Supreme Court climate showdown jolted by Alito’s last-minute decision
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito recused himself from a closely watched case over climate change liability less than a week before oral arguments were scheduled to begin. Scott Harris, the clerk of the Supreme Court, informed the parties’ lawyers in a letter Monday that Alito had recused himself from Suncor Energy Inc. v. County Commissioners of Boulder County without providing an explanation. “Justice Alito does not take his duty to sit lightly. We do not know why he recused himself, as the reason has not been made public, but I do not expect his recusal to ultimately change the outcome of Suncor v. Boulder,” Carrie Severino, president of JCN, told Fox News Digital. LAWSUITS COST EVERY AMERICAN HOUSEHOLD THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS. SUPREME COURT CAN HELP The justices were scheduled to kick off the 2026-27 term by hearing oral arguments in Suncor v. Boulder on Monday. The case centers on whether Boulder, Colorado, can use its state-law tort claims to sue oil and gas companies over their alleged role in contributing to climate change. The case has drawn scrutiny from Republicans, who argue Colorado officials are weaponizing the court system to get their environmental agenda enacted. “What they’re doing is they’re going around to these cities and these states, and using tort litigation, mass tort litigation, public nuisance lawsuits in state courts, and in a coordinated way to effectuate the same kind of a result, but just without having to go through their democratically elected officials,” Steve Cox, former Alaska attorney general and current counsel to Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy , said in a Tuesday conference call. “It’s not a fight about climate change,” O.H. Skinner, former Arizona solicitor general and executive director of the Alliance for Consumers, said during a Tuesday conference call. “It’s not a fight about climate science.” “It’s a fight about whether we’re going to allow this maneuver to be what reshapes American society, and that’s why I think everybody should care, irrespective of their views on climate change or their views on how to fix this problem or that problem. Do you want courts as our primary policymakers?” Skinner acknowledged that Alito did not come to his decision lightly, but said its “never good for the court” when a justice is missing from a ruling. CONSERVATIVE GROUPS SAY JUSTICE KAGAN CANNOT BE IMPARTIAL IN UPCOMING SUPREME COURT CLIMATE LITIGATION “This is part of why the left constantly screaming at the justices about recusal and other things is counterproductive for the country,” Skinner said. “It doesn’t help the court when they don’t have their full complement.” “At the same time, he made that decision knowing all of that and based on his own personal considerations, and we will never know all of the details of that. At the end of the day, it does not help the court to not have their full complement, but it is also not something that we think will be dispositive of the case, and it’s not something that we think is noteworthy, other than that he made that decision based on his own considerations and didn’t do it lightly, and he is making the right choice in his mind,” Skinner continued. Alito’s last-minute decision to recuse himself from the high-stakes climate case follows his January recusal in Chevron USA Inc. v. Plaquemines Parish, a Louisiana coastal erosion dispute, because he owned stock in ConocoPhillips, the parent company of one of the parties in the related litigation, Burlington Resources Oil and Gas Company. SUPREME COURT FINANCIAL DISCLOSURES REVEAL CONCERT TICKETS FROM BAD BUNNY’S LABEL, MILLIONS IN BOOK PAYMENTS Meanwhile, Justice Elena Kagan has faced calls to recuse herself from Suncor v. Boulder because she wrote the foreword to the Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence, which included a climate science chapter that was later criticized by Congress and Republican attorneys general as biased and was eventually removed. SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER In July, more than a dozen legal groups, in a letter spearheaded by Severino, urged the Senate Judiciary Committee to open an investigation. “Justice Kagan’s endorsement of the partisan and now-removed climate science chapter of the judges’ reference manual continues to raise questions about her ability to impartially decide the case. I hope she is taking her own ethical obligation seriously.”
Bombshell report exposes healthcare fraud schemes as taxpayers lose up to $521 billion annually
FIRST ON FOX: House GOP lawmakers are rolling out a slew of new bills after a bombshell report found that hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars are potentially being targeted by fraudsters every year. As people across the U.S. are battling high costs that make it hard to make ends meet, a report released Tuesday by the House Energy & Commerce Committee warns that federally subsidized healthcare programs are rife with fraud and abuse — “impacting every single American, in one way or another.” While no estimate for Medicare and Medicaid fraud exists specifically, the report noted, a 2024 estimate by the Government Accountability Office said $233 billion to $521 billion taxpayer dollars going to federal programs are lost to fraud every year. Federal healthcare programs accounted for 24% of federal spending in 2024, according to the Center on Budget Policy and Priorities. Medicaid specifically is rife with vulnerabilities making it susceptible to fraud, the report said, which is why House Republicans are rolling out 14 bills aimed at closing loopholes in the system, shrinking bureaucracy, and making it easier for states to recoup lost dollars while also incentivizing them to go after potential fraudsters. “Taxpayers that fund benefit programs with federal and state taxpayer dollars are cheated by fraud, inflating healthcare costs that are passed along to everyone,” the committee’s report states. “Every dollar stolen from federal health care programs is a dollar that is not spent on high quality healthcare for those that need it most.” WHITE HOUSE PUSHES ‘WATERSHED’ FRAUD-FIGHTING REFORM IN CONGRESS AS VANCE CONVENES TASK FORCE “The amount of fraud that the Biden-Harris Administration allowed to go unchecked in government health programs is unacceptable. Every dollar stolen by fraudsters or wasted on improper payments is a dollar that cannot be used to support families in need who rely on these programs,” House Energy & Commerce Committee Chairman Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., told Fox News Digital. REPUBLICANS DECLARE WAR ON ‘ORGANIZED THEFT’ WITH GOVERNMENT FRAUD CRACKDOWN Republicans’ new bills can be lumped into three categories: legislation aimed at improving identification of fraud in state and federal health programs, legislation aimed at enforcing anti-fraud rules, and legislation to hold states that allow fraud to run rampant accountable. One bill led by Republican Study Committee Chairman August Pfluger, R-Texas, for example, would force states to designate a single role for internal financial controls of state Medicaid programs. READ: DR. OZ PUTS ALL 50 GOVERNORS ON NOTICE OVER BILLIONS LOST TO MEDICAID FRAUD A bill by Rep. Mike Rulli, R-Ohio, would force each state to annually report to the federal government on any potential Medicaid fraud vulnerabilities and their plan to fix it. And legislation by Rep. Nick Langworthy, R-N.Y., would require states to check whether someone enrolling for Medicaid was removed from another taxpayer-funded healthcare program. The report released on Tuesday said that Medicaid spending accounts for an average 30.7% of states’ budgets, and that those outlays have increased exponentially in recent years. States like New York and California are also projected to see costs spike, the report said. TOP FEDERAL PROSECUTOR CALLS CALIFORNIA A ‘FRAUDSTER’S PARADISE,’ WARNS STATE OFFICIALS COULD FACE CHARGES The Golden State is expected to see annual Medi-Cal spending, its state healthcare program, rise from $83 billion per year in 2014 to $219.7 billion by 2027, the report said, adding, “New York is projected to spend 11% more on Medicaid from all funding sources in 2027 — a total of $124 billion.” The report noted that federal healthcare is ripe for fraud given its size and complexity, as well as the traditional enforcement model of “pay and chase,” which relies on law enforcement to investigate fraud suspicions after a false claim has already been settled. Provider fraud is also a common area of losing tax dollars, with healthcare providers being known to submit multiple claims for a single service or bill services and equipment for patients that they have never seen at all, the report said. Transnational criminal groups have also profited from U.S. healthcare fraud, the report said, alleging that hardworking Americans are seeing their tax dollars not only lost to fraud at home but overseas as well. TRUMP ADMIN’S FRAUD CRACKDOWN TARGETS FOREIGNERS ACCUSED OF INFILTRATING US FEDERAL PROGRAMS The Department of Justice’s (DOJ) “Operation Gold Rush” uncovered that Russian organized crime actors billed over $10 million in false claims made via 30 medical supply companies they purchased in a years-long scheme, the report said. It highlighted further foreign healthcare schemes that saw malign actors in Hong Kong, Georgia, Estonia, Pakistan and elsewhere attempt to steal billions more in U.S. taxpayer dollars. The fraud reports come at a time when millions of Americans across the country are struggling with high living costs that have made it a challenge to make ends meet. Guthrie said the House GOP legislative package amounted to “commonsense steps” to ensure states can recoup lost fraud dollars and incentivize them to close loopholes in the future. It comes as the Trump administration is also prioritizing healthcare fraud crackdowns. Vice President JD Vance announced last week that 760,000 enrollees under the Affordable Care Act, also known as ObamaCare, would be removed over fraud claims.
Office of Personnel Management uncovers $500M in fraud and waste in federal health benefits programs
FIRST ON FOX: The Trump administration announced $500 million in waste and fraud findings at the Office of Personnel Management – revealing a recovery of potentially fraudulent funds for federal health benefits programs. Health insurance carriers in the Federal Employees Health Benefits and Postal Service Health Benefits programs reported preventing nearly $510 million in losses before or during payment and recovering an additional $21.9 million after claims were paid, according to the Office of Personnel Management. “OPM runs health insurance for about 8.9 million retirees and federal employees, and we spend about $80 billion a year,” Office of Personnel Management Director Scott Kupor told Fox News Digital. “The $500 million, a little more than half percent, is a good number, but certainly we have a long way to go here to root out more fraud, waste and abuse.” FIRST ON FOX: TRUMP ADMIN OPENS NEW FRONT IN FRAUD CRACKDOWN TARGETING HEALTH INSURERS, DRUG MIDDLEMEN The White House anti-fraud task force led by Vice President JD Vance has reported $260.7 billion in fraud uncovered since Trump took office, and $72 billion in fraud stopped on an annualized basis. Kupor said his agency is conducting its own review of health insurance claims data for the first time, allowing the agency to analyze billing patterns across providers and health plans to identify unusual prescribing habits, surgery rates and other anomalies that could signal overuse, misuse or potential fraud. TRUMP ADMIN BLOCKS MORE THAN $1.6B IN POTENTIALLY IMPROPER MEDICARE LAB PAYMENTS, AGENCY SAYS He said the agency will use those findings to remove providers from federal health programs when warranted and will refer cases involving suspected criminal conduct to the agency’s Office of Inspector General and the Justice Department for further investigation. Kupor leads the agency responsible for overseeing the federal workforce while managing key employment and benefits programs for millions of current and former federal employees. One of the most prominent examples of his work stems from Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) targeting of a mine in Pennsylvania. EXCLUSIVE: INSIDE THE SECRETIVE MINE DOGE HELPED DRAG OUT OF A DECADES-OLD BUREAUCRATIC BLACK HOLE Last April, Fox News Digital first reported that the United States government applied the use of artificial intelligence for federal employee recordkeeping – the first time the federal government implemented AI at scale. The movement was led by Kupor and Musk, and Musk didn’t hide his shock that federal records were being stored and managed solely on paper at the time. TRUMP UNLOADS ON TECH TITANS PUSHING FOR SLOWDOWN ON EMERGING INDUSTRY: ‘WHOEVER WINS AI, WINS!’ “The speed at which the mine shaft elevator can move determines how many people can retire… And the elevator breaks down and then nobody can retire,” Musk said last February. “Doesn’t that sound crazy?” When asked for an update on progress made on modernizing the mine, Kupor said it is now fully operational on an electronic system. “This past year, we did 180,000 electronic online applications for retirement, which is just unprecedented,” he said. “That’s almost double the production that we’ve had in any prior year. Electronic applications can get solved in less than half the time today that a paper one does.” “We will take something that has been a six-month, nine-month, 12-month horrendous process for retirees, and I think we will be able to do it in as little as 15 days with the continued development of technology.” WHITE HOUSE PUSHES ‘WATERSHED’ FRAUD-FIGHTING REFORM IN CONGRESS AS VANCE CONVENES TASK FORCE Kupor’s previous experience working with artificial intelligence has led to his name being floated to serve as the AI czar in the Trump administration – a role cast into the spotlight as data center development and artificial intelligence have become midterm election talking points. After working as an investment banker at Credit Suisse, Kupor worked at Loudcloud, which was co-founded by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, in 1999. He was then hired as the first employee by Andreessen and Horowitz at the duo’s venture capital firm. Kupor also served as the chair of the National Venture Capital Association from May 2017 to May 2018. TRUMP SAYS ANTI-FRAUD EFFORTS ARE UNCOVERING BILLIONS IN WASTE, CLAIMS SAVINGS COULD BALANCE BUDGET When asked about whether he has had any conversations with the White House about the role, Kupor said he had seen the reports he was being floated, and discussed President Donald Trump’s views on artificial intelligence broadly. “I’ve read all the same reports you’ve read and don’t have anything to add there,” he said. “What the president has said is exactly 100% right, which is that AI is the most important piece of technology that will determine economic growth for us, national security, sovereignty for our country.” TRUMP ADMINISTRATION UNCOVERS $1.2B IN SUSPECTED COVID CONTRACT FRAUD TIED TO BIDEN-ERA SPENDING “One of the things that I know, again, having spent all my life in the venture world, is there is no limit to the intellect and inventiveness of entrepreneurs in this country. And we just need to make sure that the conditions around, you know, regulatory controls and others continue to allow the U.S. to flourish in the way that it’s always done.” Kupor did not rule out accepting the role if Trump should offer it to him, saying that while he is focused on his job as director of the agency, he serves “at the will of the president.” Reports had suggested that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was being considered for the AI czar position, but last week Trump said he would not be selecting him for the role.
Soros nephew divulges how family’s power helped bankroll El-Sayed’s education during secretive fundraiser
FIRST ON FOX: Jeffrey Soros, the wealthy nephew of billionaire Democrat mega-donor George Soros, detailed his yearslong connection to Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed during a Monday night fundraiser, according to footage obtained by Fox News Digital. The Soros nephew, a wealthy Hollywood producer, hosted El-Sayed at his home Monday night for a fundraiser that attracted controversy given the emphasis the candidate has placed on getting money out of politics. During remarks, Soros noted that he played a key role in helping El-Sayed get his career off the ground, according to footage obtained by Fox News Digital. “I just wanted to welcome you here and express my appreciation for coming. And it’s been a privilege,” Soros said while standing next to El-Sayed during the event, the footage showed. “Speaking of privilege, I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Abdul since 2012. I got to interview him as a finalist for my parents. Fellowship, the Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans.” The El-Sayed campaign and the Los Angeles Media Fund, where Soros serves as CEO, did not respond to requests for comment when reached by Fox News Digital on Tuesday. DEM INSURGENT TURNS ON THE CHARM WITH PARTY ESTABLISHMENT AS SCHUMER LEAVES BITTER FEUD HANGING Attendees were asked not to record the event, a common practice at many political fundraisers, organizers said in footage reviewed by Fox News Digital. The Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans, which is designed to help immigrants and the children of immigrants get a leg up in the United States, pays out tens of thousands of dollars in stipend and tuition support to winners. El-Sayed won the fellowship in 2012, and it is touted on its website as one of its success stories. MICHIGAN SENATE HOPEFUL CALLS AIPAC DONATIONS ‘LEGALIZED BRIBERY,’ REMAINS SILENT ON OTHER DONATIONS The financial and political ties come as El-Sayed has made the influence of wealthy donors a recurring theme of his campaign. “The fundamental corruption of our politics has been the system that allows corporations and would-be oligarchs and billionaires to buy politicians,” El-Sayed said during a 2025 local news interview. “I want to get money out of politics, put money in your pocket, pass Medicare for All,” he said during a follow-up interview. A flyer promoting the Soros fundraiser, which was attended by Hollywood notables, stated that attendees could donate up to $57,800 to the Abdul for Michigan Victory Fund, Fox News Digital previously reported. The Soros family’s political machine has also dumped millions into political committees that are supporting El-Sayed’s run for Senate. SOROS NETWORK REBUILDS PROGRESSIVE PROSECUTOR PUSH AFTER STRING OF ELECTION LOSSES “Abdul El-Sayed raising dark Soros money in California after begging Chuck Schumer for money in DC is the least surprising thing he’s done all cycle,” Alyssa Brouillet, communications director for GOP nominee Mike Rogers’ campaign, previously told Fox News Digital. “That’s what a conman does — says one thing and does another. Michiganders can’t trust this guy.” El-Sayed’s campaign has defended itself by arguing that “corporate special interests are spending millions of dollars in dark money to try to buy Rogers a Senate seat because he’s spent his entire career making himself and his billionaire donors richer while Michiganders pay the price.”
Hollywood actress upset her son isn’t gay fumes in bizarre spectacle at Human Rights Campaign gala
A Hollywood actress used her platform on stage at a far-left Human Rights Campaign (HRC) event to complain that despite her best efforts, her son turned out to be heterosexual. Camryn Manheim, best known for her role as Ellenor Frutt in the late 1990s and early 2000s drama series “The Practice,” introduced and presented her friend and fellow actress Marcia Gay Harden with the Ally for Equality Award at the HRC’s National Dinner on Sunday. “For Marcia, of course, this is deeply personal to her,” said Manheim of this year’s recipient of the prestigious award. “She has three remarkable children who all align with the LGBTQ+ community, which is another thing that deeply irritates me about her, because I always wanted a gay son.” GLAAD RELEASES ‘PARTICULARLY CONCERNING’ REPORT SHOWING SHRINKING LGBTQ REPRESENTATION THIRD YEAR IN A ROW She then launched into a tirade about how her son is heterosexual. “I love that relationship between gay sons and their mothers,” she said from the stage. “I wanted to be the picket sign-holding mom who would beat the s— out of somebody for her kid. I mean, let’s just admit it, gay sons are the best, right? Right!” “I have photographs of my son in high heels, in full drag, he knows every word to every musical ever written, his fairy godfather, Aaron Walton, is here with us tonight. I mean, truly, I thought I had this f—ing thing locked up, but no, no, he’s the only straight guy in his entire musical theater company,” Manheim complained. Manheim’s only child, Milo Manheim, 25, is an actor best known for his starring role as Zed in the Disney Channel film franchise “Zombies.” He played Joseph in the 2023 Christmas musical, “Journey to Bethlehem,” and in 2018 came in second place on season 27 of “Dancing with the Stars.” LOG CABIN REPUBLICANS REMOVES ‘T’ FROM LGBT ADVOCACY, SAYS ‘RADICAL’ TRANS ACTIVISTS ARE ERODING GAY SUPPORT Manheim, during her recorded remarks, relayed a story about Harden, a 2021 Oscar winner for best supporting actress in the 2000 film “Pollock,” calling her a decade ago to tell her that her son was gay. “All I said was, ‘Oh my God, you are so f—ing lucky!” Manheim said, yelling into the microphone and drawing a round of applause from the crowd. And about a week later, I was at Marcia’s house for dinner when an Amazon package was delivered, and inside, I’m not kidding you, was a pair of thigh-high patent leather boots, like kinky boots,” Manheim continued. “And I thought, ‘oh come on, now she is just showing off!” DEMOCRATS TURN ON CONGRESSIONAL HOPEFUL AFTER ‘HIDING’ LGBTQ+ VIEWS FROM MUSLIM VOTERS HRC is America’s largest civil rights group dedicated to “engaging and mobilizing millions of pro-equality voters and supporters to elect pro-equality leaders and to demand equity-based policies and legislation.” The organization was founded in 1980 by gay rights lobbyist Steve Endean and today boasts 4 million members. Sunday night’s dinner was part of the Human Rights Campaign’s events program, which it says reaches more than 20,000 people each year through 30 fundraising dinner events. It allows the group to “elevate LGBTQ+ candidates around the country, keep volunteers engaged, amplify our work in the local community, and solicit corporate sponsorships and donations through our auctions.” Online, reactions ranged from dismayed to disgusted. “How do any straight males survive mothers like this? It’s a miracle some of them come out normal,” said a right-wing commentator who goes by Peachy Keenan. “These people are mentally ill. They need to be institutionalized or thrown in prison for trying to groom children,” said Andy Froemel. “It’s the entertainment industry mothers who are the psychos,” online personality @shipwreckedcrew, who boasts more than 180,000 followers, said. “These people are sick,” radio show host Joe Pagliarulo said. “Liberalism is a performative sickness,” said Jon Nanjarian. Fox News Digital reached out to HRC and representatives for Manheim but did not hear back at time of publication.
Republicans fear they ‘haven’t done a damn thing’ to lower prices ahead of midterm reckoning
The key focus of this election, like many before it, is the economy, but the Senate has spent its waning weeks in Washington focusing on something else: college sports. And that has proven a sticking point for some Republicans who are eager to maintain power in the upper chamber and worried that they aren’t meeting the moment to address voters’ concerns over the cost-of-living. “I’m just hoping that this will be the best bill ever passed by the United States Senate considering the ungodly amount of time we’ve spent on it,” Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., told Fox News Digital. “So maybe this will be the most perfect and pristine piece of legislation ever,” he quipped. FOX NEWS POLL: SQUEEZED BY COSTS, FRUSTRATED VOTERS TURN TO THE DEMOCRATS “There’s a lot of things we could be doing and should be doing,” the senator added. “So I hope we’ll do those before we leave. We’ll see.” Hawley rattled off those issues that he hoped lawmakers would tackle that all ended in one word, costs — be it for fuel, prescription drugs, health care or the financial burden of the artificial intelligence boom. The Senate is expected to leave the nation’s capital on Wednesday to hit the campaign trail for the homestretch of the fast-approaching midterm elections. But from the summer of 2025 to now, with several shutdowns and partisan fights in between, the sting on voters’ wallets, to some concerned Republicans, has become an afterthought. Still, Republicans are quick to tout their accomplishments from last year, notably the “big, beautiful bill,” as their signature achievement to tackle the growing issue of affordability in the country — it was a predominant pitch during the midterm convention in Dallas earlier this month, and can be heard increasingly in the halls of the Senate as Nov. 3 nears. SENATE MOVES TO REIN IN COLLEGE SPORTS ‘WILD WEST’ WITH SWEEPING NEW RULES FOR PLAYERS, SCHOOLS The concern over inaction in the recent weeks and months has intensified as the main business in the Senate has been devoted to passing the Protect College Sports Act from Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, which cruised through the upper chamber late Monday night. “We’ve been spending all week on trying to make the football coaches happy,” Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said. “I’m voting for the bill, but I can assure that moms and dads out there across America, when they lie down to sleep at night … they’re not worried about the football coaches.” Kennedy said that he and others have been pressuring Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., to take another shot at reconciliation tailored exclusively toward affordability issues, or at the very least to put a bill that would shield consumers from increasing electricity costs as part of the AI boom. “Because we haven’t done a damn thing,” Kennedy said. “And it’s biting us in the ass right now.” ANXIETY GROWS OVER EMERGING ELECTION ISSUE, BUT GOP SAYS WASHINGTON ISN’T THE ANSWER Thune did tee up what will likely be the Senate’s last attempt at dealing with affordability for a vote this week on a bill that would require AI companies to bear the brunt of rising utility costs from data centers. That bill, from Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, is expected to be blocked by Democrats, however, who aren’t eager to give Republicans or Trump a victory — especially so close to the midterm elections. But for some Republicans, it’s too little too late when it comes to actually trying to address voters’ worries. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., recalled a story when he won the North Carolina House and became speaker. He ran to fix the economy, and once he won the power to do so, he and Republicans in the state would have to own the issue, regardless of the previous administration’s actions. “That’s how you actually show some leadership and get it done. You can’t rationalize that we’re here because of a problem caused by the prior administration,” Tillis told Fox News Digital. “That’s how we got elected. But you gotta fix it if you promise to. And that’s what we have to work on. I just think rationalizing away, that’s just not good politics.” Still, Republicans are asking for a second chance this fall, specifically Vice President JD Vance, who earlier this month asked voters to “give us another chance.” When asked about Vance’s plea, Tillis said, “You know what? If it works, it’ll be a first.”
Inside Operation Blackout: Patel reveals global scam ‘cities’ targeting your parents’ life savings
FIRST ON FOX: FBI Director Kash Patel says the bureau is expanding its global hunt for sprawling scam compounds that prey heavily on Americans, telling Fox News Digital that Operation Blackout has seized roughly $17 billion tied to the schemes. “At 71 years old, I’m old enough to know that people my age are certainly often targeted because of our unfamiliarity with certain new technologies. Thanks so much for looking out for us,” one victim told the FBI. “I watched my grandmother lose her life savings to scammers and I would love to see them all be put away,” said another victim. Operation Blackout is the FBI’s global campaign to identify, disrupt and dismantle foreign scam compounds targeting Americans, combining overseas raids and asset seizures with efforts to cut off the networks’ communications, rescue trafficked workers and return stolen money to victims. FBI WRAPS UP CYBERCRIME OPERATION TARGETING GLOBAL NETWORKS PREYING ON AMERICANS Patel said the FBI-led initiative is targeting criminal syndicates operating massive scam compounds across Southeast Asia and the Middle East, where trafficked workers are forced to carry out fraud schemes against victims thousands of miles away. “Unfortunately, the majority of the targets are senior citizens in America,” Patel told Fox News Digital, pointing to schemes carried out through social media, phone calls, text messages and Telegram. “Our initiative, Operation Blackout, is to prevent, disrupt, and dismantle,” Patel added. FBI SEIZES RECORD-SETTING $8 BILLION IN CRYPTOCURRENCY AMID INTERCONTINENTAL ‘SCAM COMPOUND’ CRACKDOWN In one common version of the scheme, criminals cultivate an online friendship or relationship with a victim before steering them toward a fraudulent cryptocurrency investment platform. Victims may initially believe their investments are generating significant returns, only to discover they cannot withdraw their money. “These are towns, these are cities,” Patel said of the scam compounds targeted by the operation. “These are actual villages with structures where they force people into forced labor.” An August operation at Cambodia’s roughly 200-acre O’Smach Resort scam compound involved searches of 28 buildings over three days and resulted in the seizure of 113 hard drives, 15 computers and 35 boxes of evidence, according to the FBI. The bureau is also trying to stop Americans from becoming victims before their money ever reaches the scammers. SCAMMERS ARE COMING FOR YOUR MONEY. HERE’S THE ONE THING YOU MUST NEVER DO Under Operation Level Up, its domestic prevention component working with U.S. Secret Service, the FBI proactively identifies and contacts potential victims of cryptocurrency investment scams. The bureau says it has notified 10,406 victims and prevented an estimated $660 million in losses, while seizing or freezing another $122 million in cryptocurrency. The FBI said 77% of the people it contacted did not know they were being scammed. The bureau has also referred 99 victims for suicide intervention, seized 584 scam websites and sent 7,670 scam accounts to private-sector companies for action. THE SECRET LIST THAT TELLS SCAMMERS YOU’RE AN EASY TARGET In September, a DOJ Scam Center Strike Force team that included FBI Honolulu personnel helped authorities in Madagascar take down 13 scam centers operated by Chinese organized crime syndicates and process more than 3,200 electronic devices. Patel said the geographic shift is part of a broader migration by the criminal networks. “That’s why you’re seeing the migration of these scam compounds to central and sub-Saharan Africa, which is where we are already pre-positioned to take them off,” Patel said.
Video shows Florida food truck workers fleeing from ICE during Tallahassee immigration raid
An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid in Tallahassee, Florida, prompted mass chaos as security footage showed food truck workers scrambling to flee from federal agents on Friday. Workers at Chile & Chili’s Taqueria Tallahassee scurried in and out of the food truck’s trailers when federal authorities rolled onto the scene, according to video obtained by Fox News Digital. Video shows one of the workers, a woman, being apprehended by authorities. Three of the individuals seen running in the video were Guatemalan nationals who had not yet finalized immigration paperwork, the food truck’s owner reportedly told WCTV. EXCLUSIVE: LA ICE DIRECTOR REVEALS OFFICERS FOLLOWED HOME, HARASSED AS POLICE FAIL TO HELP IN SANCTUARY CITY The owner has also reportedly closed the food truck, WCTV reported, citing safety concerns and the remaining employees quitting in the wake of the raid. MINNESOTA’S ANTI-ICE AID FUND BECOMES LATEST CASUALTY OF STATE’S EMBARRASSING FRAUD PROBLEM Despite the apparent closure, the incident prompted community organizers to plan an anti-ICE rally at the food truck’s Tennessee Street location on Wednesday. “ICE has been attacking our neighbors and destroying our community for too long!” an Instagram post shared by the restaurant and the Tallahassee Immigrant Rights Alliance read. EXCLUSIVE: DHS SECRETARY MULLIN SLAMS SANCTUARY POLITICIANS AS ATTACKS ON ICE OFFICERS SKYROCKET “We need to show up and demand ICE Out! We’ll be holding a rally at Chile & Chili’s, one of many local businesses and families under attack by ICE. Join us in showing support as we build towards a place where everyone can be free to live!” the post concluded. Chile & Chili’s also started a GoFundMe that has raised nearly $13,000 in the days following the raid. Fox News Digital contacted ICE and Chile & Chili’s for confirmation and further comment.
EXCLUSIVE: Hegseth to double cuts to generals, admirals in major Pentagon shakeup
War Secretary Pete Hegseth will announce plans to reduce by 20% the number of positions reserved for generals and admirals during his State of the Force address on Wednesday. Hegseth approved reduction plans for the Army, Navy, Air Force and the military’s joint pool earlier this month, according to memos seen by Fox News Digital. The services were directed to implement the plans and complete the reductions by Jan. 1, 2027. Wednesday’s address in Quantico, Va. is expected to lay out Hegseth’s priorities for the military in the year ahead, with the reduction in senior leadership positions among the changes he will unveil. The new target doubles the 10% overall reduction in general and flag officer positions Hegseth ordered last year as part of his effort to streamline the military’s senior ranks. That earlier directive separately called for a 20% reduction in active-duty four-star positions and a 20% reduction in National Guard general officers. SENATE REPUBLICAN PUSHES MERIT-BASED MILITARY PROMOTIONS, TARGETS BIDEN-ERA DEI POLICIES Hegseth dubbed that effort “less generals, more GIs,” arguing that reducing senior headquarters positions would push resources and authority toward troops closer to the fight. The latest reductions apply to billets — positions designated for generals and admirals — rather than an across-the-board removal of 20% of the officers currently serving in those ranks, a War Department source told Fox News Digital. At least some of the positions will be downgraded rather than eliminated altogether. In a Sept. 16 memo approving reductions to the military’s joint pool, Hegseth directed officials to establish O-6 requirements for general and flag officer positions identified for downgrade, allowing colonels and Navy captains to fill those jobs. GOP REP THOMAS MASSIE INTRODUCES 8 ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT AGAINST WAR SECRETARY PETE HEGSETH The announcement comes exactly one year after Hegseth summoned hundreds of generals and admirals from around the world to Quantico, Virginia, for an extraordinary gathering where he laid out his expectations for the military’s senior leaders and warned those who did not support his reforms to step aside. Hegseth has argued that reducing the number of generals and admirals would strip away unnecessary layers of bureaucracy and push authority down the chain of command. SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER “This is not a slash-and-burn exercise meant to punish high-ranking officers,” Hegseth said when he announced the earlier reductions in May 2025. “This has been a deliberative process, working with the Joint Chiefs of Staff with one goal: maximizing strategic readiness and operational effectiveness by making prudent reductions in the general and flag officer ranks.” This year’s audience will look different. Military commands have been asked to send top-performing service members who meet fitness and body-composition requirements and maintain “impeccable” grooming and uniform standards, according to published reports on internal Pentagon guidance for the event. Some troops selected to attend are also expected to participate in a workout with Hegseth.
Jack Smith’s Trump probe swept up Fox News, other media communications as investigation went beyond lawmakers
FIRST ON FOX: Former special counsel Jack Smith’s investigators obtained records containing communications between nearly 50 journalists and Trump administration officials — including Fox News personnel — after subpoenaing text-message records associated with dozens of White House phones during the federal election investigation of President Donald Trump, Fox News Digital has learned ahead of Tuesday’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. Previous congressional disclosures showed investigators obtained records involving members of Congress. The latest records reveal the production also included communications between government officials and journalists working for some of the country’s largest news organizations. The communications appeared in records produced by the National Archives in response to a subpoena seeking material associated with 87 White House phones from Trump’s first administration, according to a spokesperson for Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, citing whistleblower disclosures made to the chairman. “What will the partisan media say about this disgraceful government overreach? This wasn’t a normal prosecution by any means,” Grassley challenged in comments to Fox News Digital on Tuesday, as critics have highlighted the lack of concern or coverage given to Smith’s probe by legacy media. EXPLOSIVE NEW REPORT PUTS JACK SMITH BACK IN HOT SEAT AS JIM JORDAN ALLEGES HE TRIED TO ‘SWAY’ 2024 ELECTION One organization identified Tuesday as having been swept up in the probe was the Media Research Center. Its president, David Bozell, announced in 2025 that “not one single broadcast network aired one solitary second” about Smith’s alleged spying on conservative organizations and senators following a tranche of public disclosures. Fox News is among the organizations whose journalists appear in the records, along with CNN, CBS News — including its newsmagazine “60 Minutes” — NBC News and CNBC. The records also include communications involving journalists from the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Bloomberg, Los Angeles Times, New York Magazine, Reuters, the Associated Press and NPR, as well as The Federalist and Washington Times. READ THE LIST: 44 LAWMAKERS SWEPT INTO JACK SMITH TEXT SWEEP AS HIS LEGAL RECKONING GROWS The nationally syndicated “The Mark Levin Show,” hosted by Fox News host and former Reagan Justice Department chief of staff Mark Levin, also appears in the records. The records stem from a June 2, 2023, subpoena issued by Smith’s office to the National Archives seeking text messages from phones associated with numerous officials who served in the first Trump White House. JACK SMITH HIT WITH CRIMINAL REFERRAL AS GOP MOVES TESTIMONY FIGHT TOWARD PROSECUTION The Archives produced responsive records on Aug. 21, 2023, according to documents previously disclosed through congressional oversight by Grassley and Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., of Arctic Frost. Grassley and Johnson pressed the Justice Department and FBI in May for information about how potentially privileged material in that production was screened before investigators could review it. An Aug. 21, 2023 email from assistant special counsel Thomas Windom instructed members of Smith’s team, including prosecutors and FBI personnel, to download documents associated with text messages from the White House phones. “We are writing to determine what procedures and protocols, if any, Smith and his team used to filter privileged or potentially privileged materials from being impermissibly accessed, reviewed and/or used,” Grassley and Johnson wrote. The senators requested DOJ’s filtering protocols and the names of officials assigned to review material for privilege before it reached investigators. The committee has identified the individual journalists whose communications appear in the records but does not plan to release their names because of privacy concerns, a Grassley spokesperson told Fox News Digital. SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER The disclosure broadens questions surrounding Smith’s handling of the White House records ahead of Tuesday’s Senate hearing, including what safeguards governed investigators’ access to communications involving lawmakers, journalists and other third parties. The Judiciary Committee is expected to examine Smith’s investigative practices and the broader scope of Arctic Frost. Fox News Digital has reached out to counsel for Smith as well as the Justice Department for comment.