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Stolen chemical-dispersing drones could have facilitated 'action against the homeland,' fmr DHS official warns
Federal authorities have recovered 15 stolen industrial drones capable of dispersing liquid chemicals, but a former Department of Homeland Security official warns the biggest question remains unanswered: were they stolen for a "quick buck," or to "facilitate action against the homeland?"
Fifteen Ceres Air C31 industrial spray drones were stolen from CAC International, a logistics and shipping company in Harrison, New Jersey, on March 24, according to The High Side Substack. The drones were recovered over a month later on April 27 in Dover, New Jersey.
In an earlier statement to Fox News, the New Jersey State Police said that the drones were recovered at Prudent Corporation, a trucking company that has a warehouse at the location.
"On April 27th, the New Jersey State Police Cargo Theft Unit recovered 15 stolen agricultural drones and spray systems. These drones are labeled as agricultural drones due to their specified function as registered crop dusters. The theft occurred on March 24th at CAC International, a logistics and shipping company located in Harrison, NJ. The drones were recovered at Prudent Corporation located in Dover, NJ. This is an active, ongoing investigation that Homeland Security Investigations and Customs and Border Patrol are assisting with. No additional information is available," the New Jersey State Police wrote.
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Despite the drones being recovered, Vincent Martinez, former DHS tactical terrorism response team member and director of service enhancement at ZeroEyes, told Fox News Digital that he "cannot underscore the risk that this poses."
While Martinez said it's good the drones were recovered, he warned the biggest questions remain unanswered.
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"Where were these intended to land? Who is the ultimate end user? Were they meant simply as a quick buck — or to facilitate action against the homeland?" he said.
In the wrong hands, Martinez warned, the drones could "absolutely" pose a "substantial threat," particularly if loaded with a chemical agent and deployed over a populated area, which he believes is the primary concern.
"Because of its design and nature, that is the absolute primary concern in and of itself. Who's actually conducting the thefts, where they're going to, who's funding and financing these? It's a litany of different phases of escalation that we have to actually look at when we're conducting the investigation," Martinez said.
He said it's "not difficult" for an adversary to weaponize these kinds of drones with the proper training and knowledge.
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"It doesn't take a rocket scientist to go into the root menu of a lot of these hardware systems. What it does take is a lot of open source knowledge and an acumen to be technically savvy and technically sound. You can break into almost any drone platform. And there are a lot of laws and regulations specifically by the FAA that prevent that. But I would argue that using these against an adversary or against a homeland, let's just say, it's not difficult. You just have to know how to research how to do it," Martinez said.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Ceres Air said "at no point was there a risk of unauthorized use."
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"Ceres systems are built with multiple layers of control, including secure activation protocols, remote lock capability, and separated battery logistics. Without proper authorization, these units cannot be operated," the company said.
"This situation highlights a broader reality in the drone industry. When systems are built and supported domestically, there is accountability. Our equipment is fully traceable through serial tracking and coordinated support networks, all of which exist within the USA. It doesn’t disappear, and it doesn’t operate outside of controlled channels. We build our systems in the United States so they can be tracked, secured, and supported here. That’s exactly what allowed this situation to be resolved quickly and without risk."
In total, a Ceres Air C31 costs around $58,000, meaning that nearly $870,000 of equipment was allegedly stolen.
The drones were allegedly stolen by a delivery driver who duped the company, according to The High Side Substack. The report said that a fraudulent bill of lading was shown when picking up the drones, and CAC International allegedly considered them legitimate.
Moms group labeled ‘extremist’ flips script on SPLC after federal indictment: 'Shut it down'
The leader of a parental rights group that the Southern Poverty Law Center labeled an "extremist" organization is calling for the group to be "shut down" as it faces federal charges.
The Justice Department indicted the Southern Poverty Law Center on charges of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit concealment and money laundering, stemming from allegations that the civil rights organization funneled $3 million in donations to people linked to various violent extremist groups, including Unite the Right, the Ku Klux Klan and the Aryan Nations. These same extremist groups have been targeted by the Southern Poverty Law Center through its litigation and advocacy efforts for years.
Moms for America founder Kimberly Fletcher accused the Southern Poverty Law Center of being a "hate group against America, families, freedom, and God."
"They're not going to stop what they're doing," Fletcher said. "They're going to continue funneling money into organizations that are extremist hate groups, and they're going to continue to target organizations like ours, moms who just want to make sure that our kids are protected, our freedoms are defended, and we restore the republic."
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In its "Year in Hate and Extremism 2022" report, the Southern Poverty Law Center identified Moms for America as an "anti-government extremist" group, alleging that it is an "anti-student inclusion" group and that its measures have "contributed to a volatile climate" for teachers, faculty and school board members.
"I find it ironic that the Southern Poverty Law Center turns out to be the extremist group, which we've always known, but now that they're finally being exposed because the DOJ has investigated them and found them to be funneling money into all the extremist organizations that they're supposed to be protecting us against," Moms for America President and founder Kimberly Fletcher said in an interview with Fox News Digital.
"Putting moms in the same category as the Ku Klux Klan or these violent protesters, rioters, it absolutely is not compatible."
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Moms for America, which consists of roughly 500,000 mothers across the country, advocates for restoring "truth, family, freedom and the Constitution" in schools and American culture, and opposes critical race theory and LGBT ideology in public school curricula.
Fletcher said that the SPLC’s "extremist" label has disrupted the group’s operations, claiming that tech companies cut off services and that the organization faced threats and harassment, prompting dozens of the organization's leadership to step down.
"We have been continuously targeted in threats of violence," Fletcher told Fox News Digital. "I've had emails sent to me saying, 'I know where your kids live, I know who your grandkids are. And mostly it's just trying to scare us, but there have been times where I've gone face to face with the belly of the beast and people have been right in my face and physically pushing on me."
Despite threats and alleged shadowbanning by social media companies, Fletcher said the extremist label from the SPLC is "almost like a badge of honor."
"You're standing up for the right principles and values and so they're gonna label you as an extremist," and so we'll just keep doing what we're doing."
To celebrate America's 250th birthday, Fletcher said Moms for America is hosting a traveling festival in all 50 states geared toward families and children.
Fletcher said the key to countering the Southern Poverty Law Center and other leftist organizations' attacks is to reach young people and unite families.
"We are shining a light on all that's good in America so that the darkness will be exposed for what it is because people gravitate to the lake," Fletcher said.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Southern Poverty Law Center for comment.
DeSantis' redistricting fight gets major boost from his potential GOP successor: 'Doing the right thing'
Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., rallied behind Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis while blasting Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and California Gov. Gavin Newsom over redistricting efforts.
DeSantis unveiled a new congressional map this week that could give Republicans four additional seats. If approved by the Republican-led state legislature, DeSantis would then have to sign it into law before it takes effect in the 2026 midterms.
"Governor DeSantis is doing the right thing," Donalds told Fox News Digital. "I fully support what he’s doing."
Following a push led by President Donald Trump, multiple states have advanced similar redistricting efforts. But Democrats argue the strategy could backfire.
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Newsom said he hopes Florida’s redistricting effort signals the end of a nationwide push for untapped partisan advantages in redrawn congressional boundaries. Jeffries echoed those concerns, warning DeSantis could put Republican seats at risk.
Donalds said he is not paying attention to criticism from Democrats like Jeffries and Newsom.
"I don't listen to Hakeem," he said. "He's a fake tough guy. I'm not listening to Gavin. He's a terrible governor, worst in the country."
"Nobody cares about Gavin," he added.
Jeffries and DeSantis have traded multiple jabs over redistricting, starting with Jeffries’ "F around and find out" warning. DeSantis responded by offering to pay for his trip to Florida, and Jeffries later called him a "lame duck."
Republicans and Democrats are in a nationwide gerrymandering battle as they vie for control of the House of Representatives ahead of the upcoming elections. Both parties aim to win the House through redistricting.
Donalds argued Democrats have attempted similar map battles in the past, pointing to New York, where a Democratic-drawn congressional map was later struck down by the state’s highest court.
"Democrats have been doing this," Donalds said. "They've been doing it for a long time. They tried to write four Republican members out of New York, and the only thing that stopped them was their court of appeals."
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Last week, a congressional redistricting referendum spearheaded by Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger passed, handing Virginia Democrats a key advantage.
California, Missouri, North Carolina, Texas, Utah, Ohio, and Virginia have already adopted new congressional maps, redrawing districts ahead of the 2030 census.
Republicans expect to add up to nine seats through redistricting in Ohio, North Carolina, Missouri, and Texas. Democrats aim to add nine in California, Virginia, and Utah.
A special session began Tuesday with lawmakers now considering the maps.
Fox News Digital’s Leo Briceno contributed to this report.
King Charles follows Queen Elizabeth's playbook with a twist during Trump state visit: expert
King Charles III's first visit to the United States as a British monarch is drawing fresh comparisons to Queen Elizabeth II's historic trips — with royal experts noting that he appears to be charting a more candid and at times subtly political path than his late mother, while still adhering to the monarchy’s carefully controlled playbook.
Charles and his wife Queen Camilla arrived in Washington, D.C. earlier this week for a state visit in celebration of the 250th anniversary of America's independence and their four-day trip also included stops in New York and Virginia.
Elizabeth visited the US multiple times during her reign, making several high-profile trips that helped reinforce the longstanding alliance between the two nations. Prior to her death in 2022, the queen last traveled to the country in 2007 to celebrate the anniversary of the Jamestown settlement.
Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams pointed out that Charles' trip comes at a time of increased tensions between U.S President Donald Trump and the leaders of several European countries.
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"In recent weeks there has been a series of public disagreements between President Trump and his European allies, especially [U.K. Prime Minister] Sir Keir Starmer," Fitzwilliams told Fox News Digital.
"America's relations with NATO, the bedrock of American security, are in question with differing views about the war with Iran," he continued. "There have been angry exchanges over Greenland, Canada, the use of British bases to attack Iran from, the Falklands and rows over personalities."
Fitzwilliams shared his view that Charles’ approach marked a notable shift from the late queen’s famously restrained style, explaining that the king navigated a delicate diplomatic moment with a slightly more expressive and personal touch.
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He went on to praise some of Charles' most public-facing moments including his historic address to the United States Congress and appearance at the White House state dinner on Tuesday. which he explained signaled a confident communicator stepping into his own.
"The king's speeches, to Congress and at the state dinner, were marvellous, incisive, full of humorous touches and informative," Fitzwilliams said.
Royal expert Hilary Fordwich shared her opinion that Charles struck a slightly different tone than Elizabeth had during her previous visits, pointing to a blend of tradition with a more modern edge.
"King Charles II has inserted even more comic humor than his mother and he was unusually somewhat political with some of his comments," she told Fox News Digital.
Royal commentator Meredith Constant told Fox News Digital that she believes the shift reflects a monarch intent on defining his own legacy.
"In his speech, King Charles told Congress about the work that 'our generation' has left to do," she said. "King Charles doesn't want to be viewed as a transitional King; he wants to make a real impact."
"Establishing a new special relationship between the U.S. that nods to the past while looking to the future is one way to do that," Constant continued. "I don't think the Queen would have been as outspoken as Charles was in his speech to Congress about the environment and the rule of law."
Constant noted that Charles' willingness to publicly address current geopolitical conflicts and policy issues marked a departure from Elizabeth’s approach, given the royal family’s long-standing tradition of political neutrality.
"It might not have sounded like much to most Americans, but King Charles is not a political figure," she explained. "Speaking openly about Ukraine and calling on the government to protect the environment is pretty momentous."
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However, Fordwich and Constant emphasized that Charles does not appear to have abandoned the core principles that defined Elizabeth’s reign.
"He very much echoed his mother’s dignified playbook," Fordwich said. "Focused on what unites us versus what divides us."
"Charles comes from the old guard of European monarchs," Constant said. "You can see his mother's impact in how he operates, but he's also his own person."
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Royal experts told Fox News Digital that they had noticed a subtle difference in style between Charles and Elizabeth. Constant explained that Charles appeared notably at ease throughout the visit and projected a blend of royal formality with a more approachable presence.
"King Charles looked relaxed and in his element during all the public events," she said. "He managed to take a lot of the spotlight from Trump, but not overtly so."
Fordwich said that Charles appeared to be taking a more modern, hands-on approach to royal appearances, with the king engaging more directly with the public than his mother typically did during her trips. She highlighted Charles' interactions in New York City on Wednesday including his visits to the 9/11 Memorial and Harlem.
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Fordwich told Fox News Digital that Charles was "mixing with crowds" at the events "to an even greater degree than his mother."
While at the 9/11 Memorial in New York City, Charles and Camilla paid tribute to the victims of the 2001 terrorist attacks. The royals laid a bouquet of white flowers on a parapet at the South Pool, bowed their heads in a moment of silence and met with survivors, first responders, and families of the victims.
Camilla was photographed hugging Anthoula Katsimatides, whose brother John died when the North Tower of the World Trade Center collapsed during the attacks.
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"Anyone who thinks that the King and the Queen are not down to earth — nothing is further from the truth," Katsimatides later told the New York Post.
"I showed them my picture of John and Camilla said, ‘Oh, he’s quite a looker!" she recalled. "They’re so cool."
Charles later visited the Harlem Grown nonprofit, a sustainability initiative focused on urban farming. During his visit, he toured the facility, planted seeds, fed chickens and met with students to learn about their efforts to combat food insecurity.
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Fitzwilliams noted that Charles remained consistent in the causes that he chose to highlight during his visit, which he said reflect the king's long-held priorities.
"King Charles included plugs for the environment and the importance of inter-faith understanding, which have long been his enthusiasms, in his speeches," Fitzwilliams told Fox News Digital.
Fordwich noted that both Charles and Elizabeth's visits included humorous moments that gained widespread attention. She said that one of the lessons Charles learned from his mother was "diffusing discontent by inserting comic levity to bring both sides together."
The royal expert Fordwich referred to a highly-publicized moment from Elizabeth's 1991 address to a joint session of Congress, during which the microphone at the podium was set noticeably too low for her height.
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Fordwich recalled how the queen diffused the situation with a light touch of humor, asking, "Can you all see me now?," which prompted laughter and immediately put the room at ease.
She also pointed to a comedic line from Charles' speech during the state dinner, in which the king quipped to Trump, "You recently commented, Mr. President, that if it were not for the United States, European countries would be speaking German."
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"Dare I say that, if it wasn't for us, you'd be speaking French," Charles added to laughter from those in the room.
Looking ahead, the royal experts said Charles’ approach could shape how the monarchy is viewed on the global stage in the years to come.
"He seems intent on repairing the political rift and putting the special relationship back on track," Fordwich said.
Weighing in on the king's broader goal, Constant said, "Charles is truly in charge and he seems intent on changing things in a way that is palatable to traditional monarchists and will hopefully help with younger generations who are more apathetic about the monarchy."
Educators face backlash, firings after posts lament Trump surviving WHCA dinner shooting
Education professionals from across the country are facing backlash after posting reactions online voicing disappointment that President Donald Trump was not killed in the Saturday shooting during the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner.
"Man, there's been a few creators on here saying that, like Friday or yesterday could have been the day, and then I wake up to that news, but not that news," a teacher for BrightPath identified as Corrine Baum said in the video. "We're going to have to pay really close attention to what they're trying to actually distract us from."
In a Monday statement to Fox News Digital, a spokesperson for BrightPath, an early learning and childcare provider in Cincinnati, said that Baum had been fired.
"Our organization does not tolerate and explicitly condemns any calls for violence," the spokesperson said. "The comments made online by this individual are deeply inconsistent with our values. The individual in question has been terminated."
Baum declined to comment to Fox News Digital.
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Patrick Meyer, a social studies teacher at Kaukauna High School in Kaukauna, Wisconsin, said in a social media post that previous presidential assassins would be disappointed in Cole Tomas Allen, the alleged shooter who was arrested Saturday night after authorities said he opened fire at the Washington Hilton Hotel during the dinner, which was Trump's first time at the event as president.
In a since-deleted post on X, Meyer wrote, "I am not impressed with recent presidential assassins. It's f------- embarrassing! Booth, Guiteau, Czolgosz, Oswald must all be spinning in their graves! MAGAA (make Americans great assassins again)! Sad!"
In a Monday post on Facebook, Kaukauna Area School District said Meyer was placed on administrative leave.
"The Kaukauna Area School District has been made aware of a situation involving an employee’s social media post," the school district said in the Facebook post. "The District has placed the employee on administrative leave and is taking additional action to review the matter in accordance with its policies and procedures."
Fox News Digital reached out to Meyer and Kaukauna High School for comment.
Francesca Zelnick, who was identified as an institutional data manager and registrar in a screenshot from the Friends’ Central School in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, appeared to post on Instagram Threads both before and after Saturday’s shooting.
One post appearing to be on Threads read, "I hope it happens at the Correspondents’ Dinner tonight." Another post read, "Welp, I guess someone else did too."
In a statement to Fox News Digital, the Friends’ Central School said, "We are a community founded on the idea of respect for all people. An employee's personal social media account contained a message not reflective of our school’s values. This is a personnel matter and is being addressed."
Fox News Digital reached out to Zelnick for comment.
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Sandy Strand, who is identified as the director of student services on the website of the Prescott School District in Prescott, Wisconsin, also appeared to express sadness that Trump was not killed in Saturday’s shooting.
"Ugh. They missed again," Strand wrote in a social media post with an eyeroll emoji.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Jim Reif, the district’s superintendent of schools, said the district cannot comment on an ongoing personnel investigation, but shared a statement from the district, which said, in part, that it is "aware of a social media post made by a district staff member regarding the recent shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. We want to be clear that the views expressed in that post are not supported by the district and do not reflect our values. We promote positive dialog and condemn violence of any kind."
The statement continued that, "The district is addressing this matter in accordance with our board policies and established procedures."
Fox News Digital reached out to Strand for comment.
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Trump, first lady Melania Trump, and several senior Cabinet officials were evacuated Saturday after shots rang out at the hotel. A Secret Service agent was hit but survived, and there were no fatalities.
Allen, the suspect, is facing life in prison. Fox News Digital reported Allen’s goal was to target Trump administration officials in his thwarted attack, according to law enforcement sources.
On Wednesday, the Department of Justice released photos of Allen showing him inside what appeared to be his hotel room prior to the shooting, with weapons strapped to his body.
Hegseth testifies at Senate as Iran war's $25B price tag and 60-day war powers deadline loom
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth will give his first public testimony in the Senate since the start of the Iran war in a hearing that will expose the divide across the aisle in the upper chamber.
The hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday morning is meant to discuss the Pentagon’s staggering $1.5 trillion budget request for the upcoming fiscal year. Instead, it is expected to become a public back-and-forth on the war and the administration’s objectives.
Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., who chairs the committee, and Republicans on the panel are expected to push Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan "Raizin" Caine on turning that colossal budget request inward to rebuild military manufacturing stateside.
"Like the generations that came before us, we are now revitalizing manufacturing right here at home to rebuild the American arsenal," Wicker said in a statement. "By reindustrializing and investing in new technology, we are creating jobs across our homeland. This is critical work that supports our military and civilian workforce."
But much of the hearing will likely be dominated by Operation Epic Fury, which will have entered its 59th day on Thursday. The war, along with its cost and timelines, was a focal point at the House’s hearing the day before.
Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., told Fox News Digital that the hearing would be a good opportunity to get a public update on how the conflict is progressing, and how the blockade in the Strait of Hormuz "is being realized, not just inside Iran, but global oil markets, and how they've interacted."
When asked if he expected his Democratic colleagues to maintain composure during the hearing, Sheehy said, "I hope so, but hope don’t float."
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Hegseth’s appearance before the panel comes as the 60-day deadline under the War Powers Resolution Act will arrive on Friday, and as Senate Democrats have forced weekly votes on resolutions to terminate hostilities in Iran. Time and again, Republicans have sided with the president, but that hasn’t stopped Democrats from exerting pressure.
Senate Democrats on the panel hope their Republican colleagues will ask hard questions of Hegseth, particularly on Iran and the $400 million in congressionally approved funding for Ukraine that so far hasn’t been distributed.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., told Fox News Digital that he believes Republicans share the same concern about the cost of the Iran war.
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"They've been disappointed, I believe, in the administration's failure to be more forthcoming," Blumenthal said. "I've asked these questions in classified settings as well in open hearings, and, you know, they said they share my concern. Now, I don't know whether that will come out here."
The cost of the conflict in the Middle East so far was revealed during Hegseth and Caine’s appearance before the House Armed Services Committee’s own budget hearing on Wednesday.
The Pentagon’s acting comptroller, Jules Hurst, told Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., that to date, Operation Epic Fury had cost taxpayers $25 billion, and that "most of that is in munitions."
"We will formulate a supplemental through the White House that will come to Congress," Hurst said. "Once we have a full assessment of the cost of the conflict."
But some aren’t buying that figure as the real cost of the war.
"Sounds low to me, but I need to get briefed on the whole hearing as I decide what I'm going to ask tomorrow," Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., told Fox News Digital.
Liberal city removes anti-crime signs to be more inclusive: ‘Just insane’
Democrat-dominated Ann Arbor is raising eyebrows and garnering widespread mockery for removing all of its anti-crime watch signs across the city to be more "inclusive."
The move even prompted a New York City councilmember, Republican Vickie Paladino, to say, "They’re just insane."
The Michigan city announced on Tuesday that, at the direction of the city council, it completed the citywide removal of more than 600 neighborhood watch signs. In a statement, the city explained that "removing the signs aligns the city’s environment with its commitment to inclusive, evidence-based public safety."
The decision to remove the signs was made in a unanimous 10-0 city council vote in December, according to local outlet The Midwesterner. The city said the move is "fostering trust, belonging and welcoming neighborhoods for all residents and visitors."
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Ann Arbor Mayor Christopher Taylor, a Democrat, further explained the decision in an official video released by the city and set to music. Taylor said that "Frankly, neighborhood watch signs are expressions of exclusion."
The resolution to remove the signs passed by the city council read that the neighborhood watch programs "were often rooted in assumptions about who did and did not ‘belong’ in a neighborhood, reinforcing race-based hyper-vigilance and suspicion particularly toward Black, Brown, and other marginalized residents and visitors," according to The Midwesterner.
In its statement, the city called the neighborhood watch program "defunct," saying that it emerged "during a period of national anxiety about crime and social change."
"Such signage," the city said, "does not reduce crime and can reinforce biased surveillance."
Local outlet MLive reported in January that the city council set aside $18,000 for the removal of the signs. The outlet reported that city officials revealed that removing signs that aren’t traffic-related did not qualify for street funding, and because there were no funds available in the police budget, the city had to draw from its cash reserves.
In a video released after the last sign was finally removed this week, the mayor doubled down, saying the signs are "inconsistent with our values" and that "Ann Arbor is a welcoming community. We don’t want to push people. We want to welcome folks in."
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In the same video, Ann Arbor City Council member Jen Eyer, also a Democrat, said the neighborhood watch program "hearkens back to a time when public safety was about exclusion, was about monitoring and surveilling who belonged in a neighborhood and who did not."
"That is not how we do public safety in Ann Arbor today," she said. "And we don’t want our signage to message to people who are visiting that they don’t belong, because they do."
Taylor, Eyer and another city council member participated in a ceremonial removal of the city’s final neighborhood crime watch sign.
The move was widely mocked online.
Conservative journalist Andy Ngo posted on X, "The woke believe that law and order are anti-black and anti-POC, hence they call for abolishment."
"Isn't that like encouraging crime?" reacted a popular Michigan-based conservative influencer who goes by the handle "Donnie Detroit."
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Tudor Dixon, a conservative commentator and former Republican candidate for Michigan governor, also chimed in. She told Fox News Digital that "for years the Democrats have demanded community policing over police funding, but today they have hit a new level of protecting the criminal over the community."
"There was a time Democrats believed it took a village to raise a child, and now they believe that village is racist," Dixon added.
Fox News Digital reached out to Taylor, Eyer and spokespeople for the city for comment.
Disneyland cracks down on guests with sweeping new restrictions, sparking backlash
Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, is cracking down with a new "guest code of conduct" targeting a surge in ride disruptions.
The changes, outlined in a recent operations briefing and detailed by the "Mickey Visit" blog, are aimed at improving reliability across increasingly complex attractions.
Guest behavior accounted for 13% of ride shutdowns in fiscal year 2025 — up from a 10% historical average — prompting new regulations, according to Natalie Katzka, director of attractions engineering services at Disneyland, who spoke at the briefing.
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One of the rules getting a lot of attention? It's a phone policy nicknamed "Stow it, Don’t Show it" — as the "Disney Fanatic" blog reported.
Cast members conduct visual checks and will not dispatch ride vehicles if a phone is visible, according to the same source.
"Handheld filming is no longer permitted on these high-motion rides. … Phones must be fully secured in a bag or pocket before boarding," Katzka said.
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The rule is being enforced on high-motion or technologically sensitive attractions like Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway and the Incredicoaster, the "Inside the Magic" blog said.
Disneyland officials told Fox News Digital the company is always evaluating regulations to find ways to enhance the guest experience and create a safe environment for all visitors.
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Select attractions may have posted signage with rules in their boarding area, and guests are asked to listen to cast members’ instructions, the officials said.
The crackdown extends to other loose items, including oversized insulated drinkware.
The so-called "Stanley ban" targets large metal tumblers, which officials say pose storage and safety risks, according to Inside the Magic.
Disneyland introduced dedicated storage solutions like ride-side shelves and expanded locker use, while also adding more water refill stations, according to the "Mickey Visit" blog.
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"Loose articles," said Katzka, include anything from phones and hats to water bottles and backpacks, all of which can trigger emergency stops if they fall from a moving vehicle or interfere with sensors.
She also noted that behaviors like standing during a ride or extending arms beyond restraints have become problematic.
Enforcement is tightening at park entry points, too.
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Disneyland has expanded a ban on selfie sticks to include any telescoping devices or gimbals. Security has been instructed to turn guests away rather than issue warnings, multiple blogs reported.
Bag checks at Disneyland have become more intensive, with security teams conducting deeper inspections for restricted items, according to several blogs.
The April update also marks the official rollout of facial recognition entry gates, replacing the long-standing photo verification system, Disney officials said.
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The goal is to facilitate re-entry into the parks and help prevent fraud, Disneyland officials said.
The technology converts a guest’s face into a numerical biometric signature for park entry, which Disney says is deleted within 30 days unless required for fraud investigations.
For the first time, guests can opt out via designated manual-entry lanes, according to the "Mickey Visit" blog.
Disney fans descended on Reddit to react to the limited cell-phone ban.
"Their entire ecosystem … requires you to use your phone for everything. This is laughable," a Reddit user said about the phone ban on specific rides.
Another quipped, "Disney makes everything as app-based as possible … then complains about people being glued to their phones."
MORNING GLORY: GOP's only path in November -- defend Trump and defeat radicals in Iran
Many predictions about the midterm elections in the United States are dire for the GOP: a wipeout in the House and perhaps losing the Senate majority as well. The GOP could weather the electoral storm that almost always chastens the party of a president finishing his sixth year in office.
But the GOP won’t avoid a "thumpin’" as George W. Bush put it after the 2006 rout of the GOP at the polls if today’s Republicans don’t step up and loudly proclaim the wisdom of beginning the battle with Iran, as well as the facts that we are not only winning the battle decisively but that the world will be a much better place when it is over, even if President Trump declares, as Gen. Ulysses S. Grant did in May 1864, that "I propose to fight it out on this line if it takes all summer."
Grant prevailed within the year, but it was indeed a long and hard slog through Northern Virginia to the encirclement and eventual capitulation of Richmond and the Confederacy and the surrender of General Lee’s Army, even as other Union armies won on other fronts.
There will be no "Appomattox" in the battle with Iran, but there will be victory, and the GOP has to preach that inevitability as well as the great wisdom and necessity of the battle.
AMB. GORDON SONDLAND: THE TRUTH ABOUT IRAN'S 'IMMINENT THREAT' THAT POLITICIANS HATE TO ADMIT
Every candidate in every partisan race has to make the case, which is easy to make: The Islamic Republic of Iran is an evil regime, one run by "lunatics," as Secretary Rubio declared as the battle began, one which has always terrorized its own people and the entire region (murdering tens of thousands of its own people in January), and one which has attacked 14 countries after America and Israel resumed their battle with it as it would have done so — with nukes! — had it been able to obtain such weapons, as the left in America and Europe refuses to see or admit, much less discuss.
It was not "a war of choice," which the ignorant opponents of the battle spout almost daily, but rather one of the necessary preemptions of an existential threat to the region and the world.
The blockade of Iran by the U.S. Navy and the probable return of combat operations will inevitably bring the radical junta atop the rump regime to heel, but it will take time.
MORNING GLORY: President Trump must reject a second Munich and hold firm against Iran
President Trump has correctly informed his advisers this week (and the news was reported by The Wall Street Journal Tuesday night) that he is resolved to see it through. Bravo.
Americans have lost the muscle memory of victory. It will quickly regain an appreciation for resolve once the conflict is over.
The prediction of electoral catastrophe for the GOP would mean losing statewide races at least in Maine (Sen. Collins), Ohio (Sen. Husted), North Carolina (open) and either Texas (Sen. Cornyn) or Alaska (Sen. Sullivan) — a result which seems so unlikely as to almost pass over without comment, but that extraordinary result is possible if the GOP stays in its crouch over the battle with Iran. Each senator facing challenges and every House member must repeatedly explain the "why" and the "how" of the battle. If they do, the electorate will agree.
WINNING THE BATTLES, LOSING THE WAR? AMERICA MUST DEFINE THE ENDGAME IN IRAN
The GOP’s candidates must loudly and persuasively argue that the battle with Iran was long past due, that while the cost of 13 American lives and scores of Americans wounded is incredibly high for the families who bear that burden and the nation that mourns that loss, the battle and the blockade are stunningly successful and will inevitably crush the remnants of the old regime if the president has resolve. It seems certain that President Trump is not about "to go wobbly."
The president understands the stakes and has made his resolute purpose known. Bravo.
The GOP must applaud and support him and explain that the cost felt at home at the gas pump is nothing compared to that borne by the families of the fallen and by the wounded, and the extraordinary benefit of a humbled Iran cannot be overstated.
That battle to stop Iran from gaining nuclear weapons is in its eighth week and is going very well (except in the eyes of Democratic activists and the legacy media, but of course I repeat myself).
It has crushed the Iranian military, and now the blockade ordered by President Trump is grinding Iran’s economy into dust.
Patience will see the U.S. emerge with complete victory, but don’t expect Democrats or anti-American Europeans to ever admit that.
Our allies around the Gulf and our closest ally, Israel, are very pleased to see Iran being brought to heel and the region made safe and stable for decades to come.
The anti-Trump forces have been unable or unwilling to see the extraordinary nature and success of the American military campaign, or the enormous boon to the region and the world that accompanies the humbling of the lunatic regime in Tehran.
The "Trump Distortion Effect" that operates on the left in America (which includes almost all of the legacy media), as well as in sclerotic Europe, automatically operates to condemn everything President Trump orders done, so the left has put aside a half-century of the abuse of the world and its own people by the Islamic Republic of Iran in order to blast Trump and Republicans.
LIZ PEEK: TRUMP IS PUTTING AMERICA FIRST BY BACKING IRAN INTO A CORNER
No matter. "Trust the people" was Winston Churchill’s famous advice. President Trump has frequently made the case for what he ordered the American military to do and continue doing. He has the resolve of Grant. Good.
The 1864-1865 campaigns by Union armies operating under Generals Grant and William Tecumseh Sherman cost tens of thousands of Union casualties but finally broke the back of the slave empire of the Confederacy. The men in blue overwhelmingly voted for Abraham Lincoln in the fall of 1864 over their former senior general, George McClellan, who ran on a "peace without victory" platform, which was in stark contrast to the GOP’s "peace with victory" stance.
The people who carry the greatest burden want nothing less than a commitment to winning. Trump has that, and everyone knows it.
The GOP needs to embrace "peace with victory" as its platform and argue the case every day from every stage and in every interview. It will take some months, and while the economy is very healthy overall, there is no escaping the temporary surge in gas prices. The GOP’s candidates must argue the necessity of that burden in the short term. Argue for winning. Argue for a free Iran and a stable and safe Middle East.
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There is no winning for the GOP in November without demanding and defending victory in this battle. Ignore the old "echo chamber" set up in the years of President Obama to defend the indefensible Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action ("JCPOA"), which attempted to enshrine in an executive order an Iranian glide path to nuclear weapons surrounded by a forest of ballistic missiles capable of hitting Europe and eventually the U.S.
President Trump and his administration understood the real danger. They refused the comfortable lies of the JCPOA.
President Trump correctly understands the threat from a nuclear Iran. So, he acted.
Serious Republicans must applaud Trump’s refusal to kick the can down the road. The GOP must make the same strategic argument that the president embraced. And they should start doing it now and never stop until November’s votes are counted.
Hugh Hewitt is a Fox News contributor and host of "The Hugh Hewitt Show" heard weekday afternoons from 3 PM to 6 PM ET on the Salem Radio Network, and simulcast on Salem News Channel. Hugh drives Americans home on the East Coast and to lunch on the West Coast on over 400 affiliates nationwide, and on all the streaming platforms where SNC can be seen. He is a frequent guest on the Fox News Channel’s news roundtable, hosted by Bret Baier weekdays at 6pm ET. A son of Ohio and a graduate of Harvard College and the University of Michigan Law School, Hewitt has been a Professor of Law at Chapman University’s Fowler School of Law since 1996 where he teaches Constitutional Law. Hewitt launched his eponymous radio show from Los Angeles in 1990. Hewitt has frequently appeared on every major national news television network, hosted television shows for PBS and MSNBC, written for every major American paper, has authored a dozen books and moderated a score of Republican candidate debates, most recently the November 2023 Republican presidential debate in Miami and four Republican presidential debates in the 2015-16 cycle. Hewitt focuses his radio show and his column on the Constitution, national security, American politics and the Cleveland Browns and Guardians. Hewitt has interviewed tens of thousands of guests from Democrats Hillary Clinton and John Kerry to Republican Presidents George W. Bush and Donald Trump over his 40 years in broadcasting. This column previews the lead story that will drive his radio/ TV show today.
SEN JOHN KENNEDY: Democrats’ anti-ICE tantrum leaves Republicans with one option going forward
For more than 70 days, Senate Democrats claimed that they shut down the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) because they wanted to reform Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). It’s clear now that they shut down DHS out of fear of their own voters.
The loon wing of the Democratic Party—the folks who think Dr. Seuss is racist, Mr. Potato Head is sexist and children can change their genders at recess—is the largest and loudest segment of the Democratic Party. They hate our immigration laws. They want criminal illegal aliens to roam free while ICE officers rot in jail. And they have made it clear to every Democrat in office that a vote to fund ICE would haunt them for the rest of their natural lives.
But the American people don’t want open borders, and they don’t think cops are worse than criminals. They know it is bone-deep stupid to allow gang members, drug traffickers and terrorists to enter our country unchecked, and they support the ongoing effort to deport as many violent criminals as possible.
This left my Democratic colleagues with a choice: Stand up to the loon wing of your party or defund ICE. They chose the latter.
REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK: GOP EYES DHS DEAL FUNDING ICE PROBES, BUT NOT REMOVALS, AS SHUTDOWN DRAGS
Democratic leaders pretended for more than a month that they would vote to fund ICE if the Trump administration enacted certain reforms. But as DHS adopted new policies, including a plan to have ICE officers wear body cameras, Senate Democrats revealed that it didn’t matter what ICE did; they weren’t going to vote to reopen the agency under any circumstances.
While Democrats performed this song and dance, more than 100,000 DHS employees went without paychecks, and chaos unfolded at every airport in America. And when I came to the Senate floor with my resolution to withhold pay from senators during government shutdowns, they blocked it.
They were willing to use the paychecks of federal employees as a political pawn, but they weren’t willing to share in that sacrifice themselves. The whole performance made most fair-minded Americans want to stick their heads in an oven.
SENATE REPUBLICANS RACE TO FUND ICE, CBP WITHOUT DEMOCRATS AS SHUTDOWN DRAGS
As the anti-ICE, pro-Karen wing has grown in prominence, Senate Democrats have developed a severe allergy to common-sense policies.
It’s why they voted against the One Big Beautiful Bill and the thousands of dollars of tax savings for the average American. And why they melted down when Republicans voted to rescind more than $9 billion in woke foreign aid, including funding for Sesame Street programs in Iraq, free vasectomies in Zambia and pastry-cooking classes for male prostitutes in Nepal.
I don’t hate my Democratic colleagues for losing their minds to appease their political base. I don’t hate anybody. But the loon wing’s dominance has changed how Republicans need to operate if we are ever going to get anything done.
HOUSE CONSERVATIVES ERUPT OVER SENATE GOP, WHITE HOUSE DEAL AMID SAVE ACT FIGHT
The sad reality is that many of our Democratic colleagues have become unable to engage in good-faith negotiations. Their only tactic is to shut down the government and plunge our country into a dangerous state of chaos.
That’s why I was so pleased that Republicans finally agreed to turn to budget reconciliation to pass ICE funding. The 1974 Budget Control Act’s reconciliation process established certain circumstances under which the Senate can pass major legislation with just 51 votes instead of the usual 60. This is how we passed the One Big Beautiful Bill last July.
Last week, we used the reconciliation process to pass three years of funding for ICE and Border Patrol. This will ensure that the Trump administration can continue to keep our border secure and remove dangerous criminals from our country well into the future.
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But we don’t have to stop there. The Budget Control Act offers each Congress at least three opportunities to use the reconciliation process to address concerns facing the American people. We should use them all.
Since we passed the One Big Beautiful Bill last July, I have been urging my fellow senators to put reconciliation to use to address the cost of living in America. When moms and dads try to sleep at night and they can’t, it’s because they’re thinking about how expensive life has become since President Biden was in office.
The One Big Beautiful Bill made important changes to our tax code to keep more money in people’s pockets, including no tax on tips, overtime and some Social Security benefits. But we can do a lot more to help Americans make ends meet through reconciliation.
Senate Democrats aren’t just holding ICE hostage on behalf of the loon wing of their party. They’re stopping every effort we make to improve the lives of the American people. If we want to fulfill all the other promises we made to American families, reconciliation is our only opportunity. I hope we won’t waste it.