Trump wants ‘activist’ groups that sue the government to put up money if they lose
FIRST ON FOX: President Donald Trump signed a memo Thursday directing government agency heads to ask federal judges to require financial guarantees to hold “activist” groups that sue the government financially responsible if an injunction is found to be unnecessary. The memo comes as the Trump administration faces more than 90 lawsuits stemming from executive orders, memos and executive proclamations issued since Jan. 20 that legal groups, labor organizations, and other state and local plaintiffs are challenging. Specifically, the memo instructs federal agencies to coordinate with Attorney General Pam Bondi to request federal courts adhere to a rule that mandates financial guarantees from those requesting injunctions. While federal judges ultimately have the final say on whether these financial guarantees are required, the Department of Justice can request under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65(c) that judges implement the rule to require financial guarantees from plaintiffs that are equal to the potential costs and damages the federal government would incur from a wrongly issued preliminary injunction or temporary restraining order. SCOTUS RULES ON NEARLY $2B IN FROZEN USAID PAYMENTS The memo signed Thursday applies to all lawsuits seeking preliminary injunctions or temporary restraining orders “where the government can demonstrate monetary harm from the requested relief,” according to a White House fact sheet. “Agencies must justify security amounts based on reasoned assessments of harm, ensuring courts deny or dissolve injunctions if plaintiffs fail to pay up, absent good cause,” the White House said in the fact sheet obtained by Fox News Digital. As a result, the White House said the order will rule in “activist judges” and keep “litigants accountable.” “Unelected district judges have issued sweeping injunctions beyond their authority, inserting themselves into executive policymaking and stalling policies voters supported,” the White House said in its fact sheet. The lawsuits challenging the Trump administration already have started to make their way up to the Supreme Court. For example, the high court issued a 5-4 ruling Wednesday upholding a district judge’s order requiring the Trump administration to pay almost $2 billion in foreign aid money. The Supreme Court said that since the district court’s Feb. 26 deadline for the Trump administration to pay the USAID funding contracts has expired it directed the case back to the lower court to hash out future payment plans. TRUMP TEMPORARILY THWARTED IN DOGE MISSION TO END USAID “Given that the deadline in the challenged order has now passed, and in light of the ongoing preliminary injunction proceedings, the District Court should clarify what obligations the Government must fulfill to ensure compliance with the temporary restraining order, with due regard for the feasibility of any compliance timelines,” the Court said. Fox News’ Kerri Urbahn and Breanne Deppisch contributed to this report.
‘Who benefited?’: Blue state lawmaker demands FBI investigate bullet train ‘boondoggle’
Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Calif., is asking the FBI to look into California’s high-speed rail project, which is already facing a compliance audit from the Department of Transportation. Kiley says no rail has been constructed since the project kicked off 17 years ago, and the projection that it could cost $100 billion above previous estimates raises red flags. “This malfeasance leads to questions that transcend mere incompetence. How is it possible to have spent over $13 billion without a single station opening? Where have these funds gone? Who benefited?” Kiley wrote in a letter to FBI Director Kash Patel Tuesday. TRUMP ADMIN PUTS ‘DISASTROUS’ HIGH-SPEED RAIL PROJECT IN DEEP BLUE STATE ON NOTICE “Because the project has consumed billions in federal funding, the FBI has both the authority, and I would argue the responsibility, to pursue these questions and deliver answers to the American people. The Public Integrity Division is uniquely qualified to root out any corruption, recover stolen funds, and restore confidence that our tax dollars are being stewarded carefully.” The FBI declined to comment on the request. “We welcome this investigation & look forward to working with federal partners. CA High-Speed Rail has been audited over 100x, every dollar is accounted for & progress is real – 50 structures built, 14,600 jobs created & 171 miles under construction,” the California High-Speed Rail Authority posted to X in response. “Full speed ahead!” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy visited Los Angeles last month to rail against the bullet train efforts after it received billions in federal taxpayer funding. TRANPORTATION SEC. SEAN DUFFY CALLS FOR INVESTMENTS IN TRAVEL INFRASTRUCTURE: ‘WE NEED ALL THE CASH’ “For too long, taxpayers have subsidized the massively over-budget and delayed California High-Speed Rail project,” Duffy said in a statement at the time. “President Trump is right that this project is in dire need of an investigation. That is why I am directing my staff to review and determine whether the CHSRA has followed through on the commitments it made to receive billions of dollars in federal funding. If not, I will have to consider whether that money could be given to deserving infrastructure projects elsewhere in the United States.” CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATS URGE FEDS TO APPROVE HIGH-SPEED RAIL FUNDING BEFORE DOGE NIXES ‘BOONDOGGLE’ Although rail has not been built, other construction projects related to it have caused issues for some California residents, including one in Madera County, where an overpass is being built so close to a house that a survey obtained by Fox News Digital labeled it encroachment.
Trump FDA nominee turns vaccine question on Dem, recalling controversial Biden decision
President Donald Trump’s choice to lead the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) flipped a question about vaccine processes around on a top Democratic senator during his confirmation hearing on Thursday, advising them to ask former President Joe Biden why he skipped a key step when it came to the COVID-19 booster. Dr. Marty Makary, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine professor and former Fox News medical contributor, went before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), during which he answered questions regarding vaccines, chronic illness, food safety and abortion. “So if you are confirmed, will you commit to immediately reschedule that FDA Vaccine Advisory Committee meeting to get the expert views?” Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., asked Trump’s FDA pick. INSIDE ELON MUSK’S HUDDLE WITH GOP SENATORS: DOGE HEAD TOUTS $4M SAVINGS PER DAY Her question came in reference to an FDA vaccine meeting that was reportedly postponed at the last minute. “I would reevaluate which topics deserve a convening of the advisory committee members on [Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee] and which may not require a convening,” Makary replied, noting he was not a part of the decision. Asked again by Murray, the FDA commissioner nominee said, “Well, you can ask the Biden administration that chose not to convene the committee meeting for the COVID vaccine booster.” EXCLUSIVE: ELON MUSK PAC THANKS TRUMP FOR ‘SAVING THE AMERICAN DREAM’ IN NEW MILLION-DOLLAR AD In 2021, Biden’s administration notably pushed through FDA approval for a COVID-19 booster for everyone over the age of 18. Per a press release at the time, “The FDA did not hold a meeting of the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee on these actions as the agency previously convened the committee for extensive discussions regarding the use of booster doses of COVID-19 vaccines and, after review of both Pfizer’s and Moderna’s EUA requests, the FDA concluded that the requests do not raise questions that would benefit from additional discussion by committee members.” At the time, committee member Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia remarked, “We’re being asked to approve this as a three-dose vaccine for people 16 years of age and older, without any clear evidence if the third dose for a younger person when compared to an elderly person is of value.” HOUSE GOPERS HOPE TRUMP KEEPS DOOR TO MINERAL DEAL OPEN FOR UKRAINE DESPITE OVAL OFFICE DISPUTE Fox News Digital asked Murray whether she was similarly concerned by Biden’s decision. The senator said in a statement, “In 2022, I had confidence that our public health agencies were following the latest science and listening to public health experts. I do not have that confidence now.” “We’re talking about Trump and RFK Jr. canceling a routine meeting that has taken place annually, for at least 30 years, to make recommendations for which influenza strains should be included in the flu vaccines for the upcoming flu season – there has been zero justification for its cancellation or any information about when it would be rescheduled,” she continued. “The flu vaccine is safe, effective, and lifesaving – we need this advisory committee to meet so manufacturers have enough time to prepare the correct vaccines.” Ahead of the Thursday hearing, Murray and fellow HELP Democratic Sens. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin and Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland penned a letter to Makary, telling him, “We intend to use your nomination hearing next week to understand whether you support this ill-informed measure to slow critical public health decision-making.” GOP REBELS FIRE WARNING SHOT IN SHUTDOWN SHOWDOWN: NO DOGE, NO DEAL HELP Chairman Bill Cassidy, R-La., also inquired about the postponed meeting, asking Makary, “How will you ensure that advisory committees remain objective, transparent and still benefiting from the necessary expertise of external experts?” The nominee told Cassidy, “You have my commitment to review what the committees are doing [and] how they’re being used.” “As you know, I was critical when that committee was not convened at all during one of the COVID booster guidance decisions by the FDA,” Makary noted. He recalled that FDA leadership “at the time argued that they’re advisory, and we don’t have to convene them. That was repeatedly, throughout the Biden administration.”
Trump orders Cabinet secretaries to work with DOGE on staffing, use a ‘scalpel’ on personnel decisions
President Donald Trump on Thursday said he’s ordered all of his Cabinet secretaries to work with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and to use a “scalpel” when deciding which workers will remain in their jobs. In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said the Elon Musk-led group has “been an incredible success.” “And now that we have my Cabinet in place, I have instructed the Secretaries and Leadership to work with DOGE on Cost Cutting measures and Staffing,” he wrote. “As the Secretaries learn about, and understand, the people working for the various Departments, they can be very precise as to who will remain, and who will go. We say the ‘scalpel’ rather than the ‘hatchet.’” DOD TELLS CIVILIAN WORKFORCE TO IGNORE ELON MUSK’S REQUEST TO REPORT PRODUCTIVITY Trump and Musk met with most of the secretaries, with Trump calling the gathering very “positive.” “It’s very important that we cut levels down to where they should be, but it’s also important to keep the best and most productive people,” he said. “We’re going to have these meetings every two weeks until that aspect of this very necessary job is done.” DOGE, as well as Musk, has come under heavy scrutiny from Democrats over its cost-cutting measures and attempts to gain access to sensitive data. On Wednesday, Musk met with a small group of House Republicans to discuss avenues for cost savings in a quest to find as much as $1 trillion in government waste, people familiar with the discussion told Fox News Digital. MUSK TELLS CABINET THAT DOGE EMAIL WAS ‘PULSE CHECK’ FOR WORKERS, WARNS US WILL ‘GO BANKRUPT’ WITHOUT ACTION “The executive DOGE team is confident, they think they can get $1 trillion,” one lawmaker familiar with the meeting told Fox News Digital. “Now, we’ll see, right? And the thing is, he acknowledged that we’re going to make mistakes, but we’re going to correct them very quickly.” Democrats have accused Trump of giving Musk too much power as he focuses on Trump’s promise to make the federal government more efficient. “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 on Wednesday. Fox News Digital’s Aubrie Spady and Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.
Muslim journalist warns Senate of antisemitism ‘industry’, calls for DOJ probe of ‘malign foreign influence’
A Muslim journalist warned the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday that antisemitism has become an “industry” in the United States, and called for the Justice Department to investigate the “malign foreign influence” behind it. “Antisemitism is now an industry. It is an industry that is being perpetuated, unfortunately, by organizations that even have nonprofit status in America – 501(c)(3)s, 501(c)(4)s,” Asra Nomani, founder of the Pearl Project, told Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa. “And these are organizations that are belying their own mission in order to use as a Trojan horse this opposition to Israel to perpetuate this hate. These young students that we have are the targets of that hate.” “October 7th became their moment. And what has happened is that, unfortunately, pulling our punches and not recognizing their danger in our society serves no one,” Nomani added. “It absolutely does not serve our interests of an inclusive society. An actual inclusive society means that we do not allow hate of any kind, and the kind that we have right now against our Jewish community is of epidemic proportions.” In her opening statement, Nomani detailed the origin of the Pearl Project, a faculty-student investigative project into the murder of Daniel Pearl. Pearl was Nomani’s colleague at The Wall Street Journal when they both reported in Pakistan in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. He was kidnapped and killed by Islamic terrorists, who, Nomani asserted, targeted Pearl for being a descendant of Israel. NYPD MAKES MULTIPLE ARRESTS AT BARNARD COLLEGE AFTER ANTI-ISRAEL AGITATORS TAKE OVER LIBRARY “Many people will think that he was targeted because he was Jewish, but an FBI agent went and interviewed the kidnapper, and he said, ‘I didn’t target him just because he’s Jewish. I targeted him because he is a son of Israel,’” Nomani told the committee. “I am here to report to you that in the 22 years since then, I have been investigating the network that has perpetuated the hate that was targeted against Danny. We have called them agitators today, and we have called them protesters, but they have names. They are from organizations that are in a network that I have numbered now at 1,500. This is not a grassroots organization.” Nomani held up posters seen at recent anti-Israel protests and at the Democratic National Convention disseminated by American Muslims for Palestine. She said the person charged with spraying graffiti that read “Hamas is coming” on the Christopher Columbus statue in front of Union Station in Washington, D.C., during protests against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit last July was “not just an agitator,” but “a man who is the Richmond Director of American Muslims for Palestine.” She claimed that other anti-Israel demonstrators were affiliated with the Party for Socialism and Liberation. “The hate that killed Danny Pearl on the streets of Karachi is now in our streets. It’s on our campuses. It’s a frightening network of the far left and the Islamist groups,” she said. “Nobody in this room can support their ideals. Their ideals are against individual liberties and free enterprise. They want to destroy the United States of America. They want to destroy Israel. And our young Jewish students on campuses, our younger Danny’s, are in their crosshairs.” AFTER TRUMP THREAT, HAMAS REFUSES TO RELEASE MORE HOSTAGES WITHOUT PHASE 2 CEASEFIRE DEAL Nomani continued: “We must recognize this existential threat. It is a vast network. We must investigate them. We must have them register with the Foreign Agent Registration Act when they are doing the work of these malign foreign actors that want to destroy America. And we must support Muslim reform movement leaders who want to stand up with our Jewish brothers and sisters.” Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, later questioned another witness about the funding of antisemitism in the United States. “Is it clear that there is significant money funding these attacks on Jewish students and attacks on America?” Cruz asked Dr. Alyza Lewin, president of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights. “It is clear that there is coordination and there must be some common funding,” Lewin responded. Lewin said she was not aware of any investigations under the Biden Justice Department to follow the money behind antisemitic activities, and neither was she aware of anyone being indicted over the flow of funding. Cruz again asked whether Lewin was aware of any university or institution having Title VI federal funds cut off because they “tolerated, welcomed” or “had their own officials cheering on” antisemitism, and the witness said she was not. As for the free speech argument, Cruz also suggested that universities would bring swift punishment against people who dared to dress as Ku Klux Klan members on campuses. “They should expel them. If they’re foreign students, they should be deported. And, mark my words, if you are horrified at the antisemitism, you will see the Trump Department of Justice follow the money, prosecute the people who are paying for this, prosecute those engaged in violence, and cut off the money from universities that are tolerating and celebrating this,” Cruz said. “That is the rule of law. And ask yourself, ‘Why did the Biden Justice Department do absolutely nothing about this horror that is unfolding?’”
Fetterman dismayed by Dems dissing ‘touching moment’ at Trump speech
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., bucked his party this week, criticizing fellow Democrats for not standing for 13-year-old cancer survivor DJ Daniel during President Donald Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress. “I don’t know why we can’t fully celebrate,” Fetterman told Nicholas Ballasy for Fox News Digital. “I mean, I have a 13-year-old myself, and thank God she’s never had cancer, but I think that’s something we can all celebrate there. And I think it was a touching moment. And, like I said, that’s part of the best of the American experience.” Fox News Digital reached out to 30 Democratic lawmakers about why they did not stand for DJ Tuesday night but only received six responses. SOCIAL MEDIA EXPLODES AFTER DEMS DO NOT STAND FOR 13-YEAR-OLD CANCER SURVIVOR: ‘TRULY SICK PEOPLE’ Fetterman also said in an X post that Democrats’ inaction “only makes Trump look more presidential and restrained.” Some Democratic lawmakers said their feelings against Trump were the reason they did not stand for DJ. “You know, that is a very individual thing. And aren’t there a lot of other things we can be focusing on, as I would think?” Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, said when asked why Democratic members did not stand for DJ. “The word betrayal comes to mind with regard to the president.” Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said, “We all stood when the president entered, which I think is appropriate. And I think, frankly, by and large showed him respect to the office.” Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., said it “was a moving story,” but that “what Trump left out, of course, is he’s cutting research for cancer, which is pretty, pretty bad.” FORMER HARRIS 2024 ADVISOR SENDS WARNING TO DEMOCRATS IN AUDIENCE FOR TRUMP SPEECH: ‘DO NOT DO DUMB SH–‘ “Our hearts are with the Riley family on the loss of their daughter and inspired at Devarjaye ‘DJ’s’ story. It shouldn’t be confused with the disdain we have for President Trump’s divisive and strident voice,” Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Texas, told Fox News Digital. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., said she “clapped and was touched – not rolling my eyes,” while Trump introduced the boy. “After the Secret Service gave him his [badge] and he sat back down, but then he reached back up and hugged the Secret Service chief, it made me cry. I had tears. I was wiping a freaking tear,” Dingell said. Republican lawmakers criticized their Democratic colleagues for remaining seated during DJ’s big moment, calling it “childish” that they refused to stand for the boy. “The Democrats really embarrassed themselves. I mean, they wouldn’t even stand up for DJ, who survived cancer,” Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., told Fox. “I was so disappointed that my Democratic colleagues couldn’t stand and show love for some of the Americans that were recognized tonight. That was really heartbreaking to me,” said Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala. Despite the tepid response from Democrats, chants of “DJ!” erupted in the House chamber Tuesday night as Trump directed Secret Service Director Sean Curran to designate the 13-year-old an honorary Secret Service agent. DJ’s father, Theodis, held DJ over his shoulders as the boy showed off his new badge to the chamber. ‘COULDN’T CLAP FOR A 13-YEAR-OLD BOY’: GOP SLAMS ‘CHILDISH’ DEM SILENCE ON SUPPORTING CANCER SURVIVOR “Joining us in the gallery tonight is a young man who truly loves our police. His name is DJ Daniel. He is 13 years old. He has always dreamed of becoming a police officer himself. But in 2018, DJ was diagnosed with brain cancer. The doctors gave him five months at most to live. That was more than six years ago. Since that time, DJ and his dad have been on a quest to make his dream come true, and DJ has been sworn in as an honorary law enforcement officer,” Trump said. “Tonight, DJ, we’re going to do you the biggest honor of them all. I am asking our new Secret Service director, Sean Curran, to officially make you an agent of the United States Secret Service.”
Trump’s bipartisan-backed labor pick clears last hurdle before Cabinet confirmation
President Donald Trump’s Labor secretary nominee, Lori Chavez-DeRemer, advanced past her last procedural vote on Thursday, teeing up a final confirmation vote next week. The nominee easily got past the last hurdle by a 66-30 bipartisan vote. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., voted against the motion, the only Republican to do so. Chavez-DeRemer is now one step closer to becoming the secretary of the Department of Labor, and she will face a final vote on Monday. INSIDE ELON MUSK’S HUDDLE WITH GOP SENATORS: DOGE HEAD TOUTS $4M SAVINGS PER DAY Several Democrats ended up voting to move the Trump nominee forward, including Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper of Colorado, Jacky Rosen and Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, Ruben Gallego of Arizona, Maggie Hassan and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Tim Kaine and Mark Warner of Virginia, Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock of Georgia, Gary Peters and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, Adam Schiff of California and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island. She recently managed to get past the key Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) with bipartisan backing. There was initially some uncertainty whether her nomination would be reported out favorably, as Paul had pledged to oppose her. Chavez-DeRemer ultimately received 14 votes to advance from the committee last month, with nine senators opposing. She earned the votes of Hassan, Hickenlooper and Kaine, in addition to nearly all Republicans, except for Paul. In a previous statement announcing her support prior to the committee vote, Hassan said, “The Department of Labor plays an integral role in supporting workers and small businesses alike, and after hearing significant support from constituents, including members of labor unions in New Hampshire, I will support Representative Chavez-DeRemer’s nomination as Secretary of Labor.” EXCLUSIVE: ELON MUSK PAC THANKS TRUMP FOR ‘SAVING THE AMERICAN DREAM’ IN NEW MILLION-DOLLAR AD “Though we may not agree on everything, after meeting with Representative Chavez-DeRemer and listening to her testimony during her confirmation hearing, I believe that she is qualified to serve as the next secretary of labor, and I look forward to working with her to support New Hampshire’s workers and small businesses,” she continued. After attending Trump’s joint address to Congress on Tuesday, Chavez-DeRemer told Fox News Digital she was “grateful” to have gotten some Democratic support in committee. HOUSE GOPERS HOPE TRUMP KEEPS DOOR TO MINERAL DEAL OPEN FOR UKRAINE DESPITE OVAL OFFICE DISPUTE During her hearing, Chavez-DeRemer was questioned over her past support for the controversial Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, which would effectively kill state-level laws that bar employers and unions from requiring workers to pay union dues as a condition of their employment. Republicans have long opposed overturning such right-to-work laws at the state level. GOP REBELS FIRE WARNING SHOT IN SHUTDOWN SHOWDOWN: NO DOGE, NO DEAL Trump’s labor pick recently walked back her support for the policy as she was questioned by senators. “Like President Trump, I believe our labor laws need to be updated and modernized to reflect today’s workforce and the business environment,” she said during the hearing. “As a member of Congress, the PRO Act was the bill to have those conversations that mattered deeply to the people of Oregon’s 5th Congressional District. I recognize that that bill was imperfect, and I also recognize that I am no longer representing Oregon as a lawmaker.”
Why a Rio Grande Valley hospital is helping to feed its patients
As the Edinburg facility and others seek to assist people experiencing food insecurity, state lawmakers have more than a dozen bills that could tackle Texas’ food deserts.
Trump’s ‘Golden Dome’ will need Manhattan Project-scale whole-of-government effort, Space Force general warns
President Donald Trump’s ‘Golden Dome’ missile defense project will require a whole-of-government effort on par with the Manhattan Project to develop the atomic bomb, according to a Space Force general. “This is on the order of magnitude of Manhattan Project, and it’s going to take concerted effort from the very top of our government. It’s going to take a national will to bring all this together,” Gen. Michael Guetlein, vice chief of space operations of the U.S. Space Force, told a gathering of defense industry experts on Wednesday. The ‘Golden Dome’ idea stemmed from Israel’s Iron Dome. With the help of the U.S., it employs an invisible boundary that triggers interceptors when short-range missiles are fired toward its territory. But the Golden Dome has proved a more daunting project for guarding the U.S., which is close to 500 times the size of Israel and would likely be threatened more by long-range than short-range missiles. FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP’S ‘IRON DOME’ PLAN FOR AMERICA Guetlein said the project will require unprecedented cooperation across the defense and intelligence agencies. “We are in full planning mode,” the official said at the National Security Innovation Base Summit hosted by the Ronald Reagan Institute. “We owe an answer back to the White House by the end of the month on what our thoughts are.” The Golden Dome would need to protect the U.S. from a range of threats – including hypersonic missiles, ballistic missiles, advanced cruise missiles. Early detection would rely on space-based sensors that would trigger rapid-response missile interceptors. “It’s going to be a heavy lift across all the organizations that are going to be participating. And what we’ve got to really push back on are the organizational boundaries and the cultures that are going to try to slow us down or to prevent us from working together,” Guetlein said. The U.S. Missile Defense Agency is “really good at protection of the homeland from an ICBM,” according to Guetlein, but they need the Space Force to build space capabilities, and the Air Force and Army to manage counter-drone systems. ‘STAR TREK SHIELD’ TECHNOLOGY GETS $250M BOOST TO KNOCK DRONE SWARMS FROM THE SKY WITH HIGH-POWERED MICROWAVE The National Reconnaissance Office, which operates the U.S.’s spy satellites, also has space capabilities needed for homeland protection. Guetlein said the nation would have to “break down the barriers” between Title 10 and Title 50 of the United States Code, the federal laws that govern the nation’s defense and clandestine operations. “Without a doubt, our biggest challenge is going to be organizational behavior and culture to bring all the pieces together,” Guetlein said. The Golden Dome would be a major step up from the current Ground-Based Midcourse Defense system, which relies on missile interceptors stationed in Alaska and California designed to protect the homeland from a small number of ballistic missiles that could be fired from North Korea. Guetlein said Iran has provided a “real life example” in the Middle East, where U.S. forces helped thwart a barrage of missiles targeting Israel last year. Trump said during his address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday that he would be asking lawmakers to appropriate funds for the project. “My focus is on building the most powerful military of the future,” Trump said. “As a first step, I’m asking Congress to fund a state-of-the-art, ‘Golden Dome’ missile defense shield to protect our homeland – all made in the USA.” The president claimed that Ronald Reagan had wanted to build such a system, but it wasn’t possible given the technology of the time. “Israel has it, other places have it, and the United States should have it, too,” he said. “This is a very dangerous world. We should have it. We want to be protected. And we’re going to protect our citizens like never before.”
Newsom calls biological men in women’s sports ‘deeply unfair’ in podcast with conservative activist
California Gov. Gavin Newsom found common ground with Turning Point USA founder and conservative activist Charlie Kirk when the liberal governor – who has been rumored to be eyeing a 2028 presidential run – agreed that biological men in women’s sports is “deeply unfair.” “The young man who’s about to win the state championship in the long jump in female sports, that shouldn’t happen,” Kirk said on Newsom’s debut episode on his new podcast, “This is Gavin Newsom,” on Thursday. “You, as the governor, should step out and say no. Would you do something like that? Would you say no men in female sports?” “Well, I think it’s an issue of fairness,” Newsom replied. “I completely agree with you on that. It’s deeply unfair.” GAVIN NEWSOM ASKS CHARLIE KIRK TO GIVE HIS PARTY ‘ADVICE’ IN ONE-ON-ONE PODCAST INTERVIEW Kirk further pressed Newsom on whether he would condemn the recent victory of a transgender track athlete with a more than 40-foot jump at Jurupa Valley High School in Southern California. Newsom didn’t directly address the win, but said “it’s a fairness issue.” “So that’s easy to call out the unfairness of that,” Newsom, the Democratic Party’s torchbearer, said. “There’s also a humility and a grace… these poor people are more likely to commit suicide, have anxiety and depression, and the way that people talk down to vulnerable communities is an issue that I have a hard time with as well.” “So both things I can hold in my hand,” the governor continued. “How can we address this issue with the kind of decency that I think you know is inherent in you, but not always expressed on the issue?” KAROLINE LEAVITT ADDRESSES DEMOCRATS DEFYING TRANS ATHLETE BAN DEMAND: ‘CAN’T SAY YOU ARE THE PARTY OF WOMEN’ Transgender athletes in California have long been protected prior to Newsom’s administration under AB 1266, also known as the School Success and Opportunity Act. The law was signed by Gov. Jerry Brown, a Democrat, in August 2013. However, Senate Bill 132, also known as the Transgender Respect, Agency and Dignity Act, allows inmates to request cells and searches that align with their gender identity, which Newsom signed in September 2020. Newsom agreed that trans issues are something his party is “getting crushed on,” which Kirk said he should express “compassion” about while calling out cases like the recent incident in Jurupa Valley High School as “not fair.” The portion of the conversation came up after Kirk told Newsom to “get better ideas” if Democrats want to make a comeback among the younger generation. The student, AB Hernandez, won an invitational meet on Feb. 22, booting out a female runner-up who had jumped just over 32 feet in their competition category. Hernandez also took first place in two other events at the meet. The wins come as all Senate Democrats voted against a bill that would ban transgender women from women’s sports nationwide last month. The bill failed to meet the 60-vote threshold needed in the upper chamber, with lawmakers voting along party lines 51-45. TRUMP ADMIN PROBING SCHOOL DISTRICT FOR TRANS ATHLETE SCANDAL EVEN AFTER CHANGING POLICY TO FOLLOW EXEC ORDER President Donald Trump signed an executive order titled, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” in February, which said transgender athletes in women sports is “demeaning, unfair, and dangerous to women and girls.” The order requires institutions receiving federal funding to abide by Title IX and follow the definitions of biological sex.