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White House turns up heat on Biden’s economic record as voters sour on ‘affordability’
The White House is turning up the heat on former President Joe Biden's economic record as voters voice their discontent with current cost-of-living woes that President Donald Trump campaigned to bring down after his economic successes in his first term.
"Putting an end to Joe Biden’s inflation and affordability crisis has been a Day One priority for President Trump," White House spokesman Kush Desai told Fox News Digital Monday morning when asked about the White House message on affordability.
"Every Trump administration official has been playing their part over the past year to deliver on this priority, from slashing costly regulations to securing historic drug pricing deals — efforts that have cooled inflation and raised real wages," he continued. "Much work remains, but President Trump is highlighting the meaningful progress that his Administration has made and will continue to make to turn Joe Biden’s economic disaster around."
The Trump administration is facing a crisis over its economic messaging as Democrats increasingly, and effectively, lean into their message of "affordability" that helped deliver a series of election wins during the off-season cycle in November.
JEN PSAKI MOCKS TRUMP, GOP OVER 'AFFORDABILITY' MESSAGE DURING COLBERT APPEARANCE
Americans' feelings of financial uncertainty come after Trump touted from the campaign trail that he would "rapidly" bring down prices upon his return to the Oval Office following Biden's tenure, while administration officials have said that the Trump economy under his second term is "booming" while taking ownership of economic wins.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick even claimed months ago that the Trump economy had taken hold after the Biden administration's spiraling inflation woes.
"The Trump Economy has officially arrived," Lutnick posted to X in July while pointing to the surge in the GDP and Trump's tariff policies.
"Biden’s first quarter is behind us, and growth is already accelerating," Lutnick posted to X. "President Trump’s tariff policies have drawn historic investments and opened up global markets for U.S. businesses. Congratulations America: 3 percent today, and we’re just getting started."
When asked about the past comments amid the White House's push to promote the president's economic record, a White House official said Monday: "Lutnick is not the president."
The administration repeatedly has taken victory laps for its economic wins this year — while also taking shots at the Biden administration — including celebrating in recent months that the "Economy Is Back on Track Under President Trump," that there's been "Explosive Growth in Trump’s Economy," while the president has underscored that his tariff policies have been a "tremendous success."
VANCE ACKNOWLEDGES VOTERS 'IMPATIENT' ON AFFORDABILITY, REJECTS 'TOTALLY BULLS--- NARRATIVE'
"President Trump’s America First Economic Agenda has created a BOOMING economy — jobs are up, unemployment is down, wages are increasing, and inflation is dead. More than 139,000 good jobs were added to the private sector in May, all accounted for by American-born workers. Americans should continue to trust in President Trump, who continues to beat expectations," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in June.
Voters, however, have reported that they aren't feeling financial relief.
Trump is set to travel to Pennsylvania Tuesday, a key battleground state that helped deliver him his 2024 victory, to promote his administration's economic policies and growth amid voters reporting financial anxiety.
The economy has been a cornerstone of Trump's tenure in political office, including championing his wins in his first administration — such as record unemployment and gas prices that dipped under $2 a gallon.
Some 76% of voters, however, reported that they view the economy negatively, up from the 67% who reported the same in July, as well as the 70% who said the same at the end of Biden’s term, a November Fox News national survey found.
The survey found that voters overwhelmingly blamed Trump over Biden. About twice as many voters polled reported that Trump, rather than Biden, is responsible for the current economy, with three times as many voters reporting that Trump’s economic policies have hurt them, which is on par with their feelings during Biden's final year in office.
Trump's messaging on affordability itself has evolved in recent years, with his 2024 campaign promoting it would "Make America Affordable Again," and the president later lamenting in November that "affordability" should be a message owned by Republicans, before also calling Democrats' messaging on affordability a "con job" earlier in December.
"You just say it. Affordability. I inherited the worst inflation in history. There was no affordability. Nobody could afford anything. The prices were massively high," Trump said during his December Cabinet meeting.
"But the word affordability is a con job by the Democrats," Trump continued.
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Now, the White House is doubling down that the Biden economy is still strangling American pocketbooks and the Trump administration is working to right the ship.
The White House told Fox Digital that Trump has "consistently — and correctly — pointed out how Joe Biden unleashed a generational economic disaster" since the campaign trail into the presidency.
"This undeniable fact hasn’t stopped Democrats from shamelessly trying to harp on the affordability crisis that they created in the first place," Desai said. "With inflation having cooled and trillions in investments pouring in, President Trump’s agenda is indeed delivering the booming economy that Americans enjoyed during his first term – and both he and the Administration will continue to underscore the work we are doing to make this happen."
A White House official added that tax cuts will be felt by Americans early in the new year.
"We inherited a mess," Trump said from a roundtable Monday. "Affordability. But you can call it affordability or anything you want, but the Democrats cause the affordability problem, and we're the ones that are fixing it. So it's a very simple statement. And they caused it and we're fixing it."
The Biden administration oversaw the highest inflation to rock the nation in 40 years, 30-year mortgage rates that rocketed from roughly 3% in 2021 to around 7%–8% in 2023, and the sharpest rise in interest rates in decades.
Voters during the 2024 federal election pointed to the economy as far and away their top issue. Americans flooded the polls a year ago with their wallets at the top of their minds, backing Trump on the ballot as the majority of voters reported they were concerned they could not afford food, healthcare, housing and gas for their car, previous Fox News Voter Analysis data showed.
Obamacare paying out for tens of thousands of dead and bogus accounts: watchdog
New findings from a congressional watchdog claim that Obamacare’s COVID-19-era subsidies are riddled with errors and its administrators struggle to shut out fake or incomplete applications.
Last week, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), a nonpartisan agency that examines congressional spending, found that Obamacare is picking up the tab for tens of thousands of accounts, using enhanced premium tax credits (APTCs) to pay for more than one coverage plan, deceased account holders and applicants lacking identifying information.
SENATE DEMOCRATS PUSH OBAMACARE SUBSIDY VOTE 'DESIGNED TO FAIL' AS REPUBLICANS CALL PLAN UNSERIOUS
"GAO's preliminary analyses identified over 29,000 SSNs (Social Security numbers) in 2023 and nearly 68,000 SSNs in 2024 used to receive more than one year's worth of insurance coverage with APTC in a single plan year," the report read.
In addition to the evaluation of real-world fraud, the GAO also created several fake accounts to see if Obamacare would prevent them from receiving benefits.
"Of 20 fictitious applicants, 18 remain actively covered as of September 2025. APTC for these 18 enrollees totals over $10,000 per month. GAO continues to monitor the enrollments as part of its ongoing work," the GAO said.
The GAO stressed that its findings "cannot be generalized to the enrollee population." Notably, the fraud detected accounts for less than 1% of all of Obamacare’s users.
GAO’s findings come as lawmakers wrestle with whether to extend the enhanced premium subsidies for Obamacare set to expire at the end of the year that were first passed to help policyholders pay for health insurance during the COVID-19 pandemic. Without them, Democrats fear that the vast majority of Obamacare policyholders — over 90% of the program’s 24 million enrollees — could find themselves suddenly stuck with significantly higher premiums overnight.
Republicans remain split on whether lawmakers should extend the subsidies in some way. The fiscally conservative wing of the GOP believes letting them expire would mark a critical step in bringing the country back toward pre-COVID spending levels.
The GAO’s findings play into a key Republican concern: that government health programs may carry unnecessary bloat, and that continuing them in their current state would simply extend those inefficiencies.
Continuing the subsidies would cost the country upwards of $30 billion a year, according to research from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
HOUSE GOP SEEKS OFF-RAMP TO SKY-HIGH HEALTH INSURANCE COSTS FOR MILLIONS OF AMERICANS
While the GAO’s evaluation found issue with a relatively small slice of Obamacare’s overall population, the watchdog also struggled to tie a significant amount of the APTC’s expenses to SSNs.
"GAO's preliminary analysis of data from tax year 2023 could not identify evidence of reconciliation for over $21 billion in APTC for enrollees who provided SSNs to the federal Marketplace for plan year 2023," the report said.
As a part of that picture, the GAO reported that in 2023, over $94 million in APTC funding had gone to SSN numbers associated with deceased recipients. But not all applicants who receive APTCs may have SSNs in the system to begin with.
According to GAO’s research, the federal marketplace requested applicants to use an SSN, proof of citizenship and reported income. The GAO found that it could get access to benefits without them.
"GAO did not provide documentation yet received coverage," the report said of its research through fake accounts.
CONGRESS FACES HOLIDAY CRUNCH AS HEALTH CARE FIX COLLIDES WITH SHRINKING CALENDAR
Some of Obamacare’s struggle to maintain a clear picture of which SSNs are tied to which policies stem from built-in flexibility for when things go wrong.
Government officials explained that the federal marketplace does allow enrollees to use one SSN to obtain more than one policy. That allows applicants to secure access to health insurance in the event of identity fraud or data entry errors.
"Officials explained that the federal Marketplace does not prohibit multiple enrollments per SSN to help ensure that the actual SSN-holder can enroll in insurance coverage in cases of identity theft or data entry errors," the report read.
The Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Senate is set to vote on whether to extend the APTCs in their current form for three years by the end of this week. Amid fierce Republican opposition across both chambers of Congress, that vote is expected to fail.
Collins, Moreno unveil Obamacare plan as Republicans search for solution to expiring subsidies
A Senate Republican duo unveiled their vision for expiring Obamacare premium subsidies as the Senate hurtles toward a vote on the credits at the end of this week.
Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, announced their plan to tackle the subsidies, which are set to expire at the end of this year. Their proposal, made public on Monday, would extend the subsidies for two years.
The upper chamber is set to vote on legislation dealing with the expiring subsidies on Thursday, but so far only Senate Democrats have united behind a proposal from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., that would extend the credits for three years.
SENATE DEMOCRATS PUSH OBAMACARE SUBSIDY VOTE 'DESIGNED TO FAIL' AS REPUBLICANS CALL PLAN UNSERIOUS
Schumer's plan is likely dead on arrival, given that it lacks any of the reforms to the subsidies demanded by the GOP. And Republicans are mulling several options, but have so far not picked legislation to form up behind and put on the floor in a possible side-by-side vote.
Moreno and Collins hope that their legislation, which would also put an income cap onto the subsidies for households making up to $200,000 and eliminate zero-cost premiums as a fraud preventive measure by requiring a $25 minimum monthly payment, gets a shot.
Moreno argued that former President Barack Obama and the Democratic Party "created this disaster, lining the pockets of massive insurance companies while healthcare costs for everyday Americans skyrocketed."
ABORTION RESTRICTIONS CREATE MAJOR ROADBLOCK FOR BIPARTISAN OBAMACARE SUBSIDY DEAL IN SENATE
"But I refuse to let the American people pay the price for the Democrats’ incompetence," he said in a statement. "I am willing to work with anyone to finally bring down costs for all Americans and hope my colleagues across the aisle will commit to doing the same."
Collins said that lawmakers needed to "pursue practical solutions that increase affordability without creating sudden disruptions in coverage," with the expiration deadline looming. Republicans are divided on whether they want to actually extend the subsidies or allow them to sunset and be dealt with early next year.
SCHUMER UNVEILS DEMOCRATS' OBAMACARE FIX PLAN, LIKELY DEAD IN THE WATER
"This bill would help prevent unaffordable increases in health insurance premium costs for many families by extending the [Obamacare] enhanced premium tax credits for two years and putting a reasonable income cap on these subsidies to ensure they are going to the individuals who need them," Collins said in a statement.
Their proposal joins the ranks of public ideas and legislation floated by Republicans, but strays from the desire many in the GOP have to convert the money that flows into the subsidies directly to Americans through Health Savings Accounts (HSAs).
President Donald Trump has publicly backed converting the premiums to HSAs, but even with his support, Republicans have not nailed down a legislative move that could make it to the floor.
It’s also unclear if Republicans will line up behind their plan, given that it extends the subsidies without additional action on taxpayer funding flowing to abortion — a key sticking point in bipartisan negotiations on the credits — and lacks the inclusion of HSAs.
Former Miss Slovakia says Uber driver kicked her out on busy intersection for being Jewish
A Toronto model was allegedly kicked out of her Uber ride after the driver learned that she was Jewish.
News of the incident was first reported by the National Post, a Canadian-English newspaper.
Miriam Mattova, 33, told Fox News Digital in an interview Monday that she got into an Uber on Dundas Street in Toronto on November 30 and was FaceTiming a friend, telling her about a recent mission trip she took to Israel.
Mattova said the female driver then abruptly slammed on her brakes and told her to get out of the car at a busy intersection.
‘ACT OF VIOLENCE’: NEW JERSEY RABBI INJURED IN SUSPECTED HATE CRIME BEFORE JEWISH HOLIDAY
"I immediately ended my call and asked, like, why they're stopping. And they told me that they feel uncomfortable with me in the car," Mattova said. "So I asked why, because I didn't do anything wrong. And then I got an answer that they don't drive Jewish people."
An Uber spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the company has reached out to both parties as part of its review of the incident.
"We’re sorry for the experience this rider reported. Discrimination has no place on our platform, and we take concerns like this very seriously. We’ve been in contact with both the rider and the driver to understand from each of them what happened and have taken appropriate action."
The former Miss Slovakia and Canadian national said she and the friend who booked her Uber filed detailed complaints with the company after the incident unfolded.
"Canada has always been a place I believed in. That's the reason why I moved back here. And welcoming, diverse, respectful. And we all share responsibility to ensure it stays that way. And speaking up isn't about me playing a victim role. I just want to make that very clear. It's about drawing a line and standing in our truth and inspiring that hatred against any religion or community, not just the Jewish people," said Mattova. "And I think that every incident like this should have consequences, in this case for the driver and for the large company, called Uber."
Her lawyer, Howard Levitt, told Fox News Digital that his client is seeking an apology, the driver’s termination, a donation to an Israeli charity of her choosing, and a requirement that all Uber drivers acknowledge a no-discrimination policy going forward.
"We've demanded they terminate the relationship with the driver, and they've refused to respond to that at all. They claim privacy, which is absolute nonsense," Levitt said. "First of all, no one even knows the driver's name, so there's no privacy issue. And secondly, most decent companies are anxious to tell the world that they would fire someone like that."
Mattova traveled to Israel in early November to witness the horrors of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led terrorist attacks in southern Israel. She visited Kibbutz Be'eri and spoke with former hostage Ofir Engel, who was kidnapped along with his girlfriend's father.
She told Fox News Digital that this is not the first antisemitic incident she has faced in Canada, and wants people to "stand tall and address modern antisemitism."
Dem-appointed education officials face new scrutiny as Feeding Our Future scandal widens, Trump targets fraud
New scrutiny has fallen on former Minnesota Department of Education leaders as the Feeding Our Future scandal tied to Gov. Tim Walz widens and President Donald Trump announces new measures targeting fraud in the state.
Feeding Our Future (FOF) was a Minnesota nonprofit that aimed to feed low-income children, though federal prosecutors claimed it illegally funneled more than $250 million in taxpayer funds to shell companies and people who used the money to purchase luxury cars, residential and commercial real estate, international travel and expensive jewelry. MDE was the government’s financial interlocutor responsible for approving and monitoring it.
In 2018, MDE conducted its only administrative review of the child and adult care food program operations (CACFP) at FOF.
According to a 120-page report from Minnesota Legislative Auditor Judy Randall and Special Reviews Director Katherine Theisen reviewed by Fox News Digital, MDE "failed to act on warning signs known to the department prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and prior to the start of the alleged fraud."
MDE also "did not effectively exercise its authority to hold Feeding Our Future accountable to program requirements [and was] ill-prepared to respond to the issues it encountered with Feeding Our Future," the auditors found.
During the period when the alleged scheme was forming, MDE was led by Brenda Cassellius through January 2019, when Walz took office. Walz then appointed Mary Cathryn Ricker—now at the Albert Shanker Institute, which is affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers—to succeed her. Walz announced Ricker’s appointment on Dec. 20, 2018, and she formally began serving in 2019.
Cassellius’ tenure fell during the initial approval of FOF and its 2018 administrative review. Ricker’s tenure notably fell during what the audit described as the pivotal moments in the timeline when the group grew greatly and an approval for a summer foodservice program was made despite FOF losing its federal tax-exempt status.
FEDERAL PROBE TARGETS ALLEGED MINNESOTA SOMALI FRAUD ‘NETWORK’ AS COVID-AID CRIME RINGS PERSIST
As of the June 2024 audit, MDE had only conducted one administrative review of FOF’s CACFP operations – while MDE received at least 30 complaints about FOF during the combined tenures of Cassellius and Ricker.
"By law, state agencies must promptly investigate complaints received or irregularities noted in connection with CACFP and SFSP," the auditors said.
"Many of MDE’s complaint investigation procedures and practices were inappropriate or of limited usefulness, particularly in the context of the alleged fraud. While MDE had written complaint investigation procedures, their limited scope and failure to address important issues undermined their ability to promote good investigative practices."
WALZ 'HAS BEEN AN ABSOLUTE FAILURE' IN COMBATING FRAUD, SAYS GOP GUBERNATORIAL CHALLENGER ROBBINS
The audit also found that MDE created somewhat of a feedback loop in which MDE "inappropriately asked Feeding Our Future to investigate complaints about itself."
Additionally, MDE approved FOF’s SFSP application in June 2020 without re-verifying its nonprofit status, even though the IRS had revoked that status in February 2020 and later posted that revocation online.
Under Ricker’s stewardship, MDE’s payments to FOF increased 2,800% from fiscal year 2020 through 2021, according to the auditor’s report.
LIZ PEEK: MASSIVE MINNESOTA WELFARE HEIST PROVES DEMOCRATS CAN'T POLICE THEIR OWN MESS
In one 2021 case referenced in the lengthy audit report, a vendor informed the state that FOF requested they offer a kickback and refused – and soon after, FOF canceled that vendor’s contract.
At one point, in 2021, MDE halted payments to FOF, but the group then sued under claims of racial discrimination, according to the Minnesota Reformer. A district judge in Ramsey County then ruled Minnesota couldn’t halt payments unless they confirmed fraudulent behavior, according to the outlet.
Current Education Commissioner Willie Jett II said during a hearing following the audit that his agency made proper referrals to police and that the responsibility for the fraud "lies with the indicted and convicted fraudsters."
Since then, Jett pledged to continue to strengthen oversight of such disbursements, and reportedly established an inspector general and general counsel’s office.
While MDE oversaw FOF, fraudsters also exploited other "low barrier" entry vulnerabilities in programs administered by the Department of Human Services (DHS) around the same time.
In September, Asha Hassan, who was also charged in the scheme, was federally indicted on wire fraud charges for her alleged role in a $14 million scheme to defraud the state autism program.
"To be clear, this is not an isolated scheme. From Feeding Our Future to Housing Stabilization Services and now Autism Services, these massive fraud schemes form a web that has stolen billions of dollars in taxpayer money," U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson said in a statement.
Fox News Digital reached out to Milwaukee Public Schools – where Cassellius is currently the superintendent – as well as the Albert Shanker Institute for comment from Ricker.
Trump’s DC Guard deployment didn’t fuel violence — Biden's Afghan vetting breakdown did
Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal was formally charged last week in the horrific shooting of National Guardsmen Andrew Wolfe and Sarah Beckstrom in front of a Washington, D.C. metro stop. Lakanwal allegedly murdered Beckstrom in the shooting, while Wolfe is reportedly still struggling to recover; Attorney General Pam Bondi has indicated that the Department of Justice intends to seek the death penalty.
But while Lakanwal has his day in court, a bigger debate is still raging over who is actually to blame for the murder: the shooter, or President Donald Trump. In the wake of the shooting, many on the left rushed to pin the blame on Trump.
Critics argued that the president’s National Guard deployment was a political stunt that had put Guardsmen like Wolfe and Beckstrom in the line of fire unnecessarily. The San Francisco Chronicle, for example, asserted that the shootings came "after months of warnings that deployments would inflame tensions." The New Yorker’s Jane Mayer took to X just hours after the shooting to label Trump’s deployment a "political show" and assert that "these poor guardsmen should never have been deployed."
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The reality is that the deployment of the Guard to D.C., far from being a show, has driven down crime in the capital — a significant achievement in a city that has long been plagued by violence. And responsibility for Lakanwal’s actions rests primarily with the killer himself, as well as with the Biden administration, which let him into the country in 2021 following its disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan.
No one can dispute that D.C. has a serious violence problem — try as Trump’s critics might. Prior to the deployment, the city’s homicide rate was down from its 2023 peak, but still 70% higher than its recent low in 2014. Data from the Council on Criminal Justice, a nonpartisan crime-policy organization, indicate that in 2024, D.C.’s homicide rate was higher than those of cities like Atlanta, Chicago, and Philadelphia. And as I’ve found in my own research, this violence is most concentrated in the District’s poorest and most heavily minority areas. In the city, 95% of murder victims and suspects are Black, and 92% are men.
The Guard’s presence has almost certainly brought this violence down. Recent analysis from crime researcher Jeff Asher identifies a marked decline in shootings since the Guard came in. That’s consistent with prior analysis done by CBS, as well as with the reductions in crime that Memphis, Tenn., has seen during its own National Guard deployment.
Some on the left may want to pretend that the guardsmen are just there for "show." But it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand that deploying armed government agents cuts crime, both by deterring lawbreaking and by relieving stress on overtaxed and short-staffed police departments. Anyone who professes to care about the well-being of D.C.’s poor, Black, young men should cheer, not jeer.
PATEL BLASTS BIDEN'S 'EMBLEMATIC FAILURE' AFTER AFGHAN NATIONAL CHARGED IN GUARD SHOOTING
The best available evidence indicates that Lakanwal’s acts, moreover, were not motivated by the Guard’s deployment. As far as we know, nothing about the presence of the National Guard in D.C. "inflamed" him to action. Rather, the picture that is beginning to emerge is of a disturbed individual allowed into the country after a hasty vetting process following the disastrous pullout from Afghanistan.
According to recent reports, Lakanwal had served with the CIA in his home nation of Afghanistan. He was evacuated to the United States under Operation Allies Welcome, the resettlement program initiated by the Biden administration following the Afghanistan withdrawal.
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These evacuees were ostensibly heavily vetted, both by the CIA and the administration. But apparently this vetting missed Lakanwal, who reportedly struggled with assimilation and suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). He "had been unraveling for years, unable to hold a job and flipping between long, lightless stretches of isolation and taking sudden weekslong cross-country drives" according to emails obtained by the Associated Press.
Lakanwal bears responsibility for the alleged shooting first and foremost. But there is also blame to be apportioned to whatever failure of vetting let such a person — no matter his prior service — into the country and left him free to deteriorate until he attacked. Lakanwal was one of the millions of immigrants, legal and illegal, admitted under the Biden administration; his is just the latest example of the perils of uncontrolled, irresponsibly managed immigration.
In that regard, people like Lakanwal are exactly whom the National Guard was deployed to the streets of Washington, D.C. to deter. Just as at the border, uncontrolled criminality has raged in the city.
The Guard’s deployment was a vital corrective, not a pointless show. And claiming otherwise does a disservice to Staff Sgt. Wolfe and Spc. Beckstrom, and to every other law enforcement officer and guardsmen who puts his or her life on the line.
Melania Trump, Olena Zelenska spotlight billion-dollar Russian plot to abduct, indoctrinate Ukrainian kids
First lady Melania Trump and Ukraine's Olena Zelenska have joined a campaign exposing Russia’s billion-dollar operation to abduct and indoctrinate Ukrainian children, its spokesperson said.
While labeling Russia's "calculated" attempts to strike at his country's future, Maksym Maksymov of Bring Kids Back UA said the two first ladies’ contrasting roles make the organization's messaging even stronger.
"Together, they help ensure that no abducted child is forgotten, but apart, one speaks from the center of the crisis and the other carries the message to the world," Maksymov told Fox News Digital.
Melania Trump’s recent work helped bring visibility to cases that saw seven Ukrainian children reunited with their parents. In October, the mom-of-one supported another eight.
"Melania Trump uses her voice as a mother and a public figure with compassion to draw global attention to children who might otherwise be forgotten," Maksymov said.
"When she speaks, people listen, and she chose to use that influence to highlight the suffering of Ukrainian children directly to the person responsible for their abductions. That takes courage," he added. "Melania acknowledges their pain, elevates the urgency of bringing these children home, and reinforces a simple truth: that children belong with the people who love them, and their return must be unconditional."
MELANIA TRUMP NAMED FOX NATION’S ‘PATRIOT OF THE YEAR’ FOR GLOBAL CHILDREN’S ADVOCACY WORK
Meanwhile, Olena Zelenska, he said, is involved on the ground.
"Our first lady, Olena Zelenska, has been a steady and essential presence in this work. She visits hospitals, shelters, schools and churches across Ukraine, meeting children who have lived through trauma no child should ever experience," Maksymov explained.
In fact, in response to the work of the organization, Ukraine has since criminalized the deportation of children, their forced militarization and the obstruction of their return.
Sanctions were also imposed on individuals involved in abductions and illegal adoptions.
It was Melania Trump who also previously wrote a "peace letter" to Russian President Vladimir Putin, telling him "it is time" to protect children and future generations around the globe, Fox News Digital reported in August.
UKRAINE’S STOLEN CHILDREN CRISIS LOOMS LARGE AS NATO MEETS ON RUSSIA’S WAR
President Donald Trump then hand-delivered the message to the Russian leader before their summit in Alaska that month.
But ever since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, the illegal removal of children continues to be a concern.
According to Bring Kids Back UA, launched by Zelenska, nearly 20,000 children have been reported taken, although Maksym stresses that "each case requires individual verification because Russia blocks access, hides information and often alters children’s identities."
So far, he said, "Ukraine has fully verified 9,221 cases," but thousands more remain unaccounted for.
One example of Russia’s coercive system, he said, is the case of Bohdan Yermokhin, whose experience Ukrainian officials describe in detail.
DEM SENATOR SAYS MELANIA TRUMP IS AMERICA'S 'SECRET WEAPON' AGAINST PUTIN'S 'WAR CRIMINALITY'
"One case that shows both the cruelty of this crime and the resilience of these children is this story."
After being taken to Russia, "he was pressured to give up his Ukrainian identity and exposed to propaganda aimed at reshaping how he saw his own country."
His ordeal highlights what Maksym said is Russia's deliberate "abduction of Ukrainian children as part of a strategy to erase their identity and mold them into something they are not."
"Russia is spending billions on systems that militarize and indoctrinate these children rather than return them," Maksym claimed.
"Ukraine’s position is clear. Every abducted child must be returned unconditionally. There can be no peace while even one child remains in Russia’s hands," he said. "War has taken away their childhood. Children live with bombings, displacement, fear, and the loss of everything familiar. This is calculated. It is systematic, and it is aimed at Ukraine’s future."
Bill Maher fears losing friendship with Jimmy Kimmel over Trump voter ultimatum by ABC host's wife
HBO host Bill Maher is questioning whether he can stay friends with Jimmy Kimmel in spite of the stance, stated by the ABC late-night host's wife, over ending relationships with people because of politics.
During the latest "Club Random" podcast episode, Maher recalled how he openly disagreed with Kimmel’s wife, Molly McNearney, recently saying she cut off her family and friends who voted for President Donald Trump, and worried that it might end his friendship with Kimmel.
"I hope we're friends forever, but I don't know. You know, the liberals and the woke – that's a schism. It just is," he told his guest, The Young Turks host Ana Kasparian.
During an episode of HBO’s "Real Time with Bill Maher" in November, the host criticized Kimmel’s wife after she disclosed that she had urged her relatives not to vote for Trump in 2024.
"Molly McNearney, Jimmy Kimmel's wife and head writer, went public on this topic recently, so I feel it's fair to comment, respectfully, in public. She says she's lost relationships with relatives because she wrote them an email before the election with ten reasons why they shouldn't vote for Trump, and some still didn't obey, so you know," Maher said, clicking and gesturing a slicing motion across his neck.
He continued: "Ten reasons? I can think of 100. But I would never present it to someone as an ultimatum. Ultimatums don't make people rethink their politics. They make them rethink you."
Kimmel's outspoken stance against Trump has led to the president constantly criticizing him on social media. Kimmel was also briefly suspended by ABC in September after his remarks about Charlie Kirk's alleged assassin raised hackles, but he's been back on the air ever since.
On "Club Random," Maher told Kasparian he believes it’s never worth cutting off friends or neighbors over politics.
"You know, my message last week, on our last show this season, and every Thanksgiving really for the last five years, has been, ‘I'm in the talk-to-them wing of the Democratic Party. I'm not in the cut-your-people-off. Don’t cut ‘em off," he said.
Maher, who has described himself as an anti-woke liberal in recent years, noted how some of his more woke friends criticized the message. He also said that his friendship with Kimmel is hanging "in the balance" because of it.
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Maher added that he likes Kimmel "a lot," but said he felt compelled to speak out against McNearney’s remarks.
"And I was as kid-gloved as I could. And I see that they're mad at me. And I'm sorry. I mean, I was being, again, as respectful as I could, but I don't agree with that point of view."
Maher continued, "I love Jimmy. I always have. I don't know him that well, but he's a great guy. And we have a connection, like, we were both fired by ABC. And he took my – I had that timeslot. So, like, it's so interesting, the same ABC – I mean, Disney executive – canned us both. It's interesting, the connections."
Fox News Digital reached out to representatives of "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" for comment.
Israel unmasks Iran-directed Hamas cash network in Turkey as Ankara pushes for Gaza role
The Israel Defense Forces and Israel Security Agency have exposed what they describe as a secret Hamas money-exchange network operating in central Turkey "under Iran’s direction," according to documents and statements released this week.
According to the intelligence released by the IDF and ISA, exiled Gazans based in Turkey have used the country’s financial infrastructure to move large sums of money for Hamas, with transfers totaling hundreds of millions of dollars.
The agencies say the network operates in cooperation with the Iranian regime, transferring funds to Hamas and its senior officials and, according to Israel, helping the group rebuild its capabilities outside Gaza.
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The newly exposed documents include records of currency transfers amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars, which officials say represent only a small portion of the overall activity.
According to the Israeli security agencies, the network receives, stores, and transfers Iranian funds from within Turkey.
The IDF and ISA identified three Gazan operatives working in Turkey whom they say are central to the network: Tamer Hassan, described as a senior official in Hamas’s finance office in Turkey operating directly under Khalil al-Hayya, and currency exchangers Khalil Farwana and Farid Abu Dair.
Israel says Iran’s backing has remained constant and that Hamas continues to rebuild its operational capabilities beyond the borders of the Gaza Strip.
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The timing of the IDF and ISA revelations comes amid an ongoing U.S. debate over Turkey’s regional role and its relationship with Hamas. Fox News has previously reported that Turkey has hosted Hamas figures for years and has sought a leading role in postwar Gaza, even as the Trump administration weighs whether to allow Turkish troops to participate in a U.S.-backed stabilization mission.
Sinan Ciddi, a Turkey expert at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital that Ankara’s political protection of Hamas — paired with its hostility toward Israeli military actions — has created a permissive sanctuary that Israeli pressure alone cannot shut down.
Ciddi argues the presence of Turkish-based operatives shows how Hamas has diversified its financial footprint to evade sanctions and border controls. Ciddi added that for Israel, "this is not just a financial concern but a strategic warning signal", arguing that Iran is embedding itself deeper into Turkey’s economic ecosystem and enabling a regional proxy to regenerate and project forces. If left unchecked, he warned, "the network could fuel future attacks and expand Hamas’s influence across the region, undermining Israel’s war aims and long-term security."
In a recent interview with Fox News Digital, Gonul Tol, senior fellow at the Middle East Institute and author of "Erdoğan’s War: A Strongman’s Struggle at Home and in Syria," said Turkey’s aggressive Gaza posture is deeply tied to Erdoğan’s domestic political survival and his longstanding support for Islamist movements across the region.
"The primary goal there is domestic politics," she said. "Erdoğan has always framed himself as the champion of the Palestinian cause, and by his most conservative constituency, he’s often pushed to take a strong stance against Israel."
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But Tol noted that Erdoğan has also been pragmatic behind the scenes, particularly in his dealings with Washington. "People in his circle say the Hamas leadership had been asked to leave Turkey quietly. They are doing everything not to anger the Trump administration," she said.
She added that Erdoğan even pushed Hamas to accept Trump’s Gaza proposal, noting that it included provisions that did not favor the organization.
Israeli officials have long argued that Turkey’s permissive environment has allowed Hamas to operate external networks, including financial arms backed by Iran, and say the newly released intelligence underscores the risks of allowing Turkey deeper involvement in Gaza’s future.
In announcing the findings, the IDF and ISA warned individuals and institutions against engaging with the exposed network or any other financial arms linked to Hamas, saying such interactions risk contributing to terrorist financing and aiding Hamas’s attempts to reconstitute its infrastructure abroad.
The Turkish Embassy did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Trump turns up the heat on red-state Republicans blocking new congressional maps
President Donald Trump and allied groups are turning up the heat on Indiana Republican state senators who are resisting the president's push for the red state to pass congressional redistricting.
The Indiana Senate reconvened on Monday, three days after the state House approved a new map championed by Trump that would create two more right-leaning congressional districts in the solidly red Midwestern state, where the GOP currently controls seven of Indiana's nine U.S. House seats.
The action in Indiana comes after the Supreme Court last week cleared the way for GOP-dominated Texas to use its newly redrawn map, which creates five more right-leaning House seats.
And it marks the latest front in Trump’s aggressive national campaign to reshape congressional districts ahead of the 2026 midterms, when Republicans will likely face traditional political headwinds as they defend their razor-thin House majority.
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While the super majority in the Indiana House passed redistricting 57-41, with a dozen GOP lawmakers voting against the measure, the stakes are much higher this week, as the Republican-dominated state Senate, which has resisted Trump's efforts to draw new congressional maps, meets to vote later in the week on the redistricting bill passed by the state House.
Indiana Senate Republican leader Rodric Bray has repeatedly said there wasn't enough support in the chamber to move forward with redistricting. The state Senate split 19-19 last month in a proxy vote.
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"A RINO State Senator, Rodric Bray, who doesn’t care about keeping the Majority in the House in D.C., is the primary problem. Soon, he will have a Primary Problem, as will any other politician who supports him in this stupidity," Trump warned in a recent social media post.
Bray, in announcing that the state Senate would reconvene to take action on redistricting, said "the issue of redrawing Indiana's congressional maps mid-cycle has received a lot of attention and is causing strife here in our state."
A final vote by the state Senate is likely on Thursday.
Trump has been twisting elbows in his attempt to make Indiana the latest Republican-controlled state to change their congressional maps. The president has called state lawmakers and Vice President JD Vance visited the state twice earlier this autumn to discuss redistricting.
Trump this weekend took to social media twice to keep up the pressure.
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"Why would a REAL Republican vote against this when the Dems have been doing it for years??? If they stupidly say no, vote them out of office — They are not worthy — And I will be there to help! Thank you Indiana!" he warned.
And in a separate post, Trump highlighted nine state Senate Republicans who have yet to announce their position on the new map, saying they "need encouragement to make the right decision." The president added, "The Indiana Senate must now pass this Map, AS IS, and get it to Governor Mike Braun's desk, ASAP, to deliver a gigantic Victory for Republicans in the "Hoosier State," and across the Country."
Trump has also taken some jabs at Braun, arguing that the governor "perhaps, is not working the way he should to get the necessary Votes."
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While Trump recently called Braun "a good man," he has warned he "must produce on this, or he will be the only Governor, Republican or Democrat, who didn’t."
But Braun, pointing to the president, has touted that he is "committed to standing with him on the critical issue of passing fair maps in Indiana to ensure the MAGA agenda is successful in Congress."
Meanwhile, the Trump-aligned conservative outside political group the Club for Growth Action and other groups have dished out big bucks to run ads in Indiana supporting redistricting, and along with Turning Point Action, will target Republican state lawmakers opposed to the new map.
Club for Growth President David McIntosh sent out a "FINAL WARNING" to Bray, warning that "failure to get this done means you and any other opposition will be defeated and removed from office in your next election."
And Turning Point Action on Friday held a rally at the state Capitol, where Braun spoke, to put pressure on Indiana Senate Republicans to support redistricting.
The push by the president in Indiana is part of a broad effort by Trump's political team and the GOP to pad the party's razor-thin House majority ahead of the midterms, when the party in power traditionally loses seats.
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"We must keep the Majority at all costs," the president wrote recently.
Trump, by championing rare but not unheard of mid-decade redistricting, is aiming to prevent what happened during his first term in the White House when Democrats reclaimed the House majority in the 2018 midterm elections.
Texas, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio have drawn new maps as part of the president's push. State lawmakers in GOP-dominated Florida this week took the first steps towards passing a redistricting measure, and right-leaning Kansas is also mulling redrawing its map.
Two federal judges in Texas last month delivered a blow to Trump and Republicans, by ruling that the state couldn't use the newly drawn map in next year's elections. But the Supreme Court on Thursday gave a big thumbs up to the Lone Star State's new congressional map.
Democrats are fighting back.
California voters a month ago overwhelmingly passed Proposition 50, a ballot initiative which will temporarily sidetrack the left-leaning state's nonpartisan redistricting commission and return the power to draw the congressional maps to the Democrat-dominated legislature.
That is expected to result in five more Democratic-leaning congressional districts in California, which would counter the passage earlier this year in Texas of a new map that aims to create up to five right-leaning House seats.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is considered a likely 2028 Democratic presidential contender, steered his state's push for redistricting.
Illinois and Maryland, two blue states, and Virginia, where Democrats control the legislature, are also taking steps or seriously considering redistricting.
And in a blow to Republicans, a Utah district judge last month rejected a congressional district map drawn up by the state's GOP-dominated legislature and instead approved an alternate that will create a Democratic-leaning district ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.