America’s new blue-collar job boom is one nobody saw coming — and it’s just getting started
Red Oak, Texas — Inside a sprawling Texas data center campus, blinking tower lights and rows of neatly organized cables power the technology Americans use every day. Keeping it all running, however, takes an army of electricians, mechanics, technicians and construction workers — and the industry says it needs more of them. “Unfortunately, there was a war on blue-collar jobs a while back and everybody had to get a four-year degree. I’m so glad that’s over with,” Compass Datacenters CEO Chris Crosby told Fox News Digital while giving a glimpse behind the scenes of the infrastructure that powers the digital world. “I am tired of the elitism that this doesn’t create jobs,” Crosby said, arguing that blue-collar careers deserve to be taken seriously. He pointed to the workers at Compass’s Red Oak campus and the construction crews who built it. “You tell that to the 900 people who work here on this campus and you tell that to the thousands of construction workers who have worked here for five years plus,” he said. A SOUTHERN STATE JUST TOOK THE TOP SPOT IN ONE OF THE WORLD’S FASTEST-GROWING INDUSTRIES Compass began developing its Red Oak campus, about 20 miles south of Dallas, in 2019. The site now includes 10 data center buildings totaling about 2.6 million square feet, a Schneider Electric manufacturing facility and a technical college training program. Crosby said more than 600 people work full time at the campus, with roughly 300 more at Schneider Electric. The construction also requires a range of skilled tradespeople, Crosby said. “When we look at that type of opportunity, the amount of electricians, the amount of mechanical contractors, the number of builders, the carpenters, the welders, the concrete folk, it’s awesome. We can’t get enough people into this career.” INSIDE THE NEIGHBORHOOD LIVING ON THE EDGE OF AMERICA’S TECH FRONTIER The demand also reaches beyond construction sites to factories producing data center components. Compass and its partners, Crosby said, have created more than 7,000 permanent factory jobs nationwide. To help meet the industry’s demand for workers, Compass partnered with Texas State Technical College to build a $12.6 million training facility at its Red Oak campus. The company created its MEI Pathways program—short for Mechanical, Electrical and IT Pathways—to prepare people for those careers. “The big challenge is how do I get the first step?” Crosby said. “That’s what MEI Pathways is designed to do.” The program is open to anyone interested in the field and does not require prior qualifications, Crosby said. It is designed to train workers for the broader industry, not just for Compass. Crosby said building that workforce will be increasingly important as data centers expand and argued that the facilities can bring jobs and tax revenue to the communities where they are built. “Data centers are where the economic engine is going to be going forward,” he said. “You’re talking about massive amounts of jobs, economic activity and tax revenue growth.”
‘Honored’: Talarico endorsed by group that bailed out violent criminal later accused of mass murder
Democratic U.S. Senate nominee James Talarico said he was “honored” to receive the endorsement of the Texas Organizing Project, whose work he described as “irreplaceable” after the organization previously operated a charitable bail fund that helped secure the release of Shane James — later accused of carrying out a six-person killing spree. The Texas Organizing Project (TOP), a progressive activist organization that endorsed Talarico’s Senate campaign in May, previously operated a charitable bail program that, by September 2021, had distributed more than $1 million to secure the release of more than 675 defendants across Texas. The program drew intense scrutiny in late 2023 after authorities accused James of killing six people and records revealed that TOP had posted his bail nearly two years earlier while he faced three misdemeanor family-assault charges involving his parents and a sibling. UNEARTHED INTERVIEW EXPOSES WHAT TALARICO THOUGHT ABOUT ‘TOUGH-ON-CRIME’ TACTICS James cut off his court-ordered GPS monitor the day after his March 2022 release, prompting a court to issue three warrants for his re-arrest. Despite the outstanding warrants, James remained free for 21 months before authorities say he carried out a series of attacks across San Antonio and Austin that left six people dead, including his parents. TOP acknowledged after the killings that it had bailed James out in coordination with the Bexar County public defender’s office after his bond was reduced to a combined $300. The organization said James had passed its screening process based on the misdemeanor charges he faced at the time and stressed that bail organizations cannot predict defendants’ future behavior. “We acknowledge that our assessments cannot anticipate the future actions of individuals,” TOP said following the killings, announcing that it would conduct an internal review of the program. Talarico nevertheless enthusiastically welcomed TOP’s endorsement earlier this year. “I am honored to earn this endorsement,” Talarico said when the group announced its backing, praising TOP for spending more than 15 years developing relationships in Black and Latino communities across Texas. “That infrastructure is irreplaceable,” he said. PROGRESSIVE TALARICO KNIFES BIDEN’S OPEN BORDER, TRIES MODERATING STANCE ON KEY ISSUES IN TEXAS SENATE RACE The endorsement announcement said TOP members had met with Talarico before backing him, while the organization’s leadership said the Senate candidate had demonstrated familiarity with its work. Talarico is challenging Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in one of the nation’s most closely watched Senate races, as Democrats seek to break a decades-long losing streak in statewide Texas elections. Shane James was not the only defendant released through TOP’s program who subsequently encountered additional legal trouble. A 2024 KSAT investigation found TOP had bonded defendants out in at least 196 Bexar County cases since jail officials began specifically tracking the organization’s activity in October 2022. Warrants were later issued for defendants’ re-arrest in 58 of those cases, or nearly 30%. While failure to appear in court was the most common reason for those warrants, records showed some defendants also faced new criminal charges after TOP secured their release. Among them was Benjamin Sanchez Jr., a convicted felon with two prior burglary convictions who TOP bonded out 11 days after his arrest in connection with the burglary of a San Antonio souvenir store. A warrant for Sanchez’s re-arrest was later issued after pretrial violations that included his arrest on new burglary charges, according to KSAT. He ultimately pleaded guilty in the two newer burglary cases and was sentenced to six years in prison. TOP has defended its bail work as an effort to prevent low-income defendants from remaining incarcerated simply because they cannot afford bond. The organization said in 2021 that its Right2Justice campaign had spent more than $1 million to bail out more than 675 people, with the vast majority of the money distributed in Bexar County. TALARICO HIT WITH ‘BLATANT CORRUPTION’ ALLEGATION OVER HEFTY SALARY FROM CONSULTING FIRM, CAMPAIGN PUSHES BACK The organization’s bail advocacy also intersected with Talarico’s legislative record. TOP opposed HB 20 during the 2021 Texas legislative session, describing efforts to restrict community bail funds as part of a “right-wing assault” on the organizations. Talarico voted against a House version of HB 20 in May 2021, according to the Texas House Journal. Talarico’s campaign pushed back on the significance of that vote in a statement to Fox News Digital, arguing that the version he opposed differed substantially from the legislation ultimately considered later in the process, and pointing to his more recent support for tougher bail restrictions. “James will always work to keep Texans safe. That’s why he voted to deny bail for violent criminals, supports prosecuting violent felons, and backed Governor Abbott’s bill that was called the ‘strongest bail reform package in Texas history,’” Talarico campaign spokesperson JT Ennis told Fox News Digital. “The only candidate in this race endangering women and children is Ken Paxton, who cut an Epstein-style sweetheart deal that let a pedophile back on our streets after just 29 days in jail,” Ennis added. The campaign pointed Fox News Digital to Talarico’s 2025 vote for part of a bail reform package championed by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott. The package included a constitutional amendment expanding the circumstances under which judges could deny bail to defendants accused of certain serious violent crimes. The campaign also argued that the 2021 House version of HB 20 that Talarico opposed contained broader provisions unrelated to charitable bail organizations, and noted criticism at the time that the proposal would continue allowing potentially dangerous defendants with sufficient money to secure their own release.
Dem senator who demanded Saudi accountability over Khashoggi meets with crown prince, pushes Palestinian state
A Senate Democrat pushing for an end to the war in Iran and the creation of a Palestinian state met with Saudi Arabia’s crown prince during a trip to the Middle East. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., in a post on X revealed that he had met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, also known as MBS, on Monday. Murphy, who arrived in the region on Saturday for meetings in Qatar, acknowledged that he’s taken issue with the Saudi leader’s policies, but that it was “important for us to be here to recognize that there are things that we need to work on together — the end of the war with Iran, a pathway to a Palestinian state.” TRUMP ADMINISTRATION UNVEILS SWEEPING TERMS OF PROPOSED IRAN AGREEMENT He noted that he’s been in disagreement with the Saudis, particularly over the Gulf country’s several investments in President Donald Trump’s family businesses, but that “there’s got to be space for political dialogue and speech here in Saudi Arabia.” “We talked about those things. I’m not saying we came to conclusions, but I think it’s important for the crown prince to not just hear from the Trump administration, but to hear from people who want a different path for Saudi Arabia in the region and in the world,” Murphy said. “But those points of alignment are important as well,” he continued. “We are not going to get a permanent end to this war without the Saudis’ help. We’re not going to get a Palestinian state without the Saudis’ help.” 4 GOP SENATORS REBEL AGAINST TRUMP ON IRAN WAR, VOTE WITH DEMS TO REIN IN AUTHORITY Murphy notably did not mention Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post journalist who was murdered and dismembered by Saudi operatives at a Saudi Arabian consulate in Turkey in 2018. Years ago, Murphy was demanding accountability from the Saudi government over Khashoggi’s slaying. “And I think what we have to remember is that it took two weeks for the Saudi government to cop to what had happened,” Murphy said around the one-year anniversary of Khashoggi’s death. “The people that we do business with — the president and the secretary of state that talked to you on a regular basis — were lying to the entire world and to the American public for two weeks when it was patently clear as to what had happened.” Fox News Digital reached out to Murphy’s office for comment on Khashoggi and his meeting with MBS. ‘RED CARPET FOR A DESPOT’: TRUMP’S LAVISH XI WELCOME COLLIDES WITH GOP ANTI-COMMUNISM MESSAGE Meanwhile, Murphy’s confab with MBS was part of a broader trip to the region. The lawmaker announced on Saturday that he had just arrived in Qatar for a slate of meetings and noted that he was likely the first Democrat to set foot in the Middle East since the Iran war began earlier this year. Murphy, one of the more vocal critics of the war, said his trip was meant to view war damage, speak with allies about the conflict’s regional impact and meet with actors working to end the fighting. He’s so far met with Ali Al Thawadi, a key diplomat who coordinates U.S.-Iran shuttle diplomacy, and another key leader in the region, Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. Murphy noted that “there are so many things Qatar does to protect U.S. interests,” like hosting the largest U.S. military base in the region, housing Afghan refugees, and acting as key middlemen to getting hostages out of Gaza. “And they are mediators right now in the effort to end the war with Iran,” Murphy said. “I thanked him for all of this. Qatar is and will remain an essential ally of the United States.” “Of course, I was also candid with him, in particular regarding my deep concerns about the transfer of the luxury plane,” he continued.
Liberal haven festival-goers weigh government seizure of their homes: ‘I’d be so game’
During a Sunday street festival in a notoriously liberal Maryland hotspot just across the Washington, D.C. border, some attendees told Fox News Digital they wouldn’t mind if the government seized their property, including their homes. “Yeah, I mean broadly,” said Maryland resident Matt Volk when asked if he would support the government taking his home. “It’s highly situational, but I definitely think that there’s a lot of privately owned land and property that would be better put to use for public use, for resources and housing and things like that for people who are in need of things like that.” Fox News Digital took to the streets during a rainy Sunday at the Takoma Park Street Festival to interview area residents about just how much power they would be willing to cede to the government as socialism becomes increasingly popular, especially among younger Americans. Takoma Park is a liberal bastion just outside the nation’s capital, where homes and businesses are adorned with LGBT pride paraphernalia, along with decorations marking their support for other leftist causes like the Black Lives Matter movement. YOUNG SWING-STATE VOTERS COZY UP TO DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS, SAY PARTY ESTABLISHMENT MUST ‘LEARN’ FROM DSA WINS One attendee, Karen Irwin, sported a t-shirt that said “Auntifa: Making White men uncomfortable since 1975.” She agreed with Volk’s sentiment. “I mean, if we were all doing it, I’d be so game,” she said. “Do you know what I mean? And who’s coming to me? Is this a decision I’m making through democratic means? Then yes, yes, I would be so game. If I voted for it, sure.” “You want to be able to keep your property. From what time are we talking? From what in the history of this country? Is it just right now, from right now moving forward, whatever it is you have?” Irwin asked. “Or, you know, 100 years ago, when someone else had it. But the government might have taken it away for whatever reason.” A Fox News poll from March found that 38% of those asked said it was a good idea to move away from capitalism and towards socialism. SHOCKING PERCENTAGE OF DEMOCRATS IDENTIFY AS ‘DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS’ ACCORDING TO NEW POLL: ‘TOXIC POLICIES’ Very liberal voters (66%) and Democrats under age 45 (66%) are those most likely to think moving to socialism would be good. More than half of all Democrats (55%), Black voters (55%) and those under age 30 (53%) also favor moving away from capitalism. While the majority of Americans, especially Republicans and conservatives, still reject socialism, only 51% say capitalism is working well. The other 49% say it isn’t. A third person at the Takoma Park street fair on Sunday said the government seizure of his home was a possibility. “I don’t know that I would necessarily love it, but I mean, if it was something that was beneficial I’d at least consider it,” said Jaw Blake, a Maryland resident. “Nobody wants what they have to be taken away from them, but there is something we said about like you can set up things so that they’re available for everybody.” THE NUMBERS DON’T LIE. YOUNG AMERICANS ARE FALLING IN LOVE … WITH SOCIALISM Not everyone interviewed by Fox News Digital was entirely convinced of the idea of government seizure and redistribution of private property. Jenny Sniderman said she doesn’t want to give up her property to the government, but that it wasn’t out of the question if she was paid to do so. “Of course I don’t want to give up my private property,” she said. “Are they going to reimburse me fairly? That would be helpful in making my choice.” Steve Ney isn’t in favor of his home being seized by the government, but he advocated for another socialist policy that recently was implemented in New York City by Mayor Zohran Mamdani. NEW YORK CITY LANDLORDS WARN AMERICAN DREAM IS SLIPPING AWAY UNDER SOCIALIST RENT POLICIES “I think the idea of rent stabilization, for example, is an excellent idea where you limit the rate of increase in rent in order to help people stay in their homes,” he said. New York City’s Rent Guidelines Board voted 7-1 in July to halt increases in rent for one and two year leases on rent-stabilized apartments, enacting a core promise from socialist Mamdani’s agenda. The policy has faced legal challenges and backlash from property owners in the Big Apple. Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) President James Whelan blasted Mamdani’s effort. “The mayor’s report focuses on symptoms, not causes,” he told Fox News Digital in August. “New Yorkers are paying record-high rents because there is not enough housing, and many of the reported conditions are concentrated in heavily rent-stabilized buildings that are facing significant operational and financial challenges.” MAMDANI RIPPED OVER RECORD-HIGH NYC RENTS WITH CRITICS POINTING TO POLICY THEY SAY IS FUELING CRISIS One Takoma Park Street Festival attendee, Nina Gilden Seavy, a self-identified historian, outrightly rejected the idea that the government should be involved of distributing resources. “I think that’s a ridiculous idea. I mean, that’s, it’s a fool’s errand,” she said. “The idea that somehow we’re gonna be better off if the government is in charge of allocating all resources that sounds not in any way desirable.” Fox News’ Victoria Balara and Alexander Hall contributed to this report.
Trump rallies in city where alleged MS-13 ‘assassination squad’ leader was busted
President Donald Trump is heading to Nebraska on Monday to campaign for Republicans in the same city where federal authorities last year captured an alleged MS-13 hit squad leader wanted for four murders in Honduras. Trump will headline a rally in Grand Island alongside U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts and Gov. Jim Pillen as part of a multi-state swing ahead of the upcoming midterm elections. Located 150 miles west of Omaha, Grand Island drew national attention last year following the arrest of 33-year-old Gerson Emir Cuadra Soto, known by the alias “Fantasma.” Authorities allege Cuadra Soto headed “El Combo,” an MS-13 assassination squad, and faces four homicide charges in Honduras. TRUMP CAMPAIGN INSIDER REVEALS STRATEGY BEHIND MIDTERM BLITZ THAT WHITE HOUSE HOPES PAYS OFF BIG “The arrest of this MS-13 gang member wanted for murder in Honduras is just one example of the criminals President Trump has removed from Nebraska’s communities,” White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis told Fox News Digital. “Radical Democrats allowed criminals to pour into our country, released them unvetted into American communities and now they want to abolish ICE.” Officials say Cuadra Soto entered the U.S. illegally in 2022 via the southern border and later obtained a California driver’s license. Honduran authorities suspect him in the July 2022 ambush near a Tegucigalpa nightclub that killed four men, including Said Lobo Bonilla, son of former Honduran President Porfirio Lobo Sosa. TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SAYS FEDERAL AUTHORITIES HAVE ARRESTED MORE THAN 10,000 SUSPECTED GANG MEMBERS According to an unsealed federal affidavit, Cuadra Soto fled Honduras after the killings. He and two co-defendants were initially released from local custody after paying $125,000 in bribes to government officials. Bis argued that Democratic policies have hamstrung federal law enforcement, contrasting that with the administration’s approach. “In sharp contrast, President Trump supercharged law enforcement to arrest the worst of the worst,” Bis said, attributing the policies to significant drops in violent crime. Ricketts, a former Nebraska governor, is seeking to hold his Senate seat against independent challenger Dan Osborn, who has drawn backing from state Democrats.
Emerging tech has new Army leaders warning troops can’t ‘AI’ their way to victory on the battlefield
Amid a rapid rise in technological developments, the U.S. Army’s new leadership is looking to pull back on using artificial intelligence and other tools it feels forced the branch to transform too much all at once. Gen. Christopher LaNeve, the Army vice chief serving as acting chief of staff, outlined on Monday how he hopes to narrow the service’s sweeping modernization push after years of experimentation with drones, artificial intelligence and other emerging technology. “There was a lot, a lot of motion,” LaNeve told a small group of reporters. “It was almost like everything was being transformed at once.” “You can’t AI yourself to be the best maneuver brigade commander out there,” LaNeve said. The Army Transformation Initiative pushed new technology rapidly into formations and encouraged experimentation across the board. Army leaders credited that effort with accelerating change but acknowledged Monday that its breadth created enormous activity across the force. INSIDE AMERICA’S LASER REVOLUTION AS THE MILITARY NEARS BIG BATTLEFIELD BREAKTHROUGH The branch is now preparing to unveil “How the Army Fights,” a new framework intended to turn years of experimentation into a more focused set of decisions about what technology the service will prioritize, where it belongs in Army formations and how the force will organize and spend for future wars. “The Army cannot and should not modernize everything at once,” the new blueprint states. “The answer is focused modernization.” Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael Weimer said experimentation through the technology push produced necessary learning, but insisted that the service had reached a point where it needed to “drop the chalk line and actually start making some decisions.” Those decisions include which technologies warrant investment, where they belong in Army formations and which theaters take priority — with the service acknowledging it cannot afford to transform everything simultaneously. Army leaders aren’t yet saying what will fall by the wayside. Asked what was being left “on the cutting room floor” as the service narrows its focus, LaNeve said, “I’m not sure we’re prepared to say what we’re cutting out now.” But one investment is moving unmistakably to the front of the line. “If you ask me what my number one modernization priority would be, I would say command and control,” LaNeve said. The shift is unfolding amid a broader leadership shake-up at the Army. Acting Army Secretary Adam Telle took over after his predecessor, Dan Driscoll, resigned last month following months of reported friction with War Secretary Pete Hegseth, who had earlier ousted Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George, a close Driscoll ally who helped lead the service’s transformation push. Telle, a former Trump White House aide, was tapped days later to lead the Army in an acting capacity and was publicly praised by Hegseth as “strong and whip smart.” In his first press interview since taking the job, Telle described “How the Army Fights” as a way to impose greater coherence on the service’s modernization efforts as technology rapidly changes the battlefield. TRUMP NAMES ADAM TELLE ACTING SECRETARY OF THE ARMY FOLLOWING DAN DRISCOLL’S RESIGNATION That battlefield is envisioned as one in which troops operate alongside autonomous systems and under persistent drone surveillance, while AI helps commanders sift through massive amounts of sensor data and identify targets in “seconds and minutes rather than hours.” The Army also wants autonomous systems taking on some of the most dangerous jobs that are currently performed by soldiers — this includes reconnaissance, resupply and breaching enemy obstacles. But Army leaders are resisting the idea that advances in drones and AI have diminished the importance of traditional ground forces. “Autonomous systems enable Soldiers to destroy and disrupt, but they can never replace the human judgment, leadership, and physical presence of Soldiers required to control the land and consolidate gains,” the blueprint states. The Army is drawing heavily from recent conflicts, including Ukraine, Gaza and the India-Pakistan conflict, while building the new framework around its most demanding potential adversary: China. HTAF identifies China’s People’s Liberation Army as the “pacing threat” and says the Army must organize, train and equip against it with the same institutional focus Cold War-era leaders brought to the Soviet Union. The blueprint also assumes a future major war could reach much closer to home. It warns the U.S. homeland can no longer be treated as a sanctuary, with adversaries potentially using cyberattacks, sabotage and drones to disrupt the ports, airfields and other infrastructure needed to deploy American forces. For Telle, the challenge is fitting rapidly evolving technology into a coherent Army rather than chasing every new system that emerges. He compared individual weapons and technologies to ornaments on a Christmas tree. “How the Army Fights is really the tree to hang those ornaments on,” Telle said.
Biden’s ‘anti-MAGA task force’ sparked internal alarm across DOJ, new report shows
The Biden administration’s effort to combat alleged threats against school boards amid a wave of heated parent protests triggered sustained internal resistance within the Justice Department and FBI, documents released by the DOJ show. “Five years ago, Attorney General Merrick Garland issued an infamous memorandum at the urging of the National School Boards Association and White House officials, directing the FBI and United States Attorneys to consider looking for a federal hook to prosecute parents exercising their right to free speech,” Blanche posted to X on Monday, when the DOJ released the “Report to Expose the Weaponization of Government Against Parents in Schools.” “Along with the report, we’ve released hundreds of exhibits and emails that make official and verify what many Americans had guessed: the Garland DOJ worked hand in hand with WH officials and the National School Boards Association to chill free speech and parental rights while they threatened to prosecute parents and label them domestic terrorists,” Blanche added. In October 2021, Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a memo directing the FBI and U.S. Attorneys to coordinate with federal, state and local law enforcement over what it described as an “increase in harassment, intimidation and threats of violence against school board members, teachers and workers in our nation’s public schools,” amid escalating clashes involving parents at school board meetings. TRUMP DOJ REPORT LAYS BARE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION’S ALLEGED ANTI-CHRISTIAN BIAS Garland’s memo drew significant internal pushback across the Justice Department and FBI, with officials raising concerns about politicization, First Amendment protections and whether there was a sufficient federal basis for intervention, according to the Justice Department report released Monday. The memo followed throngs of parents protesting at school board meetings over dissatisfaction with how gender and race were being taught in classrooms and COVID-19-era learning restrictions, prompting the National School Boards Association (NSBA) to appeal to then-President Joe Biden for federal assistance and warn that some actions surrounding the protests “could be equivalent to a form of domestic terrorism and hate crimes.” Some of the internal messages detailed in the Justice Department’s report released Monday had been disclosed previously and reported on by Fox News Digital. In one message sent before Garland’s memo went public on Oct. 4, 2021, a deputy assistant attorney general said the operation — and proposals to link it to the DOJ’s election crimes work — looked so politically motivated that Garland “might as well rename the damn thing the Anti-MAGA Task Force.” The DOJ’s Public Integrity Section chief, meanwhile, called the proposal “stupid.” An FBI counterterrorism official later raised concerns about the label “domestic terrorist” potentially being applied to everyone who “oppose school board actions,” while a DOJ Civil Rights Division attorney noted that much of the activity in question could be protected under the parents’ First Amendment rights. DOJ LAWSUIT TARGETS ALLEGED SCHOOL ‘SECRET GENDER TRANSITIONS’ POLICIES THAT KEEP PARENTS IN THE DARK Multiple DOJ officials noted that the problem at hand appeared to fall primarily within the jurisdiction of state and local authorities and questioned whether there was a sufficient federal basis to intervene, according to the report. Internal dissent over the effort continued as the memo was implemented following its Oct. 4, 2021, release and during the resulting fallout. On Oct. 5, 2021, an FBI lawyer claimed that the DOJ issued the press release accompanying the memo without coordinating with the bureau. The Deputy Assistant Director of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division, the agency’s largest operational division, stated that “we were all caught off guard by this announcement,” which was “unilaterally pushed by DOJ.” As the DOJ began assembling its task force, objections persisted. BLISTERING REPORT EXPOSES HOW NATIONAL K-12 GROUP’S DEI AGENDA IS TRICKLING DOWN TO LOCAL SCHOOLS The Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the DOJ’s National Security Division stated that he didn’t “see the need for a task force like this” and that the Justice Department doesn’t “start a narrowly focused task force every time some group believes they are the subject of threat.” Later that month, the Department of Homeland Security circulated a brief linking the threat level facing educational workers as tied to heightened opposition to masks, vaccines and critical race theory. An FBI counterterrorism official slammed the threat assessment guidelines as a “politically charged paper,” expressing his desire that the FBI not collaborate. NSBA ultimately apologized for the language used in its letter to then-President Joe Biden seeking federal assistance, including action by the Justice Department and FBI. “The obligation of the Justice Department is to protect the American people against violence and threats of violence and that particularly includes public officials,” he said of the memo. Some school board officials did receive online and written threats in 2021, a fact supporters of Garland’s approach cited in defending the Justice Department’s response. Arnold & Porter, the law firm where Garland now serves as a partner, did not respond to a request for comment when reached by Fox News Digital on Monday.
House GOP bill moves to close whistleblower gaps exposed by Minnesota Medicaid fraud scandal
FIRST ON FOX: Whistleblowers who pulled back the curtain on Medicaid fraud that allegedly cost taxpayers millions of dollars in states like Minnesota could gain new protections under a House GOP bill after alleging they faced retaliation from state leaders. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa, unveiled the Medicaid Whistleblower Protection Act, which would establish federal protections nationwide for state and local Medicaid workers who report early warning signs of fraud, including contracting irregularities and unusual financial transactions. “No public servant should have to choose between their conscience and their livelihood,” Miller-Meeks said in a press release exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital. “Whistleblowers who report fraud, waste and abuse in Medicaid are protecting taxpayer dollars and the vulnerable people this program is meant to serve, and they deserve real protection, not retaliation.” The bill would prevent employers from firing, demoting, threatening, harassing or discriminating against Medicaid workers who report fraud, violations of law, gross mismanagement, abuse of authority or dangers to public health or safety. MINNESOTA ‘TRIED TO COVER UP FRAUD ALLEGATIONS,’ FORMER STATE TROOPER ALLEGES Workers who face retaliation could also receive reinstatement, twice their back pay plus interest, attorneys’ fees and punitive damages. The legislation follows a January letter from more than 30 current and former Minnesota Department of Human Services employees highlighting a “pattern of retaliation” for flagging fraud as early as 2019, with some alleging they faced surveillance, investigations, reassignment and termination. “I will fight to make sure the people willing to tell the truth are protected, not silenced.” Miller-Meeks said. Several Republican lawmakers grilled Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison in March over the letter and rampant fraud in the state, questioning when they first learned about the schemes and allegations of retaliation. When pressed on the retaliation claims, Walz said he was “not specifically” aware of them and repeatedly declined to address the allegations. The fraud involved more than $90 million in alleged fraudulent claims tied to multiple state-funded assistance programs. WALZ REMOVES TOP MINNESOTA OFFICIAL ON EVE OF ‘GAUNTLET’ HEARING OVER FRAUD SCANDAL Minnesota state Rep. Kristin Robbins, chair of the House Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Committee, backed the bill, saying politicians and agency leaders target whistleblowers to protect “their political base.” “The federal, state and county workers who run these programs are often the first to see red flags, but, as we have seen time and again in Minnesota, if they dare to point it out, they are called racist, accused of creating a hostile work environment, demoted, reassigned or otherwise harmed personally and professionally,” Robbins said. The bill is one of 14 measures in House Energy and Commerce Republicans’ “Continuing the Fight Against Fraud” package, led by Chairman Brett Guthrie, R-Ky. The package aims to detect fraud more easily, recover improper payments and increase accountability. Another measure in the package led by Miller-Meeks, the WALZ Act, would require the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General to open investigations into any program that sees a 10% or greater increase in total payments over any six-month period within a fiscal year. WHITE HOUSE PUSHES ‘WATERSHED’ FRAUD-FIGHTING REFORM IN CONGRESS AS VANCE CONVENES TASK FORCE Guthrie blamed oversight failures under the Biden administration for allowing fraud to “go unchecked in government health programs.” “Every dollar stolen by fraudsters or wasted on improper payments is a dollar taken away from supporting families in need who rely on these programs,” he said. The legislation would take effect Jan. 1, 2028, amid the Trump administration’s continued crackdown on fraud through an anti-fraud task force led by Vice President JD Vance. Fox News Digital reached out to Walz’s and Ellison’s offices for comment.
Paxton vents over lack of campaign control as DC establishment he once battled comes to his aid
A source in Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s political orbit tells Fox News Digital that the Republican Senate nominee in Texas appears frustrated with a lack of control over his campaign as he faces off against Democratic nominee state Rep. James Talarico in a combustible Senate battle. The source spoke on Monday after Politico reported on an audio recording from late last month where Paxton said, “I’ve never been in a race where I felt less control over the campaign and, like, what issues are going to matter because it’s all coming — you know — from D.C.” The faceoff in red-leaning Texas between Paxton and Talarico is a race to succeed longtime Republican Sen. John Cornyn, who Paxton defeated in a bruising primary fight. The contest is one of roughly a dozen that will determine if the GOP holds onto its Senate majority in the midterm elections. “I don’t control message or what we’re doing… I don’t have ability to change anything,” Paxton added on the audio recording. “So I have to live with whatever I’ve got. So it is a challenge.” WHAT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLL IN TEXAS SHOWS Paxton made the comments, according to the report, during a Sept. 24 lunch in the nation’s capital hosted by a D.C.-based lobbying firm. Politico reported it obtained the recording from a person attending the lunch who does not support Paxton. “Campaigns don’t coordinate with super PACS and that’s obviously what AG Paxton was referring to,” Paxton campaign adviser Nick Maddux told Fox News Digital in a statement. Super PACs and other outside groups are legally prohibited from directly coordinating with candidates and campaigns over spending and other expenditures. Maddux added, “AG Paxton is thankful for the support and knows how important Texas is to keeping the majority, which is why he’s on the ground every day talking to Texas, raising money, and taking his message directly to the people including with his statewide television buy that started over this past weekend.” WHO’S UP AND WHO’S DOWN IN THE LATEST FOX NEWS MIDTERM POWER RANKINGS Paxton’s frustration at the lunch appeared to extend beyond his lack of control over outside spending. In a separate recording from the same gathering obtained by The New York Times, Paxton suggested last month’s GOP midterm convention in Dallas had hurt Republican candidates’ polling. “Dropped our numbers. Everybody’s numbers dropped. Right now, yeah, not good,” Paxton said. Maddux described the reporting as “manipulated nonsense.” As he campaigned against Cornyn in the March primary and a May runoff, Paxton characterized the senator as a “Washington insider” and a “RINO” — which stands for “Republican in name only.” And Paxton, known as a MAGA firebrand, showcased his outsider credentials and support for President Donald Trump. The president made an 11th-hour endorsement of Paxton ahead of the runoff. Paxton, meanwhile, repeatedly criticized Cornyn for being bankrolled by the D.C. Republican establishment. “I think John spent $100 million. What a waste of money. That money should have been going to Republicans in other states, not fighting another Republican,” Paxton told Fox News Digital in Waco, Texas, on the eve of the March primary. Groups aligned with Cornyn vastly outspent pro-Paxton groups during the primary campaign to run spots highlighting the Texas attorney general’s political baggage. DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUB Paxton has faced a slew of scandals and legal problems that have battered him over the past decade, including a 2023 vote by the Texas House of Representatives to impeach him. Paxton was eventually acquitted of all charges by the state Senate. Paxton is also currently dealing with a contentious divorce, with his wife citing “biblical grounds” based on “recent discoveries” as she filed last year to end their marriage. Cornyn, who was supported by Senate Majority Leader John Thune and the National Republican Senatorial Committee, regularly argued that if Paxton won the nomination, the party would be forced to spend millions of dollars to keep the seat from flipping and that Republicans down-ballot would suffer. Now, many of those groups that targeted Paxton during the primary are spending big bucks to try and save the Senate seat. A projection from the ad-tracking firm AdImpact estimates that up to $850 million will be spent in the race. “The same people who tore him down earlier this year are now trying to rebuild him,” the Paxton source told Fox News Digital. The source added that Paxton “genuinely doesn’t like the DC people.” The latest Fox News poll in the race, conducted Sept. 24-28, showed Talarico with a slight 51%-49% edge over Paxton. SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER And the race in Texas, along with Senate showdowns in Ohio, Michigan, Maine, Iowa, and Alaska, is rated a toss-up in the most recent Fox News Power Rankings. The Paxton source said that the candidate appears to be in uncharted territory. Pointing to Paxton’s ballot box victories as a state lawmaker and his 2014 election and 2018 and 2022 re-elections as state attorney general, the source said, “I don’t think he’s ever been in a campaign situation where he’s been the underdog.”
Medicaid provider allegedly billed $165K for dead patient’s rides among fraud exposed in explosive report
A Colorado resident was charged with trying to steal hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars by billing the state’s Medicaid program for transporting a patient to doctor’s appointments — rides that would have taken place after that person had already died. A new report by the House Energy and Commerce Committee revealed that taxpayer-funded healthcare programs, specifically Medicare and Medicaid, are rife with vulnerabilities that allow them to be exploited on the local, state and federal levels. “Medicare and Medicaid fraud occurs nationwide and costs American taxpayers billions of dollars a year. Fraud is prevalent in all sectors of health care and is especially egregious in taxpayer-funded health care programs that are intended to serve vulnerable populations, including the elderly, disabled, children, and pregnant women,” the report said. “Patients are suffering from identity theft, long waiting lists, substandard health care, and, in some cases, a lack of health care services due to fraudulent claims to Medicare and Medicaid.” Fox News Digital highlighted some of the most egregious examples below. BOMBSHELL REPORT EXPOSES HEALTHCARE FRAUD SCHEMES AS TAXPAYERS LOSE UP TO $521 BILLION ANNUALLY Wesam Yassin was one of two providers of non-emergency medical transportation, a Medicaid benefit for helping patients get to doctor’s appointments, charged by state and local prosecutors for fraudulent billing in Colorado in February 2026. Yassin is accused of charging Colorado Medicaid a total of $3.3 million in questionable bills under a company called Sama Limo, according to the report. Yassin is accused of charging $283,000 for 64 rides for one person, coming out to over $4,000 per ride. Roughly $165,000 of those charges came after the patient in question had already died, the report said. “Proceeds from this scheme were allegedly used for personal gain, including the purchase of a home, furnishings, luxury vehicles, jewelry, and cosmetic surgery,” a federal release announcing the charges said. It also pointed to charges against Ashley Marie Stevens, who is accused of trying to bilk the state for over $1 million in taxpayer dollars. She is accused of billing the state some $400,000 for non-medical rides for herself and her family in addition to “ghost rides,” which never even took place. VANCE-LED TASK FORCE CUTS OFF $1.4B FROM HOME HEALTH, HOSPICE PROVIDERS SUSPECTED OF FRAUD The report also accused the hospice industry in California of raising suspicions of fraud. “Investigators observed nearly 500 hospices operating in a three-mile radius in L.A. County, 137 hospices operating on Van Nuys Boulevard alone, and 89 companies registered to a single address in Van Nuys,” the report said. TRUMP ADMIN’S FRAUD CRACKDOWN TARGETS FOREIGNERS ACCUSED OF INFILTRATING US FEDERAL PROGRAMS The document also noted that House lawmakers raised concerns with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that an increase in home health and hospice providers raised red flags about possible healthcare fraud tied to foreign criminal groups earlier this year. “The Committees were concerned about data from a March 2022 California State Auditor’s Report and HHS hospice ownership data, showing that L.A. County had more than 31 percent of the hospice agencies in the U.S. in 2022,” the report said. DOJ CHARGES 10 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA DEFENDANTS IN LARGEST FEDERAL HEALTHCARE FRAUD CRACKDOWN IN US HISTORY The California Department of Public Health had placed a freeze on new hospice licenses in January 2022. Despite that, however, the report found that 15 new hospices — located in a single Los Angeles County building — still got Medicare certification in 2023. House Republicans are worried that potential hospice fraud is not the only area being targeted by international criminal groups. The report highlighted allegations from 2024 in which “years-long, large-scale” schemes targeted as much as $3 billion in American taxpayer dollars via fake bills for urinary catheters. Members of Russian organized crime groups bought 30 small medical supply companies already receiving federal dollars, and billed the Medicare system nearly $11 billion for urinary catheters, the report said. More than 99% of those funds never went out the door, however. Similar medical equipment fraud schemes ensnared bad actors in Estonia, Pakistan, Georgia and Hong Kong. Allegations of fraud in Minnesota’s social programs have been well documented and the subject of numerous state and federal probes. One particular incident highlighted in the report involves a man named Abdinajib Hassan Yussuf, who pleaded guilty to trying to defraud $6 million from a Minnesota autism therapy program paid for by state Medicaid dollars. He and his co-defendants are accused of hiring unqualified people as behavior counselors and getting children to enroll by bribing their parents, the report said. Yussuf admitted during his plea hearing that he did not actually know anyone with autism, the report said. House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Brett Guthrie told Fox News Digital that “combating fraud is a coast-to-coast battle.” “Every instance of fraud we uncover represents money stolen from taxpayers and care taken away from the patients who depend on it most,” Guthrie said.