Contributing Writers

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., says he will vote to keep the government open, warning that a shutdown has worse consequences for Americans and would only empower President Donald Trump and Elon Musk further.”I believe it is my job to make the best choice for the country to minimize the harms to the American people. Therefore, I will vote to keep the government open and not shut it down,” Schumer said while speaking on the Senate floor on Thursday.

Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed his name on a bill Wednesday making Idaho the only state in the U.S. to have a firing squad designated as the preferred execution method for capital punishment, beginning next year.The governor’s action comes less than a week after Brad Sigmon, 67, of South Carolina, was executed by way of a firing squad for killing his ex-girlfriend’s parents with a baseball bat in 2001.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is ordering a review of military fitness and grooming standards as the Trump administration continues to reverse policies critics say have made America’s fighting force appear weaker on the global stage. In a memo Wednesday to senior Pentagon leadership, Hegseth ordered Darin Selnick, the under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness, to gather existing standards in all U.S.

An Illinois lawmaker has introduced a bill that critics say will make it legal for anyone experiencing a mental health episode to attack police officers.Democratic state Rep. Lisa Davis, an attorney in the Law Office of the Cook County Public Defender’s office, introduced House Bill 3458 in February.

SpaceX and NASA scrubbed the planned rocket launch of Crew-10 to the International Space Station (ISS) on Wednesday due to a hydraulic issue with one of the ground systems, according to officials giving a live broadcast of the event.NASA and SpaceX will get their next opportunity to send the rocket into space when the launch window opens on Thursday at 7:25 p.m.

A member of a state panel advising the director of Oregon’s Health Authority (OHA) on best practices and policies in mental health identifies as a “turtle.”JD Holt, who also goes by “JD Terrapin” on Facebook, is one of roughly two dozen “consumers” on the OHA’s Consumer Advisory Council (OCAC). The council, established by administrative statute, is appointed by OHA Director Dr. Sejal Hathi, who was appointed by Gov. Tina Kotek, a Democrat.

The Environmental Protection Agency is terminating $20 billion in grants awarded by the Biden administration for climate and clean-energy projects, Administrator Lee Zeldin announced Tuesday.In a video posted to X, Zeldin said $20 billion in U.S. tax dollars were “parked at an outside financial institution in a deliberate effort to limit government oversight, doling out your money through just eight pass-through, politically connected, unqualified, and in some cases brand-new NGOs.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced plans to bolster airport air traffic control systems with the latest technology over the next four years, while also using artificial intelligence (AI) to identify “hot spots” where close encounters between aircraft occur frequently.The announcement came after an update on an investigation into a crash near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, when a U.S.

President Donald Trump announced his nomination of Michael George DeSombre to serve as the next U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and the Pacific.Trump made the announcement on Tuesday, posting on Truth Social that DeSombre served during the president’s first term as the ambassador to the Kingdom of Thailand.DeSombre is a partner at Sullivan Cromwell, where he leads mergers and acquisitions in Asia.He also graduated from Harvard Law School.

California’s Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom claimed that his office had never used the term “Latinx” during a recent interview, but a Fox News Digital review found this claim to be false.”By the way, not one person ever in my office has ever used the word Latinx,” Newsom said in his viral podcast episode with Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk. “I just didn’t even know where it came from. What are people talking about?” he added.

Democratic New York Rep. Tom Suozzi said Tuesday that there is a catastrophe brewing for the country’s aging population, and he wants to do something about it.Alongside Republican Rep. John Moolenaar, Suozzi introduced the “Well-Being Insurance for Seniors to be at Home Act” on Tuesday, which seeks to help more of the country’s increasingly older population obtain long-term home care insurance.

A plan to avert a partial government shutdown backed by President Donald Trump is heading for a House-wide vote on Tuesday.The House Rules Committee, the final gatekeeper before legislation hits the House of Representatives chamber, advanced the bill along party lines on Monday evening. Tuesday is expected to first see a vote to allow for lawmakers to debate the bill, known as a “rule vote,” followed by a chamber-wide vote on the legislation itself later in the afternoon.

Oregon’s governor has signed a proclamation that will make March 10 “Abortion Provider Appreciation Day,” in an effort to reaffirm her administration’s commitment to “maintaining access to abortion care across the state.””Here in Oregon, we understand that abortion is healthcare, and providers are appreciated and can continue to provide care without interference and intimidation,” Governor Tina Kotek said in a statement.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem swore in Sean Curran on Monday to serve as the director of the U.S. Secret Service.The swearing-in ceremony took place in the Oval Office, where President Donald Trump and Noem joined Curran.”Sean’s brave actions when he risked his life to help save President Trump’s life in Butler, Pennsylvania is a testament to his dedication to the mission of the US Secret Service,” Noem said in a statement.

The House of Representatives passed a bill aimed at cracking down on Mexican cartels’ use of tunnels underneath the southwestern border to smuggle illegal immigrants and illicit items the U.S.The bill passed with overwhelming bipartisan support in a 402 to 1 vote – with the lone dissenter being Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich. Fox News Digital reached out to her office for comment but did not immediately hear back.The bill is led by Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz.

The Senate confirmed former Oregon Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer to head the Department of Labor, marking the completion of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet secretaries.Chavez-DeRemer was confirmed by the Senate with bipartisan support in a 67-32 vote on Monday evening. Three Republicans, Sens. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Ted Budd, R-N.C., voted against Chavez-DeRemer’s confirmation.

President Donald Trump said the U.S. has “just about” lifted the intelligence pause on Ukraine, adding that his administration has to do anything it can to get Ukrainians serious about making a deal to end the war with Russia.”You know, I say they don’t have the cards. Nobody really has the cards,” Trump told reporters during a gaggle on Air Force One on Sunday evening.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem tapped a new director and deputy director to lead U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as she works to reinstate a culture of results and accountability under President Donald Trump’s administration.Noem announced the appointments on Sunday, saying Todd Lyons will serve as acting ICE director, and Madison Sheahan will serve as the deputy director of ICE.

U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) Secretary Pete Hegseth said Sunday that his department “does not do climate change crap,” but instead focuses on things like warfighting and training.The secretary was responding to a post from CNN’s Haley Britzky, who shared a story about the DOD and Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) cutting programs in the Pentagon that deal with climate change.

Failed Democratic Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams is facing condemnation from conservatives after she appeared on MSNBC to defend a $2 billion initiative under the Biden administration’s EPA to purchase green energy appliances for Americans. “Stacey Abrams linked Power Forward Communities received $2 billion in tax dollars in 2024 after reporting just $100 in revenue the year before.

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., has established the beginnings of a maverick reputation in the Senate – as someone willing to stand against his own party. But this hasn’t necessarily lined up with his voting record, particularly on key issues, namely preventing biological males from dominating women’s and girls’ sports.

Vice President JD Vance said Saturday he was confronted by pro-Ukrainian protesters while he was out walking with his 3-year-old daughter. “Today while walking my 3 year old daughter a group of ‘Slava Ukraini’ protesters followed us around and shouted as my daughter grew increasingly anxious and scared,” Vance posted Saturday afternoon on X.

Seattle’s Democratic mayor this week proposed a city ordinance that would strengthen protections for those seeking transgender care and surgeries, while calling out the Trump administration’s “hateful, dangerous and discriminatory attacks” against the LGBTQ+ community.

Several Republican senators have taken issue with the American Bar Association (ABA) and are calling for President Donald Trump to take drastic action against the group. In a letter to ABA President William Bay, lawmakers said the group, which plays a key role in judicial nominations, had become “biased and ideologically captured.” Now, those lawmakers want President Trump to “remove the ABA from the judicial nomination process entirely.”Sen. Eric Schmitt, Sen.

Congressional negotiators have released a bill that, if passed, will avert a partial government shutdown during the first 100 days of President Donald Trump’s term.The 99-page legislation would roughly maintain current government funding levels through the beginning of fiscal year (FY) 2026, which begins Oct. 1. The current deadline to avert a shutdown is Friday, March 14.

A federal judge has ruled against the Denver public schools system’s attempts to block immigration officials from carrying out raids on school grounds, marking a win for the Trump administration as it looks to ramp up its deportation efforts. U.S.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture canceled a grant worth $600,000 for the study of menstrual cycles in transgender men, Secretary Brooke Rollins said Friday.The Southern University Agricultural & Mechanical College in Louisiana was the recipient of the grant, according to a database on USAspending.gov.”The first occurrence of menstruation occurs at approximately 12 years of age and ends with menopause at roughly 51 years of age,” the grant description reads.

President Donald Trump announced via Truth Social Friday that he had appointed a number of new ambassadors.Trump announced Amer Ghalib will serve as the U.S. ambassador to Kuwait. “As the Mayor of the City of Hamtramck, Michigan, Amer worked hard to help us secure a Historic Victory in Michigan,” Trump wrote.

The University of Virginia’s Board of Visitors Friday voted to close its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) office after President Trump’s executive orders against DEI efforts in the federal government. “DEI is done at UVA,” Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin wrote on X Friday. “Today, the University of Virginia Board of Visitors voted for commonsense saying NO to illegal discrimination and YES to merit-based opportunity. Students at Mr.