Texas lawmakers consider barring counties from mailing unsolicited voter registration forms
Voting rights advocates worry that legislation approved by House and Senate committees could make it harder to get more people on the rolls.
Durbin says elderly lawmakers should consider leaving politics ‘before they’re carried out’
Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., suggested Thursday that more elderly lawmakers like himself should consider when they might want to exit politics and make way for a younger generation. “If you’re honest about yourself and your reputation, you want to leave when you can still walk out the front door and not be carried out the back door,” Durbin told MSNBC, in a similar tenor to how he addressed his retirement at age 80 in front of his Springfield home later that day. “And I’ve said whatever your interests may be, whatever issue you want to focus on in Congress, in the Senate if you stick around a couple terms, your minor is going to be aging. You can see it. You can observe it.” WHIP WATCH: DICK DURBIN GIVES TEARFUL GOODBYE AS DEM POWER PLAY BEGINS FOR NO 2 SENATE SPOT However, Durbin added that it is up to each lawmaker when it’s best to make the call to step away from the Capitol for good, further suggesting that age can also be just a number. He pointed to how Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who – while three years older than Durbin – continues to draw large crowds, particularly of younger progressive Democrats, at rallies against “oligarchy” and other concerns. Sanders is also reportedly considering re-election in 2030 at age 89, as the Federal Election Commission (FEC) recorded a filing from “Friends of Bernie Sanders” for that cycle. “I think it’s more complex,” Durbin said. “The bottom line is, are you competent? Can you still do the job? That’s the question the voters should ask.” “But should a new generation be interested in public service? You bet.” Speaking about the future of the Democratic Party as the proverbial old guard begins to depart, Durbin was asked about his onetime Illinois delegation colleague Barack Obama, and how he first ushered in a younger demographic in the 2000s to lead the Democratic Party. BIDEN EFFECT HITS THE SENATE: WAVE OF RETIREMENTS CLEARS PATH FOR YOUNGER DEMS “This is a different moment in history than I’ve read about or seen in my lifetime, for sure,” Durbin said. “This is the moment where there’s a threat to the Constitution of the United States and our constitutional democracy. That is fundamental, and it’s in front of every other decision of policy that we might make. We have to get it together. I will plead with my Republican friends. Stand up for the Constitution.” “That to me, I think, just supersedes all conversations about campaigns and even issues.” Durbin’s retirement was said to be somewhat attributed to the “Biden effect,” the recent trend of elderly lawmakers announcing retirements in the month since the octogenarian Delawarean stepped away from his 2024 re-election bid amid intraparty pressure after a disastrous debate with now-President Donald Trump. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Durbin and Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., 78; Tina Smith, D-Minn., 67; and Gary Peters, D-Mich., 66, as well as Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., 83, all announced their exits in 2025. “You can see it, you can observe it,” Durbin said in general of politicians’ aging. “And you have to make that choice, that decision. I’ve made mine.”
Infamous late-term abortionist who wrote about ‘dismembering’ babies closes Colorado clinic
Famed late-term abortionist Dr. Warren Hern, long a target of pro-life protests, closed his Boulder clinic this week after 50 years, saying it’s time to pass on the “sacred commitment” of providing safe abortions to others. “It has been a privilege to do this work for almost 55 years,” Hern said in a statement on his website. “It has been a privilege to know the many exceptional people in this field who were and are devoted to the highest standards of medical care for women and who are dedicated to the fundamental principle of reproductive freedom for everyone.” Hern, who has detailed the gruesome procedure of “dismembering” fetuses during third-trimester abortions in his writings, said that although he loves his work, he has “wanted for years to be free from the operating room and the daily cares of a private medical practice.” DEFUND ‘BIG ABORTION’ INDUSTRY THAT THRIVED UNDER BIDEN, 150 PRO-LIFE GROUPS URGE CONGRESS “When I have a patient, I can’t do anything else. Her safety and well-being is my priority. Nothing else matters while her life is at stake,” he wrote. Hern added that performing abortions has given him and his colleagues “great satisfaction and meaning in our lives.” Hern’s clinic, the Boulder Abortion Clinic in Colorado, was one of the few that offered late-term abortions nationwide, even prior to the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Hern would see visitors from all over the country. Colorado is one of nine states that has no restrictions on when abortions can take place in the course of the pregnancy. In his book, “Abortion Practice,” first published in 1984, Hern describes abortions in detail, including how “A long curved Mayo scissors may be necessary to decapitate and dismember the fetus.” DOGE MUST ‘DEFUND’ PLANNED PARENTHOOD, MIKE PENCE’S WATCHDOG GROUP URGES MUSK “The procedure changes significantly at 21 weeks because the fetal tissues become much more cohesive and difficult to dismember,” Hern wrote. “This problem is accentuated by the fact that the fetal pelvis may be as much as 5cm in width. The calvaria [head] is no longer the principal problem; it can be collapsed. Other structures, such as the pelvis, present more difficulty.” Hern has been a dominating voice for late-term abortions since the 1970s. He was featured in prominent media outlets over the decades, including The New Yorker, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times and The Atlantic, among others. Hern also wrote a memoir recently, “Abortion in the Age of Unreason: A Doctor’s Account of Caring for Women Before and After Roe v. Wade.” Hern writes in that memoir about how, in the early days of his clinic, he had to personally prove that abortions were being conducted safely. Following a dilation-and-evacuation procedure, he would have to “empty the cotton sock in the suction bottle of its contents, spread the tissue out on a glass plate, and look at it carefully over a light box” to show that no parts of the baby were left inside the woman, The New Yorker reported in a 2024 profile of Hern. FEDS GAVE $700M TO PLANNED PARENTHOOD DURING YEAR OF RECORD ABORTIONS In his interview with The New Yorker, Hern also said that after the decision to reverse Roe v. Wade, the clinic was flooded with patients – and it would prioritize the late-term pregnancies over the earlier ones. “We couldn’t see patients who were earlier in their pregnancies, because we were just too busy taking care of the more difficult patients. We have seen some earlier patients now, but our special interest is in helping women who are having abortions later in pregnancy because they have the most difficult circumstances. They’re at the end of the line. They can’t find anyone else to do this,” he said. Later in the interview, Hern said, “The basic fact is that if you’re pregnant, you’re at risk of dying from that pregnancy,” and “All abortions are elective, and all abortions are therapeutic.”
Infamous late-term abortionist who wrote about ‘dismembering’ babies closes Colorado clinic
Famed late-term abortionist Dr. Warren Hern, long a target of pro-life protests, closed his Boulder clinic this week after 50 years, saying it’s time to pass on the “sacred commitment” of providing safe abortions to others. “It has been a privilege to do this work for almost 55 years,” Hern said in a statement on his website. “It has been a privilege to know the many exceptional people in this field who were and are devoted to the highest standards of medical care for women and who are dedicated to the fundamental principle of reproductive freedom for everyone.” Hern, who has detailed the gruesome procedure of “dismembering” fetuses during third-trimester abortions in his writings, said that although he loves his work, he has “wanted for years to be free from the operating room and the daily cares of a private medical practice.” DEFUND ‘BIG ABORTION’ INDUSTRY THAT THRIVED UNDER BIDEN, 150 PRO-LIFE GROUPS URGE CONGRESS “When I have a patient, I can’t do anything else. Her safety and well-being is my priority. Nothing else matters while her life is at stake,” he wrote. Hern added that performing abortions has given him and his colleagues “great satisfaction and meaning in our lives.” Hern’s clinic, the Boulder Abortion Clinic in Colorado, was one of the few that offered late-term abortions nationwide, even prior to the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Hern would see visitors from all over the country. Colorado is one of nine states that has no restrictions on when abortions can take place in the course of the pregnancy. In his book, “Abortion Practice,” first published in 1984, Hern describes abortions in detail, including how “A long curved Mayo scissors may be necessary to decapitate and dismember the fetus.” DOGE MUST ‘DEFUND’ PLANNED PARENTHOOD, MIKE PENCE’S WATCHDOG GROUP URGES MUSK “The procedure changes significantly at 21 weeks because the fetal tissues become much more cohesive and difficult to dismember,” Hern wrote. “This problem is accentuated by the fact that the fetal pelvis may be as much as 5cm in width. The calvaria [head] is no longer the principal problem; it can be collapsed. Other structures, such as the pelvis, present more difficulty.” Hern has been a dominating voice for late-term abortions since the 1970s. He was featured in prominent media outlets over the decades, including The New Yorker, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times and The Atlantic, among others. Hern also wrote a memoir recently, “Abortion in the Age of Unreason: A Doctor’s Account of Caring for Women Before and After Roe v. Wade.” Hern writes in that memoir about how, in the early days of his clinic, he had to personally prove that abortions were being conducted safely. Following a dilation-and-evacuation procedure, he would have to “empty the cotton sock in the suction bottle of its contents, spread the tissue out on a glass plate, and look at it carefully over a light box” to show that no parts of the baby were left inside the woman, The New Yorker reported in a 2024 profile of Hern. FEDS GAVE $700M TO PLANNED PARENTHOOD DURING YEAR OF RECORD ABORTIONS In his interview with The New Yorker, Hern also said that after the decision to reverse Roe v. Wade, the clinic was flooded with patients – and it would prioritize the late-term pregnancies over the earlier ones. “We couldn’t see patients who were earlier in their pregnancies, because we were just too busy taking care of the more difficult patients. We have seen some earlier patients now, but our special interest is in helping women who are having abortions later in pregnancy because they have the most difficult circumstances. They’re at the end of the line. They can’t find anyone else to do this,” he said. Later in the interview, Hern said, “The basic fact is that if you’re pregnant, you’re at risk of dying from that pregnancy,” and “All abortions are elective, and all abortions are therapeutic.”
Stacey Abrams considers 3rd run for Georgia governor despite back-to-back defeats
Democrat Stacey Abrams is seriously considering a third-straight run for Georgia governor in 2026, a source familiar confirmed to Fox News Digital. Abrams, a former Democratic Party leader in the Georgia state legislature and a nationally known voting-rights advocate, narrowly lost to now-Gov. Brian Kemp in the 2018 gubernatorial election. She lost the 2022 rematch to Kemp by nearly eight points. Kemp, the popular conservative governor, is term limited and cannot seek reelection in 2026. The Cook Political Report, a top nonpartisan political handicapper, ranked the race to succeed Kemp in the battleground state a “toss up” – teeing up a likely competitive race in the Peach State. Georgia has followed the national trend in the past three presidential elections, all with President Donald Trump at the top of the ticket. While Trump was triumphant in 2016 and 2024, former President Joe Biden won Georgia in 2020. GEORGIA REPUBLICANS DON’T RULE OUT SENATE BIDS AS POPULAR GOP GOVERNOR REMAINS UNDECIDED Republican Attorney General Chris Carr has already announced his gubernatorial campaign in November 2024. Lt. Gov. Burt Jones is rumored to be mulling his own bid for the Republican nomination. Campaign filings reported by WABE earlier this year revealed that Jones raised $1.7 million for a leadership committee – about half a million behind Carr. TOP GOP RECRUIT IN CRUCIAL 2026 SENATE RACE HINTS WHEN HE WILL MAKE AN ANNOUNCEMENT On the Democratic side, Georgia state senator Jason Esteves announced his campaign for governor earlier this week. Rep. Lucy McBath, who had launched an exploratory committee for her own gubernatorial run, announced she was suspending her bid to support her husband, following complications from a cancer diagnosis. Despite two consecutive gubernatorial losses to Kemp, Abrams has remained politically active in Georgia since 2022. In 2023, she was appointed the Ronald W. Walters Endowed Chair for Race and Black Politics of Howard University, one of the nation’s leading historically Black colleges. Abrams also served as a senior counsel for Rewiring America, a climate action nonprofit organization. She is the founder of Fair Fight Action, Fair Count and the Southern Economic Advancement Project (SEAP) – organizations focused on voting rights in Georgia, economic power, community building and DEI initiatives. Abrams is an author, having published several novels under a pseudonym. Her most recent book, “Level Up: Rise Above the Hidden Forces Holding Your Business Back,” was published last year. She hosts a weekly podcast, “Assembly Required.” The news that Abrams is considering a third run for governor was first reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Abrams did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment by deadline.
Judge blocks Trump election order despite overwhelming American support for voter ID
A federal judge in Washington, D.C., blocked a portion of President Donald Trump’s executive order on election integrity that is popular among Americans, according to a Gallup poll. The portion of the order that Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia struck down included provisions related to requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote. TRUMP’S EXECUTIVE ORDER ON VOTING BLOCKED BY FEDERAL JUDGE AMID FLURRY OF LEGAL SETBACKS Less than two weeks before the 2024 election, Gallup found that 84% of U.S. adults were in favor of requiring voters to show identification and 83% supported requiring proof of citizenship when registering for the first time. When broken down by party, 67% of Democrats, 84% of Independents and 98% of Republicans were in favor of mandating voter ID. The party breakdown over proof of citizenship was similar, with 66% of Democrats, 84% of Independents and 96% of Republicans supporting the idea. CITIZENSHIP VOTER REGISTRATION BILL IS ‘COMMON SENSE,’ GOP LAWMAKER ARGUES Kollar-Kotelly, however, argued that Trump did not have the authority to issue such an order, as the Constitution delegates control of election regulations to Congress and states. “Consistent with that allocation of power, Congress is currently debating legislation that would affect many of the changes the President purports to order,” Kollar-Kotelly, a Clinton appointee, wrote in her order. “No statutory delegation of authority to the Executive Branch permits the President to short-circuit Congress’s deliberative process by executive order.” Earlier this month, the House passed the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which would require states to obtain proof of citizenship for those registering to vote in a federal election. Additionally, the act mandates that all non-citizens be removed from voter rolls. The Senate still needs to pass the measure before it can reach Trump’s desk. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, who sponsored the bill in the House, wrote, “In order to preserve this republic, we must uphold what it means to be able to vote in a U.S. election. I am grateful that my colleagues answered the call and passed the SAVE Act, as this serves as a critical first step to ensure that we maintain election integrity throughout our country.” So far in 2025, five states have enacted voter ID requirements, and one has mandated proof of citizenship for registration, according to Voting Rights Lab. Additionally, 25 states are considering bills that would mandate proof of citizenship, while 40 are mulling legislation requiring voter ID.
Sister of terrorist, believed to be behind Pahalgam massacre, admits her brother is a ‘Mujahideen’
“My brother is a Mujahideen”, says the sister of one of the terrorists allegedly involved in the Pahalgam massacre in Jammu and Kashmir which claimed 26 innocent lives. Earlier today, the houses of two Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists, believed to be behind the deadly Pahalgam attack, were demolished.
Trump’s ‘STOP’ message to Putin echoes Biden’s ‘don’t’ from 2022
President Donald Trump’s message for Russian President Vladimir Putin to “STOP!” airstrikes on Ukraine echoes a comment made by former President Joe Biden in 2022 in which he repeatedly warned Putin against using chemical or nuclear weapons in the conflict. “I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV. Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP! 5,000 soldiers a week are dying. Let’s get the peace deal DONE,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Thursday as Russian airstrikes rocked Kyiv. Three years ago, during an interview with CBS News, Biden was asked, “As Ukraine succeeds on the battlefield, Vladimir Putin is becoming embarrassed and pushed into a corner — And I wonder Mr. President what you would say to him if he is considering using chemical or tactical nuclear weapons?” “Don’t. Don’t. Don’t,” Biden responded. “It will change the face of war unlike anything since World War II.” RUSSIA IS ‘READY TO MAKE A DEAL’ ON UKRAINE WAR, LAVROV SAYS The Thursday attack on Ukraine killed at least 10 and injured at least 90, including children, Ukraine said. Trump’s message to Putin to “STOP!” was criticized on the Friday cover of the New York Post, which featured the headline “Words aren’t enough.” Trump administration officials claimed they had productive talks with Putin, but they have yet to secure a deal that would end the war that has been raging since Russia’s February 2022 invasion. RUSSIAN GENERAL KILLED IN MOSCOW-AREA CAR BOMBING, INVESTIGATORS SAY Recently, several members of the administration suggested that the U.S. could end its efforts to secure a peace deal if Ukraine and Russia do not start making significant moves toward ending the war. White House envoy Steve Witkoff is in Moscow on Friday to meet with Putin. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also told CBS News that the Kremlin is “ready to reach a deal” to end the war. In an excerpt of an interview that is set to air in full on Sunday, Lavrov said he agreed with Trump’s assertion that talks between Ukraine and Russia were “moving in the right direction.” However, Lavrov added there were “some specific points, elements of the deal, which need to be fine-tuned,” but did not explain what was being negotiated. Lavrov also apparently made it clear to CBS News that Russia would not give up Crimea, which the country seized from Ukraine in 2014. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said this week that his country would not recognize Russian control of Crimea, as it would go against Ukraine’s constitution. Trump slammed Zelenskyy over the “inflammatory” remark and said in a post on Truth Social that the comment was “very harmful” to peace efforts. Fox News Digital’s Rachel Wolf contributed to this report.
Has Islamic State made its bases in Jammu and Kashmir? Why did terrorists ask to recite ‘kalma’?
What has shocked the people most in Pahalgam attack is how the terrorists executed their nefarious designs. The gunmen asked the tourists their names before opening fire. In some cases, they also demanded the tourists recite “kalma” or the Islamic prayers.
Rahul Gandhi visits J-K after Pahalgam massacre, meets terror attack survivor: ‘Nation standing united’
Congress MP and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi met Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah at his residence in Srinagar on Friday in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terrorist attack. He also met a person injured in the attack at a hospital in Srinagar.