Texas A&M can’t ban “Draggieland” drag show, federal judge rules
Judge Lee H. Rosenthal said the student group that organizes Draggieland, the Queer Empowerment Council, was likely to succeed in showing the ban violates the First Amendment.
Supreme Court hears pivotal Louisiana election map case ahead of 2026 midterms
The Supreme Court heard arguments Monday on whether Louisiana lawmakers can use race as a factor when drawing congressional maps, a closely watched case that could impact voters nationwide in the 2026 midterms. At issue is whether the state’s congressional map, updated twice since the 2020 census, is an illegal racial gerrymander. It has faced two federal court challenges – first, for diluting minority voting power under the 1965 Voting Rights Act, and most recently, for potentially violating the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment and the 15th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The high court, which agreed to take up the case last fall, is expected to hand down its decision by late June. JUDGES SAY THEY’LL REDRWA LOUISIANA CONGRESSIONAL MAP THEMSELVES IF LAWMAKERS CAN’T During oral arguments, the justices focused closely on whether Louisiana’s redistricting efforts were narrowly tailored enough to meet constitutional requirements and whether race was used in a way that violates the law, as plaintiffs have alleged. Louisiana Solicitor General Benjamin Aguiñaga argued that the state’s latest map protected political stability, including preserving leadership positions like the U.S. House speaker and majority leader. “I want to emphasize that the larger picture here is important – because in an election year we faced the prospect of a federal court-drawn map that placed in jeopardy the speaker of the House, the House majority leader and our representative on the Appropriations Committee,” Aguiñaga said. “And so in light of those facts, we made the politically rational decision: we drew our own map to protect them.” Louisiana’s congressional map has twice been challenged in federal court since it was updated in the wake of the 2020 census, which found that the state’s Black residents now totaled one-third of Louisiana’s total population. The first redistricting map, which included just one district where Black voters held the majority, was invalidated by a federal court (and subsequently, by the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals) in 2022. Both courts sided with the Louisiana State Conference of the NAACP and other plaintiffs, who argued that the map violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act by diluting the voting power of Black voters in the state. NEW MAJORITY-BLACK LOUISIANA HOUSE DISTRICT REJECTED, NOVEMBER ELECTION MAP STILL UNCERTAIN Lawmakers were ordered by the court to adopt by January 2024 a new state redistricting map. That map, S.B. 8, was passed and included the creation of a second majority-Black voting district in the state. But S.B. 8 was almost immediately challenged by a group of non-Black plaintiffs in court as well, after they claimed issue with a new district that stretched some 250 miles from Louisiana’s northwest corner of Shreveport to Baton Rouge, in the state’s southeast. They argued in the lawsuit that the state violated the equal protection clause by relying too heavily on race to draw the maps, and created a “sinuous and jagged second majority-Black district based on racial stereotypes, racially ‘Balkanizing’ a 250-mile swath of Louisiana.” The Supreme Court agreed last November to take up the case, though it paused consideration of the arguments until after the 2024 elections. Meanwhile, Louisiana officials argued in court filings that non-Black voters failed to show direct harm required for equal protection claims or prove race was the main factor in redrawing the map. JUDGES V TRUMP: HERE ARE THE KEY COURT BATTLES HALTING THE WHITE HOUSE AGENDA They also stressed that the Supreme Court should clarify how states should proceed under this “notoriously unclear area of the law” that pits Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act against equal protections, describing them as two “competing demands.” Officials have cited frustrations over repeatedly redrawing maps, and the prospect of being ordered back to the drawing board once again, and asked the court to “put an end to the extraordinary waste of time and resources that plagues the States after every redistricting cycle.”
Bush-era Education secretary wary about FAFSA disruptions as department faces dismantling
Plans to dismantle the Department of Education could rattle operations for incoming college students launching into enrollment season, according to former President George W. Bush’s Education secretary. While President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday to scale down the Department of Education, he also promised that programs that oversee financial aid and resources for children with special needs would remain in place. They would, instead, fall under other agencies, he said. However, Margaret Spellings, who oversaw the agency from 2005 to 2009, said shuttering and realigning certain functions of the Education Dept. would not be a seamless transition – and it is unclear whether there is enough staffing to properly process all the necessary materials as students commit to colleges for the fall. “It’s college enrollment season, and are our universities – as the customer service part of that operation – going to be able to timely get information about financial aid packages and so on?” Spellings, now the president and CEO of the Bipartisan Policy Center, asked Fox News Digital. “Will half the people be able to do all the work? Time will tell. So that’s an immediate concern.” TRUMP STILL NEEDS CONGRESS’ HELP WITH PLAN TO ABOLISH EDUCATION DEPARTMENT The Department of Education’s Office of Federal Student Aid processes over 17.6 million Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) forms annually, according to its 2024 report. Additionally, the office previously employed roughly 1,400 personnel. However, given the dramatic cuts to staffing, it is unclear how many are currently assigned to that office. Prior to signing the executive order to overhaul the Education Dept., the agency also moved to cut staffing by roughly half. Spellings also predicted transferring the different functions of the Education Dept. to other agencies would prove “disruptive,” because it would involve potentially training new employees and merging various data systems. As a result, she cautioned, it could detract from focusing on student achievement. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION SIGNIFICANTLY DISMANTLED IN NEW TRUMP EXECUTIVE ORDER “I fear we’ll take our eye off the ball, which is keeping student achievement before us, as opposed to harmonizing data systems, reassigning employees, training new ones who know nothing about the purpose of the thing,” Spellings said. “Whether there’s evidence that the Department of Labor or [the Department of Health and Human Services] are a vanguard of good management – it’s a little bit of a head scratcher to me.” Spellings pointed to the creation of the Department of Homeland Security in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks to bolster national security efforts and prevent additional terrorist attacks, which Bush signed into law in November 2002. Ultimately, creating the new agency integrated 22 other previously existing departments or agencies, including the Coast Guard and the Customs Service and Border Patrol. However, merging all these agencies together proved a taxing endeavor, according to Spellings. STUDENT LOANS, PELL GRANTS WILL CONTINUE DESPITE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT DOWNSIZING, EXPERT SAYS “That required lots of different functions from various agencies to come together, to have common technology systems, to have visibility across work streams and so on and so on,” Spellings said. “It was complicated and time-consuming, and furthermore expensive.” Meanwhile, a Gallup poll released in February shows that Americans’ satisfaction with the state of education has declined sharply over the past decade. The poll found that only 24% of Americans are satisfied with the quality of education in the U.S. as of January 2025, compared to 37% in January 2017. Trump’s decision to nix the agency did not come as a surprise; the president has routinely discussed plans to eliminate it. Additionally, proponents of shutting down the agency have cited the “Nation’s Report Card,” the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress, released every two years, published Jan. 27. The exam tests fourth and eighth grade students and found almost stagnant math scores for eighth graders compared to 2022. Reading scores dropped two points at both grade levels. A White House fact sheet on the executive order said it seeks to “turn over education to families instead of bureaucracies” and orders Education Secretary Linda McMahon to “take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return education authority to the States, while continuing to ensure the effective and uninterrupted delivery of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely.” The White House referred Fox News Digital to the Department of Education when asked for comment. The Department of Education did not immediately reply to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
Trump taps White House counsel Alina Habba for top role at DOJ
President Donald Trump announced Monday that he has installed his personal lawyer, Alina Habba, to serve as interim U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey – the latest in a long list of former attorneys for Trump whom he has tapped for senior roles at the Department of Justice. Trump said on Truth Social Monday that he has tapped Habba, his current White House counsel, to replace outgoing acting U.S. attorney, John Giordano, whom he said would be serving as the U.S. Ambassador to Namibia. Both promotions were announced by Trump Monday on social media. In the post, Trump praised Habba as someone who “will lead with the same diligence and conviction that has defined her career,” and said she will “fight tirelessly to secure a Legal System that is both ‘Fair and Just’ for the wonderful people of New Jersey.” JUDGES V TRUMP: HERE ARE THE KEY COURT BATTLES HALTING THE WHITE HOUSE AGENDA “Additionally, John Giordano, who has done a terrific job as the interim U.S. Attorney in New Jersey, will now be nominated as the new Ambassador to Namibia!” Trump said, before congratulating them both. Giordano, for his part, was installed as acting U.S. attorney for the district less than a month ago by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi. Habba said Monday that she is looking forward to the new role at the Justice Department, including the opportunity to crack down on corruption and move on Trump’s other top law enforcement priorities during his second term in office. “As you know, I stood by President Trump, his family, the organization, and many other clients in that state where I am born and raised, and [where] I’m raising my babies now,” Habba told reporters at the White House on Monday. “But there is corruption,” she said. “There is injustice, and there is a heavy amount of crime right in Cory Booker’s backyard. And right under Governor Murphy. And that will stop.” Habba said she looks forward to working with Bondi and others at the Justice Department to make that “we further the president’s agenda; including putting America first, cleaning up mess and going after the people that we should be going after, not the people that are falsely accused that will stop in the great state of New Jersey—starting now.” WHO IS ALINA HABBA? TRUMP’S FIERCE LEGAL DEFENDER PICKED TO SERVE AS COUNSELOR TO THE PRESIDENT CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Trump’s decision to tap Habba, a longtime ally who previously served as a legal spokesperson for both Trump and his presidential super PAC, MAGA, Inc., comes as the president has moved to install or promote a long list of loyalists to senior law enforcement positions in his second White House term. Three of the top prosecutors Trump has promoted to head up the Justice Department – U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, and Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General of the United States Emil Bove – have each represented the president in a personal capacity prior to his reelection in 2024, prompting criticism from some Democrats over the potential politicization of the department.
Trump taps personal lawyer for top role at DOJ
President Donald Trump announced Monday that he has installed his personal lawyer, Alina Habba, to serve as interim U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey – the latest in a long list of former attorneys for Trump whom he has tapped for senior roles at the Department of Justice. Trump said on Truth Social Monday that he has tapped Habba, his current White House counsel, to replace outgoing acting U.S. attorney, John Giordano, whom he said would be serving as the U.S. Ambassador to Namibia. Both promotions were announced by Trump Monday on social media. In the post, Trump praised Habba as someone who “will lead with the same diligence and conviction that has defined her career,” and said she will “fight tirelessly to secure a Legal System that is both ‘Fair and Just’ for the wonderful people of New Jersey.” JUDGES V TRUMP: HERE ARE THE KEY COURT BATTLES HALTING THE WHITE HOUSE AGENDA “Additionally, John Giordano, who has done a terrific job as the interim U.S. Attorney in New Jersey, will now be nominated as the new Ambassador to Namibia!” Trump said, before congratulating them both. Giordano, for his part, was installed as acting U.S. attorney for the district less than a month ago by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi. Trump did not elaborate on his reasons for the somewhat abrupt personnel changes, and the White House did not immediately respond to Fox News’s request for comment. However, his decision to tap Habba, a longtime ally who previously served as a legal spokesperson for both Trump and his presidential super PAC, MAGA, Inc., comes as the president has moved to install or promote a long list of loyalists to senior law enforcement positions in his second White House term. WHO IS ALINA HABBA? TRUMP’S FIERCE LEGAL DEFENDER PICKED TO SERVE AS COUNSELOR TO THE PRESIDENT CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Three of the top prosecutors Trump has promoted to head up the Justice Department – U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, and Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General of the United States Emil Bove – have each represented the president in a personal capacity prior to his reelection in 2024, prompting criticism from some Democrats over the potential politicization of the department.
Biden admin’s ‘vast censorship enterprise’ with help of NGOs slated for key hearing, lawmaker says
FIRST ON FOX: Ahead of a key Senate hearing on Tuesday to examine the Biden administration’s work with outside entities to censor Americans, Chairman Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., blasted the former president’s “sprawling network of federal agencies and NGOs” reportedly used to limit speech and posts that were “disfavored.” “The Biden Administration created a vast censorship enterprise, comprised of a sprawling network of federal agencies and NGOs that have been working overtime to censor Americans’ speech. From special reporting portals to the White House press secretary admitting at the podium that they were flagging posts to be taken down, the level of coordination to subvert the First Amendment and remove disfavored speech was beyond what most imagined,” the Missouri senator told Fox News Digital in an exclusive statement previewing the hearing. Chairman Schmitt will lead his first hearing in the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution to review “the role non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have played in the censorship of Americans, all while receiving billions in federal tax dollars and subsidies,” per an advisory. CONGRESS EXPANDED THE EXECUTIVE—ONLY FOR TRUMP TO QUASH MUCH OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE STATE While serving as Missouri attorney general in 2022, Schmitt and now-Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration over its alleged collusion with tech companies and social media to censor individuals. “When I was Missouri’s attorney general, I filed the landmark Missouri v. Biden case that exposed this censorship for the world to see. Now, as a United States senator, I’ve introduced legislation that would hold social media companies and individual bureaucrats accountable for censorship. But the work doesn’t stop there,” Schmitt said. “This hearing is an opportunity to expose how a network of NGOs contributed to this vast censorship enterprise and keep up the fight for Americans’ First Amendment rights.” GOP SENATOR SAYS HE’S WORKING WITH TRUMP ON BILL TO ABOLISH EDUCATION DEPARTMENT U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty rejected the Biden Justice Department’s bid to pause a preliminary injunction in 2023, which upheld the order and barred the administration from communicating with social media companies about “protected speech.” The injunction noted that while NGOs Stanford Internet Observatory, the Election Integrity Partnership, and the Virality Project aren’t defendants themselves, “In partnership with these non-governmental organizations, the State Department Defendants flagged and reported postings of protected free speech to the social-media companies for suppression.” “The flagged content was almost entirely from political figures, political organizations, alleged partisan media outlets, and social-media all-stars associated with right-wing or conservative political views, demonstrating likely ‘viewpoint discrimination,’” Doughty wrote. Ultimately, the Supreme Court decided 6-3 to reject a bid to stop the Biden administration from pressuring social media platforms to remove certain content. The case before the top court was known as Murthy v. Missouri and included social media users, as well as the states of Missouri and Louisiana against Biden’s then-U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, among others. Many were critical of the decision, with now-National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director nominee Dr. Jayanta Bhattacharya saying at the time, “In the guise of countering misinformation, the Biden Administration used its regulatory power to suppress valid criticism of its COVID response. This led to irrational policies, such as extended school disruptions, the anti-science denial of recovered immunity, counterproductive vaccine mandates, and the sidelining and gaslighting of the vaccine-injured.” “Free speech is essential to science, to public health, and to good health. In light of the Supreme Court’s reluctance to fully protect free speech today, we will need concrete action by Congress, and a popular movement, to restore free speech rights as a central plank of the American civic religion,” he added at the time of the ruling. ‘EDUCATORS WILL BE FIRED’: REPUBLICANS CHEER TRUMP ORDER DISMANTLING EDUCATION DEPARTMENT AS DEMS SEETHE Last year, the House Judiciary Committee’s 800-page report, titled “The Censorship-industrial Complex: How Top Biden White House Officials Coerced Big Tech to Censor Americans, True Information, and Critics of the Biden Administration,” revealed a number of instances of COVID-19 censorship following significant pressure from the White House. “[B]oth Facebook and Amazon referred to the Biden White House’s efforts as ‘pressure,’” according to the report. July 2021 internal emails from executives at Facebook revealed that they understood the administration’s position as wanting “negative information on or opinions about the vaccine” taken down, in addition to “humorous or satirical content that suggests the vaccine isn’t safe.” BIDEN’S FORMER SPOKESMAN SLAMS TRUMP AND GOP ‘COLLUDING TO IMPEACH’ JUDGES At one point during the same month, Facebook executive Nick Clegg queried in an email why they censored the lab-leak theory of COVID-19. The response from another employee was: “Because we were under pressure from the [Biden] administration and others to do more…. We shouldn’t have done it.” A representative for Biden did not provide comment in time for publication. The hearing will take place at 2 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
Trump-district Democrat warns party ‘in trouble’ ahead of 2026 midterms
A House Democrat who represents a district that former Vice President Kamala Harris lost to now-President Donald Trump in 2024 is sounding the alarm about public perceptions of his party. “I think the Democratic brand is really in trouble, and it’s been portrayed as this crazy-left, you know, out-of-touch thing,” Rep. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., told Fox News Digital in an interview. “They couldn’t paint me with that brand because people know me.” Suozzi is well-known in his suburban Long Island district, having been a longtime local official before first coming to Congress in 2017. He did not run for re-election in 2022 but later won a special election to replace expelled former Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., and has remained ever since. During that time, he forged a reputation as a moderate Democrat willing to find bipartisan consensus on issues like government waste and border security – themes he wished his party would take the lead on. THESE ARE THE JUDGES GOING TOE TO TOE AGAINST TRUMP’S AGENDA “When I first started talking about immigration, the need to secure the border, a lot of consultants were like, ‘Well, that’s a Republican issue. I don’t know if you should talk about that.’ But I said, ‘That’s what the people are talking about in my district,’” Suozzi recalled. “I’m a first-generation American. My father was born in Italy, so immigration is a really important issue to me. When it became such a negative, it was actually painful for me, because I define my whole life through immigration.” He said people in his district were also concerned about the cost of living, which he suggested was a universal concern. “We don’t, as Democrats, focus enough on the basics,” Suozzi said. “It can’t just be choice and LGBT – important issues, but that you can’t build a party around that – so I’m trying to encourage Democrats to talk about things like, how do we rebuild the middle class?” INJUNCTION LIFTED ON TRUMP EXECUTIVE ORDERS SLASHING FEDERAL DEI SUPPORT Additionally, like House Democratic leaders in more recent election cycles, Suozzi also denounced progressive calls to “defund the police” – which he called “the stupidest three words ever said in the history of politics.” He even argued Democrats were on board with cutting government waste, the stated mission of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), though Suozzi disagreed with how it was being carried out. “I want to set up a competition between the Democrats and the Republicans. Let’s see who can root out more waste, fraud and abuse,” he said. “I don’t think anybody’s against rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse. We just don’t think that when you’re doing it through DOGE, that you should be eliminating the people that oversee the nuclear stockpile, like they did and then reversed,” Suozzi continued. “We don’t think that you should be eliminating the people that are responsible for preventing the avian flu. Which they did and then tried to reverse. We don’t think you should be eliminating the people that are overseeing the outbreak of measles in Texas. That’s not a good idea. But they did. So let’s be smart about these things and let’s, you know, figure out ways that we can actually save money.” He also called on Democrats to focus more on outreach outside “traditional media,” noting Trump’s embrace of podcasts and social media to reach young male voters. Suozzi, in particular, singled out Trump and Elon Musk’s appearances on “The Joe Rogan Experience,” one of the most-listened-to podcasts in the world. “We have to figure out how we can get the truth out there to people. When Elon Musk or the president or somebody says something and there’s nobody to check it, and there’s no way to push back because nobody– I can’t get on Joe Rogan. I’d love to go on Joe Rogan. I can’t get on,” he said. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., was the only prominent Democrat to appear on Rogan’s podcast during the 2024 election cycle. Tentative plans for Harris to appear fell through, though she did appear on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast. Overall, however, the New York Democrat signaled he was confident Democrats could take back the House of Representatives in 2026, given the historic electoral backlash to a sitting president during the midterm elections. It is worth noting, however, that Democrats will be defending more vulnerable members in 2026 than Republicans. “I mean, you look at history and when a president of one party gets in power – usually that party usually loses elections the year and two years afterward. So, like, even in the local elections this year, I think you’re going to see a much higher Democratic vote because the Democrats are going to be energized, because they’re all so upset,” Suozzi said. “I think that the midterms will be the same thing.” Suozzi warned, however, that Democrats’ message “can’t just be about why we disagree with Trump and, you know, hair on fire and everybody freaking out.” “There are a lot of causes for concern,” he conceded, but added, “We have to also talk about what we stand for. And I think, again, this whole idea of rebuilding the middle class and public safety and strong defense and securing the border – we have to also talk about those things as well.”
New bipartisan proposal targets ‘one of the most egregious’ kinds of fraud ravaging healthcare industry
EXCLUSIVE: A Medicaid and Medicare fraud crackdown is anticipated with a bipartisan congressional proposal to check Social Security Administration death records. The legislation, dubbed the Medicare and Medicaid Fraud Prevention Act, would mandate state governments to see if the Social Security Death Master Files show physicians who are still considered part of the government programs meant for seniors and low-income Americans. The check is meant to ensure that the doctor’s National Provider Identifier will not be used by bad actors to commit fraud. “We must eliminate and be proactive against fraud within Medicaid and Medicare to protect the programs for those who truly need it. I’m proud to co-lead the bipartisan Medicare and Medicaid Fraud Prevention Act to advocate for access to quality health care for Americans who rely on these programs.” Rep. Gabe Evans, R-Colo., who is running the bill with Rep. Scott Peters, D-Calif., said in a statement to Fox News Digital. HAWLEY SKEPTICAL OF TRUMP PICK OZ: ‘I HOPE HE’S CHANGED HIS VIEWS’ Legislation under the same name was introduced by former Rep. Mike Garcia, R-Calif., and Peters last year. The bill passed the House and was referred to the Senate Finance Committee, but no further action was taken after that point. “Fraud in Medicare and Medicaid hurts the rightful beneficiaries of those programs and all taxpayers,” Peters said in a statement at the time. “Our bipartisan bill will prevent one of the most egregious forms of fraud in our healthcare system. As we work to put our country on a better fiscal path and tackle our enormous debt, we must do everything we can to stop taxpayer dollars from being misspent,” the congressman added. KAROLINE LEAVITT: TRUMP, ELON MUSK’S DOGE TEAM ARE DOING WHAT DEMOCRATS PROMISED ‘FOR DECADES’ The legislation’s introduction comes as there is heightened scrutiny on the program at both the state and federal levels. In Evans’ home state of Colorado, $7.3 million was given to insurance companies to care for deceased Medicaid recipients, The Denver Post reported. Meanwhile, California is facing scrutiny for a $9.5 billion price tag for its Medicaid affiliate, Medi-Cal, despite originally only expecting it to cost $6 billion. AFTER TRUMP SPEECH, AOC TELLS DEMOCRATS TO ORGANIZE IN GOP DISTRICTS AGAINST MEDICAID CUTS While California Gov. Gavin Newsom did say that illegal immigrants now being able to enroll in the program is part of the issue, he argued that the Golden State is like Colorado, Pennsylvania and Indiana when it comes to higher costs for operating the program across the board. In fiscal year 2024, there were $54.3 billion in “improper payments” for Medicare and $31.1 billion for Medicaid, according to the Government Accountability Office. Meanwhile, the Department of Government Efficiency has reportedly looked into government healthcare program spending.
Biden lands coveted ‘Othello’ Broadway ticket in first major outing since leaving office
Attendees of the opening night of “Othello” on Broadway were given “ocular proof” of the first public outing of former President Joe Biden and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, since leaving the White House in January. The couple were seen in New York City on Sunday night, to watch the modern spin on William Shakespeare’s tragedy that was written in the early 1600s. Joe Biden, 82, waved to cameras as he hopped out of his motorcade before being ushered into Barrymore Theatre in Midtown Manhattan, the New York Post reported. In an Instagram post shared by Jill Biden captioned “Date night!”, the two are seen in evening attire, with the former president in a tuxedo and the former first lady in a sparkly light blue dress. Her story featured a photo of her and Joe inside the theater, and then a group photo with the words “#Othello Riveting … Brilliant … BRAVO!” BIDEN’S DESIRE TO HELP DEMOCRATS AFTER EXIT FROM OFFICE IS MET WITH SKEPTICISM: REPORT The Broadway rendition of the play stars Tony and Academy Award-winning actor Denzel Washington as Othello, “the noble Moor of Venice and commanding warrior-general,” its website states. Tony and Academy Award nominee Jake Gyllenhaal “portrays Iago, the ambitious lieutenant and masterful manipulator.” It is directed by Kenny Leon, and will only be on Broadway for 15 weeks. The play is two hours and 35 minutes long, including one intermission. Ticket prices are selling for $921, according to the New York Times, resulting in the show breaking box office records. ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT RELEASED BY BIDEN ADMIN CHARGED WITH KILLING GEORGIA GRANDMOTHER IN RANDOM ATTACK Joe Biden has reportedly spoken to Democratic Party leaders and donors in a maneuver to regain influence and help oppose the Trump administration, according to a new report. However, his overtures at helping lead his party have been met with disdain from some Democrats. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “There are plenty of people in the Democratic Party who were obviously very frustrated with how things played out last year, but there are plenty of people who still love Joe Biden,” Democratic Party fundraiser Alan Kessler told NBC News in an interview. Fox News Digital’s Jeffrey Clark contributed to this report.
Greenland PM slams upcoming visit from Usha Vance as ‘very aggressive’ provocation: report
Greenland’s Prime Minister Mute Egede described second lady Usha Vance’s upcoming visit to his country as a dangerous and “very aggressive” provocation during a recent interview with a national news outlet in Greenland. The visit by the second lady, one of her sons and an accompanying U.S. delegation was announced by the White House on Thursday. Per the announcement, Vance will spend the trip visiting historical sites, learning about the country’s heritage, and attending Greenland’s national dogsled race. Trump’s national security advisor, Michael Waltz, will also visit the arctic country this week as part of the delegation traveling with the second lady, according to sources familiar with the trip. “We are now at a level where it can in no way be characterized as a harmless visit from a politician’s wife, which is a prospect. Because what is the security advisor doing in Greenland?” Egede questioned in an interview with Greenland news outlet Sermitsiaq. “The only purpose is to show a demonstration of power to us, and the signal is not to be misunderstood. [Waltz] is Trump’s confidential and closest advisor, and his presence in Greenland alone will certainly make the Americans believe in Trump’s mission, and the pressure will increase after the visit.” GREENLAND GOVERNMENT CALLS TRUMP’S ACQUISITION TALKS ‘UNACCEPTABLE’ Egede’s condemnation of the trip from U.S. officials follows repeated calls by President Donald Trump for the U.S. to annex Greenland. Trump has stressed the importance of Greenland for national security purposes. “I think it will happen,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office earlier this month during a meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. Greenland is currently undergoing a political shift after Egede’s left-wing party was defeated in elections earlier this month by the center-right Demokraatit party, which is pushing for independence from Denmark – Greenland’s current governing authority. The leader of the new party in charge has expressed disdain for Trump, calling him “a threat to our political independence,” according to NPR. GREENLAND’S OPPOSITION PARTY PUSHES CLOSER US TIES, INDEPENDENCE FROM DENMARK AS TRUMP PLAYS BIG IN ELECTION During an interview with Sermitsiaq, Egede called on Greenland’s “allies” to step up and do more than just “whispering that they support us” against the U.S.’s threatened encroachment. “If they do not speak out loudly about how the USA is treating Greenland, the situation will escalate day by day, and the American aggression will increase. So, we need our other allies to clearly and distinctly come with their support and backing for us,” he said. Egede added during the interview that Greenland has done “everything” to show that “through [the United States’] continued pressure they are violating us as a population and our sovereignty,” adding that the visit from Vance and Waltz represented a dangerous and “very aggressive” provocation in the ongoing saga. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP In preparation for the visit by Vance and other U.S. officials, Danish police have deployed extra security forces, as is typical any time high-level diplomats visit the country, per media reports. Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and the second lady for comment, but did not receive a response in time for publication.