Dem’s data center attack in critical Senate race hits snag when money trail surfaces: ‘Jekyll-and-Hyde’
FIRST ON FOX: Former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown is targeting Republican Sen. Jon Husted over Ohio’s growing data center industry in a new campaign ad that features a facility owned by Google — whose corporate PAC and lobbyists have contributed thousands of dollars to Brown’s campaigns. The Sept. 4 ad features an Ohioan blaming Husted for spearheading “the push to bring data centers to Ohio” and linking their expansion to “higher electric bills.” The facility featured in the ad, which opened in Lancaster in 2023, is owned by Google. Campaign finance records reviewed by Fox News Digital show Google’s corporate PAC contributed $20,000 to Brown over his political career. Brown also received thousands of dollars from individuals who lobby for Google, including two whose firms have worked on permitting, grid reliability and energy affordability issues. WATCH: GOP SENATOR UNLOADS ON ‘CREATURE OF WASHINGTON’ CHALLENGER IN CRITICAL SENATE SHOWDOWN “Apparently Google is terrible enough to put in a campaign attack ad, but perfectly acceptable when the political contributions are coming in,” Mehek Cooke, a GOP strategist and attorney in Ohio, said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “That is the contradiction Brown needs to answer. If Google’s Lancaster investment is so bad for Ohio, why was Google political money acceptable to Sherrod Brown?” Among the contributors are Google lobbyist Lisa Kountoupes, who donated $3,500 in March, and Google lobbyist Michael D. Smith, who donated a total of $10,200 to Brown since 2017, according to Federal Election Commission records. The contributions were made to Friends of Sherrod Brown, Brown’s principal campaign committee. Kountoupes’s firm, Kountoupes Denham Carr & Reid, was hired by Google in December to lobby on “issues related to permitting reform” tied to the company’s data center needs, Politico previously reported. Smith’s firm, Cornerstone Government Affairs, reported lobbying for Google on “issues related to permitting reform for grid reliability and energy affordability,” according to federal lobbying filings. FEC records show Brown also received a combined $6,000 over the past decade from three additional Google lobbyists. In a statement to Fox News Digital, Lauren Chou, a spokeswoman for Brown’s campaign, highlighted Brown’s opposition to Ohio’s data center expansion, saying Husted “led the charge,” but did not address Brown’s past campaign contributions. “Husted is a ‘chief reason’ Ohio has 226 data centers and is ‘the face of data centers’ in Ohio,” Chou wrote. “Ohioans shouldn’t be forced to subsidize these costs and Ohioans – not Jon Husted and his billionaire friends – should get to decide if data centers are built in their community.” Cooke accused Brown of acting like his “Google relationship in Washington does not count,” calling it “Jekyll-and-Hyde politics.” FOX NEWS POLL: ECONOMIC ANXIETY AND CANDIDATE CONCERNS DEFINE OHIO SENATE RACE “For nearly five decades, Brown has sold himself as the plaid-shirt, working-class populist,” she said. “He lost in 2024, and now he is back running the same playbook: say one thing to Ohioans while his Washington record tells a very different story.” Brown, who is seeking to return to the U.S. Senate in the high-stakes race against Husted, was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2006 before losing his reelection bid in 2024 to Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio. But this isn’t the first time Brown’s comeback campaign has faced questions over conflicting positions. FOX NEWS POLL: DEMOCRATIC UNITY, REPUBLICAN CROSSOVERS SHAPE OHIO SENATE RACE In 2015, Brown celebrated the construction of an Amazon data center in central Ohio, saying in a press release the new facility “is great news for New Albany and central Ohio.” Despite his public praise, Brown has become an outspoken critic of Ohio’s growing number of data centers, a defining issue in Ohio politics ahead of the midterms. President Donald Trump has pushed to expand the facilities, warning that communities that block them would “end up being backwards and poor.” But Cooke said this about more than one local data center. “America is in a global race for AI, computing capacity and energy infrastructure,” she said. “China is not slowing down because American politicians discovered that attacking data centers makes a convenient campaign commercial.” In a statement to Fox News Digital, Husted campaign spokesperson Amy Natoce said that Brown failed Ohio families during his 32 years in Washington and is “once again resorting to lies instead of facing his abysmal record head-on. “ “The House overwhelmingly passed Sen. Husted’s bipartisan legislation requiring data center companies to pay for the power they use, but Senate Democrats blocked it,” Natoce said. “Sherrod Brown and his friends would rather play politics and stick Ohio families with higher electric bills than pass a commonsense solution. It’s despicable.”
Kirk family has powerful evidence — but Utah law could derail wrongful death case: experts
A Utah government immunity law could upend the Kirk family’s efforts to bring a wrongful death lawsuit against Utah Valley University over alleged security failures surrounding Charlie Kirk’s assassination. Attorneys for Kirk’s family filed a notice of intent to sue on Sept. 9, one day before the anniversary of his death. The filing alleges a series of security failures by the university, including declining additional police officers, failing to adequately address concerns from Kirk’s security team and not having an adequate security plan in place for his visit. But legal experts say the Kirks face an uphill legal battle because Utah law grants government entities — including their officers and employees — broad immunity from lawsuits arising from a lengthy list of circumstances, including the performance or failure to perform discretionary functions and claims involving assault, battery, false imprisonment, malicious prosecution and civil rights violations. “Unfortunately, Charlie Kirk’s family is going to have a very difficult time prevailing in a wrongful death case in Utah,” Tenielle Brown, a University of Utah law professor, told Fox News Digital. “And that’s because Utah’s government immunity statute is phrased in such a way that says even if the state and UVU were reckless, they retain immunity in cases that arise out of a battery, and that would include gunshot wounds.” JUDGE IN ACCUSED ASSASSIN TYLER ROBINSON’S CASE EXPLAINS WHY DEATH PENALTY REMAINS ON TABLE IN WRITTEN ORDER Kirk, 31, co-founded Turning Point USA in 2012 and grew the conservative youth organization into a major force on high school and college campuses nationwide. He was shot and killed while speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem on Sept. 10, 2025. Neama Rahmani, president of West Coast Trial Lawyers, told Fox News Digital that wrongful death claims against the government are already difficult for plaintiffs to win because government entities generally enjoy broad immunity from lawsuits stemming from assaults or batteries committed by third parties. “I’ve handled lack of security cases, including lack of security cases against the government,” Rahmani told Fox News Digital. “They are tough because you are trying to hold the police or city, county or state responsible for someone else’s criminal actions.” But Rahmani suggested the Kirk family’s strongest evidence could be a message from UVU Police Chief Jeffrey Long acknowledging concerns about rooftop access to the Sorenson Center, a building located “pretty close” to where Kirk was scheduled to speak. The Sorenson Center sits directly west of the Losee Center, where prosecutors say Tyler Robinson fired the shot that killed Kirk. In response to the security concerns, Long messaged Kirk’s team, “I got you covered.” TYLER ROBINSON HEARING ENDS WITHOUT RULING AS EVIDENCE DISMANTLES CHARLIE KIRK CONSPIRACY CLAIMS “That means they’re gonna argue that they assume the responsibility to make sure Charlie Kirk was safe, and they failed to do so,” Rahmani said of the Kirk family. “In cases where you have the government taking on a duty, that tends to be better than simply arguing that the government has a duty to protect everyone because we know that murders happen all the time, and you can’t sue the government just because someone is killed.” But Brown said Utah law can shield government officials from lawsuits even when they fail to perform their job functions. “There have been a number of cases where the plaintiffs and the family of the victims have sued for either wrongful death or battery,” Brown told Fox News Digital. “And in some cases, the government did behave recklessly, and they could show carelessness and recklessness and the plaintiffs were not able to prevail because it arose out of a battery. And that’s unusual. Most states don’t have that broad of a statute.” Brown pointed to the case of Mika Scott, a 19-year-old Utah Valley University student who sued Utah County and the Utah County Sheriff’s Office after Shawn Leonard, a prisoner with a violent criminal record who had escaped from a work-release program, raped her in 2010. “They were supposed to screen inmates to make sure that they weren’t violent,” Brown told Fox News Digital. “And then when they went out in the community on the job sites, they were supposed to make sure that they were policing the boundaries so that these inmates couldn’t escape and in a really terrible situation.” “And she could have shown carelessness and maybe even recklessness, but because of the government immunity statute and because this claim arose out of a battery, she was not able to prevail against the state,” Brown continued. CHARLIE KIRK SUPPORTERS RETURN TO SITE OF ASSASSINATION 1 YEAR LATER: ‘WE ARE STILL STANDING’ The Utah Supreme Court addressed the statute’s language in its 2005 decision in Wagner v. Utah, which held that civil battery does not require an intent to cause physical or psychological injury. “The court said, it may not be prudent for the state to continue to retain immunity here,” Brown told Fox News Digital. ” And they’re kind of signaling to the legislature that the legislature should probably change the statute to allow for suits in cases like Charlie Kirk’s.” “But the state has not revised the statute and so it still says very clearly that you can’t sue the state if the claim arises out of a battery,” Brown continued. Brown said state workers who are not elected cannot be held accountable at the ballot box for failing to do their jobs. “The president of UVU, the campus police, those people are not elected, and so if you were to say sovereign immunity is all about letting people decide whether they’re state actors or careless at the ballot box, then you vote them out of office,” Brown said. “That doesn’t work,” Brown continued. “That argument doesn’t for the UVU president because nobody can vote them of office, nobody is having any political check on the campus police.” Astrid Tuminez, who served as the school’s president at the time of Kirk’s assassination, stepped down from her position in May 2026
Why the House let out early is a matter of debate after Johnson says chamber has ‘done its work’
It’s a matter of debate as to why House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., sent the House home a day early this week. This is in addition to the House lopping off two additional weeks from its schedule later this month and into early October. “We’re going to modify the House schedule by a day. And let me explain to you why. The House has done its work,” Johnson said as House members fled Capitol Hill early Wednesday night. “House Republicans are going now back to our districts. We’re going to make the case to the American people on what we have delivered on their behalf.” The House isn’t scheduled to reconvene until Nov. 9, just after the midterms. But outgoing Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., believes there’s a different reason Johnson cut everyone loose early. The Kentucky Republican introduced eight articles of impeachment for Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth. Because Massie’s push for impeachment is “privileged,” the House had 48 hours max to consider the articles. THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO MASSIE SAYING JOHNSON IS SENDING THE HOUSE HOME EARLY TO PREVENT HEGSETH IMPEACHMENT “I figured out why we canceled tomorrow,” Massie said. “Tomorrow would be the vote on impeaching Secretary of Defense Peter Bryan Hegseth. And it looks like that vote’s not going to happen.” A senior House Republican leadership source insisted to Fox last week that members would be on Capitol Hill “for a full week.” But, by Wednesday, the House had synced up with the Senate and passed the Russia sanctions bill. It OK’d legislation to protect consumers from high electricity and water bills associated with data centers, foisting the cost on tech companies. Yes, there were calls by bipartisan lawmakers that the House should remain in session to address intensifying concerns about AI. But the House was running out of floor traffic. Except for Massie’s measure to impeach Hegseth. REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: HOUSE CONTROL COULD HINGE ON WHETHER THE OLD POLITICAL RULES STILL APPLY Now you can determine for yourself why Johnson dismissed lawmakers a day early — to say nothing of the plan for the House to cut town two weeks sooner than originally planned. But you can imagine what Massie thought. “Exactly what I predicted,” Massie said on the House floor. “Why did he just cut another day off the calendar?” I found Massie off the floor after he concluded his speech. “Do you think they adjourned the House because you have the votes on Hegseth?” yours truly asked. “Chad, they cut two weeks off of the calendar to keep me from getting to 218 votes on the Epstein discharge petition. And then we came into this week, and I introduced eight articles of impeachment against Peter Hegseth, and they have 48 hours to vote on that,” Massie replied. “He cut off the day tomorrow to avoid the vote.” Here are the parliamentary mechanics. The House was compelled to consider Massie’s impeachment articles if it met this past Thursday. Otherwise, the resolution covering the eight impeachment articles would expire. The 48-hour window associated with such privileged resolutions disappears. Sure. Massie could bring them up when the House next meets in November. But that is seven weeks from now. But let’s say the House met on Thursday and was forced to bring up Massie’s impeachment articles. Republicans would likely have offered “a motion to table.” This is an effort to kill Massie’s gambit. Thus, the vote would not have been on impeaching Hegseth, but whether or not to set aside Massie’s plan. If the House voted to table Massie’s articles of impeachment, the gig is up. It’s done. The House never even considered the actual impeachment resolutions. The vote was one step removed from a straight, up/down vote on actually impeaching Hegseth. But let’s say the motion to table was to fail? That means the House immediately skips to the articles of impeachment. The possibility suddenly exists that Hegseth could face eight impeachment votes even through there’s been no investigation. No committee hearings. No “process.” Nowhere does it say in the Constitution that Congress is required to wrestle with the usual parliamentary volutions to impeach someone. If a simple majority in the House votes to impeach you, you’re impeached. Nuff said. REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: CONGRESS MEETS AI AS FEARS OF HUMAN EXTINCTION JOLT CAPITOL HILL This is why Republicans likely would have moved to table Massie’s impeachment articles. A vote to table inoculates members from having to take a challenging vote on the underlying issue. Keep in mind that there are a number of House Republicans who are aggravated with Hegseth and beside themselves about the war in Iran. This vote would have put them in an interesting position, especially since many if not all Democrats may have voted to impeach. So, I asked Massie the following about the motion to table. “That would have put (members) in a tough spot. Or, if they had to vote on that, would it have passed?” I asked. “A vote on a motion to table? He may not have survived that vote,” Massie declared. In other words, Massie believes the House could have defeated the motion to table. That would have triggered votes on actually impeaching Hegseth. And, from Massie’s standpoint, that’s why Johnson sent the House home. You might remember that there was a bipartisan effort last summer by Massie and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., to go around Johnson and deposit a measure on the floor, forcing release of the Epstein files. Johnson let the House out early for summer break then. Later, Johnson kept the House out of session for most of the 43-day government shutdown as the special effort to bring action on the resolution loomed. The House voted to reopen the government in mid-November. And one of the first things the House did after that? Voted 427-1 to require a release of the files. The lone nay vote against releasing the files? Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La. Even though there aren’t votes until early November, Massie is still a member
Vance calls midterms a referendum on ‘common sense versus pure unadulterated crazy’
Vice President JD Vance called out Democrats Friday, saying the midterms will be a referendum on “common sense versus pure unadulterated crazy.” While stumping in Iowa, Vance said Democrats are no longer “the party my grandparents grew up talking about.” Raised by a union steelworker, Vance said his father told him that “FDR’s Democrat party, that JFK’s Democrat party was the party of the workingman. THE ONE LINE FROM JD VANCE’S GOP KEYNOTE THAT REVEALS HIS VISION FOR AMERICA “This is not FDR’s party, as much as we might wish it was. It’s not JFK’s party. Ladies and gentlemen, it’s not even Bill Clinton’s party.” Vance said today’s Democrats don’t believe the country needs to be “built upon” but “utterly transformed.” “In New York,” he said, some of the midterm candidates are calling for the “total eradication of Western civilization. Somebody running for Congress in New York — and I promise I’m not joking about this — said that July Fourth is actually about the liberation of Palestine and Puerto Rico.” To loud boos, Vance said, “You could almost laugh about” the idea of Thomas Jefferson writing the Declaration of Independence and thinking about the liberation of Palestine and Puerto Rico. MORNING GLORY: FIVE SENATE RACES SHOW WHY DEMOCRATS MAY REGRET THEIR PRIMARY CHOICES “But, unfortunately, it’s not funny because those people are dead serious, and this election is a referendum on common sense versus pure unadulterated crazy. Let’s send the crazy packing and get them out of Washington, D.C.” Vance said to cheers. Vance also claimed some Democratic candidates are “out-and-out lunatics” who have “lost their ever-loving minds.” “These are the ones who will tell you that our history is evil, and this country needs to be bulldozed and started over from the beginning,” he continued. ‘JESUS WAS A RADICAL’: PROGRESSIVES INVOKE CHRIST TO SELL LEFT-WING AGENDA ON CAMPAIGN TRAIL But he said other Democrat candidates are “smart enough to realize that the country hasn’t lost its mind, and, so, they try to be just a little bit more subtle.” Calling out Democrat U.S. Senate candidate Adam Hamilton of Kansas, Vance claimed Hamilton gave off a “kind of ‘gee whiz, I’m a nice pastor’ vibe,” but he’s a man that tells his congregation not about the gospel of Jesus Christ, but that they need to repent for their White privilege.” Recent polls have shown a tightening race between Hamilton and GOP incumbent Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall. During the rally, Vance threw his support behind Iowa Republicans, including gubernatorial nominee Zach Lane, Rep. Ashley Hinson and congressional candidate Chris McGowan.
Unsealed FBI interviews reveal Obama, Emanuel’s discussions about Blagojevich Senate seat deal
Anyone who has a conversation with former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is likely to hear his claim that he was never going to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by former President Barack Obama in 2008, insisting his innocence in the high-profile case that led to him serving nearly eight years in federal prison. Blagojevich has repeated for years that he was closing in on a deal to appoint Lisa Madigan to the U.S. Senate. Hers is a name that has largely dropped out of the public arena. At the time of the scandal, Madigan served as Illinois attorney general. More relevant to this case, she is the daughter of the very powerful and entrenched then-Speaker of the Illinois House Mike Madigan. RAHM EMANUEL WARNS DSA AGENDA DOESN’T PLAY WELL OUTSIDE ‘UPPER WEST SIDE OF MANHATTAN’ The former speaker has since gone to prison for a separate corruption case. (Welcome to Illinois.) Blagojevich claims he would have appointed Lisa to the Senate in exchange for the father supporting his healthcare package and budget. Shortly after the arrest of Gov. Blagojevich in December 2009, both President-elect Obama and his incoming chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, were interviewed by the FBI. Obama was interviewed Dec. 18, nine days after the governor was arrested. Emanuel was interviewed on the 20th. The records of those interviews were kept out of both criminal trials and away from the public, until now. Fox News has obtained the partially redacted FBI FD-302s of those interviews. The Obama interview notes, “Obama was asked whether he was aware of Emanuel having a conversation with the Blagojevich administration regarding Lisa Madigan being considered for the Senate seat in exchange for legislation being passed. “Emanuel would have been aware that Lisa Madigan was an acceptable candidate to Obama. Emanuel had an open line of conversation with the Blagojevich administration.” The Emanuel interview notes that, on Dec. 8, 2008, “(David) Axelrod and Emanuel went to see (U.S. Senator Dick) Durbin, D-Ill. In this meeting, they all agreed that Lisa Madigan would be a good candidate.” “As a result of this conversation, Emanuel contacted (Blagojevich Chief of staff, John) Harris and told him the merits of appointing Lisa Madigan as Senator.” The next morning, Dec. 9, 2009, just after 6 a.m., Blagojevich was arrested at his home in Chicago. RAHM EMANUEL WARNS ‘BERNIE BROS’ COULD SINK DEMOCRATS BY SADDLING MODERATES WITH SOCIALIST AGENDA Then-U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois Patrick Fitzgerald said, “Governor Blagojevich was arrested in the middle of what we can only describe as a political corruption crime spree. We acted to stop that crime spree.” “That just proves the Madigan deal was very much front and center. It was something I was about to do,” Blagojevich said in light of the newly unsealed information. “There never was a crime spree that Mr. Fitzgerald, the U.S. attorney, said he was stopping to justify arresting a sitting governor in his home.” Other interesting notes from the interviews: President Obama initially wanted Valerie Jarrett to succeed him in the Senate. But he reversed his thinking early in the process, deciding “that he would like Jarrett to join him at the White House as a senior advisor.” However, “Emanuel was still interested in Jarrett taking the Senate seat rather than working in the White House.” Because, according to the Emanuel interview, “the fact that she is the president-elect’s best friend, having her on the White House staff would be awkward.” “Rahm’s a crafty, political, crafty, cunning and very effective political operator,” Blagojevich chimed in. “He was interested in being closer to the king.” Eventually, according to the Emanuel interview, Obama became resolute. “Obama told Emanuel he made a decision that Jarrett was going to the White House, and he was not going to reconsider this decision.” After that, a gaggle of familiar names entered the ring for consideration: Tammy Duckworth, and Reps. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., and Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Ill., who also went to prison for a separate case. MINNESOTA FRAUD SCANDAL WILL HAUNT FLANAGAN IN HIGH-STAKES SENATE RACE, TOP HOUSE REPUBLICAN WARNS Then Obama, busy with establishing a new administration, stated, “He did not want to put his thumb on the scale.” Still, he dispatched Emanuel to communicate with the governor’s office that “Obama was interested in someone who he thought would be a good senator for the people of Illinois and who could also hold the seat in the 2010 election.” Blagojevich ended up appointing Roland Burris to Obama’s vacated seat. Burris did not run for re-election. Republican Mark Kirk won the seat in 2010 and was defeated by Tammy Duckworth in 2016. Blagojevich served 7 years, 11 months in prison until President Trump commuted his sentence in 2020. Blagojevich received a full pardon in 2025. Fox News reached out to both former President Obama and Rahm Emanuel. They did not respond.
Trump declares victory in historic deal with Greenland as he secures ‘permanent’ US military rights
FIRST ON FOX: President Donald Trump struck a sweeping agreement with Denmark and Greenland this week granting the United States permanent military rights on the strategically placed Arctic island. The U.S. will now have permanent access, basing and overflight rights in Greenland and the ability to establish additional military installations as needed, according to a senior U.S. official who outlined the deal exclusively to Fox News Digital. The deal bars China, Russia and other non-NATO countries from establishing military bases or maintaining troops in Greenland. It also restricts adversaries from investing in sensitive sectors that could pose a threat to U.S. national security. “This historic deal is a huge win for the United States and the American people,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Fox News Digital. “Thanks to President Trump’s vision and leadership, this historic agreement permanently guarantees U.S. security interests in the Arctic at zero cost to the U.S. taxpayer. DENMARK VOWS TO DEFEND GREENLAND AFTER TRUMP REITERATES US SHOULD CONTROL TERRITORY “Greenland will forever be part of the strategic defense area of North America and exclude any adversary from it and the surrounding area,” Rubio said. “This deal permanently and completely addresses our national security concerns in Greenland. The new agreement, which has no expiration date, stops short of transferring sovereignty over Greenland to the U.S. But administration officials still view its permanence as key to addressing the security concerns that drove Trump’s push to acquire the territory in the first place. “The difference here is we’re not spending any money for the right” to expand the U.S. military presence, the senior official explained. The deal is designed to remain in effect even if Greenland eventually becomes an independent country, they added. “For over 100 years, Presidents have known the strategic importance of Greenland, but NONE of them were able to do anything about it. I am proud to be the President that permanently and conclusively addressed this very important situation. This is an “Infinite Life” Agreement, there is no end!” Trump wrote on Truth Social Friday. Fox News Digital reached out to the governments of Greenland and Denmark for comment. Trump had repeatedly argued that control of Greenland was necessary for U.S. national security, pointing to the island’s strategic location in the Arctic as Russia and China expand their presence and capabilities in the region. The deal significantly expands on the longstanding U.S. defense relationship with Greenland. The U.S. already operates Pituffik Space Base and has maintained military access to the island under a defense agreement dating back to 1951. Under the new agreement, however, Denmark and Greenland would not have approval authority over additional U.S. military installations. The U.S. would consult with them but would have the right to build new installations when it determines they are necessary without needing their buy-in, the official said. The administration believes an expanded U.S. military footprint in Greenland could eventually play a role in Trump’s planned Golden Dome missile defense system. “We will immediately begin the process of developing a large Military presence in the appropriate part of Greenland, of which there are many. We will work with the people of Greenland in its development and construction,” Trump added. RUSSIA’S QUIETER NUCLEAR SUBMARINES THREATEN NATO, FORMER COMMANDER WARNS The deal only allows the U.S. and its allies to make “sensitive investments” on the island, such as telecommunications infrastructure, undersea cables, ports and critical minerals. The administration is seeking to prevent Greenland from becoming another version of what it sees as the strategic vulnerability that developed around the Panama Canal, where Chinese commercial interests have fueled U.S. concerns that ostensibly civilian infrastructure could have national security implications. “We’re never going to face that in Greenland as a result of this,” the official told Fox News Digital. Officials from both Greenland and Denmark, which holds sovereignty over the self-governing island territory, initially scoffed at Trump’s insistence that the U.S. must “own” Greenland. But months of negotiations between Rubio, White House advisor Stephen Miller and officials at the State Department and National Security Council led to a deal that satisfied all sides, a second official told Fox News Digital. Representatives from all three countries went through “various rounds of quiet negotiations that never leaked and never got out there” starting in February, as Denmark and Greenland came to see the agreement as serving their own security interests. “They recognize, at the end of the day, that they have a national security concern here as well,” Rubio said. “Denmark and Greenland understand that they don’t have the financial means necessary to defend Greenland if it were to come under attack or be threatened. The United States has the power to do that.”
Foreign hackers breach two more US water utilities, threaten safety of Colorado residents
Foreign actors hacked two Colorado water utilities’ computer systems last month, changing pumping cycles, disabling alarms and altering equipment settings before operators regained control, state officials said Thursday. The intrusions did not affect drinking water quality or treatment processes, according to Colorado Gov. Jared Polis’ office. But the incidents add Colorado to a widening series of breaches in U.S. water and wastewater infrastructure. High-profile cyberattacks have targeted more than 100 drinking water and wastewater systems across 12 states this year, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, expanding the footprint of a threat that federal authorities warned this summer was disrupting water operations across the country. WATER CYBERATTACK HITS AT LEAST 7 STATES Colorado officials have not identified the actors behind the intrusions of the two small systems or said whether they are connected to the broader activity reported elsewhere in the country. “These were brief incidents, and the risks were quickly addressed by the providers themselves, who subsequently alerted the state,” Polis spokeswoman Eric Maruyama said in a statement. The hackers altered equipment settings, disabled remote access and alarms and changed pumping cycles, according to the governor’s office. The incidents demonstrate how hackers can reach beyond traditional computer networks and gain access to operational technology used to control physical equipment at water plants, including pumps, valves and other machinery. The water utility systems that were impacted provide drinking water to approximately 400 people. IRANIAN HACKERS ATTACKED OUR WATER SYSTEMS. HERE ARE 5 THINGS OUR LEADERS NEED TO DO NOW Federal authorities warned in July that malicious cyber actors were targeting internet-connected operational technology at water and wastewater utilities. At the time, the FBI and EPA said utilities in at least seven states had reported incidents, some of which degraded water operations. The agencies said attackers had remotely accessed internet-facing programmable logic controllers, or PLCs, and tampered with device configurations, in some cases causing utilities to lose monitoring or control capabilities. Reported operational effects included loss of water pressure and flooding. The Colorado breaches follow a series of attacks on water systems across the country this summer, including cyber activity affecting more than 30 community water systems in Minnesota. Federal investigators have examined whether Iranian actors or hackers affiliated with Iran were responsible for the Minnesota attacks, though officials had not publicly attributed the activity at the time. President Donald Trump disputed suggestions that Iran was behind the Minnesota attacks, saying during a Cabinet meeting, “They blame it on Iran. I don’t think so.” He instead blamed Minnesota officials. IRAN’S CYBERWAR TARGETS ORDINARY AMERICANS. WE NEED TO DISMANTLE THE HACKER NETWORK The recent incidents have renewed attention to longstanding cybersecurity vulnerabilities within America’s water infrastructure, particularly among small and rural utilities that can have limited cybersecurity staff and resources. Many utilities use internet-connected industrial control systems to remotely monitor and operate pumps, valves, water pressure and other equipment. Federal officials have urged operators to remove programmable logic controllers from direct exposure to the internet and strengthen authentication and access controls. The EPA, which serves as the federal government’s sector risk management agency for water and wastewater systems, told Fox News Digital it is working with utilities, states and federal partners to identify vulnerabilities and strengthen cybersecurity. Since fiscal year 2025, the agency has identified more than 900 vulnerabilities in over 650 water systems and helped eliminate about 700 at more than 500 utilities. The EPA has also conducted more than 710 cybersecurity risk assessments and provided direct technical assistance to approximately 15,900 utilities. The FBI declined to comment when reached by Fox News Digital.
Illegal immigrant arrested in Indiana for allegedly voting in federal election: DHS
EXCLUSIVE: An illegal immigrant from Guatemala is accused of voting in a national election in Indiana, a crime that federal officials said steals votes from American citizens, while announcing the woman’s arrest. Helda Araceli Mendez-Merida was arrested Sept. 3 by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers in Indianapolis, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said. “The patriots of ICE arrested this illegal alien from Guatemala after she illegally voted in a past election,” DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said. “This illegal alien will be deported so she can never again poison our elections. ICE ARRESTS PERUVIAN NATIONAL ACCUSED OF ILLEGALLY VOTING IN 2024 ELECTION AS DHS CITES SIMILAR CASES “If even one noncitizen casts a vote, it steals a vote from an American citizen.” It wasn’t clear which election Mendez-Merida allegedly voted in, officials said. However, she illegally entered the U.S. through Arizona in September 2015 during the Obama administration, according to DHS. WHITE HOUSE UNLOADS ON VIOLENT ‘CRIMINAL ALIEN’ NABBED AFTER INVESTIGATORS UNCOVER ELECTION OFFENSE She was arrested by a U.S. Border Patrol officer and released. An immigration judge issued a final order of removal for her in September 2019. “The right to vote is the cornerstone of democracy in the United States,” ICE Enforcement Division Acting Assistant Director Patricia Hyde said. “Helda Araceli Mendez-Merida attempted to subvert a national election by unlawfully casting a vote. DHS APPROVES PLAN TO VERIFY VOTER CITIZENSHIP, MONITOR MAIL BALLOTS AS TRUMP PUSH INTENSIFIES “Voting in U.S. elections is a privilege that is reserved exclusively for U.S. citizens, and we cannot allow that sacred right to be perverted by foreign nationals who seek to undermine American democracy.”
Judge says issues in Trump administration anti-weaponization case ‘alive and kicking’ despite DOJ push
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Department of Justice lawyers have asked U.S. District Court Judge Leonie Brinkema to dismiss a case connected to the Trump administration’s $1.776 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund,” arguing that Attorney General Todd Blanche issued a formal recission order in August and has affirmed many times, including under oath before Congress, that the fund is dead. However, Brinkema seemed skeptical Friday. “The issues that underlie this case are still alive and kicking in my view,” Brinkema said. “The real concern that lurks … is the concept of taxpayer money being used to promote particular political views,” Brinkema said, pointing to pro-life activists convicted of violating the FACE Act and others who attempted an “insurrection” on Jan. 6 “to overthrow the legitimate election.” CLINTON JUDGE INDEFINITELY BLOCKS TRUMP’S $1.776B ANTI-WEAPONIZATION FUND “That entity is gone,” said Brinkema, referring to the Anti-Weaponization Fund and agreeing that Blanche has said under oath at his confirmation hearings that the fund is dead. “But is there a functional equivalent?” Brinkema said, referring to the DOJ’s ordinary Judgment Fund authority. The Judgment Fund is a permanent U.S. Treasury account managed by the Bureau of the Fiscal Service that pays court judgments and DOJ legal settlements against the federal government. Brinkema called that fund “a less transparent structure” and suggested that some defendants convicted of FACE Act crimes have already received large payouts from the DOJ’s Judgment Fund. JUDGE TEMPORARILY BLOCKS TRUMP DOJ’S NEARLY $2B ‘ANTI-WEAPONIZATION’ FUND Here, Brinkema affirmed she was talking about the case of Paul Vaughn. Vaugh, of Centerville, Tennessee, was convicted in January 2024 for his role in blockading an abortion clinic in Mount Juliet, Tennessee, in March 2021. Vaughn ultimately received a pardon and a taxpayer-funded payout from the DOJ’s Judgment Fund that confirmed to Fox News is “seven figures.” BIDEN ADMIN USED ABORTION GROUP DOSSIERS, INCLUDING PHOTOS OF MINORS, TO TARGET CHRISTIANS, DOJ REPORT REVEALS DOJ lawyer Andrew Block asked what remedy the plaintiff wants, given “the fund is dead.” Brinkema countered that although the case is nowhere near the remedy stage, “I think there are remedies.” She brought up the possibility of requiring a “neutral” person to oversee a fund, “not someone from the DOJ, which I see unfortunately as coerced” in this matter. “A proper, unbiased look. … There’s been too much talk from members of the administration, which undercut [DOJ’s] position,” Brinkema said. “They contradict themselves all the time.” Brinkema closed the hearing by telling both sides she intends to craft a new discovery order in the coming days, suggesting this case is far from over.
Socialist Claire Valdez faces calls for federal probe after Mexico ‘fight’ pledge
A New York City socialist seeking to replace a retiring Democrat drew criticism Thursday after pledging to carry the “fight” inspired by Mexico’s struggle for independence into Congress. And critics pointed to her disclosure that she met with members of Mexico’s ruling left-wing party. Claire Valdez, who is seeking Rep. Nydia Velázquez’s seat in a district that includes Bushwick and Ridgewood, is facing calls for the State Department to investigate her under the Logan Act. It’s a rarely enforced 1799 law that criminalizes certain unauthorized efforts by private citizens to influence foreign governments in disputes involving the U.S. Democrats have also invoked the law in connection with President Donald Trump. In response to her post, immigration attorney and columnist Alicia Nieves tweeted at Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, a former ambassador to Mexico, calling for an investigation of Valdez after the candidate disclosed that she had met with members of Morena, Mexico’s ruling left-wing party. “Given that she is currently a congressional nominee, not a member of Congress, and appears to have discussed facilitating support contrary to current U.S. policy as well as describing our country an ‘empire’ that has ‘stolen from us’ … I hope the administration will review whether these communications warrant investigation under the Logan Act.” COLORADO’S SOCIALIST CANDIDATE CALLS FOR ‘MORE IMMIGRANTS INTO OFFICE’ TO STOP AMERICA’S ‘EXPLOITATIVE’ NATURE The act, enacted in 1799, came after the John Adams administration and congressional Federalists objected to Pennsylvania politician George Logan’s unauthorized trip to France, where he sought to ease tensions during what was called the “Quasi-War.” Federalists feared private diplomacy could undermine the U.S. government’s foreign policy. Adams and his Federalist allies also viewed Logan’s actions through the partisan tensions surrounding the 1800 presidential race against Thomas Jefferson. In her tweet, Valdez wrote, “215 years ago, Mexicans fought an empire that demanded our land and our labor. And we won. “I’ll carry that fight with me to Congress as New York’s first Mexican-American representative,” Valdez pledged. “And I’m strengthened not just by Mexico’s history but its present.” She said she met “comrades” in the Morena party who are “standing up to the empires and corporations that have always taken from us — and building a government for the working class. Viva la Independencia, Viva México!” MAMDANI-BACKED SOCIALIST PREVAILS IN CROWDED PRIMARY TO REPLACE RETIRING REP Fox News Digital reached out to Valdez and the Mexican government for comment. Morena could not immediately be reached. Critics also pointed out that Valdez’s father, Larry, is linked to a company that helped construct a Texas immigration center during the Obama administration. They contended that the connection conflicts with her opposition to immigration enforcement. “This would be a great campaign for Congress in Mexico,” added Christina Pushaw, a top communications official for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Fox News Digital also reached out to community organizer Melvin Rivera, the Republican opponent facing Valdez, for comment. Democrats cited the Logan Act in connection with Trump after he publicly remarked, “Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing” in reference to his 2016 opponent Hillary Clinton. Then-Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada suggested that Trump had violated the Logan Act. The law has also been invoked against other public figures, including former Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., and the Rev. Jesse Jackson, but no prosecution under the statute has resulted in a conviction. SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER Two men faced proceedings under the Logan Act but were never convicted. A grand jury indicted Kentucky farmer Francis Flournoy in 1803 after he advocated a separate Western United States allied with France. Jonas P. Levy was arrested and held to bail under the law in 1853 after writing to Mexico’s president. Valdez, the Democratic nominee for New York’s 7th Congressional District, will face Rivera and other candidates in the November general election.