Category: Dramas

Republican Matt Van Epps of Tennessee was sworn in on the House floor Thursday morning by Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La,, giving the GOP slightly more breathing room as they hold on to a razor-thin majority in the lower chamber of Congress.

Van Epps was sworn in less than 48 hours after winning a hotly contested special election for a vacant GOP-held seat in Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District that was viewed as a must-win for Republicans, who will defend their House majority in next year’s midterm elections.

He vowed in a floor speech to “work every day with President Trump and my colleagues in this House to deliver on the America First agenda.”

Van Epps’ swearing in brings the balance of power in the House to 220 Republicans and 213 Democrats.

WHAT THE RESULTS IN THE HOTLY CONTESTED TENNESSEE SPECIAL CONGRESSIONAL ELECTION MEAN FOR THE 2026 MIDTERMS

But the Republican number will drop back to 219 early next month, when Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, a MAGA firebrand who had a falling out with Trump, resigns.

There are 213 Democrats in the House, with two Democrat-held seats currently vacant. The late Democratic Rep. Sylvester Turner of Texas died in March, but a special election to fill the seat won’t be held until Jan. 31.

TRUMP-BACKED REPUBLICAN KEEPS CRUCIAL CONGRESSIONAL SEAT IN GOP HANDS

And now-former Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey resigned last month after winning the Garden State’s gubernatorial election. A special election to fill the vacant seat will be held in April.

Van Epps on Tuesday defeated Democratic congressional nominee Aftyn Behn in the race to succeed former GOP Rep. Mark Green, who resigned from office in June to take a private sector job.

Trump carried the district — which is located in central and western Tennessee, stretches from Kentucky to Alabama, and includes parts of Nashville — by 22 points in last year’s presidential election. And Green won the district by over 20 points in his 2022 and 2024 re-elections.

But Democrats, energized after decisive victories last month in the 2025 elections, eyed flipping the seat, and national Democratic and Republican groups poured millions of dollars into the race.

Van Epps ended up topping Behn by roughly 9 points, thanks in part to high turnout for a special election held during the holiday season.

In a sign of the importance of keeping the seat in GOP hands, Johnson traveled to Tennessee and campaigned at a slew of events with Van Epps on election eve.

“We cannot take anything for granted. Since I became speaker, I presided over some of the smallest majorities in history. Every seat counts,” Johnson said in a Fox News Digital interview on Monday morning.

And Johnson highlighted that “special elections are strange because a lot of people take for granted in a deep red district like this that the Republicans are just going to win automatically. Nothing’s automatic.”

Fox News’ Kelly Phares contributed to this report.

EXCLUSIVE: Afghan evacuees with rap sheets that include convictions for sexual battery and lewd acts with a minor and arrests for alleged child-fondling and terror-group support were among the “worst of the worst” recently swept up by ICE and the Department of Homeland Security.

DHS released the list days after one former Afghan evacuee allegedly shot two West Virginia Guardsmen, killing one, and another was charged in a Newark, Del., terror plot. The agency says the arrests reveal explosive failures in the 2021 vetting system that rushed evacuees into the country after Kabul fell.

Biden administration officials insisted their 2021 Operation Allies Welcome vetting was sound, but a senior DHS official said the president’s “trust without verification” approach to evacuee backgrounds helped drive the recent surge in attacks and plots.

“Under Secretary Noem, DHS has been going full throttle on identifying and arresting known or suspected terrorists and criminal illegal aliens that came in through Biden’s fraudulent parole programs,” Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said. “When Joe Biden let 190,000 Afghan nationals in, they didn’t do criminal background checks, vet social media, someone just vouched for them, and they took the words as truth.”

BONDI WARNS OF VETTING FAILURES AFTER ‘FRIGHTENING’ ARREST OF AFGHAN NATIONAL FOR BOMB THREATS IN TEXAS

DHS has captured sexual predators, terror suspects, pedophiles and other violent “unvetted” foreigners in their persistent daily work of executing President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement orders, the agency added in a statement.

Not all of the arrests have involved Afghan evacuees. ICE arrests have included Iraqi “criminal illegal alien” Ziaulhaq Faqiri, who entered the U.S. as a “special immigrant Iraqi employee” during former President Joe Biden’s term. Faqiri’s criminal history includes convictions for “carnal abuse” and sexual assault.

PATEL BLASTS BIDEN’S ‘EMBLEMATIC FAILURE’ AFTER AFGHAN NATIONAL CHARGED IN GUARD SHOOTING

But many arrests have involved those who came to America in the aftermath of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

One of the evacuees from Operation Allies Refuge – the mass exodus upon the immediate fall of Kabul often involving third-party countries, versus “Allies Welcome,” the process that utilized domestic military bases as housing – was arrested recently as a “criminal alien” residing in the U.S.

Qesmat Din Zafran was apprehended around the fourth anniversary of the 2021 Afghan withdrawal, and has convictions for lewd and lascivious acts with a minor.

Other recent captures include the October arrest of Operation Allies Refuge participant Mansour Walizada, who has convictions for sexual battery and an arrest for child fondling, according to DHS.

ALLEGED DC SHOOTER ENTERED US UNDER AFGHAN RESETTLEMENT PUSH MAYORKAS VOWED WOULD BE DONE ‘SWIFTLY AND SAFELY’

Mohammad Tabesh Rasoli was recently arrested by ICE, which found him to have a conviction for hit-and-run. The case involved Rasoli seriously injuring a pedestrian he struck while driving 50 miles per hour, the agency said.

Iowa authorities honored a request to transfer another Afghanistan evacuee: Javid Ghamgeen.

Ghamgheen had been convicted of two meth-possession counts, as well as burglary and assault on a public officer.

DC NATIONAL GUARD SHOOTING SUSPECT FORMALLY CHARGED

Two others arrested after coming to the U.S. following the American withdrawal were Asirullah Khalid-Khan and Said Mohammad Tanai.

Tanai had a prior conviction for assault with intent to commit sexual abuse, while Khalid-Khan’s record included sexual assault and kidnapping.

In yet another incident, an Afghan evacuee was arrested in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley on allegations he provided support to the Khorosan Group, also known as ISIS-K.

USCIS HALTS ‘ALL ASYLUM DECISIONS’ AFTER DC SHOOTING OF NATIONAL GUARD MEMBERS

Jaan Shah Safi was arrested on Wednesday in Waynesboro – just outside Staunton.

DHS officials said Safi’s father is currently a commander of an Afghan militia group.

Safi was brought to Philadelphia about one week after the Afghanistan evacuation commenced and applied for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) – but saw it terminated by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem earlier this year.

NATIONAL GUARD KILLING REIGNITES IMMIGRATION WAR IN CONGRESS AS REPUBLICANS DEMAND SWEEPING REFORMS

Officials said Safi was the third Afghan terror suspect arrested in “recent days” who was brought to the U.S. during the Biden-era operations.

Meanwhile, a Mideast-born student at Biden’s alma mater was arrested in Delaware on Wednesday after police conducted a traffic stop near Newport.

Police encountered 25-year-old University of Delaware student Luqmaan Khan with a Glock handgun, multiple magazines, a ballistic-armored plate and a notebook that included handwritten descriptions of how the weapons could be used in an attack.

The book also included the name of a University of Delaware police officer, the layout of a university building and the words “UD Police Department.”

Pakistan’s foreign office disputed reports Thursday that Khan was of “Pakistani-origin,” with spokesman Tahir Andrabi telling Arab News that Islamabad’s investigation of the situation found Khan to instead be an Afghan national who fled to Pakistan with his family as a refugee.

Biden graduated from UDel in 1965 with a double-major in history and political science before heading to Syracuse for law school.

Biden did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. 

Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano contributed to this report.

A suspect who allegedly planted pipe bombs blocks from the U.S. Capitol on January 5, 2021, is now in federal custody after a nearly five-year investigation, law enforcement sources told Fox News Digital on Thursday.

The FBI arrested the suspect, a male living in Virginia, early Thursday morning, the sources said.

Authorities discovered the two pipe bombs near the Republican and Democratic National Committees’ headquarters around the same time that thousands of protesters a few blocks away began to descend on the Capitol over the 2020 election results.

Video footage released by the FBI showed an unidentified person placing the pipe bombs near the two headquarters more than 16 hours before law enforcement found them.

The suspect was seen wearing a gray hoodie, Nike Air Max Speed Turf sneakers, a face mask, glasses, and gloves, but the person’s identity had long been unknown.

This is a developing story. Check back soon for updates.

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Wednesday announced an investigation into what he called a “troubling incident,” in which a Midwestern school allegedly vaccinated a child without their parent’s consent.

In a video statement on X, Kennedy said that HHS is taking “decisive steps” to defend parents’ rights to guide their child’s health decisions following the alleged incident.

“A school administered a federally funded vaccine to a child without the parent’s consent and despite a legally recognized state exemption,” he said. “When any institution — a school, a doctor’s office, a clinic — disregards a religious exemption, it doesn’t just break trust, it also breaks the law.”

“We’re not going to tolerate it,” he added.

RFK JR. ACCUSES BIDEN ADMIN OF PUTTING ‘SPEED OVER SAFETY’ IN MIGRANT CHILD CASES

Kennedy did not identify the state, the school or the vaccine said to be involved.

Kennedy said that the Trump administration will ensure that health care providers and institutions will not ignore parental rights when it comes to their children’s health.

“We will use every tool we have to protect families and restore accountability,” he said.

WEST VIRGINIA RESTORES EXCLUSION OF RELIGIOUS REASONS FOR SCHOOL VACCINE EXEMPTIONS AFTER LATEST COURT RULING

Kennedy said HHS is launching compliance reviews of major providers and healthcare systems to ensure that they give parents timely access to their children’s information. He said a letter will be issued reminding providers of “their clear legal duty” to share medical records with parents — with “no delays, no secrets, no excuses.”

A second letter from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) went to HRSA grant recipients, stressing that federal dollars require compliance with laws protecting parental rights.

HHS is also reviewing how states and districts process medical and religious exemptions to ensure the federally funded Vaccines for Children program complies with federal and state law.

Kennedy added that parents may file complaints with the HHS Office for Civil Rights if they believe their rights — or their children’s — have been violated.

Republican Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina, who is currently running for governor, slapped down the idea that she might retire from Congress early.

“Retiring is a BIG FAT NO from me – not sure why the internet is running with this like wildfire – for the clicks I suppose,” Mace said in a post on X.

The New York Times reported that Mace told individuals that she is so frustrated by House Speaker Mike Johnson and sick of the manner in which he has run the lower chamber, particularly the treatment of women there, that she plans to speak to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., next week about following her path and leaving the House early. 

MACE CAMPAIGN STAFFER QUITS GOVERNOR BID TEAM, ACCUSING HER OF DISLOYALTY TO TRUMP

Fox News Digital reached out to House Speaker Mike Johnson’s offices to request comment from the lawmaker.

Greene announced last month that she will leave office early next year, but Mace has repudiated the notion that she plans to follow in the Georgia Republican’s footsteps.

JOHNSON POINTS TO OBAMA-ERA DRONE PRECEDENT AS CONGRESS PROBES DEADLY CARIBBEAN STRIKE

“Media catches one tiny piece of an overheard conversation and loses it. Confirmed: There’s frustration that discharge petitions are the only way to move things through the House. Confirmed: There’s frustration we haven’t codified Trump’s Executive Orders. We did Gulf of America. Cool. Look at Elise Stefanik or Anna Paulina Luna comments this week. Not confirmed: That anyone is retiring. Goodness. And God bless!” she said in posts on X.

HOUSE REPUBLICAN MOVES TO FORCE VOTE ON LAWMAKER STOCK OWNERSHIP, TRADING BAN

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“Case in point. I signed a discharge petition to ban stock trading today. Why does something so easy ethically and morally to support, take forcing it down the throats of leadership when it’s just common sense? Members of Congress shouldn’t line their pockets with insider trading…” Mace said in posts on X.

The U.S. Institute of Peace has been formally rebranded as the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace, marking the latest step in the president’s months-long effort to dismantle the congressionally created agency.

The name change comes after a turbulent year for the organization, which the Trump administration has sought to shut down while shifting its authority to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

The institute has been fighting the move in federal court, but layoffs proceeded after an appeals court stayed a lower-court ruling that temporarily blocked the administration’s plan.

The agency’s website briefly went offline Wednesday morning before returning with promotion for Trump’s upcoming peace-agreement ceremony between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda.

TRUMP CAPS WEEK WITH BOLD MILITARY MOVES FROM PENTAGON NAME CHANGE TO CARTEL CRACKDOWN

White House spokesperson Anna Kelly defended the renaming, telling Fox News Digital the former institute had been “a bloated, useless entity that blew $50 million per year while delivering no peace.”

“Now, the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace, which is both beautifully and aptly named after a President who ended eight wars in less than a year, will stand as a powerful reminder of what strong leadership can accomplish for global stability,” Kelly said. 

She added Trump “ended eight wars in less than a year,” framing the institute’s new name as recognition of his “peace through strength” approach.

“Congratulations, world!” Kelly said.

DAVID MARCUS: THE DEPARTMENT OF WAR MARKS THE END OF AMERICA AS THE WORLD’S POLICEMAN

Secretary Marco Rubio echoed that sentiment in a post responding to the announcement.

“President Trump will be remembered by history as the President of Peace,” Rubio wrote. “It’s time our State Department display that.”

The U.S. Institute of Peace was created by Congress in 1984 as a nonpartisan organization supporting conflict-prevention and peace-building efforts abroad. The dismantling and rebranding into a Trump-named entity represents one of the most sweeping agency overhauls of Trump’s second term.

Earlier this year, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell ruled that the administration’s shutdown effort was unlawful. But the ruling was stayed on appeal, clearing the way for terminations to move forward in July as the administration restructured the agency and continued transferring functions elsewhere.

The institute did not immediately respond to Axios’ request for comment on the rebranding or the status of its ongoing legal challenge.

The State Department did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

The U.S. Institute of Peace has been formally rebranded as the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace, marking the latest step in the president’s months-long effort to dismantle the congressionally created agency.

The name change comes after a turbulent year for the organization, which the Trump administration has sought to shut down while shifting its authority to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

The institute has been fighting the move in federal court, but layoffs proceeded after an appeals court stayed a lower-court ruling that temporarily blocked the administration’s plan.

The agency’s website briefly went offline Wednesday morning before returning with promotion for Trump’s upcoming peace-agreement ceremony between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda.

TRUMP CAPS WEEK WITH BOLD MILITARY MOVES FROM PENTAGON NAME CHANGE TO CARTEL CRACKDOWN

White House spokesperson Anna Kelly defended the renaming, telling Fox News Digital the former institute had been “a bloated, useless entity that blew $50 million per year while delivering no peace.”

“Now, the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace, which is both beautifully and aptly named after a President who ended eight wars in less than a year, will stand as a powerful reminder of what strong leadership can accomplish for global stability,” Kelly said. 

She added Trump “ended eight wars in less than a year,” framing the institute’s new name as recognition of his “peace through strength” approach.

“Congratulations, world!” Kelly said.

DAVID MARCUS: THE DEPARTMENT OF WAR MARKS THE END OF AMERICA AS THE WORLD’S POLICEMAN

Secretary Marco Rubio echoed that sentiment in a post responding to the announcement.

“President Trump will be remembered by history as the President of Peace,” Rubio wrote. “It’s time our State Department display that.”

The U.S. Institute of Peace was created by Congress in 1984 as a nonpartisan organization supporting conflict-prevention and peace-building efforts abroad. The dismantling and rebranding into a Trump-named entity represents one of the most sweeping agency overhauls of Trump’s second term.

Earlier this year, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell ruled that the administration’s shutdown effort was unlawful. But the ruling was stayed on appeal, clearing the way for terminations to move forward in July as the administration restructured the agency and continued transferring functions elsewhere.

The institute did not immediately respond to Axios’ request for comment on the rebranding or the status of its ongoing legal challenge.

The State Department did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

The U.S. Institute of Peace has been formally rebranded as the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace, marking the latest step in the president’s months-long effort to dismantle the congressionally created agency.

The name change comes after a turbulent year for the organization, which the Trump administration has sought to shut down while shifting its authority to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

The institute has been fighting the move in federal court, but layoffs proceeded after an appeals court stayed a lower-court ruling that temporarily blocked the administration’s plan.

The agency’s website briefly went offline Wednesday morning before returning with promotion for Trump’s upcoming peace-agreement ceremony between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda.

TRUMP CAPS WEEK WITH BOLD MILITARY MOVES FROM PENTAGON NAME CHANGE TO CARTEL CRACKDOWN

White House spokesperson Anna Kelly defended the renaming, telling Fox News Digital the former institute had been “a bloated, useless entity that blew $50 million per year while delivering no peace.”

“Now, the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace, which is both beautifully and aptly named after a President who ended eight wars in less than a year, will stand as a powerful reminder of what strong leadership can accomplish for global stability,” Kelly said. 

She added Trump “ended eight wars in less than a year,” framing the institute’s new name as recognition of his “peace through strength” approach.

“Congratulations, world!” Kelly said.

DAVID MARCUS: THE DEPARTMENT OF WAR MARKS THE END OF AMERICA AS THE WORLD’S POLICEMAN

Secretary Marco Rubio echoed that sentiment in a post responding to the announcement.

“President Trump will be remembered by history as the President of Peace,” Rubio wrote. “It’s time our State Department display that.”

The U.S. Institute of Peace was created by Congress in 1984 as a nonpartisan organization supporting conflict-prevention and peace-building efforts abroad. The dismantling and rebranding into a Trump-named entity represents one of the most sweeping agency overhauls of Trump’s second term.

Earlier this year, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell ruled that the administration’s shutdown effort was unlawful. But the ruling was stayed on appeal, clearing the way for terminations to move forward in July as the administration restructured the agency and continued transferring functions elsewhere.

The institute did not immediately respond to Axios’ request for comment on the rebranding or the status of its ongoing legal challenge.

The State Department did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

The U.S. Institute of Peace has been formally rebranded as the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace, marking the latest step in the president’s months-long effort to dismantle the congressionally created agency.

The name change comes after a turbulent year for the organization, which the Trump administration has sought to shut down while shifting its authority to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

The institute has been fighting the move in federal court, but layoffs proceeded after an appeals court stayed a lower-court ruling that temporarily blocked the administration’s plan.

The agency’s website briefly went offline Wednesday morning before returning with promotion for Trump’s upcoming peace-agreement ceremony between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda.

TRUMP CAPS WEEK WITH BOLD MILITARY MOVES FROM PENTAGON NAME CHANGE TO CARTEL CRACKDOWN

White House spokesperson Anna Kelly defended the renaming, telling Fox News Digital the former institute had been “a bloated, useless entity that blew $50 million per year while delivering no peace.”

“Now, the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace, which is both beautifully and aptly named after a President who ended eight wars in less than a year, will stand as a powerful reminder of what strong leadership can accomplish for global stability,” Kelly said. 

She added Trump “ended eight wars in less than a year,” framing the institute’s new name as recognition of his “peace through strength” approach.

“Congratulations, world!” Kelly said.

DAVID MARCUS: THE DEPARTMENT OF WAR MARKS THE END OF AMERICA AS THE WORLD’S POLICEMAN

Secretary Marco Rubio echoed that sentiment in a post responding to the announcement.

“President Trump will be remembered by history as the President of Peace,” Rubio wrote. “It’s time our State Department display that.”

The U.S. Institute of Peace was created by Congress in 1984 as a nonpartisan organization supporting conflict-prevention and peace-building efforts abroad. The dismantling and rebranding into a Trump-named entity represents one of the most sweeping agency overhauls of Trump’s second term.

Earlier this year, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell ruled that the administration’s shutdown effort was unlawful. But the ruling was stayed on appeal, clearing the way for terminations to move forward in July as the administration restructured the agency and continued transferring functions elsewhere.

The institute did not immediately respond to Axios’ request for comment on the rebranding or the status of its ongoing legal challenge.

The State Department did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

An actress and model who moonlights as a DJ and is romantically linked to the leader of the bloodthirsty Venezuelan Tren de Aragua (TdA) transnational gang was sanctioned by the Trump administration on Wednesday.

The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced the designation against Jimena Romina Araya Navarro, also known as Rosita. 

Navarro, a Venezuelan model with millions of social media followers, has helped launder money for TdA along with other entertainers, the department said.

She also helped Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, also known as “Niño Guerrero,” escape from Tocorón prison in Venezuela in 2012, the agency said.

TRUMP’S STRIKE ON CARTEL VESSEL OFF VENEZUELA SENDS WARNING TO MADURO: ‘NO SANCTUARY’

“Under President Trump, barbaric terrorist cartels can no longer operate with impunity across our borders. The Tren de Aragua network’s narco-trafficking and human smuggling operations have long posed a grave threat to our nation,” said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent. 

“At the direction of President Trump, we will continue to use every tool to cut off these terrorists from the U.S. and global financial system and keep American citizens safe.”

Navarro reportedly performs in nightclubs in Colombia, with a portion of the proceeds from the events going to TdA leadership, the Treasury Department said.

She has also performed at the Bogotá nightclub Maiquetia VIP Bar Restaurant, which is owned by her former bodyguard and manager, Eryk Manuel Landaeta Hernandez. She is additionally a shareholder and the president of a Venezuela-based company, Global Import Solutions S.A.

Hernandez was arrested by Colombian authorities in October 2024. He allegedly organized events featuring international artists and DJs, including Navarro, where drugs were sold for TdA and the proceeds were laundered, authorities said.

MADURO CLAIMS US SEEKS ‘REGIME CHANGE THROUGH MILITARY THREAT’ AMID CARIBBEAN BUILDUP

Hernandez also allegedly laundered money for Guerrero and sanctioned senior TdA leader Mosquera Serrano.

He owns the creative, arts and entertainment services company Eryk Producciones SAS and reportedly served as the gang’s financial and logistics chief in Colombia.

Additional sanctions were levied against TdA leaders Richard Jose Espinal Quintero, Noe Manases Aponte Cordova, and Asdrubal Rafael Escobar Cabrera and Cheison Royer Guerrero Palma, Niño Guerrero’s half-brother, who was expanding the gang’s activity into Chile.

Kenffersso Jhosue Sevilla Arteaga, known as “El Flipper,” was also sanctioned. He was arrested in Cúcuta, Colombia, in November 2025 and “was involved in extortions, kidnappings, and homicides,” the Treasury Department said.

The Trump administration has targeted TdA members in the United States in an effort to deport them to Venezuela.

An April intelligence assessment from the National Intelligence Council said some Venezuelan officials have facilitated the migration of TdA members into the United States.

In February, the gang was designated a foreign terrorist organization by the State Department.