Trump campaign seeks increased security as election draws near, including military aircraft amid Iran threats
The campaign for former President Trump has asked the White House for enhanced Secret Service security amid safety concerns in the final stages of the election, citing threats from Iran, Fox News has learned. On Friday, President Biden was asked about the request by the GOP nominee for enhanced security protocols. “As long as you don’t ask for F-15s. Well, look, I’ve told them to give him every, every single thing he needs as if he were a sitting president,” Biden said. “If it’s within that category. That’s fine.” The Trump campaign cited serious threats from Iran for extra protection. It asked for temporary airspace restrictions on the campaign trail, motorcade drivers with tactical experience and vehicles like the “Beast”, the bullet-proof vehicle used by for Biden. TRUMP BRIEFED ON ‘REAL AND SPECIFIC THREATS’ FROM IRAN TO ASSASSINATE HIM, CAMPAIGN SAYS U.S. Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., wrote a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, and Acting U.S. Secret Service Director Rowe warning that Iran was actively trying to kill Trump. Waltz asked that various aircraft, including military aircraft with defense capabilities, be provided for Trump in case of a missile attack, as well as a C-17 or C-40. The requests came following two failed assassination attempts on Trump within weeks of each other. IRAN’S LEADER TO ADDRESS UN AMID THREATS OF ASSASSINATIONS AGAINST US POLITICIANS, ELECTION INTERFERENCE Last month, Trump talked of a potential Iranian assassination threat against him. Tehran’s potential assassination plot was detailed in FBI documents that Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, showing other potential targets included Biden and former presidential candidate Nikki Haley, along with other “politicians, military people or bureaucrats.” At one point, Trump was briefed about “real and specific threats” from Iran to assassinate him, the campaign said last month. Iran’s aim to assassinate Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, is part of the Islamic Republic’s efforts to “destabilize and sow chaos in the United States,” Trump campaign communications director Steven Cheung said in a press release at the time. Fox News Digital’s Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.
Mumbai Metro launches Whatsapp-based ticket service for lines 2A and 7; know steps to avail it
Metro line 2A is from Andheri West to Dahisar and runs on the new link road, while line 7 is from Andheri East to Dahisar on the Western Express Highway. The two lines were launched in April 2022 and serve passengers in the north-west part of the metropolis.
Tamil Nadu Train Accident: Mysuru-Darbhanga Bagmati Express rams into goods train near Chennai, 19 injured
The incident occurred around 8:30 pm on the Chennai-Gudur section between Ponneri and Kavaraippettai railway stations under Chennai division of Southern railway, leading to derailment of 12 coaches of the passenger train.
Judge reportedly strikes down Texas law that Ken Paxton frequently uses to investigate companies and nonprofits
A federal judge said Texas’ “request to examine” statute amounts to unconstitutional search and seizure, Bloomberg reported.
Congresswoman says Biden admin shut down FBI briefing over Afghan man charged with Election Day terror plot
U.S. Rep. Stephanie Bice, R-Okla., said the Biden administration has blocked the FBI from fulfilling her request for a briefing on the arrest of an Afghan man charged with plotting a terror attack on Election Day. In a letter dated Friday to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, Bice said the FBI was fully supportive of her request until the Justice Department stepped in. “When my office requested additional information and a briefing from the Department of Justice on this matter, my request was denied by the administration,” she wrote. “What does the Biden-Harris Department of Justice have to hide here? AFGHAN MAN IN OKLAHOMA PLOTTED ELECTION DAY TERROR ATTACK IN US ON BEHALF OF ISIS, JUSTICE DEPT SAYS “As a life-long resident of Oklahoma City, our community still vividly recalls the bitter memory of April 19, 1995,” Bice added, referring to the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City that killed 168 people, including 19 children. She is asking for a briefing as “expeditiously” as possible. Fox News Digital has reached out to Bice’s office and the White House. Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, 27, an Oklahoma resident, was arrested this week for an alleged terror plot on behalf of the Islamic State. He entered the United States a month after U.S. troops pulled out of Afghanistan on a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) humanitarian parole, rather than on a special immigrant visa, as the Justice Department initially said. The mechanism through which Tawhedi entered the country is especially sensitive because the DHS inspector general raised concerns about Operation Allies Welcome, the program through which the agency paroled Afghan refugees into the country, circumventing the lengthier and more strenuous vetting process of the State Department-run special immigrant visa, or SIV, program. DHS OIG FAULTS AFGHAN VETTING, WARNS NATIONAL SECURITY THREATS MAY HAVE ENTERED US In 2022, the DHS inspector general’s office released a report that said it found officials “did not always have critical data to properly screen, vet, or inspect the evacuees.” As a result, “DHS may have admitted or paroled individuals into the U.S. who pose a risk to national security and the safety of local communities,” the report said. Tawhedi worked for the CIA as a security guard in Afghanistan. Investigators said they believe Tawhedi became radicalized after arriving in the U.S. While he entered the U.S. on humanitarian parole, he later applied for an SIV and was approved, a senior Biden administration official told Fox News. The administration maintains Tawhedi was subjected to multiple rounds of vetting and that no red flags were raised. “The unsealed criminal complaint against Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi raises continued concerns about the aftermath of the Administration’s catastrophic withdrawal from Afghanistan and inadequate vetting of evacuees,” Bice wrote.
DOJ sues Virginia for allegedly purging noncitizens from voting rolls too close to election
The U.S. Department of Justice is suing Virginia, alleging that the commonwealth removed noncitizens from its voter rolls too close to Election Day. The complaint alleges that the state Board of Elections and Virginia Commissioner of Elections Susan Beals violated the federal National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), which mandates that states must complete their maintenance program no later than 90 days before an election under a clause known as the Quiet Period Provision. The agency alleges that Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin violated the NVRA when announcing and subsequently carrying out an executive order which required the election commissioner to regularly update the state’s voter lists to remove individuals who have been “identified as noncitizens,” and had not responded to a request to verify their citizenship in 14 days. Under Youngkin’s executive order, Virginia has removed 6,303 individuals. “The Executive Order formalized the Program and announced that 6,303 individuals had been removed from the rolls pursuant to the same process between January 2022 and July 2024,” the complaint said. DOJ SUES ALABAMA, STATE’S TOP ELECTION OFFICIAL FOR ALLEGEDLY PURGING NONCITIZEN VOTERS TOO CLOSE TO ELECTION The complaint notes that voters were identified as possible noncitizens if they responded “no” to questions about their citizenship status on certain forms submitted to the state Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). “This systematic voter removal program, which the State is conducting within 90 days of the upcoming federal election, violates the Quiet Period Provision,” the DOJ said. In a statement, Yougkin pushed back on the Justice Department’s lawsuit, saying the lawsuit was “politically motivated.” “With less than 30 days until the election, the Biden-Harris Department of Justice is filing an unprecedented lawsuit against me and the Commonwealth of Virginia, for appropriately enforcing a 2006 law signed by Democrat Tim Kaine that requires Virginia to remove noncitizens from the voter rolls – a process that starts with someone declaring themselves a non-citizen and then registering to vote,” Youngkins said. “Virginians – and Americans – will see this for exactly what it is: a desperate attempt to attack the legitimacy of the elections in the Commonwealth, the very crucible of American Democracy,” he said. Younkin vowed to “defend these commonsense steps” and promised that the state’s election would be “secure and fair.” YOUNGKIN MANDATES ALL PAPER BALLOTS FOR PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS IN VIRGINIA “With the support of our Attorney General, we will defend these commonsense steps, that we are legally required to take, with every resource available to us,” he said. “Virginia’s election will be secure and fair, and I will not stand idly by as this politically motivated action tries to interfere in our elections, period.” Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, wrote on X that the DOJ lawsuit is “election interference.” THOUSANDS OF NONCITIZENS REMOVED FROM VOTER ROLLS, DOZENS OF LAWMAKERS WANT ANSWERS FROM GARLANDc “The Biden-Harris administration is engaging in election interference,” he wrote. “They’re harassing states that are trying to make sure that noncitizens can’t vote. This is a lawless abuse of power.” The Justice Department lawsuit against Virginia comes after the agency sued Alabama and its Republican Secretary of State Wes Allen over the state’s voter purge program that targeted noncitizen voters. The Justice Department seeks injunctive relief that “would restore the ability of impacted eligible voters to vote unimpeded on Election Day,” and “would prohibit future quiet period violations,” the DOJ said in a statement. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “The department also seeks remedial mailings to educate eligible voters concerning the restoration of their rights and adequate training of local officials and poll workers to address confusion and distrust among eligible voters accused of being noncitizens,” the agency said. Fox News Digital has reached out to Youngkin for comment.
Mayorkas grabs high-end sushi from DC Nobu directly after quick stop in Hurricane Helene-hit North Carolina
After a visit to Hurricane Helene-hit North Carolina on Thursday, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas made a stop to Washington, D.C.’s ritzy sushi restaurant Nobu. Mayorkas visited North Carolina and delivered an update to Thursday afternoon’s White House press briefing via satellite, asserting that the federal government can handle both Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton relief. “No resources needed for Hurricane Helene response will be diverted to respond to Hurricane Milton,” said Mayorkas. “We have made it clear we will be there for every impacted community, every step of the way.” MAYORKAS DOUBLES DOWN, HAMMERS ‘PERNICIOUS’ MISINFORMATION AMID FEMA CRITICISM According to the DHS’ update on Thursday, search and rescue teams have rescued over 4,300 people stranded or lost due to Hurricane Helene in North Carolina so far. More than 220 people have died from Helene across the Southeast, according to current numbers. Mayorkas announced via X that he arrived in the Tar Heel state around 10:00 am on Thursday. Directly after his visit to storm-torn North Carolina, Secretary Mayorkas jetted back to Washington, D.C., where a photographer with the NYPost caught the DHS head whisking away a dinner order. NC LAWMAKER ACCUSES MAYORKAS OF POLITICIZING ‘TRAGEDY FOR PERSONAL GAIN’ AFTER FEMA FUNDING ALARMS The Post showed snaps of Mayorkas bringing out several to-go bags from the restaurant at around 5:15 pm. Nobu is a high-end international sushi chain, with Wagyu beef retailing for $40 per ounce. Their D.C. location has advertised a chef’s tasting menu that costs $200 per person, called “Omakase.” Nobu is best known for its association with world-famous Japanese “Iron Chef” Masaharu Morimoto. Mayorkas has recently come under fire for going shoe shopping after Hurricane Helene had made landfall and before his visit to the Tar Heel State. Elon Musk made a post on his site X on Tuesday the 8 saying, “Maybe Mayorkas could take a break from shoe shopping to look into this,” citing reporting from Fox News’ Chad Pergram on untapped FEMA funds. In another post on X from earlier on Thursday, Mayorkas wrote, “This morning, I spoke with @NC_Governor Roy Cooper, @SenThomTillis, and @SenTedBuddNC, and reiterated the full force of our @DHSgov and federal support to the people of North Carolina as we work to recover and rebuild. We will be there every step of the way.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Nobu restaurants did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Fox News Politics: ‘Brothers’ for Kamala
Welcome to the Fox News’ Politics newsletter, with the latest political news from Washington, D.C. and updates from the 2024 campaign trail. Here’s what’s happening… – Vladimir Putin meets with Iranian President Pezeshkian to celebrate ‘very close’ relationship – Top Republican demands answers as billions in FEMA relief are still going to COVID: ‘Legitimate concern’ – Doug Emhoff doesn’t deny report he slapped ex-girlfriend outside overseas movie event During a pre-campaign-rally stop in Pittsburgh on Thursday, former President Barack Obama appeared to admonish Black Americans who have not been as fervent in their support for Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential bid as they were for his in 2008 and 2012. “We have not yet seen the same kinds of energy and turnout in all corners of our neighborhoods and communities as we saw when I was running,” Obama said during a stop at a campaign office. “Now, I also want to say that that seems to be more pronounced with the brothers. So if you don’t mind — just for a second, I’ve got to speak to y’all and say that when you have a choice that is this clean: When on the one hand, you have somebody who grew up like you, went to college with you understands the struggles [and the] pain and joy that comes from those experiences…” …Read more ‘REALLY OUTDONE YOURSELVES’: Politico says Harris is running on a ‘dream economy’ but voters aren’t noticing…Read more ‘CRUSHING GUILT’: Hunter Biden legal saga is ‘real war’ that ‘preoccupied’ outgoing president, new Woodward book claims…Read more ‘SERIOUS RISK’: Biden admin pushed to reveal full report on migrants entering US, boarding flights without ID …Read more TIME RUNNING OUT: US has helped tiny fraction of its citizens evacuate war-torn Lebanon…Read more ‘NONSENSE’: Lead counsel hits new Dem effort to ‘delegitimize’ Supreme Court amid senator’s report on Kavanaugh probe…Read more ‘SINGLE ISSUE VOTERS’: Vaping advocate warns Dem crackdown on ‘common sense’ tobacco alternatives could backfire in swing states…Read more WHO’S MORE ACCESSIBLE? Trump-Vance ticket has done a combined 71 interviews since August to just 37 for Harris-Walz…Read more UNDERMINING DEMOCRACY?: Dems launched an onslaught of schemes slammed as tactics to undermine democracy ahead of high-stakes election…Read more OBAMA VS. TRUMP: Obama, stumping for Harris in key battleground, charges Trump ‘will makes problems worse’…Read more GEORGIA ON THE LINE: Why this one Peach State county could be ‘key’ to presidency…Read more TOWN HALL: Harris makes pitch to Latino voters at Univision town hall: Top 5 moments…Read more ‘OPERATION AURORA’: Trump to announce ‘Operation Aurora’ to target Tren de Aragua gang in Colorado rally…Read more POLITICAL STORM: Milton’s gone, but the political storm keeps raging over federal government’s hurricane efforts…Read more DOUBLE WHAMMY: As Hurricane Milton hits Florida, so do more illegal immigrants…Read more MARYLAND SENATE: Alsobrooks backs court-packing as Hogan fights GOP, McConnell, Trump associations …Read more ‘DO YOUR JOB!’: Jewish organization blasts colleges in billboard ad near San Diego State University to combat antisemitism…Read more LIGHT IT UP: Blue state CEO sued over pro-Trump sign nets ‘epic win for free speech’…Read more DEMOCRACY ’24: Alaska, Colorado, and Massachusetts begin absentee voting…Read more Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.
Comer slams Raskin as ‘ultimate hypocrite’ after Raskin stopped short of committing to certify a Trump win
House Oversight Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., criticized Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., Friday, calling him “the ultimate hypocrite” in response to a new report in which Raskin stopped short of committing to certify a potential 2024 presidential win for former President Trump. “Ranking member Raskin is the ultimate hypocrite,” Comer told Fox News Digital. “He talks a big game about ‘saving democracy’ yet actively undermines it by sowing seeds of doubt in America’s free and fair elections when it benefits him to do so.” Comer slammed Raskin as “a two-time election denier,” saying Raskin “suggested the 2000 election was illegitimate and didn’t certify election results when Trump won the White House in 2016.” “Now ranking member Raskin is signaling he’d do the same if Trump wins again in November. Raskin doesn’t care at all about democracy. He only cares about putting a Democrat in the White House whatever the cost,” Comer said. DEMS LAUNCHED ONSLAUGHT OF SCHEMES SLAMMED AS TACTICS TO UNDERMINE DEMOCRACY AHEAD OF HIGH-STAKES ELECTION Raskin, the top Democrat on the committee and a former Jan. 6 committee member, told Axios in a report published Thursday if former President Trump “won a free, fair and honest election, then we would obviously accept it.” The report continued to say that Raskin said he “definitely” does not assume the former president will employ “free, fair and honest means” to win the Oval Office. Trump “is doing whatever he can to try to interfere with the process, whether we’re talking about manipulating electoral college counts in Nebraska or manipulating the vote count in Georgia or imposing other kinds of impediments,” Raskin told Axios. TRUMP, HARRIS LOCKED IN DEAD HEAT IN 7 BATTLEGROUND STATES, POLL FINDS: ‘COULD NOT BE CLOSER’ Several other Democratic members of Congress shared Raskin’s sentiments, including Illinois Rep. Jan Schakowsky and Massachusetts Rep. Jim McGovern. McGovern told Axios Democrats will certify a Trump win “assuming everything goes the way we expect it to.” Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., also called the Democrats’ statements “the most predictable hypocrisy in politics.” “After years of the radical left’s stenographers in the mainstream media, corporate special interest groups and radical Democrats viciously smearing President Trump and Republicans for standing up for election integrity, now 24 days until Election Day, far left Democrats are claiming that a President Trump victory would be illegitimate, and the mainstream media remains silent,” Stefanik told Fox News Digital. Raskin responded to the criticism in a statement to Fox News Digital, saying, “The Democratic Party is a party of democracy and the rule of law. We stand by both. “Trump and his followers have tried to use fraud, deceit, lies, coercion, trickery, voter suppression and mass insurrectionary violence to seize power against the rules of our constitutional order,” Raskin said. “I will never back down from defending American constitutional democracy against their big lies, political coups and violent insurrections. And I certainly won’t get into the mud with Chairman Comer and call him a hypocrite because that would imply he has some principles and ideals to betray.” Top Democrats criticized House Speaker Mike Johnson last month after he was asked if he’d commit to observing regular order in certifying the election results if Vice President Kamala Harris were to win. “Well, of course — if we have a free, fair and safe election, we’re going to follow the Constitution. Absolutely. Yes. Absolutely,” Johnson said. MICHAEL MOORE MOCKS DEMOCRATS PANICKED BY TIGHT 2024 RACE: ‘SHOCKING TO ME’ THEY BELIEVE TRUMP IS GOING TO WIN Election certification was also touched upon during the vice presidential debate a few weeks ago, when Sen. JD Vance was pressed on past comments saying he would not have voted to certify the 2020 election results in January 2021. Vance fired back at the proposition that Trump could prove to be a “threat to democracy,” saying he believes “we actually do have a threat to democracy in this country” in the form of censorship. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz circled back to the 2021 exchange, blasting Trump and Republicans for denying the events that unfolded on Jan. 6, 2021, when Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol building.
NYC pursuing thousands of hotel rooms to house migrants amid multibillion-dollar costs: report
New York City reportedly wants 14,000 hotel rooms to house migrants through next year as the sanctuary city continues to spend billions on the fallout from the border crisis. The New York Post reported the city’s use of hotels to house migrants will continue despite a significant drop in migrant encounters at the southern border, and the Department of Homeless Services is seeking a contract with hotels to provide a total of 14,000 rooms to shelter migrants. The Post reported that spending on housing over a three-year period will surpass $2.3 billion, with most of that spent on rent for hotels. Spending on the migrant crisis is expected exceed $5 billion, and Mayor Eric Adams has previously said costs could balloon to over $10 billion by the end of next fiscal year. Previous estimates had put that number even higher. NEW YORK CITY MIGRANT CRISIS COSTS EXPECTED TO EXCEED $5B IN TWO-YEAR PERIOD – DOUBLE TO $10B BY 2025 At an average of $352 per night for at least 36,939 households, the city has previously projected it will spend $4.75 billion providing shelter, food, health care and education to the influx of migrants during the 2025 fiscal year, according to the current forecast by the city’s online asylum seeker funding tracker. In August, the city announced two new contracts totaling $40 million for contractors to service migrants at hotels used as emergency shelters. As numbers surged at the border in 2021 and 2022, tens of thousands of migrants traveled to major blue cities like New York City, Chicago and Philadelphia. They were aided in 2022 when Texas Gov. Greg Abbott began bussing migrants straight to those cities as a way to relieve the pressure on the border state. He chose sanctuary cities — cities that limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement — because he said they encouraged the crisis. There were scenes of hundreds of migrants camped outside the Roosevelt Hotel during the height of the crisis. New York City officials now say over 218,000 migrants have received services in NYC since 2022. MAN STABBED AT NYC MIGRANT ENCAMPMENT BY RANDALL’S ISLAND SHELTER WEEKS AFTER DEADLY SHOOTING NEARBY Officials say they have helped complete more than 72,000 applications for work permits, temporary protected status and asylum. The city has also bought 47,000 tickets to help migrants go to other parts of the country. CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE At the peak of the crisis, the city was taking in an average of 4,000 migrants per week. But that dropped into the hundreds in recent months as the crisis at the border abated after a presidential proclamation from President Biden that limited asylum claims. The Post reported more than 700 new migrants arrived in the city last week. This week, the city announced it would be closing a massive tent shelter on Randall’s Island. Officials said the number of asylum seekers in city shelters has dropped for 14 straight weeks and now is at the lowest point in over a year. Fox News’ Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.