
Liu, 20, went from Olympic hopeful to gold medalist within the span of a few months as she won the women’s singles figure skating competition at the Milan Cortina Games. Liu’s electric performance dazzled the crowd in Italy and had Americans back home raving about her.
It was the second of two gold medals she received during the Games. She was a part of the team figure skating competition that won gold early in the Olympics.
US FIGURE SKATERS ALYSA LIU, AMBER GLENN REVEAL THEIR 'OLYMPIC CRUSHES' AFTER MILAN SUCCESS
She is far from the only professional athlete who has had to deal with raving fans at the airport. Most notably, pro wrestlers have been outspoken about similar issues.
WWE star Rhea Ripley detailed a tense airport situation in March 2023.
Ripley explained the situation to USA Network when she bumped into one fan in particular at the airport, and after declining to sign anything, she was followed, and it caused others to join in.
"I don't think people understand how threatening that is," she said at the time. "Especially because you don't know what's going to happen. I don't know these people."
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Family of mom allegedly killed by ex-'American Idol' hopeful demands life insurance details
The family of a woman allegedly killed by her husband has retained an attorney and is seeking information on the couple's finances, including a life insurance policy listing the accused as the "primary beneficiary."
Caleb Flynn, 39, who was once a contestant on "American Idol", was charged with murder after he allegedly killed his wife, Ashley Flynn, at the couple's home in Tipp City, Ohio, on Feb. 16. Police said Caleb Flynn "staged the crime scene," and audio from a 911 call shows him telling the operator that someone broke into his house and shot Ashley Flynn.
Caleb Flynn was charged with murder, two counts of felonious assault with a deadly weapon and two counts of tampering with evidence, but a Miami County court official told Fox News Digital that the prosecutor is considering additional charges. He has pleaded not guilty, and his bond was set at $2 million.
Prosecutors alleged in court documents that Caleb Flynn used a 9mm handgun and staged the crime scene, which caused officers to be "led estray" [sic].
Attorneys for the family of Ashley Flynn on Wednesday filed court documents asking for information on Caleb and Ashley Flynn's financials. According to the court filing, Caleb Flynn was listed as the "primary beneficiary" on a life insurance policy. Fox News Digital is not naming the family members behind the court filing.
VIDEO SHOWS EX-'AMERICAN IDOL' CONTESTANT'S EMOTIONAL OUTBURST AFTER HE ALLEGEDLY KILLED HIS WIFE
The court filing also asks for information on the couple's bank accounts, retirement accounts, real estate, cars and other financial records. Ashley Flynn's family said that Caleb Flynn "has the motive, opportunity, and means to dissipate these assets, to transfer them to third parties, or to otherwise place them beyond the reach of the children and the estate."
Ashley Flynn's family also asked the court to issue a domestic violence temporary protection order that would prevent Caleb Flynn from withdrawing funds from the couple’s financial accounts beyond necessary living expenses.
If Caleb Flynn is convicted, under Ohio's "Slayer Statute," he would not be eligible to get proceeds from life insurance policies he's listed as a beneficiary of, and they would go to the children. The statute also applies to inheritance under a will, trust and certain other financial policies.
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Caleb Flynn voluntarily agreed to talk with detectives at the Tipp City Police Department at the station, according to the case report. According to the court documents, two gun shell casings were found on the floor in a bedroom.
Police also noticed that the center console of a 2024 Ford truck parked in the garage was open, which is the same place Caleb Flynn allegedly told an officer he stored his handgun.
Tipp City police recently released video showing Caleb Flynn as police responded to the crime scene.
"Oh, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus," Caleb Flynn said while sobbing in one video.
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"Is she, is she gone?" he asked. "What do I do with my daughters?"
"Mommy, she’s gone. I don’t know what to do," Caleb Flynn said to his mother on the phone.
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At one point, Caleb Flynn was seen throwing up in the front yard of his home. The children's grandmother was seen comforting Caleb Flynn as he said: "The girls don’t know."
The couple had two daughters, whom Caleb Flynn said were asleep at the time their mother was killed, according to the bodycam video.
In the 911 call obtained by Fox News Digital, Caleb Flynn told the 911 dispatcher that he found the door leading to the garage door "wide open" when the shooting happened.
In a supplemental case report, a Tipp City police officer wrote that a garage side door was open, but was blocked.
"As we exited this master bedroom we walked to the garage where we observed a side door to the garage on the north side of the home that was open. As we were looking at the door we noticed the door had a large fridge in front of it that would've had to be pushed to open the door," the officer wrote.
Fox News Digital's Julia Bonavita contributed to this report.
Did Nancy Guthrie's abductor return to the crime scene?
TUCSON, Ariz. — As a growing memorial outside Nancy Guthrie's Tucson-area home continues to draw visitors, new questions are emerging about whether investigators are monitoring the site.
Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of "Today" co-host Savannah Guthrie, is believed to have been abducted from her home in the early hours of Feb. 1.
"They could [have eyes on the memorial], we're just not seeing it," Betsy Brantner Smith, spokesperson for the National Police Association and a retired police sergeant, tells Fox News Digital. "They could be keeping track of it, but we're not seeing the cameras."
FORMER FBI AGENT OFFERS NEW THEORY ABOUT NANCY GUTHRIE'S DISAPPEARANCE: 'PERSONAL GRIEVANCE'
Yellow flowers, handwritten notes, artwork and even an open letter addressed to the "kidnapper" have been left at the makeshift tribute in front of her home.
While the memorial grows, however, visible law enforcement presence has significantly dropped.
"Detectives are reviewing all viable leads in this case," a spokesperson for the Pima County Sheriff’s Department told Fox News Digital. "We do not speak to specifics, as this is still an ongoing investigation."
Authorities have not publicly identified a suspect, vehicle or any persons of interest.
MULTIPLE SUSPECTS ARE POSSIBLE IN NANCY GUTHRIE'S ABDUCTION
Haunting Nest doorbell camera video shows a masked man on Nancy Guthrie's front steps around the time of her abduction. He is described as being of average height and build and was wearing a black Ozark Trail backpack.
"In this type of situation where you have the potential for a suspect having done this because he or she is somehow obsessed with Savannah Guthrie or seeing Nancy featured on the ‘Today Show’ multiple times… someone who is obsessed with notoriety, celebrity — there's a lot of pathology involved in that," Brantner Smith said.
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"Potentially, that is the type of person that could come back to the memorial, look at the memorial, even take photos of the memorial and add to the memorial themselves."
As to why there's been an alleged lack of law enforcement presence monitoring the site, Brantner Smith pointed to one likely scenario.
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"It may be because they have solid suspects, and they just haven't released that information to the public," she said.
It's not uncommon for an offender to return to the crime scene, she added.
"Sometimes the offender will come back to the scene of the crime. So, in that vein, they would come to the memorial, and they may have left their own note, their own flowers," she said.
Often, it's a mark of their arrogance, she told Fox News Digital.
"I am guessing that the suspect or suspects who did this are frankly taking great pride in the fact that so far they've got away with it," she added. "Coming back can also be a way to bring back that rush that they had when they originally committed the crime."
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Such behavior happens frequently in arson cases, she said.
"But it's also not untypical in a homicide case or, in this case, a missing person," she continued. "We've got to look at the psychology of people who do this kind of stuff. They also may want to come back to see what kind of people are leaving notes, and leaving flowers."
For that reason, she said, investigators should be reading the notes to develop potential leads.
"They're coming back to see the impact that they had on this neighborhood and on this family," she said. "And the rest of us would view that as very sick, but law enforcement has to view that as a way to collect clues."
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Savannah, her sister Annie, and brother-in-law, Tommaso Cioni, placed flowers at the growing tribute near the foot of Nancy’s driveway on Monday in a somber visit to the crime scene.
A combined reward for information that leads to Nancy's recovery from the FBI, local authorities and the Guthrie family stands at over $1 million. It has not yet been claimed.
Savannah is asking anyone with information to dial 1-800-CALL-FBI.
Reparations advocates push for payments to Black Americans despite budget and legal challenges
While the measure is being considered by local and state governments across the country, reparations advocates face an uphill battle in some cities, yet remain hopeful.
Cincinnati NAACP President David Whitehead last week urged people not to be opposed to the term "reparation" and to be more receptive to it.
"I think people get confused and caught up with the word 'reparation,'" Whitehead said. "It’s restoring people that have been unfairly treated."
Whitehead's comments coincided with city talks regarding a new reparations program. The program would offer assistance to "low-to-moderate income residents" and "any individual or family member of an individual who was prevented from buying a home due to discriminatory practices," the Cincinnati Enquirer reported.
While Cincinnati makes progress in advancing reparations, some places face obstacles due to legal pressure or inaction.
ILLINOIS REPARATIONS COMMISSION RELEASES LENGTHY REPORT OF STATE'S 'HARMS' AGAINST BLACK CITIZENS
In Santa Clara, California, the next step for reparations is unclear.
Santa Clara officials in January approved a discussion to explore how the city could compensate Black residents for historic racist practices.
"Santa Clara County has a responsibility to confront the harm that has been caused by government systems and policies — including impacts on African Americans here in San Jose and across our region," County Supervisor Betty Duong said at the Jan. 22 meeting.
Lavere Foster, the associate director of the African American Community Services Agency in San Jose, told San Jose Spotlight in February that she has been waiting for the measure to appear on the agenda and would be concerned if the measure is not taken up this month.
"If we get to March and it’s still not on the agenda, then I’d be really concerned," Foster said.
However, the city is currently dealing with budget woes, threatening social security services.
"We understand that we’re in a time of budget cuts," Foster told San José Spotlight. "But the goal right now isn’t to ask for, say, a $10 million package."
Foster said that San Jose’s vision for the reparations program is beyond strictly dollar amounts.
"More so as a way to accumulate generational wealth. Whether that’s a package around housing assistance, getting certain loans paid off or cash, we’re hoping to see the county study something that is actionable, that we can then follow up on," he added.
ILLINOIS CITY HANDS OUT $25K CASH PAYMENTS TO 44 BLACK RESIDENTS THROUGH REPARATIONS PROGRAM
Asheville, North Carolina's mayor wants to pursue reparations, but matters are complicated considering legal implications and potential pushback from the Trump administration.
The U.S. Department of Justice sent a letter to Buncombe County in September threatening to investigate and take action if it approves recommendations from the Asheville-Buncombe Community Reparations Commission.
"We have a difficult landscape with this administration, unfortunately," Mayor Esther Manheimer told BPR in an interview in February. "But we're committed to the community to carry out the recommendations of the Reparations Commission."
Manheimer must overcome a primary race as she runs for re-election to a fourth term. She and her primary opponents were all part of the city council that approved the reparations measure in 2020. When BPR asked what reparations proposal Manheimer would support, she said it's "incredibly complicated."
"I think it would behoove us to move forward on those recommendations that we think are going to be less subject to state and federal challenge," she explained. "So, I think there's a lot there to work with and I'm excited to do that."
Asheville is also trying to recover from an estimated $1.1 billion in damages from Hurricane Helene. Manheimer has reportedly been traveling to Washington, D.C., to lobby for more federal funding to help with recovery. On Tuesday, the city announced $6.9 million in combined state and federal funding toward rebuilding.
Earlier this month, Manheimer testified about their reparations initiative and $30 million budget gap before the House Select Committee on Government Efficiency. Manheimer defended the reparations project, arguing that people who lost homes were "were not adequately compensated."
DEMOCRATIC GOVERNOR FACES PUSHBACK FROM LYNCHING RESEARCH COMMISSION OVER REPARATIONS STANCE
The future of reparations in California appears to be precarious as well after Gov. Gavin Newsom rejected several bills to avoid legal issues and none of his potential successors appear to champion reparations in the gubernatorial race. One of the candidates outright rejected the notion of direct cash payments, which is often associated with reparations efforts.
Lisa Holder, a civil rights attorney and a former member of the state’s Reparations Task Force, reportedly said that advancing reparations would be a long process while advocates search for a champion of the cause. "You can’t legislate yourself out of 400 years of inequality and injustice. You have to do an entire body of laws to change the systems that have been disparately affecting black folks for decades," Holder told KQED on Jan. 19.
"You now have to put many, many laws in place to change practically every system, whether you’re talking about systems of finance, housing. Laws that require equitable treatment, laws that require affirmative hiring sometimes in industries where Black people were affirmatively not hired."
Manheimer, Holder, Whitehead, and Foster did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
Cash payment reparations was implemented in Evanston, Illinois. Evanston was the first city in the nation to pass a reparations plan, pledging $10 million over a decade to Black residents in November 2019.
Judicial Watch, a conservative watchdog group, told Fox News Digital earlier this month it filed a lawsuit against Evanston, to stop the city from paying Black residents reparations. The $25,000 payments to Evanston residents are intended to cover housing expenses. The city committed to focus on housing because the issue is "the strongest case for reparations."
San Francisco’s Reparations Fund is also facing a lawsuit as critics claim the measure is divisive because it solely favors Black residents.
Illegal's dragging of ICE agent shows the exact danger the officer who shot Renee Good feared, expert says
The more than six-year prison sentencing of illegal alien Jose Melgar-Rivas for causing serious injuries to a federal officer by dragging him with his vehicle shows why the agent who shot activist Renee Good feared for his life, an expert told Fox News Digital.
U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester announced Tuesday that Melgar-Rivas had been sentenced to serve 78 months in federal prison for assaulting, resisting or impeding a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer, resulting in bodily injury.
In an interview with Fox News Digital, Lora Ries, director of the Heritage Foundation’s Border Security and Immigration Center, lauded the sentencing as "great news." She noted, however, that "unfortunately, this is just one of many examples of either aliens and/or rioters, illegal obstructionists, assaulting federal agents with vehicles."
She pointed to a dramatic rise in vehicular assaults on federal immigration enforcement officers, most notably including an attack on ICE officer Jonathan Ross, who was dragged by an illegal immigrant’s vehicle in a similar incident in Minnesota. That agent later shot and killed activist Renee Good when she allegedly accelerated her vehicle at him in a confrontation with law enforcement.
MOTHER OF WOMAN FOUND DEAD IN ILLEGAL'S DUMPSTER REVEALS TRUMP'S THREE-WORD MESSAGE TO HER
Ries called for Melgar-Rivas’ sentencing to be "announced far and wide." She said that "others need to know that there are, in fact, consequences for both obstructing ICE carrying out their lawful federal enforcement duties, but also there are severe consequences for assaulting and harming ICE agents [and] federal agents."
According to a statement by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Oklahoma, Melgar-Rivas, a Honduran national who entered the country illegally, attempted to evade arrest by placing his car in drive and accelerating during a struggle with agents. The office said that an ICE officer became caught in the vehicle’s door and was dragged down the roadway, resulting in him sustaining "multiple, serious injuries."
The incident occurred on July 15, 2025, in Oklahoma City. Melgar-Rivas was arrested several hours later. He was charged by a federal grand jury with assaulting, resisting, or impeding a federal officer resulting in bodily injury and pleaded guilty on September 30, 2025.
The office said Melgar-Rivas will be deported after serving his 78-month sentence.
In response to the sentencing announcement, Ries emphasized that "there are severe consequences for assaulting and harming ICE agents, federal agents, and this sentence expresses that."
Ries pointed to a DHS statistic from February stating there have been 180 vehicular attacks on federal agents, constituting a 3,300 percent increase in vehicular attacks against ICE since President Donald Trump returned to the Oval Office.
Ries linked this rise in attacks to what she referred to as an organized and concerted effort to "cause division and disruption in the U.S." and to "prevent deportations to keep the left in political power."
ICE ASSAULTS SPIKE 1,500% AS DEMS DRAW ‘HARD RED LINE’ TO UNMASK AGENTS IN DHS BATTLE
"Clearly the word went out from trainers, the organizers on the left, who instruct both aliens and rioters, protesters, obstructionists on how to interfere with federal agents conducting their job," said Ries. "All of these people who are rioting and protesting and obstructing are directed to do so. Perhaps they swap their signs out now for ‘hands off Iran,’ because many of these protests, whether it's anti-ICE, hands off Iran, hands-off Venezuela, et cetera, et cetera, it's the same funders, it's the same organizers, in some cases it's the very same so-called protesters."
"None of it is organic, and we need to keep attention on that fact," she added.
One such attack rocked the nation in January when it resulted in Ross shooting and killing Good in Minneapolis.
According to DHS, criminal illegal immigrant and sex offender Roberto Carlos Munoz-Guatemala dragged Ross 50 yards with his car in Bloomington, Minnesota, while trying to evade arrest. During a traffic stop, Munoz-Guatemala refused to exit his vehicle and tried to flee law enforcement. The department said the ICE officer still had his arm inside Munoz-Guatemala's vehicle as the illegal immigrant tried to drive away. Ross was hospitalized due to his injuries and received 33 stitches in his right arm and left hand.
Ries said that less discussed is that this rise in violent obstruction "takes a lot of psychological toll and emotional toll on agents."
"There's clearly a pattern of aliens and obstructionists using their vehicles to interfere with and even threaten ICE agents. And as an ICE agent or federal agent, when you know that, if yet another car is put into drive and is aimed in your direction, then that goes to the mindset of that agent."
"We live in the age of rage, where so many people just want to be outraged at anything. And unfortunately, they become useful tools of these leftist leaders and funders to do their bidding," she said.
This, Ries said, is why it is so critical that people understand the serious risks and consequences of attacking agents or interfering with operations.
"If [Good] had not been interfering with ICE agents doing their job that day, she'd still be alive. If she complied with agents’ orders to get out of the car, she would still be alive," she said. "So, this news of this sentencing needs to go to those in Minneapolis and around the country to comply with officers, to not interfere."
SEN ROGER MARSHALL: Trump medical transparency initiative could save $1 trillion
Every day, Americans walk into a hospital without any idea what they’ll owe when they walk out. In my home state of Kansas, a mammogram costs $70 at one hospital and $800 at another. One hundred million Americans are drowning in medical debt, and we’re spending $5 trillion a year on a system that still won’t tell patients what anything costs until the bill arrives.
At the State of the Union, legislators heard a call to action from our commander in chief. President Donald Trump put it plainly about his "great healthcare plan." "[M]y plan requires maximum price transparency." He’s right – it is simple. We have a plan to fix it, and now is the time to seize the moment.
That's exactly what our "Patients Deserve Price Tags" bill is designed to do. It makes hospitals, surgery centers, imaging centers and labs post their actual prices – real dollars and cents – before a patient ever walks through the door. No more blank checks. No more guessing. It turns patients back into consumers, and that matters more than people realize.
Healthcare is the only industry in America where we've stripped out consumerism entirely – where we've decided that you don't get to know the price before you buy. Every other market in America works the same way: when consumers can shop, and providers have to compete, prices come down. Every single time. There is no reason healthcare should be any different.
The numbers tell the story. Even though there’s been a federal price transparency rule for more than four years, only about 15% of hospitals are posting prices. At one hospital in Kansas, a cervical spinal fusion can run anywhere from $650 to more than $26,000.
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And most hospitals, about three out of four, hide their prices in complicated algorithms that only a contract expert could understand. But here’s what happens when you finally let people see the prices: they shop. Experts estimate that price transparency would save up to $1 trillion – $1,000 a month for the average American family.
EX-OBAMA AIDE DAVID AXELROD FACES MOCKERY FOR CRITICIZING OBAMACARE PREMIUM INCREASES
And here's what makes this moment truly special – this isn't a partisan fight. The Patients Deserve Price Tags Act has 18 Senate co-sponsors, Republicans and Democrats alike. Patient advocacy groups, employer coalitions and families across the country are behind it. Nine in 10 Americans support price transparency regardless of party. Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich said, "If America truly wants to make life affordable again, healthcare transparency is where we start."
Washington doesn't agree on much these days, but on this, we do. When the White House, Congress, and the American people are all pointing in the same direction, there's no excuse not to move.
Trump made the call from the biggest stage in America. The legislation is written. The coalition is built. The only thing left to do is finish the job. Don’t let Washington lobbyists stop this any longer. Pass the Patients Deserve Price Tags Act and give Americans what they have always deserved – a price tag before the bill.
'Blankies,' ICE tactics and luxury jets: Top moments from Noem's House testimony
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem forcefully defended her department’s immigration enforcement policies Wednesday before Democratic lawmakers — part of a heated and contentious House Oversight Committee hearing that, at times, grew deeply personal.
The hearing is the second in back-to-back DHS oversight hearings centered on the agency's actions on immigration enforcement and Noem's leadership of the department, and comes as members of Congress remain deadlocked on how to proceed with fully funding the sprawling federal agency.
Here are the top moments from the action-packed hearing.
Some Democrats on the panel zeroed in on the responsibilities Corey Lewandowski has assumed as a special adviser for the Department of Homeland Security. Rep. Sydney Kalmager-Dove, D-Calif., cited a Wall Street Journal report from last month, that said President Donald Trump allegedly rejected Lewandowski's request to be Noem's chief of staff "due to reports of a romantic relationship" between the two.
Both Noem and Lewandowski have denied reports of an affair.
Kalmager-Dove asked Noem, point-blank, about the nature of their relationship. "This person has no experience running anything close to the Department of Homeland Security, or even advising someone in your position," Kalmager-Dove said, noting his role as a special government employee has extended a "well beyond the allowed 130-day" period.
'YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED!': PROTESTER DRAGGED FROM KRISTI NOEM'S SENATE HEARING
"He is unqualified, which has left my constituents and I wondering why he is your top official," she added.
"So, Secretary Noem, at any time during your tenure as Director of Department of Homeland Security, have you had sexual relations with Corey Lewandowski?"
Noem turned to address House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan briefly before responding. "Mr. Chairman, I am shocked that we're going down and peddling tabloid garbage in this committee today," she said.
To Kalmager-Dove, she said: "Ma'am, one thing that I would tell you is that he is a special government employee who works for the White House. There are thousands of them in the federal government."
The panel's ranking Democrat, Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., pressed Noem for details about Lewandowski's role at DHS, though in the context of the question of DHS's use of so-called "luxury jets." Noem had defended use of the jets one day prior during Senate testimony, noting they were used for both executive travel and mass deportations.
Raskin said Wednesday that he had nearly been prepared to buy that story. "And then I heard about an airborne episode of entitlement, arrogance and contempt that I could hardly believe."
"Apparently, when your special blanket — your blankie — was left on one of the government jets and not transported over the new one, your special government employee, Corey Lewandowski, chivalrous, stepped forward to fire the pilot, mid-air," Raskin said.
"A 2003 Coast Guard Academy graduate and distinguished U.S. Coast Guard commander … [who then] had to be rehired immediately because there was no one else who could fly the two of you on the rest of the journey back home," Raskin said. "Secretary Noem, you're flying high now, maybe even a little bit too close to the sun."
The exchanges were markedly tense, largely due to the presence of Noem's husband, who was sitting in the gallery for the duration of the hearing.
DHS SECRETARY KRISTI NOEM ADDRESSES CALLS FOR HER FIRING, NEW ALEX PRETTI VIDEO
Later in the hearing, Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., confronted Noem about the case of Miguel Lopez, a migrant who had been living illegally in the U.S. for some 30 years prior to his deportation last year. Lopez is married to a U.S. resident. "I went and saw Miguel in Mexico," Swalwell told Noem. "He doesn't have a job … and it's hard for him to communicate" after being away from his home country for roughly three decades.
Noemi interjected: "Did he have a criminal record?"
Swalwell acknowledged that Lopez had pleaded guilty to a "lesser nonviolent charge" in 1995, but asked Noem to recognize "the pain" caused by the administration's broader deportation policy.
"The pain?" Noem responded. "And I wish people would do things correctly. If they're not in legal status in this country, they can return home. We will pay for them to return home."
As for Lopez, she said, "I hope he got the $2,600 he could have" by choosing to self-deport.
The sharpest exchange came when Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., pressed Noem on the Trump administration’s repeated pledge to target "the worst of the worst" offenders in its removal efforts.
"Tell me about the worst of the worst," Cohen said.
Noem fired back: "The worst of the worst served. I think you've offended the families behind me today with that."
GOP STATES MOVE TO MAKE CHURCH SERVICE DISRUPTIONS A FELONY AFTER MINNESOTA STORMING
Cohen responded that he did not intend to offend anyone and said it was wrong for Noem to suggest he had. But Noem doubled down, arguing that critics were downplaying the consequences of illegal immigration.
"I was commenting on the fact that the individuals aren't violent offenders, and you keep talking about the fact that these individuals that are in this country illegally don't harm families," she said.
Cohen noted that undocumented immigrants are statistically "less likely" than people born in the U.S. to commit crimes.
Noem then gestured to family members seated behind her, invoking stories of children lost to fentanyl overdoses and fatal car crashes involving undocumented drivers.
"The vast majority of these people behind me lost their children due to drugs, overdoses from drugs that came over the southern border," Noem said. "They died from their kids being hit, accidents on the roads that illegal drivers were driving."
Cohen acknowledged the tragedies but argued they did not address his broader point. "All that's true and given it's true," he said. "But you say you're only going after the worst of the worst, and you're not."
The future of war? US-Israel blitz on Iran unveils next-gen allied combat
A massive joint air campaign by the United States and Israel is dismantling Iran’s missile network in what officials and analysts describe as one of the most coordinated allied operations in modern warfare.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said the campaign is rapidly establishing dominance over Iranian skies.
"Starting last night and to be completed in a few days … the two most powerful air forces in the world will have complete control of Iranian skies," Hegseth said Wednesday. "Uncontested airspace."
"We will fly all day, all night … flying over Tehran, flying over Iran, flying over their capital… Iranian leaders are looking up and seeing only U.S. and Israeli air power every minute of every day until we decide it’s over."
NETANYAHU INSISTS US AND ISRAEL'S STRIKES ON IRAN WON'T LEAD TO 'ENDLESS WAR'
Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview Tuesday that "the cooperation between us and the American military is amazing. We have mutual planning and mutual executing for the plans in Iran and beyond."
John Spencer, executive director of the Urban Warfare Institute, told Fox News Digital Israel effectively matched the U.S. military’s opening airpower surge.
"Israel matched the United States in the number of aircraft in the air," Spencer said. "For Israel, that represents roughly 80% of its air force capability."
He added that the level of coordination between Washington and Jerusalem represents a new model for allied warfare.
"This isn’t separate work," Spencer said. "This is combined work. Integrated, synchronized operations combining powers."
"In the past, we’ve had coalitions of dozens of countries," Spencer said. "But having a partner that is both willing and capable of bringing immense capabilities like this is very rare."
The Israeli campaign, known as Operation Roaring Lion, began with roughly 200 fighter jets launching the largest coordinated air operation in the history of the Israeli air force.
Within the first 24 hours of the campaign, Israeli fighter jets had already opened a corridor allowing sustained operations over Tehran, according to the Israeli military.
Israeli aircraft struck missile launch sites and air defense systems across western and central Iran in an opening wave targeting hundreds of sites simultaneously using intelligence gathered by Israel’s Intelligence Directorate and the CIA.
In the joint operation, Israeli aircraft dropped hundreds of munitions on approximately 500 targets, including missile launchers, command centers and air defense batteries.
The opening strike achieved a level of surprise rarely seen in modern warfare, according to Israeli intelligence chief Maj. Gen. Shlomi Binder.
"In 40 seconds, we eliminated more than 40 of the most important people in Iran," Binder said, referring to senior regime and military officials, including Iran Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. "We are sending a clear message to our enemies — there is no place where we will not find them."
IRAN'S SENIOR CLERICS ‘EXPOSED’ AFTER BUILDING STRIKE IN QOM, SUCCESSION CHOICE LOOMS
Spencer said the strategy behind the opening strike represents a dramatic shift in modern warfare.
"What Israel did in this opening campaign just wasn’t imaginable in the history of war. It never happened," he said. "To start off by cutting off the brain… usually you target the military first. Here they targeted the political and military leadership and had the ability to wipe them out in a matter of hours."
Spencer, a veteran of the 2003 Iraq War, said the operation reflects advances in intelligence and strike capabilities.
"I was part of the invasion in 2003," he said. "Something like this was unthinkable even 20 years ago."
An IDF spokesperson announced Wednesday what he described as a historic milestone: an Israeli air force F-35 fighter jet shot down an Iranian aircraft, marking the first time anywhere in the world that an F-35 has downed a manned aircraft and the first time in 40 years that an Israeli aircraft has shot down an enemy aircraft in combat.
Since the start of the operation, Israeli aircraft have carried out more than 1,600 sorties and deployed more than 5,000 munitions, according to figures released Wednesday.
The strikes have destroyed roughly 300 missile launchers and targeted more than 600 Iranian military infrastructure sites, according to the IDF.
ISRAEL STRIKES IRANIAN LEADERSHIP MEETING CHOOSING KHAMENEI SUCCESSOR
Israeli intelligence assessments before the operation indicated Iran was accelerating its ballistic missile production with plans to reach 8,000 missiles by 2027. At the start of the campaign, Israel estimated Iran possessed roughly 3,000 missiles.
The strikes have already prevented the production of at least 1,500 ballistic missiles while destroying hundreds already in Iran’s arsenal, according to the IDF.
Israeli officials say the missile program represented a direct threat not only to Israel but also to American forces and allies in the region.
"The possession of missiles by a regime that openly declares its intent to destroy the State of Israel constitutes an existential threat," the IDF said.
Six U.S. service members have been killed, and several others injured, during Operation Epic Fury.
In Israel, 13 civilians had been killed as of Wednesday night and more than 1,000 injured in Iranian missile and drone attacks launched in response to the operation, according to Israeli emergency services. The United Arab Emirates has reported three deaths and 68 injuries since the war started
Precise casualty figures in Iran remain difficult to verify. Media reports say dozens of senior Iranian commanders were killed in the opening phase of the campaign, along with additional military personnel and civilians following strikes on military facilities and infrastructure.
As the conflict expands beyond Iran, Israeli forces have struck more than 160 Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon in recent days. To sustain the multifront campaign, Israel has mobilized approximately 110,000 reservists.
"Wars are contests of will," Spencer said. "Iran’s strategy is to break the will of the United States and Israel to continue the operation. The question is whether they can endure the pressure long enough to make that happen."
Top 5 wildest moments as GOP lawmakers clashed with Walz, Ellison in heated fraud hearing: 'Unbelievable'
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison faced a barrage of tough questions from Republicans during a Wednesday House hearing on the massive fraud scandal in the state, with most of the questions focused on one key theme: What did they know, and when did they know it?
Walz and Ellison were asked multiple times for specifics regarding when they were first made aware of the fraud problems and faced sharp rebukes from Republican members, including Rep. Virginia Foxx.
"You did not do your job, you did not do your job," Foxx told Walz. "You did not protect taxpayer dollars. You allowed massive fraud. You and Mr. Ellison allowed massive fraud to go on in the state of Minnesota. It is unfortunate, as somebody said, that you can't be held personally responsible at this stage in the game."
An exchange between GOP Rep. Jim Jordan and Walz sparked immediate pushback from conservatives on social media.
WALZ ACCUSED BY JORDAN OF TRYING TO ‘HIDE BEHIND’ COURT ORDER IN FEEDING OUR FUTURE PAYMENTS
"Why didn’t you tell the truth about why you restarted the payments?" Jordan asked during a House Oversight Committee hearing on Minnesota fraud on Wednesday.
The exchange centered on Walz’s past public statements that a judge ordered the Minnesota Department of Education to continue reimbursements in April 2021 after the agency had halted payments over fraud concerns.
Jordan pointed to a 2022 court-authorized news release from then-Ramsey County District Court Judge John H. Guthmann that disputed the governor’s characterization of the events.
COMER TO SAY TIM WALZ 'ENABLED FRAUD,' FAILED WHISTLEBLOWERS IN BOMBSHELL MINNESOTA HEARING
"So either you’re lying or the court’s lying. And I’m just asking you which one is it?" Jordan said.
One of the most contentious exchanges came during questioning from GOP Rep. Nancy Mace when she pressed Walz for specific numbers on how many children are in his state, the massive increase in autism care spending and why that occurred without getting specific numbers back from Walz.
"Ok, so your excuse before — that you didn't know what the 2017 autism numbers were — because you were not governor, and today you can't answer the numbers about 2024 as governor, and you still said you prepared for this hearing today. It's unbelievable."
Walz shot back that he wouldn't be a "prop" for Mace, and she eventually said, "I expect you to know this information. Thank God you're not vice president of the United States."
GOP Rep. Clay Higgins confronted Ellison in another heated moment asking him to say he was "leading" the fight against rooting out corruption without getting the specific answer he was looking for, prompting him to call for Ellison's resignation.
"I'm not talking about Medicaid fraud, don't hide behind that," Higgins said, interrupting Ellison. "You have the authority to prosecute anything criminally that the governor asks you to, and this thing is big. I'm giving you an opportunity sir, are you leading the criminal investigative effort into this massive fraud across the board…or not?" Higgins pressed.
"We are following the law," Ellison said before Higgins cut him off again.
"You are not leading, I'm going to say, Mr. Chairman, that the attorney general of the state of Minnesota should resign," Higgins said.
At the close of the hearing, things became tense again when GOP Rep. Nick Langworthy suggested that Walz, who is still serving as governor despite dropping out of his re-election bid due to the fraud scandal, should be impeached for "malfeasance," citing Minnesota's own state Constitution.
Fox News Digital's Ashley Carnahan contributed to this report.
American stuck in Middle East escapes in race to reach critically ill husband in California
FIRST ON FOX — Judith Wilson of Walnut Creek, California, had been stranded in Dubai for the last few days on a business trip while her husband, Doug, prepared for emergency heart surgery back home.
She'd been desperately trying to get out of the Middle East amid the Iran operation.
"My husband went to the ER Monday with back pain and was diagnosed with a heart condition," Wilson told Fox News Digital. He was immediately scheduled for open-heart surgery — while she was thousands of miles from home.
On Wednesday, Wilson's colleague got word a flight was going to take off. So Wilson "sprinted to the airport and called the travel agency," she said.
AMERICAN TRAPPED IN DUBAI DESCRIBES HOTEL FRIGHT AND 'SHOCK WAVES' AS IRAN LAUNCHES AIRSTRIKES
"I got the very last seat to London's Heathrow Airport," she said.
Like many other American travelers, Wilson had been trapped in Dubai since the beginning of the Iran operation over the weekend. The mother of two college-age boys became very anxious when she started seeing alerts on her phone Saturday evening.
"The real fright was [on] Saturday evening," she said. "There were 1,000 people in the lobby of the JW Marriott, and as many devices rang out."
She added, "Americans were definitely scared."
MIDDLE EAST CRUISE NIGHTMARE DEEPENS AS IRAN AIRSTRIKES LEAVE PASSENGERS STRANDED
Wilson, 57, a software sales executive, said she was on a business trip when she heard about the war.
"On Saturday, I was with some colleagues at the Atlantis hotel," she said. "We heard huge explosions."
She described the mood as concerned, but still "business-as-usual."
"It was kind of like when turbulence hits, and you see the flight attendants are calm — so you figure you should be too," she said.
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Even so, she described a scene Saturday night in which many travelers were crying in the hotel lobby as people huddled together.
There were "regular booms" during her time in Dubai, she said. She saw plumes of smoke.
There was no bunker in the hotel, she said, but the staff set up lobby couches with blankets, so hotel guests could remain together and try to get some sleep.
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By Monday, the mood normalized somewhat, she said, and travelers were able to leave the hotel. She even visited the Etihad Museum — which documents the history, culture and formation of the UAE federation.
Throughout the tension of her days there, Wilson's main concern was her 58-year-old husband.
When she finally arrived at the airport Wednesday, she was very emotional, she said. "I was crying, explaining that my husband was going into triple bypass surgery."
The mood among family members back home in California, meanwhile, was one of intense concern, she said.
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Her husband's "blood pressure skyrocketed to an alarming level," she said.
"He had to be transferred quickly to [John Muir Health Walnut Creek Medical Center]. They found an accumulated blockage that was undiagnosed."
Her travel from Dubai to California would take about 28 hours. Thankfully, she said, Dubai International Airport was very calm.
She boarded an Emirates flight. "There were no delays. There were very few flights, so we boarded extremely early," she said.
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Her sons, meanwhile, have been at her husband's side.
"I felt so utterly relieved once we made it to mid-Saudi," she told Fox News Digital.
Kristy Ellmer, a consultant from New Hampshire, was also in Dubai with her husband, Matt Carwell, over the weekend, as Fox News Digital has reported.
She was there on a business trip, and was taking some time to relax, too. On Saturday, everything changed.
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"We were just sitting on the beach," Ellmer told Fox News Digital in an interview. "All of a sudden, we felt explosions."
Ellmer was originally scheduled to leave Dubai on Sunday night. She had multiple flights canceled, but she and her husband finally got onto a flight Wednesday to Munich.
Four people were injured in a hotel fire in the Palm Jumeirah area of Dubai after a loud explosion was reportedly heard over the weekend.
The Dubai Media Office, a government entity, said in a statement Saturday that the fire was contained.
"The safety and well-being of residents and visitors remain the highest priority. Authorities continue to take all necessary measures to safeguard the public. The public is urged to remain calm, rely solely on verified information from official sources, and refrain from circulating videos or images on social media," the media office wrote on X.