Trump’s authority to fire officials questioned in court battle over NLRB seat
The Trump administration appealed a federal judge’s decision Thursday that the administration’s firing of a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) member was illegal – the same day that the former head of the Office of the Special Counsel announced he was dropping his suit against President Donald Trump on similar grounds. U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell ordered Thursday that NLRB member Gwynne Wilcox be reinstated after she had been fired by Trump earlier this year. Wilcox filed suit in D.C. federal court, arguing that her termination violates the congressional statute delineating NLRB appointments and removals. “A President who touts an image of himself as a ‘king’ or a ‘dictator,’ perhaps as his vision of effective leadership, fundamentally misapprehends the role under Article II of the U.S. Constitution,” Howell wrote in her Thursday opinion. AXED GOVERNMENT WATCHDOG SAYS TRUMP WAS RIGHT TO FIRE HIM The Trump administration filed its appeal to the U.S. Appeals Court for the D.C. Circuit shortly after the decision was issued. The administration wrote in its appeal that it intended to request a stay of the order pending appeal, “including an immediate administrative stay” from the appellate court. In her Thursday opinion, Howell had some harsh words for the president, writing that his “interpretation of the scope of his constitutional power – or, more aptly, his aspiration – is flat wrong.” “At issue in this case is the President’s insistence that he has authority to fire whomever he wants within the Executive branch, overriding any congressionally mandated law in his way,” Howell wrote. Howell’s decision came on the same day that Hampton Dellinger, a Biden-appointee previously tapped to head the Office of Special Counsel, announced that he would be dropping his suit against the Trump administration over his own termination. FEDERAL JUDGE RULES TRUMP’S FIRING OF HEAD OF SPECIAL COUNSEL WAS UNLAWFUL, WILL MAINTAIN HIS JOB “My fight to stay on the job was not for me, but rather for the ideal that OSC should be as Congress intended: an independent watchdog and a safe, trustworthy place for whistleblowers to report wrongdoing and be protected from retaliation,” Dellinger said in a statement released Thursday. Dellinger’s announcement was preceded by a D.C. appellate court’s Wednesday holding that sided with the Trump administration. The court issued an unsigned order pausing a lower court order that had reinstated Dellinger to his post. FIRED NLRB COMMISSIONER ASKS FEDERAL JUDGE FOR REINSTATEMENT “Thank you to the countless DOJ lawyers working around the clock each and every day to defend the President’s actions and uphold the Constitution against baseless attacks,” a Department of Justice spokesperson told Fox News at the time. Dellinger said in his announcement that he believes the circuit judges “erred badly” in their Wednesday decision, saying that it “immediately erases the independence Congress provided for my position.” “And given the circuit court’s adverse ruling, I think my odds of ultimately prevailing before the Supreme Court are long,” Dellinger said. “Meanwhile, the harm to the agency and those who rely on it caused by a Special Counsel who is not independent could be immediate, grievous, and, I fear, uncorrectable.” Similar to Wilcox, Dellinger sued the Trump administration in D.C. federal court after his Feb. 7 firing. He maintained the argument that, by law, he can only be dismissed from his position for job performance problems, which were not cited in an email dismissing him from his post. The Supreme Court had previously paused the Trump administration’s efforts to dismiss Dellinger. The administration had asked the high court to overturn a lower court’s temporary reinstatement of Dellinger. Fox News’ Jake Gibson, Bill Mears, Shannon Bream, and David Spunt contributed to this report.
Trump threatens sanctions on Russia, demands peace after major hits in Ukraine
President Donald Trump threatened to impose “large scale” sanctions against Russia after the country carried out a massive attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. In a post on Truth Social, President Trump said he was “strongly considering” sanctions and tariffs “until a ceasefire and final settlement agreement on peace is reached.” National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett told reporters that Trump is ready to use carrots or sticks” to bring both Russia and Ukraine to the table. When asked by Fox News Channel Senior White House Correspondent Jacqui Heinrich for more details on what could be sanctioned, Hassett simply said there are “a heck of a lot of things.” In the overnight attack, Russia reportedly fired 67 missiles and 194 drones in an overnight attack that hit Ukraine’s energy and gas infrastructure, Reuters reported, citing Ukraine’s air force. According to reports, at least 10 people were injured in Russia’s attack, including a child. ZELENSKYY CONFIRMS UKRAINE WILL ATTEND AMERICA-LED PEACE TALKS DAYS AFTER OVAL OFFICE CLASH “Russia continues its energy terror,” Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko wrote on Facebook. “Again energy and gas infrastructure in various regions of Ukraine has come under massive missile and drone fire.” Russia has attacked Ukraine’s energy infrastructure multiple times throughout the three-year war. In April 2024, Russia destroyed one of Ukraine’s largest power plants, and in December 2024, Russia pummeled Ukraine’s power grid. President Trump also included a message to both Ukraine and Russia in his Truth Social post: “Get to the table right now, before it is too late.” SECRETARY OF STATE RUBIO VOWS DIPLOMACY ATTEMPTS WILL CONTINUE IN EFFORT TO END RUSSIA’S WAR IN UKRAINE Friday’s attack seemed to be in response to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirming that his team would participate in peace talks with the U.S. in Saudi Arabia next week. While Zelenskyy himself will not be at the meeting, his team will sit with their American counterparts to discuss ending the war. In his announcement of Ukraine’s participation in the talks, Zelenskyy said his country is “most interested in peace.” The issue of peace caused friction between Trump and Zelenskyy, after the president said his Ukrainian counterpart was “not ready for peace” following their Oval Office spat. “He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for peace,” Trump wrote on Truth Social last week after the heated meeting. However, things seemed to have smoothed over between the two leaders, with Trump reading a letter from Zelenskyy during his address to a joint session of Congress. Trump said he appreciated Zelenskyy’s letter and that he wants to see the “savage conflict” end. Fox News Channel’s Jacqui Heinrich contributed to this report.
Border state lawmaker demands Border Patrol agents be paid during pending shutdown: ‘Above and beyond’
FIRST ON FOX: A border state lawmaker is pushing to ensure that Border Patrol agents are paid in the case of a government shutdown — just as funding deadlines are looming in Washington, D.C. Rep. Monica De La Cruz, R-Texas, is reintroducing the Pay Our Border Patrol and Customs Agents Act, which would ensure that the salaries of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) employees are paid in the case of any government shutdown in FY 2025. Specifically, it would cover the salaries and expenses of any Border Patrol agents and the Office of Field Operations, which staffs ports of entry. GOP REBELS HEAD TO WHITE HOUSE FOR MEETING TO AVOID GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN “Border Patrol Agents go above and beyond to ensure our communities are protected and our border is secure,” De La Cruz said in a statement. “Under President Trump’s leadership, Border Patrol Agents can fully carry out their duties and, as a result, are reporting historically low numbers of illegal crossings. We cannot let politics jeopardize their hard-earned paycheck,” she said. The bill has 16 co-sponsors, including lawmakers from states along the border. The bill’s reintroduction comes amid concerns about whether there could be a government shutdown in the coming weeks. Congressional negotiators punted FY 2025 funding twice since October by passing a continuing resolution. Congress could risk a partial government shutdown on President Donald Trump’s watch if nothing is done by the end of March 14. To avoid that, however, GOP leaders are looking to pass another continuing resolution, this time through the end of fiscal year 2025. However, lawmakers are at an impasse over the Democratic demands that the resolution include assurances that Trump will not overstep Congress and spend less money than what is appropriated. VANCE TAKES VICTORY IN BORDER VISIT AS ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT NUMBERS PLUMMET De La Cruz’s bill, should it pass, would prevent any Border Patrol agents being affected if that did happen. CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE “With the upcoming funding deadline, the bipartisan Pay Our Border Patrol and Customs Agents Act will ensure agents and officers continue to be paid during any potential lapse in government funding,” De La Cruz said. The bill’s reintroduction comes just after President Trump and Vice President JD Vance touted a sharp drop in border crossings since they took office, with Vance visiting the border in Texas and praising the work that Border Patrol agents are doing. Fox News’ Liz Elkind contributed to this report.
DOGE says government paying for 11,020 Adobe Acrobat licenses with zero users, plus more ‘idle’ accounts
The Department of Housing and Urban Development has been squandering money on thousands of unused software licenses, an audit found, according to DOGE. For example, there were “11,020 Acrobat licenses with zero users,” DOGE noted in the post on X. The list also included other examples. TRUMP ORDERS CABINET SECRETARIES TO WORK WITH DOGE ON STAFFING, USE A ‘SCALPEL’ ON PERSONNEL DECISIONS DOGE’s “initial findings on paid software licenses” also included, “35,855 ServiceNow licenses on three products; only using 84,” “1,776 Cognos licenses; only using 325,” “800 WestLaw Classic licenses; only using 216” and “10,000 Java licenses; only using 400.” “All are being fixed,” the tweet concluded. Fox News Digital reached out to HUD and the White House on Friday, but did not receive comments by the time of publication. “There are vast numbers of unused software licenses in every part of the government. Your tax dollars are being wasted,” Elon Musk wrote when commenting on the DOGE post. DOGE INITIAL FINDINGS ON DEFENSE DEPARTMENT DEI SPENDING COULD SAVE $80M, AGENCY SAYS DOGE has previously made similar announcements regarding the General Services Administration, Department of Labor, Small Business Administration, and Social Security Administration. “Agencies often have more software licenses than employees, and the licenses are often idle (i.e. paid for, but not installed on any computer),” the DOGE X account noted in a tweet. “For example, at GSA, with 13,000 employees, there are,” the post listed, “37,000 WinZip licenses,” “19,000 training software subscriptions (and multiple parallel training software platforms),” “7,500 project management software seats for a division with 5,500 employees,” “3 different ticketing systems running in parallel.” The tweet concluded by noting, “Fixes are actively in work.” The DOGE GSA X account swiftly replied, indicating that cuts were on the way: “Not for long…” a tweet read, with a scissor emoji added in an apparent signal that cuts were coming. “We will report back with progress shortly!” INSIDE ELON MUSK’S HUDDLE WITH GOP SENATORS: DOGE HEAD TOUTS $4M SAVINGS PER DAY CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP GSA Acting Administrator and Deputy Administrator Stephen Ehikian replied, “Hope we didn’t make you wait too long… within 3 hours of @DOGE post, @USGSA is taking immediate action to reduce $5.5M of IT spend & working to identify additional reductions across all categories—ensuring strong stewardship of your tax dollars.” Several days later another DOGE post reported that GSA had made significant progress. “Since this post, @USGSA took immediate action to reduce IT spend by deleting 114,163 unused software licenses & 15 underutilized / redundant software products — for a total annual savings of $9.6M,” DOGE noted. A GSA spokesperson said in a statement to Fox News Digital, “In support of the administration’s priorities, efficiency and good stewardship, GSA is currently undertaking a review of its contracts and resources, including IT resources, to ensure our staff can perform their mission in support of American taxpayers. GSA has taken immediate action to fully implement all current executive orders and is committed to taking swift action to implement any new executive orders.”
Axed government watchdog says Trump was right to fire him
A government watchdog fired by President Donald Trump in January has filed a legal brief arguing that Trump is well within his executive powers to fire him and the 16 other U.S. inspectors general ousted just four days into his second term. Eric Soskin, the former inspector general for the U.S. Department of Transportation, was appointed by Trump during his first presidential term. He was then fired just four days after Trump returned to the Oval Office, Jeff Beelaert, an attorney for Givens Pursley and a former Department of Justice official, told Fox News in an interview. “Eric was one of the fired inspectors general, and disagreed with his former IG colleagues. He wanted to make that clear in filing a brief,” Beelaert said. Trump moved shortly after his inauguration to purge the government watchdogs from across 17 government agencies, prompting intense backlash, criticism and questions over the legality of the personnel decisions. LAWSUIT TRACKER: NEW RESISTANCE BATTLING TRUMP’S SECOND TERM THROUGH ONSLAUGHT OF LAWSUITS TAKING AIM AT EOS The move prompted a lawsuit from eight of the ousted watchdogs, who asked the presiding judge in the case, U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes, to declare their firings illegal and to restore their agency positions. These remedies are considered a long shot, and are unlikely to succeed next week when the plaintiffs appear in D.C. court for their next hearing. Even so, Soskin disagreed so strongly with their rationale that he not only declined to join their lawsuit, but also had lawyers file an amicus brief on his behalf supporting the administration’s ability to terminate his role. Beelaert helped author that amicus brief on Soskin’s behalf, which outlined primary reasons that Trump does have the power to make these personnel decisions, under Article II of the Constitution, Supreme Court precedent, and updates to federal policy. The brief invokes the IGs “mistaken” reliance on a 1930s-era precedent, Humphrey’s Executor, which protects agency firings in certain cases, and requires a 30-day notice period for any personnel decisions. Soskin’s lawyers argue that the reliance on this case is misguided and that the precedent applies solely to members of “multi-member, expert, balanced commissions” that largely report to Congress, and are not at issue here. “Supreme Court precedent over the last five, ten years has almost all but rejected that idea that Congress can impose restrictions on the president’s removal authority,” Beelaert said. TRUMP WANTS ‘ACTIVIST’ GROUPS THAT SUE THE GOVERNMENT TO PUT UP MONEY IF THEY LOSE Other critics noted that Trump failed to give Congress a 30-day notice period before he terminated the government watchdogs – a formality but something that Trump supporters note is no longer required under the law. In 2022, Congress updated its Inspector General Act of 1978, which formerly required a president to communicate to Congress any “reasons” for terminations 30 days before any decision was made. That notice provision was amended in 2022 to require only a “substantive rationale, including detailed and case-specific reasons” for terminations. The White House Director of Presidential Personnel has claimed that the firings are in line with that requirement, which were a reflection of “changing priorities” from within the administration. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, suggested earlier this year that Congress should be given more information as to the reasons for the firings, though more recently he has declined to elaborate on the matter. TRUMP TEMPORARILY THWARTED IN DOGE MISSION TO END USAID Plaintiffs challenging the firings are likely to face a tough time making their case next week in federal court. U.S. District Judge Reyes, the presiding judge in the case, did not appear moved by the plaintiffs’ bid for emergency relief. She declined to grant their earlier request for a temporary restraining order – a tough legal test that requires plaintiffs to prove “irreparable” and immediate harm as a result of the actions – and told both parties during the hearing that, barring new or revelatory information, she is not inclined to rule in favor of plaintiffs at the larger preliminary injunction hearing scheduled for March 11. “At the end of the day, this drives home the idea that elections matter,” Beelaert said. “And of all the times that the president should have the removal of authority, it’s the start of the administration” that should be most important, he said, noting that this is true for both political parties. “It doesn’t matter who serves in the White House. I think that any president, whether it’s President Trump, President Biden – it doesn’t matter,” Beelaert said. “The president should be allowed to pick who is going to serve in his administration. And to me, that’s a bit lost in this debate. “
HHS expands Title IX probe in Maine to include state association governing athletics, embattled high school
FIRST ON FOX: The Trump administration expanded its Title IX investigation into Maine, citing violations of the president’s executive order mandating that educational and athletic institutions bar biological males from competing in women’s sports. The Maine Principals Association, the state’s primary governing body for high school athletics, and Greely High School, which has been a centerpiece in the debate over transgender sports participation in Maine, are both now being added to the list of Maine entities the Health and Human Services (HHS) Department is investigating over alleged Title IX violations, according to an HHS spokesperson. The department’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) launched an investigation into the Maine Department of Education (MDOE) last month, “based on information that Maine intends to defy” President Donald Trump’s order to keep biological males out of women’s sports. Four days later, the agency issued MDOE a “Notice of Violation.” “HHS will investigate and enforce Title IX to the full extent permitted by law to uphold fairness, safety, dignity, and biological truth in women’s and girls’ educational athletic opportunities,” Andrew Nixon, a department spokesperson, told Fox News Digital. “Men have no place in women’s sports. Maine must comply with Title IX or risk losing federal funding.” MAINE GOP URGES DEMS TO REPEAL TRANSGENDER ATHLETE POLICY FOLLOWING FEDERAL TITLE IX VIOLATION FINDING Republican state legislators in Maine called on Democratic Gov. Janet Mills on Thursday to stand down her open defiance of Trump’s Feb. 5 transgender sports executive order, which threatens hundreds of millions in federal funding to K-12 schools in the state, according to numbers obtained by the Portland Press Herald. MDOE received nearly a million dollars from HHS sub-agencies alone, Maine House Republicans said in a press release Thursday. “Enough is enough, it is time to put away radical ideology and put the future of our kids first,” said Assistant House Minority Leader Katrina Smith, R–Palermo. “The Mills administration’s policy of allowing biological boys in girls’ sports has physically and mentally mistreated our young ladies and now this same policy will harm every child and teacher with the loss of federal funds to our schools.” “If Maine Democrats continue to double down on allowing biological males to participate in girls’ sports, our students stand to lose hundreds of millions of dollars of federal funding. Gov. [Janet] Mills and legislative Democrats have a renewed opportunity to do the right thing, to ensure restored funding and a fair and level playing field for Maine girls,” added state Rep. Laurel Libby, R–Bangor, Thursday. Last month, Libby was censured by Democrats in the Maine state legislature after posting on social media that a Greely High School pole vaulter, who competed as recently as June of last year as a biological male, won a statewide championship meet competing as a woman. MAINE HOUSE SPEAKER DELETES X ACCOUNT AFTER CENSURING LAWMAKER OPPOSED TO TRANSGENDER ATHLETES IN GIRLS SPORTS Libby was censured specifically for posting a picture of the high school athlete from Greely competing as a male, contrasted next to an image of the athlete winning the women’s pole-vaulting competition at Maine’s Class B state indoor championship meet in February. The athlete was a minor. “State leaders have failed our female athletes and there needs to be repercussions for their neglect,” said Zoe, who competed in shot put at Maine’s Class B state indoor championship meet, told Fox News Digital. Trump began calling out Maine for defying his executive order shortly after Libby began sounding the alarm about the transgender athlete at Greely High School winning a statewide girls’ track meet. During a public spat with Mills at the White House, Trump threatened the state’s funding unless they “clean that up,” to which Mills responded that she would “see [him] in court.” HIDING KIDS ‘GENDER IDENTITY’ FROM PARENTS IS COMMON IN BLUE STATE FIGHTING TRUMP ON TRANS ISSUES: WATCHDOG Sarah Perry, a civil rights attorney with extensive experience litigating Title IX issues, said she believes Maine would be unsuccessful in court on this matter for a variety of reasons. In addition to federal law, Maine is also flouting directives from the Department of Education and previously established precedent from a slew of cases that overturned former President Joe Biden’s Title IX regulations allowing athletic eligibility to be determined by one’s preferred gender identity, according to Perry. “Maine entered into a contract with the Department of Education, promising to follow that federal civil rights law. [Mills’] reliance on contrary state law will prove fatal to any continued recalcitrance,” Perry said. Mills and the Maine Principals Association (MPA) have argued that Trump’s executive order conflicts with existing state Human Rights law. The MPA said that, as a result, it would defer to state law, which allows athletic eligibility to be determined based on a person’s stated gender identity. I’M A 3-SPORT HIGH SCHOOL FEMALE ATHLETE IN MAINE – I SHOULDN’T HAVE TO COMPETE AGAINST BIOLOGICAL MALES Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey confirmed to The New York Times on Thursday that his office received a “Notice of Violation” indicating MDOE was in violation of federal Title IX law as a result of its continued decision to allow athletic eligibility to be determined by gender-identity. The letter arrived four days after HHS announced its Title IX investigation into MDOE on Feb. 21. Mills’ office told local outlet the Bangor Daily News that her staff had not been questioned by federal investigators prior to the violation notice being sent out. “No President – Republican or Democrat – can withhold federal funding authorized and appropriated by Congress and paid for by Maine taxpayers in an attempt to coerce someone into compliance with his will,” Mills said in a statement. “It is a violation of our Constitution and of our laws, which I took an oath to uphold.” Fox News Digital reached out to the Maine Principals Association and Greely High School’s principal and assistant principals for comment but did not hear back in time for publication.
Venezuelan gangs are far from a ‘fake’ problem, Colorado DA says: ‘Giant issue’
A Colorado district attorney is arguing that those who are trying to dismiss the issue of Venezuelan gangs in the state have been taking an “ignorance-is-bliss approach to the law.” “There were the two extreme positions. One was, ‘Hey, they’d taken over the city’… then you’d have the people on the far left in the mainstream media saying ‘there’s no such thing as a country of Venezuela. Venezuelans don’t exist. It’s all made up. It’s a figment of your imagination,’” Colorado’s 23rd Judicial District Attorney George Brauchler told Fox News Digital. “The truth is, Venezuelan gangs did take over the running of about 2 to 3 different apartment complexes… so to suggest that this isn’t an issue is fake. It is a giant issue. It is a growing issue. And this sort of ignorance is bliss approach to the law.” The comments come as Colorado has recently entered the national spotlight as a result of the state’s sanctuary laws, which have limited local jurisdictions from being able to cooperate with federal immigration authorities. DENVER MAYOR GRILLED OVER AREA’S TREN DE ARAGUA PROBLEM AS GOP LAWMAKER SAYS POLICIES TO BLAME The issue became even more controversial in the last few months after reports of the spread of the violent Venezuelan immigrant gang Tren de Aragua, which had taken over multiple apartment complexes in the Colorado city of Aurora. The state was further highlighted in Wednesday’s House Oversight Committee hearing, when Denver Mayor Mike Johnston was grilled by lawmakers over his city’s lack of cooperation with federal authorities. “The illegal immigrant gang Tren de Aragua targeted Denver to be their American HQ because of weak immigration laws,” Republican Colorado Rep. Gabe Evans told Fox News Digital after the hearing. For his part, Brauchler argued that Johnston’s answers during the hearing were just an attempt to “deflect” the conversation from the overall issue. “My sense of those answers, though, were intended to deflect from the underlying and key question here. And that is, can a city, should a state stick itself between illegal aliens and the federal law? And the answer is a very obvious and easy no,” he told Fox News Digital. DENVER MAYOR SAYS HE’S PREPARED TO GO TO JAIL OVER OPPOSITION TO TRUMP DEPORTATIONS OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS Despite that “obvious answer,” Brauchler told Fox News Digital that Colorado’s Democratic-controlled government has doubled down on sanctuary policies. “Starting in 2018, Colorado became awash in blue, and the legislature and the governorship have been controlled by the Democrats since then, and they have done everything they can to make Colorado a sanctuary state,” he said. “One of the laws that our state legislature passed fully embraced by Denver is to make our courthouses sanctuaries for illegal immigrants. They ban the enforcement of any immigration laws inside those courthouses.” Brauchler said similar legislation is currently in the works, this time banning immigration enforcement on the way to and from the courthouse as well. “Can you imagine any city or state creating barriers that say, ‘I’m sorry, local law enforcement, you can’t communicate with the FBI about a fugitive you can’t communicate with.’ Heck, the IRS about a tax cheat…. you can’t communicate with the DEA about known drug dealers? It is only with illegal immigrants that there seems to be this sense of creating these municipal and statewide barriers to law enforcement,” he said. Nevertheless, Brauchler said he is committed to fighting back against the policies in order to make residents of the state safer. “If you’re an illegal immigrant, and you’re here in this jurisdiction, get legal. If you can’t or won’t get legal, then be on your best behavior,” he said. “Because once you violate our laws, do not expect me to come to your rescue and figure out a way to keep you at a place that says you shouldn’t be here to begin with.”
South Carolina convict inches closer to first US death by firing squad in 15 years
A South Carolina death row inmate who gruesomely killed his ex-girlfriend’s parents with a baseball bat in 2001 is scheduled to be executed by firing squad on Friday – the first execution of its kind in the U.S. in 15 years. Brad Sigmon, 67, who admitted to the killings because his ex-girlfriend refused to get back to him, will be strapped to a chair at around 6 p.m. and three volunteers armed with rifles about 15 feet away will fire bullets into his heart. Each will be armed with .308-caliber, Winchester 110-grain TAP Urban ammunition often used by police marksmen. The bullet is designed to shatter on impact with something hard, like an inmate’s chest bones, sending fragments meant to destroy the heart and cause death almost immediately. TEXAS DEATH ROW INMATE MOUTHS FINAL 2-WORD MESSAGE TO VICTIMS’ FAMILIES BEFORE EXECUTION The execution will go ahead if South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster and South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson signed off on it. Sigmon’s lawyers have asked McMaster to commute his death sentence to life in prison, arguing that he is a model prisoner and works every day to atone for the killings he committed after succumbing to severe mental illness. But no South Carolina governor has granted clemency in the 49 years since the death penalty resumed. Sigmon chose the firing squad method over the electric chair which would “cook him alive,” or a lethal injection, whose details are kept secret in South Carolina, his lawyers said. South Carolina keeping information secret about how it conducts lethal injections led him to decide on the firing squad, which he acknowledges will be a violent death, his lawyer said. On Thursday, Sigmon’s lawyers asked the Supreme Court to delay his execution because the state doesn’t release enough information about the lethal injection drug. Sigmon said he carried out the brutal slayings because he was angry that the victims had been evicted from a trailer they owned. They were in separate rooms of their Greenville County home and Sigmon went back and forth attacking them until they were dead, investigators said. He then shot at his ex-girlfriend as she fled, but missed, prosecutors said. SOUTH CAROLINA SCHEDULING EXECUTIONS AGAIN AFTER A PAUSE FOR THE HOLIDAYS “My intention was to kill her and then myself,” Sigmon said in a confession typed out by a detective after his arrest. “That was my intention all along. If I couldn’t have her, I wasn’t going to let anybody else have her. And I knew it got to the point where I couldn’t have her.” Five states — Idaho, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Utah — authorize the use of firing squads in certain circumstances. Just three inmates — in Utah in 1977, 1996 and 2010 — have faced a firing squad in the U.S. since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. Ronnie Gardner was the last prisoner to be executed by firing squad, in Utah in 2010. Executions in South Carolina resumed in September, when the state – once one of the busiest for executions – ended a 13-year pause in carrying out the death penalty. The pause was caused in part by the state having difficulty obtaining lethal injection drugs after their supply expired because of pharmaceutical companies’ concerns that they would have to disclose they had sold the drugs to state officials. The state legislature then passed a shield law allowing officials to keep lethal injection drug suppliers private. Twenty-five executions were carried out in the U.S. last year. Five have already been carried out in 2025, per the Death Penalty Information Center. Fox News’ Landon Mion and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Obama Presidential Center: DEI-linked firm’s racial lawsuit blasted as baseless ‘smears’
An engineering firm working on the Obama Presidential Center says that claims it racially discriminated against a Black-owned subcontractor on the project are baseless and amount to smears – and that simply criticizing the subcontractors’ work does not amount to racism. Thornton Tomasetti, a New York-City-based structural engineering firm, was responding to an explosive $40.75 million lawsuit accusing it of acting with racist intent when it criticized the alleged underperformance of a Black-owned concrete subcontracting firm at the sprawling 19.3-acre site at Chicago’s Jackson Park. The lawsuit has drawn national attention to the diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) goals underpinning the project, which has been plagued by delays and costs ballooning from an initial $350 million to $830 million. The center aims to honor the political career of former President Barack Obama and will consist of a 235-foot tower museum, a branch of the Chicago Public Library and conference facilities, among other amenities. OBAMA LIBRARY, BEGUN WITH LOFTY DEI GOALS, NOW PLAGUED BY $40M RACIALLY CHARGED SUIT, BALLOONING COSTS Thornton Tomasetti previously told the Obama Foundation, the non-profit which oversees the project, that a multitude of issues, including cracked concrete and exposed rebar by the subcontractor, led to corrective work and that the subcontracting firm was inexperienced and “questionably qualified.” The subcontracting firm, II In One Concrete, said the criticism amounted to racial bias and filed the $40.75 million lawsuit to recoup the cost of the extra work it had to carry out following requests by Thornton Tomasetti. WATCH: Drone captures Obama Presidential Center under construction in Chicago In a motion to dismiss filed on Tuesday, Thornton Tomasetti said the lawsuit smeared it as racist “without a shred of factual support” and said that II In One Concrete leaned on its minority status to make the claims. The center set out DEI goals for its construction contracts, with 35% of subcontractors required to be minority-owned. II In One was one of three firms that together made up a 51% minority-led joint-venture team. “Plaintiffs… are not immune from having their work scrutinized simply because they are minority-owned, or because the project prioritizes using the services of minority-owned businesses,” attorneys for Thornton Tomasetti wrote. “Instead, they are entitled to be treated like any other subcontractor, with all the run-of-the-mill disagreements and disputes that accompany enormous projects like this one.” “Professional criticism, without more, is not racism.” MUSK’S DOGE TERMINATES LEASE AT OBAMA PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY SITE II In One Concrete’s lawsuit stems from a memorandum Thornton Tomasetti wrote to the Obama Foundation about a year ago claiming that II in One — and the contracting firms it teamed up with on the project — were responsible for numerous construction challenges during the project. In the memo, Thornton Tomasetti pinned the blame on the subcontractors and wrote that the purpose of the memo was to defend their own services. It oversees structural engineering and design services at the site. II In One Concrete’s lawsuit claims the Obama Foundation relied on the memo for not paying the subcontracting firms around $40.75 million for “additional costs incurred,” which emanated from the corrective work and put II In One Concrete on the verge of bankruptcy. II In One Concrete’s owner, Robert McGee, who is Black, argues II In One was discriminated against “on the basis of race” and that plaintiffs were “subjected to unjustified and discriminatory conduct… which directly undermined the Obama Foundation’s DEI goals and commitments.” McGee claims Thornton Tomasetti falsely accused II in One of lacking sufficient qualifications and experience to perform its work, while stating that non-minority-owned contractors were sufficiently qualified. McGee’s lawsuit points to II in One’s 40-year track record in the industry and its completion of major Chicagoland projects. McGee claims that Thornton Tomasetti changed standards and imposed new rules around rebar spacing and tolerance requirements that differed from industry standards. OBAMA CENTER SUBCONTRACTOR FILES $40M DISCRIMINATION LAWSUIT AGAINST ENGINEERING FIRM FOR OVERRUNS In Tuesday’s motion to dismiss, Thornton Tomasetti argued that the rebar spacing requirements were part of the bid documents and contract specifications. Additionally, Thornton Tomasetti said that there were a wide range of other issues it had identified in the memo which the lawsuit did not address. “And while plaintiffs’ allegations fixate on the rebar splice specifications, they ignore the broader picture – TT (Thornton Tomasetti) flagged numerous other critical work deficiencies in the memo, none of which plaintiffs acknowledge, let alone refute,” Tuesday’s filing reads. “Plaintiffs cannot simply pluck one of TT’s many criticisms of their work and hoist it up as self-evident discrimination, while staying silent on the panoply of other problems TT set forth in the memo.” Thornton Tomasetti wrote that the complaint — accusing it of racial bias, libel and tortious interference with contract — is “fatally flawed” and must be dismissed. “Plaintiffs fail to allege facts that plausibly paint a picture of racism (there are no alleged racist comments, no observed racial bias, and no facts showing discriminatory treatment), but also because they concede that Thornton Tomasetti’s actions were motivated –– not by any harbored discrimination – but by a desire to professionally defend their services in the face of critiques levied against them in the first place,” the motion to dismiss reads. “The complaint should be dismissed and the door shut on plaintiffs’ outrageous proposition that minority-owned businesses are exempt from scrutiny, critique, or the need to comply with project specifications, however ‘burdensome.’” Fox News Digital reached out to the Obama Foundation and a representative for McGee for comment but did not receive a response. The Obama Foundation previously told Fox News Digital that it is not a party to the lawsuit and insisted that it would not cause any delays in the concrete work, which it says has already been largely completed. “If the Foundation believed that any vendor was acting with a racist intent, we would immediately take appropriate action,” Emily Bittner, the vice president of communications at the Obama Foundation, told Fox News Digital in a statement recently. The foundation has not responded to requests
Rep. Ralph Norman backs Trump’s plan to avoid government shutdown, pushes for Congressional term limits
As President Donald Trump advocates the idea of passing a continuing resolution to avoid a government shutdown, Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C. — a member of the House Freedom Caucus who is pushing a Constitutional amendment to term limit federal lawmakers — told Fox News Digital during an interview on Thursday that while he’s not usually in favor of continuing resolutions, he supports passing one in this case. Norman said “what’s different now” is the DOGE effort to find waste, fraud and abuse — the congressman, who noted that Elon Musk, under Trump’s direction, has been discovering “excess spending,” indicated that it will “take time” to sort the good from the bad in the federal government. “We’ve never had that before,” he noted. TRUMP ENDORSES ‘CLEAN’ CR AS GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN LOOMS Trump has been talking up the idea of a continuing resolution. “Government funding runs out next week, and Democrats are threatening to shut down the Government – But I am working with the GREAT House Republicans on a Continuing Resolution to fund the Government until September to give us some needed time to work on our Agenda,” the president declared in the post. “Conservatives will love this Bill, because it sets us up to cut Taxes and Spending in Reconciliation, all while effectively FREEZING Spending this year, and allowing us to continue our work to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN. VERY IMPORTANT – Let’s get this Bill done!” REPUBLICAN SAYS TRUMP WAS PLAYING GOLF WHEN PRESIDENT-ELECT CALLED HIM TO SWITCH HOUSE SPEAKER VOTE TO JOHNSON Norman said that he thinks during the next six months the “12 appropriation bills for the ’26 budget will be passed on time.” The congressman, who has served in the House since mid-2017, is pushing a proposed Constitutional amendment that would term limit federal lawmakers, blocking them from lingering in the D.C. power bubble for decade after decade, as some politicians do now. Dozens of House Republicans, and even a few Democrats, are backing the proposal, which Norman re-introduced this year. It previously fell short of clearing the House Judiciary Committee in 2023, with several Republicans voting against advancing it. The proposal would limit politicians to three House terms and two Senate terms, though it stipulates that terms held prior to the ratification of the amendment would not be counted. GOP REBELS HEAD TO WHITE HOUSE FOR MEETING TO AVOID GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and more than a dozen other GOP senators are pushing the proposed Constitutional amendment in the Senate. Norman, who indicated that working as a lawmaker in D.C. is not “rocket science,” suggested that people with business experience, who have made and lost money, are equipped for the role.