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Golden Globes host says Trump jokes were scrapped
Comedian Nikki Glaser says she deliberately avoided political jokes while hosting the 2026 Golden Globes, saying they simply weren’t "funny" in the current climate.
On Tuesday’s episode of Howard Stern’s radio show, Glaser said Trump-related jokes had been written but were ultimately cut.
"It’s not funny," Glaser said, according to The Hollywood Reporter, citing her appearance on Stern’s show.
"I was going to come in at some point and say, ‘I’m hearing from the bar that we’re out of ice. And you know, we don’t really need ice. And actually, I hate ice,’" she said.
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"It just felt like, oh, even that’s just being too trivial."
Glaser said several jokes aimed at President Donald Trump were also scrapped, including one about his decision to add his name to the updated Trump Kennedy Center. The joke was written by comedian Steve Martin but was ultimately cut, she said, after it didn’t fit the event’s tone.
"It was like, you just don’t say that guy’s name right now," she told Stern.
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"I just want to give it space," she added.
While Glaser stayed away from politics, many in the audience did not. The annual gala came just days after the death of Renee Good, a Minneapolis woman whose fatal shooting during an ICE confrontation has sparked protests and national debate.
Several celebrities wore pins reading "BE GOOD" and "ICE OUT," including Jean Smart, Mark Ruffalo and Wanda Sykes.
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Glaser did, however, take aim at the network airing the awards, CBS, mocking the channel as the home of "BS news."
"The award for most editing goes to CBS News. Yes. CBS News: America’s newest place to ‘see BS’ news," Glaser said.
The remarks come amid recent disputes involving CBS News, including accusations from Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem that the network selectively edited interviews.
Texans star wears apparent pro-Palestine message on eye black during playoff game
While being interviewed by ESPN's "Monday Night Football" crew, it was revealed that Azeez Al-Shaair had a message he wanted to share.
The Houston Texans linebacker was spotted wearing eye black that read "Stop the genocide."
The message was likely regarding the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine.
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Al-Shaair has supported Palestinians in the past, including wearing "Free Palestine" cleats for the NFL's "My Cause My Cleats" campaign during the 2024 season.
Al-Shaair had "Free" written on one side of his shoes in the colors of the Palestinian flag. On one shoe, "Surely to Allah we belong and to Him we will all return," was written. On the side of his other shoe, it had the number of Palestinians reportedly killed and wounded in their war with Israel.
The shoes were for the Palestine Children's Relief Fund, which he also supported in 2023.
"I feel like it’s something that’s trying to be almost silenced," Al-Shaair told the Houston Chronicle at the time. "On either side, people losing their life is not right. In no way, shape, or form am I validating anything that happened, but to consistently say that because of [Oct. 7] innocent people [in Gaza] should now die, it’s crazy.
"[Other people] try to make a disconnect and dehumanize people over there. And it's like, they're human beings. Being a Muslim, we see everybody the same; Black, White, Spanish, whatever you are; you can be orange, like, we're all human beings."
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Al-Shaair was also part of the Athletes for Ceasefire organization, along with several other athletes.
During the game when he wore the Palestine cleats, Al-Shaair made a tackle on Trevor Lawrence that left him with a concussion, prompting backlash and an ejection. In a statement apologizing for the hit, he snapped at "racist and Islamophobic fans and people" for attacking him online.
Al-Shaair’s Texans scored 23 points in the fourth quarter on Monday to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 30-6 and advance to the AFC divisional round. They will face the Patriots in New England on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET.
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Inside the SCOTUS hearing bound to be a turning point in the culture war over trans athletes in women's sports
Trained military snipers stood on the roof of the U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday standing guard over a verbal battle between an alliance of women donning shirts that read XX-XY, against a hoard of pink, white and blue-painted activists, some wearing costumes, and some barely wearing anything.
At one point, the convergence descended into harrowing cries of "Stop cutting off the breasts!" while the other side tried to drown it out with a blunt and repetitive chant of "Trans! Trans! Trans!"
But inside the court chambers, one side was constantly in full retreat.
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Attorneys for transgender athlete Lindsay Hecox argued to have the very lawsuit that they originally filed, Hecox v Little, dropped as moot now that it was being reviewed by the nation's highest court. The suit, which was filed in 2020, blocked Idaho's law to protect women's sports and allowed Hecox to compete on Boise State's women's cross-country team.
And in a defining moment for the trans athlete legal team, it even had to retreat from one of the very arguments it used to try to get the case dropped. Cooley Legal attorney Kathleen Hartnett admitted that Hecox was "unlikely" to graduate in May after the firm previously argued that the athlete's May graduation would render a ruling about Hecox's athletic eligibility unnecessary.
"She's unlikely to graduate by May, as my friend said, but is hoping to make, through summer credits, to graduate in the fall," Hartnett said, just months after the firm filed a suggestion of mootness in which Hecox stated, "I am currently enrolled in classes that may allow me to graduate as early as May 2026."
Earlier in the hearing, Idaho solicitor general Alan Hurst called out Hecox's claimed graduation date of May as "not possible" after the state's leadership did some back-door digging to discover Hecox's status.
"[Boise State] is a client of Idaho, we asked, and the university confirmed that it's unlikely to happen in the spring" Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) legal counsel John Bursch, who has worked with the Idaho and West Virginia AGs on the SCOTUS case, told Fox News Digital. "It just shows that throughout the case, Hecox has flipped back and forth."
Idaho Attorney General Raul Labrador said that exposing the discrepancy was "important" to their arguments Tuesday.
"I think it's important. I don't think it's the main issue in the case, but I think it's important," Labrador told Fox News Digital. "They could have made that argument when we filed the petition for review … but they didn't. They only did that after cir was granted."
The plaintiffs appeared to retreat again during oral arguments for the second case.
In that case, over a West Virginia trans teen who also sued to block a state law meant to keep males out of girls' sports, American Civil LIberties Union (ACLU) attorney Joshua Block suggested that "sex" should not be defined.
"I really urge the court not to do it on the definition of sex argument," Block said, later adding. "I don't think the purpose of Title IX is to have an accurate definition of sex. I think the purpose is to make sure that sex isn't being used to discriminate by denying opportunities."
But after grilling from Chief Justice John Roberts, who insisted sex "must mean something," Block conceded that sex should be defined by biology for the sake of this case but this case only.
"I think for this case, you can accept for the sake of this case that we're talking about what they've termed to be biological sex," he said.
Fox News Digital asked Block what his definition of "sex" is and he declined to give a definition.
"I don't think that's what, that's what's at issue in this case. What's at issue in this case is fair treatment for all people, including cis people and trans people, and that's what we're hear to talk about to today," Block answered.
Fox News Digital attempted to ask Block why sex should not be defined in the case, but the attorney walked away and did not take any further questions.
Unlike the ADF, Idaho and West Virginia attorneys who stood in the courtyard of the Supreme Court and took multiple questions from reporters, and even kept offering questions when the press had nothing left to ask, Block and his ACLU colleagues only answered the singular question about defining sex after offering pre-prepared statements.
Hartnett, whose previous claim to fame was helping a San Francisco man get a second-degree murder conviction vacated, said she was "proud" of her legal team's efforts on Tuesday.
"I was particularly proud here today to be able that the court understood the serious discrimination the transgender community has faced," Hartnett said.
Just then, Lambda Legal CEO Kevin Jennings, which has co-counseled both cases, jumped in to loudly declare the West Virginia trans athlete "an American hero!"
"Because she stood up for millions of other kids today and said ‘we belong, we matter, we are equal!’" Jennings shouted.
Jennings' hesitation-less declaration of the West Virginia teen a hero came amid the backdrop of sexual harassment allegations that were leveled against the athlete prior to the hearing by former teammate Adaleia Cross.
The ACLU denied the allegations in a previous statement to Fox News Digital.
"Our client and her mother deny these allegations, and the school district investigated the allegations reported to the school by A.C. and found them to be unsubstantiated. We remain committed to defending the rights of all students under Title IX, including the right to a safe and inclusive learning environment free from harassment and discrimination," the statement read.
The trans athlete then denied the allegations to The New York Times in a story that published Monday, saying "I was not raised like that."
Still, West Virginia Attorney General John McCuskey acknowledged the allegations at a press conference just one day before the hearing on Monday.
"Any time you think of a child being harassed, it gives you pause as a parent. And it isn't really part of our case, but harassment of any child of any kind in this country is inappropriate. And it’s wrong, and we all need to stand up to ensure that children aren’t being harassed in any of their venues, particularly athletics," McCuskey said.
When Fox News Digital attempted on Tuesday to ask Block about McCuskey's statement, the attorney walked away, ignoring multiple questions.
But the allegations would surface in greater and more emotional detail hours later
On Tuesday night, during the ADF Gala in Washington, D.C., to celebrate oral arguments, Cross's mother Abby Cross took the stage and became visibly emotional as she recounted the details of the trans athlete's alleged sexual harassment against her daughter.
Several individuals in attendance were seen crying, wiping tears from her eyes during the dialogue.
Former San Jose State volleyball player Brooke Slusser, who unknowingly shared changing spaces and sleeping spaces with a biological male teammate in the 2023 season, was there and admitted she was one of those in attendance who shed tears during Abby Cross's speech.
"It tugged at my heart, I mean, a lot of these things do, but it was hard to hear from a mother especially," Slusser told Fox News Digital. "It's awful. It brought tears to my eyes."
Former North Carolina high school volleyball player Payton McNabb, who suffered permanent brain injuries after being spiked in the head by a trans opponent, said the alleged story made her "physically sick."
"Hearing that story honestly made me physically sick. This is exactly why we are fighting, because this is what is happening to young girls. It’s not a secret. People know this is happening, yet girls are being told to be quiet, to be inclusive, to accept harassment," McNabb told Fox News Digital.
"No girl, especially no child, should ever experience that. The fact that some people excuse it or even celebrate it is pure evil."
But the mood of the event shifted as the night progressed amid optimistic messages by the "Save Women's Sports" activists and attorneys, many of whom believed they walked away from Tuesday's hearing with a definitive win.
The consensus among pundits is that the Supreme Court justices and its conservative majority appear prepared to allow Idaho, West Virginia and other states across the U.S. to uphold its laws to keep biological males out of women's and girls' sports.
Labrador shared in that optimism.
"I think the arguments are on our side," Labrador said.
"I was actually surprised how the judges who I assume are not going to be as friendly to our side were really struggling with the questions that we're going before the court and they were trying to find a way to articulate the other side's position, and even they were having a hard time articulating the other side's position."
A decision is expected by this summer.
McCuskey has said he is optimistic that the court will rule 9-0 in favor of West Virginia and Idaho. Labrador expects a win, but believes 9-0 is too optimistic.
In addition to a potential new legal precedent, the culture movement around the issue only appeared to gain more fuel on Tuesday. No where was it more visible than the protest outside the court, which saw women from across the country who have spoken out about their experiences with transgender athletes, led by the likes of Slusser, McNabb and Riley Gaines.
"It was definitely surreal," Slusser said of the rally, who is eagerly awaiting resolution on the case, saying "the unknowing of what's going to happen next and not getting an answer yet," is hard for her.
Women's fencer Stephenie Turner, who went viral for kneeling in protest of a trans athlete and getting disqualified for it last spring, was refreshed to be surrounded by so many people who agreed with her on the issue.
"It was amazing to be in a room with people who are in agreement on common sense for the first time. Sometimes I feel like I'm going crazy on this issue when I talk to people who are on the fence about men and women's sports, it's nice to be in a room with people who are clear decisive language and know what, this is a zero-sum game and that we must be on the side of protecting women and girls," Turner told Fox News Digital.
When looking at the pro-trans protesters they were clashing with, McNabb couldn't help but wonder how they got to that point.
"I didn’t interact with them directly, but watching from a distance was honestly sad," McNabb said. "What stood out most to me was the number of women over there actively opposing their own rights- it’s completely bizarre."
Pro women's golfer Lauren Miller, who spoke out against transgender golfer Hailey Davidson and helped prompt the first rule change in major pro women's sports to protect the sport from biological males in late 2024, also felt mixed emotions seeing the other side on Tuesday.
"I've never seen anything like that before…. to face it directly and to see it, it really made me understand the weight of what we're doing," Miller told Fox News Digital.
"I feel for them because they'll never have the peace and the joy and the purpose that we have on our side… I really hope they can see the light because there world will be a lot better."
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SEE IT: Police guard Chicago home of surgeon ex charged in Ohio dentist double murder
CHICAGO — The door to the Chicago apartment where an Ohio murder suspect lived sat under police watch for hours after he was arrested in the double homicide.
The suspect, Michael McKee, is accused in the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Spencer Tepe, a dentist, and 39-year-old Monique Tepe. Both were found dead with gunshot wounds in their Columbus, Ohio, home. McKee is Monique's ex-husband, according to court records.
Authorities say McKee was living in a high-rise apartment building on Chicago’s Near North Side at the time of his arrest.
Video obtained by Fox News Digital showed a uniformed officer stationed outside McKee’s apartment on the building’s 12th floor after his arrest.
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A longtime resident who lives in the building said she was shocked to learn the suspect lived just floors away.
"I talked to him at the pool," said Gera-Lind Kolarik, 72, who has lived in the building since the 1980s. "There was nothing that seemed unusual."
Kolarik said she recognized McKee after seeing his photograph shared by a television reporter outside the building.
The following day, she recorded video of police guarding the apartment and later observed investigators removing boxes and clothing from the high-rise apartment.
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"And I saw the door open and I saw officers bringing stuff out and putting it in the boxes, clothing. I saw clothing and things like that," she said.
Kolarik also observed evidence trucks from the Columbus, Ohio, Police Department at the Chicago apartment building. Authorities have not detailed what evidence, if any, was recovered.
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Residents at The Pierre, a luxury apartment built in the late 1920s, say the heavy police presence was unexpected in a building typically known for its quiet atmosphere.
"You never think something like this is happening right next door," Kolarik said.
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A public service announcement shared with Fox News Digital showed that residents were warned of an "active police investigation involving a resident."
"You may see and encounter law enforcement officials in and around the building over the next few days," it said. "We want to assure everyone there is no immediate threat or danger to anyone in the building as a result of this investigation."
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McKee appeared in a Rockford, Illinois, courtroom on Monday afternoon, where he waived his extradition rights, and his attorney indicated he will plead not guilty after going back to Ohio.
He is charged with two counts of premeditated aggravated murder charges in Ohio in relation to Spencer and Monique's deaths. McKee was booked at the Winnebago County Sheriff's Office in Illinois.
Fox News Digital's Adam Sabes contributed to this report.
Hundreds of mysterious old shoes wash up on beach during cleanup, baffling officials
Hundreds of old-fashioned shoes recently washed up on a beach in Wales — and locals are still trying to figure out why.
Volunteers working for the Beach Academy CIC, an educational center in Porthcawl, found the shoes on Dec. 18 during their efforts on a rock pool restoration project.
The team was trying to clear out litter to help restore rock pools to their natural state when they found the cache.
Beach Academy founder Emma Lamport told Fox News Digital the shoes were found in a small area of Ogmore Beach, located in the Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales.
About 200 shoes and soles were recovered, Lamport said, including men's, women's and children's footwear.
She outlined two theories about how they got there.
The strongest theory, she said, is that the shoes came from a 19th-century shipwreck called the Frolic, which struck nearby Tusker Rock. The ship was carrying cargo from Italy at the time.
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"They were washed up the Ogmore River estuary and, every now and then, they appear… especially when there has been erosion of the river bank," said Lamport.
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The second theory is that, back in the 1960s, a local factory produced over 50,000 pairs of boots and shoes each week — and cobblers would dump any old boots that they couldn't mend into the Ogmore River.
Despite the odd nature of the discovery, Lamport said that "it seems the find is not unusual."
"The well-preserved leather shoes, blackened over time, that have been found recently are not the first that have been found in the area," she said.
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"Locals have been relating stories of finding strange shoes along the South Wales coast."
Lamport also stressed that the age of the shoes has not been professionally verified yet, leaving the origin a mystery.
"Their future is also unknown," she said.
The Beach Academy will hold onto the shoes for now, and is open to lending them to Cardiff University as educational artifacts in the future.
Washington school district forces students to hide Bibles in backpacks, lawsuit alleges
A Washington school district is facing a federal lawsuit after a school board member openly admitted to holding "animus" toward a Christian program and officials allegedly forced elementary students to keep Bibles and religious materials "sealed in an envelope" and hidden inside their backpacks.
The complaint, filed Dec. 18 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, centers on the treatment of LifeWise Academy, a national nonprofit that provides off-campus, parent-led Bible instruction for students during "released time," such as lunch or recess.
The legal action, brought by First Liberty Institute and Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP, accuses Everett Public Schools in Everett, Washington, of violating the First Amendment by treating LifeWise participants as "second-class citizens" and "subjecting the group to onerous standards simply because it is religious."
The lawsuit claims school officials barred LifeWise from participating in its community fair and from displaying informational flyers in school lobbies next to flyers for secular organizations. It also challenges a "burdensome" permission slip policy requiring parents to submit a new written authorization every single week for students to attend the program.
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School officials are also accused of forcing students to keep any LifeWise materials, including Bibles, hidden in envelopes in their backpacks, making them inaccessible for the rest of the school day, even during free periods when students are allowed to read secular materials such as comic books.
The lawsuit claims these actions follow a pattern of hostility from school officials, specifically from Board Director Charles Adkins.
In response to a letter from attorneys urging the district to address its restrictive policies, Adkins admitted at a Dec. 9 board meeting he held "animus" toward the Christian group.
"I want to make it very, extremely, abundantly clear, that yes, I do in fact hold animus toward LifeWise Academy," Adkins said at the Dec. 9 board meeting. "It is an organization of homophobic bullies who are active and willing participants in the efforts to bring about an authoritarian theocracy."
In his comments, he also rallied the board to stand up to "Christian nationalism, fascism and white supremacy" and not allow LifeWise to "further brainwash our kids to be full of hate, anger and ignorance."
Attorneys for LifeWise argue these restrictions violate nearly decades of legal precedent. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld religious-instruction release as constitutional in the 1952 ruling Zorach v. Clauson, provided the programs are held off-campus, use no public funds, and have parental consent.
"School officials cannot prefer religion over nonreligion, nor may they throw obstacles in the path of parents simply trying raise their children according to their religious convictions," Jeremy Dys, senior counsel at First Liberty said in a press release.
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"Purposefully hindering the operation of an out-of-school program just because it’s religious is a direct violation of the First Amendment," he continued.
First Liberty pointed to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the Mahmoud v. Taylor case out of Maryland this past June, where the court reiterated that public schools "may not place unconstitutional burdens on religious exercise."
The school district's attorneys reportedly denied the alleged violations as "factually inaccurate" in a Dec. 12 letter sent to LifeWise attorneys and obtained by the Everett Herald.
"With respect to LifeWise Academy itself, the District will continue to evaluate any requests to participate in District-sponsored events or to distribute its materials in compliance with its policies and procedures which comport with state and federal laws," wrote the attorney representing the district, Sarah Mack. "Simply because your client disagrees that those policies and procedures should apply to it or to the families and students served by LifeWise Academy does not make them unconstitutional."
Everett Public Schools and Adkins did not return Fox News Digital's request for comment.
House Republican recognizes transgender Dem Sarah McBride as 'the gentleman from Delaware'
Republican Rep. Andrew Clyde of Georgia referred to Democratic Rep. Sarah McBride as "the gentleman from Delaware, Representative McBride" when recognizing the lawmaker to speak in the House on Tuesday.
McBride, who took office last year, identifies as a transgender woman.
"The People’s House recognizes basic biology," Clyde declared in a post on X that features the video clip of his remark.
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Fox News Digital has reached out to McBride's office.
Other House Republicans expressed their support for their colleague's move.
"Tim 'Sarah' McBride is a man. Appreciate @Rep_Clyde for acknowledging this basic biological truth on the House floor," Rep. Mary Miller of Illinois noted in a post.
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Miller made such a move in the House last year, saying, "The chair recognizes the gentleman from Delaware, Mr. McBride, for five minutes."
Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona backed Clyde on Tuesday, declaring in a post, "A biological man can never be a woman, no matter how much makeup he puts on. My friend @Rep_Clyde stands for truth."
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"Truth Matters," Rep. Sheri Biggs of South Carolina noted in a post.
Trump signals long road ahead in Venezuela in his boldest interventionist move yet
President Donald Trump is setting the stage for the U.S. to be involved in overseeing Venezuela for a significant period of time, after conducting strikes and capturing dictator Nicolás Maduro and labeling himself "acting" president of Venezuela.
The move marks his boldest interventionist move yet — a foreign policy approach by which one country intervenes in another state's affairs — and follows other major military operations from the Trump administration, including strikes in Syria in December 2025 against Islamic State operatives after an ambush against U.S. troops there, and strikes in June 2025 against the Iranian nuclear sites of Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan.
Trump told The New York Times in an interview that was published Wednesday that "only time will tell" how long the U.S. will be running Venezuela, but said it would be "much longer" than a year.
Additionally, Trump announced recently that Venezuela's interim government would hand over up to 50 million barrels of oil to the U.S. and that the oil would be sold "immediately."
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"We will rebuild it in a very profitable way," Trump told the Times. "We’re going to be using oil, and we’re going to be taking oil. We’re getting oil prices down, and we’re going to be giving money to Venezuela, which they desperately need."
Likewise, Trump shared a doctored image that looked like a Wikipedia page that identified him as "Acting President of Venezuela" since January 2026.
Previous interventionist actions the U.S. has taken include launching an invasion of Afghanistan in response to the 9/11 attacks Afghanistan-based al-Qaeda conducted against the U.S., and an invasion of Iraq in 2003 that led to the toppling of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's regime. In both cases, the U.S. remained in prolonged occupations there.
The language the Trump administration is using now focusing on illegal migration is different than what was used during the Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts, which focused on democracy-building and promoting freedom, Katherine Thompson, a senior fellow in defense and foreign policy studies at the libertarian think tank the Cato Institute, told Fox News Digital.
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"But the pathway to achieve those things, I don't see, like, a broad differentiation from the things that we did before," Thompson told Fox News Digital.
Thompson said that she doesn’t see how the Trump administration’s goals could be completed without small rotational deployments from U.S. forces to provide security, particularly in the event that the U.S. reopens its Embassy in Caracas, Venezuela.
"I don't see how we're going to have a team there without at least some small deployment of rotational forces to achieve security of our own personnel," Thompson said.
So far, no U.S. troops are on the ground in Venezuela, and the Senate advanced a War Powers resolution Thursday that, if passed, would bar using U.S. forces within or against Venezuela without Congress' approval.
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When asked by Fox News Digital about whether Trump's "Acting President of Venezuela" post was shared jokingly and what it indicates about how long the U.S. will be involved in running Venezuela, White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly told Fox News Digital: "President Trump will be the greatest President for the American and Venezuelan people in history. Congratulations, world!"
Although Trump has blasted previous administrations for actions in the Middle East and vowed he would bring an end to "endless wars" while ushering in an "America First" agenda prioritizing U.S. interests, Democrats warned that the U.S. may be involving itself in another complicated conflict.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., claimed that the U.S. is on the path to another "endless war."
"The very thing that Donald Trump campaigned against over and over and over again was no more endless wars," Schumer said in an interview with ABC News Jan. 4. "And, right now, we're headed right into one with no barriers, with no discussion."
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Trump announced on Jan. 3 that U.S. special forces conducted a "large-scale strike" against Caracas, and seized Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. Both were taken to New York and appeared in a Manhattan federal court Jan. 5 on drug charges, where they each pleaded not guilty.
The raid came after months of pressure on Venezuela and more than two dozen strikes in Latin American waters against alleged drug traffickers as part of Trump’s effort to crack down on the influx of drugs into the U.S.
The Trump administration routinely stated that it did not recognize Maduro as a legitimate head of state and said he was the leader of a drug cartel. Likewise, Trump said in December 2025 he believed it would be "smart" for Maduro to step down.
The Trump administration has justified seizing Maduro as a "law enforcement" operation, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio said congressional approval wasn’t necessary since the operation didn’t amount to an "invasion."
However, lawmakers primarily on the left have questioned the legality of the operation in Venezuela, which was conducted without Congress' approval.
"This has been a profound constitutional failure," the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., said in a statement Jan. 3. "Congress — not the President — has the sole power to authorize war. Pursuing regime change without the consent of the American people is a reckless overreach and an abuse of power."
Hillary Clinton expected to defy Epstein probe subpoena, risking criminal charges
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was subpoenaed to appear before the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday, but she's expected to ignore the order, potentially risking criminal charges.
Hillary Clinton is scheduled to be deposed behind closed doors at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, and it appears the GOP-led committee will move forward with holding the interview in some form regardless of whether she attends.
Hillary and Bill Clinton's lawyers sent a letter to House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., earlier this week, calling their subpoenas "invalid and legally unenforceable."
But Comer previously threatened to initiate contempt of Congress proceedings against both Clintons if they skipped their January deposition dates, which were rescheduled twice prior, amid conversations with their attorneys.
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Bill Clinton defied his own subpoena on Tuesday, failing to appear for a 10 a.m. closed-door deposition.
Comer told reporters afterward that the House Oversight Committee would meet next week to advance a contempt resolution against the former president in response.
When Fox News Digital asked if the same would happen to Hillary Clinton if she failed to appear the next day, Comer said, "We'll see. We'll talk about it."
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The former first couple were two of 10 people subpoenaed by Comer as part of the panel's investigation into Jeffrey Epstein. The subpoenas were issued following a bipartisan vote by an Oversight subcommittee panel during an unrelated hearing on illegal immigration.
Despite that, however, no Democrats appeared for Bill Clinton's expected grilling.
"Not a single Democrat showed up today, not a single Democrat," Comer told reporters. "It just seems like they only care about pushing Republicans. And we've had a former Trump Cabinet secretary, Alex Acosta, in for a grilling. We had Bill Barr, former attorney general, in for a grilling. But for whatever reason, President Clinton didn't show up. And the Democrats on the committee don't seem to have a problem."
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The Clintons' attorneys criticized Comer's leadership of the investigation in their letter, discounting the subpoenas.
"President and Secretary Clinton have already provided the limited information they possess about Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell to the Committee," the lawyers said.
"Your continued insistence that the former President and Secretary of State can be compelled to appear before the Committee under these circumstances, however, brings us toward a protracted and unnecessary legal confrontation that distracts from the principal work of the Congress with respect to this matter, which, if conducted sincerely, could help ensure the victims of Mr. Epstein and Ms. Maxwell are afforded some measure of justice for the crimes perpetrated against them, however late. But perhaps distraction is the point."
Comer said after Bill Clinton skipped his deposition, "No one's accusing Bill Clinton of any wrongdoing. We just have questions. And that's why the Democrats voted, along with Republicans, to subpoena Bill Clinton."
The House Oversight Committee would need to advance a contempt resolution before it's considered by the entire chamber. If a simple majority votes to hold someone in contempt of Congress, a criminal referral is then traditionally made to the Department of Justice.
A criminal contempt of Congress charge is a misdemeanor that carries a punishment of up to one year in jail and a maximum $100,000 fine, if convicted.
An illegal immigrant killed my daughter — leftists march for Renee, not for Katie
As I read and watched the coverage coming out of Minneapolis about the tragic shooting of a woman allegedly attempting to run over a federal agent with her vehicle, two things immediately came to me.
First, how demonstrators were being stoked, inflamed and used by politicians for self-serving purposes. Second — and far more personal — where was the outrage when my innocent 20-year-old daughter, Katie Abraham, was killed by an illegal alien shielded and protected by Illinois’ sanctuary policies?
Katie’s killer was Julio Cucul-Bol. He was using an alias. He is currently being treated for an incurable communicable infectious disease, according to court transcripts. Yet when my daughter was violently killed, there were no viral videos, no breathless media panels, no emotional press conferences and no candlelight vigils amplified by politicians and pundits.
Where were the stories about how the car Katie was riding in — stopped at a red light — was struck from behind at nearly 80 miles per hour by a drunk-driving illegal alien?
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Where was the outrage over how first responders had to pry the vehicle open like a tuna can to pull my daughter’s lifeless body from the wreckage?
It also struck me how the same media figures, politicians and commentators now expressing outrage over the Minneapolis shooting have had nothing to say about Katie. Nothing.
But these politicians had this to say about the ICE shooting:
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New York City Democrat Mayor Zohran Mamdani: "We know when ICE agents attack immigrants, they attack every single one of us across this country."
Chicago Democrat Mayor Brandon Johnson: "We stand in solidarity with the people of Minneapolis and with all of those across the country whose lives have been torn apart due to reckless actions by Trump’s lawless, racist force."
Los Angeles Democrat Mayor Karen Bass: "It happened because of the brutal and racist policies of the Trump administration that unleashed these agents."
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The hypocrisy is impossible to ignore.
The night before the June 12, 2025, congressional hearings on sanctuary policies, my wife and I happened to be eating dinner at the same restaurant as Minnesota Democrat Gov. Tim Walz. I approached him, and we had a polite conversation. Walz offered his condolences for Katie’s death, which I appreciated.
But the following day — while testifying in support of sanctuary policies — Walz did not say a single word about my daughter. Not one acknowledgment that Katie was violently killed by an illegal alien protected by the very policies he was championing.
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Instead, after the Jan. 7 shooting, he declared "that the Trump administration's dangerous, sensationalized operations are a threat to our public safety."
At those same hearings, Illinois Democrat Gov. JB Pritzker and New York Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul also appeared. Yet my own governor, Pritzker, has offered Katie nothing but indifference, silence and disrespect. In my view, that is not compassion or humanity. It is entitlement — an aloof billionaire insulated from the consequences of his policies, exempt from the harm they cause, just like the illegal aliens he protects.
As we approach the one-year anniversary of Katie’s death on Jan. 19, 2025, sanctuary policies continue to cause death and destruction. And our political leaders continue to double down.
AN ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT KILLED MY DAUGHTER. KATIE AND ILLINOIS ARE BOTH GETTING JUSTICE
Katie’s death was not a random act of fate. It was the predictable outcome of policy decisions made by Illinois leaders who chose ideology over accountability.
States like Illinois and Minnesota have effectively nullified federal immigration law through sanctuary statutes that refuse to cooperate with federal law enforcement — even when authorities possess credible information about an individual’s identity, background, or risk to public safety. These policies did not just fail my daughter and the other victims that night. They failed every citizen. And they failed even the people they recklessly import for political gain.
This is not immigration policy. This is not compassion. This is cruelty.
Sanctuary policies are often defended as "humane," but compassion without structure is neglect. A system that invites people in while refusing to vet them, guide them, or hold them accountable does not uplift the vulnerable — it abandons them.
This is not sympathetic governance. It is systemic irresponsibility.
By refusing to cooperate with federal authorities, Illinois removed every guardrail that might have prevented tragedy. No meaningful background checks. No identity confirmation. No monitoring. No intervention — until it was too late.
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Katie paid with her life.
And while my family grieves, Illinois leaders refuse to pause, audit or reassess these policies. There is no serious effort to implement even basic safeguards such as identity verification, health screening, language services or lawful employment pathways — measures that would protect both residents and newcomers.
Instead, officials hide behind slogans and accuse critics of lacking compassion. Their hyperbolic language inflames tensions rather than easing them. But that chaos is the point — it creates distraction, deflection and political cover for failed policy. I would also argue that it inflamed activists like Renee Nicole Good, the 37-year-old who was shot dead by an ICE officer. Her death is now being used as canon fodder against ICE, DHS and the Trump administration.
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Where is the humanity in all of this?
Policies must be judged by outcomes, not intentions. When a system repeatedly produces preventable death, injury, fraud and disorder, it is broken.
Illinois and other sanctuary states can — and must — do better. We need policies that are both lawful and humane. Policies that enforce the law while providing real structure, oversight and accountability. Policies that protect communities without dehumanizing anyone.
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Sacrificing people like Katie is not moral leadership. It is failure.
If our leaders are unwilling to confront the consequences of their decisions, they should step aside. And if they refuse, citizens must demand better leadership at the ballot box.
We deserve safety. We deserve accountability. And we deserve leaders who value human life over political rhetoric.
Sanctuary states have failed us all. They must do better.