Happy New Year 2025

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Red state bill seeks to force local compliance with federal immigration law

The Indiana House Judiciary Committee voted to advance a bill that gives the governor authority to punish local governments that fail to comply with federal immigration authorities.

Indiana House Bill 1531, which allows local law enforcement agencies the ability to carry out federal immigration laws and threatens to withhold funding from local governments who fail to comply with federal immigration laws, passed through the committee on a party line vote after hours of tense testimony and now moves to the full House, according to a report from the Indy Star Monday.

The bill would also allow the state’s attorney general to impose civil penalties if a local government agency fails to comply with a federal immigration detention request, requires state judges to report any non-U.S. citizen convicted of a crime to federal authorities, prohibits employers from recruiting or hiring illegal immigrants, and grants immunity to government bodies or employees for action taken on immigration detainer requests.

RED STATE AG PROMISES LEGAL FIGHT WITH ICE-RESISTING LOCAL GOVERNMENTS

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents walk down a street during a multi-agency targeted enforcement operation in Chicago on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025. (Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“We’ve been doing as much as we can with existing authority under labor trafficking laws to go after this issue of illegal aliens being employed in the state,” Assistant Chief Deputy Attorney General Blake Lanning told the Indy Star. “But in many ways, Indiana law was not designed for this problem, to address this problem.”

Lanning said the attorney general’s office worked closely with the state’s GOP legislature to craft the bill, which comes after Republican Attorney General Todd Rokita threatened to sue local jurisdictions who do not comply with federal immigration orders.

“Now that’s a problem in Indiana, particularly because there’s an Indiana state statute that I enforce that says what you have got to give, whatever level of cooperation is allowed by federal law, you shall give it as a state or local law enforcement official,” Rokita told Fox News Digital in an interview Friday.

“And, so, that’s what’s happening here. That defiance I need to look into now.”

‘CLAWED BACK’: DHS CHIEF NOEM SECURES EYE-POPPING SUM SENT TO NYC FOR MIGRANT HOTELS

Local law enforcement cooperation with ICE is a point of contention in many liberal-leaning jurisdictions, even in red states. (ICE)

DOGE PUTS DEI ON CHOPPING BLOCK WITH TERMINATION OF OVER $370M IN EDUCATION DEPARTMENT GRANTS

The push comes as President Donald Trump has intensified efforts to both secure the border and deport immigrants already in the country illegally. However, some of those efforts have been hindered by so-called sanctuary jurisdictions, which ban local law enforcement agencies from cooperating with federal immigration authorities.

Indiana’s legislation faces stiff opposition from Democrats and outside groups, who question the constitutionality of the bill.

“This is unprecedented to have this many anti-immigrant bills in one legislative session for Indiana. So it really is kind of a race to be the most racist. Any argument against that is just disingenuous,” Carolina Castoreno, the co-founder of the Alliance for Latino Migrant Advocacy, told the Indy Star after testifying against the bill.

President Donald Trump on Jan. 31, 2025, with an executive order on his desk. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

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“The rhetoric that they are continuing to use in these rooms — the mentioning of cartels, the mentioning of Hispanic men, talking about the Spanish speaking language,” Castoreno added. “They’re not talking about Ukrainian immigrants. They’re not talking about immigrants from any other part of the world, except for Latin America.”

However, efforts to defeat the legislation face an uphill battle in Indiana, where Republicans enjoy supermajorities in both the state House of Representatives and Senate as well as control the governor’s office.

Michael Lee is a writer for Fox News. Prior to joining Fox News, Michael worked for the Washington Examiner, Bongino.com, and Unbiased America. He has covered politics for more than eight years.

February 18, 2025
Trump admin seeks permission to fire head of the Office of Special Counsel

The Trump administration has filed an appeal with the Supreme Court, hoping to get permission to fire the head of the federal agency dedicated to protecting whistleblowers.

The emergency appeal, obtained by The Associated Press on Sunday, could likely be the start of a steady stream of court filings by lawyers of President Donald Trump and his administration aimed at reversing lower court rulings that have delayed his priorities for his second term in office.

The appeal seeks to prevent Hampton Dellinger from resuming his role as the head of the Office of Special Counsel.

A lower court judge previously temporarily reinstated Dellinger to his position, which he was appointed to by former President Joe Biden. Now, the Department of Justice is calling on the high court to lift the judge’s order.

AS DEMOCRATS REGROUP OUTSIDE DC, GOP ATTORNEYS GENERAL ADOPT NEW PLAYBOOK TO DEFEND TRUMP AGENDA

United States Supreme Court (front row L-R) Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts, Associate Justice Samuel Alito, and Associate Justice Elena Kagan, (back row L-R) Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett, Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch, Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh and Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Dellinger has argued 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 Trump administration’s petition came hours after an appeals court refused to lift the order on procedural grounds, which was filed last Wednesday and is expected to expire on Feb. 26.

The case is not expected to be placed on the docket until the Supreme Court returns after the Presidents’ Day holiday weekend. Once filed, the earliest the justices will be able to act will be Tuesday.

FEDERAL JUDGE ORDERS TRUMP ADMIN TO RESTORE PUBLIC HEALTH WEB PAGES

The Trump administration filed an appeal with the Supreme Court with hopes of getting permission to fire the head of the Office of Special Counsel. (Donald Trump 2024 campaign)

Dellinger sued the Trump administration in D.C. federal court last Monday following his firing on Feb. 7.

The Trump administration has been met with a wave of lawsuits since Inauguration Day, and legal experts say many of them will likely end up in the Supreme Court’s hands.

“President Trump is certainly being aggressive in terms of flexing executive power and not at all surprised that these are being challenged,” John Malcolm, vice president of the Institute for Constitutional Government at the Heritage Foundation, told Fox News Digital last week.

HOUSE DEMS ORGANIZE RAPID RESPONSE TASK FORCE AND LITIGATION GROUP TO COMBAT TRUMP AGENDA

President Donald Trump’s second term kicked off with a flurry of executive orders and directives that have since been targeted by legal challenges, some of which will likely end up in the Supreme Court’s hands. (AP Photo)

Trump kicked off his second term with a flurry of executive orders and directives that have since been targeted by a flood of legal challenges.

Since Trump’s first day back in the Oval Office, more than 40 lawsuits have been filed over the administration’s actions, including the president’s birthright citizenship order, immigration policies, federal funding freezes, federal employee buyouts, Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and legal action against FBI and DOJ employees.

In one of the most recent developments, a Rhode Island federal judge ordered the Trump administration to unfreeze federal funds, claiming the administration did not adhere to a previous order to do so. The Trump administration appealed the order to the First Circuit shortly thereafter, which was ultimately denied.

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Many of these lawsuits have been filed in historically left-leaning federal court jurisdictions, including D.C. federal court. Various challenges have already been appealed to the appellate courts, including the Ninth and First Circuits, which notably hand down more progressive rulings. The Ninth Circuit, in particular, has a higher reversal rate than other circuit courts.

Fox News Digital’s Haley Chi-Sing and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Greg Wehner is a breaking news reporter for Fox News Digital.

Story tips and ideas can be sent to [email protected] and on Twitter @GregWehner.

February 17, 2025
DRAIN THE SWAMP Act seeks to move DC bureaucracy ‘out of crazy town,’ House DOGE leader says

EXCLUSIVE: House DOGE Caucus founder Aaron Bean, R-Fla., will put forward the DRAIN THE SWAMP Act this week as part of continuing legislative attempts to target government waste.

The bill aims to require that federal agency heads relocate about one-third of headquarters-based employees “outside the Beltway” while finding ways to save taxpayer money through moves like selling underused Washington, D.C., office space.

Bean, who launched the bipartisan DOGE caucus in November, said his bill, which stands for the Decentralizing and Reorganizing Agency Infrastructure Nationwide To Harness Efficient Services, Workforce Administration and Management Priorities Act is what is needed to bring more accountability to Washington’s bureaucracy.

“The swamp is thick and deep here in crazy town, and I’m here to drain it,” Bean told Fox News Digital Wednesday.

DOGE MEETS CONGRESS: FL REP LAUNCHES CAUCUS TO HELP MUSK

The Congressional DOGE Caucus was founded by Florida Congressman Aaron Bean. (House of Representatives/Getty Images)

“It is time to remind Washington that our duty is to serve the American people,” the Fernandina Beach lawmaker added.

Agencies exempt from the legislation include the Pentagon, DHS, CIA and NSA, which is based at Fort George G. Meade near Glen Burnie, Maryland.

The remaining 70% of the federal workforce allowed to remain in and around the district would be required to work in person 100% of the time under the legislation.

EDUCATION BILL WOULD REQUIRE PARENTAL NOTIFICATION TO TRACE FOREIGN FUNDING OF CURRICULUM AS CHINA LOOKS ON

The Office of Management and Budget, an executive cabinet agency, would then be directed to work toward selling — or not renewing leases on — office space vacated by the relocated bureaucrats, saving taxpayer funds.

Bean quipped that the DRAIN THE SWAMP Act will ensure the federal government works for the people “and not the other way around.”

Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, Bean’s DOGE counterpart in the upper chamber, also put forward companion legislation, which helps speed up the process of reconciling House and Senate versions of a bill to make it to the president’s desk.

Washington, D.C.-bound commuters sit in traffic on I-270 near the Capitol Beltway in Bethesda, Md. (Getty)

“The federal workforce has shown they clearly don’t want to work in D.C., and I am going to make their dreams come true,” said Ernst, who previously highlighted waste, fraud and abuse through her “Squeal Awards” that root out government “pork.”

Since founding the DOGE caucus, Bean has added two GOP co-chairmen to the ranks — representatives Pete Sessions of Texas and Blake Moore of Utah.

Sessions, chairman of the House Oversight Subcommittee on Government Operations, previously highlighted the $2.7 trillion in reported fraud and improper government payments over the past 20 years.

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“This is an absolutely unacceptable misuse of taxpayer dollars. Hardworking Americans deserve a government that works efficiently and effectively,” Sessions said at the time.

In that regard, the executive branch’s DOGE leader, Elon Musk, said Tuesday from the Oval Office that finding and ending improper and sometimes anonymous payments will save U.S. taxpayers a lot of money.

Musk added DOGE oversight led to the discovery that, in at least one instance, Social Security payments were being made to people recorded to be 150 years old.

Moore holds key roles on the Budget and Ways & Means Committee.

Charles Creitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital.

He joined Fox News in 2013 as a writer and production assistant.

Charles covers media, politics and culture for Fox News Digital.

Charles is a Pennsylvania native and graduated from Temple University with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism. Story tips can be sent to [email protected].

February 13, 2025
Maha Kumbh 2025: ‘Jannat’ Actress Sonal Chauhan Seeks Divine Blessings From Naga Sadhu, Calls It an ‘Enriching and Beautiful Experience’ (See Pics)

Bollywood actress Sonal Chauhan, most popular for her role in Jannat (2008), visited Maha Kumbh Mela 2025 in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. The 37-year-old actress took a holy dip at the Triveni Sangam and shared glimpses of her spiritual outing on social media. On Tuesday (February 11), the actress shared pictures on her Instagram handle where she could be seen taking blessings from a Naga Sadhu named Sri Digambar Kushal Bharti Maharaj. Sharing the pictures, the actress captioned her post, “Such an enriching and beautiful experience it was to spend time with and seek blessings of Sri Digambar Kushal Bharti ji Maharaj at the Maha Kumbh.” Maha Kumbh 2025: ‘Jannat 2’ Actress Esha Gupta Takes a Holy Dip at Triveni Sangam, Calls It a ‘Divine’ Experience (View Pics).

Sonal Chauhan at Maha Kumbh Mela 2025

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February 11, 2025
Newsom praises ‘very productive’ Trump meeting as he seeks more federal wildfire money

California Gov. Gavin Newsom hailed President Donald Trump following a “very productive” meeting at the White House on Wednesday.

Newsom traveled to Washington to push for increased federal funding for recovery efforts after wildfires devastated tens of thousands of acres in the Los Angeles area. The governor held two meetings on Capitol Hill before traveling to the White House and petitioning Trump for “unconditional disaster aid,” his office said.

“As we approach one month since the devastating wildfires across Southern California, we continue to cut red tape to speed up recovery and clean up efforts as well as ensure rebuilding efforts are swift,” Newsom said in a statement. “We’re working across the aisle, as we always have, to ensure survivors have the resources and support they need.”

“Thank you President Trump for coming to our communities to see this first hand, and meeting with me today to continue our joint efforts to support people impacted,” he added.

TRUMP MEETS WITH CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS, FIRE AND LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS TO SEE LA WILDFIRE DAMAGE FIRST HAND

California Gov. Gavin Newsom met President Donald Trump on Wednesday. (AP/Getty Images)

“The Governor expressed his appreciation for the Trump Administration’s early collaboration and specifically thanked EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin for his agency’s swift action, including over 1,000 personnel on the ground focused on debris removal,” Newsom’s office added in a statement.

NEWSOM CALLS TRUMP’S CLAIMS ‘PURE FICTION’ AFTER HE POINTED FINGER OVER CALIFORNIA FIRE TRAGEDY

Trump met with Newsom as he arrived in Los Angeles late last month — just four days after his inauguration as president — to survey the fire damage. Newsom approved some $2.5 billion in recovery work, which he hopes will be reimbursed by the federal government.

A house burns as the Palisades Fire rages on at the Mandeville Canyon in Los Angeles, California, on Jan. 11, 2025. (REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton )

After the outbreak of the fires early last month, Trump repeatedly criticized Newsom’s handling of the immense crisis. He has accused the governor of mismanaging forestry and water policy and, pointing to intense backlash over a perceived lack of preparation, called on Newsom to step down.

“Gavin Newscum should resign. This is all his fault!!!” Trump charged in a social media post on Jan. 8, as he repeated a derogatory name he often labels the governor.

Trump also placed blame for the deadly wildfires on Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, another Democrat, and the policies approved by state lawmakers in heavily blue California. In an executive order issued last month, he described management of the state’s land and water resources as “disastrous.”

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump meet residents as they tour a fire-affected area in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, on Jan. 24, 2025. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Trump had threatened to withhold wildfire aid until certain stipulations were met in California, including changes to water policy and requiring an ID to vote, but now appears willing to work with Newsom.

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The president declared that “we’re looking to get something completed. And the way you get it completed is to work together.”

Anders Hagstrom is a reporter with Fox News Digital covering national politics and major breaking news events. Send tips to [email protected], or on Twitter: @Hagstrom_Anders.

February 6, 2025
Bondi seeks to reverse Biden death row commutations

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi is seeking to reverse the last-hour commutations for death row murderers last month by former President Joe Biden, directing state officials to pursue the death penalty against the inmates.

Bondi, who was confirmed Wednesday, sent out a letter about the commutations to Department of Justice (DOJ) employees Wednesday, accusing Biden of “undermin[ing] our justice system and subvert[ing] the rule of law” by granting the commutations.

“The commutations also robbed the victims’ families of the justice promised — and fought hard to achieve — by the Department of Justice,” Bondi wrote. “The Department of Justice is directed to immediately commence the following actions to achieve justice for the victims’ families of the 37 commuted murderers.”

Bondi said the DOJ will move to first “explore opportunities to provide a public forum for the victims’ families to express how the commutations affected them personally,” calling it an “important step” in building trust and achieving accountability.

FBI AGENTS GROUP TELLS CONGRESS TO TAKE URGENT ACTION TO PROTECT AGAINST POLITICIZATION

New U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi called out former President Joe Biden in an email Wednesday. (Getty Images)

Then Bondi said she would direct U.S. attorney’s offices to pursue death sentences against the commuted inmates using state law rather than federal law. She said this step would take place “after consultation with the victims’ families and other interested parties” and only “where appropriate and legally permissible.”

“The Capital Case Section shall assist the United States Attorney’s Offices in implementing this directive,” Bondi’s letter stated.

TRUMP’S ULTIMATUM TO FEDERAL WORKERS: RETURN TO OFFICE ‘OR BE TERMINATED’

“Third, the Federal Bureau of Prisons is directed to ensure that the conditions of confinement for each of the 37 commuted murderers are consistent with the security risks those inmates present because of their egregious crimes, criminal histories, and all other relevant considerations,” she added.

In a late-December decision, Biden removed 37 inmates from federal death row and reclassified their sentences to life without the possibility of parole.

At the time, the White House said the move would prevent President-elect Donald Trump’s administration from “carrying out the execution sentences that would not be handed down under current policy and practice.”

Pam Bondi speaks during the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Md., Feb. 23, 2024. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

“The President’s criminal justice record has transformed individual lives and positively impacted communities, especially historically marginalized communities,” the White House statement said at the time. “In the coming weeks, the President will take additional steps to provide meaningful second chances and continue to review additional pardons and commutations.”

Biden only left three mass murderers on death row: Charleston, South Carolina, church shooter Dylann Roof; Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev; and Robert Bowers, the gunman responsible for the Pittsburgh Tree of Life Synagogue shooting in 2018.

Bondi, a former prosecutor and Florida state attorney general, has previously said her main goal as AG is to root out political influence and weaponization from the DOJ.

“America will have one tier of justice for all,” she said at the time.

Pam Bondi is sworn in before the Senate Judiciary Committee for her confirmation hearing Jan. 15 in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

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Fox News Digital reached out to the DOJ for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Pritchett and Breanne Deppisch contributed to this report.

Andrea Margolis is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. Readers can send story tips to [email protected].

February 6, 2025
DeepSeek fallout: GOP Sen Josh Hawley seeks to cut off all US-China collaboration on AI development

FIRST ON FOX: This week the U.S. tech sector was routed by the Chinese launch of DeepSeek, and Sen. Josh Hawley is putting forth legislation to prevent that from happening again.

Hawley’s bill, the Decoupling America’s Artifical Intelligence Capabilities from China Act, would cut off U.S.-China cooperation on AI. It would ban exports or imports of AI technology from China, ban American companies from conducting research there, and prohibit any U.S. investment in AI tech companies in China.

“Every dollar and gig of data that flows into Chinese AI are dollars and data that will ultimately be used against the United States,” said Hawley, R-Mo., in a statement. “America cannot afford to empower our greatest adversary.”

His is one of the first bills introduced directly in response to the DeepSeek market shakeup of the past few days.

THERE IS A ‘WAKE-UP CALL’ FOR US TO BE THE LEADER IN AI, SAYS WHITE HOUSE AI AND CRYPTO ‘CZAR’

Sen. Josh Hawley has introduced a bill to cut off U.S.-China cooperation on artificial intelligence. (C-Span)

DeepSeek’s release of a new high-profile AI model that costs less to run than existing models like those of Meta and OpenAI sent a chill through U.S. markets, with chipmaker Nvidia stocks tanking on Monday before slowly gaining ground again on Tuesday.

The surprise release displayed how China’s economic competitiveness has far outpaced the ability of U.S. business leaders and lawmakers to agree on what to do about it.

Unlike other legislation to thwart China’s profiting off U.S. innovation, Hawley’s bill would cover any AI-related technology instead of specific entities, which has prompted the Chinese to seek out loopholes through other companies.

TRUMP’S AI ‘DECLARATION’ REMINISCENT OF JFK PLEDGE TO PUT A MAN ON THE MOON: FORMER WHITE HOUSE IT OFFICIAL

Microsoft and OpenAI are now reportedly investigating whether DeepSeek could have accessed and used their data to train its own Chinese model, Bloomberg News reported.

White House artificial intelligence czar David Sacks told Fox News there is “substantial evidence that what DeepSeek did here is they distilled the knowledge out of OpenAI’s models.”

The U.S. and China are engaged in an AI race, and until recently the U.S. was thought to be slightly ahead. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato)

President Donald Trump on Monday said DeepSeek’s arrival on the scene “should be a wakeup call” for America’s tech companies after the new low-cost AI assistant soared to number one on the Apple app store over the weekend.

“The release of DeepSeek AI from a Chinese company should be a wake-up call for our industries that we need to be laser focused on competing,” Trump said.

But the president said it was ultimately a good thing if the world had access to cheaper, faster AI models. “Instead of spending billions and billions, you’ll spend less, and you’ll come up with, hopefully, the same solution,” Trump said.

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In his final week in office, President Joe Biden issued a rule slapping export controls on AI chips, with his national security advisor, Jake Sullivan, arguing that the U.S. was only six to 18 months ahead of China in the AI sector.

U.S. officials are now looking at the national security implications of DeepSeek, according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who added that the Trump administration was working to “ensure American AI dominance.”

January 29, 2025