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Vance takes victory lap in border visit as illegal immigrant numbers plummet

Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday took a victory lap as he toured the southern border, hailing a sharp drop in border encounters that he tied directly to the policies of the Trump administration. Vance, alongside Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, toured the border in Eagle Pass, Texas. They met with Texas officials, including Gov. Greg Abbott, participated in an aerial tour of the border and observed a stretch of recently built border wall. In remarks to the press, Vance referenced remarks President Donald Trump made in his speech to the joint session of Congress on Tuesday. VANCE HEADS TO SOUTHERN BORDER AS TRUMP TOUTS SHARP DROP IN CROSSINGS: ‘THEY HEARD MY WORDS’  “It turns out we didn’t need new laws. We didn’t need fancy legislation. We just needed a new President of the United States. And thank God, that’s exactly what we have,” Vance said. The trio also visited a Border Patrol detention facility before participating in a roundtable discussion with local and national participants. “Border security is national security,” Hegseth told Fox News before the trip. He added, “We’re sending those folks home, and we’re not letting more in. And you’re seeing that right now.” Vance pointed to numbers saying that crossings had dropped from 1,500 a day to 30 a day, and an 85% reduction in those dying at the border. TRUMP HONORS LIVES OF LAKEN RILEY, JOCELYN NUNGARAY WHILE CELEBRATING STRIDES ON SECURING BORDER “Every single day that we continue to keep this border safe, that means less migrant crime. That means less fentanyl coming into our communities. That means more safety and security for the people of the United States of America,” he said. “Our mission is very clear. Our objective is to keep the American people safe,” Gabbard said, highlighting the president’s designation of cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. Trump, whose campaign centered on cracking down on illegal immigration, had signed executive orders to declare a national emergency at the border and deploy the military. He also ordered the resumption of border wall construction and the end of Biden parole policies. The Pentagon quickly deployed troops and opened up Guantánamo Bay to flights of migrants. The Department of Homeland Security has taken limits off of interior enforcement and expanded the use of expedited removal, while the State Department secured additional cooperation with countries to return migrants. That’s in addition to an interior enforcement campaign that has led to the arrests of thousands of illegal immigrants throughout the country, including in “sanctuary” cities. In February, there were just 8,326 southern border encounters, down from 189,913 in February 2024. The administration has so far removed more than 55,000 illegal immigrants from the U.S. CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE A Border Patrol source told Fox News that there were just 271 total encounters for the entire southern border on Tuesday, and just 14 in the Del Rio Sector where Vance is visiting. Trump also pointed to a drop in crossings during his address on Tuesday evening. “Within hours of taking the oath of office, I declared a national emergency on our southern border and I deployed the U.S. military and Border Patrol to repel the invasion of our country. And what a job they’ve done. As a result, illegal border crossings last month were by far the lowest ever recorded, ever,” he said. “They heard my words, and they chose not to come.” Fox News’ Brooke Taylor and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Democrats, protesters gather at DOGE’s ‘ground zero’ to protest spending cuts

FIRST ON FOX: Democratic lawmakers joined protesters outside what they described as “ground zero” for the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to oppose recent spending cuts by the newly formed cost-cutting department. Protesters, some of whom say they were laid off from their federal jobs during DOGE cuts, gathered outside the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Tuesday ahead of President Donald Trump’s joint address to Congress. Democratic lawmakers, including Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., and representatives Don Beyer, D-Va.; Kweisi Mfume, D-Md.; Glenn Ivey, D-Md.; and Johnny Olszewski Jr., D-Md., attended the protest, and some revealed they would not be attending Trump’s speech later that evening. “This is ground zero. This is where Elon Musk and DOGE have taken up shop,” Olszewski said at the protest. DOGE SLASHES NEARLY $1M FOR ALPACA FARMING IN PERU, OTHER QUESTIONABLE GRANTS IN LATEST WASTEFUL SPENDING CUT “It’s where the fight is really happening,” the congressman added. This is an agency that is supposed to have a workforce that reflects the diversity of our country and is supposed to be based on merit, and we’re not seeing that. In fact, we’re seeing the opposite.” Protesters held signs that said “Evict DOGE from OPM now,” “Federal employees are taxpayers too,” and “We all deserve better.”  Mfume, speaking at the event, claimed the cost-cutting initiative was “anti-American.” “Even if you worked for a snake, a snake would tell you we’re getting ready to take your job,” Mfume said, before saying he needed to “calm myself” when talking about Musk. “Every event like this is a small step in the right direction,” Beyer said. DOGE INITIAL FINDINGS ON DEFENSE DEPARTMENT DEI SPENDING COULD SAVE $80M, AGENCY SAYS One attendee, Cecilia, said she was sent an email “overnight” saying she had a few hours to “pack up and leave.” “I worked here. I dedicated over 16 years of federal work in this place, and I was part of an entire department that was dismantled,” the woman said. The White House told Fox News Digital the protests would not deter the administration’s cost-cutting efforts.  “Protests will not deter President Trump and Elon Musk from delivering on the promise to establish DOGE and make our federal government more efficient and more accountable to the hardworking American taxpayers across the country,” Harrison Fields, special assistant to the president and principal deputy press secretary, told Fox News Digital in a statement. While some Democrats skipped the president’s joint address in protest of the administration’s actions, Trump used the speech to highlight DOGE’s work to cut costs.  “I have created the brand-new Department of Government Efficiency,” Trump said before highlighting areas where “wasteful spending” had been cut.  “Under the Trump administration, all of these scams — and there are far worse — but I didn’t think it was appropriate to talk about them,” the president said.  “They’re so bad. Many more have been found out and exposed and swiftly terminated by a group of very intelligent, mostly young people headed up by Elon, and we appreciate it. We found hundreds of billions of dollars of fraud.”

Sudanese starve as soup kitchens close down and warring parties block aid

The United States’ decision to suspend foreign aid is exacerbating a catastrophic hunger crisis in Sudan, where millions risk dying from malnutrition-related illnesses. Since assuming office in January, US President Donald Trump’s administration has put on leave or fired the vast majority of employees at the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and paused almost all of the global projects it funds. Last year, USAID contributed 44 percent to Sudan’s $1.8bn humanitarian response, according to the United Nations. A portion of this sum went to supporting Emergency Response Rooms (ERRs), which are neighbourhood relief groups that support hundreds of “community kitchens” across the country. “About 80 percent of the 1,460 community kitchens across Sudan were shut down [when USAID paused all funding],” said Hajooj Kuka, the spokesperson for the ERRs in Khartoum state. Sudanese women from community kitchens run by local volunteers distribute meals for people who are affected by conflict and extreme hunger and are out of reach of international aid efforts, in Omdurman, Sudan, July 27, 2024 [File: Mazin Alrasheed/Reuters] Filling the gap Since a power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) erupted into civil war in April 2023, communal kitchens have kept hundreds of thousands of people alive in regions where UN agencies and global relief organisations are unable to reach due to the wilful obstruction of aid by the warring parties, according to local and foreign relief workers. Advertisement Despite the efforts of ERR volunteers, more than 600,000 people in Sudan are coping with famine levels of hunger and some eight million are on the verge of slipping into famine, according to the global hunger monitor, the UN Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC). The pause in USAID funding now risks compounding the hunger crisis. According to Iyad Agha, the humanitarian coordinator for international nongovernmental organisations in Sudan, some organisations obtained waivers from the US government to continue administering life-saving services. However, many of these services were eventually terminated after a subsequent review by the US determined that they were not necessary to sustain life. Days later, the Trump administration reversed some terminations and permitted some services to resume. Agha said Washington’s decisions appear to be “completely random”. “NGOs are paralysed and don’t know how to proceed amidst the chaos and confusion and the affected people [who need aid in Sudan] are the most impacted by all of this chaos,” he told Al Jazeera. “The problem is that if some other donors want to step in [for the absence of USAID] there is [a large gap] to fulfil,” Agha added. ERRs have taken matters into their own hands to find alternative funding. Kuka said that community kitchens have solicited funding from the Sudanese diaspora and smaller charitable organisations in order to keep providing meals to beleaguered civilians during the holy month of Ramadan, which began earlier in March. Advertisement Their efforts have helped hundreds of community kitchens to reopen across the country, yet 63 percent remain shuttered since the US government paused most foreign aid, said Kuka. “There is only so much we can do. There simply isn’t enough food for people,” he told Al Jazeera. “But we have started an online drive for people to donate and during Ramadan, people tend to donate more during this time,” he added. Impediments and looting Both sides in Sudan’s civil war are responsible for generating the hunger crisis, say local and foreign relief workers. One issue cited by some relief workers is that UN agencies recognise the Sudanese army as the de facto government. This policy has empowered the army to approve or deny aid shipments coming across the borders from neighbouring countries such as Chad and South Sudan, which the army does not control. Critics previously told Al Jazeera that humanitarians should work with the relevant authorities in each area of Sudan in order to reach as many needy people as possible. In addition, UN agencies that treat the army as the de facto government are required to base all humanitarian operations out of Port Sudan, which makes it logistically difficult to reach faraway regions such as the Nuba Mountains in South Kordofan and the sprawling region of Darfur. A banner of General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, leader of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), stands in Omdurman, Sudan with the words ‘the people are with you’ written beneath his image [Sara Creta/EPA] The army is also accused of imposing bureaucratic impediments to obstruct and delay aid shipments. Advertisement “The army’s procedures are very cumbersome. It’s a mountain of paperwork,” explained Leni Kinzli, the spokesperson for the World Food Programme (WFP). “We have to deal with the different authorities: military intelligence, the Humanitarian Aid Commission, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the General Intelligence Services and National Intelligence Services. “Basically, for any [aid truck to move], we need to get a stamp from all of those agencies,” she told Al Jazeera. Analysts and relief workers also accuse the SAF of prohibiting aid to regions under RSF control. But army spokesperson Nabil Abdullah has repeatedly denied this accusation and criticised the RSF for starving civilians. Hind al-Atif, the spokesperson for the ERR in Sharq el-Nile, a sprawling neighbourhood in Khartoum, accused the RSF of exacerbating the hunger crisis. She said that the group looted all the main markets in Khartoum ahead of Ramadan and that many civilians are hesitant to leave their neighbourhoods to look for food out of fear that they could be attacked at RSF checkpoints. “People are scared to flee because the RSF often robs people of their money and phones,” she told Al Jazeera. Al Jazeera contacted the RSF’s press office for comment on allegations that its fighters are robbing civilians at gunpoint and looting markets, but the group did not respond before publication. Insecurity and starvation As fighting escalates between the RSF and Sudanese army, local relief groups and aid agencies are finding it increasingly difficult to reach beleaguered civilians. Advertisement In the Zamzam displacement camp, where more

US confirms direct talks with Hamas over Gaza captives

Talks come as Israel continues to block supplies of humanitarian aid into Gaza after first phase of ceasefire expired. The United States is engaging in direct talks with Hamas as negotiations on a ceasefire agreement between the Palestinian armed group and Israel are hanging by a thread. “These are ongoing talks and discussions, I’m not going to detail them here, there are American lives at stake,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday, confirming a report by Axios media outlet that talks between the two sides were taking place. “Look, dialogue and talking to people around the world to do what’s in the best interest of the American people is something that the president has proven is what he believes is [a] good faith, effort to do what’s right for the American people,” Leavitt said. Adam Boehler, Trump’s nominee to be special envoy for hostage affairs, participated in the direct talks with Hamas. A Hamas official cited by the AFP news agency confirmed the negotiations over Israeli-US captives held in Gaza. The US had previously publicly refused direct contact with the Palestinian group since banning them as a “terrorist” organisation in 1997. Advertisement Israel said it had been consulted by the US on the direct talks. Israeli officials say about 24 living captives – including Edan Alexander, an American citizen – as well as the bodies of at least 35 others are believed to still be held in Gaza. Al Jazeera’s Hamdah Salhut, reporting from Jordan, said the two sides discussed captives held in Gaza. “We understand it’s in order to secure the retrieval of the bodies of Israeli-American captives who are still being held in Gaza and one Israeli captive with US citizenship who is believed to be alive. “The Americans are saying that their envoys have the power to negotiate with anyone, and it’s not just over the captives who hold American citizenship, it’s also for an end to the war,” she said. Fragile truce Confirmation of the talks comes days after the first phase of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire expired, with Israel pushing for an extension while Hamas insists on progressing to the second phase of the deal agreed in January. The first phase saw Hamas release 33 hostages in exchange for Israel releasing more than 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees. Israel has said the proposal to extend the first phase of the truce was drafted by the US envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff. The new plan would require Hamas to release half its remaining captives in exchange for a ceasefire extension and a promise to negotiate a lasting truce. Israel made no mention of releasing more Palestinian prisoners – a key component of the first phase. Advertisement Aid blocked After the first phase expired, Israel on Sunday suspended humanitarian aid deliveries, including fuel, aid and medicine, into Gaza, as the government aims to put pressure on Hamas to accept the new terms – a move that the Palestinian group slammed as a violation of the original deal. France, the United Kingdom and Germany on Wednesday warned Israel against using aid as a “political tool”, calling on it to ensure the “unhindered” delivery of humanitarian supplies to the war-ravaged Palestinian enclave. “We call on the government of Israel to abide by its international obligations to ensure full, rapid, safe and unhindered provision of humanitarian assistance to the population in Gaza,” the countries said in a joint statement. “A halt on goods and supplies entering Gaza such as that announced by the government of Israel would risk violating international humanitarian law,” they said. “Humanitarian aid should never be contingent on a ceasefire or used as a political tool.” The three European nations described the humanitarian situation in Gaza as “catastrophic”. Adblock test (Why?)

Can Egypt’s plan for Gaza backed by Arab League become reality?

Summit follows US President Donald Trump’s beach resort plan. Arab leaders have approved Egypt’s plan for Gaza’s future – including major reconstruction and elections. This follows US President Donald Trump’s proposal to forcibly expel Palestinians and turn Gaza into a US-controlled beach resort. Can the Arab nations’ plan become reality? Presenter: Sami Zeidan Guests: Ori Goldberg – Political commentator Mansour Shouman – Middle East political analyst Stephen Zunes – Professor of politics and founding chairman of the Middle Eastern Studies programme at the University of San Francisco Adblock test (Why?)

Texas may change how schools select library books. Critics say it could lead to more bans.

Senate Bill 13 would create school library advisory councils largely made up of parents. It would give school boards, rather than librarians, the final say over new books.

Blue state GOP lawmaker goes viral for exposing state’s spending proposals: ‘People were appalled’

Debates over the Golden State’s spending practices continue to make waves nationwide, and one California Republican lawmaker is going viral as a result.  Assemblymember Carl DeMaio, R-San Diego, was one of several Republican lawmakers removed or shifted from their committee assignments by the state house speaker last week, but DeMaio believes his removal from the budget committee after only two hearings was deliberate. “You may have removed me from the budget committee, but you will not deter me from getting the truth out to the taxpayers in California about your wasteful spending and your money laundering of taxpayer money to far left-wing political groups,” DeMaio told Fox News Digital in an interview. “We will expose you, and we will allow the public to decide whether that’s what they want to see happen with their money,” he added. LOS ANGELES MAYOR KAREN BASS RECALL EFFORT LAUNCHES A spokesman for Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas’ office told Fox News Digital the speaker “routinely address[es] committee needs throughout the year, and his goal is to always ensure members are in optimal roles to collaborate effectively and deliver for Californians.”  According to KCRA, Republicans have retained vice chair roles, and some Democrats were also booted off committees in the process.  Democrats have argued that the behavior of some Republicans in hearings is a distraction curated for social media and defeats the purpose of meetings.  In recent weeks, DeMaio has gone viral for his questioning of California officials, particularly when it comes to the state’s budget. He prompted an answer from a state budget official revealing that $9.5 billion is being spent on MediCal for illegal immigrants, which is higher than a previous $6 billion projection. “They were embarrassed. It made national news. People were appalled across the state of California so much money is going to illegal immigrants just for healthcare,” DeMaio said. He also suggested the state enlist Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to help improve processes in the state. DeMaio is also making the case that a “COVID-19 workplace outreach” program is being used to back left-leaning groups that do political work outside the scope of its namesake, according to the California Globe. SKYROCKETING HEALTHCARE COSTS FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS SPARKS BORDER STATE OUTCRY “In 2025, we are actually still spending $25 million in taxpayer money on a COVID-19 workplace education program. Isn’t that so 2020? This is completely unnecessary,” he said. The scrutiny comes amid an ongoing debate about the Golden State’s overall financial health for the upcoming fiscal year as Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office argues his proposal is balanced, while Republicans believe it will run up a deficit. “The budget I present to you today builds on a framework that balanced the books over two years instead of just one — an unprecedented effort to address the budget shortfall we faced. However, work remains to ensure California’s finances remain in order in the years to come,” Newsom said in a statement in January. FEDS BUST MASSIVE ALLEGED GUATEMALAN HUMAN SMUGGLING RING OPERATING OUT OF CALIFORNIA CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Despite the mix of praise and backlash, DeMaio believes it’s important to put a spotlight on the Golden State.  “The reason why all Americans should be carefully watching what’s going on in California is that the bad ideas coming to your state actually usually get their start in California,” DeMaio said. “They use California as a petri dish for their far left-wing extremist ideas, and then they export these bad ideas to other states, and they claim that it’s successful out here.” 

Resolution punishing Al Green clears Dem blockade, advances to House-wide vote after Trump speech

A resolution to reprimand Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, survived a procedural hurdle late Wednesday afternoon, teeing the measure up for a House-wide vote. Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., introduced a censure resolution against the Texas Democrat earlier in the day amid widespread GOP anger at Democrats who protested President Donald Trump’s address to Congress on Tuesday. Democrats pushed for a vote to table the resolution, which would have effectively killed it. But it failed to pass, and a vote on the measure itself is expected sometime this week. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP CONCLUDES REMARKS AFTER DECLARING ‘AMERICA’S MOMENTUM IS BACK’ Fox News Digital was told that Newhouse had been in contact with House GOP leadership about his resolution since Trump’s speech ended last night. There had been multiple resolutions circulating among House Republicans to censure Green for interrupting Trump’s speech, but Newhouse’s appears to be the measure with House GOP leaders’ blessing. “I believe it is the first one out of the gate,” Speaker Mike Johnson, R-LA, told reporters on Wednesday morning. “I think [Green’s protest is] unprecedented. Certainly in the modern era. It wasn’t an excited utterance. It was a, you know, planned, prolonged protest.” The 77-year-old Democrat was removed from Trump’s joint address to Congress on Tuesday night after repeatedly disrupting the beginning of the president’s speech. He shouted, “You have no mandate,” at Trump as he touted Republican victories in the House, Senate and White House. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., had Green removed by the U.S. Sergeant-At-Arms. TOP 5 MOMENTS FROM TRUMP’S ADDRESS TO JOINT SESSION OF CONGRESS Green remained defiant when he stopped to speak with the White House press pool on the first floor of the U.S. Capitol after being thrown out of the second floor House chamber, where Trump was speaking. “I’m willing to suffer whatever punishment is available to me. I didn’t say to anyone, don’t punish me. I’ve said I’ll accept the punishment,” Green said, according to the White House press pool report. “But it’s worth it to let people know that there are some of us who are going to stand up against this president’s desire to cut Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security.” In addition to Newhouse’s resolution, Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, has his own measure with more than 30 House GOP co-sponsors. The House Freedom Caucus is backing a third censure resolution being led by Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz. 

Vance visits Texas-Mexico border to promote Trump’s immigration crackdown

The vice president, joined by two other top Trump administration officials, took an aerial tour of the border and met with law enforcement officials.

DOGE says seven grants for trans animal testing canceled, audits expanded: ‘Shady expenditures happening’

The Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) on Wednesday said several grants for transgender experiments on animals have been canceled, and a pilot program to audit federal agencies with unused credit cards has expanded amid “a lot of shady expenditures happening,” said DOGE leader Elon Musk. The cost-cutting group said the National Institutes of Health (NIH) canceled seven grants, some of which included $532,000 to “use a mouse model to investigate the effects of cross-sex testosterone treatment” and another $33,000 to test “feminizing hormone therapy in the male rat.” DOD TELLS CIVILIAN WORKFORCE TO IGNORE ELON MUSK’S REQUEST TO REPORT PRODUCTIVITY In a statement, the agency said it remains committed to “advancing biomedical research under NIH’s priorities and promoting radical transparency in alignment with the @POTUS agenda.”  “Our work is driven by accountability to all Americans as we push forward in science and public health,” it wrote on X.  In recent weeks, Republicans have railed against taxpayer funds being used for transgender animal studies. During a Feb. 6 House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing titled: “Transgender Lab Rats and Poisoned Puppies: Oversight of Taxpayer Funded Animal Cruelty,” Justin Goodman of the White Coat Waste Project (WCW) watchdog group said the federal government spent millions on “transgender animal testing.” MUSK TELLS CABINET THAT DOGE EMAIL WAS ‘PULSE CHECK’ FOR WORKERS, WARNS US WILL ‘GO BANKRUPT’ WITHOUT ACTION “In a lot of these cases, they involve mice, rats, monkeys, who are being surgically mutilated and subjected to hormone therapies to mimic female to male or male to female gender transitions, gender-affirming hormone therapies, and then looking at the biological, psychological and physiological effects of the gender transitions, looking at the effects of taking vaccines after you’ve transitioned these animals from male to female or female to male, looking at the size of their genitals changing after you’ve put them on estrogen or testosterone therapies to transition them,” Goodman said at the hearing. In addition to the canceled grants, DOGE said a pilot program to audit federal agencies for unused and unneeded credit cards has expanded to 16 more agencies. After two weeks, 146,000 credit cards were deactivated. “As a reminder, at the start of the audit, there were ~4.6M active cards/accounts, so still more work to do,” a DOGE post on X states.  Musk said many of the limits on government-issued credit cards are up to $10,000.  “There are still almost twice as many credit/purchasing cards as people in the government, and the limits are $10,000! A lot of shady expenditures happening,” he said.