Attorney General Pam Bondi said President Donald Trump's administration will "find illegal aliens" and "deport them in Illinois, New York and other states," in her latest warning to Democratic governors.
"You better comply with federal law, or you will be next," Bondi said on Friday during an appearance on "America Reports" with co-anchors Sandra Smith and John Roberts. Bondi was asked by Smith if there was anything thataltered or prioritized some of her initial goals since being sworn into her position on Feb. 5.
Bondi explained that taking the Department of Justice back to its "prime major function" of "fighting violent crime" was initially her top priority. But she also mentioned that government waste and drug cartels were at the top of her list as well.
Bondi was questioned about New York Governor Kathy Hochul's pushback against the Trump administration's lawsuit against her state for failure to comply with federal immigration laws. The blue state leader declared on Feb. 12 in an official statement that "we expect Pam Bondi's worthless, publicity-driven lawsuit to be a total failure, just like all the others."
Bondi's response was direct.
"Bring it on," she said on "America Reports".
"They are protecting illegal aliens over American citizens – not going to happen," she added. "And you better comply with federal law, or you're going to be next."
Hochul and New York are not the only blue bastions receiving numerous reminders to not harbor migrants from deportation operations. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker blasted Bondi and the Trump administration for their policies, remaining defiant.
"Unlike Donald Trump, we follow the law in Illinois," Pritzker said publicly in Chicago on Feb. 7. "Donald Trump has no idea what he's up against when he attacks Illinois."
The attorney general argues the law is on the Trump administration's side.
"We've spoken loud and clear," Bondi responded. "We are sick and tired of Americans being murdered, and these states protecting illegal aliens."
Bondi also responded to an MSNBC headline that scrutinized her appearance at CPAC 2025 Thursday. She defended the appearance as a "great time," and found it "comical" that critics called it a "partisan move."
Playing for the Rose Basketball Club, Reese was posting up down low when her defender took a charge. The defender might have sold the call, but it was enough to get Reese, who had dominated all night, out of the game.
Reese thought the refs made a bad call, so she wanted her coach to challenge the call, and she was emphatic about it.
There was no challenge, and Reese was done for the rest of the game. Her team held on for a 72-63 win.
After the game, a fan of Reese posted to X to not "be on the wrong side of history" when her career is over, saying "Reese is exactly who she thinks she is."
It was a compliment, but Reese seems to want her haters to keep on hating.
"no. tell them stay on that side. please," she replied.
Reese was the seventh pick in last year's WNBA Draft by the Chicago Sky after a dominant career at LSU that included a national championship win over Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes in 2023.
In her rookie year, Reese broke the record for most rebounds in a single season, but multi-time WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson later surpassed her.
Conservative voters believe Vice President JD Vance will become the Republican Party's presidential nominee in the 2028 election cycle, a straw poll conducted at the 2025 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) found.
"You guys are the conservative movement, you guys are the thought leaders, the opinion leaders. We asked folks who they thought would be the Republican nominee, who they preferred for the Republican for president in 2028. And who is it?," Jim McLaughlin, president of McLaughlin & Associates Polls, said Friday from the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in Oxon Hill, Maryland, on Saturday.
"JD Vance. And why? Because he's viewed as the closest thing to Donald Trump," McLaughlin added, he did not provide additional data on Vance's support among CPAC attendees.
Steve Bannon, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and others were also viewed by the attendees as the potential Republican nominee behind Vance, the full CPAC straw poll results posted to X found.
The straw poll was conducted among more than 1,000 attendees of the conservative conference, which kicked off on Wednesday and wraps up on Saturday following President Donald Trump's planned speech.
McLaughlin noted that the straw poll has accurately predicted conservatives' views and voting trends in previous years, including that Trump would win the 2024 primary and general election.
"You know how I knew Donald Trump was going to win the people in this room? Because when we did the CPAC polls over the years, and you had the mainstream media saying, you know, 'Donald Trump couldn't win again.' Donald Trump was winning overwhelmingly, not by a little bit, overwhelmingly in every single CPAC poll. You guys knew he was going to win the primary. You all knew that he was going to win the general election, no matter what the Democrats threw at us," he said.
This year's straw poll overwhelmingly focused on Trump's approval ratings since taking office, with a handful of results finding Trump's approval sitting at 99% on various issues.
"The first few weeks of Donald Trump's presidency have been the best for the modern conservative movement in my lifetime. What do you think about that?" McLaughlin said of one of the poll questions. "Well, 99% agreed with that. Think about that. We don't see 99% numbers."
"But 99% say this is the best … in modern conservative history," McLaughlin, who was joined on stage by CPAC chair Matt Schlapp on stage to announce the results, added.
Ninety-nine percent of respondents also reported in the poll that Congress rapidly passing Trump's agenda is important to them, while another 99% reported that Trump is doing a better job now than his first administration. All in, Trump's job approval rating sits at 99%, according to the poll.
"It's amazing. I've been working as a pollster now … going on four decades. . . . We've never seen numbers like this. We've never seen anybody unite the conservative movement the way Donald Trump has done this," McLaughlin added of Trump's high marks.
Trump also earned support for his comments regarding the U.S. potentially establishing a national security and an economic alliance with Greenland.
"Ninety-three percent of you approve of that, because it just makes sense for economic reasons, for national security reasons," McLaughlin said of Trump's support for establishing an alliance with Greenland. "And by the way, we do a little bit of work over in Europe and whatnot. They also think it's a very good idea. Donald Trump again, being a visionary."
The straw poll comes just roughly one month into Trump's second administration, which has been working at a break-neck pace as administration officials work to gut the federal government over overspending, while also stamping out potential fraud and mismanagement.
Archbishop of New York City Cardinal Timothy Dolan appeared on "Fox & Friends Weekend" to discuss a variety of topics, including the health of Pope Francis. Dolan candidly conceded, "It's not looking good."
He explained, "Look, we gotta be kind of realistic. When you get double pneumonia in anybody, you’re worried. I mean, if a child gets double pneumonia -- When you got double pneumonia in an 88 year-old-man, who has only got 75 percent of his lung capacity and is struggling with arthritis and a bunch of stuff, it’s not looking good."
Dolan added about the Pope: "I admire his grit. I admire his resilience. I’m praying with him. But I’m praying for him. But I think we have to be realistic as he certainly is."
The archbishop of New York City also said the closing of Catholic schools in New York City is a tragedy brought on by lack of parent interest and funding.
"I literally tear up when we have to close them," Dolan said when describing the increasing number of Catholic schools in New York City that are being shut down amid a funding and enrollment crisis. "And we just had to go through some of that again. And it literally breaks our hearts."
Dolan said that Catholic schools thrive when they focus on "quality, character-based, first-class education and passing on the faith."
Dolan emphasized that even the subsidized price of education at a Catholic school is worth the sacrifice for parents if they believe that their children are receiving an "unapologetically Catholic" education that focuses on relaying the faith to a new generation.
"Those are the schools that are thriving," he said.
Cardinal Dolan also related concerns from pastors in New York City who lead struggling Catholic schools and ask themselves if their school is properly '"stressing the Commandments, the Bible, prayer, fidelity, the Sacraments?' If not, why do we have them?"
"We got schools elsewhere that are jam-packed," Dolan said. "We got schools that are thriving. And that's what hurts us, I think. It hurts me. I love talking about our Catholic schools. I love them. I'm passionate about them. They're still strong and the future's looking bright for a number of reasons."
Archbishop Dolan has argued with Vice President JD Vance over illegal immigration.
Vance criticized the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops for allowing illegal immigrants in order to gain funding from the federal government in an interview with Face the Nation on Jan. 26, a claim that Dolan has rejected as being "nasty."
"I think that the US Conference of Catholic Bishops needs to actually look in the mirror a little bit and recognize that when they receive over $100 million to help resettle illegal immigrants, are they worried about humanitarian concerns or are they actually worried about their bottom line?" Vance said.
"You think we make money caring for the immigrants?" Dolan said in a later interview on "The Catholic Channel."
After 16 months of war between Israel and Hamas, five Americans are still being held hostage in Gaza, but only one of them is alive. Israeli American Edan Alexander, who hails from Tenafly, New Jersey, is the last living American hostage in Gaza.
Though he spent most of his life in New Jersey, Alexander was born in Israel a few months before his parents moved to the U.S., according to the American Jewish Committee (AJC).
In many ways, Alexander grew up like many American kids. He went to Tenafly High School, was a swimmer and loved the New York Knicks. All that separated him from most American teenagers was his frequent trips to Israel to visit family and the fact that he spoke Hebrew at home.
After graduating from high school, Alexander decided he would enlist in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) rather than enroll in college.
On Oct. 7, Alexander, who was serving in the IDF’s Golani Brigade, an infantry unit, was patrolling near Gaza when Hamas’ attacks on Israel began. The attacks ended with 1,200 Israelis dead and 251 hostages taken, including Alexander.
Yael Alexander, Edan’s mother, recounted the day he was taken hostage in a recent interview with AJC’s "People of the Pod." Yael was in Israel in early October 2023, visiting her family and hoping to see Edan. On the morning of Oct. 7, she spoke with Edan, who said that he was seeing "terrible stuff," but he assured her that he was safe. Then he was taken hostage.
Yael says she spent days on the phone and visiting hospitals, trying to figure out what happened to her son after their brief Oct. 7 phone call. Then the IDF informed her her son had been taken hostage.
On Nov. 30, 2024, more than a year after Alexander was captured, Hamas released a video of him speaking in Hebrew and Arabic. Alexander, like other hostages forced to make propaganda videos, delivered messages about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President-elect Donald Trump.
A few days after the video’s release, Adi Alexander, Edan’s father, spoke with "Fox & Friends First," calling the film "very emotional" and "disturbing." He said it was the first time they had seen a sign of life from their son since he was taken hostage.
Lawmakers in Israel and the United States have been fighting for his release over the last 16 months, but Alexander was not included in the list of people to be freed in the first phase of the ceasefire deal.
U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., met with Alexander’s parents, who are his constituents, just a few weeks after the Tenafly High School graduate was taken hostage.
"No family should ever have to experience this unfathomable pain, and I will do everything I can to reunite Edan with his family safely," Gottheimer said in a statement about the meeting.
On Alexander’s 300th day in captivity, Gov. Phil Murphy, D-N.J., said, "We must see Edan reunited with his family and community as soon as possible."
In addition to Alexander, Hamas is holding the bodies of four dead American hostages. Hamas released six more hostages Saturday in exchange for more than 600 Palestinian prisoners as part of its ongoing ceasefire deal with Israel. This is still the first phase of the ceasefire, and the second phase is expected to be negotiated soon.
The American Bar Association (ABA) has voted to suspend its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) standard for law schools as the Trump administration looks to gut all programs and initiatives associated with DEI within the federal government.
The council of the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar voted to pause its current standard, known as Rule 206, until Aug. 31 while it reviews a proposed revision to the rule, according to the ABA Journal. The vote took place at the council’s quarterly meeting in San Antonio Friday.
The council's standards committee said it would assess the proposed changes in light of recent actions by the Trump administration to ensure it can enforce the standard in compliance with the law.
The Trump administration has threatened cuts in federal funding for academic institutions and universities that continue with DEI programs. Trump has also issued executive orders to target DEI in the federal government and private sector.
Daniel Thies, chair-elect of the council and co-chair of its Strategic Review Committee, said the move to suspend the standard was necessary.
"The committee’s view is that with the executive orders and the law being in flux, it would be an extreme hardship for law schools if our standards were to require them to do certain things that may cause them to take more litigation risks and potentially violate the law," Thies said, according to the ABA Journal.
Members of the council’s managing director’s office will visit law schools this spring and provide written guidance, the ABA Journal reported.
Attorney General Pam Bondi hailed the decision as a "victory for common sense."
"Yesterday, the American Bar Association voted to suspend enforcement of Rule 206 - a DEI requirement for the student bodies and faculties of law schools," Bondi wrote on X.
"This is a victory for common sense! We are bringing meritocracy back to the legal system."
The Trump administration is on a mission to gut all programs and initiatives associated with DEI within the federal government, arguing it has lowered standards and promoted a woke agenda. In his first week back in office, Trump signed an executive order ending DEI offices and initiatives across the federal workforce.
He followed those up with two executive orders banning "radical gender ideology" and DEI initiatives from all branches of the U.S. military.
A federal judge on Friday granted a preliminary injunction for sections of the Trump administration’s executive orders on DEI, ruling that parts of the executive orders likely violate the Constitution and free speech rights.
The injunction largely blocks the sections of Trump’s orders that seek to end federal support for programs considered DEI-related and prevents the Trump administration from canceling contracts it believes promotes diversity, equity or inclusion.
Jane Seymour has a few tricks up her sleeve when it comes to maintaining her looks while balancing a healthy lifestyle.
Seymour, 74, listed several health tips that have helped her stay youthful – and they don’t involve a strict diet.
"People ask me if I have a cheat day with my diet, and I respond that I am never on a diet, I just make good choices and stick with them," Seymour told the Daily Mail.
"If you think you are on a diet, you will lose track, you will cheat," she argued. "But if you find healthy foods you really love, that make you feel good, you never feel shorted."
The "Live and Let Die" actress detailed her healthy diet tips as she allows herself one big meal a day at 1:30 p.m.
"I start the day with coffee and hard-boiled eggs for protein, and it isn't till later, around lunchtime, that I have a full meal, because then I can really enjoy it."
As for her dining preferences, Seymour pointed out that she loves the "Mediterranean way of eating."
"It works so well, and it tastes good. It includes a lot of delicious food like tomatoes, olives and fish."
The former model shared that she grows a lot of her own vegetables, as she snacks on cucumbers and celery with hummus throughout the day.
"I do love nuts," she added. "I am a savory person, I like the salt."
Meanwhile, her fitness routine consists of lifting light weights and incorporating Pilates into her day.
"You have to keep moving!" Seymour said.
Although the "Dancing with the Stars" alum admitted she stays away from weight-loss drugs, including Ozempic, Seymour takes an antioxidant elixir, which she said helps "fight signs of skin aging."
Seymour’s comments came after she showed off her ageless look during New York Fashion Week.
Earlier this month, the "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman" actress strutted her svelte frame in a red mini dress and sky-high heels for New York Fashion Week’s Nardos Fall 2025 show at the Plaza Hotel on Fifth Avenue.
Seymour shared a glimpse of the show’s backstage glamour as she was dressed and primped for the catwalk.
After first posing for Playboy pictorials in 1973 and 1987, she became the magazine’s oldest model at 67 years old in 2018.
"I feel much sexier now than I ever did when I was younger," Seymour told Playboy at the time. "Then, I was like, ‘Oh gosh, I’m supposed to be sexy. What is that?!’"
She added, "There’s an enormous freedom in having lived as long as I have. Like my father used to say, I’m comfortable in my own skin. I’m not trying to prove anything to anyone. When you’re younger, it’s all about ‘Look at me.’ I’m not trying to get anyone to look at me."
After his whirlwind two-day visit to Ukraine, President Donald Trump's special envoy for Russia and Ukraine retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg is within striking distance of sealing a rare-minerals agreement with the country under attack by Russian strongman Vladimir Putin.
"Minerals deal nearly done," a well-placed source told Fox News.
The Ukrainian side made suggestions to the agreement text and sent it back to the American side, another source involved in the talks told Fox News.
Trump is seeking the rights to access Ukraine's natural resources in exchange for the United States having provided billions of dollars in support for the Eastern European country against Russia’s invasion. Trump said on Friday that the mineral deal is "pretty close."
The White House stresses that the deal would not be a guarantee of future aid for the war with Russia.
Ukraine has been engulfed in an existential war. Ukraine’s efforts to counter Russia’s occupation are viewed as a test case for free democratic nations to preserve the rule-based global order.
Kellogg visited wounded Ukrainian troops and met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whom he termed a "courageous leader." Trump, on the other hand, lashed out earlier this week at Zelenskyy, blasting him as "A Dictator without Elections."
Trump walked back his comment on Friday that Russia did not invade Ukraine. He told Fox News Radio that Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine.
Rebekah Koffler, a former Defence Intelligence Agency officer, told Fox News Digital "The outcome of Trump's play for the rare earth minerals is uncertain now, as the situation on the battlefield is by all means favouring Russia and on the diplomatic front, there are too many moving parts. It is the battle of the wills between the master of manipulation Putin and the master of the Art of the Deal, President Trump. And Zelenskyy is caught in the middle, just trying to survive, figuratively and literally."
Koffler, who is the author of Putin’s Playbook and the host of the Trump’s Playbook podcast, warned about flaws in the minerals deal. "The problem is that a large share of these deposits is in Donbas, Eastern Ukraine, controlled by Russia. And Putin is acutely aware of Trump’s unconventional approaches to business deals. So, the Russian armed forces are now rushing to take over the Shevchenko region, containing Europe’s largest lithium deposits."
Russia sent military forces into Ukraine nearly three years ago on February 24, 2022, to illegally absorb the independent nation into Russian territory. Russian forces have committed war crimes against Ukrainian citizens, according to UN experts.
Kellogg visited wounded Ukrainian troops at the Irpin Military Hospital. The New York Post’s Caitlin Doornbas accompanied Kellogg on his tour. She reported that Kellogg and Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget A. Brink had visited the hospital on Friday "where Ukrainian troops with leg and arm amputations were receiving treatments and getting outfitted with prosthetics."
The New York Post reported that Kellogg said "The biggest reason I wanted to come here was President Trump has said he wants to stop the killing, and you’ve got to go to the place where you see what killing looks like — what death looks like — and see young men and women who have been wounded and combat. As a soldier, you owe them that respect. As a leader, you owe that respect. And that's one of the reasons I wanted to come here to do that, and this gives me an opportunity to see them."
According to the Post, "Kellogg visited roughly 20 troops, sitting with each one and having individual discussions. One, named Andrii, had lost both legs, an eye, his hearing and suffered a traumatic brain injury."
A Ukrainian soldier named Denis, according to the Post, asked Kellogg, "In your opinion, can we trust Russia? That they will negotiate?"
Kellogg responded "You almost have to look back in history, and you have to have an ability to negotiate. All wars end through negotiation, the ultimate victory on the battlefield ends with diplomacy, and today’s world is no different."
The retired General continued, "I think a better question would be: Can you trust the people that you are with to make sure that they're with you? It's sort of like you ask a deeper question: Are you with us? And the answer is, yes, we are."
Kellogg said, "I think the nations of the world recognize aggression. Sometimes diplomacy for a soldier is messy, but what the soldier does is he gives time for the politicians and the diplomats to come to a conclusion, and that's the reason why I make that comment that Ukraine owes you — the world owes you — because you basically sacrifice to allow diplomats to find . . . a good conclusion — a conclusion you fought for. We, in that position, we owe you that. We need to make sure that we end this right."
The death toll of the Ukraine-Russia war is stomach-turning. According to the Wall Street Journal, the number of dead and wounded—based on estimates in September — is nearly one million.
The wounded Ukrainian soldier, Denis, told Kellogg that Ukraine must have "a strong army," because he worried that after negotiations, it could be "five, maximum 10 years of peace, and then it could get back to the next phase of war," reported the Post.
Kellogg answered, "Well, I think the intent is there’ll be no next war."
Kellogg also the visited the Irpin Bridge on Friday, the scene of a powerful setback for Russian jingoism. "Ukrainian soldiers blew up the bridge during Russia’s initial 2022 invasion, playing a key role in stopping Moscow’s advance toward Kyiv," wrote the Post.
Kellogg told the Post at the bridge, "I know how soldiers fight for freedom and the people fight for people. I know what I mean. Anybody who fought for freedom understands what they did. [Coming here] was just a chance to see one of the places that they fought and give them the respect that they deserve — their soldiers — and that's why I wanted to come out to do it. That seems one of the things I can do, is just pass on my respects.
Kellogg added, "I know how soldiers fight for freedom, I know what that means. Anybody who fought for freedom understands what they did. [Coming here] was just a chance to see one of the places that they fought and give them the respect that they deserve — their soldiers.
The retired General paid tribute at the historic site to the soldiers who fought against Russian imperialism.
He noted that "One thing that you can never really understand until you see it is the intangible heart [of soldiers] and what they showed here was heart. And that's something you can't measure. And that's what really saved Ukraine. It wasn't necessarily the weapons, it wasn't necessarily the fact that the world was against Russia’s invasion — it was the fact that soldiers decided to fight for their country."
Fox News' Jennifer Griffin, NaNa Sajaia and Brie Stimson contributed to this report.
Pope Francis is in critical condition after suffering an asthmatic respiratory crisis that required doctors to administer oxygen, The Associated Press reported, citing the Vatican.
Additionally, the pope received blood transfusions after tests showed he had a low platelet count, according to Reuters.
"The Holy Father continues to be alert and spent the day in an armchair although in more pain than yesterday. At the moment the prognosis is reserved," the Vatican said in a statement quoted by The Associated Press.
Vatican News reported that medical professionals say the pope is not "in danger of death," but is not completely "out of danger" and will need to be hospitalized for "at least" all of next week. Physicians are worried about the threat of sepsis, a dangerous infection that can be fatal.
Fox News senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel told "Fox News Live" that he is "looking very closely at the next 12 hours," as he says that time is critical.
"This is a very common complication in this kind of complication, especially since he has underlying bronchitis and problems with the upper airways as well," Siegel said.
He also noted that, given Francis’ medical history, it is "very, very likely" that he would get pneumonia.However, despite the complications the pontiff is facing, Dr. Siegel says he is "not in any way pessimistic" about the situation.
On Saturday, the Vatican held its Holy Year celebrations without Pope Francis. The Vatican also announced that he would not be making public appearances on Sunday, which he also did not make last week.
The 88-year-old pontiff was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on Feb. 14 after experiencing respiratory issues that were thought to be related to bronchitis at the time. Doctors later diagnosed him with double pneumonia.
Pope Francis has suffered from respiratory issues for many years. When he was 21, he had part of his lung removed after developing pleurisy, which is an inflammation of the membranes that cushion the lungs. In his recently released autobiography, Pope Francis downplayed his health issues and chalked up his struggles to his age.
"The Church is governed using the head and the heart, not the legs," the pope wrote.
A gunman was killed after shots were fired at a Pennsylvania hospital in York County on Saturday morning, a spokesperson said.
Law enforcement responded to a 911 call at around 10:45 a.m. of an "active threat" at UPMC Memorial, Ted Czech, a public information officer at York County's Office of Emergency Management, told Fox News Digital.
"The threat has now been neutralized and an investigation is underway," Czech said. The hospital is located at 1701 Innovation Dr.
No patients were injured in the incident, hospital spokesperson Susan Manko confirmed.
"We have received confirmed reports of a gunman at UPMC Memorial, and shots fired," Manko told Fox News.
"The gunman has been apprehended, and no patients have been injured. The hospital is now secure," Manko said. "This is a fluid situation; law enforcement is on premises and is managing the situation. We are grateful to all the local law enforcement agencies for their quick response."
Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki was on a family vacation when news of the seismic Luke Doncic-Anthony Davis trade broke, but he found out about it quickly.
"When I saw the news, I was actually all across on the other side of the world. I was on vacation with the family in the Maldives. . . . Actually about to go to lunch, and then we’re leaving that day to travel back, and my phone starts blowing up," Nowitzki said during an appearance at 96.7 The Ticket’s Ticketstock event.
Nowitzki and Doncic overlapped for one season in Dallas and formed a strong relationship. He said they texted after the trade went down.
"Fast-forward coming home, obviously Luka, we texted a bit. I felt a little disappointed and sad for him. He obviously didn’t see this coming. He invited me to come out to his first game in (Los Angeles), and I felt like I had to support him," Nowitzki said.
"I played with him in my last season. We got close. I tried to mentor him, I tried to help as much as I can in the last few years."
Mavericks fans hoped that Doncic would be like Nowitzki, the superstar who stayed in Dallas his whole career and won a title for them.
Doncic, like Mavericks fans, was "disappointed" with the trade. Nowitzki attended Doncic’s first game with the Los Angeles Lakers in support of Doncic, and not the Lakers.
"He’s a good kid, so I felt like I had to go out there and support him in this new chapter. It was reported that he was pretty down and disappointed how it went down, so I wanted to be there for him. I wanted to be there for his family and show support," Nowitzki said.
"You guys saw my face, it was weird. It was surreal to see him play for the Lakers. I’ll never be a Lakers fan, but I must always be a Luka fan."
Doncic said that Nowiztki being there for his Lakers debut was "amazing," via the Dallas Morning News.
The centerpiece of the return in the Doncic trade for the Mavericks was Anthony Davis. Davis injured his groin in one of his first games with the Mavericks and has been out since.
The Mavericks and Lakers are set to face off for the first time since the trade on Tuesday, Feb. 25, at 10:00 p.m. ET.
Houthi rebels for the first time fired surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) at a U.S. F-16 fighter jet on Feb. 19, three senior U.S. defense officials tell Fox News.
The jet was flying off the coast of Yemen over the Red Sea when the SAM was fired. The missile did not strike the jet.
Houthis fired another SAM at an American MQ-9 Reaper drone that the U.S. was flying over Yemen outside Houthi-controlled areas on Feb. 19.
This is the first time the Houthis have fired a SAM missile at an American F16 fighter jet, a significant escalation in the ongoing military interactions between the Iranian-backed group and the U.S. Navy and Air Force, according to senior U.S. defense officials.
Under the Biden administration the U.S. military defended its warships patrolling the Red Sea and Bab al Mandab Strait, escorting and preventing attacks on commercial ships by the Houthis following the Oct. 7, 2023, attack in Israel by Hamas.
The Houthi attacks began shortly after the Israeli military responded to Oct. 7 in Gaza. U.S. Central Command then escalated its attacks on the Houthis to degrade infrastructure and weapons-storage facilities.
Now there is a policy debate at the highest levels of the U.S. military about what is the best way to counter the Houthis, which the Trump administration has put back on the State Department’s terror list.
The debate now is whether to carry out a more traditional counterterrorism approach to the Houthis, with persistent strikes targeting the individuals planning and carrying out the ongoing attacks, or whether to take a more defensive approach and keep going after Houthi infrastructure and weapons-storage facilities.
A counterterrorism approach would be a significant – and, some say, expensive – escalation at a time when military resources, including MQ-9 Reaper drones, are being diverted to the southern border.
The policy decision will eventually have to be decided by the White House.
Senior military leaders believe that it could be only a matter of time before a Houthi missile hits a U.S. Navy vessel, which could cause devastating injuries and damage to the aircraft carriers and destroyers that have been patrolling the Red Sea since shortly after the Oct. 7 attacks.
So far, the Navy has shot down or intercepted all of the missiles and drones fired at their warships by the Houthis, but sometimes the interceptions have occurred seconds before impact.
There have been numerous close calls, and the U.S. Navy in essence has been at war in the Red Sea for the past two years, facing near-constant attacks by Houthi ballistic and cruise missiles and drones, and firing expensive SM-2 and SM-3 missiles to counter the Houthi harassment.
An illegal immigrant and suspected gang member is out on probation, free to roam the streets of Chicago even though he has been charged with domestic battery, has a previous weapons charge in Cook County and was ordered deported in 2022.
Pedro Colmenares, a 33-year-old suspected Tren de Aragua gang member from Venezuela entered the U.S. in September 2022 and was ordered deported by an immigration judge in November of that year, according to DHS. While appealing the deportation ruling, he ended up in Chicago.
Two years after the deportation ruling, Colmenares was back on DHS' radar after a weapons charge in the Chicago area last October. DHS issued an ICE detainer on Colmenares, but because of its sanctuary policy, Cook County refused to comply with the detainer, and Colmenares was set free.
Colmenares was taken into custody once again this week for three days and was questioned by Chicago Police about his suspected involvement in the shooting death of a 25-year-old Hispanic man last September.
Chicago police said probable cause existed to place the illegal migrant into custody for murder earlier this week, but ultimately the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office declined to press homicide charges, explaining they "carefully reviewed" the case and found insufficient evidence and "uncooperative witnesses."
Colmenares is facing charges in a shocking kidnapping and sexual assault of his former girlfriend last October in Chicago. He is charged with domestic battery with bodily harm for allegedly pulling up in a car to the 27-year-old Hispanic woman and telling her to get in "or I’ll shoot you."
Police say he then drove the woman against her will to a separate location on Chicago’s west side, where he allegedly "battered and sexually assaulted the victim" over several days.
Colmenares was ordered to appear in-person before a judge on March 5 in Chicago. He was ordered to surrender weapons and stay away from the domestic abuse victim, according to a court document, but he was not assigned electronic monitoring.
Trans activist Blossom Brown went viral this week after saying that the upcoming Summer Olympics in Los Angeles should "absolutely" be gender-neutral and suggesting that there shouldn’t be a reason why Olympians and Paralympians can’t compete against one another.
Brown’s statements came during a heated debate with former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines during an appearance on "Piers Morgan Uncensored" on Thursday where the two discussed President Donald Trump’s recent executive order that essentially banned transgender athletes from competing in girls’ and women’s sports.
Morgan repeatedly asked Brown why men and women are separated in sports at the Olympics.
Gaines, the host of OutKick’s "Gaines for Girls" podcast, continued to defend Trump’s executive order and its efforts to create fairness in women’s sports.
"Because men and women are different. We have different physical ceilings. It’s the same reason you have any category. It’s the same reason we have the Paralympics versus the Olympics. It’s the same reason we have weight classes in boxing. We don’t have weight classes in boxing because we are fat-shaming people who weigh more. No – we have weight classes because it would be unfair. We know the outcome."
Gaines later raised the question about Olympians and Paralympians competing against one another.
When asked whether the Games should be combined, Brown said, "I mean, why not?"
Brown's comments come weeks after Trump signed an executive order instructing all federal agencies to review grants, programs and policies that fail to comply with the administration's efforts to end "male competitive participation in women’s sports … as a matter of safety, fairness, dignity, and truth."
The order also instructed strict Title IX enforcement against any educational institutions or athletic associations that do not comply and demands federal assistance be taken away in such cases.
Some states have already spoken out against their willingness to comply with the federal law.
Fox News’ Jackson Thompson contributed to this report.
The recently confirmed head of the Small Business Administration (SBA), Kelly Loeffler, released a video tour of her agency on Friday, showcasing empty offices in a call for government workers to return to in-person work.
"It's my second day here at the SBA," Loeffler said. "I could not be more excited to be here. So I thought I'd take a walk. And what I found is that exactly what's been said is true. About 90 percent of our employees are working from home. Well, that ends Monday with President Trump's order to return to work."
The video has picked up over 17 million views on X.
"The problem with work from home in the federal government is that the employees cannot be fired," former Deputy Assistant Secreatry of the Interior Department, Jeremy Carl, wrote on X Saturday. "When you don’t have to show up to the office, and there is no accountability for your performance [and] that is a recipe for disaster."
"No one at work," billionaire and Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) chief Elon Musk wrote.
Musk's post brought criticism from some commentators.
Market researcher Anna Matson defended work-from-home policies in a post Friday. "This is one of the worst Trump policies" Matson wrote. "There used to be one parent at home and one that worked. Now, both parents must work to survive. Adding 2-3 hours a day to their workday significantly reduces time with their family. If we want to support families, work from home when feasible should remain."
Republicans in Congress have requested that Loeffler use her authority as the new SBA chief to provide answers on alleged taxpayer-funded electioneering in swing states and the failure to actively recoup fraudulent or misappropriated COVID relief funds.
Fox News' Charles Creitz contributed to this report.
During her rise to fame, Denise Richards avoided being "blacklisted" in Hollywood as she kept quiet about an alleged sexual harassment claim.
The 54-year-old reality star confessed there was a point in her early career when she considered filing a sexual harassment lawsuit but was pressured to keep quiet.
"I was told I would be blacklisted," Richards shared with People.
"I felt so vulnerable. This was the career I wanted to do. To be told that you're never going to work in an industry that you are passionate about, it's a hard thing."
While Richards has created a name for herself over the last three decades in Hollywood, the actress said she’s "amazed" about the impactful changes in the industry – especially during the #MeToo movement.
"There definitely needed to be a change — and not just in the entertainment industry," she remarked. "I am glad that women are able to have more of a voice and be more protected."
"If that happened at this age, I would handle it differently, but I was so young and an unknown and [just] starting out."
The OnlyFans model’s comments come on the heels of the launch of her reality show, "Denise Richards & Her Wild Things."
Richards reflected on her Hollywood career as she viewed the industry through the lens of her three daughters – Sami, 20, ans Lola, 19, whom she shares with ex-husband Charlie Sheen. Richards adopted daughter Eloise in 2011.
"I wish I had the confidence that they have, because I would never be able to stand out for myself the way they do," she explained.
"I was such a people pleaser when I started my career," she continued. "And I love that my girls, this early in their career, that they're able to [speak up]. Sometimes I'm like, ‘You might want to tone it down,’ but for the most part I'm glad that they're able to say [what’s on their mind]. I wish I was able to back then."
Richards previously spoke out about how she struggled to "balance" life as a mom of three in Hollywood.
"I’m trying to just balance everything," Richards said in the show trailer as she listed off a few of her roles in life, including wife and mother to three daughters. Richards married husband Aaron Phyphers in 2018. He was previously married to actress Nicollete Sheridan.
"Being a parent in the public eye and in Hollywood is really hard, especially when your mom and dad are Denise Richards and Charlie Sheen," Richards admitted.
Sheen and Richards were married in 2002 and divorced four years later.
Fox News Digital's Tracy Wright contributed to this report.
EXCLUSIVE: Former United Kingdom Prime Minister Liz Truss is ready to bring the "conservative revolution" home from the 2025 Conservative Political Action Conference, telling Fox News Digital her plan to "Make the West Great Again."
World leaders took center stage at CPAC this week, telling the crowd of American conservatives they’re ready to see President Donald Trump’s agenda on the world stage. Truss, the shortest-serving prime minister in British history, said world leaders are envious of Trump’s second term and his Department of Government Efficiency.
"There's a lot of momentum, and people are very envious of what's happening in the U.S. We'd love to be able to get the truth from government departments about what's actually being spent," Truss told Fox News Digital.
Truss praised Elon Musk’s DOGE as a "playbook for what needs to happen" in the United Kingdom, but she said that a DOGE UK would be unrealistic under Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s leadership.
"What Musk is doing, going straight to the payment system, is a fantastic idea that we need to adopt in Britain, but the reality is that is not going to happen under the current government, because the current government are part of the problem. They are defenders of the deep state. They're not going to be investigating themselves. I think this is something that has to happen when there's a change of government. We are watching very closely what Elon Musk is doing. It's a fantastic playbook for what needs to happen in the U.K."
DOGE’s revelations about America’s federal funding and the mass layoffs of government employees have shaken up Washington this past month. Truss said that Musk is even holding the British government accountable.
"Sometimes I say that Elon Musk is the leader of the opposition in Britain, because he's the one actually on X, challenging Keir Starmer's policies, talking about issues like the grooming gangs, the appalling gangs who have been raping girls as young as 12. It's Elon Musk that's been taking the fight to Keir Starmer," she said.
Musk and Trump’s ability to seize the social media narrative and America’s growing independent media space inspired Truss to establish a "new free speech media network" in the United Kingdom.
"We have a massive problem with free speech in Britain," Truss said. "People are being locked up for posts on Facebook and on X, which is extraordinary. We're the country that invented freedom of the press back in 1695. It was almost 100 years before the First Amendment. And now we are, as a country, locking people up for saying things online."
"This needs to change. So, what I'm establishing is a new free speech media network, which will enable people in Britain to hear what is actually going on, and people across Europe to hear what's going on." she continued. "I think that's really important. If you look at the Trump revolution, independent media was a major part of that."
Trump leaned on new media during his 2024 presidential campaign, posting TikTok videos from the campaign trail, spending nearly three hours with the widely popular podcaster Joe Rogan and using Truth Social as a direct line to his core base.
Truss said that Trump is leading a "conservative revolution" and attended CPAC this year to learn how she can model his American success back in the United Kingdom.
"What we're seeing happening in America is a revolution. It's a conservative revolution. All of the problems we have in our societies in the West, the leftist ideology that's taken over, whether it's wokeism or extreme environmentalism or anti-capitalism, all of those are being taken on by President Trump. And I want to see a similar revolution in Britain, which is why I'm here to learn about how they're doing it, to talk about how we build that kind of movement in Britain," Truss said.
The former prime minister said she agrees with Trump on "everything from deporting illegal migrants; to cutting taxes; to drill, baby, drill; to being clear that men can't be in women's bathrooms." She said Britain needs to implement these policies and fire the "permanent bureaucrats who are part of the problem."
"The big difference with Britain is our bureaucracy is more powerful than the American bureaucracy. Most people working in government are career bureaucrats, and that's what I think we need to learn from America. We need to change," Truss added.
Truss said she has had productive conversations with European and world leaders this week, strategizing about how to broaden their conservative coalition and create policies to bring energy prices down and boost the economy. Truss even said she had plans for a British CPAC.
Truss resigned as British prime minister after 49 days in office in 2022 after her large tax cut plan destabilized the economy. She was one of three prime ministers in the United Kingdom within a four-month period in 2022.
"I recognize that, given the situation, I cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected by the Conservative Party," Truss said in her resignation.
The United Kingdom’s current prime minister and leader of the Labour Party, Keir Starmer, ended 14 consecutive years of Conservative party rule when he was elected in 2024.
There is a UK DOGE movement gaining traction on social media for revealing wasteful British spending. The Procurement Files is an X account that combs through more than 300,000 contracts on the United Kingdom’s public government database to reveal mismanagement of British taxpayer money, much like the official US DOGE account does.
Nigel Farage, the Reform UK party leader who initiated Britain’s departure from the European Union, has explicitly called for a UK DOGE. Despite the discontent from conservative leaders on British government efficiency, the prime minister’s office said that it has created initiatives to cut government waste.
"The Chancellor has asked all departments to deliver savings and efficiencies of 5% of their current budget as part of the first zero-based Spending Review in seventeen years," an HM Treasury spokesperson said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
"Every pound of government spending is being interrogated, to root out waste and get the best value for taxpayers as we deliver on their priorities set out in the Plan for Change. We have also created an Office for Value for Money that is underpinning our work driving out waste and inefficiency, alongside cutting out hundreds of millions of pounds worth of consultancy spending in government over the next few years," the spokesperson added.
Sacked United States Agency for International Development (USAID) staffers left their Washington, D.C., offices for the last time on Friday, with some carrying boxes scrawled with messages that seemed to be directed at President Donald Trump, who is slashing the agency's workforce.
Thousands of staffers were notified weeks ago of their pending dismissals, while a federal judge on Friday cleared the way for the Trump administration to follow through with the mass layoffs as it aims to eliminate waste throughout the federal bureaucracy.
"We are abandoning the world," read one message on a box containing belongings being hauled out by a grinning staffer as she walked out of USAID's Bureau of Humanitarian Affairs office.
Another smiling staffer’s box had a more upbeat tone, with her message reading: "You can take the humanitarians out of USAID but you can’t take the humanity out of the humanitarians."
The staffers were greeted outside the offices by a small group of well-wishing supporters and former USAID workers who carried signs reading, "We love USAID" and "Thank you for your service, USAID."
Other workers were seen leaving the offices in tears.
The Trump administration plans to gut the agency and intends to leave fewer than 300 staffers on the job out of the current 8,000 direct hires and contractors.
They, along with an unknown number of 5,000 locally hired international staffers abroad, would run the few life-saving programs that the administration says it intends to keep going for the time being.
USAID has come in for particular criticism under the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) for alleged wasteful spending.
For instance, Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, the Senate DOGE Caucus Chairwoman, recently published a list of projects and programs she says USAID has helped fund over the years, including $20 million to produce a Sesame Street show in Iraq.
Several more examples of questionable spending have been uncovered at USAID, including more than $900,000 to a "Gaza-based terror charity" called Bayader Association for Environment and Development and a $1.5 million program slated to "advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in Serbia's workplaces and business communities."
Trump has moved to gut the agency after imposing a 90-day pause on foreign aid. He also has appointed Secretary of State Marco Rubio as the acting director of USAID.
Government employee unions had sued to stop the mass layoffs, but U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols on Friday lifted a temporary restraining order he had issued at the outset of the case and declined to issue a longer-term order keeping the employees in their posts.
Nichols, who was appointed by President Trump during his first term, also wrote that because the affected employees had not gone through an administrative dispute process, he likely did not have jurisdiction to hear the unions' case or consider their broader arguments that the administration is violating the U.S. Constitution by shutting down an agency created and funded by Congress.
The judge said the issue was jurisdictional, that federal district courts should not be involved at this stage, and that the matter should be handled administratively under federal employment laws.
"The court concludes that plaintiffs have not demonstrated that they or their members will suffer irreparable injury absent an injunction; that their claims are likely to succeed on the merits; or that the balance of the hardships or the public interest strongly favors an injunction."
The unions can now go to the Washington, D.C., federal appeals court for emergency relief to have the TRO put back into place, or possibly a preliminary injunction.
Fox News’ Bill Mears, Andrew Mark Miller, Aubrie Spady, Deirdre Heavey, Morgan Phillips and Emma Colton as well as Reuters contributed to this report.
Veteran NFL linebacker De’Vondre Campbell unleashed an expletive-laden tirade on social media Friday about his decision not to play for the San Francisco 49ers during a Week 15 game against the Los Angeles Rams – a move that earned the one-time All-Pro a three-game suspension.
Campbell, who signed with the 49ers on a one-year deal in March 2024, shared a clip on X of former Atlanta Falcons special teams coordinator Keith Armstrong from a previous season of HBO’s "Hard Knocks."
In his post, which showed a passionate Armstrong during a film session, Campbell complemented the coach, adding that he was thankful to enter the league when he did, before the "soft babying players s---" existed.
But fans on social media were quick to remind the NFL player of his decision to quit on his team during their 12-6 loss to the Rams this past season.
The comments sparked a fiery response from Campbell, who said he was "sick" of all the backlash on social media.
"It’s been 2 months and I have yet to address the situation cause I know the truth and don’t care to clear anything up," he said in the first of a series of posts. "I’m by myself ALL the time if you or any of them b---- a-- n----s from the 49ers feel some type of way go wit ya move when you see me cause all them n----s that had so much to say about me gone have to stand on them words next time I see them I been standing on business my whole life and it’s gone be like that until the day I’m 6ft under p---- a-- n----s don’t know me."
Campbell went on to call out broadcast analysts who had spoken about the situation, saying that instead of reaching out to him, "they just took what the 49ers said and ran with it."
Campbell lost his starting job this past season when Dre Greenlaw came back from the Achilles tear he had suffered in a Super Bowl loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. But during the Week 15 game, Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan wanted to put Campbell into the game, because Greenlaw was aching from soreness in his Achilles tendon.
Campbell refused, and at the time, Shanahan said he had never gotten an explanation.
Days later, 49ers general manager John Lynch announced that Campbell would be suspended three-games for "conduct detrimental to the team."
"I ain’t addressing s---," Campbell continued in his rant Friday. "I’m rich and never have to work another day of my life and I told Kyle Shannahan and John Lynch that when they FaceTime me and begged me to come out there an hour after Green Bay cut me… I play because I WANT TO."
Before his brief stint with the 49ers, Campbell spent three years with the Green Bay Packers, a year with the Arizona Cardinals and four years with the Atlanta Falcons.
Moulton said that Democrats need to focus on the areas where Trump is not delivering on his campaign promises, because outrage over what he is doing and who he is as a person simply doesn’t persuade voters.
"One of the biggest mistakes I think we've made all along is campaigning on this idea that Trump is a bad person. 'Cause guess what? People have figured that out," he said.
He went on to argue that conservatives have "made this bargain where they've just said, ‘I know he's a bad guy, I know he doesn't share my values, but he's going to get me what I want,’ whether it's lower taxes or maybe actually some strongly held beliefs like ‘he’s gonna get my position accomplished on abortion.’"
Moulton summarized, "So it's not effective for Democrats to go around moralizing and say, ‘Oh, you shouldn't vote for him 'cause he's a bad person, in case you haven't figured that out.’"
He also argued that, ultimately, it’s not effective to condemn a politician for accomplishing the agenda he was elected to do.
"Likewise, right now, I don't think we should be so focused on the outrage at what he's doing. Because, guess what? People elected him. A majority of Americans elected him to do what he's doing," he said. "So let's actually focus on the places where he's not delivering."
After he cited Trump’s campaign promises on inflation and a speedy end to the war in Ukraine, he suggested, "Let’s talk about the places where he’s just not fulfilling his promises. I think that's a much more effective strategy than the outrage that you see today."
After the 2024 election, Moulton drew backlash for calling his party out for shutting down free speech and being out-of-touch with most Americans, with the demand to allow transgender athletes in girls' sports a prime example.
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) spent another week slashing hundreds of millions in spending by the federal government, while dodging various legal attempts to block its cost-cutting efforts.
Here are some of DOGE's big wins this week:
On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper, an Obama appointee, shot down a request from several federal labor unions, including the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), to pause the mass firings of federal workers by the Trump administration.
NTEU and four other labor unions representing federal employees filed a complaint Feb. 12 challenging the firing of probationary employees and the deferred resignation program, which gives workers the option to agree to work from an office or resign.
Cooper denied the request to stop the firings, saying the court lacked jurisdiction over the unions’ claims.
Instead, Cooper ruled the unions must pursue their challenges through the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute, which provides for administrative review by the Federal Labor Relations Authority.
DOGE was handed another victory by U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan, who denied a request to issue a temporary restraining order preventing Musk and DOGE from accessing data systems at the Department of Education, Office of Personnel Management (OPM), Department of Labor, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Energy, Department of Transportation and Department of Commerce.
The agencies were asking Chutkan to forbid both Musk and DOGE from terminating, furloughing or putting on leave any of their employees.
Chutkin ruled that DOGE can continue to operate as it is now.
The judge also issued a court briefing schedule for plaintiffs and defendants to file motions for discovery, preliminary injunctions and dismissals, which stretches through April 22.
DOGE scored a win in court after a federal judge declined a request to temporarily block Elon Musk's government efficiency team from accessing sensitive data from at least three federal agencies.
Unions and nonprofits attempted to stop Musk’s DOGE from accessing records at the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
The efforts were blocked by District Judge John Bates, who wrote in an opinion that the government was likely correct in categorizing DOGE as an agency, thereby allowing it to detail its staff to other government departments.
Musk praised the decision on X with the caption: "LFG," an abbreviation for "Let’s [expletive] go."
Earlier this week, DOGE announced it had discovered an identification code linking U.S. Treasury payments to a budget line item, which accounts for nearly $4.7 trillion in payments, that was oftentimes left blank.
"The Treasury Access Symbol (TAS) is an identification code linking a Treasury payment to a budget line item (standard financial process)," DOGE wrote in a post on X.
"In the Federal Government, the TAS field was optional for ~$4.7 Trillion in payments and was often left blank, making traceability almost impossible. As of Saturday, this is now a required field, increasing insight into where money is actually going."
The agency thanked the U.S. Treasury for its work in identifying the optional field.
According to the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, which is under the Treasury, TAS codes are used to describe any one of the account identification codes assigned by the Treasury and are also referred to as the "account."
Schools spent hundreds of billions of COVID relief funds on expenses that had "little" impact on students, such as Las Vegas hotel rooms and the purchase of an ice cream truck, according to the Trump administration's cost-cutting department.
DOGE revealed Thursday that schools have spent nearly $200 billion in COVID relief funds "with little oversight or impact on students."
Granite Public Schools in Utah spent COVID relief funds on $86,000 in hotel rooms at Caesars Palace, a ritzy Las Vegas Casino, while Santa Ana Unified spent $393,000 to rent a Major League Baseball stadium, according to a report by Parents Defending Education and shared by DOGE.
The cost-cutting department also revealed that schools spent $60,000 in COVID relief funds on swimming pool passes, while a California district used its funds to purchase an ice cream truck.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is working with DOGE to make cuts within his department, saying he believes it will find waste "not core to our mission."
"They're here, and we're welcoming them," Hegseth said in a recent video released Thursday. "They're going to have broad access, obviously, with all the safeguards on classification.
"They care just like we do, to find the redundancies and identify the last vestiges of Biden priorities — the DEI, the woke, the climate change B.S., that's not core to our mission, and we're going to get rid of it all."
Hegseth, who said many DOGE workers are veterans, met with Musk's team and said they have already started their review of the Department of Defense.
DOGE revealed on Tuesday that the U.S. government has more than 4 million active credit cards on its books.
"The US government currently has ~4.6M active credit cards/accounts, which processed ~90M unique transactions for ~$40B of spend[ing] in FY24," DOGE said in a post on X.
The cost-cutting department broke down multiple federal agencies and their credit card use, with the DOD leading the way in both the number of transactions, about 27.2 million, and the number of individual accounts, roughly 2.4 million.
Musk delivered a speech to conservatives Thursday in which he touted the accomplishments of DOGE and, at one point, stood on the stage holding a golden chainsaw given to him by Argentina's President Javier Milei, symbolizing the cuts being made to government spending, to the delight of the crowd of conservatives at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Maryland.
"We’re fighting Matrix big time here," Musk said. "It has got to be done."
Fox News' Alex Nitzberg, Emma Woodhead, Michael Lee, Greg Wehner, and Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.
If we want a smaller government, we need stronger families.
President Donald Trump’s efforts to shrink the size and scope of government through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has the potential to change the trajectory of the nation. But Trump can’t deliver this promise only by cutting wasteful spending. American taxpayers have been forced to fund DEI programs in Europe, drag shows in Ecuador, and electric vehicle experiments in Asia — turning off this tap won’t be enough.
Soon, the path to restoring fiscal health in America is going to lead the administration down much more politically treacherous paths – ones that may include trimming government programs that millions of Americans use.
If this causes us to panic, we ought to ask the obvious question: why are so many millions of Americans reliant on programs like housing assistance, food stamps and government-funded healthcare? In fact, a big part of the answer is that the decline of marriage and the collapse of families has fueled much of our nation’s large-scale dependence on government to meet too many of our basic needs.
In order for DOGE to navigate these waters and accomplish its massive ambition, it will have to think along deeper lines than trimming staff and wasteful programs from the federal government. It will have to relinquish government power back to smaller units: families, communities and states.
The Center for Christian Virtue and the Institute for Family Studies recently collaborated on a new study called "The Hope and a Future Report." This report takes a deep dive into how decreasing marriage rates, especially among the low-income Ohioans, are driving poverty, academic failure and violence in our communities – all of which drive the growth of government.
Consider child poverty: In Youngstown Ohio, 68% of children are living in homes without a married father. Fifty percent of Youngstown children are in poverty.
From there, the data tracks on nearly a straight line down: in Vice President JD Vance’s hometown of Middletown, Ohio, 51% of children are living in unmarried homes, with 26% of kids in poverty.
Then you have New Albany, Ohio, where 91% of children are being raised in a married home, and a mere 4% child poverty rate. More broadly, what we see is that children in single-mother families are four times more likely to be poor in Ohio than children in married families.
For DOGE, and any leader interested in scaling back the size of government at the federal or state level, child poverty is their scourge. Children in poverty are far more likely to rely on government services not just today, but long into the future.
Again, look to Ohio for a case study. In Republican Gov. Mike DeWine’s projected 2025 budget, the state Office of Budget and Management says Ohio is expecting to receive $25.5 billion dollars from the federal government – the majority of this for Medicaid, a program specifically for low-income children, families and adults.
In fact, family breakdown is deeply tied to the three biggest items in state spending. Typical state budgets do three things: education, health and human services and law and order. They educate, they medicate and they incarcerate.
A staggering 88.4% of Ohio’s budget is spent on these three areas and all three are more expensive for taxpayers when kids aren’t born into the ideal and most stable environment. That’s because school failure, child poverty and antisocial behavior are significantly more common for children and families in non-intact families.
Children from non-intact families in Ohio are 72% more likely to have their parents contacted by a teacher or principal at their school for behavioral or learning problems, compared to children from intact, married families, according to an IFS-CCV analysis of the National Survey of Children’s Health.
Included in the Hope and a Future Report is a first-ever Family Structure Index which ranks all 50 states according to the health of their family culture. The Index analyzes demographic and fertility data to investigate which states are home to the strongest, most stable and most sustainable families.
Unsurprisingly, we see a connection between healthy and stable families and the economic well-being of a state. Seven of the top 10 states in the Family Structure Index are also in the top 10 in the American Legislative Exchange Commissions Laffer State Economic Outlook Rankings of 2024, which analyzes the states with the lowest tax and regulatory policies. In other words, one reason states like Utah, Idaho and South Dakota are doing so well economically and fiscally is that they also have some of the strongest families in the nation.
Elon Musk, who is currently overseeing Trump’s DOGE, has been a great advocate for half of the family solution here: that we should celebrate children. But, judging by his own approach to family formation, he doesn’t seem to appreciate how much marriage matters for our kids and our country.
In order to protect these children from poverty and to keep them from ultimately becoming dependent on the government, we first need to encourage marriage. This not only best serves the kids, but over the coming years will make federal and state government far more efficient than even Musk’s wildest dreams.
Brad Wilcox is Distinguished University Professor at the University of Virginia, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, and the author of "Get Married: Why Americans Must Defy the Elites, Forge Strong Families, and Save Civilization."
Aaron Baer is the president of the Center for Christian Virtue.
Winter is a great time to finally tackle any DIY projects you’ve been avoiding. While you’re stuck inside, you can transform one or all the rooms in your house by completing a few quick projects.
You can keep it simple by making sure your doors and windows keep in heat, or take on larger projects such as replacing worn flooring or creating an accent wall. No matter which project you take on, make sure you have everything you need to get started.
Below are five projects you can consider completing during the winter months, plus the materials you need to complete them.
Winter doors and window caulking
Add new weatherstripping
Build extra storage
Add an accent wall
Refinish your floors
A caulking gun makes applying caulk a breeze, making it an ideal DIY project for anyone who wants an easy project. You can go simple and affordable with a caulking gun from Home Depot, or you can choose a more powerful option like this Craftsman caulking gun from Amazon.
After applying caulk around your windows, doors and baseboards, you need to smooth it out. This caulking tool set has everything you need. With the four different tool sizes, you can reach any crevice necessary.
Add a door sweep over your foam weatherstripping to add an extra barrier between the inside and outside of your home. All you need to install it is a few screws and a little bit of patience.
Transforming your garage into a storage spot can help you keep your home looking less cluttered. Just put together a few storage racks and you can fill them with neatly organized bins. Amazon has basic metal storage shelves that are affordable and easy to put together. You can also get tough DeWalt shelves from Tractor Supply.
One of the easiest ways to add extra places to hang your things is by putting up hooks and hangers throughout your home. You can customize the hooks to your specific style. These ceramic hangers are a beautiful addition to any room. For a more modern look, there are iron coat racks that are easy to mount to the wall.
If your home has a more nautical theme, a fishhook is the perfect choice. Or, if you’re a huge fan of reptiles, there’s a set of cute lizard hooks.
Hanging shelves is a project most people can accomplish as long as they have a few tools on hand. A level, a drill and some screws are all you need. Amazon has an affordable set of six wooden shelves with all the hardware included.
Beadboard is the perfect backdrop for shelves or plate racks, so they’re ideal for accent walls that you want to turn into a display wall. Home Depot’s Beadboard comes in a variety of shades and is fairly affordable, even for a large wall. You can also get beadboard peel-and-stick wallpaper for easier application.
Shiplap is commonly used in warmer climates but is a great option for any accent wall. It gives a farmhouse vibe and is typically easy to install. You can get a whole shiplap panel from Home Depot.
Whether you’re a renter who needs a renter-friendly DIY or you’re not ready to fully replace all your floors, peel-and-stick tiles are an easy way to give your floors a makeover. Go classic with these black and white peel-and-stick tiles or add some color to your floors with these yellow Ezra peel-and-stick tiles.
If you’re not ready to complete an entire DIY project, getting an extra-large area rug can cover any unsightly floors or just add a pop of color to a room. Rugs.com has thousands of rugs to choose from, like this modern looking 10 x 10 rug. Wayfair also has plenty of rug options, like this navy blue oriental rug.
Have you been meaning to replace your floors for a while now? Winter is the perfect time, especially while you’re stuck inside on cold days. Home Depot has a large selection of engineered hardwood that’s easy to maintain. Or, go with tile, which, with a few YouTube videos, is easier to install. Home Depot can also install it for you, potentially for free depending on where you live.
Cold calls are often a waste of your time and an unwanted interruption to your day. You might think that, at worst, you end up buying or signing up for something that you don't really need or at an inflated price. But there's a lot worse that could happen.
The line between spam and scam calls is often thin and blurred. The person on the other end of the call might sound like they're trying to sell you something or conduct a survey, but this could just be a cover for them to try to extract personal information from you.
Personal information that they can then use to target you with an extremely convincing scam down the line or to gain direct access to your accounts.
Take security questions, for example. They're pretty repetitive: your mother's maiden name, your first pet's name, your favorite elementary school teacher. A hacker does not need to know how to script a single line of code to break into your accounts; it's often enough that they know these things about you and can convince your mobile carrier to activate a SIM card in your name.
This is all, let's not mince words, scary, especially if you've just sold a vehicle or property and have the proceeds lying around or a nest egg account set aside for your retirement, because scammers and hackers can easily find out about title or deed transfers through data brokers like people finder sites.
Scary as it is, it's also simple to protect against. Simple, but not always easy. If you just refuse to engage with these people, never giving up even a scrap of information, your risks of getting scammed or hacked plummet. Keep your personal information out of circulation in the first place (using a data removal service, for example), and they drop to almost zero.
So, once faced with a suspicious call, the solution is simply to hang up as soon as something seems off. And when is that, exactly? The moment someone calls you out of the blue and requires you to give or confirm any personal information. This could be the last four digits of your Social Security number, your address, which credit card company you're with — anything that concerns you, specifically. If the caller turns up the pressure and starts trying to get you to stay on the line, either by enticing you with "rewards" or even threatening you with dire consequences, then you can be absolutely sure the call is not legitimate.
But what if the call is legitimate? What if you hang up on someone who was only doing their job? What if they were truly trying to help you? These are the doubts that scammers and hackers play upon to ply their trades. We're all vulnerable to tactics like these, especially if caught off guard. Older adults are particularly vulnerable. Studies suggest that older people — who collectively lose over $28 billion to scams each year — are more likely to cling to initial impressions of trustworthiness, even when later behavior puts that trustworthiness into question. Scammers typically start their interactions with well-rehearsed, smoothly executed preambles, creating good first impressions. Older people are also more likely to put stock in good manners, finding it more difficult than younger adults to directly or indirectly question a caller's intentions, let alone cut them off mid-sentence and hang up on them.
So, how can you know if the caller is really who they say they are? That's the question many people get stuck on. The twist? It's a red herring. The fact is, it doesn't matter if the call is legit or not. If it's a scammer, they won't be hurt or offended: rejection and hang-ups come with the territory. If it's a real call, the caller also won't be hurt or offended — here's why. Call center staff and other people who make cold calls as part of their job are aware of the privacy and security concerns that such calls bring up. They know how dangerous it can be to divulge personal information over the phone, which is why they won't ask for it. They should also be familiar with one of the best practices there is for dealing with suspicious cold calls.
1. Use the "Hang up, look up, and call back" method for verification: When in doubt, hang up the phone, look up the organization the caller claimed to be calling from (using its official website, for example), and call it back using the number you find there. If the call you received was above board, they'll be able to redirect you back to the initial caller.
2. Don't answer calls from unknown numbers: Let unknown calls go to voicemail, as legitimate callers will usually leave a message if it's important.
3. Register your phone number on the National Do Not Call Registry: This can help reduce telemarketing calls from legitimate businesses, but it won't stop scammers, illegal robocalls or exempt organizations (like charities and political groups) from calling you. Scammers often ignore the registry and use tactics like number spoofing to bypass it. Want to know more about why your phone still won’t stop ringing and what you can do about it? Check out our article on the ‘Do Not Call’ list loophole.
4. Use a spam blocking app for texts and calls:These apps can identify and block known spam numbers, significantly reducing the number of unwanted calls you receive.
5. Never give out personal information in response to unexpected calls: Legitimate organizations won't ask for sensitive information over the phone if they've initiated the call.
6. Be cautious of pressure tactics or requests for immediate action: Scammers often create a sense of urgency to prevent you from thinking clearly or verifying their claims.
7. Set a password for your voicemail account: This prevents scammers from accessing your voicemail and potentially gathering personal information.
8. Be wary of caller ID spoofing — local numbers may not be local callers: Scammers can manipulate caller ID to display any number they choose, so don't trust it blindly.
9. Don't respond to questions, especially those that can be answered with "Yes": Scammers may record your "Yes" response and use it to authorize fraudulent charges or changes to your accounts.
10. Invest in personal data removal services: To get fewer of these calls in the first place, you can enlist the help of a professional data removal service. These services can take your personal information out of circulation, including the contact details spammers and scammers use to call you. While no service promises to remove all your data from the internet, having a removal service is great if you want to constantly monitor and automate the process of removing your information from hundreds of sites continuously over a longer period of time. Check out my top picks for data removal services here.
If you receive a call that gives you any doubts at all, even if you can't quite put your finger on why, then you should end the call and either go on with your day or look up the company and call it back on its official number. You can reduce the number of calls like this by signing up for a data removal service. This will leave fewer spam and scam callers with your contact details and other personal information — something they use to craft convincing backstories and put potential victims at ease.
Have you experienced an increase in robocalls or scam calls recently, and how are you dealing with them? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact
For more of my tech tips and security alerts, subscribe to my free CyberGuy Report Newsletter by heading to Cyberguy.com/Newsletter
